Graceyn 18 Months

   Last Monday, Graceyn turned 18 months old!  Its so hard to believe that she is already half way to two.  She acts more and more like a toddler and less and less like a baby each day.  Even though she is the youngest, she is fiercely independent and has to do things her way.  She also wants to do things like the big kids.
     On Monday, I took her in for her 18 month well check up.  She now weighs 22.4 pounds (48%) and is 31.6 in tall (46%).  She is growing just beautifully and her pediatrician said she looked just perfect.
     I  recently decided that this is definitely one of my favorite ages.  They are still sort of a baby, yet they start doing so many fun things.  Gracie is proving to be quite a talker and very verbal like her sister was.  She picks up a lot of words from her siblings.  She makes me laugh because she often calls me "Mom" instead of "mommy" or "mama".  I know she gets this from Ashlyn and Dawson.  She is really starting to put words together and starting to say sentences.  Today when we dropped Ashlyn off at school, she said, "bye bye sissy".  Just now, Joey asked, "Who wants to go downstairs?" and she said, "I do!"  She can pretty much repeat back any word you ask her to say.  I know she is going to be talking up a storm very, very soon.  It is so wonderful when they can finally communicate exactly what they want.  She can now say, "outside" to let me know she wants to go play out back.
    It's also really neat to see how much Gracie is like Ashlyn was at this age.  I don't think they look a lot alike, but wow are they a lot alike.  She is so much like Ashlyn was.  She loves to draw and color.  She will grab any pen, pencil, or marker she can get her hands on and start scribbling away.  She also loves music.  She loves to go sit at our piano and play.  She is actually pretty good at playing the keys.  She also loves, loves, loves to dance.  It's her favorite.  Any time she hears any kind of music, she immediately stops whatever she is doing and starts dancing.  It's so darn cute!  I plan on getting her in dance classes as soon as I can.  She has pretty good rhythm and I see dancing in her future!
    Gracie continues to love books.  I read to her as much as I can every day.  She usually gravitates to the same books.  She loves looking at the pictures and turning the pages.  She often times will take a book to her crib with her and fall asleep looking at it.  She truly is her mother's child!
      Gracie is also really getting into pretend play.  She has started to enjoy baby dolls and loves feeding for them and caring for them.  She has also discovered our big play kitchen/food area in the basement and loves to play with it.  She is really starting to interact and is able to play with her siblings and cousins now.
        Gracie is also proving to follow in her brother and sister's footsteps with her love for her blanket.  It is so amusing to me that she is so attached to her Little Giraffe blanket just like her brother and sister still are.  She asks for it all day and she must have it to sleep.
      Gracie now goes to daycare one day a week.  It has been a little bit of a difficult transition for both of us.  She has never really been away from me aside from short times at the gym daycare.  The first two days she was very clingy to the daycare provider, but she had a much better time this week.  I know it will be a matter of time before she loves it there just like her brother.  It helps he is there with her all day.
   Gracie by far has been our best eater.  She continues to eat whatever we put in front of her.  She loves meat and can put away a lot of it!  She also continues to love her fruits and vegetables.  Today, she was begging me for some red bell pepper.  She is such a grown up girl at dinner and sits in a big chair and uses her spoon and fork like a pro!
     Well, that was a short glimpse as to what Graceyn is doing at 18 months.  She is just such a bright and beautiful light in all of our lives.  She makes me smile and laugh each and every day.  I am so incredibly blessed to have her as a daughter.

At the park playing

She found a door her size

She is constantly trying to keep up with Dawson and Ashlyn.  One day 

She loves to swing so high

Trying on her dad's shoes.  

Such a cool girl with her shades on.

She loves her sausage for breakfast.

Leadville Colorado & Southern Railroad Trip

  About a week ago, Joey and Dawson had a very special weekend.  Joey and Dawson left on Saturday and headed up for one last trip up to the cabin.  Joey said the weather was beautiful and they had a great time.
    The girls and I stayed at home.  We enjoyed our boy free time by having a girls night with Katy and Ella.  They spent the night and we watched Cinderella, did nails and makeup, and played restaurant.  The girls said it was the best girls night ever!
      Joey and Dawson headed down to Joey's dad's house on Sunday.  They spent Sunday watching football and doing typical guy stuff.  On Monday, something very special happened.  Dawson has seen some commercials on T.V. for the Leadville train.  Every time he sees one, he gets very excited and tells me how badly he wants to ride it.  Joey decided it would be a great activity to do with Dawson and his dad.  Joey said the train was just perfect.  They picked a day where the weather was just gorgeous.  It was also prime time for the changing aspens so he said they got a spectacular view.  He said there is a lot of history along the way.  Dawson had so much fun.  He got the biggest kick out of giving the conductor his ticket and getting it stamped.  The conductor also gave him a special flattened quarter.
    Dawson came home that night, bursting with joy and he was so excited to tell me all about his adventure.  What an adventure he had!!!

Things are definitely changing up at the cabin.  A lot less green, and a lot more brown!

The train

Waiting for the train

All ready to go

Taking in the sites

Beautiful Colorado scenery

Such a great moment

Showing off his ticket

Papa bought popcorn for the two of them to share

The front of the train

Reading his Thomas book on the train

Wow what a great picture!

He even got to sit in the conductor's seat!

Cross Country

    Another cross country season has begun for Ashlyn.  Like the past two years, she was very excited to sign up and run.  She practices on Monday and Friday mornings.  Thankfully, my work schedule allows me to run both days with her.  I thoroughly enjoy our runs together.  She has come a long way and runs most of the time during practice.  Most days she will get in 2 1/2 miles before school starts for the day.  I love that her school is supportive of running and makes it such a fun activity for kids.  Over half of the kids in the school are part of the team.  The participation is amazing!
     They have a total of 3 meets during the season.  Her first meet was Friday after school.  As luck would have it, a cold front came through Friday so it was a bit chilly.  She now races with 2nd and 3rd grade.  Her race course is also quite a bit longer.  We all came to cheer her on. Our girl did so good and truly gave it her all.  She did not walk at all, which I am so proud of her for.  She was definitely in the top ten of the girls crossing the finish line.  Way to go Ashlyn!!!

And they are off!!!

There she goes

Coming in 

Her and her best friend Sofie ended up crossing the finish line together

Ashlyn with her Uncle Steven who is such a good coach to her

Trip to Arizona

   Labor Day weekend we went on a very special trip.  My Grandma Rocks recently turned 90 years old!  To celebrate such a special woman and such a momentous occasion, my entire family went to Scottsdale to celebrate.   Our family has grown so much over the years and it was so neat that everyone was able to make it out.  We got to see cousins and second cousins we have not seen for a very long time.  It was such a great weekend and we had such a great time spending time with family and celebrating such a special lady.
    My sister's family and my family decided to drive down there.  We decided to make it easy on the kids and divide up the drive over two days.  We left on Thursday morning and made it to Albuquerque.  The kids did really well in the car.  I feel bad for Gracie because her car seat is still rear facing so she can"t really look out forwards.  She also still has never watched T.V. or a movie, so she can't do that to entertain herself either.  She managed to stay entertained with toys and did very good.
    We checked into our hotel for the night and went to a nearby Mexican restaurant that the front desk recommended.  It was very tasty and just what we needed after a long car ride!  After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and the kids got to go for a long swim to get out some of their energy.  We headed to bed and were up bright and early to make our way to our destination.

Silly girl at dinner

The boys really enjoyed the chips

We are such a big group

    After a quick breakfast, we hopped in the cars and headed towards Scottsdale.  It took us most of Friday to get there.  One of Joey's dad's long time friends lives and works as a patrolman in one of the small Arizona towns we drove through.  We were able to meet him along the road and Joey got to have a quick reunion with him.

Joey and Abel

    We stopped for lunch about an hour outside of Scottsdale.  The kids were ready to eat and stretch their legs!  Again, they did so good in the car.  After lunch, we drove the rest of the way to Scottsdale.  We were all so excited to check out the resort.  My grandma and uncles did a lot of research to pick the perfect hotel for everyone to stay at.  They picked the Westin at Kierland Commons which was amazing.  The main reason they chose it was because it has an amazing pool that we all could swim in.  The resort was just beautiful and we were all so pleased with their choice.  We explored the hotel for a bit, got situated, and then headed to In and Out for dinner.  After a long day in the car, we wanted something quick and tasty.  As usual, it was wonderful!          

Walking around the hotel

  My family rented a cabana for the weekend, and we were anxious to get to the pool.  We woke up early Saturday morning, had a quick breakfast and headed down to the pool.  The pool was magnificent.  It was designed just for kids.  It had a beach area, splash pad, and an awesome lazy river.  The water was the perfect temperature and the weather was just perfect.  We literally swam all day long until we had to leave to get ready for a very important dinner.

The boys eating breakfast

The girls having a serious conversation on the balcony

They kids loved the splash pad

Gracie is such a fan of balls

Even though it was hot, the kids still wanted to go in the hot tub

Lazy river

Mr. Muscles

Just floating

I can't even begin to tell you the amount of time we spent floating around this lazy river.  It was so much fun and so relaxing!

Resting in the cabana

This is the life!

     We headed back to our rooms and showered and got all dressed up for my grandma's birthday dinner.  They had planned a special dinner at her retirement community.  It was so nice to get to have dinner with everyone and spend time with family.  The food was amazing and it was truly the perfect way to celebrate my grandma.  They even brought in a photographer to take some pictures.

My grandma with the great grandkids 

Our side of the family.  My how we have grown over the years

My brother, sister and I with our grandma.  

My grandma with all her grandkids and great grandkids.  There is a lot of us!

Another family shot with my grandma

The entire Rocks family

My cousin's daughter Molly is only a few months older than Ashlyn.  They hit it off immediately and had a great time playing together.  

Dawson kicking back

The boys playing at dinner

Dawson is always with his Legos

Gracie and Ella love each other so much

Random picture

Gracie had a great time at dinner  We had a private room so the kids were able to get up and move around.

    The next morning, we all got together for brunch at a local restaurant.  My aunt Debby designed shirts for all of us to wear.  It was fun showing up with so many people wearing the same shirt.  We definitely got a lot of stares!  Breakfast was great and we had a nice time.

Sea of purple

Gracie is a wild one!

We had to use two tables

What a group!

Playing at breakfast

Ashlyn and Molly.  

So festive!

Joey throwing Dawson in the pool.  Dawson could not get enough!

    After breakfast, we headed back to the hotel for another day full of swimming.  We had a blast again.  We swam for most of the day until we had to leave for dinner.  Before dinner, we snuck in a really quick trip to the very close brand new American Girl store.  I can't believe it took Scottsdale so long to get an American Girl.  The girls love the new store and picked out a few things they just had to have.  We went to dinner with my grandma Sunday night.
    On Monday, we woke up bright and early and headed down to the pool again for a little swimming before it was time to go.  We wanted the kids nice and tired before we hit the road.   We had so much fun during our final swim.  I know we were all very sad to say goodbye to the pool and resort.
     We stopped for a quick lunch at one of our favorite quick restaurants, Portillos.  After we were all full and happy,we got in the car for the long drive back.  Since we left Scottsdale so late and because of the time change, we didn't get to Albuquerque until 9:00 P.M.  The kids were a bit hyped up, but the ran around the hotel room for a bit and promptly passed out.
     Thankfully, the drive home was nice and uneventful.  Just the way we like it.  The kids did so well in the car.  I am most surprised with how well Gracie did.  She was very glad to get out of her car seat on Tuesday and be home!
    We had such a great weekend and it was such a special weekend for all of us.  I am so glad we got to celebrate such a big milestone with my grandma and extended family.  It was a time we will never forget.

Yum!

Waiting for food 

Feeling better after eating

Such a silly group

Someone did not want to get out of bed after a long car trip

One last cousin cuddle before going home