Grace Recommends... (part 2)

Here's the latest in our series of posts on books that Grace is loving right now (and which we are sick to death of reading but keep reading because we'd like to encourage her to love books and reading).

Really, Grace likes just about any of the Dr. Seuss board books, but won't sit still long enough for any of the longer ones, so those will have to wait. In the meantime, her current faves are:



The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss
A wacky book of opposites

Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? by Dr. Seuss
All kinds of fun sounds













Now for the audience participation segment of this post -- what are/were your kids favorite books? What are/were your favorite books to read to them? We're looking to extend the library beyond board books, but aren't entirely sure where to begin, so any suggestions are welcome!

A Fall Photo Shoot

Vic and I realized months ago that there was a hole in our family photography. We had pictures of Grace, pictures of Vic with Grace, and pictures of me with Grace, but very few of the family all together. So thanks to a bartering swap of services (graphic design for photography), we recently had a photo shoot with Dawn Hayes of Lifelong Photography. Here are some of the shots of the family, and a few of Grace as well.

Grace's Favorite "Toy"

In search of toys for Grace, who loves to push buttons, my mom recently picked up a small battery-powered radio with a light. Bingo! Instant favorite. We keep it in the car, and thankfully Grace has not yet figured out how to turn up the volume on her "wiwo". The light seems to be her favorite part though. Apparently, despite the ladybug Halloween costume in the photo, Grace is part moth.

I Don't Feel So Great

extreme fatigue

recurring nosebleeds

dry, itchy skin

shooting leg pain

migraine headaches

lack of appetite

shortness of breath

trouble sleeping due to restless legs

digestive problems

If you weren't feeling at all well, and you had one, several, or all of these symptoms on a near-daily basis, you'd be pretty concerned. These are not normal or healthy. A visit to the doctor's office would definitely be in order.

And if you were pregnant, the doctor would look at you and say, "Hmm, yep, that sounds about right." Not exactly what you were hoping for.

Here's to things (eventually) going back to normal.

Leavenworth Getaway

So about three weeks ago, my wonderful parents

agreed to come stay with our beautiful daughter

so Vic and I could enjoy a relaxing getaway.

We chose to go somewhere close so we could make the most of the time, and the destination of choice was Leavenworth. I'd never been there anytime other than winter, particularly the Christmas season, and it was absolutely lovely. Despite the fact that it was the weekend of the Autumn Leaf Festival, the leaves really hadn't started turning colors yet. No matter. The town was fun as usual, the crowds were quite small, the accommodations at the Abendblume so comfortable, and the food delicious.

Ta-Da! The New Baby Is...

A boy! We're excited that Grace will have a little brother, although she doesn't seem particularly excited one way or the other.

Guess we'll have to clean out the three boxes of cutie pink shirts, flowered onesies, and poofy dresses with bows.

Here are our little buddy's latest ultrasound photos. Oh, and let the name suggestions begin!

a profile shot



who doesn't love baby feet?

Grace Recommends...

We apologize for the long break between blog posts (Melinda has not been feeling well with this pregnancy), and as a gift to our regular readers, we introduce a new feature.

Our peanut loves books. Initially, she loved to chew on them. Then she progressed to flipping them over and over. She now enjoys being read to and helping by turning the pages. In our new blog feature, we will showcase the latest book Grace is reading in case you have young children or just to help you catch up or fill in the gaps on your juvenile literature experience.

So going back a month or two, Grace recommends:


Fifteen Animals by Sandra Boynton
Watch out for the unexpected plot twist at the end!

And Grace's current favorite:


Clifford's Bedtime by Norman Bridwell
By the time we read this one seven or eight times (as Grace requests), we're ready for bed ourselves.

Happy reading!