Our little computer whiz

Grace takes after her Daddy in many ways.  He "works with computers" (not really anymore, but he used to.)  He is very savvy about all things electronic.  And he's a regularly handyman.  He can fix just about anything that is broken.  As a child, he enjoyed taking things apart and would spend hours putting them back together again.  Grace is definitely following in her Daddy's footsteps.

For instance, she saw this old computer and pulled the cover off to look inside.

"Yook, Momma.  It's uh bat-ur-ly."  (Look, Momma.  It's a battery.)

"Dare's uh fan."  (There's a fan.)

"Oh, no!  Duh stings all tane-gulled."  (Oh, no!  The strings are all tangled!)

"Doan worry.  I fix it."  (Don't worry.  I'll fix it.)

Hmmm.  This may be a little more difficult that she originally thought.

This, she gets from me.  Help!  I'm in over my head! What do I do now?

And then the David in her comes back out.  She is re-energized and focused and is very determined to put the computer back together again.

And just like her Daddy, she is successful.

Disclaimer:  This computer has been broken beyond repair for many, many years.  We've been meaning to throw it out for a long time.  However, I discovered it in one of the boxes that I unpacked this week, and I put it on the floor with the intentions of taking it to the garage when Grace found it.  Since it was already broken and not plugged in, I decided there was no harm in her playing with it as long as she had adult supervision.  Eventually we will dispose of it.  In the meantime, it's her new favorite toy.

Spring is blooming...

Remember our little planting project?  

Our little plants are starting to grow.  Grace was very excited when she saw them.  She exclaimed, "Yook, Momma. We got bee-bee tees!"  (Look, Momma.  We have baby trees!)  I can't wait until the flowers start to bloom.

Toddler Dreams

Each morning I usually ask Grace if she had sweet dreams last night and try to talk about her dreams with her.  Usually they have something to do with Chloe chasing her or playing hide and seek and the like.  This morning, however, she told me had "uh burf-dee pardy" (a birthday party). 

So I asked her who's birthday party it was.  Her response:  "Mine!"  Did you have balloons at your birthday party?  "No, jus one boon."  (No, just one balloon.)  What color was it?  "Peent!"  (Pink!)  What about cake?  Did you have a cake?  "I ate cate and tock-lut iceteam."  (I ate cake and chocolate icecream.)

Who was at your birthday party?  Did Stephen come to your birthday party?  "No Stee-bin stuck in pay-house."  (No, Stephen's stuck in the playhouse.)  What about baby Luke?  "Bee-bee Yuke tum to my burf-dee pardy."  (Baby Luke came to my birthday party.)

Did you get any presents at your birthday party?  "No.  No peh-sunts.  We pay!"  (No.  No presents.  We played!)  What did you play?  "We pay wif Toe-y"  (We played with Chloe.)  Did you have fun?  "Me and Yuke paid wif Toe-y.  We had fun!"  (Me and Luke played with Chloe.  We had fun.)  What about Stephen?  Did Stephen get to play with you?  "No.  Stee-bin stuck in payhouse!"  (No.  Stephen's stuck in the playhouse!)

Did you play with Mammee or Pappy?  "No Mammee in Pappy at Pappy's house."  (No, Mammee and Pappy were at Pappy's house.)  Is that where Stephen was?  "Yep.  Stee-bin stuck in payhouse at Pappy's house."  (Yes.  Stephen's stuck in the playhouse at Pappy's house.) 

Well then.  I guess that explains everything.  Except how Stephen got stuck in the playhouse and if he ever got out...

My pregnancy this week

This is what our baby looks like this week (according to online research).  Baby is starting to look like a real person!  I can feel Baby move now.  When I am lying down at night I feel little flutters about 2 inches below my belly button.  It feels like a little butterfly flying around inside.  David hasn't been able to feel Baby yet.  That will come in another couple of weeks I think.

Some interesting pregnancy facts:  It is possible to tell whether we're having a boy or girl, but our ultrasound isn't scheduled until next week.  And we've decided not to find out.  We think the surprise will be a lot of fun.  Our baby's heart is now pumping 25 quarts of blood each day.  And Baby's bones are starting to harden.  It's amazing how much Baby is changing from week to week.

Rainbows

Tonight Grace came up to me and David said, "Tum own.  I need to show you sum-fin."  (Come on.  I need to show you something.)  And she brought us into the kitchen and said, "Yook!  I made uh wain-bow."  (Look!  I made a rainbow.)

And sure enough, she had made a rainbow with her letters.  She amazes us sometimes.

Then she asked, "You yike my wain-bow?"  (Do you like my rainbow?)  Yes, baby, we certainly do. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Will you be my buddy?

An afternoon in downtown Mobile

Today we drove to Mobile to watch the afternoon Mardi Gras parades with our friends Aaron, Bobbi, and her son Keegan.

It was so crowded that David and Aaron dropped us women and children off a block away from the parade.  Look at that tree.

It reminds me of Toomer's Corner after a football game, except it's covered in Mardi Gras beads instead of toilet paper.

Anyway, Bobbi and the kids and I caught the end of the parade while we waiting for the men to find us. 

About 15 minutes later, David and Aaron finally found a parking spot and met up with us.  Then we all waited for the parades to come back by.

Grace climbed on the railing in eager anticipation of the "puh-aid" (parade).

So did Keegan.

Before the parade started again, police officers on motorcycles rode up and down the streets doing tricks.

This guy got a monkey on his back as a treat.

Soon the parade started again.

There were many beautiful floats.

And pretty girls in antebellum dresses.

There were clowns and marching bands.

The kids had a great time catching and eating moonpies. 

And they loved the beads.

They had a lot of fun dancing to the music and running around together.

Here's Aaron, with his fiance Bobbi, and her son Keegan.  Soon they'll be a happy family.

And here's my family:  my handsome husband, David, our adorable daughter, Grace, and me.  We had a great time at the parade.  Afterwards, we walked around downtown for a bit and grabbed some appetizers at a local restaurant.  Then we headed home so the kids could nap from all the excitement.