We had a fantastic visit from Johanna and Trask a few weeks ago; we loved being able to have them stay with us. We mostly just relaxed around the house, but it was fun nonetheless.
Aunt Johanna and Mary Grace.
Sharing her toys.
Molly, Mary Grace and I had a nice little Valentine's Day together. So that we could include Mary Grace, we decided to stick around the house and cook instead of going out to dinner. We let Mary Grace stay up a little later than normal to exchange valentines, so she thought she had died and gone to heaven. She gets really mischievous after 8:00 at night.
On rainy days, we have started taking Mary Grace to the carousel inside of the otherwise-dreaded Hanes Mall. It had been a goal of mine, upon moving back to Winston-Salem, to never step foot inside that mall, but after seeing how excited she gets when we walk up to the horses, I just have to make the sacrifice. If I try to ignore all of the people screaming into their cell phones while stuffing their faces with Cinnabon, it isn't so bad. Actually, the carousel is pretty cool, in a nostalgic, old-fashioned kind of way.
Mary Grace and her heart-shaped balloons (thanks Mark and Evan).
Mary Grace and "Uncle" Will.
Mommy and Mary Grace on the carousel.
All strapped in!
Poppie takes his turn with Mary Grace.
Mary Grace looking through her purse.
We scheduled an appointment with an Occupational Therapist to make sure that Mary Grace was hitting all of her normal developmental goals. She amazes us every single day with what she can do, but we figured we should have a professional make sure that everything was on track. Mary Grace passed all of her tests with flying colors, and even surprised the OT with how well she was adapting to holding objects with her left hand. We left feeling really good about her progress; she is a little miracle child. One thing that the OT said was that even though Mary Grace is walking, we should still encourage her to crawl so she can continue to build up strength in her arms and wrists. In addition, crawling has many other benefits including cognition, eyesight and posture among others. Upon hearing that, I went out and bought Mary Grace a little princess castle where she can crawl around and have fun. It takes up our whole living room, but she loves it.
Crawling out the drawbridge.
Checking out the side door.
Heading back inside.
Through the tunnel.
"Hello!"
Books are still her favorite toys.
Eating raisins with Mommy.
Bottle time.
Smiles.
Mommy making pancakes.
Mary Grace eating pancakes.
Bert is her new favorite thing. Don't ask us why, she just really likes him.
Mary Grace really likes the phone. Every morning she wants me to call Bert and talk to him about what I am going to do that day. I feel kind of bad doing it because she really thinks I am talking to him, but it makes her so happy. She likes to pick up our house phone, have a little conversation and then leave it off the hook. We decided to catch her in the act.
We are heading up to Washington this coming weekend to see Maggie for the very first time. We cannot wait to meet her, play with James and Owen and hang out with Lanie and Richard. It should be a great time, and it has been so long since Mary Grace has seen her cousins. I hope they all remember each other. We will take some good pictures and post them shortly after we return.
