Just a Little Randomness

As you've probably already gathered, I like to blog about specific events that occur on a given weekend, holiday, etc. But... I've come across a lot of random pics we took this summer that didn't really correspond to any significant event, yet they are still blog-worthy.

For example, earlier this summer Chad took GG to The Day of the African Child at the World Forestry Center. I was home sick with a nasty summer cold (those are the worst, right?), so it was a nice opportunity for Chad and Geege to spend some quality one-on-one time together.

The celebration featured traditional African music, dancing, artwork, etc. Here are some pics of a drum performance that Chad and Gracie got to see:





Chad said there were also some displays like this African house. It appeared to be a scaled-down model that was just Grace's size!



Grace's favorite part of the day was this dance performance. They got a great up-front spot, so their view was completely unobstructed.







Chad and Gracie shared a yummy African lunch, then did a little shopping. Grace was particularly interested in the hand-made baskets and jewelry, as you can see from these pics:





I'm so glad they enjoyed their day together, but I definitely want to join them next year!

One afternoon, Noelle and Rubie stopped by on their way up to Seattle. It was a short visit, but Gracie and Rubie had a great time running around together in the backyard.











As I've mentioned before, one of Grace's favorite places is the park. We have been to nearly all the playgrounds in our community, so on a quiet Sunday afternoon, we decided to take Gracie to a park she'd never been to before. It had several slides (her favorite):





... as well as this climbing structure she seemed to enjoy:



Here, she's showing us a treasure she found (probably a seed pod or something):



These are some shots of Gracie playing with Eas. Although Eas is her all-purpose word for candy of any sort, she also uses the term for playground bark dust. I just LOVE her little imagination!





She looks a little unsure about this endeavor, but she made it across without incident.



During one of our shopping excursions, Chad and I found Gracie a new winter coat, a tiny white belt, and some hot pink cowboy boots. When we showed them to her, she insisted on trying them ALL on at the same time with only a diaper underneath (my mom does fashion shows with Gracie, so as a result, Grace LOVES to walk the runway with her new duds). Notice how the pink poodle purse ties the entire ensemble together so nicely:





So guess where the next pics were taken?! Yep, you guessed it. We were at Grace's favorite park. I'm telling ya, the kid LOVES the park. If, at any time, you were to ask Grace what she wanted to do, I guarantee you she would ask to go to the park. Such simple pleasures make her happy. Isn't it great?!





It had rained the night before, but Gracie didn't mind the water one bit.



We've been taking Gracie to Gymboree since she started walking, yet I realized I haven't really posted a lot of pics from her time there. It's crazy to think that when she first started going to Gymbo classes, she could barely walk. Now, she runs circles around the place!

Here's a pic of Gracie during the balloon song. Everyone holds onto the balloon (the stretchy rainbow-colored fabric ring), and they all spread out as it gets blown up bigger and bigger until it gets so big that it finally pops (everyone lets go of the ring). It's one of the regular songs at Gymboree.



Here she is going down a slide on her tummy:



Not sure what's going on here, but Gracie certainly looks delighted:



Ah, the parachute song. First, the kiddos run under the parachute while the teacher and parents dance around with it. Then, after it falls to the floor, all the littles run to the middle in anticipation of bubbles!



Gracie LOVES to have bubbles blown on her belly:

Here's Gracie having fun with the swinging tambourines.



On this particular day, Gracie got to have a snack at her table outside. It looks like she's tentatively saying 'cheese' in this shot:



Now THIS is the quintessential Gracie face. Look at those eyebrows! I love it!



And this happy, giggly face is just as beautiful:



Well, that's it for today. My goal is to be 100% caught up with this blog by the end of the week, so be sure to check back often!