Merry Christmas!

Wow, it has been a long time since I wrote last. Things have really gotten busy. Your baby sister, Ella Grace was born on Thanksgiving Day! She decided to start her entrance in the middle of the night. I got to spend a few days with you so Daddy could be with Mommy at the hospital. Your baby sister is beautiful! Sometimes I think you two look alike and other times I see the differences. Your personality is one of independence and strong willed. You are a very well behaved little girl most all the time. When you get in trouble it is almost always due to being stubborn or strong willed. This will serve you well as you get older but right now it can be tiring for the adults. You will stand your ground when you decide to. Your manners are getting better and better. Mommy and Daddy are working hard to teach you how to be polite and respectful. I have no doubt that you will be both polite and respectful. We had Christmas here at the farm yesterday. You were so much fun to watch. You loved your gifts but chocolate treats were your favorite! You are a sugar loving girl just like your momma. I am enjoying watching you grow up so much. You are changing all the time. You have lots of energy, giggles and hugs! You are a true blessing from God!! So is Ella Grace. Ge has two granddaughters now and I love you both to the moon and back. As always, Ge loves you sweet girl! 12-29-2013 Avery

Barba and Honey

Hi again sweet girl! It has been a long time since my last entry. You change so quickly that I hope I can remember it all. Your mommy and me are doing preschool with you now. You are learning so fast. Numbers, letters, shapes, colors and even memory verses seem to be easy for you. Hearing you say a scripture from memory is amazing. God is storing them in your heart. He knows they will always be with you. You are starting to write your letters also. You love learning and ask to do preschool if we don't start it soon enough. You are in dance class now and loving it. You don't like to listen to your teacher very much though. You want to do your own thing. I must say, you are the cutest ballerina in the class! Over the summer, you have spent some nights here at the farm with me and Pop. (you are calling him Pop again) You love love love our dog Sadie. you call her Sadie Patatie because you heard me say that one time. She loves you and is super gentle. You help me cook pancakes every morning you are here. You enjoy the cows across the street and are fascinated with the road kill that is present most of the time. The dead raccoon held your attention for a long time. One day in preschool, we were talking about what words and names start with certain letters. When we got to B, I asked if you knew what my name was. You were stunned to find out I had a name other than Ge. You didn't really say alot about it that day. One night when you were spending the night with us, you heard me call Pop by the name Honey. You wanted to know why I called him Honey. I tried to explain and you seemed fine with it. The next day, you told me you wanted to call Pop Honey also. I said I thought he would like that. Fast forward to your birthday party...you called us Barba and Honey the whole time. It was so funny. Since everyone laughed and thought it was cute, you did that several times. I loved it! I knew it was a passing thing. It wasn't long before I was Ge again. Speaking of your birthday party, you are 3! What a big girl you are. Your mommy and daddy did an amazing job with a Micky Mouse clubhouse theme. It was great fun. It won't be long before baby sister Ella Grace is here! You will be a wonderful big sister!! I so enjoy you. You are a blessing from God! As always, Ge loves you!! 11-2-2013 Avery

Growing and changing so fast!

Hi again sweet girl. It has been a long time since the last post. Life has been super busy and fun the last few months. Me and Papa have moved to the farm fulltime. You probably won't remember the condo, as you grow up. It will always be special to us. Your Papa and I bought that condo before it was built. We picked out all the finishes. I spent many hours rocking you and playing baby girl things with you. I will always have fond memories of the time there but we are so happy at the farm. You have spent some weekends with us here at the farm. You love picking vegetables with Papa and playing with Sadie. Oh yeah, we have a dog now. She showed up and stayed with us. She is a bassett hound and retriever mix. We love her and she loves us. You and her are big buddies. She lets you pet and wallow her with no objections. You are getting so big. You are in dance class now. You aren't to fond of listening to instruction but you do love to dance. Me, your mommy, and you will start your preschool work before long. Where has the time gone???? You have a funny sense of humor and love to cuddle more than any little girl I have ever known. You want to be touching, sitting on a lap, holding a hand or making contact all the time. It is great!! You are going to make a wonderful big sister! Just remember that you will always hold a very special place in your Ge's heart. You are my first grandchild and I love you with a love so fierce that I never knew existed! As always, Ge loves you!!!! 08-25-2013 Avery

jabbering and growing tall

Hi baby girl! It has been a long time since I have written to you. Things have been pretty hectic. Papa (previously known as Pop) and Ge are putting the condo on the market so we can move full time to the farm. As we watch you grow, it is obvious that you are going to be tall. You are sprouting straight up! You talk nonstop now. Your speech is improving daily and you are still willing to work on it. Someday Mommy will tell you about "circle lips". You hear us say that to you often. You still love to dance and are singing your favorite songs. You normally will not allow anyone to sing along with the radio or tv. You say "no, don't sing". You are going to be a big sister!! That is super exciting for all of us. Although you don't understand what that means, I am sure you will be a great sister. It is going to be fun watching you as Mommy's tummy continues to grow. Tonight is your first night in your big girl bed. I hope you will stay in it but have my doubts. I do know that Mommy and Daddy will teach you to stay in there and you will be a champ before long. You spent this weekend with us. You and me have a "sleepover" since we sleep in the same bed. Sometimes there is not much sleep. It is so fun to watch you run and play at the farm. Your favorite thing is the creek. You love to walk in it and look for frogs, dragon flies or anything else that might be seen. This weekend, you decided that Pop was now Papa. You loved on him and kept saying "I love my Papa". It was a sweet thing to see. As you can tell, I love watching you change and grow. As always, Ge loves you!! 06-19-2013 Avery

You keep on growing..

Hi again, sweet girl. These past couple of weeks have been so fun with you. You are changing and growing soooo much. Your personality is so evident and wonderful. I must say, one of my favorites about your personality is your drama. You make so many funny faces and can go from happy to (pretending) distraught in a few seconds. You will say "Oh no" followed by any tragedy that you are pretending that is happening. Your imagination is amazing. We make up all sorts of funny looking animals and situations. Play time is never boring! Your speech is getting better all the time. You cooperate with Ms. Carrie at speech therapy like a pro. You try new sounds and make us all proud. You are singing your abc's and counting now. You recognize numbers and letters too. Have I told you how smart your are? hehe Again I must say how blessed I am to be such a big part of your life. You make the bad things in life seem not so bad. Somehow, when I know I can spend a day just simply playing and laughing with you, the bad days seem much better. As always, Ge loves you!!

Remembering Grandma Edith

Hi again, sweet girl. Today I want to share some memories of your great grandma Edith Palmer. She went to heaven yesterday and has met Jesus face to face now. I am sure she is super happy at the moment. She has a husband (JT), two sons (Dennis and Wayne), and a grandson (Dennis) that she has been reunited with. I know you momma will tell you all about Grandma but I want to share a few memories with you. You see, your Grandpa Bruce and I were young when we married. Your Grandpa Bruce was the youngest of Grandma Edith's kids. She was none too happy that we were getting married so young. We were 17 and 20. Way too young for such a big step but we thought we knew everything. Grandma was not unkind to me but made it clear that she was waiting to see if I hung around before she was going to warm up. Over the years, She and I became very close. She was like a second Mom to me and I loved her very much. The first Christmas I spent with the family, Grandma gave me and Grandpa a picture frame with a mat that held several pictures. I put honeymoon pictures in it and thought it was great. When Grandma saw it she said "I thought you would put pictures of Bruce in that". Boy did we come a long way as the years rolled by. She was at almost every really important event in your mom's and Uncle Josh's life. These events were as special and important to her as too any of us it seemed. That was not always easy for her since she had several grandchildren. How she loved her grandchildren! It was rare to see Grandma without a grandchild with her. To her it was as natural as breathing to have a child with her. She would often come to our house and leave with either your mom or Uncle Josh. It really did not matter where she was going when she left. She just wanted a grandchild with her. When your mom was small, Grandma would make her Easter dresses. It was a tricky thing to tell her that your mom had outgrown ruffles and bows. Grandma took the news in stride. Grandma was a champion at card sending! She sent cards for every holiday, birthday, anniversary or any other significant day. She had to choose them herself. The cards were always personal and heartfelt. For years, she would send the grandkids a five dollar bill for real special occasions. She was also famous for ornanaments. Every Christmas, we all got an ornament that had been carefully picked just for us. As the grandkids grew older, she would tuck money in the box. We would all get a laugh when she was trying to call someone by name. We would all say "roll call". You see, Grandma would often go through the list of her children, in laws and grandchildren before she got to the right one. It was priceless. Most of us would answer to whatever name she called us. One last story...The famous burning of the rolls. Grandma prepared wonderful meals for holidays. The only problem was she would get so busy that she would forget the rolls in the oven. Almost everytime the smoke detecter would go off. Once again, priceless. Your great grandmother was a beautiful woman that was a great role model for all of us. She loved us all unconditionally. My life was touched and molded by the love and guidance of this special lady, your great grandma Edith Palmer.

I so silly.......Do it myself

Hello sweet girl! It has been almost a month since I updated this blog. It has a fun month. You are becoming a chatterbox. You talk nonstop even if it is just to yourself. Your speech is improving daily. Mickey Mouse and Angelina are two favorite characters for now. You are almost always wearing a tutu. You dance around everywhere. The other day you got so mad at me because none of your tutus would fit me. I ended up with a white tutu on my leg and wearing a pink hat and dancing with you. I call you bossy britches alot. You are a bossy little girl that says "now" often. It is funny to hear. You want to do everything by yourself. That is a well used phrase for you right now. "By myself" This past weekend you came to the farm with Ge and Pop. We played in the creek and walked all around the land.I ended up on an air mattress with you snuggled up in the middle of the night. Your mom and dad came down Saturday afternoon. As we were getting dinner ready, our neighbor came and asked if anyone wanted to see a calf be born. So here come the city girl (in her tutu) with GE, Pop, Mom and Dad to the barn across the street. We all witnessed the miracle of birth as a baby girl calf came into the world. You cried when the Mama cow mooed loud but ended up mooing at her. What a great experience! After dinner, you (in your tutu still) danced around the kitchen saying "I so silly, I dance". You were in your own toddler world and I loved watching you! As always, Ge loves you! 02-24-2013 Avery

Loving watching her grow

Hey again sweet girl! You are so much fun right now. You run, play, dance, help and wrap some of us around your finger. On the days I get to take of you, when you wake up and see me, you say "Ge". Then you say " Mom at work, Dad at work". You are happy and ready to face the day. Life is such an adventure for you. Your speech is improving greatly. You try to say everything and usually understandable. One of your favorite words is NOW. Patience is something you are learning but does not come naturally. I love the time I get to spend watching you dance. You are a very good and dramatic dancer already! You and your mom and dad are settled into your new house. It is beautiful and will be full of memories as you grow. I am so blessed to watch you as you grow. These are times I treasure in my heart! As always, Ge loves you!! 01-30-2013 Avery

New Year and talking

Happy New Year sweet baby girl. It is now 2013 and you are a little more than 2 years old! What a fun year it has been. I have got to spend a lot of time with you and I have loved it! You are really starting to talk. You can say several words and try to say everything. I have been calling myself Grammy all this time but you have changed that. You call me Ge and will correct anyone who calls me Grammy. You call Papa Pop now. It is so fun to communicate with you now. I love hearing you try so hard. You now have a crush on Marco the mouse from Angelina Ballerina. You actually act shy and smile when someone asks you of you love Marco. Christmas with the family was so much fun. You and your mama and daddy came to Stella and stayed for the weekend. You love the farm and all the space to run. You moo when the cows moo. It is super cute. I can honestly say that when I feel sad, your smile, giggles and hugs make things right again. You are so loving and sweet. I am excited about what this year brings. You will change so much and I am so blessed to be able to have the chance to watch you. You are an amazing little girl! As always Ge (previously known as Grammy) loves you! 01-01-2013 Avery