Beach trip with Nanna and Gran

Nanna and Gran finally took a vacation.

We found a wonderful 2 bedroom condo with a complete kitchen on the ground floor with beautiful views in Orange Beach.

This is the first time in a really long time that Nanna and Gran have taken a vacation.

They really seemed to enjoy it.

They walked down to the beach and watched the girls play in the sand.

Both Grace and Faith had a blast with Queenie.

Grace built a sand castle.

And Faith took a nap on the beach.  Vacations don't get much better than that!

Where's Faith?

This morning I went into the girls' room to wake them up and get the day started.

Much to my surprise, Faith was missing from her bed.  Perhaps she had a bad dream last night and decided to climb into the bed with her big sister...

Alligator Alley

Today we took a trip to Alligator Alley.

And we watched big alligators eat pig.

We learned some  interesting facts, too.

Did you know that alligators can go over a year without food and still survive?  And their bodies cannot digest food in temperatures below 55 degrees.  And there's no outward difference between male and female alligators.  Who knew?

Then the girls held another baby alligator and we walked around the park feeding some gators of our own.  What an awesome day.

We went to the pier tonight

And Faith held her first shrimp.

I was a little surprised that she voluntarily held it.

Then we watched a lovely sunset together before heading back inside.

Potty training attempt in progress

Faith really likes watching her big sister go potty like a big girl.

So I decided to let Faith give it a try.  She really liked sitting on the potty and using the toilet paper, but wouldn't you know that she just wouldn't go...until I put her diaper back on her again.  Looks like we'll be waiting a bit longer before trying this again.

A pony in her tail

Grace's hair is getting so long!

Long enough to "put a pony in her tail" as Grace would say.

Although some curls still manage to escape.

Piggy tails work a little better.

Of course, I think she looks darling both ways.

It's hard to believe my little girl is four years old now and her hair is long enough to pull back.  Sigh.  Somedays I wish I could just slow it all down for a few years...

Grace's 4 year checkup

Today Grace went to her 4 year checkup.

She is really growing into a beautiful little girl.  She's still tall and skinny.  Grace weighs 39 pounds (50%) and is 42 inches tall (90%).  She's also a very brave little girl.  I opted for her to receive her booster vaccinations so she received 4 shots today.  The nurse told her to lay on the table and told me to hold her down.  Those shots really looked like they hurt but Grace didn't cry or move a bit.  She winced as she got the last one and only said, "That really hurts.  I don't like shots!"  I can't blame her.  I don't like them either.  But she got a lollipop and we went out for ice cream afterwards.  And now Grace doesn't need any more shots until she's 10.