Fall Festivities and Happy Halloween!!

We brought Grace to pick out her first pumpkin....

She soon became distracted by the grass and dirt!

 Grace was a ballerina for Halloween. Our wonderful friend, Ashlee, made Grace a tu-tu when she was born so we felt it was a perfect occasion to show it off!

Getting ready for the trick-or-treating at Nana and Grandpa's and Mimi and Papa's house...

She loved her pumpkin pale so much that she held on to it even while Tory was dressing her :)

All ready and pretty in pink! Happy Halloween!!

Don't worry- we did not allow her to sit by herself on the table!  Tory was hiding behind her holding her up!

Daddy and his little lady with our Winking Man pumpkin



Our first stop- Nana and Grandpa's house...

Nana and Grace

Tory's mom has always had a tradition of the Great Pumpkin!  So, the Great Pumpkin came for Grace this year. He brought her a wand and a stuffed Thumper from Disney. She squealed with delight the moment she saw Thumper and immediately began chewing on the ears...haha.

Aunt Amber, Grace the Ballerina, and Thumper

Our first picture with Grace and her cousins, Shayla and Jaeden! Jaeden the rocket, Grace the Ballerina, and Shayla- aka Rapunzel

Next stop....Mimi and Papa's house!

Mimi and Grace!

And...the Allen 3!  Happy Halloween- I hope everyone had a great night!

6 Months Old....Oh my!

It is so hard to imagine that our sweet baby girl is already 6 months old. Time is flying by- I wish I could slow it down a bit. The last 6 months have been wonderful and I know the next will be just as fun.

We had Grace's 6 month follow-up with Dr. Pruitt. Grace continues to grow big and strong.She is VERY long, going to be a tall girl! Her 6 months measurements are:

Length: 27 1/4 inches = 93 percentile!!
Weight: 16 lbs 14 oz = 67 percentile
Head Circ: 17 1/4 inches = 85 percentile

Things to know about Grace at 6 months old....

* She continues to be such a happy girl, laughing and squealing often!
* She continues to think Tory and I are the funniest people in the world- she particularly loves when I pretend to sneeze- it gets her going every time
* She loves music
* She bounces ALL of the time! She the true meaning of a bouncy baby girl!
* She loves rolling. She rolls over and over and over again to get wherever she wants to go.
* She moves quick and is attempting to get in small places that would be VERY difficult to get her out of...haha. We must watch her at ALL times.
* She continues to practice blowing raspberries, especially when she is excited.
* She loves different textures and scrapes her nails on things experience the different feelings and sounds. We will hear her in the middle of the night scraping the sides of her pack n play.
* She continues to be such a happy girl in the morning- waking us with her squeals and babbling.
* She can sit up on her own for a whole 15 seconds....haha!
* She LOVES her thumb and feet!
* She loves toys with happy, bright faces.
* She loves splashing in the bath tub
* She is a total joy and is adored by both Tory and I!!

Looking forward to the next 6 months!

The Adventures of Solid Foods!

We have begun experimenting with Grace eating cereal. This is her very first experience and she seemed to like it....

Some video footage of the messy but exciting experience!

Oh boy!  I knew we were going to be taking a bath right after this try with cereal so I let her go at it!  It may be hard to see in the picture but it was EVERYWHERE!

We finally put Grace's highchair up....such a big girl!

All of the new experiences are so much fun for Tory and I!

Random Events...

It has been quite some time since I have posted- life has been BUSY to say the least! Here as some random pictures of Grace that we have taken. Other updates are to come!

Thanks to Mimi and Papa, Grace is now a proud owner of a bouncy seat. Grace loves to bounce so we figured this would be a perfect addition to our baby gear. However, who knew that there were so many parts???

As expected Grace thoroughly enjoys her bouncy seat...

We have been enjoying the "cooler" weather in Florida. The first days we had that it was cooler than 80 degrees we were out taking walks. Grace really loves being outside.

Ready to go!

It actually got cool enough that Grace got to wear her first hoody sweatshirt. You gotta love the ears!

Grace loves going outside- it is very relaxing for her. When we got home from the walk, here she was fast asleep!

Lastly, had to capture a picture of daddy and Grace playing. We are working on her balancing skills. :)

More excitement to come!

5 Months Old!!

Grace is already 5 months old, where did the time go?? She is getting so big! She LOVES playing on her tummy and is really starting to scoot around. I am not quite sure how she does it but she can move quite a distance when people are not watching- Mommy and Daddy need to keep our eye on her at ALL times! She is starting to work on getting up on her knees, oh boy! She laughs often which brings Tory and I so much enjoyment- she thinks we are the funniest people in the world, which we love! Grace is so, so much fun!!  Some 5 month snap shots...


Loungin' in my bathtub and sucking my thumb...can't get much better than that!

Happy 5 Months to Grace!

Grace, Grace Naked Buns!  Grace is working hard to get up on her knees and move around. She is very, very determined.

Look at those cheeks!

I love play time with Grace...

Grace has started to do such a great job falling asleep on her own. After she fell asleep I snuck in and took a picture of my sweet girl sleeping soundly.

Grace's Big Day!!

Grace was baptized on Sunday, September 25th and it was such a special day!  Grace's Godfather, my brother, was able to make it for the Baptism and her Godmother, my sister, was their in spirit as she was unable to make it due to distance.  Grace wore my sister's christening gown which was also pretty special. Grace was such a happy girl throughout the ceremony and stole the show with her squeels of joy!  We had our first party for Grace at our house following her Baptism. We were blessed to have both friends and family help us celebrate this important day.

Grace all in white...

What a big girl! 

Look at my pretty dress Aunt Lisa let me have!

A little snooze before the big event...

 Drum roll please......

Grace was very, very curious about the flame on her baptismal candle!

Godfather/Uncle Chris, Daddy, Mommy, and Deacon Mark

My Parents (Mimi and Papa) were very excited about this day!

Tory's parents (Nana and Grandpa) joined us for the special day as well!

Corrie and Phil, our wonderful friends, along with their little ones, Clare and Isaac, joined the fun! It is always a challenge to photograph three children 3 years and younger...we tried!

Tory's sister, Brandie, was able to make it. She was our videographer for the occasion- thanks Brandie!

Thank you to my mom's friends, Loretta and Tim, for helping us celebrate!

 It was a wonderful day and we look forward to continuing to help Grace grow in her faith!

Toes in the Sand!

Grace made her first trip to the Beach! Tory, Grace, and I went to the beach for dinner and to watch the sunset with my parents and my brother who was visiting. Grace really liked the beach once the sun started to go down. She loved putting her feet in the sand and the ocean. It was a lot of fun. Here are some pictures that captured our visit to the beach...

Grace watching the sunset and some baseball with Daddy. He is training her early :)

Happy Momma, Happy Girl!

Grace's proud Mimi, Papa, and Uncle!

Grace's first experience of sand, she was pretty curious.

Checkin' out the water...

The happy family!