November has been a busy month but that is nothing new around here. The first weekend was the state cross country meet at Michigan International Speedway - I had one girl and one guy qualify as individuals. They both ran their best times that day, and my girl athlete placed 20th in the state for Division 3 runners - it was awesome!
The next weekend we headed up to Big Rapids to go to the annual MITCA cross country clinic for coaches. We were there Thursday and Friday night and Grace did not do well at all in the room. Both nights she didn't go to sleep until after midnight - it was so frustrating. At one point I was ready to put her out in the hall! When we went to NC over the summer she had done really well, but we had paid extra to get rooms that were a little bit bigger and had a sitting area that we put her pack & play in so she was a little separate from us, and that must be the trick because the room we had in Big Rapids was just your standard room.
On the 18th Manchester held their annual "Christmas in the Village" and there was a parade and then Santa was available for the kids so Grace got to sit on Santa's lap for the first time. She wasn't scared or anything but there was a long line behind us so I couldn't take a lot of time to get a really good picture.
In the last week or so she has really started picking up a lot of words - she says book, buh-buh (bye bye), neh-neh (nose - not sure why she doesn't just say nose!), momma (really well, and points to me when she says it), grandma, grandpa, coat and sometimes will point to herself and say something that sounds like Gracie. She is also getting really good at pointing to things in books and either making the sound (if it's an animal) or saying what it is.
She loves to go around blowing on candles, whether they're real or in a picture and she loves to "blow" her nose with a kleenex. Her favorite toys are her dishes and spoons and she loves to feed all of us and her dolls. She has gotten pretty good at feeding herself her oatmeal and yogurt with a spoon with minimal mess. She also loves to make you laugh and has this hilarious fake laugh that she does when people around her are laughing.
She has also started recently saying and using "no" in the correct way - I was really hoping this was a word she wouldn't learn for a LONG time! I can already tell how fun it's going to be if she starts to go through a "no" phase. Right now she's pretty good at only saying it when she really means it or if she points to something that we've already told her she's not supposed to touch. I really hope she doesn't start using it for everything.
She loves spending time outside and picking up rocks from the driveway and carrying them around the yard. She also goes up to all the dead flowers and sniffs them! I'm hoping the nicer weather holds out for as long as possible so we can spend time outdoors.
This Thanksgiving has really made me reflect on how thankful I am for everything in my life. Sometimes I look at Grace and I can't believe she's really my daughter and that I am lucky enough to be her mom. She brings so much joy to our family and to most of the people she comes in contact with-it's amazing to watch her change and learn and turn into this amazing little person. I only hope that I can be the best mom I can be for her and that I never let her down. She definitely has helped me become a better person!
