Tuna Salad and Tears

Gracie loves to help in the kitchen, so I asked her to help me make Tuna Salad today. I peeled the eggs and then asked her to slice them with my Pampered Chef egg slicer. This is practically her favorite task in the kitchen. Anyway, she sliced an egg and it just fell to pieces all over the cabinet instead of staying somewhat in the shape of an egg. She looked up at me and said, "Well, that was slick!" She started laughing hysterically. I think she was laughing because she knew she had said something funny, not because of the egg falling apart. Our little girl is reaching the age of comprehending humor. Small wonder with Brent for her dad! He keeps us laughing!

Now, for the members of the New Testament Praise Band, this part is for you. When I got Gracie home from Preschool today she came upstairs ahead of me while I got Ella out of the van. By the time I got inside she was crying. I couldn't imagine what had happened in such a short span of time. She said, "Mommy, I really miss those people from our old church. You know Mommy?" Then she started naming all of you off. I told her it was sad that we had to leave our old church, but that it was so much fun going back to visit. Then I tried to explain that now she has new friends at our new church. She kind of perked up, but it took a while for her to resume her good humor. I just wanted you all to know that it has been 8 months since we left, but there is a 4 year old in Macon who still thinks of you all and misses you. Truth be told, her parents do too!

Growing Up

Today when I was getting Gracie dressed, I threw a shirt on her that has become a staple of her fall/winter wardrobe. It's just a shirt that goes with a lot of her pants and sweats. Anyway, as I was putting it on her I noticed it was almost too small, so I said, "You are growing too much and your shirt isn't going to fit before too long." She started to whimper and said, "But I will miss my shirt. I don't want to grow too big for it. I love my colorful shirt." I said, "Well, you have to grow up. Maybe Mommy can find you a new colorful shirt that you will love." She said, "OK. But make sure it's big enough." I just thought it was funny that she was so attached to an old, somewhat stained shirt. I guess I shouldn't be surprised since she's still attached to her tattered, stained, ripped pink teddy bear blanket! Did I ever mention that I had to sew a pocket on teddy bear and put Gracie's name in it because we read the story about Corduroy getting lost and needing a pocket with the owners info. in it? Well, after we read that story, teddy bear needed a pocket with Gracie's info in it, and it's a good thing because Gracie is always dragging that bear around to stores, church, etc. and then leaving it. Maybe the pocket will help teddy bear to always return home.
People are always asking me if Ella is a good baby. My standard answer is, "Yes, she's a great baby." I added this photo of Ella in her swing because that's just one of many things that keep her content. Gracie hated her swings, bouncy seat, and other tools we tried and Ella is enamored with almost anything. Her favorite activity is to bounce with me on my big exercise ball. It almost always lulls her to sleep. I'm so glad she's a content baby (at this stage) since Gracie is pretty high maintenance! Gracie still gets up every night, multiple times, and keeps us wondering when in the world she will ever sleep through the night consistently.

Easter Weekend Fun

Gracie had her picture taken as a newborn by the Easter bunny hanging on my parents door, so we had to do the same with Ella. It's eerie how much Gracie and Ella resemble each other when you compare the photos.

Gracie was an expert Easter egg finder thanks to 3 hunts on Easter day. I suppose the multiple pre-Easter egg hunts she held in our living room probably helped her skills.

This is the 2008 Doolin Family Easter photo. Ella didn't enjoy the photo shoot much thanks to her hunger pangs!

I promise that I did feed Ella shortly after this photo. She sure wasn't happy about having more pictures taken with Wapa and Nana, though.

Poor Ella is destined to a lifetime of hand-me-downs. She is wearing Gracie's first Easter dress.

Gracie loves to dress up in pretty dresses, so it was no chore to get her to put on this years Easter dress!

The Easter Bunny brought Gracie one whopper of a lollipop. It was a huge hit. We think Mike is probably jealous!
How many licks does it take to get to the center of this lollipop??? We'll let you know! It's almost bigger than Gracie's face.
Gracie didn't look like the big girl that she is until we had Ella. Now it's obvious that she's not a little girl anymore.

Gracie, Ella and cousin Callie hung out for a while on Saturday afternoon. Gracie loves her big cousin Callie.
Ella has 2 cousins born shortly before her, and they all got together for the first time on Saturday for a short visit. They slept for the majority of the time, so they will have to bond later! (Ella, Corbin and Seth)
Gracie was eggceptionally proud of her Easter eggs she decorated. Wocka, Wocka, Wocka!

Gracie and Ella's Big Play Day

Ella was a good sport about being put in the baby doll's stroller. She won't fit in it for long. She weighed 10 lbs and 9 oz. at her well baby check-up yesterday!

Gracie tried to teach Ella how to play Barbie dolls today, but it exhausted Ella.
Gracie still loves to dress up in "princess clothes." She loves to get out a classical music CD and do ballet. She always has new moves to show off.
I continue to try to capture Ella's smile. This time the flash didn't go off, but you can still see a sweet little smile on her face. Well, maybe the general public can't, but Brent and I can!

A Wacky, Wild Wednesday

Today when I took Gracie to Preschool, the teachers were all taking a peek in the car seat at Ella. They started talking about who she looked like. It doesn't take long for people to say that she looks like Gracie or Brent. Duh, they look like each other. I just said, "Well, I'm pretty sure she'll look like Gracie when she grows up." A little African American boy was listening and he stepped up and said, "Well, I think she's going to look like me when she grows up." He was just as serious as could be. I smiled and said, "Well that would really be something, wouldn't it?!" It was too funny. The teachers laughed until they were crying because the little boy was so serious.
This afternoon the resident Easter Bunny hid all of our plastic eggs and practiced finding them. She managed to "hide" a few on her sister. You can tell it's the work of a 4 year old Easter Bunny since they were hidden pretty much in plain sight. We also got out all of our stuffed Easter rabbits and Gracie managed to pose for a picture. It's a rare occasion when she will let us take her picture, so you have to snap quickly! Gracie has decided it's more fun to take pictures than to be in the pictures, thus the picture of 1/2 of my face. She's practicing. Maybe next time my whole face will make it in the picture!

It's Been a Long Time a Comin'

Uncle Dana asked for a post from me for Christmas and I have lacked the stimulation to have anything to write about. My neck is out of place and sending sharp pains up the back of my skull making a dull ringing in my ears which means I am probably in the perfect frame of mind to type something really stupid on this thing. There are 2 references to popular movies and songs in this blog, so let the competition begin. The title of the post is the first reference. If anyone can guess where that is from I will be impressed. Matthew Maher and Bob Ikerd probably have the best shot guessing where the title of this post came from so that might be a place to start asking if you don't know. I took 2 Tylenol #3 so this could go downhill quick, so I had better get started.

On to my inspiration for writing, and the movie reference. Does anyone else think the TV show Deal or No Deal should change the name of the show to, "Should we or should we not follow the advice of the galactically stupid?" Seriously folks, how do they time and time again find people with friends that are willing to come on the show and say, "Don't take 215,000 dollars for your case. You might have a million dollars in your case." Not one friend on the show has ever said, "You know John, there is always a possibility that you could have 5 dollars in your case, and selling it for 215,000 might be a pretty good idea." They're always saying things like, "No Deal. I know you have the million. I can FEEL it." I am always sitting there thinking, "You can FEEL it? Really? Why don't you search your feelings O-B-Won and start telling me which cases to pick starting with the smallest amount? Better yet, just use your Jedi mind tricks to make Howie give up which case has the million dollars." My other favorite advice from these so-called friends goes something like this, " You have 3 huge amounts left... No Deal!" Oh, I have 3 huge amounts left and 5 cases to pick on the next round. Thank you very much for that statistical reasoning, genius. Howie isn't much better in this area. He is always saying things like, "You have a 1 in 8 chance that the million dollars is in this case that you picked. Which also just happens to be the same exact probability of every other amount that is left on your board. There is a 1 in 8 chance for whatever amount is left." I am sitting there thinking there is a 1 in 1 chance that the contestant could have just received the dumbest advice in the world. This show is funny, interesting, irritating, and ridiculous all in one. There is no skill involved. I love how people pick their cases. "Five is the difference between my birthday, and the number of bananas in a pound." Open case number five. And the million dollars goes off the board. Should have went with the number of brain cells left in your head. The show boils down to risk,tolerance and greed. Which one is going to be the stronger emotion that controls your decision? Finally why does the banker have to be an anonymous secret outline of a person sitting in the dark? I think the offers would be much more generous if the banker had to show his face and everyone would know what bank he worked for. However, I kind of understand why the banker has to remain anonymous. The next day at work he would have to face people who would come in for a 15,000 dollar loan for a vehicle, and they would know that the night before he bought a $75 case for $175,000. It would be hard to turn anyone down for a loan after being the guest banker on Deal or No Deal.

Well hopefully you have enjoyed my insights into this irritating, irresistible, retarded show. Good luck to all of my loyal readers on guessing the references to the movies and song. I realize that there is a 3rd reference to a movie with the Jedi mind trick stuff, but I figured Star Wars was way too popular for me to even count that in the contest. The 2nd reference, which is in bold up above, is from a movie. There are no prizes for this competition due to the legal proceedings still in court about the 1 hour of Doobie Lovin' from the last contest. Thank you for wasting your life reading this. I hope you waste much more time trying to figure out where the references are from. :)

Rain, Rain Go Away

What a yucky, yucky, rainy day we had. Gracie kept singing "Rain, rain go away, come again another day, little Gracie wants to play." We are starting to go stir crazy from being cooped up so much. Once it's nice we will walk down to the neighborhood park and get some fresh air. Gracie is anxious for Easter. In fact, yesterday she woke up asking if it was Easter Sunday. I told her it was still a week away and she got pretty sad. She's probably more excited to wear a pretty new dress to church than she is to hunt for eggs. Gracie spent the night with Grandpa and Nana last Friday night and they bought some eggs at Wal-Mart and practiced hiding them and hunting for them. Gracie told me today that she couldn't hardly sleep at Grandpa and Nana's because she just kept thinking about those eggs! Oh to be young again and have nothing to worry about but Easter eggs!

By the way, those of you who know Gracie at all know of her affection for her pink teddy bear blankie. Well, she bought Ella a purple elephant blankie when she was born. I have it laying in her crib and during her nap today her arm flung over on it so that she was touching it. Gracie thought that was wonderful. She's probably destined to drag around the purple elephant just like Gracie does the pink teddy bear!