Miss Gloria Grace

Friday, September 11, 2009

We're going to miss the mall!

Gloria and I enjoy going to the mall - Gloria prefers playing in the play area and riding on the carousel, while I like window shopping and trying on clothes. The play area is actually pretty neat. They have a treehouse structure with a tunnel underneath, stairs to the top and two (fast!) slides coming down. Then around the treehouse there are flowers, mushrooms, and little animals to climb on and another smaller tunnel.

May 27, 2009

If you had asked Gloria in May to find the bee, pink bunny, skunk, etc, on the floor in the play area, she could go right to them. 16 months and she was a genius already. Rob was playing with her near another baby who was about the same age. He asked Gloria to find the pink bunny and she walked right over to it. The other baby's mom asked how old Gloria was, and Rob told her. She was amazed that Gloria was able to follow directions and recognize things so well.

In May, she wasn't too sure about getting to the top of the stairs and then going down the slides. I actually had to pick her up, stand next to the slide and put her at the top so she could go down and see how fun it was. After that, well, there is no stopping her now. I think she was a little intimidated at first by some of the big kids that go racing past her on the stairs. (There is a height/age limit, but some parents don't care.)

July 15, 2009

"I'm coming to get you Mommy!"

"Could I possibly be any cuter?"

"Nope, didn't think so!"

Now that we're working on getting our house ready to move into, we've been spending every weekend in St. Joe. Two months ago we spent some time with Jason and Corrie who came to visit, see what SJ has to offer, and to experience the Venetian Festival.

"Riding the tiger!"

July 18, 2009

"Nah-ma"

(Llama)

Walking on the sand for the second time ever!
(First time was August 2008!)
She enjoyed it and didn't want to put her shoes back on or get back in the stroller. I don't blame her.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Kitties!

Auntie April and Uncle Zach got two kittens this summer. Gloria loves going over to their house to hold them and pick them up. She sounds so cute trying to say their names - Chopper and Harley. The first few times we were over there, we had Gloria put a blanket on her lap before she held them because they still had their claws.

After that, every morning for a few weeks, when Gloria would wake up she would want to sit in the rocking chair, cover her lap with her blankey and have Boomer sit on her lap. It usually worked out fine, as Boomer is waiting by her door as soon as he hears her in the morning and is purring as we walk in to her room.

"This is Harley!"

July 4, 2009

"I love kitties!"

"Boomer is much bigger than Harley and Chopper are!"
July 12, 2009

Auntie Amy's wedding

"Check out my cool hat! Mommy bought it for me at the grocery store!"

July 24, 2009

"Don't look at me with those longing eyes. You can't have my hat. You'll have to get your own!"

On Friday, July 31, 2009, Auntie Amy got married to Uncle Derrick! Before we had to start getting ready, Gloria helped Poppa "mow" the driveway!

"Just riding around on Poppa's tractor!"

"This is super fun!"

In the afternoon, Amy and her bridesmaids were picked up by a Hummer limo. Gloria took advantage of the situation and climbed right in and sat down. She wasn't sure about walking around, so she just sat and smiled.

"This is the way to ride - a limo!"

Gloria was a perfect wedding guest. She sat quietly through most of the ceremony, and I only had to bring her into the back of the church when Rob went up front to sing. There were a few times when Gloria announced to the church that "Amy" was getting married!

"Where's the bride?"

At the reception, Gloria enjoyed eating the yummy food and listening to some music. She played with Julian, Poppa, and Grandma.

"I'm not so sure about Julian's guy. I think he only has one arm!"

"I'm tired."

As soon as Amy and Derrick's first dance was done, Amy had danced with her dad, and Derrick with his mom, Rob and I took Gloria home to put her to bed. I stayed there while Rob went back to party the night away!

Bridal showers

Let's back up for a bit and review some of the happenings of the summer. On June 13, 2009, Amy and Derrick had their wedding shower. Gloria had a fun time playing with Daddy, Julian, and Poppa. She helped gather the bows and ribbons from the presents so that I could make Amy her bridal "bow"quet.

Gloria and Poppa were in the middle of a serious discussion.

June 13, 2009

"I feel like a princess today!"

"Eh, I feel like a princess every day!"

Then, on July 12, I gave a bridal shower for April. Once again, Gloria helped a bit with bringing me the bows and ribbons so I could make another "bow"quet for April.

"This bow is as big as my face!"
July 12, 2009

The shower was fun and everyone had a good time. But, the show-stealer, attention-grabber was definitely Miss Gloria Grace, or should we call her Marilyn Monroe!

"Woohoo! The vent is on!"

She discovered the blowing vent early on while April was opening presents. She walked over again but the air was off. A little while later, Gloria walked back over and gave us quite a show!

Monday, August 17, 2009

WeePlay

First of all, I must apologize for the lack of updates. Things have been a bit crazy around here with trying to get the new house fixed up, weddings (Amy's and April's) and just having a 1 1/2 year old.

On July 22, I took Gloria to a place called "WeePlay." It's a building that does daycare but also lets children and their parents come and play for a few hours for $8. I figured that Gloria needed something different and it was a rainy day so I called and scheduled us to go in. There were only 2 other children there while we were playing - a 2 year old boy and a 4 year old girl. Gloria had a really great time! She played in all of the play houses, with the kitchens, the dolls, the cars, the bouncy horse, and in the big bouncy-house that was blown up for a bit.