Christmas time again & 15 months old

There have been some wonderful memories made with Gracie this year that I want to focus on. December 19th we finally put the Christmas tree up. With a little help from Gracie, the tree got decorated and now has to be lit at all times when Gracie is awake, at her request. She knows how to turn the tree lights on and off and makes sure they get turned on first thing in the morning. Here she is decorating the tree, and a photo of the ladies with my new haircut. This is the first time I have had bangs since "Mall bangs" were popular. It really is like relearning how to do you hair and is nothing like riding a bicycle because I don't want to remember how to tease my bangs so much they can stand straight-up with a slight curl to them. Our next adventure that weekend was to celebration Abigail's 4th birthday and Gracie's first big girl party. Now she did her best to keep up with the other kids she adores, though she still needs help keeping steady on her little feet.The Christmas celebrations started after church at the Peters. Gracie was blessed with so many gifts from the family and spent a lot of her time playing with her Cousin Alex's toys the most. The kids and adults enjoyed another Christmas together and hope that next year could be even better. My mother found our old copy of The Little Drummer Boy by Ezra Jack Keats, here is Gracie's imitation of the book with her cousin Andrew trying to join. Below that is a photo of her asking Grandpa to read it again. She knows where the book is kept and will always go to the drawer to make you sing it to her. The girl loves books that are songs. We need more suggestions since she only has two. On Christmas day we celebrate with my family which was a special and quiet day for all of us. We were thankful for so many things this year that really were highlighted on the day. The big hit of the day was a baby doll set she received, not to mention plenty of other items again. The girl is blessed to have such giving Grandparents. Gracie gets so concerned when her doll starts to cry and she does her best to pat and love the baby to give her comfort. Too Cute!Big highlights for 15 months:

• Finally 20lbs. She is 25% for weight and 75% for height.
• She loves to say "Dank do" Thank you often now
• Goldfish and Mac & cheese are some new favorites
• She is a little trouper who can brighten your day as she comes running at you with the biggest hugs that are lasting a lot longer some times.
• When she thinks something is funny or she is trying to be funny, she almost closes her eyes and scrunches her nose.
• When asked she can point to her nose, mouth, eyes, and ears.
• New words: Hawk (jayhawk), Hot, HoHoHo, Dog (before it sounded like da), Thank you, Please is often used as well.
• As stated before, any book that you sing with is wonderful.
• She also loves to "put on make-up" and "brush her teeth" while mommy does.
• The little helper's face beams with pride when she brings my towel to the shower door when I am done showering.
• Ms. Independent wants to walk more in stores, stomps her feet when she wants something, and has learned to throw her head down in frustration. Oh the fun starts.

Gracie is the light of my life everyday and the compass for which I make decisions. All I can do is hope that those decisions bring her the happiness that she deserves, that we all deserve. Here is a photo from her Christmas photo shoot. The top two teeth will be here eventually.

You are all such wonderful family and friends. We wish you a blessed 2010!