Gotta Have Faith and Daniel: July 2013

It's a few weeks late, but I didn't want to forget to acknowledge Faith's half birthday. She is officially 18 months old (as of July 8th). One year and a half. Wow! Crazy, Crazy! In one sense I can't believe that much time has passed since she was born and on the other hand I feel like we've always been her parents.

Speaking of being a mom and dad - it's a bit of a circus these days. We spend most of our time chasing after Faith and trying to minimize the tornado damage she leaves behind. You know - catching plants she's about to knock over before they hit the ground, grabbing that unknown object from her hand before it goes in her mouth, stopping her from standing on chairs, stools and other things she's not supposed to, anticipating her wants and needs as best we can - aka becoming mind readers since her words are still very minimal, making it her idea that we hold her hand as she walks down the stairs "by herself", making sure she doesn't hit her head as she throws that temper tantrum because we made her hold our hand while she walked down the stairs, remembering hats, sunblock, snacks, milk, and the most important binky anytime we leave the house and coming up with MANY activities throughout the day to keep her happy, busy and out of trouble. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Some of her favorite things these days are: milk, fig newtons, bubbles, reading books, yogurt - but only from a tube, being barefoot (she is constantly taking off her shoes), standing on everything and anything (especially things she's not supposed to) and playing in her tent and with her new car. She also has this look she's started giving us. It sort of looks like she's saying: Are you serious? I'm NOT doing that! She's making the face in one of the pictures below. She also makes it when she knows she's in trouble and then she'll wave to you to try to charm you again. We're in so much trouble when she starts talking :-)

We're enjoying the lazy days of summer and trying to do our best to take it easy. We've spent lots of time at the pool and Jimmie Cone, but also make sure to have a few adventures each week. The photos below are from a few of our recent adventures: mommy & faith's trip to the beach, a sleepover with cousin Connor, and an impromptu road trip to Harper's Ferry. Oh and there are a few photos about a recent "cooking" lesson for Faith: making chocolate pudding with Daddy. I'm not sure if there was more on the floor, in the bowl or on Faith. Thank goodness for Shout!

We hope you all are enjoying summer and life wherever you may be reading this. Thanks for taking an interest in our crazy, amazing little life!

Much Love,

The Groves

I'm 18 months old!

Checking out our view of the beach from our balcony

"Come on mom let's go to the beach."

Making her new "face"

Beach babe

A little windy on the beach the next day

She loved people watching from our balcony

She loved sitting on the sliding door track - no idea why

Mommy & Faith at the beach

Standing in her new car

Queen of the castle about to go down the slide

High fives with Connor

Kisses for Kira

Holding baby Kira (and eyeing up her binky)

Making pudding with Daddy

Pudding taste tester

Helping Daddy "stir" aka splash pudding everywhere

And eventually she stuck her hand in

What? Did I get some on my face?

Family fun at Jimmie Cone

Hanging at the pool with Daddy

Running...she's always running somewhere

Hello everyone!

Happy summer! This picture pretty much sums up our summer! I just love it! The Groves have had many adventures lately - almost too many to tell you about in one post, but I'll give you the short version. We have basically been traveling - sometimes together and sometimes separately - for the last month. We were in York one week for the Senior Games (our annual volunteer commitment). Then we headed to the NY/PA border in the southern Catskills for a getaway with Grandma & Pop Pop Chaney and Aunt Kelly. We had a great relaxing week by the pool and exploring the area. Right after we got back we had a mini family reunion for some of Jess's family in Lancaster, PA. Some of her cousins were in town from California for a visit and Faith got to hang out with her cousin Vivian that she never met before. The next day Randy was off to Atlanta for the NEA convention for a week. So it was just us girls for the July 4th holiday. We spent some time with Grandma & Pappy Kehler and Uncle Josh and hung out in Aunt Sandy & Uncle John's pool. Faith is such a fish and just loves the water - doesn't matter what kind of water - she loves pools, oceans and bath tubs alike. We even set off some mini fireworks which Faith LOVED! She clapped the whole time they were going off. She is so fearless and finds joy in everything we do. This past weekend, Randy was home for exactly 8 hours (long enough to sleep in his own bed, do his laundry, repack his suitcase and eat breakfast with Faith) before he was off again. This time headed to a tiny island on the Chesapeake Bay for a week of marsh studies and all kinds of adventures we can't wait to hear about. The girls wanted another adventure too so we packed up and headed to the beach for a few days! We're here until Thursday and have had a great time so far just relaxing for a few days. Faith is a total beach bum. She loves the sand, but she really loves the ocean. All day she kept begging me to take her back down to the water. She was splashing and laying on the sand just like she'd been doing it for years. No fear. I'm positive that if I let go of her hand or looked away for a second she would dart into the water for a swim. Sadly it's almost time to go home, but we'll be so happy to see daddy and all be under one roof.

Whew! I'm tired just looking at all of that. But we're not complaining. It's been great fun - minus the part where we didn't really get to see Randy for almost two weeks. Faith is definitely missing her daddy and so am I!

Here is a run down of the new and different things in the life and times of Faith:

She loves to run. She literally never walks anywhere. If her feet are moving - she's running. Down hill is especially her favorite, but it sure makes for a few heart stopping moments. Her second favorite thing to do if she's not running is climb. If she falls town there are almost never tears. She just brushes off her hands and keeps running...lord help us! I should probably take out stock in band aids or at least buy them in bulk.
She refuses to keep any bows, barrettes or any of those cute girly hair things in her hair. She rips them out within minutes of me putting them in. Her hair is almost in her eyes so I guess it's time for a trim. I just don't want anyone touching those beautiful curls in the back - especially not before her flower girl debut in Aunt Erica's wedding later this summer.
Her favorite foods these days are cheese, sweet cherries, hummus and ice cream. In fact some days she has gone all day only eating those foods. And milk of course. That's a balanced meal right? Oh and she loves tacos. We eat them once a week (at least) although Faith might eat them every day if we let her.
She is still miss independent who can do everything herself. And she still waves to everyone wherever we go. It's quite entertaining to watch the different reactions she gets.
Current LOVES are: going to the pool, running in the sprinkler, bubbles, stickers, crayons, play doh and hugging Joey. If the day includes at least two or three of those activities - we chalk it up as a good one.
She is saying a few things that we can understand like baby or daddy, but she isn't really talking yet. I say yet because I'm convinced one of these days she's going to open her mouth and starting speaking in full paragraphs. She understands everything you say to her (which could be scary when she does start talking).
And finally the not so proud mama moments. She is a full blown toddler - no baby anymore. Her latest "thing" is hitting people in the face and sometimes it hurts...ALOT. Usually it's when she's mad, but sometimes she'll do it randomly. I have lots of theories on why, but I also know it's very age appropriate. Mostly, I hope she stops doing it VERY soon.

That gives you a glimpse into our little world. But no matter how frustrating some days can be and how tired I am when she finally closes her eyes for the night - our days are filled with so much laughter and so much joy that none of that matters. Every night when I put her to bed we read a few books and then without fail, I get the biggest hug (sometimes a kiss too, but always a hug). And in that moment I'm the most grateful mama on the planet.

Much Love,

The Groves