Ehbo!!!

Grace has a new friend...a little Elmo. And she just LOVES him!!! And...what's even better than that?? She can say his NAME!!!! EHBO!!! Kinda sounds like a person saying Elmo with a stuffed up nose... How sweet! So one good thing...new word...actually two new words!! She can say turtle too! But it's really hard to understand what she's saying, and you have to prompt her.

The picture above shows Grace trying to put "Ehbo" in the cup!

Ok, now the bad thing she's learned (still good that she's learned how to do something like this with her itty bitty fingers and hands, but BAD!!)

She's learned how to open the fireplace doors!! AHHH!!! The first time I realized she could...I was too late...she was up to her elbows in ashes, and had a hand print over her mouth and nose! I freaked and cleaned her before taking pictures, but it really happened!


If you didn't notice the mark on Grace's arm...that's what's left of her ashes fun inside the fireplace!!! I didn't notice it till I took the pictures, and by then it was too late to clean her arm and retake these!!

Amanda

Chicken Linner

SO we slaughtered one of our chickens for the first time...gosh that's a harsh word...it was SO loud and we were worried about the neighbors, plus we were needing to get over that whole "we haven't killed one yet and don't know how or what it will be like" thing, so Brad did it while I was at a church class on Saturday. Needless to say, it left a sick feeling in my stomach. Looking at the whole chicken in my fridge waiting for today, Sunday Lunch/Dinner, it was weird. I mean, we eat chicken all the time. We go to the stores, glance at all the plumpness of the chicken, pick out what we like, and we KNOW where it comes from. But it's a whole different idea when at chicken was just walking around the yard not too long ago. I put it in the crock pot and hoped it would be cooked by the time we got home from church. I was hoping and wringing my hands that karma wouldn't get us back and burn our house down! But all was fine upon arriving home. The house smelled wonderful, like a yummy cooked chicken...but then I remembered this one didn't come from the store...then came the weird feeling again. We had it with dumplings and gravy...thanks be to the chicken for growing big enough to feed two grown people. I felt the weird feeling throughout my eating dinner...I guess I'll get used to it as this...this "providing for ourselves" continues, but for now, it's just a weird feeling. It's interesting, but also something so foreign to me. In all reality though, if it had to be done again, it would be. And we are just so thankful that Heavenly Father gave us animals so that we could have meat to eat. It wasn't killed for sport, or fun. It gave it's life so we could have nourishment. And it was a new experience for both Brad and I. Interesting, mysterious, foreign and exciting all at the same time!

Amanda

Grace's ATV

I love watching Grace have fun!! It's just so sweet! And though she hasn't figured out, yet, how to push the button to make the ATV move, it's cute to watch her sit on it, stand on it, bounce on it :)





Watch this video!!! SO CUTE!!!


Amanda

Preparedness Challenge

We've done a lot this week for our Challenge...

This week, for the Preparedness Challenge, we... dehydrated carrots! We got 5 lbs from Winco for $1!!! So we got 15 lbs of carrots and went to work dehydrating. It actually didn't take very long, they are beautiful orange still (I was worried they would darken) and it was so fun!! Actually, we did that today, and now there's a second batch in the dehydrator...1/2 carrots and 1/2 zucchini! I can go crazy with the dehydrating, which I'm planning on doing next week!

We also got our emergency ration bars in the mail. It says on the package that..."If at sea, eat one bar every 6 hours. Eat slowly, in small bites, and chew thoroughly. If on land, eat one bar every 4 hours..." Interesting :) I got 6 bars, and there's 12 bars in each package! So these will go into our 72 hour kits.

We also got our wheat grinder...I don't know if I mentioned that already. The only thing I didn't think about...we have no spot to attach it to grind...so it's not been used yet!

Just today I ordered two books...
I don't know anything about this book, but I'm excited to get it!! I got it for $10 on Amazon.com and it came with free shipping w/ an order over $25.

I was shown this book today during a "Cooking with a Budget" class and I'm pretty excited about it. It's kinda like what I do with my "Dinner in a Jar," but is kinda more like the "Rice-a-Roni" box meals.
This picture above is what I came home to from my "Cooking on a Budget" class! HOW CUTE!!! Brad was going to put her to bed but knew I'd LOVE seeing my little one like this. I have the most adorable kid!!!

I also went to the Cannery again on Thurs. and canned some more stuff. We got more milk because the prices seem to be going up. Well, they don't seem to...they are!! At Sam's Club it went up 80 CENTS!! CRAZY!!

Hm...what else...I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! It's the Dehydrator Bible, and it's just absolutely fabulous. I think EVERYONE should get it!!

And I bought a bunch of wax a while ago, and will be waxing my matches and putting them into each of the 72 hour kits. I think I'll try to make some candles too, but I don't know for sure :)

And here's what happens when I'm busy doing my homemaking...Grace get's into the pans!!! I heard them crash and thought something was wrong, or she got hurt, but she was fine! She saw the flashes from the camera but didn't realize I was taking pictures :) What a sweet girl!

I like the one below because she tried SO HARD to figure out why the lid kept moving when she'd rest her knee on it!
This one caught her coming out of the cupboard...she was all the way in and screaming because it sounded different to her than when she was outside of the cupboard.

So all in all, a really busy week. I love it though :) And we will probably be busy next week too :)

Amanda

Grace Playing the Drum with her Friend

I love this because it's so awesome that they are interacting! he used to be really standoffish to other kids, but he's really just blossomed. Grace was really interested in him on this particular day, and it was beautiful to see him explore her hand, if even just a little bit!




Amanda

Fairytale Town!!

I was so excited to go to Fairytale Town with a friend and her son for Grace's FIRST TIME!! Well, we were there quite a few months ago, but she was too young to really understand! She had such a great time! And we thought it would rain, but we were happy that it didn't! Grace was a really good girl, she took in so much stuff, and took a really god nap after we got home!

Grace on the big chair! She was NOT happy about being there without me! We had our picture taken together, but it was blurry.

Grace with our friend Keri :) They were on the Pirate's Ship!!! Arr matey!

Look at the pirate's looking through the windows!! Grace is actually chewing on the rope, goofball! And that's Grace's friend Jonathan.

Watering the flowers :) Grace didn't really understand this, but it was still pretty fun for me!

The tractor kids!! BEEP BEEP!! Well, it didn't have a horn, but it was still SUPER CUTE!

Grace hanging out by the hippo water fountain :) She was munching pretty much the whole time we were at Fairytale Town!

Isn't that SO CUTE how she crosses her little feet?! I LOVE IT!!

So a good day all in all. I had a wonderful time with our friends, it was beautiful weather, and we're planning on going to the zoo next, but with the daddy's too.

Amanda

PALS Play Day

Well, another Friday Play Day :) I love these days!! I love watching her go off and play. We walk through the door at 9 and she's throwing herself down to get out of my arms. So I put her down on the floor, and while I'm writing our name tags, she's waving hello, and taking off to either the cars or the rice table first!
It was so cute to show her the apple and hear her say, "AAAAA PLLLLLLL!" Good girl!

I LOVE Grace in this costume, but she wasn't having it, so I quickly had to get her out of it before she got too sad!
Now it's time for her to go take a little rest while checking herself out in the mirror :) If I would have snapped this picture just one second faster, we would have seen her little eyes peering at me from over her left shoulder in the mirror!
I love this picture because she's so relaxed, so happy, so my little Grace!

It was so sweet to hear her say "baby" when she picked up the doll! I didn't even prompt her!I love this picture too, because she's playing with her friend Kevin. He's almost 3, and he's blind! And the other reason why I like this so much is because he's touching her. It has been a HUGE change for him to be able to feel other children, rather than just his mom. It was beautiful to see him play with Grace right there, and after I put the camera down, he felt up her arm, as though saying hello and checkin' her out! His mom was so happy!! And he got really happy after, kicking his legs and shaking his head :) She loves Kevin!!
I think this part of the day was what astounded me the most. We had just finished snack time, and the lead teacher started singing for circle time. Well, Grace rushed away from my side and went and sat in circle (picture above) and started clapping as the teacher sang. She didn't need me, I didn't have to take her over there, and she sat without me in circle for the first time! She probably didn't need me all those other times either, but I like to be there :) It was so wonderful to see my little dependent little one!

This is for the scarf song, and she did so well reaching in and getting her scarves!!

All in all, a wonderful play day. I love going there, being with the other mothers, and really relaxing because I know Grace loves being at play day. All the therapists she works with are there, and many others she just sees at these days, and she's just SO HAPPY!! I get to take a break too because she is so good at just wandering and playing with whatever she decides :)

Amanda

Walking Video!!

I love watching this video...over and over......and over.............AND OVER!!!!



My beautiful sweetie pie...give her a mountain to move, and she not only moves that one, but three others.

Amanda

Grace's WALKER!!!

Ok, just to let you all know...this is gonna be long...and have A LOT of pictures!!!

So we finally got her walker and I'm so excited about it!! So of course I had to have her "meet" her walker :) She was nervous about it at first, but quickly warmed up!


I love the picture above. It looks like she's saying "Really?? You want me to walk with THAT??"
And off she goes, just like a champ!
This look is like, "mom, this is old school stuff..."
This is her first walk EVER by herself (out in the backyard)without mommy and daddy having to carry her!
I love that she's already using the walker as a support so she can bend down and pick stuff up! We've worked for months on getting her to feel confident enough to bend down and pick stuff up, but I guess all we needed to do was take her outside and there would be enough stuff to pick up! She's actually never sat (look at picture below) with her legs like this either, which is AWESOME that she is because that means she's able to balance herself in this position.


I love the above picture because she's standing up with only one arm on a support! That's NEW for her!! She's usually a two kneed get up kinda gal!

Then of course we had to move out front for more freedom, and less grass holding her back!! SHE LOVED IT!!
The above picture is when we were going to the mailbox, and her friend happened to be out (a 2 yr old boy). So she got really excited about seeing him, and headed straight for him! I helped her get up the curb, and she tried going up his driveway, but it was too steep so I helped push. And then it was so sweet because her little friend came walking over, grabbed the lower bar of the back of her walker, and slowly pushed her all the way up the driveway! It was just a beautiful, breathtaking, heart warming, tear jerking experience!! Kids just don't even care about physical disabilities, or different ways people get around or anything. Just about having a friend! Then they had their own little conversation in "child talk" which was so cute to see too!
I love the above picture..."just me and my shadow!"

Walking home from visiting the friend. She started getting brave and taking one hand off and waving, and once we rounded the bend towards home, she started signing eat, so I knew it was quitting time!!
Time for some grub! Cheetos are her FAVORITE snack!!!

Ahh, wonderful day. My daughter is now even more independent. My arm will not go dead as much, though I SO love having her close, and she will feel better about herself :) I can just see the confidence in her as she walks, or as she kneels down, squats, or waves with one hand.

And as if it's not enough, she can now sign "please" and "no"!!! And she's SO CLOSE to signing mama!!

Amanda