We had a great visit with Melissa, Karl, and Kade last night and today. They came down for a wedding this weekend (Karl’s a groomsman), and ended up staying with us last night. It was fun! I was happy, ’cause I didn’t expect to get to spend that much time with them. I like ‘em.

Grace had tons of fun with Kade, too. She even missed her morning nap and didn’t get cranky at all until after they left. What a good kid. Below are some pictures of the two kiddos together…

Kade pushed Grace on her toy. What a good helper.

As they got ready to leave, we noticed that Grace and Kade have the same winter hat – Kade’s in blue and Grace’s in pink. How fun!

Goodbye hugs!

We also got a visit from Emily today. She’s almost done with classes forever! (Or until she has to take more to keep her teaching certificate valid, but we won’t talk about that right now.) We gave her some Splenda cookies to keep her going during her study times. Yum yum.

-{lkr}

Remember when the doctor told us Grace was too skinny, at her 9-month well-baby checkup? It was because she was in the 90th percentile for height and only the 25th percentile for weight, based on the growth charts. So, the doctor told us to start Grace on formula to fatten her up. Well, who wants to start buying formula after nine good months of free breastmilk? Not me. So, we tried formula with her once, and she hated it, so we quit trying.

Anyway, we went in for her 12-month checkup today (a couple of weeks late), and not to worry – she’s perfect (as always)! She weighs 23 pounds, which is 80th percentile, and is 31-3/4 inches tall, which is above the 95th percentile. She’s a big girl!

She also got four shots, and she was a champ. Luke held her hands and I watched. She only cried for about 10-15 seconds afterward. I think it was harder for me than her! And she hasn’t acted cranky or feverish at all. What a sweetheart.

We also taught her a new “trick.” We say “I love you…Mwah!” and blow her a kiss. So, now we’ll say, “Grace, tell Mommy ‘I love you.’” And she’ll blow us a baby kiss. It’s SO adorable!

On the home front, our drywall is being mudded this week. It should be done by the end of next week, and then priming will happen Thursday or Friday. After that is trim. WOW! I hope it goes as quickly as it sounds like it will.

That’s all for now.

-{lkr}

Here is the big, happy Rumley family:

We had a great time gorging ourselves, and going shopping at 4am on Friday. Grace loves playing with Uncle Zach and Aunt Elyse. She scared us to death when she accidentally pulled two small banquet tables over onto herself. She came out without any injuries, though she has run her face into quite a few objects since arriving here in Indiana. Sheesh.

We have so much to be thankful for, including our family (with a new baby on the way), our new church family, and our house going up fairly quickly.

Here is what I am not thankful for this Thanksgiving:

That should make for a fun drive to the Rumley house in Indiana later today!

If you ask Grace, “How old are you?” she’ll hold up one finger. She’s so smart!