Gracie Speaks- Part 2 or is it 3?

Me: "Gracie, I love you."

Grace: "No, mom.  I love DADDY!"

Me: "Oh, don't you love me?  That makes me sad!"

Grace: "Um, yeah mom.  I just need both of you!"


I love my little ballerina!  She had her second dance class today and did very good!  She was quite adorable, I must say!

Oh, and Saturday night Noah slept through the night, 9 hours!  I was thrilled.  I woke up at 5 in the morning and panicked because I thought something was wrong but there he was sleeping so peacefully!  Hoping he this keeps up!

Levi and I got to go out on a date last night.  HUGE thanks to my parents for getting us a gift card and then watching the kids.  It was so nice and so needed. 

Gracie the Ballerina

On Monday I took Gracie to her first ever dance class!  I was really worried about how she would do without me and if she was mature enough but I really wanted to try.  She did have some trouble staying focused the entire time and was very interested in all the fun props and toys the teacher brought but I think she's going to be fine.  She's 2, what can you expect?  It probably doesn't help that she's in class with one of her best friends, Savannah.  They were pretty funny together, egging each other on and giggling the entire time!  Thankfully their teacher was very patient and sweet.  Gracie loved it and didn't want to leave.  I know things have changed a lot since Noah was born so this dance class is something special just for her.  It kind of made me want to cry putting her in her dance clothes.  It was just another reminder of how fast she's grow up...

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Pictures of Labor Day Cabin Trip

Here are some pictures from our recent trip to the cabin.  One thing that still amazes me about Arizona is that you can be disgustingly hot in the middle of the desert and then get into your car and drive about an hour and have beautiful weather in the middle of the forest!

Noah and even Grace love their swing at the cabin.  Who wouldn't?  I want one!



I took this picture because I realized that I have hardly any pictures of just Levi and I.  He always looks good but I'm in desperate need of a tan!



They loved sitting together in the stroller.  Noah didn't even mind his sister bonking him on the head with toys!

Yep, it has begun.  Levi is already teaching her how to shoot.  He thinks he'll get her hunting with him but I think she'll have mom's heart for animals.  At least I hope so.



Gracie reading a book with her "Old Papa".  They were so cute she just kept bring him more and more books to read.  He didn't mind at all!



Lovin Noah in his old man flannel shirt!  It's fun putting them in winter clothes in the middle of the summer!



Noah and his Mamas.  My mom is thrilled that Noah will finally go to someone else without crying for me.  If only Gracie would let my mom hold Noah without getting so jealous!  She doesn't like sharing her Mamas!

Another shot of my sweet daughter being corrupted!  :)  Really though, she had a blast shooting the air soft guns with Daddy and Uncle Brandon.

Isn't he already such a stud?!  Well I think so!

Family Updates

I haven't updated the blog in a while so thought write an update before my kiddos wake up and want all my attention!

Gracie turned 2.  It was a great week full of daily birthday parties and neverending gifts.  She was spoiled greatly, particularly by her Mamas and Aunt Carolyn.  After a full week of "Grace", she had a hard time understanding it wasn't her birthday anymore.  She still sings "Happy Birthday to Me" every time she sees a cake/cookies or sees something that looks like a present.  She is now very content to play make-believe in her room by herself for long periods of time.  It is so wonderful! She seems to get cuter and cuter everyday, if that is even possible.  The things she says and ideas she comes up with are hilarious and a product of her ever imaginative daddy.

Noah is almost 5 months old!!!! Say what?!  I know, I don't understand how it's possible but it is the truth. He is so much fun.  We are loving his cute little rolls and adorable raspy laugh!  The one person that makes him laugh more than ever is his sister.  I know as parents we all like talking about how our children just adore each other, but really Noah is completely in love with his sister.  He tries to jump out of my arms to get to her.  He cracks up at her silly dancing and crazy peek-a-boo games.  Even as rough as she is, he manages to come away from sis bruise free and happy.  We all know he's a mommy's boy, but I'm thinking he is even more so a Gracie's boy.  He can almost sit up by himself.  I have to be so careful because if I set him sitting on the couch he tries to project himself off the couch and onto the floor.  It's very scary.  He loves to jump, laugh, spit raspberries and play with toys, particularly those that Grace just had. 

Levi is rocking at school.  He was given his third Student of the Course award and it looks as though he'll be getting another one next week.  I am so extremely proud of him.  Funny, some of the boys in Levi's class tried to bribe him to miss a day so they could have a shot at SOC.  It's so fun to see him do so well because Levi was never one to try that hard in school.  He is brilliant but he just never cared that much in high school and college.  Now he's got 2 kids that he adores so the stakes are a little different.

As for me, I got a job!  It was an extremely huge answer to prayer.  The greatest part: I will be working from home, so I won't have to leave my kids!  I'm going to be working back at Guthrie Mainstream, which is such an amazing company, by the way.  I will be writing habilitation goals and methodologies for individuals with special needs.  It's such a perfect situation and I'm thrilled that I got this opportunity!  God is really taking care of us right now and I am so thankful for all his blessings.

Also, my cousin Danielle had her baby last week!  He is adorable and I'm so happy for her and her husband.  Being a mom is the greatest and I know she will do a great job!  She asked me to be Reece's Godmother and I am so honored.  Thank you, Dani!

We went to the cabin last weekend and it was perfectly wonderful!  I'll try and upload pics for that next.  I've been putting it off because I get so angry trying to upload them, get them in the right order, lined up, captioned....  The Google upload system and I are not friends.

My Amazing Grace

Today my little baby is 2 years old.  (Tears are coming)  How did she get to be 2?  I feel like I just had her!  We spent last weekend celebrating her birthday.  We took her to Build A Bear to make her very own Knuffle Bunny.  Knuffle Bunny is one of Gracie's favorite books and everytime we get finish reading the book she asks, "Where's my Knuffle Bunny?"  We thought it would be fun to take her and let her pick out her very own.  She had a blast there and had very high standards on the bunny and clothes she wanted.  Daddy had to dress Knuffle Bunny a few times before she chose which outfit she wanted.  Such a girl!  :)  Then we took her to Toys R Us.  Gracie had a gift card and oh my gosh, she was in complete heaven.  I don't think I have ever seen her like that before.  She was just out of control.  She couldn't stop long enough to look at anything because she kept finding something better.  Finally, after about 2 hours, Levi and I picked out an MP3 player for her because she always wants to listen to Levi's i-pod with him.  She's loving having her own music and has been rocking out to Shane and Shane and Matt Maher. Anyways, she had a wonderful weekend and now we are going over to my parents so she can get spoiled more.  My mom has a whole dinner menu planned around Gracie's favorite foods.  Pretty sure my mom didn't do that for me when I was little...hmmm...

All about Grace:
-Favorite food is rice (such a true Asian).
-Counts to 15, sometimes leaves out the number 2.
-Has mommy's OCD (colored pencils have to be facing same direction, blocks have to be neatly lined up...)
-Favorite colors are purple and green.
-Knows her colors and can even specify if the color is light and dark.
-Gracie has the most amazing vocab and langauge skills.  Even questions that only require a simple yes or no, she will respond in a full sentence.  I'll ask her if she wants a drink and she'll respond, "No mommy, I don't want a drink right now. Later."
-Completely adores her brother.
-100%, without a doubt, Daddy's Girl.  She could care less about mom if daddy is around.  :(
-Loves art projects (watercolors, coloring, play-doh)
-Loves, loves, loves to read.  Reading is the only successful way that I know of that can keep her sitting still for long periods of time.  Needless to say, we read alot!  Her favorite books are the Biscuit series and Knuffle Bunny.
-Always wanting to help mommy bake and daddy cook.
-Has a shoe fetish.  No, I'm serious.  I put her down for a nap and when I check on her I find that she has put a pair of shoes on and fallen asleep.  Gracie tries on shoes constantly throughout the day and models them for me.  Of all the presents she got for her birthday, she's played with her new shoes the most.
-Obsessed with sippy cups, especially ones that aren't hers.  She'll walk around with an arm load of cups collecting all her friend's and cousin's.
-Has this crazy obsession of needing to hold a "baby" (small) object and "daddy" (large) object.  For example: she'll walk around the house with Noah's shoe and my shoe.  (Yes, I usually freak out because shoes are dirty and have germs).  Another example is a baby crayon (small, broken piece) and a daddy crayon (large, fat crayon). She just has to walk around the house with them in her hands or wants to watch a movie with a baby and daddy thing in her hands.  Letting her hold a baby and daddy shoe was the only way I was able to get her to sit on the toilet long enough to go the bathroom.  It's quite odd but very much a Grace thing and I don't want to forget this little quirk!
-Has to fall asleep with her "purple" baby and an old CD of Daddy signing.  If we forget either one of those things there will be no sleep!
-In church she sings with her hands raised high praising God.  Makes the tears come everytime!
-Has a sweet tooth which her "mamas" (my mom) created.
-Most common sentence I hear from Grace throughout the day, "What's that sound????"  Quite the curious thing!
-Thinks everything that is in Popo and Mama's house is Gracie's.  Calls the cabin Gracie's cabin.
-Favorite songs to sing: ABC's (complete with hand guestures), Barney's I Love You, Shane and Shane's Psalm 13, and Your Grace is Enough.  She has even composed her own song called, "Where is Daddy".

Sickly Stockton Siblings

Well, the one thing I have been dreading has finally happened.  Two sick, uncomfortable, demanding kids at once!  I remember when I was pregnant with Noah and Gracie got sick, thinking to myself, "What am I going to do when I have 2 and they are both sick?!"  Grace and Noah are both really congested which means that they aren't comfortable enough to lay down and sleep.  This equals one very exhausted mom!  It just hit me that I don't have a clue why I am blogging when I should be sleeping right now, while the kids are!  Oh well, they'll probably be awake soon anyways... Grace has been a little more high maintenance about the whole thing.  Noah is fine until he wants to sleep, then he realizes he can't breathe and gets upset.  Noah has always been such a good sleeper, which is why I never felt the extreme exhaustion of having a newborn but I'm feeling it now!  Anyways, praying that this cold is not the kind that lingers forever (probably is)!

My baby girl will be turning 2 on Wednesday!  I just can't believe that it has already been two years since I had her.  I still remember the feeling of surprise at finding out I was pregnant and the excitement of knowing everything was going to change.  I had no idea how much better life could get!  I love that feisty little bundle of energy!

One thing I'm trying to figure out is when Grace decided it was okay to stop calling me mommy.  She calls me mom now.  I really don't like it.  I like being "mommy".   Why didn't she ask me what I wanted?

A daddy/daughter moment...brought to you by mom!

oday, during dinner, Gracie was being her cute, usual chatty self and she said,

"Daddy if I eat 2 green beans, can I have 2 more chicken?" 

Quite the little negotiator! 

(picture her saying that with her head cocked to the side and her eyebrows raised)

Levi started laughing hard and said,

"Gracie, you are brilliant and I love you.  No man is ever going to be good enough for you!"

Oh boy.

On another note, we had a great weekend.  It felt like we were going, going all weekend but it was nice.  My brother Brandon stayed the night Friday and Gracie loved playing with her crazy uncle.  They were so cute, I turned on a movie for them and Grace climbed up on the couch and curled up next to Brandon.  He was just beaming with pride.  All weekend she was trying so hard to communicate in sign to him and he is so patient trying to understand what she was saying and teaching her new signs.  My brother is such an amazing person.

 Saturday, the kids and I went to my cousin's baby shower while Levi took Brandon to the movies.  It was a lot of fun and Danielle got some great things.  We are all looking forward to having another baby in the family!I'm a little sad that some people had to come and cause a little drama.  But what get-together with 30 women wouldn't be complete without a little drama?!  After the shower we went to my parents house to swim.  We got Noah in the pool and he LOVED it! 

On Sunday we went to church and over the Levi's parents for lunch.  Noah and Gracie were starting to show signs of extreme exhaustion from being gone all weekend so we took the kids home and all enjoyed some naps!

Anyways, love my family and love the weekends!

And in regards to my previous post, it looks like the Lord is moving!  It seems as though he is moving me in a completely different direction than I planned.  I am praying very hard that this potential opportunity works out.  Any prayers you want to send my way would be so appreciated!

Ending with a few pictures:

Love this picture, love that face!

Gracie and her Uncle Brandon watching Cinderella.

At Danielle's baby shower.  Excited for Little Reece to come!

Julia and Grace, bestest friends!

My sweet and perfect, little happy boy.

As of today, my little Noah bear is 4 months old!  How did that happen already?!

Gracie and her goofy face with her Aunt Buggy.