Summer Vacation as begun!!!

Life at the Smith house is BUSY…and messy and loud…and happy! 

Our little girl is constantly changing and growing more independent and it is amazing to watch, but incredibly tiring as well.  She is constantly on the go, which means we are constantly on the go.

 Graycen’s 16 month amazing-ness:

 

·         loves shoes, especially new shoes J  She’s had a recent growth spurt, which has resulted in needing some new (bigger) shoes.  Once home, she has to try them on over and over again AND check herself (and her shoes) out in the mirror.

·         Graycen also LOVES to read – really she loves to be read to.  Her favorite books at the moment are “Goodnight Gorilla” and “Guess How Much I Love You.”  We read these books at least 10 times a day, but I am not complaining. 

·         developing vocabulary: 

       -  ball

     -  "hay-yah" = Halen

     - puppy

     - "doh" = gross

     -  ouchie

 

·         understands simple directions and/or questions.  Garrett and I have LOVED this new ability.  It is so awesome to talk/ask her things and have her understand and do them.  We can ask her now if she is tired and wants to go upstairs to bed, if so, she will walk to the stairs and try to open the gate.  She will also take us to something if we don’t understand what she wants more of...

 

 

 

 

LOVE THEM!!!!

15 Months

Rockin' the gown...

Graycen had her 15 month check up with her doctor.  The nurse insisted she wear a gown, so she wouldn't get cold.  With rolled up sleeves and extremely cinched drawstrings, she was able to walk around without tripping. 

Graycen continues to hold steady in the 25th percentile for height and weight:

• 20 lbs. 8oz.
• 30.75 inches long

She did great, just a few tears shed when she was given her shots. 

Updates since the last post....

...Graycen is walking on her own and now there is no stopping her.

...has added a new word to her vocabulary - "nana" (banana).  While shopping in the produce section of Trader Joe's this weekend, she pointed to her favorite fruit and said "nana."

...can point to her eyes, nose, and tummy with fairly good accuracy.

Future Model?

Last weekend's photoshoot.... 

My brother and his girlfriend met us at Bothell's Country Village to take a few photos of Graycen.  Here are a few of my favorites. 

 

 

 

 

A Long Overdue Graycen Update

Did we have the month of April this year?  I’m not sure what happened to it, if we did J

 

At 15 months, Gracyen….

…is learning to brush her teeth – all three of them.  In fact she gets quite irritated if we forget to give her the toothbrush while she's taking her bath.  She will point and grunt until we give it to her.

 ...loves to walk, as long as she is holding our hand, or pushing one of her toys around.  She will stand by herself for a few seconds and has taken a couple of steps, but still doesn’t have the confidence to let go.

 

...has mastered going up the stairs, just need to teach her how to come down.

 

….loves being outside.  Seattle has had some GORGEOUS weather in the last week and we have been outside enjoying the sunshine, grass, trees, flowers, and birds as much as possible.  Graycen is quite content going for a ride outside in her stroller, especially when the ride ends with ice cream.

…talks ALL THE TIME!!!!  Her talking is mostly babbling, but she is able to say a few words/sounds to tell us what she sees or what she wants.  A few of her favorites are:

·         “bir” – bird

·         “mah” – milk

·         “puh puh” – puppy

·         “bah bah” – bye-bye

·         “mmmm” – when something is delicious

·         “uh oh” – when something falls, accident or intentional.

 

 …she LOVES the dogs, especially Halen.  Halen is incredibly tolerant of her pulling and pushing, such a good dog!

 

 

Weekend fun...

I helped host a baby shower on Saturday for my friend Brooke.  We had a great time celebrating Brooke and baby boy.  She's quite the ham when people are around....

 

She really liked the built-in foot rest :)

 

 

Graycen had her 12 month check up last week.  She IS getting bigger, but continues to be on the small side, weighing in at 18.4 lbs. 

 

12 months has definitely come with some changes:

• whole milk!!!  Graycen has weaned herself from nursing and formula
• more independence - Graycen wants to do things by herself (reading books, eating, figuring out her toys, etc.)
• a tooth - FINALLY!!!!  We've tried about a million times to snap a photo of her adorable little tooth with no luck. 
• walking with her push-walker, walking around all furniture and stand-up toys. 
• messy - this has been the most challenging, for me, as a controlling-neat-freak, I've had to learn to let go of the need to keep everything cleaned up all the time.  I do sweep/vacuum quite often, but that's to control the ridiculous amounts of dog hair. 
• Lots of personality!!!!
• Loves to look out the windows!

What a Year!!!!

We have a big girl now. 

 

It blows me away that Graycen is one – how did that happen?  I swear she was just 8 months last week?  But, what an amazing year it has been. 

 

Despite all of my reminders to Graycen that she is still my little baby, I’m pretty sure she woke up on Saturday (her birthday) fully aware that she is now a big girl.  She wanted to feed herself, wanted to drink her milk from a sippy cup - not a bottle and only took one nap.  Although excited for the independence that she is gaining, I’m going to miss the baby stage.

 We celebrated Graycen’s big day in Spokane with our families.  It was great to have everyone together, including Graycen’s great-grandma, to spoil her with love and attention and lots of chocolate cake.