Who can talk more than Kristina…….

Yep, it’s Gracie! She is talking up a storm these days (mainly words that only Steve and I can decipher). She says: NO, daddy, momma, do (aka. Dog), gotcha ya, shoe, juice, bobby (her name for pacifier), Shhh, and on and on. And as much as she says, she can understand and remember 100 times more. We can no longer say BATH, EAT or BOTTLE, because if you aren’t planning for one of those to happen when you say the word then look out, because the tears are coming. She understands simple commands too like, go get a book, let’s go to daycare, or take this to momma/daddy.

Independence is also her newest thing. She likes to do everything herself. We can’t feed her anymore; instead she holds a fork in one hand and grabs the food with the other hand. Although it is a messy way to eat, that is the way she likes it. She also enjoys playing in her room by herself sometimes, even closing the door for privacy; which now has a weight in front of it so she can’t do that anymore.

She is growing by the minute, learning every day, and becoming a little person before our eyes.

Running, Part II: 50 miles and counting

I am still running; and actually, I am running a lot. Last week I uploaded my runs to Nike.com and got a note saying ‘congratulations you have completed 50 miles!’ WHOOHOO! Ok, so after I gave myself a pat on the back, I had to remind myself that I have had my Nike+ pedometer for over a year. So although I was proud to have completed 50 miles, I wanted to make sure my next 50 does not take me so long. My goal is to reach 100 by the end of the year. Wish me luck!

Where is the green frog?

Gracie will be 17 months old tomorrow. In my mind that seems so young, mainly because it is, and yet she surprises us everyday with how much she is learning. A few days ago, we were in the living room. Steve was watching The Rangers, Gracie was playing with her toys and I was doing dishes. Since Gracie loves to pull out all the dishes that you put in the washer (especially knifes), Steve was trying to distract her. He said, ‘Gracie, where is the green frog?’ Now, to everyone but Gracie, this means nothing. But she has a book that she and Steve read, and he will ask her to point out things. Where is the yellow duck? blue pond? And green frog? And most of the time she will turn to the correct page and show him. So Gracie looks at Steve, and then the wheels start turning. She begins to wonder around the living room, at first looking in the place where her books used to be. But of course her crazy mother (me) had cleaned and reorganized, moving the book basket to the other side of the room. She paced around the living room a few more times….searching….and then in almost an instant, she goes to the basket, grabs the book and opens to the page of the GREEN FROG!!!

We couldn’t believe it! We clapped and cheered for her, and then she clapped for herself. It was amazing.

And then, as if to remind us that she is just as normal and funky as everyone else’s kiddos, she picked up something off the floor and ate it.