The littlest one

It's got to be hard to be the littlest one in our house. I forgot that Grace needed an 18 month well-check - not that I didn't notice that major milestone approaching. I was just so focused on counting down the Sundays until nursery, who has time to think about shots? :) She's sadly overlooked on the blog, as well.

In a nutshell, Grace was a sweet, mellow baby -always smiling and easy going.

And then she grew out of it.

When she's upset, she runs over to the corner to cry and pout until we coax her out. Or if a corner isn't readily available, she puts her head in her arms to cry.

Grace is itty-bitty. Just 22 pounds, size 3 diaper, size 3-4 shoe. But she's a CLIMBER -watch-out! She dumps toys out of their plastic bins to carry them into the kitchen to get what she wants. One day I'd left my medicine box on the counter and she'd pulled it down to see what was inside. Fortunately, I got there before she decided Ex-lax tasted like candy. She keeps me on my toes. Thankfully she can't reach doorknobs yet! She's very nearly figured out my child-proof locks in the kitchen. She gets onto our stools, the table, types on the computer, runs around with anything she can grab out of drawers. Her nursery teachers say that she climbs on the play kitchen in there. Oops.

She loves to talk on the phone, preferably the real one if you happen to leave it within reach. She wanders around and chatters and laughs with herself.

Grace is a definite shoe-horse. She loves all kinds - boots, sandals, her own shoes, everyone else's. "Tappy-shoes" are a favorite for church. She likes the click-click and the fanciness of black patent leather.

I realized the other day that although Grace adores princesses and dress-up and the fancy life, but hasn't seen a single princess movie. Another cost of being #4. No one else needs to watch Cinderella around here, but I put it on for her the other day. She LOVED it and went right upstairs for her princess gear to dance along.

She's recently discovered nightgowns and loves them, too.

One night Grace wasn't tired in her crib. She tossed all her blankets and animals on the floor and was RUNNING in laps around the inside of her crib. I am so dang lucky she can't climb out yet, although I've had actual nightmares about that very thing.

She loves to try her own zippers... but mostly she just loves to disrobe. Sometimes she's in nothing but a diaper when we get her in the morning, sometimes her arm is stuck through the neckhole. She's been known to fight to get her shirt off in the cart at Costco. I always win in public, but don't be surprised if you drop by and she is triumphantly running around without a shirt.

She LOVES her blanket. A leftover hand-me-down from when Lydia was born that she's just attached to. I have to be VERY sneaky when I wash it. And she often eats with it tucked safely behind her booster seat, not too far away to be missed but out of the line of fire from the table.

She is a super picky eater. She only eats a couple things and even then, only if she's in the mood. One good meal a day is about right for her. This week she insisted on eating every single noodle with her fork, but had trouble poking the al dente little buggers herself. "Mommy!" she hollered for each reload. I thought I might go nutty, but Lydia and I just giggled together at the insanity of the moment.

And speaking of insanity, she wants to be potty-trained alongside Carver. Scary stuff. She's gone several times on the toilet and I'm not sure how I feel about that. (Do they make panties that small?!!)

Grace loves her big sisters, holding their hands, sitting on their laps and playing with their best stuff. She also giggles and makes trouble with Carver. She kept kissing his cheek today until he ran away. When neither of them are tired at bedtime, they play together through the crib slats.

Last week I made a more concentrated effort to get the yum-yum out of her cute mouth and hear what she has to say. And there's a lot more than I thought! She's putting words together like crazy and still says a lot of things in her own way. I love, love, love her little voice.

This picture pretty much captures her spunk right now. In my black boots, smiling like she owns the world. Or maybe just mine. :)