Double Digits

Devon and I are officially old. Grace turned ten on April 18th and I can't believe it! We are so lucky to have the most wonderful ten-year-old ever. We would be lost without her.

The lucky birthday girl had not just a birthday but an entire birthday weekend. It started Friday night with a friend party. We had eight little friends come over for a "salon party." My fabulous sister gave them each a fancy hair-do and I gave them manicures. The rest of the time was spent eating and being silly.

Claire was sure enjoying all of the attention!

Showing off the do's.

On Saturday one of the girls who couldn't make it to the party to Grace out to lunch at Cafe Rio. So grown up!

Sunday morning we opened presents and had crepes for breakfast. Grace said the blessing and said that she was thankful that she would be able to spend her birthday with so many people that she loved. Later that day my family came over for dinner and cake. Aunt Katie made a beautiful and delicious cake and we had a blast!

Nonni (Devon's Mom) made this cute apron and sent a cookbook and utensils. Super fun!

Way to go Grace!

Grace won second place in the school carnival writing contest! This is a horrible picture taken with my phone so I will have to post the poem when we get it back. Great job girlie!

Too Many Cereal Boxes

Tonight I went into the girls' room to read them a bedtime story. I noticed a little drawing taped onto Grace's headboard. It was a picture of a girl standing next to her bed. I saw some writing next to the girl and leaned in for a closer look. It said, "Enlargened to show details." I started laughing and Grace wondered what I was laughing at. When I told her she said, "Well, look how little her bed is. She's way bigger than her bed and I didn't know what to do so I just wrote that." Then I really started laughing.

Grace's Adventures

Grace has done a lot of fun and new things this fall and I haven't taken the time to post about them until now.

Grace's ELP teacher gave them the assignment to build a bottle rocket. I knew Devon would be much better suited to this type of undertaking so I put him in charge. He and Grace spent two nights building a rocket that did, in fact, fly into the air. Super fun! (And I'm really glad I didn't have to do it.)

She also had her first piano recital. I tried to upload the video for the grandparents but it's not working so you'll just have to imagine her fabulous performance.

Grace decided to participate in orchestra this year and tried out the violin. Their first concert was this month. Before they started I expected to be wishing for ear plugs but they were actually quite good! Again the video wouldn't work. Sorry grandparents.

I can't believe she is even old enough for all of these fun things. She is an amazing big sister and huge help to me. One of her favorite things is to snuggle Claire on the couch. And she and Jenna are not only sisters but great friends and really enjoy playing with each other, which is such a blessing for all of us. Love you Grace!

Anybody Need a Cleaning Lady?

One day these lovely ladies decided to wander the neighborhood offering to do cleaning chores for money. (I knew nothing about this until they were done.) Surprisingly, our neighbors were nice enough to take them up on the offer. They each made over $9.00 in the endeavor and had a blast. I'm just trying not to be embarrassed.

What the. . .

Grace is learning cursive in school this year. Each time they learn a new letter they make a list of words they can think of that start with that letter. Once their lists are complete the teacher then writes suggested words on the board. Today the letter was "h". Grace says she was trying to write "heel" and instead wrote "hell". Grace whispered her word to the teacher who then said, "Well, I'm a religious person so I'm not going to write that one on the board." The kids heard the teacher say that and wanted to know what the word was. The teacher told them it was the opposite of heaven and all the other students covered their mouths in surprise. I'm guessing that most of the other kids have only heard it as a swear word rather than reading it in scripture like Grace. The poor thing had no idea it was a bad word and was thoroughly embarrassed and confused. I guess I need to swear more often around the house so she won't be surprised again! :)

You Do Dolls

Amy Stephens related this story to me and I just had to share as well as preserve it for myself. Grace and JJ (Amy's son) were talking this morning on the way to school. They were discussing a boy in their class named Karl who has honestly been their nemesis for three years now. (That's a story for another time.) Grace told JJ that she wished she had a "You Do Doll" which had JJ (and his mother) thoroughly confused. Grace proceeded to explain that it's one of those dolls that looks like a person and when you tell it what to do then the person does whatever you say, hence the name "You Do." I'd kind of like one of those myself! :)

Grace's Day

Saturday was a great day for our family. Grace was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She was quite nervous but did just fine and had a huge smile on her face once it was over. We were so happy to be surrounded by our family and friends. Thank you to all who came--it made our day that much better. Grace is super lucky to have that many wonderful people to influence and guide her. She is such an amazing little soul and I consider myself greatly blessed to be her mother!


(Unfortunately Jenna is conspicuously absent from all our pictures of the day. She was a zombie with a very high fever but was a trooper and came to the baptism anyway.)

Miller Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Familytree - Geneology

Happy Birthday Grace!!

My baby turned 8 on Friday and I can't believe it! She had a really fun birthday that included a pedicure from my sister, an American Idol karaoke party (complete with a microphone cake that my friend Amy and I spent three hours making. I almost cried when I cut it.) and a family dinner at my parents' house. What eight-year-old could ask for more?

For those of you who live far away and don't know Grace like I do, here's what I love most about her:

She is a really great big sister. Usually when Jenna gets disciplined or hurt she runs to Grace for comfort. I often find them snuggled in a corner together reading. I love that for the most part they really enjoy each other's company.

She loves singing. I can't wait until she's a little older and we can really share our love of music.

She is unbelievably smart. I think she will put me and her dad to shame someday. She also loves to read and I can't wait to pass on all my favorite books

She's very creative and loves to do crafts (also something we can enjoy together as she gets older) and write stories. Her teacher tells me she's quite the little author.

She really tries to do what is right and I find myself learning from her spiritually on a fairly regular basis. She's usually the one reminding us to read scriptures or say the blessing.

I can't imagine life without her. Now that we've had trouble having more babies I consider the two that I do have even greater miracles than ever. We love you Grace!!

A day at the zoo

Last week I accompanied the second grade on their field trip. Grace and I spent the day wandering the zoo with five of her classmates. It was significantly more pleasant that I was anticipating but I was quite exhausted by the end. The kids loved it so that made it fun and the weather was beautiful. We were really lucky because Grace's teacher has a connection to one of the zoo directors so the kids got up close and personal with the tortoises. We went behind the exhibit where the kids were able to touch the tortoises on the head and watch them eating carrots. It was great! We also saw a peacock with its tail fanned out, which was amazingly beautiful. Unfortunately I was too slow getting my camera out so I don't have a picture of that one.

I've discovered that the older my kids get the more I appreciate opportunities like today. It won't be long before Grace prefers that I stay home from her field trips. It was well worth the annoying stuff (like riding on the bus with 60 exceptionally loud 2nd graders) to enjoy a day with my daughter!

My New Speech Assistants

I just had to share this fun story. Have you noticed how your kids pick up on everything, even the stuff you don't want them to hear? I think my kids may become speech pathologists whether they want to or not just because they're surrounded by it all the time. Actually I don't think that the outcome of this story was necessarily intentional but it's pretty great.

Apparently, Grace and her friend JJ (my friend and business partner Amy's son so they see each other all the time and are like siblings) have helped a little boy at their school. There is a boy in JJ's class who has selective mutism. He did not say a word for the entire first semester of school. Grace and JJ invited him to play "Doggies" with them, which apparently means that one person is the owner and the other kids are the dogs. JJ would give a command and Grace and this little boy were expected to respond. After a little while the little boy began to speak. The kids report that at first they would have to give him pretend doggie bones as a reward but that he no longer needs a reward. The game has also changed to something called "Parking Lot" which requires more talking and he has done just fine there too. It has even extended into the classroom where he has also begun speaking more.

What the kids don't know is that they have provided for this little boy what no speech therapist could have done for him. And their technique was great--JJ gave the request and Grace provided the peer model--it was perfect and they didn't even know it! Way to go little ones!