The Sillies

Staying at home with my kids has most definitely been the best and most rewarding job that I have ever had (and the hardest!)  We have so many fun times (and some not-so-fun, of course) together.  We are a trio that enjoys being on the go, and we are sure to get out everyday.  But some of the best times that we have together are hanging out at home in our little playroom.  Here are some silly pictures that I have taken recently...

Matty and his blankies... he's always finding new things to do with them including being a supermodel.

The kids love my sunglasses... in fact, I just found my FOURTH pair of the summer broken today!  Good thing I don't have expensive taste in sunglasses!

Little Miss enjoys walking around with bags.  Yes, she likes shoes and bags - lucky us!  She has Matty's Dr. Suess backpack on here along with her stylish do-rag.  Poor girl had a rough fall today at music class and ended up with a bloody nose - that's why she may look a little beat up in this picture :(

Matty is becoming a pro at building tents!

I just like this picture because it gives you a good idea of how wild and crazy Gracie's hair gets :)

The working man do-rag

Beach Weekend!

We packed up the minivan and headed down to Ocean City on Friday morning for the weekend.  We were lucky enough to have Nanny and Pa join us too.  We have really been lucky with our beach weather this year - another perfect weekend! 

Can you see the sticker on my glasses?  They were a birthday present, and I was so excited to get them on that I forgot to take off the sticker...

Here is our adventurous little one running for the water by herself!  We have to watch her every second!

Ha!  I love this picture of Mike running after her!

She thought it was so funny...

And Pa had to run after her a couple times too...

And here is our cautious little boy.  He is not a fan of the water...

Gracie, on the other hand, is a little fish.  She loves the water!

I love this picture!  See how Matty is holding his feet up?  He didn't want any water to get on them.

A typical Gracie Girl expression as she hoards the balls...

Matty gets so tired of me snapping pictures all the time :)

Look at all of Gracie's new hair coming in around her face.  She's got SO much hair and it is lightening up a little too.

Gracie's obsession with shoes continues as she just about stands on her head while trying to put my flip flops on.  This little activity kept her busy for quite a while.

And she got it!

Brady came to the beach too!  Poor guy doesn't have as much fun as we do because dogs aren't allowed on the beach... but we snuck him on after dark :)

In the Genes

Today Grandma, Gracie Girl and I had our annual birthday shopping day in honor of my 3*th birthday tomorrow!!  This is a tradition that goes way back for my mom and me, but last year we were so excited that Gracie was able to join us as an itty bitty baby.  This year's shopping day was quite a bit different with a sassy toddler in tow. 

Gracie was so adorably funny and such a little lady while shopping.  She insisted on carrying her new beach bag that Grandma got her.  And she went nuts in the Nordstrom shoe department.  The girl has style too - I was really impressed with her choices :)  Some people may say that I have created a monster, but I think it's just in the genes.  She was born a tasteful shopper :) 

Lucky Kids

Matty and Gracie are two of the luckiest kids on the planet because they have the best Daddy ever! Not to mention all their grandfathers... Pa, Papa, and Grampy!  

Matty worships the ground that his Daddy walks on.  He wants to do everything that Daddy is doing, and asks him a bajillion questions a day.  Matty's favorite place to sleep and cuddle is still the same now as it was when he was a newborn - in his Dad's arms.

Gracie Girl's face lights up at the first sight of Daddy, and she starts singing her favorite original song, "Dada".  I still can't figure out why Mike got a song, and I didn't - but I guess he deserves it :)   

And I thank God and my lucky stars everyday that I have such a wonderful partner to raise our most precious blessings with.  Happy Fathers Day!! 

Goofball!

Such a little lady!

Our surprise for Mike this Father's Day was pictures of Matty and Gracie for his office.  He only had one of Matty when he was 3 months old and one of Gracie when she was 8 months old, so it was time for an update.  Grandma and I took the kids to Picture People last week.  It is close to impossible to get a good picture of these two very busy kids together, but I think they did a great job!

Gracie is 15 Months Old!

Gracie had her 15 month appointment with Dr. Olivieri today, and she has grown A LOT in the past 3 months!  When we went to her 12 month appointment, Gracie was on the short side - below the 50th percentile which was weird to me since almost everyone in both of our families (except Nanny:) is tall.  Gracie shot right up the past few months and is now 31 inches tall (70%)!  She is 23.6 lbs and still has a big old head!  Gracie is such a tough cookie - not even shedding one tear while getting her shot!

Not only has Gracie grown a lot in size, but she's got a BIG personality for such a little girl!  She is talking so much, and her favorite word is "dada" - go figure :)  She loves him so much, and has even made up a little song about him that she sings when he comes home from work.  She also still loves to "talk" on the phone, and gets excited whenever she hears a phone ring. 

Gracie loves, loves, loves shoes.  It is so scary that at such a young age, I cannot even walk by a shoe department without her throwing a fit.  She especially loves the shoe department in Nordstrom (who doesn't?!) - and has already talked her Daddy into buying her a least one pair of shoes there. 

But as much as she is a girly girl, she can certainly hang with the guys and hold her own.  She doesn't let anyone push her around (especially Matty).  And she rarely cries when she falls - she just jumps right up and keeping moving.  She still loves to play with Matty's trucks and has now started to like his workbench and tools.  Matty calls her a "working girl."

Gracie still loves to sleep (yay!), and she is still LOUD as anything.  In fact, I think she is getting louder by the day.  We are definitely going to have to start working on her inside voice soon :) 

Today the doctor said that Gracie looked so much like a little girl and less like a baby.  I have been thinking that exact same thing lately.  It makes me a little sad, but so excited for everything to come!  We love her so much!

Look at her long legs!

Gracie and Brady are the best of friends.  Their friendship is really centered around food.  Brady loves to eat, and Gracie loves to throw food - so it was meant to be.

The Dinosaur Museum

Today we went to the Dinosaur Museum (Delaware Natural History Museum) with Daddy!  The Dinosaur Museum is one of our favorite places to hang out during the week when Daddy is at work.  We always tell him all about it, but today Matty was so proud to take him along and show him all the fun things we see and do there.  I usually never get to take pictures because I am too busy running after one (or both) of them, so I snapped a couple today...

This picture is so blurry, but I still love it because it shows how grown up Gracie Girl is becoming!

Whenever we are visiting the museum, we spend the majority of our time in the Nature Nook at this pretend water table.  They both love the pretend water animals, and Matty usually puts on quite a show with the animals - different voices for each animal and all :)

There are probably 5 stools around the table and they fight over the same one!

Gracie Girl posed for one second in front of the giant clam, and I was lucky enough to catch the picture.

...and she's off!  She doesn't stay in one place for long :)

I love this picture that we took of Matty the first time we ever visited the museum a couple years ago.  Matty was about the same age that Gracie is now.  He is such a cutie!!

Another vintage Matty picture.  So cute!!!