the small town life: Sweet Mary Grace {18 months}

Someone pinch me please, because I must be dreaming. There is no way we are already halfway to Mary Grace's 2nd birthday. Heart, be still.
Here are all the fun things happening in Miss MG's world these days {let's face it, it's really her universe anyway}.

I love dressing her in outfits I made for her!

You're Such A Big Girl.
These last three months have brought with them so many, many changes my dear. You no longer walk, but run everywhere. You've even been know to run from Mommy and Daddy, especially when we are in a hurry you insist on playing chase ;) You are now home with Mommy everyday and I am enjoying this time more than you will ever know. You love being around other kids so we try and get you out during the week: church on Sunday morning/night and Wednesdays, Bible study with the Karr family on Tuesdays, and I still let you see our precious Nanny J every week or so. Since walking, you have bloomed into a little social butterfly and will wave, smile, and talk to everyone {as long as they don't try and touch you since you like your own space}.

Potty Time. We officially started potty training you towards the end of August and you have been doing great! When asked if you need to potty and you will answer either no or run to the potty as a sign that you are about to burst. You have started telling us when you feel you need to 'tee-tee' and you hate it when you wet yourself {you insist on a diaper change immediately}. I was a bit worried about how well you would take to the potty, but with the help of suckers for bribery, you took right to it. There are days when you will only have a couple of accidents. Go Mary Grace! I'm hoping to be completely diaper free by your second birthday. You are currently wearing size 4 Huggies Little Movers Pull Up Diapers and they make potty time oh so much easier than wearing a regular diaper.


{I love those sweet curls}

Size Matters. You are a petite little thing! You wore a dress to church recently that you wore at Christmas last year. Tiny tot! You are wearing sizes 12-18 month clothing. Some of your winter shirts are 24 months and we have to roll up the sleeves. You're in a size 5 shoe {you're little foot is so narrow and skinny}. Speaking of shoes, we went shoe shopping for new Keds and you fell in love with a pair of boots. Looks like you are going to be a little fashionista! You love hairbows, hats are your latest obsession, sunglasses, and purses. You, my dear, are all girl!

At you're 18 month checkup you were 20.9 lbs {4th percentile}, 31.25 inches long {50th percentile} and your head circumference was 46.5 cm. You had actually lost a bit of weight. We've been battling to get some weight on you since your 15 month checkup, so when you registered as losing weight we had to get a bit of lab work done. I almost didn't make it but you were a trooper and did much better than I would have. You have a big appointment coming up and we are hoping to get more details then.

Yummy To Your Tummy. While your weight may not show it, you can out eat your Daddy when it comes to pizza {it's your absolute favorite}. You are not a picky eater, thank goodness, and you eat a wide variety of things. Your favorites are as follows:
Breakfast: oatmeal, grits, scrambled eggs with syrup, pancakes, chocolate chip waffles, our traditional morning fruit smoothies, bananas, cheese toast.
Lunch: mac and cheese, pb&j sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches, ravioli, any type of chicken, pizza
Dinner: Generally you eat anything we eat for dinner - casseroles, soups, beef stew, veggies, fruits, pizza, pizza roll-ups, pork chops, roast.
Snacks: oreos, mandarin oranges are your fave, goldfish, fruit gummies, strawberries, bananas, grapes, yogart, jello was a recent hit with you, pudding, ice cream sandwiches in the birthday cake flavor.
Drinks: whole milk, you love Mommy's flavored waters, and you just started getting a little juice once a day.

Everyday Details. Daddy and I joke that you will end up giving us 7 grandchildren. You are a little momma, my dear. Rarely are you without a baby, bottle, and blanket. You lug those babies around everywhere we go and take such good care of them. You feed them, rock them, stroll them in the stroller, carry them in their carseat... Oh my, the fun we are having! You love balls {everything round is a 'bawl' as you say it in your sweet southern accent} and will make a great pitcher one day. You are big into blocks, more knocking our towers down than stacking them yourself ;). You love books. Music and dancing is your element. You are starting to try and 'sing' and it is so sweet to hear. You love helping Mommy get ready- make up is so interesting to you :). You dig through my closet daily and will walk out sporting my shoes/shirts. You're latest discovery is my jewelry dresser and you have oh so much fun playing dress up! You're favorite shows are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sofia the First, Doc McStuffins, and Henry Hugglemonster {although you may watch 3 minutes of it at the most}. We watch alot of the Disney Classics. Little Mermaid was just released and I think we have broken the record for most views in a single week. You love the outdoors and chasing Louie on the porch. Your fascination with rocks makes me think you would make a great archaeologist. They are like your little treasures and we find where you sneak them inside :) I ran an errand the other day and noticed a 'treasure' {aka rock} on my seat and smiled at the thought of you leaving it there for Mommy. You love our shower and have made it a habit of taking one with Mommy. You play with the shampoo bottles, twirl around under the rainforest head, and cry when it's time to get out. Speaking of twirling, your newest trick involves spinning in circles until you are too dizzy to stand. We get many laughs out of you each day, my dear.

Bathtime Shenanigans. You are a mess when it comes to bathtime. You say 'Uh oh' when you see me open the drain. You know the water is going 'bye bye' as you say, so you start swimming like a little fish, splashing, and squealing {you squeal non-stop all day}. You are great at brushing your teeth and love our nightly family Bible time. You've started flipping through the pages and will kiss Jesus each time you see him on the page. Melts our heart! Speaking of Jesus, church is your favorite place to go right now. The other day we were going to run an errand so I told you to get your bag so we could go bye-bye. You waited for me at the door like always, but you were holding my Bible. I asked if you wanted to go to church and you said 'yeeaah'. Too cute :) You are no longer in a baby/toddler tub, but rather in the big tub so you can have plenty of splashing room!

Sleeping Beauty. I won the lottery when it comes to the sleeping department. You are just like you're Mommy- you love your sleep time. You go down after Bible time {usually between 8-8:30}, we turn on sleep sheep, and you put yourself to sleep without a peep or fuss. You sleep 12 hours usually, sometimes more, and wake up between 8:30-9:30 in the morning. You are such a happy thing in the mornings! You take your afternoon nap after lunch, usually you go down at 1:00 {again, we turn on sleep sheep and lay you down, you put yourself to sleep without a fuss}. Your normal naps are 2-3 hours depending. Heaven!

Mommy's Big Helper. The key to getting you going is the phrase, "Can you help Mommy...". You love to help me vacuum using your toy popper pushing thingy ;) and you will take a dust rag and wipe down for me. You are great at helping pick up toys or putting laundry in the washer/dryer. You will try your best to sweep using our big broom. You know that trash goes in the canister and are really good about throwing leftover snack/wrappers away without me having to ask you. Such a big girl!

From The Mouths of Babes. Everyone said you would start talking our ear off at this age and they were right. You babble constantly and will carry on a 'conversation' for quite a while. Although we can't understand all that you are saying, it is still so much fun. You get frustrated when we can't understand what you want/say, so you will point or pull us to what you want. You know what a dog and cow say and will imitate them when asked- such a cute little bark and moo! You are starting to say short phrases like "Its hot", "I pott-deeee", " I wannn {for I want}. You've even made three word sentences like "I wan jooooos { I want juice}. You're little vocabulary is increasing so fast! I cannot wait to really start hearing how your sweet voice/accent will sound.

Oh, my love, where is the time going? I am trying to soak up all that I can, while I can, because I know I will turn around and you'll be a lady, leaving for her first day of college. I wish you could stay just like this forever, but as bittersweet as it may be, I enjoy watching you grow into the person God has made you to be.

On August 22, 2013 I decided to take pictures to capture a 'day in the life' but never got around to posting them. Better late than never :)