Weekend Fun

What a fun weekend. We had a big surprise for my parents on Friday. My brother, who doesn't get home much due to his busy schedule, called me a while back and said he would like to come and visit over his spring break. Friday was the day! Brent and I had asked my parents to come and babysit so that we could go out. That should have been their first clue that something was up! We never go out alone. Anyway... they had already made a commitment to help at a Relay for Life event in Moberly, so Dad decided he would do the Relay event and Mom could come babysit. When my mom arrived I told her Gracie was in her room and I handed her Ella. Gracie asked Nana to sit on her bed because she wanted to show her something in her closet. She made Mom close her eyes and she opened the closet door. My brother popped out of the closet and the picture says the rest. She's was completely shocked. We had a good laugh over the surprise then went out to supper. Later that night Dana, Mom and Gracie went to Moberly to surprise Dad. I guess it didn't go as well thanks to Gracie's over excitement. She might have spilled the beans early, but Dad said he was still surprised. Saturday Ella and I went to Moberly to join in the fun and we spent some more time with Uncle Dana before he had to get back to the big city. We went over to visit Nana Kaser and got to have a 3rd surprise since she didn't know Dana was in town either.

Now today, Sunday, we are back to reality. Brent had to leave before church to go to the Lake of the Ozarks for some meetings for work. He will get back Tuesday night. So far so good, but I know Gracie will start missing him pretty quickly. Tonight we will go back to church and that will help distract her for today anyway. Tomorrow is another story.

Smile...It's Friday

Sleeping through the night!

We had a miraculous thing happen in our house last night. Gracie slept through the night! YEAH! That may sound funny to most of you, but it is nothing short of miraculous. She realized that she had done something wonderful because she said, "I woke up and thought...it's morning already!" Maybe we are about to start a new trend...or maybe I've jinxed it by sharing it with the world on our blog. Either way, we were exceptionally proud of our big 4-year old! We won't talk about Ella's night, OK? It's a work in progress.

Gracie is getting very good at talking to Ella and trying to comfort her when she's crying. She's really quite good at it. Her favorite thing is to go get a toy that plays music and lay it by Ella so that she will stop crying. Well, today I was putting up Gracie's laundry so I laid Ella on Gracie's bed and she started crying, so Gracie curled up next to her and talked to her and stroked her head until she quit crying. It was very sweet.

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!