When a Hedgehog Becomes a Butterfly

Sorry it has been so long between posts; we've been busy, busy, busy! BTW: This is Gracie's mom again. Grace is on the move these days, so I'm filling in for her while she explores every corner of the world around her. There's so much to do and see!

Right after our last post, we went to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Woodburn, OR. The 'lips were incredible, as usual (Chad and I have gone with our best friends, the Sages, for years); but this time was extra special because it was Gracie's first visit. She had a great time frolicking through the fields, licking the flower petals, and riding the cow train. She even got to sit in a cow cart named Gracie!

Then, a few weeks later, we began the week-long celebration of GG's first birthday. Her first party was on 4/19/08. Lots of family and friends came to the party. Grace got to play with her cousins and friends, eat her first delicious bites of birthday cake (more like DEVOUR her first bites!), and open lots of great presents.

A day after her first party, we left for our week-long vacation. We stopped to visit Mike, Ashley, and most of Gracie's extended birth family for a couple days. Mike and Ash threw Gracie a wonderful birthday party on her actual birthday (4/21), where Grace got to eat more delicious cake and open even more presents!

We continued on to Boise, ID to visit Grandma and Grandpa K, as well as Grandma and Grandpa T. We had a great time visiting and relaxing, and were the guests of honor at two more fabulous birthday parties where, you guessed it, Grace got to eat a few more bites of delectable birthday cake and open a bunch more presents. Needless to say, Gracie plays the birthday girl role VERY well!

When we got home from vacation, Gracie graduated to the next "class" at her daycare. She is no longer a Baby Hedgehog; she is now a flittering, fluttering Butterfly. We thought Grace was happy in her old classroom, but that was nothing compared to how delighted she is in her new one! Her daily curriculum consists of joyous activities such as, finger painting, singing, dancing, building forts, chasing her friends and teachers, playing outside (a lot), turning somersaults, reading stories, having puppet shows and tea parties, playing with play-dough, and learning about animals, bugs, shapes, and colors. Also, she gets to eat school lunches and only has to take one nap per day. She LOVES it!

Finally, last weekend, Jill and Megan treated Chad and I to a "night on the town" while they watched Gracie. She (and we) had a fabulous time! Gracie got to play with Benji and the puppies while Chad and I had our first date since January. Then, on Mother's Day Sunday, we all went to a beautiful historic lilac garden in Woodland, WA. Grace was on cloud nine, running around the garden, checking everything out, happy to be out in the sunshine among all the lovely flowers. It was a glorious day!

Now, we're all just going about our usual business, looking forward to our next excursion. We're planning a trip to the beach for Memorial Day weekend, so hopefully we'll have lots of new pictures by then. In the meantime, enjoy all the photos from the past couple of months!