Daddy Bears

After 8 long days gone, Tommy finally made it home from Cincinnati Thursday evening. The girls were so, so excited to see him. Gracyn knew he was coming that night, and she asked over and over all day, "Where my Daddy?" We were waiting outside when his car finally came up the street and she just couldn't stop laughing. She had the biggest smile and she just called his name and laughed and laughed. My die-hard Mama's girls were even partial to him through about Friday evening. That first day they wanted him to do everything with them. Gracyn even told me, "Go away!", when I tried to push her on the swings. By Saturday there were pretty much Mama's girls again.

Unfortunately we only got to have him home for 3 days before he headed back out this morning. So, on Saturday we took the girls to Build-A-Bear so they could make a bear with Daddy's voice. He gave them each their own personal message, then they selected their bear to put it in. Hopefully between the bears and Facetime on the Iphones, they won't miss him too bad.

We are in a rough part of this moving process. As long as all the inspections go smoothly, we will be closing on 0ur house there on March 7th. This house, despite 35 showings and an open house has yet to sell. If we haven't sold by Feb. 20th, we will begin processing our buy-out offer, so that we can be ready for close there. In the mean time that leaves 5 weeks, 3 of which Tommy is gone for. He is exhausted from traveling back and forth, the two hour time change, living in a hotel, learning a new job and orchestrating our re-lo. I am exhausted from taking care of all 3 girls, keeping the house ready to show by myself, taking care of my parts of the move, and just missing him. As much as we aren't ready to leave Denver, we are ready to have some normalcy and to have our family in one spot. Prayers for us are greatly appreciated!

She Spends Some Time Here

As we rapidly approach two years old, Gracyn spends some time in the corner. Isn't that the cutest thing ever? She knows when I tell her time out, what to do. She marches herself right to the corner, and she stays there quietly until we tell her she can come out. Hard not to laugh at her!!! She is working hard on saying please and thank-you and not screaming her demands at Mommy. She is working on talking nice to her sisters and never hitting, pushing or pinching. We are getting there.....lately she knows as soon as she has done one of the above, that she is in trouble. She is already saying, "Time-Out" before I even get a chance to! Gotta love this age!!!

Denver Stock Show

We loved the stock show last year, and were so excited to see it come around again! Tommy had Martin Luther King Day off work and the girls were out of school, so we loaded up and headed out for the day. We had a great time, but we were definitely SPOILED last year when Miss Debra was here as a judge. Her judging perks included a great parking spot, grounds admission whenever we wanted, rodeo tickets, meal tickets and more. This year, we had to shell out some serious dollars, but it was worth it. Like last year, the Stick Horse Rodeo was the HIGHLIGHT of our day. The girls were precious. Even Gracyn entered in this time. 2nd to that event, the girls liked walking the show barns and watching people bathe their horses in preparation for their shows. FUN!!!

Stick horse contestants waiting patiently.

She's off and she is serious!!!
A perfect jump from Reagan.

Gracyn is up, but she is not too sure about the whole thing.

Sister finished her own run and then was back to help.

Blue Ribbons all the way around.

Peek-a-boo

Ten Gallon Hat

Gracyn in the saddle.

Reagan in the show barn.

And, she is out.

Despite my strict instructions to "LEAVE IT ALONE UNTIL MOMMY COMES HOME!", this girl lost her first tooth, while I was in Cincinnati. It is funny because even though there were no signs of loose teeth, I had been telling her from the time I planned the trip, that she better not lose her first tooth while I was gone. Then, sure enough, Wednesday evening, the night before I left we were eating dinner and she said her mouth felt funny. I checked it out and she was thrilled to discover that she had her first loose tooth.

We spent the evening working on it. She wiggled, I wiggled, we both wiggled some more. She asked me to pull it out and I tried, but it just wasn't ready. She was still wiggling away the next morning, when Tommy and I left for our flight. She called me that afternoon to report that she had pulled it at school. She was beyond excited for her trip to the nurse and her treasure box. She couldn't wait to go to bed that night, in anticipation for the tooth fairy. The tooth fairy did not disappoint. She left 5 golden dollars and sprinkled both Addison and Reagan with fairy dust while she was there! Good job tooth fairy!!!

I love her little snaggle tooth smile. She looks adorable!!! Though the smile is a reminder that the first loose tooth is basically step one down a long, expensive orthodontic road!!! Better start saving up for that! :)

2 more for me

After I wrote Gracyn's post, I remembered two things she does right now, which I love.

~The girl LOVES toothpaste. She is still using the fluoride free, training toothpaste, so it isn't going to hurt her. But still, I am not sure she should EAT IT, which is what she does anytime she gets a chance. I have even put it up high in the medicine cabinet, but that doesn't stop her. She can climb on the counter, open the medicine cabinet, open the toothpaste and then she will eat it out of the tube. She eats up as much as she can until someone finds her and stops her.

~Addison is Sissy and Reagan is Rea-Rea.....always. That lead to this conversation.

Me: Gracyn what is Sissy's name?
Gracyn: Aaa-Dis
Me: What is Mommy's name?
Gracyn: Mommy, Kim
Me: What is Daddy's name?
Gracyn: Daddy, Tommy
Me: What is Rea-Rea's name?
Gracyn: Reagie-Bear!!!

Apparently Reagan is rarely called by her name around here. We do call her Reagie-Bear often....don't know why! Gracyn also REFUSES to say her own name. She won't say anything when I ask her what her name is, or she might say Me. Given that the girl speaks in complete sentences, I know it isn't because she can't say it, for some reason, she just won't.

21 Months

I have to count the months, every time someone asks how old she is. By the 3rd child, I just know that she is the baby, around 1 1/2 and though I don't really like to admit it....getting very close to 2. Funny, when I see other people with children the same age, they seem so big and grown up, while I consider Gracyn my baby. I guess that is what happens with the last child. Here are a few of my favorite things about her right now.

~If she hits or pushes her sisters she puts herself in time-out. I have to remember to get a picture of her with her little nose pressed into the corner. It is hard not to laugh at!

~She gets VERY frustrated if they get in her business right now. We are working on talking nicely but her instinct is to scream loudly at them.

~Same goes for me.....we are practicing "Please Mommy!".

~She loves Elmo, reading bibles (which is what she calls all books), playing Pat-A-Cake, the computers at the library (not so much the storytime), Baby Lanie, fruit snacks, coloring and playing hide-and-seek.

~We used to convince her it was bed time by telling her Baby Lanie (her new Bitty Baby) was tired. That worked for a few nights. Now, she learned how to tip Baby Lanie up-right, so that her eyes open and she tells us, "See Baby Yanie, Wakey Up!'.

~She is crazy about a set of dive sticks Steve and Dannea gave the girls for Christmas. She likes one with a turtle on top the best, but she also likes crabby and froggy. She sleeps with one of them most of the time.

~She is water crazy. She loves the bathtub....particularly lately, with our new colored bath drops. She loves to go swimming at the rec center with Daddy, and will jump in the shower anytime we let her.

~She still goes to Addison most of the time when I tell her no about something. And, most of the time Addison will do anything she wants.

~She is the first to express compassion when someone is hurt. She always checks on her sisters if they are crying and she always kisses everyone's boo-boos.

Such fun watching her grow up and seeing her little personality develop. Sad to see the baby chapter of our lives closing, but such fun looking forward to all the things we can do with 3 big girls. Gracyn should be well settled in Ohio, by her 2nd birthday. Hard to believe that she won't even remember Colorado!

Adventures in House Selling

So, our house has been on the market just a few days shy of one month. In that time, we have had around 25 showings, which considering the time of year and the market is amazing. 6 or 7 of those have been second showings. One ended with the client buying a super-cheap foreclosure a few streets over and the others all unanimously say, "Love the house, hate the backyard!". We knew we were in for some of that. We didn't like the yard, either, however after a few days of house hunting, we quickly realized that Highlands Ranch is not a place you come for large, private backyards and our love for the house won out! After living here, we have come to LOVE the backyard (or lack there of). Combined with the neighborhood park just down the greenbelt, it has been perfect for our needs. The 25 showings, almost all of which have been weekdays (during Tommy's work hours) have provided for some interesting days! It is like a running a marathon to get the entire house beautiful by myself, get the girls and I dressed, pack up whatever we need for the day and get out. It is no exaggeration when I tell you, I am sweating by the time I get out the door. Here are a few of our adventures so far.

~Today, it is Sunday afternoon, 23 degrees, snowing like crazy, with maybe 5 inches accumulation so far. We slowly and carefully made it home for church and snuggled up for a snow day. Comfy clothes, baby asleep, fireplace on....and then the call comes for a showing. In just a few minutes we will be packing up and heading to a neighbors.

~I don't have a house key. Haven't ever had a house key to this house. I come and go from the garage and that works just fine. Until, a realtor locks the garage door from the inside. Thank goodness I was able to get in touch with our agent right away, so she could give me the code to our lock box and we could get in. That has happened several times since, and by some miracle, I have actually remembered the code to the box!

~Gracyn went an entire week without a single nap in her bed. Thank goodness for car naps and a car DVD for the big girls.

~I keep leaving the house without shoes for Gracyn. I am usually frantic getting us out the door, and I carry her to the car. I never notice till we get somewhere that she doesn't have shoes, and by that point, I am usually in the time block for showings and can't come back to get them.

~My house has never been so clean, and my car has never been so full of junk!

~I grabbed Gracyn out of bed at 2:42 in the afternoon a few days ago. We had a 2:45 showing and I had put her down to get an hour nap before we had to get out. The minute I opened her door, I knew she had a dirty diaper, but it was too late to change her, and I didn't want the smell to linger. I loaded up the girls, drove a few houses down the street and changed her in the car on the side of the road.

~Thank goodness for Target's enormous shopping carts, that will hold all 3 kids and their $1.50 popcorn combo. We have spent a few afternoons hanging out there. They are happy to ride around until the popcorn runs out.

~One day we had 4 showings in a single day. Unfortunately it was the same day I came down with strep throat. Reagan and Gracyn got it later during the week, in between we juggled 9 showings.

~The girls know that by about 10am, when I have gotten the house ready, not to sit on beds I have made, not to put trash in the upstairs trash cans, and not to use the stainless steel sink in the kitchen.

~The girls love to run in the house after showings and look for business cards on the table. Not sure why this is fun, but it delights them.

~I had to rush out of the house in 15 minutes for a last minute showing last week. This was a big accomplishment, considering all 3 girls were in the bathtub when we got that call.

We are thankful for all the showings and trusting God to sell our house at just the right time (read: the showing this afternoon, Please God!!!). In a few weeks, my mom, sister and Austin are heading in to stay with the girls, why we go house hunting in Ohio.....I wonder what adventures they will encounter while they are here?

Sister Love

Gracyn's not too sure about the drive-thru car wash. But, with a little moral support and some hand holding from her big sisters, she does okay.

Winter

Winter finally came to Denver, bringing with it temps between -5 and 5 and about 6 inches of snow. After a season of unusually high temperatures and beautiful, sunny days, my girls were HAPPY to see the snow. They didn't let the frigid temperatures deter them. Much braver then me, who stood at the back door taking pictures, they suited up and headed out.

The lack of sun and cold left a mess around town a few days, including a packed layer of snow that is seems is never going to melt from our street. That is unusual around here.....typically the sun follows the snow and melts it right away. At this point in the year, being I believe, about 40 inches under our normal amounts of snowfall, we will take it any way we can get it!

Evergreen

The week between Christmas and New Years was a crazy time at our house. Tommy was working, we had 9 showings on the house and one home appraiser here, I had strep throat, Gracyn had pink eye, we spent one night at the mountains, and one night at a friends for New Year's Eve. We are ready to have the house sold, ready for the girls' weekly schedule to start back up, and ready for some normalcy!!!

Wanting to take advantage of Colorado while we are still here, we headed out the day after Christmas to take a trip to the mountains. We stayed at a hotel in Evergreen. The town has a 55 acre lake that freezes over and is used for ice skating in winter. We knew the girls would love it, and we were excited to see some snow, since this crazy warm winter had at that point provided NONE (I am not complaining!).

This is Tommy and our friend from Texas, Jeremy McFarland! So crazy, but we ran into them at the pond. They are in town with her parents visiting family. I knew they were coming, but never expected to see them. That was a fun treat.
Reagan loves skating....notice we didn't find much snow in the mountains, and it wasn't even cold enough for the kids to want jackets. Beautiful day!!!

Daddy and his girls skating on the lake.

Don't let this picture fool you. I was really just starting to feel bad (strep diagnosis came the next day) and Gracyn was being a pill! Poor girl got woken up from a 30 min car nap when we got here. We finally found some popcorn at a concession stand that changed her outlook on life.

After skating, we headed to Beau Jo's for some famous mountain pizza....yummy! Later we swam in the hotel pool and played in the room. Gracyn used her markers to color the hotel bedspread, which they later billed me $125 for. Thankfully after a phone call assuring them it was washable, they indeed washed it out and refunded my money! We won't be packing markers on any future trips.

Monday morning, I stayed huddled in bed, while Tommy took the girls out hiking. We then skipped our plan of going farther west and tubing in the snow, and headed home for me to see the doctor. In between all that, we had 4 showings on the house! Tommy played with the girls at Monkey Buziness and the park, while I slept in the car. Definitely an eventful 2 days!

Potty Time

Much to our surprise, during the few days around Christmas, Gracyn started telling us that she needed to go potty! We take her everytime and she is doing great. If we are at home, she goes often and keeps her diaper dry. We even had to stop at a grocery store, on our way out of town last weekend, because she was telling us she had to go. I marched her into the grocery with the Dora potty seat, in a plastic bag and she did her thing. I am not sure I am ready for this.....I already spend a GREAT DEAL of time with the other 2 in public restrooms, but if she really is potty training herself, I will be grateful!!!

Christmas Celebrations

Christmas Eve was a fun day for the girls and I to just play around the house. We made a Gingerbread House, did a few Christmas crafts, made cookies for Santa, and played at the park. That afternoon, we got dressed and headed to church. Church was a beautiful candlelight service, with all 3 girls with us. The best part of that was when Reagan whispered in my ear, "Mommy, see that lady behind us.....she's prettier than you!". Nice, my sweet girl. I actually knew what she meant.....the lady had a very sparkly dress and big earrings and Reagan was impressed with her jewels. After service we went out to dinner with friends.

Here we are, just home from church.

The girls headed outside to sprinkle reindeer food throughout the yard.

Then they headed inside to prepare cookies for Santa.

Addison wrote him a note, she wanted to make sure he took a cookie to our elf, "Buddy"!

All set in Christmas jammies, being silly before bed. This girl LOVES to stand on her head.

I LOVE reading to all 3 girls in my rocking chair.

When the girls woke up, Gracyn found her new Bitty Baby right away. She loves baby "Laney".

Addison had fun checking out all her stocking goodies.

Daddy and his girls looking at their stockings. We saw what Santa brought, went through the stockings and then had a cinnamon roll breakfast before opening the rest of the presents.

Gracyn and I piled high with presents.

Reagan got operation, which we have had a great time playing.

Matching jammies for girls and babies, from Aunt Tressia and Uncle Bryan were a BIG hit!

They also loved their bouncing princess ball.

We had such a nice long morning just playing and enjoying each other. One of the girls favorite gifts was a Build-A-Bear make your own animal. I spent a good part of the morning helping each girl sew them together. We then ate a big lunch and headed to the park. That evening we drove around looking at Christmas lights. It was a great day together. We are already looking forward to next year.