Busy, Busy, Busy...

Grace is such a funny little character... I just have to get out some of what she's up to these days. First of all, she's the most thoughtful 2 1/2 year old I've ever witnessed. Every time we go to meet up with friends, or go over to someone's house, she has to bring them a little something as a gift that she thinks they might like. Sometimes it's a flower that she's picked, other times it's one of her stuffed animals or toys, but those who spend time with her know that she always shows up with fistfuls of little things that she wants to pass out. She's also very specific about who gets what. For instance the other day we were going over to a friend's house with three girls in the family. Grace carefully searched through all of her necklaces to pick out three necklaces that she thought represented each girl. Before we leave she always has to know exactly who we are going to go see so she can choose gifts appropriately.

She's also very caring. When either Jacob or I get home from work, or hanging out with a friend, typically the first kinds of questions out of her mouth are, "How was your meeting, Mommy?" or "How are your students, Daddy?" or "How was your day today?" And I believe she genuinely cares! Today I had to go run some errands before dinner. After we sat down at the table to eat dinner her first question to me was, "How was your time at the store, Mommy?" I replied "It was okay, but I didn't find everything I was looking for." She replied "Ohhh, you didn't find everything you were looking for? Sorry mommy."

Grace is a very genuinely grateful and complimentary child. She's always quick to say thank you. Even for little things like when I tell her I love her, she'll often reply with something like, "Thank you mommy! That was nice of you to say that!" Or when I braid her hair how she like it she'll say, "Thank you mommy for doing my braid so pretty!" She thanks us for just about everything-- I'm soaking it in since I know there might come a day soon when she's not so grateful! A couple of months ago, we were driving in the car and she looked like she was starting to doze off until all of the sudden she popped her head up and said to me "You're such a good driver, Mommy. Thank you." She makes us all feel special. And NOTHING goes unnoticed!... a new shirt, new earrings, new hairdo, new makeup... nothing!

Last little highlight, she's also a little negotiator. If I say 2 she says 3. Then when I say 3 she says 4. We're starting to catch onto her though! Like before bed she'll say, "I just want to watch 2 minutes of the Ariel movie. Just 2 minutes." Sounds convincing. But, once the 2 minutes are over, of course her first response is, "Just 2 more minutes, okay? Just 2 more minutes and then I'll go right to bed." Our friends are always amazed at how fast she begins the negotiating process. Nothing ever gets by Grace and it doesn't help that she's pretty quick with basic math.

I feel like even these mentions are just scratching the surface of her busy little mind, but I wanted to share a few of the fun facts about her! We're obviously very proud of our little girl.

Here are a few recent pics of her and various b-days with family members that everyone might like to see!~