Fall is in the air...

We were crafty at MOPS this week!

It turns out that when you have a fruit fly problem, having an open pumpkin on your table is not a good idea. It still looks good in the yogurt cup, though.

Coach Drake and Mini-Coach Drake. The girls even noticed that they dress alike! Who would do that to their daughter... Hee Hee...

Check ups with all doctors were good this week. Grace is in the 90th%-tiles for her age and doing well. I always crack up when they ask if she has a 50 word vocabulary. We are well past that! Tonight on the way home she asked me if "Pookie is your favorite book to read?". 50 words... Ha!
And Cooper is doing well also. They say he is in the 25% for weight (16 pounds) and 50% for height (26 1/2in). I'm not sure how - everyone who has seen him comments on how long he is! But he is healthy! We'll find out next week the results of his blood tests to see if we need to adjust his medications. He doesn't like cereal and is just starting to sleep better at night. But, he is usually always happy! And for that I am thankful!

Here is Tim and Cooper waiting for Dr. Lewis at Riley. Tim always gets a lot of work done while we wait. It is nice to spend our waiting time in a confined room - I think that will be nice when he is more mobile; I can just turn him loose and sit back and watch!


He is starting to get his knees under him but then doesn't know what to do. He either face plants or sits back up. I have found him twice, now, sitting up in his crib! So, I know he can sit up from laying down and roll over from front to back - I just have never seen it happen!

We love it when David and Joseph come over after school!

Aren't they cute!

GET OFF OF YOUR BROTHER!!!!

"I'm just looking at him, Mommy."

I'll find out today at the doctor what the signs of internal injuries are... but he always thinks it is so funny! It is hard to discipline her when he is laughing!

Pink nails!

Happiest baby on Earth... by day, anyway!

Grace called me Shelb last night.
I tried to not to show a reaction, but Tim was behind her cracking up!
Whatever.

Fall is marching season!

Sixteen years ago, this season, I was the drum major for the LCHS High School Marching Kings as we marched our way to a second place finish at the ISSMA state finals in Indianapolis at the RCA Dome. I wore these boots. It's about time I got rid of them!!!! They'll be in the garage sale this weekend for the bargain price of $1; or they'll be donated to the local theater for costume purposes!! (Next on my list to come to terms with ...parting with my letter jackets. That's going to take some more time...)

Fall is also a great time to enjoy the local park with Grandma Margaret!

Look at those beautiful teeth!!

(For those of you worried that he might use them on his sister...

I say, she has it coming!

Back to Basics

Well, Grace didn't do quite so well in her big girl bed after that first week, so we are now back in the crib. I actually sleep better and I think she does too! This is the crib that Joe and Tracie were in, a couple of Tracie's kids, as well as me, Monica, and Ben!! Does that make it an antique or what?! Aunt Skeeter said she paid $10 for it used, so I'd say we've gotten our money's worth out of it!

And Cooper is as photogenic as ever with his two new teeth! They just popped through on Friday - his birthday gift for Grace!

Happy Birthday Grace!!

We celebrated Grace's second birthday all weekend. She did a great job and is already asking for "another birthday"!

We started off the day by meeting Tim at McDonalds for lunch and time to play. She is now quite comfortable with the slide and is so cute coming down it!

After dinner (Corn on the cob - her favorite) we had cupcakes and presents!

She got a new "little kitchen" and some play food. Also, she got an apron and oven mitt to match Mommy's! Here she is baking some bread!

Aunt Monica called on the video phone to wish Grace a happy birthday. We were also able to get her on the phone to watch Grace open her gift on Sunday. What fun!

On Sunday we had some family over to celebrate Grace's birthday. Grace loved all her gifts and loved playing with everyone. To name just a few, she is now set to go shopping at Walmart with her new shopping cart, learn to potty train right along with Potty Baby, and play in her "little kitchen" with all her new play food and cooking utensils! Oh, and take pictures of it all on her new camera! Thanks to all who love her so much!!

A little photo shoot with Grandma and Grandpa Cooper.

The Drake girls.

We had our Fall Festival at church on Sunday. The theme was a tailgate party so we pulled out all our Colts gear!

We weren't sure if Grace would ride the train, but by the end of the day, she was doing it on her own, and of course, threw a fit when it was time to go!

On Saturday Tim was with the JV and Varsity volleyball teams as they competed in a tournament at Clinton Prairie High School. Both teams won, and as an "accidental" celebration, on their way home, they somehow got INTO the Tipton County Pork Festival Parade!!! Here they are in their bus, waving from the windows and yelling at the crowds! After a little confusion, (You can imagine! ...Who are these guys?!?!) they were even announced at the grandstand and showed off their trophies! At the end of the parade they just kept right on going out of town and on home! As Grace would say, "Silly volleyball team!"

2 Years ago, Today...

Two years ago today I went into labor with Grace! It was the Saturday before Labor Day, and I thought I'd have my first baby that weekend! Well, I labored all day Saturday, called the doctor on Sunday, went to the hospital on Monday morning, came home from the hospital later that morning, labored more all day Monday, and finally convinced Tim to take me back to the hospital on Tuesday morning to have Grace around 11:00 AM! It was a very long weekend, but OH SO WORTH IT!! Grace will be two years old on Friday! Yea!

We hare having fun building up the day by talking about a party with family and practicing giving and receiving presents. She is such a big girl going potty about once a day and talking about such complex ideas, like how she no longer likes sleeping in her big-girl-bed because it is "frustrating" and that mommy is skinny and beautiful! It's hard to believe she has been in our lives for two whole years! What a blessing she is to us!

Also, on a side note, we'd like to send out a huge Congratulations to the Mahan family (the link to their blog is on the right) as it looks like they will finally get their referral this week for their daughter in China! We can't wait to meet her!