SUCKER!!!!

Do you see it??? Well, do you??  Do you see the word "SUCKER" written all over my face????  I'm driving to the department store for our Christmas photo session.  It's Grace's first Christmas in Canada and I want to do something special to remember it.  I'm telling myself, "I'm just going to get the small package, I just need a few photos to pass out to grandparents, aunts and uncles and a few close friends. Really, that's all I need.  After all, I'm not working, I don't have extra money right now, those photo packages are expensive.  I don't need a whole bunch of different poses."  For half an hour I drive to the mall telling myself that.  

Then I came home. With the whole CD.  50 different poses.  Sucker.  They saw me coming a mile away!

The Most Beautiful Touch in the World

Grace is 16 months old today and she is just not her usual "party self."  I have a sick little girl on my hands right now.  Just an ordinary cold but the poor thing is so congested and miserable I feel sorry for her.  I've been lucky in that Grace has really been quite healthy.  She had a cold and a few issues when we first came home but after that, she's been great.  Right now though, Grace has hardly been able to sleep with this cold.  She sounds like a freight train while she's sleeping and wakes herself up continually. The first couple of nights, I brought her into my bed to comfort her and of course she likes to sleep about 3 centimetres from my face.  I should feel the beginnings of a cold within the next day or two....
When Grace sleeps with me, she often reaches out her hand throughout the night to check for my presence.  It's the most beautiful touch in the world and it melts my heart every time.  It's soft and gentle and she just places her hand on my cheek or takes my hand and curls her fingers around it for security.  There's never been a better moment in the world, even if it is at 3am!

Water Baby

Grace started her first swimming lessons this week.  My girl loves the water!!!  Here we are getting ready.

This is how eager she was to get to that water!  Wait  for me Grace!!!

Once we went outside to the pool platform I could hardly hold her back, she wanted in that water so badly!  She would scramble to get down out of my arms and crawl straight for the edge of the pool!  Good times!

Fort Knox!

So, I'm pulling clothes out of the dryer the other day and I turn around to see this:

"Oh, no, no little Grace," I say, "you can't go up there."  I gently bring her back down to the floor with me.
A little while later, I am putting away our coats and shoes and I see this:

"Oh, no, no little Grace, you can't go up there."  I gently bring her back down to the floor and continue putting away the diaper bag, etc

I look again and I see this:

"Grace,"  I say, a little more firmly this time, "you can't go on the stairs without Mommy.  Back down you go."  I gently bring her back to the floor.  And then.... she heads straight for the stairs again.  Apparently she can go up the stairs without Mommy!

In fact, somehow she has managed to learn this task so quickly she is at the top of the stairs before I can even get to her!!!  The best part of all was her smile as she turned around, all proud as a peacock of herself  (or maybe just to see if I was watching, that little monkey!)!!!


The next day, I am getting her lunch ready and I see this:

And this:

And this:

Hmm, I think.  Time for more baby gates!  In comes my good and industrious friend Karen to the rescue! She arrived Wednesday night and helped me install two more gates at the bottom of each set of stairs.  I myself could barely help her as Grace chose to stay up late and keep us company (insert fake smile with gritted teeth here!) So I now have a total of 6 baby gates installed and I feel like I live in Fort Knox!  And I'm once again thankful for good friends!

Autumn Continued

Some family photos, just because they turned out so well, and because my camera is broken so I don't have the pictures I wanted to add to my next post.  Will hopefully be buying a new cheap camera tomorrow, ugh

23 years worth of grandkids!

This one is going in a frame on the wall!

We try to just ignore him when he gets like this....

I don't even think you can see all of us, but we're all there, all 20 of us!

LOVE!!!

I swear I have the best looking nieces and nephews around!

Best looking, except maybe this one shot of D.  What's up with those eyes!!? 

Autumn Festivities

Just a few pics of all of the things Grace and I have been doing to enjoy this Autumn season.  It's been nice being off work and having the time to enjoy the season and take Grace out to places.  Thought I better get around to posting them before Autumn is over and the Christmas season is here!! Yikes! I think it's too late!!!!!

Grace with her new friends.

Decorating pumpkins

Wagon ride with friends

Blue Mountain with mom and my sister

Grace, not sure what to think of this sheep trying to eat her toes!!

Beautiful Blue Mountain, Collingwood

Giving Mommy a kiss on Thanksgiving weekend!