Thursday, January 13, 2011

Dear Gloria 2011

Dear Gloria,

You are three years old today!


You have grown so much this year - physically and intellectually.

You still love to read more than anything else. Your favorite thing to do is read books on the couch, in the car, by the bookcase, upstairs, downstairs, anywhere! You love visiting the library and we check-out at least 16 books at a time! We still read to you before your naps and before bedtime - two books at nap time, and three at bedtime. You read in your bed before you fall asleep at night, too. Just recently you have been setting all of your stuffed friends up around the edge of your crib to read to them. Sometimes you'll be up for an hour, or more, just reading in your crib before you fall asleep. Daddy and I will listen to you on the monitor and we are so amazed at your recollection of the stories that we have read to you. You can retell a story almost word for word. And, even if you don't remember the story, you will say your own story based on the pictures that you see.

You can write many different letters of the alphabet. You really started writing the "GLO" in your name around May and have since mastered the "RIA". You like having a little notebook to write and scribble in so you can write notes to people and help me write grocery lists.

You can say the alphabet - no problem - and recognize every capital letter. You're doing okay with the lowercase letters as well. We still sing the alphabet song together almost every night as we walk over to your bed, and sometimes we do it in silly voices.

You can count to thirty, forty, fifty, but sometimes you skip over twenty, and you need a bit of prompting once in awhile when it comes to the transitions between 29 and 30, 39 and 40, 49 and 50.

You are a whiz on the computer, pulling up the websites with your games, finding a page to type on, watching videos of yourself, and looking at pictures. You really like the Fisher-Price website with coloring pages and stories.

You have really developed an imagination this year. You play pretend with your Little People and have them do all sorts of things. We play store, restaurant, marching band, and babies. You and Daddy play "deer" and Daddy chases you around the living room with his pretend antlers.

You have also begun to occupy yourself for longer periods of time - up to an hour or more - just by reading and playing toys and pretend by yourself. I love watching you when you don't know that I am. I see you reading to your babies and animals, pointing out the words and having them pick out books, comforting them and helping them, showing them how to do things.

You are an amazing singer. You sing along to songs in the car, and do so well keeping the rhythm and the different tunes. When we get in the car you ask for "my songs." You really like Dora the Explorer songs and classic children's songs. We still sing to you before your nap and you still sing along with us before bed.

You are a great conversationalist, talking about anything and everything. Sometimes you make things up, telling Daddy we're having pizza for supper when really we're having chicken, or telling me that Daddy said you could have ice cream when he never said such a thing. You have an incredible vocabulary, using words like actually, usually and humongous in your everyday conversations and in the correct context.

We could not have asked for a more precious daughter than you, Gloria. There are great and amazing things ahead for you. You make our hearts sing with joy. You are so intelligent, so thoughtful, so beautiful, so caring, so special.

Happy birthday Gloria!

Love, Mommy


So, here's to your third birthday Gloria! May you continue to fill the hearts around you with joy and put smiles on the faces of everyone you meet! We love you Gloria Grace!

December 2010

Playing outside in the snow for the first time of the season!
12-5-2010


Helping to decorate for Christmas!
12-5


Santa!
12-9


Gloria and Daddy went on a special date downtown!
They stopped at the carousel and Gloria got to sit in an old bumper car.
12-11


Cute!


Painting her salt dough Christmas ornaments
12-15


In a cave
Reading, of course!
12-23


When Gloria is concentrating very hard her tongue comes out! Here she is helping to cut the wrapping paper for Christmas presents. She helped to cut almost every bit of wrapping paper this year. All I did was draw a light line with pen for her to follow and she did great!

12-23-2010

November 2010

Maybe she'll grow up to be a fire fighter?
11-3-10


Or a fashion designer?
11-4


Or a princess?
11-14


Or an engineer?
11-26




Genius Child

11-3-10



11-3 and 11-4


My grandpa was feeling a bit under the weather and Gloria and I wanted to send him a card. Gloria made the card all by herself. All I did was tell her the letters, and draw the flower outlines. She wrote every letter BY HERSELF!

11-10-10
3 days shy of 2 years 10 months



Needless to say, the card made Grandpa smile and feel a bit better!

Halloween Fun!

Gloria had a Halloween party at school. Every student wore their costume and they trick-or-treated around the Y. They frosted pumpkin cookies and used Halloween sprinkles. They played with orange playdough (that Gloria and I made). They even opened up a pumpkin and were able to dig in it. The teachers said that Gloria was the only one that really got into it!

Pocahontas ready for Preschool
10-27-10



Buying pumpkins for Mommy and Daddy to carve
10-30

Gloria had so much fun carving her pumpkin! She was fully involved in every step - from cleaning it out, drawing the face, and carving it!
10-30


On Halloween we went over to my mom's house for her annual Halloween party. We had macaroni and barbecues, jello, and pumpkin pudding pies! Gloria could NOT wait for the kids to start trick-or-treating. She wanted to hand out the treats to the "children." Not once did she question the fact that she wasn't going around like the other kids. The night evening started out comfortable, but eventually turned very cold (as you can see in the following pictures)! We ended our Halloween evening by going through the neighborhood haunted fun house. Gloria enjoyed it last year, but this year she said that she was scared during part of it - in the room with the green lasers.

10-31-10

October 2010

10-2-2010


10-3


10-7


Harvest Festival downtown St. Joe
10-9


10-10-10
3 days shy of 2 years 9 months


At a fall fun farm - with animals to feed, a hayride, haunted semi, and pumpkins!
10-16


"I wanted to take this pumpkin home and Mommy and Daddy said if I could carry it, I could have it. Well I tried and tried. No luck. So I settled for sitting on it for a picture."


"After my nap, Daddy surprised me with a HUMONGOUS pile of leaves to play in!"
10-16


FUN!


Our little model
She's always doing "model" poses!
10-30-2010

First Day of School

On September 15, 2010, Gloria started preschool at the YMCA. She is in the Angelfish class for 2 1/2 year olds. She was so excited to start. There was no hesitation and no tears. Cousin Ami is in her class, along with two other boys and two other girls. There are two teachers - Miss Terri and Miss Heidi.

Posing by the nametags
9-15-2010

Here's my name!

Preschool Pro!


Each student was given a carpet square to take home, decorate, and then bring back to school. They sit on their carpets every class time. Gloria and I went to the craft store to pick out 3 different colors of paint. She picked out Sunshine Yellow, Sky Blue, and Neon Pink! She wanted me to write her name on the carpet and then she did the rest. It turned out so cool!

9-16

September 2010

9-7-2010

9-7

9-7

She's a tractor-lovin' girl!
9-10

Happy Birthday to Mommy!
Like our cute birthday hats from wrapping paper!
9-14

Posing on a hippo sculpture outside of the art museum
9-17

Beautiful day for playing on the toys at the beach, but no swimming!
9-17

Bubbles, bubbles everywhere!
9-23

Who's that naked girl?!
9-27

Picking apples with Mommy, Auntie Heather, Ami, Auntie Brittany, Connor, and Great Grandma H.
9-29

9-29

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

August 2010

July 26, 2010

Chuck E. Cheese's!
August 1, 2010

My 1st Oreo cookie!
8-1-10

I look just like my mommy, when she was younger, in this picture.
(I'll have to find it to compare.)
8-5

Love my markers!
8-6

Reading baby a book before bedtime
8-6

Yum!
8-10

"I don't know about these chopsticks! I did manage to get one bite in!"
8-13

My first ice cream cone! (With cookie pieces!)
8-13

I LOVE tractors!
8-16

Riding on the train at the fair with Mommy
8-16

Click on the picture to enlarge and see all of the fun fair activities!


Fun times in Chicago
8-21

(l to r) Avery, Gloria, Leah - all same age within two weeks.
We went to Chicago to visit Avery and Leah's moms, who I know from an internet board. It was so fun to see the girls playing together.
8-21

Gloria found the perfect hiding/resting spot in the hotel. Her first hotel stay!


Neighborhood picnic time!
Waiting for Daddy to bring over a plate of food.
8-22


Home Run!