Francis Family Fun

We had a great time hanging out with Mark's brother, Brian, and his mini Francis family. His wife, Tia, and their little boy, Dylan, made the trek over from Cleveland to do a little job-hunting in Eastern Washington. Since they came all that way they decided to make the most out of it and head on over to the other side of the cascades to visit us - we couldn't have been more excited to see them! Their son Dylan is 10 months older then Gracie - so, naturally we couldn't wait to see the two little buggers together! I do believe they had a great time playing with eachother. We met up with eachother Sunday night at my in-laws. The adults played boardgames while Dylan and Gracie watched a movie. I made them a little bed on the floor while Tia hooked up their portable DVD player and Grandma popped some popcorn for them. Mark and Brian put them in their jammies and they were set! We got a good 45 minutes of fun before Gracie started getting antsy. We tucked Gracie in bed and then we were able to play about an hour longer - we had a great time! The next day we met at Jungle Playland (where Gracie had her b-day party this year) and the real fun began!!:) We all had a blast playing in the ball pit (except for Tia who was too nervous she'd find a dirty diaper in there!:) AND the slides were contagious! The kids played for 2 hours before we packed them up - they probably could have played a little longer but we were all so very hungry. We had lunch at Red Robin and went back to our house for more boardgames and some dessert. We played a Cranium tournament (best 2 out of 3) in which the guys team won (if cheating is allowed) and the girls team won (if cheating isn't allowed) :) The kids took a super nap (2+ hours) so we were able to play uninterrupted - it was wonderful! We had a great time... lot's of laughing - just really great memories. It's amazing how you can really get to know someone by playing boardgames with them - everyone's true colors were revealed! We don't get to see Brian, Tia, and Dylan a lot so we are grateful for the time we had with them. I had a lot of fun and I look forward to getting together with them again!! (Hopefully sometime soon!;)

It's official...

It's official - Gracie is 2 years old now. We had her birthday party last weekend at 'Jungle Playland' and it was super fun! Initially I was going to do a small family party at our house but as I thought about it I realized that for the same amount of money that I would spend on dinner and dessert I could rent a room at one of Gracie's favorite places, invite some of Gracie's friends, and I wouldn't have to lift a finger - no cooking, no dishes, no mess AND guaranteed fun! So, I made the reservation and sent the invites... it was a piece of cake! Speaking of cake, I made a 'frog' cake this year (last year I made a flower cake for Gracie's b-day) I figured since the invites had frogs on them we would just go with the whole "jungle" theme. For those of you who came to wish Gracie a happy birthday I want to say thank-you... I know some of you traveled far and we really do appreciate it.

I can't believe my little girl is 2 years old. The past couple of weeks I have been looking at photos of her when she was just a tiny little bug and thinking about the sweet moments I had with her - bath time in the kitchen sink, naptime on mommy's chest, cooing in her crib... the list goes on. I wish I would have known how much I was going to miss the tiny, more dependant version of her - I probably would have cherished those special moments more. If only I could go back in time to hear her midnight cries and feel her fury head snuggled up next to my neck. I miss molding her tiny body in my arms and singing tone deaf ballads to her. Every morning as I'm changing what will soon become some of the very last diapers that ever graced her little rump (potty training in progress) I fondly think of the far less potent, runny yellow poop that once filled them. If I could go back in time I wouldn't eagerly anticipate the milestones she made like crawling, babbling, cruising, and walking... instead I would live more in the moment and be pleasantly surprised when she achieved them. I don't know why I'm having such a hard time with this... I imagine it only gets worse. I suppose I should just get comfortable with this "growing up" business - after all, there's nothing I can do to stop it.