Gracie's got a gun!

The other night we went to eat at Salsa's. When we were checking out there was a police officer (Keri Varner) standing behind us. Eva Grace looked up at her for a few seconds smiling then proceeded to reach for her gun. The officer quickly slid her hand over the holster top! I looked at the officer in a little panic state and she calmly said, "Oh, she just wants to touch it." (This made me laugh inside!) Needless to say, we left immediately.

Enough blogging, Eva Grace just informed me she is fixing breakfast for the entire family! I must check this out NOW!

More on Jesus and Joseph...

Did you know that Christmas is Jesus's birthday and Halloween is Joseph's birthday? Me either. But Eva Grace is sure of it. This stems back to VBS this summer with the Jesus, Joseph and the well/whale misunderstanding. Eva Grace still doesn't have that straight and now Joseph is right up there with Jesus in her eyes. I seriously don't know how to get through to her, I've tried for 5 months. Any suggestions????

Watering the Flowers

Eva Grace wanted to go in the back yard to water the flowers. This is her uniform for doing such a task! A bicycle helment and swimsuit, worn backwards, of course!

Eva Grace's update on school today!

a EvGrace is LOVING school! Here is her update from today! (I am typing as she is sitting in my lap dictating) You know who got to be the line leader - she did! Big deal, woo hoo! Very exciting! Lucy got to be the caboose- also a big deal. Sophie was behind Eva Grace - who was wearing a beautiful shirt and hairbow today. Carson was behind Sophie. She didn't have to bring her lunch box today because we don't bring our lunches on Wednesdays. Mrs. Kelly will color you happy if you behave and Mommy's will be happy. Mrs. Kelly will color you sad if you misbehave and the Mommy's will be sad at their honeys. Susannah wasn't there today because she went to Disney World! Wyatt couldn't sit criss cross applesauce so he sat with his knees up. In line Wyatt was behind Sophie and Carson was behind Wyatt. The class got to play with shaving cream on the tables and now her hands still smell like shaving cream. Mrs. Kelly said this would clean the tables like soap. Peyton was happy today but Xander was sad. They got to eat snacks in the cafeteria, which is a big deal too! Everyone got to help carry the snacks to the cafeteria but the girls had to watch Wyatt because he is little. They got to watch a movie today and Wyatt fell asleep. They woke him up with a horn. (?) A pink horn.

I love school, picking Eva Grace up and hearing her stories (over and over and over) always brighten the day!

Tom and Jerry replay

The other day Eva Grace was chasing Ella with the broom trying to pop her on the head. She was saying "Thomas, you bad, bad, cat." in the high pitched, southern voice like the lady on Tom and Jerry does. When I got on to her and sent her to her room she said, "To shay, pussycat. To shay." (spelling is off, don't know french spelling, sorry!)

It's FINALLY time!

**pictures from slideshow are courtesy of Eva Grace!

Since Emma has started back to school, Eva Grace asks 2 questions everyday. The first one is "Can I go to school today?" and the other is "Can we go pick up Emma." She is lost and bored without Emma here and she misses her friends. Last Thursday was a muchly awaited Open House for her school; we couldn't get there fast enough. She was so proud to meet her teacher and see where her new classroom was and what friends were going to be in her class. She went around taking pictures of all her friends (whether they liked it or not) the slideshow above is all her work! We are blessed to know almost everyone in her class this year (and their awesome parents). Eva Grace is saddened to not be in the same class with Lucy, Deanne, Emily and Abby but is excited about getting to play with them at recess. I have no doubt lots of blog entries will come from this school year, it will be fun, entertaining and interesting to see what this crew tries to pull off!

Zeke's diapering experience

The other day our cousin, Zeke, came to play for a little while. Zeke needed a diaper change so I changed it. Remember that none of my girls have ever been around any little boys and diapering, bathing, dressing, ... So, I'm changing his diaper and Eva Grace notices something different and the questions begin. "Mommy, what is that?" "Will it turn black?" "Will it fall off like Ella's did?"

Daddy, how do you do that?

We knew we would eventually face this situation, we just thought it would be with Emma first but we were wrong. Tonight Eva Grace was in our bed watching a movie. The way our newly positioned bed is you can see our bedroom bathroom from our bed. Burt forgot this and went to use the bathroom. As Eva Grace figured out what he was doing (peeing standing up) she curiously yells to Burt, "Daddy, how do you do that?" Burt, realizing she can see him, responds, "practice and magic." That answer was sufficient for now but I'm sure I will have related stories to share as soon as she decides to "practice" or tells Emma what Daddy was doing.

Driving Miss Gracie

Today we went to Hornersville, Missouri because the girls have been wanting to pick some watermelons and cantaloupes. Burt's Grandpa used to let him drive on the old gravel roads when he was little so he thought he would let the girls give it a try. Afterwards, he made the comment that one day Eva Grace is going to cost him a lot of cars!

My girls haven't ridden on many gravel roads so on the way home this conversation took place.

Eva Grace: "Daddy, the dirt is chasing us."

Burt: "I just turned the rockets on, Grace."

Eva Grace: "Well turn them on faster because it is right behind us."

Angel Kisses

I love freckles on little girls. Emma has had them for a few years and we always awe over them. We call them angel kisses and she still thinks that an angel kissed her and made each freckle. Well, the other day I noticed that there are some adorable new little angel kisses on Eva Grace's face. We made a big deal about this so she would feel special and she is very proud of them.

I should have known that angel kisses wouldn't be enough for her! This morning while getting ready for church she informed me that each of her angel kisses were a symbol of a super power. "This one allows me to kill dragons. This one allows me to kill tigers, and this one allows me to kill the big bad wolfs." She also informed me that she needs another one because she still needs the power to get back home after accomplishing these major tasks!

Wow Update

IF you didn't read the previous story about Jesus and Joseph, this is a follow up story - so make sure you read that one first.

We thought after several attempts to correct Eva Grace's view of the story of Joseph that she would surely have it.

Me: Who did you learn about at Bible School?

EG: JEsus and Jochef

ME: What happened to Jochef... JOseph?

EG: His brothers put him in the well?

ME: Was it a "WELL" or a "WHALE?"

EG: A well.

ME: Good! Did Joseph get out of the well?

EG: No, the well shut his mouth and Jochef couldn't get out of the teeth!

ME: Eva Grace, a WELL DOESN'T HAVE TEETH! A WHALE HAS TEETH!

EG: UHH HUH, a Joseph was stuck in the well.

we are still working on this..... She does understand the difference between a well and a whale but still thinks Jochef was thrown into the whale because that is what her teacher said. (Jenny Box, sweet teacher, the next time you see my child will you PLEASE tell her differently. Apparently, my word is not good enough!)

WOW adventures.....

Each year we go to Southwest Church of Christ's VBS, also known as WOW. Eva Grace got home tonight and I asked her what she learned about,

She replied, "Jesus and Joshef."

me: "What did Jesus and Joseph do?"

EG: "Joshef's mom and dad pushed him in the water, in the whale and he couldn't get out."

me: "They pushed Joseph in what."

EG: "The whale, you know the big fish, and he couldn't get out."

I was rolling, the rest of the car ride home we discussed the difference between WELLS and Whales! (we also discussed that his brothers pushed him in the well, not his mom and dad.)

The busy life!

Eva Grace is having a very busy summer. This week she has started swimming lessons at the YMCA with 4 of her other good friends - Sophie Ramsey, Lucy Box, Chloe Reed and Avery Collins. After lessons we usually either go eat or attend on of her other many social functions.

My Fashion Sense

Picture this (there would be an actual picture but I forgot my camera)... lime green gingham sundress accented with hot pink trim and a big hot pink flower on it, a cute green and white polka dot hairbow, and RED SHOES WITH LITTLE STARS ON THEM! That is what Eva Grace snuck out of the house wearing last night. She knows those shoes do not match that dress because we have had that discussion many times. When I saw the shoes I reminded her of that again, to which she replied, "Mommy, you just don't know fashion!"

Eva Grace and Mama Ruth

Eva Grace has really taken up with my Mama Ruth lately. She especially loves it when they read books together. I think I took over 25 pictures of the 2 of them reading this one book but it was so sweet I couldn't help myself.

She made the paper!

Tuesday, Andrew took Emma and Eva Grace swimming at the Earl Bell. Someone from the Jonesboro Sun was there taking pictures and Andrew and Eva Grace's picture made the paper! Eva Grace is so proud!

Story Time at the Library

Tuesdays we are going to story time at the library. Eva Grace has several friends that come also! Here she is with her friends Wyatt, Chloe and Abby. Her friends Avery and Audrey also come!

Today my family went to St. Bernards Village to eat lunch with my Mama Ruth. My brother Adam loves to put Eva Grace up to new things and agg her on. Today, she had to go to the bathroom after lunch so Adam took her. She came back telling everyone she "got a floater." People would obviously laugh so that only made things worse! She proceeded to yell this over and over and tell everyone she came into contact with. Sometimes I am very thankful for her speech delay.

Speech is OVER!

Eva Grace has been going to speech the past year and she HATES it! The mere mention of going to see Mr. E Paul (the speech path.), would get her to do about anything. She is so excited because Mr. E Paul says she is doing much better and she doesn't have to come back!!! She is so excited.

Here is a video of the famous lemon shots with Adam. This time Eva Grace involved Uncle Andrew and Emma. She only did one this time but her and Adam usually do 4-5 and she does the same reaction everytime....

Happy Birthday, Eva Grace

Today was the muchly awaited birthday of Eva Grace. She has every one's birthday order memorized and it is a yearly countdown to her big day! So this past week we made an effort to do at least one thing birthday related every day. Some of the things we did were picking a theme (flip flops), making the invitation list and sending the invitations, making special flip flops for each guest (and saying a little prayer for them as we made them), picked out flip flop plates, napkins and cake. She also got to go on a special shopping trip with Grandma all by herself, take cupcakes to her preschool class last Thursday and wear a birthday ribbon all day. It was a fun week for her and everyone around her because she was contagiously excited!


Here are some highlights from her big day today!


*Every time someone told her Happy Birthday she responded back, "Happy Birthday."


*We got to go to her friend, Sophie's birthday party this morning. Sophie is 2 days younger than Eva Grace. Eva Grace was excited about helping make Sophie's gift and getting a blue polka dotted hairbow that Mrs. Danna made!


*Everyone that was invited to her party came.


*She was surprised by the big blow up jumpoline we had at church for everyone to play on (Thanks to Burt! It rained all day yesterday so we were afraid this might fall through but he spent lots of time today making sure it would work out!)


*She loved being sang to, she just beamed!


*She loved the balloons at her party. Riding to the party was a lot of fun with the jeep full of 20 balloons, 5 big balls, all the party stuff, a stroller and the Barrett 5. It felt like that clown Volkswagen where the clowns keep coming out....


*She was very excited about each part of the day and each part of her party. She was also very grateful for her presents and happy to see each friend at her party.


*She got a full Annie costume from Nanner. Annie is one of her favorite movies. She put the costume on and sang "Tomorrow" for everyone.


*Her friend Jillian got a scraped toe, in efforts to try to help as Jillian's mom was doctoring her up, Eva Grace doctored Jillian's toe with AFTERBITE!!!!!


*She didn't think she turned 4 until after her party was over.


*She wanted to eat dinner at Salsas so she could wear that huge sombrero and they could sing to her and bring her dessert!


*Unloading all her new toys was like opening them all over again. She savored each one and talked about who got her each gift.


*From Burt and I she wanted a new car seat, a big girl car seat like Emma's! We went to WalMart and Target but they didn't have one she liked. Then we went to Kmart and they had 2 she couldn't decide between, butterflies or flowers, so she used the eeny, meny, meiny, moe ...... method to decide! Then we monogrammed her name on it and she is looking forward to riding in it tomorrow.


*She is currently snuggled up to Emma, not asleep but talking sisterly talk about her special day :)

Catch it, Grace!

We told Eva Grace this morning that we were going to go to the ASU Farm's petting zoo today. My brother called and told us there piglets that you could hold. When Eva Grace heard this she was >excited all day long about getting to hold a baby pig. Well, when we got to that part of the petting zoo she spotted them and off she went. First she had to catch one, which alone was hysterical. The first few times she couldn't figure exactly how to pick one up, then she saw one of the older girls do it and you should have seen the determined look that came on her face, SHE WAS CATCHING A PIG and now she knew how to do it. Sure enough, after several comical tries she caught one. That pig squeeled louder than any of my girls but it didn't stop Eva Grace. She held on to that pig for dear life and was very proud of herself. Burt and I were laughing so hard I was crying!

What's wrong with that?

This afternoon Eva Grace's best friend, Chloe, came over to play for a little while. The first thing the two of them do when they are here together is strip down to their panties and play dress up. When they are tired of wearing dresses they spend the rest of the time in their undies! This is typical behavior of both of them! I was in the living room when Emma comes running inside and dramatically tells me "EVa Grace and Chloe are in the front yard in their panties!" So, I go outside and tell them they have to come in, the funny part was that they both looked at me and seriously said, "why?" It didn't even cross their minds that they shouldn't be in the front yard necked! This isn't unusual, they usually play in the fenced in back yard in their panties so they don't understand why the front yard is different.

An Eva Grace Story *at the ice cream topping bar

This evening we went out to eat with a bunch of out of town family. John, our cousin from Houston, had taken Eva Grace up to get some ice cream. They had a great variety of toppings at their dessert bar and obviously she couldn't pick just one... SO... at the topping bar she mixed all the sprinkles together then took the dipping spoon and took a big bite!

Oh I Wish....

Eva Grace loves herself a hot dog. It's one of her and Burt's favorite meals! Today we were driving home when she spotted it in the Hay's parking lot??? You got it, the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile!! Eva Grace was so excited to see "a big hot dog car!" She got to go inside it and got a famous Weinermobile whistle that can only be acquired from visiting a famous weinermobile! It made her day and she eagerly called her "posse" to tell them about it. She was so excited most people couldn't understand what she was saying but they could understand "it was awesome and it was sooo cool."

Gymnastic Day

Eva Grace does gymnastics on Tuesday nights. She looks forward to it all week and on gymnastic day she rushes in from school and immediatly changes into her gymnastic clothes. I usually have to make sure she matches with whatever she comes out wearing but today I thought I'd let her go as she wished and this was it. A black leotard, blue skirt, pink leg warmers (both of them inside out), and her hair down (she fixed it by herself too). She was so proud of herself and wanted me to take her picture because she looked "so beautiful!"

Eva Grace has a song for everything

The other night Eva Grace got in trouble for hitting Emma. I sent her to her room where she proceded to belt out a song - she sings all day long. This time it was a song she made up to the tune Farashaka (sp?) and it went like this "I don't like Mommy, I don't like Mommy, I don't like Mommy, I don't like Mommy, I don't like Mommy, I don't like MOmmy, I don't like MOmmy, I don't like Mommy!"

Where is Uncle Andrew?

Uncle Andrew is in the Navy and currently deployed to Japan. Eva Grace was talking about how she missed him and asked where Japan was. I told her it was far, far, away from us. Then she said, "So, Andrew is in Heaven with Jesus!" I assured her he was far away, but not that far!!

A suprise find!

Today I was talking to Joslyn on the phone and I noticed sounds coming from my laundry room, eventually the door came open and out came a cat. We don't have a cat! Eva Grace had brought the neighbors cat in our house and hid him while she went to play in her bedroom!

Eva Grace and her cell phone

Eva Grace was in hillarious mode today. I didn't need exercise because I got a workout from laughing at her all day. Her new thing lately is talking on her cell phone (a pretend princess cell phone). This evening we were in the car driving to eat at Salsa's for dinner and she was talking to her friend, Wyatt on her phone. She told Burt that Wyatt wanted to talk to him so Burt took the phone and said, "we don't talk to boys" and hung up on him. Eva Grace got on to Burt and said in her serious voice, "Daddy, Wyatt is a sweet boy. I like Wyatt." A second later, her phone rang again, this time it was Wyatt's mom and she wanted to talk to Burt because she wasn't happy he hung up on Wyatt!

When we arrived at the restaurant Eva Grace's phone rang in the parking lot. She answered it and talked on it as she entered the restaurant, as we were seated, and as we ordered. She was serious in conversation but would pause, as I do, to take care of business such as ordering her food and drink- and Emma's drink, then go back to her phone call. My words can't do this justice, I wish everyone could have been there to see, you would have gotten your exercise for the day too!

Eva Grace and Wyatt

Today was Eva Grace's Easter party at school. This is her and her friend, Wyatt. This is a sweet picture because Eva Grace does not like boys. She doesn't want to sit by them, talk to them, play with them, and usually doesn't talk fondly of any of them -except Wyatt. "He is a sweet boy," she says (and he really is). She says she doesn't like the other boys at school because they are always getting in trouble, but Wyatt doesn't. Burt has taught her that boys are yukky and she believes him, all except for Wyatt "he's a sweet boy."

Snowday??

Eva Grace was excited to play in the snow so she went and got her clothes on (Emma's swim suit cover up skirt, rain boots with no socks, hat, gloves, sunglasses, and no coat). I don't know exactly what she thinks snow is but we had to revise her snow gear a little before she went to play. She had a blast. Her favorite parts were tearing down Emma's snowmen and throwing snowballs at everyone. You have to zoom in (double right click) on this photo of Eva Grace's pre snow gear to get the full hysteria of this moment.

An Eva Grace Story *Annie Movie, Take 1

Annie is Eva Grace's favorite movie and she practically has it memorized! Do you remember the part where the boys are picking on the dog and Annie comes to his rescue? She doubles up her fists and says "Alright, who's next?" then after whooping them all she says "Anybody else?" Well, the other day Emma wouldn't leave Eva Grace alone. She kept pestering her and messing with her until finally Eva Grace doubled up her fists and said with her teeth grinded together, "Alright, whose next?" then she proceeded to punch Emma (and busted her lip), then added "Anybody else?"

Missing shoes

This morning was a typical Eva Grace morning. It takes her forever to get ready, not because she won't get up out of bed but because she has her own time table, no hurry. It drives me crazy but doesn't bother her at all! My child also has an issue with shoes, she either doesn't wear them, has them on the wrong feet or loses them - not both of them just one of them. How does one have a dozen pair of shoes with a dozen shoes missing??? I don't know but she does. They are truly lost too, I can't even find them. Then comes the time to look for them because we have to have at least one pair to wear out the door - so, how does she look for it????? Well, she looks in the craziest places they would never be such as on top of the kitchen table,in the bathroom trash can, in the towel cabinet, in the bathtub, behind the playroom mirror (hanging on the wall), etc..... Let me just say, losing only on shoe is far more aggrivating than both of them being misplaced.

School Spring Performance

Eva Grace had a spring performance at her school. It was a 50's theme and everyone was supposed to dress up (right up our alley). We made her poodle skirt together. She loved picking out every little detail. We had to put a flower on her poodle's neck so it would be a girl puppy "she doesn't like boys." AFter we got the skirt finished she decided we needed to make her a shirt to match. So our 30 minute project took all afternoon to complete. The performance was really cute. Eva Grace definatly didn't have any performance anxiety as you can tell in the blurry picture above. Below she is hugging her friends Sophie and Lucy (her friend Wyatt didn't want his picture made)!

Princess Day with Chloe and Avery

Eva Grace gets tired of Emma always getting to go places she can't go. Since Emma has started Kindergarten these occasions happen more frequently. To help Eva Grace not feel so left out we decided she could have a "princess day" with her friends. So, she invited Chloe and Avery to get dressed up in their princess dresses, go get their nails and hair done and go out to eat. The girls had fun and looked sweet in their dresses and tiaras. The people in the restaurant really enjoyed us as we allowed the girls to "explore" while wearing their hard plastic dress up shoes on the tiled floor - I think at times it was as loud as banging on pots and pans. They really were cute!

Lemon juice and Uncle Adam

Eva Grace and Uncle Adam have this thing they do in restaurants where they drink lemon juice. They do this similiar to the way people do shots. I am amazed that Eva Grace will do it, but there aren't many challenges she won't attempt!
First - open it
Next - drink it
Then - Ahhhkkkk
THen - drink, drink
WHewwwww.....
Line up your accomplishments as you go.
That's how it's done.