Hmmm, coincidence?...

Last night, 10:38pm. As I exit the bathroom and prepare to slide into bed I hear pitter pattering little feet down the hall and into my room. It's Gracie! With her shoes in both hands wanting me to put them on her... am I surprised that the child I layed down an hour and a half earlier is bright eyed and bushy tailed? Yah, kinda.

Shoes are gone and with a cup of juice in her hand she lays back down. And I nervously go to sleep.

3:15 am. Pitter patter, pitter patter... "Mommy... Mommy". She actually made it to my room though the hallway is basically dark. (Side note: there is a night light down stairs in the living room that lightens the stairwell. But, other than that there is only Gracie's night light in her room.)

"Get back in bed Gracie." I try to lay her down, she only wants to sit in her bed and read a book. So, I close her door and go back to bed myself.

4:15am. Don't know how I awoke exactly an hour later.... kinda weird. I hear random "ABC songs" and other music coming from her room. Her CD player is off!

She is sitting on a chair, playing with a toy. She never went back to bed!!

"Gracie, get in bed now!"... spank. Then the nice mommy refills the juice. I cover her back up and return to bed.

She slept the rest of the morning... until I got her up at 8am.

However, this is the interesting but, oh so expected part: Bryant had no idea!!! He says this morning, "Well, I guess I'm putting her crib back together..."

Really? I think maybe we'll just buy another baby gate to put in her doorway all night long. Sure, it's not going to keep her in bed... but, it will keep her out of my room. And... she will get tired enough to climb back in bed herself, right?!

And Bryant, no more Benadryl before bed dear...

Big Girl Now...

Well, Gracie is officially on her way to "Big Girl" status.
Potty training is amazingly easy, she tells us when she has to go and her diaper is usually dry. This weekend we were out and about and she held it the whole time until we got to a potty! Praise the Lord, girls are SO much easier to potty train then boys!! I've always been told that little fact but now I'm a believer!

And... to top it off last night Bryant switched the crib into a big girl bed! Kinda scary at first, but she did amazingly well!

Our Weekend...

Last night after finishing up dishes, I walked outside to find Nathan playing in a "dirt pile". Oh, what a proud momma I was! Dirt piles bring back so many fond memories for me of my early childhood. My brother and I would spend hours playing at the dirt pile near the swing set when we were growing up. We were definitely not afraid of any dirt... but at that point in my life I don't remember being to fond of showers...hmmmm..... that kinda sounds like Nathan too! Well, anyways Uncle Greg I hope your proud.

And today... it was in the 80's-90's outside and beautiful. So, we ventured downtown. We walked around the monuments a little bit then headed to one of the museums. I must say that Bryant and I are determined that we need a Sit and Stand stroller! Nathan gets tired of walking and we usually just have him stand on the basket or sit on top of the stroller... but, I don't think that can be too comfortable. So, I feel a shopping experience coming on...

And my blog would not be complete without a picture of Flat Stanley. Flat Stanley traveled all the way from North East, PA to stay with us for the month. Our mission was to show him around town and return him back to the wonderful little girl at Davis Primary School with some photos and a note on his adventure. This was our primary goal of our trip downtown today. Flat Stanley will make his trip back to PA on Monday. It was nice having you as our guest Flat Stanley... especially because I didn't have to cook anything special or worry about having a clean house while you where here! Buddy, you can come anytime!

Flips and Rolls...

Last night, Nathan was jumping off of the slide and into the jumpoline in the basement. Well, he was told to stop or he would get hurt and he replied with, "But mom, I want to do flips and rolls just like the girls do...". So, Bryant helped him do a somersault in the jumpoline... here's the result:

Cookie Time...

Today, the kids helped make cookies. After I mixed up the batter they...

scooped and rolled...

baked...

and most importantly ate! Of course the chocolate goes first!

Momma's therapy...

So, some of you may think that living in DC is just the coolest thing... but not this momma. At one point over the weekend I told my extremely patient and understanding husband that I just wanted to go home... to my church, my friends, my family. Obviously, that's not going to happen and after all the wishing and hoping... I knew that too. When reality sets back in, we just simply have to make the most of what we have. Afterall, God brought this opportunity to us, to prosper us not to harm us. And He has opened doors and moved stones out of the path the entire way.

Good news: I really enjoyed church yesterday. And took some advice from a very wise lady and stepped out of my comfort zone and up to the donut table and mingled with some fellow Sunday School parents. So, thanks Jen... I think all I needed was to "go get some juice"!

After church, I decided to complete the weekend therapy with a little bit of shopping. I mean typically if you ignore the total at the end of the receipt every once in awhile, then shopping can be very rewarding. I always feel so guilty about buying myself anything, especially when I have two children and a husband that also require clothing and shoes. So, after I picked up a few things for myself I headed over and grabbed some new clothes for my kiddos. Sorry Bryant, nothing for you this time.... maybe on my next therapy session purchase!

Here's Nathan rockin his new diggs... he asked what a rockasauras was... then rocked on!

Gracie is sportin her new dress and momma's new $2.80 jewelry. Gotta love sales!

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29: 11

A New Day...

The past two days we've been singing, "Rain rain go away, come again another day..." and today it is 63* and BEAUTIFUL!!

Yesterday we got to spend the evening with Bryant's cousin and her family, they were in town on vacation. They came over to our house for dinner and then we went back to the hotel with them for some pool time and card games. Oh, how I love visiting with people (especially because I still know no one here)! So if you're reading this friends and family: COME VISIT ME!

Today was Gracie's 2 year check up. So, we headed south to Woodbridge... we love Woodbridge, it's so nice there (only sometimes it can be a royal pain getting there... ugh traffic). I can't remember all the stats from the appointment but I do remember that she is a healthy 26 pounder! After words, the kids and I had lunch at Chick Fil A (the Woodbridge location is the closest to us). When I told Nathan that we were going there he started singing his newest hit, "I'm in love with Chick Fil A...", those are actually the only words, he just repeats them several times.

Anywho... nice weather... yes!