Gotta Have Faith and Daniel: February 2013

It's been a little crazy in the Grove household again. And unfortunately it's about to get even crazier in the next few weeks as we try to put a permanent fix on our water and flooding issues. We'll be packing up our living room and kitchen so that a drainage system and sump pump can be installed. The thought of someone taking a jack hammer to our living room and kitchen floor makes me sick to my stomach, but we're out of other options. So on we go! Given all that craziness, I thought I would send a quick update while I have a few minutes. Who knows when I'll have time for another one. And our girl is growing and changing so fast that it's hard to keep up. I try to commit every moment, every milestone to memory, but sometimes that's hard to do when you're caught up in the day to day minutia of life. The millions of pictures we take and documenting things on this blog will help us never forget these precious days. So without further ado, here is a quick run down of a day in the current life of Faith.

-She eats anything and everything you put in front of her, but by far her favorites are blueberries and bananas. She gets so excited when she sees those two fruits that her arms start flailing and she starts laughing/crying all at the same time until you give it to her.

-She continues to walk around by pushing toys and her new favorite activity of pushing and rearranging the kitchen chairs. All of this walking and climbing caused her first (and then a few more) boo-boos. Nothing too bad and she took them like a champ. The first one - a bloody lip - might have had more tears from mama than Faith.

-She has 5 adorable teeth and at least one more that is about to make an appearance. That darn tooth has been causing all of us to lose sleep the last few days. But, all of those pearly whites have created a new favorite bedtime activity - brushing our teeth and eating toothpaste :-)

-She is still very busy all the time. Moving from toy to toy, rarely sitting still or wanting to cuddle any more. She is Miss Independent and one of those kids that doesn't even think about going around an obstacle. Why would you do that when you can just climb right over it?!

-She loves "helping" with chores around the house, but her most favorite is loading and unloading the dishwasher, aka - banging on bowls with spoons while mommy & daddy do the dishes.

-She loves to play catch and daddy is quite proud of her throwing arm. Her list of "show off tricks" as I like to call them is growing. In addition to high five she has now mastered so big, patty cake, and her latest peek-a-boo. Her peek-a-boo needs a little practice. When you ask "where is Faith?" she puts her hands on the side of her head instead of over her eyes. It's like she's saying "ugh! not this again!".

-We're pretty sure she's either going to be a dancer or practice yoga (or both) in the near future. She will just randomly strike a pose with arms and legs and we have no idea how she learned them.

-She might hate me for this one in about 15 years, but I can't resist. This kid loves to be naked. I swear she would spend all day without clothes on if we let her. And it's not just clothes - she even hates diapers. Actually I think she hates them the most. We keep hoping she'll outgrow it and we won't have to literally pin her down to put on a shirt, but no such luck yet. No comment on what this means for her future ;)

-And finally the update that makes me most proud. We've been teaching her basic sign language since she was about 6 months old. She's so vocal that we were starting to think she might just start talking before she even needs to use the signs. And then a few days ago, she started signing "more"... in the correct contexts. You would have been hard pressed to find a prouder mama and daddy that day!

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. We're blessed!

Much Love,

The Groves