Those CHEEKS...

We can't get enough of them.

They're like little pincher magnets.

And smoocher landing pads.

Happy Birthday, Auntie Julie!

We were so sad when our friend Julie moved to the Tri-Cities to be near her family. Her birthday was back in October, but we celebrated it this weekend when she came to Spokane to visit. Julie loves Gracie and our friends, Kalei and Alea VanSickle--and they love her!--so as part of her gift, we took pictures of her and the girls on the Whitworth campus.









Happy Birthday, Auntie Julz! We miss having you close by!

SteamROLLER!

After weeks of playing with her on the floor, cheering her on, and waiting patiently to see her roll over...(yes, Dad is watching her with his eyes closed--simply RESTING, Gracie--and snoring?!?)...


...She did it! Back to tummy!


...of course she rolled over when neither of us were LOOKING, silly girl. Go figure. :)

New Shell Needed...

Well, this little Hermit Crab hung on to this sleeping home as long as she could. We drew the line at 5 1/2 months, when her feet and her head could touch the ends simultaneously--she is now OUT of the family bassinet. Don't ask if she's in her crib downstairs... We know she could handle it...but lazy mom and dad have chosen to "transition" her to the pack-and-play in their room so that they don't have to go fishing for her downstairs in the middle of the night.

We're so glad she got such good use out of the little pink and white bassinet. Do you think that she knew that she's part of the fourth generation to sleep in it?

Many Spots to Sleep

Walk slowly, Jeff. I think there's a sleeping leopard in our bed...

Photo Shoot

Gracie helped me play around with the cloth drops that I have for taking pictures. She--and those cheeks!--proved to be a fine subject--even if her smile wasn't in full form. It WAS before her morning Cocoa Puffs...

Tummy's Not So Bad...

Grace is starting to tolerate tummy time...in 4-minute increments. :)

Gracie, Meet Rice Cereal...(The Video)

If you're interested in watching the show and have a few minutes...ENJOY!!

Gracie, Meet Rice Cereal...

Tonight we gave Grace her first taste of "solid" foods. We're pretty sure she liked the rice cereal, but we a not sure if she ATE more or WORE more...

Room to Stretch...

Gracie has finally graduated to the bathtub after five months of bathing in the kitchen sink. She loves the new space to splash!

Trick-or-Treat!

Boo.

We've heard that nicknames just happen. All of a sudden you realize that you've been calling your child some silly name that has nothing to do with the name you scrawled on their birth certificate. And so is the story of Grace's first nickname: Boo. I'd like to say that Jeff and I really love Monsters Inc. (featuring a cute kid named Boo) or that I talked Jeff into making a daily reference to my favorite book, To Kill a Mockingbird (Boo Radley). No, Grace's nickname was created because Jeff and I don't speak fluent Russian. Doesn't "babushka" sound like a synonym for "cute, cuddly BABY"? We thought so. We referred to her as Babushka, then it got slimmed down to Bushka, and then just plain Boo. We have since learned that we were calling our daughter GRANDMOTHER in another language. Foreign language has never been our strong suit...