connected again!

We finally have the internet again.  And better yet, we finally have our own place again!!  We moved into our house last weekend, and Jacob and I still can't believe that it is really ours. Well, I guess it's the bank's--so kind of them to lend it to us.  So here are some pictures of some recent parties, purchases, and visitors!

Gracie's 2nd birthday.  She picked (okay I guess I picked) german chocolate cake to celebrate.

Jacob hard at work assembling Gracie's first kitchen.  

It was hard for her to talk to my mom and dad with so many exciting things going on.

This picture makes me laugh.  She knew just what to do with every feature of the kitchen.

And here is our new estate :)  

mmmm.  New carpet.  I love carpet.  I know it's all the rage to install hardwood floors everywhere, but I will always love carpet.  

This room used to be dark blue.  We painted it yellow which, needless to say, makes the room much brighter and happier. 

Basements are hard to come by out here, so it was great that we were able to find a housewith a bonus room over the garage.  It will serve as Gracie's playroom and a storage room.  

The living area.  No, we will not be displaying our tv as the focal point of the room.I'm sorry, but I think that's tacky.  Hopefully we can find an art piece big enough to cover the hole in the wall.

Ahhh...the beautiful washer and dryer that we inherited with the house.  No more late night trips to the laundry mat.  

Let the princess stage begin.  And I'm blaming Katie for it--she gave Gracie this ensemble for her birthday. 

It has been determined that Ellie looks like Dopey from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

A civil war confederate cemetery that we visited.  One of the biggest graveyards of its kind.  

My beautiful sister Katie has officially become the first of my family to come visit us in TN.  She spent her Thanksgiving break with us and we had tons of fun.  I miss her already.  

The end. 

reminiscing and looking forward

Just a quick note to say that 2 years ago today my life changed forever.  Don't worry--in a good way.  Gracie was born and, although I had no idea what I was doing, I have somehow managed to keep her alive for the past two years.  And along the way I've learned so very much.  Probably the most obvious, yet most significant is that, in the words of Dr. Seuss, "a person's a person no matter how small."  I never realized how real and alive a little human being is.  They have feelings, they have a brain, and just like any normal human being, they want to be loved and understood.  They want to understand the world around them.  Parenting is much easier and fascinating when I remember that.  

Now, two years later, we have a home with a cute yellow room for Gracie!  And tomorrow is finally the day when we get to move in.  Pictures will be posted soon! 

little makeup artist

This is so funny. It was bound to happen at some point, and I am still laughing about it. This morning Jacob sent Gracie downstairs to show me a "surprise." Gracie proudly entered the room looking like this:

This is mascara, in case you were wondering. Actually, I'm really impressed. She had a lot on her eyelashes, which means that somehow she put it on without getting it in her eyes. Apparently she skipped the blush and went straight for the tricky stuff.

And this is what Ellie thought of it all :)

keys and lamps

Whenever I lose anything, the lost items are constantly on my mind, and I'm always slightly annoyed that I can't find them.  For those who know me well know that I am often in this state of  annoyance, but I am happy to report that what was lost this past week has now been found.  My camera and two credit cards.  aaahhhh, the relief.  Yesterday at the closing for our house the seller handed me 3 keys, and said that a few more were on the way!!!  Wow, I have never owned 3 of the same keys in my life.  I am always losing keys, so we usually only have one house key to share.  So I'm excited to have a great head start on house keys so maybe I should pull out the key finder that Mom gave us and actually use it before all of them get lost.  

So here is the picture you have all been waiting for.  Our incredible Halloween ensemble.  But seriously, I'm starting a new tradition of hassle-free, non-traditional Halloween costumes. No offense, but the world has plenty of witches, princesses, and fairies, but when is the last time you've seen a complete living room lamp set?  Well here's one:

 

Oh, did I mention that Gracie won the best costume award for her age division?  And collectively, we received the funniest costume award.  Yes, it was a great accomplishment.  I laugh every time I think about it.  I really enjoyed having this lamp shade over my head because I didn't have to look at people as we paraded around during the costume contest.  Sometimes it's just nice to hide behind something and not have to look at anyone.  Or maybe I'm just weird...

  

  And lest I forget, here is little Ellie the lady bug.  mmmm, I just want to squeeze her.  Babies often just end up looking like little stuffed animals on Halloween--I love it!

  

butterfly kisses

Gracie has a new fascination with butterfly kisses--blinking your eyelashes against another's cheek.  She has quite the butterfly kiss with these eyelashes.  aah, it melts my heart.

What an ironic time to lose my camera--Friday is a momentous day.  Ellie's first Halloween, oh and we're closing on our first home!!  I will get pictures of the home somehow or another, and stay tuned for some creative Halloween costumes... Happy Halloween!! 

a little trim

Okay, I'll admit, I once tried to cut Gracie's bangs and they turned out a little boyish due to her curly hair pulling them up a lot shorter than what I had accounted for (it made me laugh). So while I've been patiently waiting for the bangs to grow out, the rest of her hair has gotten a bit scraggly. Due to the fact that kid-friendly hair salons are hard to come by in this part of the country, I decided that with a little bit of chocolate and a movie, I could get the job done myself.

the prep

the chocolate

a still 2 year old!

the clean up

Okay, I know you're all expecting an "after" picture, but let's just say that Gracie was sick of the camera by the end of the night, so this was the best I could get.



p.s. Thanks Mom for the fleece pjs--perfect for the freezing basement!!

update continued

This update will continue sooner than expected due to Ellie's unwillingness to be rocked to sleep.  I have finally turned her over to the swing.  I always feel bad resorting to a machine in order to get my child to go to sleep, but sometimes I just get too impatient.

I think the previous post brings us up to where we are now--good ol' Fairview, TN.  A tiny little town about 45 minutes southwest of Nashville.  Some of Jacob's family lives here so we decided to venture outside of Utah for a time and live in the country.  And it really is the country--which is both good and bad.  The good is that it is sooo beautiful.  Especially now that all of the trees are turning colors and the humidity has eased up.  The bad is that there is not much in the way of convenient shopping, and sidewalks are a foreign concept, not to mention the fact that I miss my family.  But I am slowly getting used to it all, and while I don't know if I'll ever quite fit into this culture, I imagine that my memories will be fond of this place.  And so, get ready for some more pictures from the past few months...

A little too excited for a bath.

Hiking partners...Dad and Gracie

Not so excited about the wagon ride at Thanksgiving point.

The good looking Griffin boys at Abbi's wedding.

Belle and Gracie 

Our current abode--the in-law's.  But not for much longer!  We will hopefully be closing on our first home on Halloween Day!!

 Grandma Griffin and Gracie feeding the horses (the horse bit so hard that it flipped the carrot out of Gracie's hand and right back into her face.  So sad, but kind of funny)

view from the front yard.