Blog Makeover!

So what do you think about my NEW and IMPROVED blog?! Danielle at the Design Girl Studio did it and she was so fun to work with. I highly recommend her if you're thinking about a little makeover yourself. Thanks Danielle!!!!

OC Fair

Last night Grace and I went to the OC Fair with Grandma and Pa. We had a blast eating yummy fair food and checking out all kinds of farm animals. Here are some of the photographic highlights:

Funnel Cake - BEFORE

Funnel Cake - AFTER - as Grace says "Full Belly"

(OK, I should explain, she did not demolish this alone!)

Hanging out with Pa and Grandma

Seeing the cute baby piggies, which Grace talked about all day today and she insists one of these babies is the "Daddy Piggy"

Baby Paige & Teaparty

Baby Paige came by with her parents on Friday night to spend a little quality time with her friend Grace since they hadn't seen eachother in a little while. Grace just loved seeing Paige...helping her with her toys...stealing her paci...and watching her sleep. I think Grace feels like a big sis to Paige (6 months), and her mom and I can't wait for the girls to be old enough to play together. Isn't she cute? She is such a content & good little girl. We had a nice time catching up and having Chipotle for dinner.

And, before Grace took her nap today she organized a little tea party for her stuffed animals and Rosco. She inititated this on her own (including dressing the stuffed animals up in pearls) and I thought it was too sweet not to capture. I love how she includes Rosco in all her little adventures.

Grace's Dedication

Today was a special day for our family. Grace was dedicated at our church, Pathways. Dedication is similar to baptism but it is our (as parents) commitment to God to raise Grace to know and follow God. Mike and I will do our best to lay a foundation through teaching and example to help Grace make the decision to trust in Jesus. As part of the dedication process they ask the parents to choose a "life verse" for the child and we chose the following for Grace...

"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen." 2 Peter 3:18

We liked this verse because of the reference to "grace" and it felt like it really fit the occasion since Grace is only at the beginning of her life journey and we hope that as she grows physically, she grows spiritually as well.
We went to Panera after church with Nana, Grandma, Pa, Ash, Jeff & Trina, and Grace was in heaven with most of her favorite people around. Unfortunately Papa couldn't join us because he was in Montana.

Oh, and another little highlight of the weekend - my neighbor told me about a new cupcake shop in town that is basically a competitor to Sprinkles and we checked it out on Friday night. The cupcakes were SOOOO good! If you live in the area, I highly recommend Frostings. The have some amazing flavors and I can't wait to go back again. My neighbor is going to start a cupcake business and, lucky for us, we get to be her market research guinea pigs!!

My Princess Grace

SeaWorld

Grace had her first trip to SeaWorld yesterday with Grandma, Ash, Grace and I, and we all had so much fun seeing Shamu and cool whales, penguins, dolphins, polar bears and more. I was amazed that Grace sat thru two shows - Shamu and Pets Rule! She loved the dogs and cats in Pets Rule and...well ...what little kid wouldn't love seeing killer whales jump high into the air and make huge splashes right before their eyes. Thank you so much Grandma for taking us!! What a special day.

Let Freedom Ring

Gotta love the 4th of July...warm weather, stars & stripes, yummy BBQ food and fireworks!! Grace spent the day with both sets of Grandparents so she was in heaven. We went to the park, BBQ'd, played outside and had an all around great day. We're hoping next year Grace will stay up for the fireworks - she almost made it this year, but fell asleep just a little too early so Mike and I watched them from our room. Happy Independence Day and we hope you all had a great 4th with friends and family!!