Valentine's Day Flashbacks

Yes! The Harrell's are all still alive! :) I actually have no excuse why I am so spiratic with my blogging. Those of you who know me well, know I would rather nap or watch "A Baby Story" during Gracie's naptime than try to blog. One day I will try harder. Promise :) That being said, here is the update on our little family.
Special Things a/b today: Eight years ago today Adam and I said "I love you" for the first time. Its always a special day each year as we remember what a fun day that was. I'm so thankful God chose Adam as my husband. He is a blessing each and everyday. Such a loyal lover and friend. (mooshy mooshy mooshy...yada yada yada) :)

Also, 2 years ago today, we saw Gracie's heartbeat on the ultrasound machine for the first time!!! Talk about love at first sight! She is such a miracle. Today I am thankful for having the honor of loving this little girl.

Lastly, speaking of the little "lovey girl", as we call her. Today she is 16 months old. The time is flying by. She is the funniest little girl I know. She has the funnest personality. She surprises me with something new everyday. She's got several words now, and understand almost everything I say to her. She's started doing some chores .(I don't think its ever to early to make her earn her keep) :) They include: taking her bucket of diry clothes to the laundy room, throwing dryer sheets away for mommy, putting her sippy cups in the sink, and most importantly, FEEDING THE DOG!!! I always dreamed of the day this could be her job! She loves to carry a cup of dogfood to Bentley's bowl. She then tells him to "eat!". She also likes to tell him "NO NO BEN-TY" for practically everything he does. Poor guy.
We are also headed into the "training" stage. She clearly understands "no" and has been testing her limits. Oddly enough, moreso with me than Adam. Shocker! :) We have both been in tears together a few times, but I know 4 to 5 years down the road I will be so thankful we worked hard at teaching her to obey the first time. I am about to buy and dive into Toddlerwise (the continuation of Babywise which we used with her as an infant) and we have also signed up for the Growing Kids Gods Way class at church. We need all the help we can get! I'm actually very excited a/b the GKGW class because my parents studied it when we were younger. I just think thats neat and trust their judgement in choosing the material.

Nothing too exciting for us lately! I am sending Adam on an "All Dudes" ski trip (the boys words, not mine) for his 30th birthday. Its a year early but Travis and Daniel are turining 30 this year, so he didn't mine jumping in early. Gracie and I are going to try to go visit Aunt Bella and Asa while they are gone. And squeeze in a slumberparty with Shannon and Ally.

Hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Soaring Wings Half Marathon

Just taking a minute to share a quick "Hooray!" This picture was taken at the Soaring Wings Half Marathon here in Conway this past weekend. Adam's sister Morgan trained and finished her first half marathon! Woo hoo! I am so proud of her! Huge accomplishment!

This was the first half I have done since having Gracie. Training this time around was different---but in a good way. I was telling my friend Stephanie when we were running the other day I've felt an added pressure/challenge this time around. I don't know if it is the idea of really making my training time count, or just the thought of giving birth in the last year allowing for no excuses to not challenge my mind and body in new ways, but I definitely felt like I needed to kick it up a notch.

Before I had Grace I did 3 half marathons, all for the fun of it. I really just enjoyed the social aspect of training with a group, and the accomplishment of just completing 13.1 miles. But about a month ago I decided I wanted to set a new PR (personal record) for this race. Thankfully I had a few good friends who were willing to meet me at 5am for some challenging training runs and it all payed off! My original goal was 2:05 (my PR up until now was 2:13)....but somehow I managed to kick it up and complete the race in 1:58:50. Definitely the hardest thing I've ever done. Yes, there were parts that hurt worse than labor. But then again the pain of this race is a little fresher on my mind than labor last year :)

Anyway--just wanted to share--its been a hard few months of training and for now, I'm happy with the new PR. My blisters, and stress fractured foot are looking forward to some time off. Thank you to my hubby for not complaining when my alarm went off at 4:30am 3 days a week. And praise the Lord that He has blessed me with a healthy body that is capable of doing some amazing things.

"She's berry sweet and oh so fun....Grace Elizabeth is turning ONE!!"

Well here we are....one year after Grace Elizabeth changed our lives forever! I know every mother says this about each of her children,but she really is the most amazing creature ever. It is so fun watching her learn and grow each day. She is the funniest, happiest, busiest, little girl I know. Here are some of my favorite things she is doing as of lately:

Gracie is working really hard on growing some "toofies" as we like to call them. (Don't act like you don't have silly words like these!) She currently has 2 on top, and 2 on bottom. She is getting better with her finger foods. Her favorite things (which she will feed herself) are cheese, ham, turkey, fruit cereal bars, and graham crackers. She enjoys, but doesn't like to feed herself, peas, green beans, carrots, and baked apples. She really isn't particular about what she eats, thankfully. We are still doing several purees just because she can't chew very well and has a very sensitive gag reflex. Not so fun. I am praying a few extra teeth will help with this. We are working on transitioning to a sippy cup. She likes to drink water from one, but is not thrilled about milk. She plays with it when we try the milk instead of trying to drink it. So I am just being patient and focusing on working on our table manners right now. Losing the bottle can come later. Don't judge. :)

Gracie can say ma-ma, da-da, bye bye, uh-oh, go, hey, and she shakes her head "no", but hasn't said it yet. I am thankful for this because little miss independent is probably going to tell me "no" a lot.

Speaking of independent....she is crawling EVERYWHERE!!! And walking in her walker. She can hold onto the couch and walk back and forth. I am waiting on her to let go any day and step to something else. She walks on her tippy toes a lot, so I don't think she's going to be really walking anytime soon. But she loves to hold your hands and pretend she can. Those little legs can't seem to go fast enough for her! She loves to dance and sing. She coos with me when I sing to her, which I love.

She is such a joy to be around. Always smiling, laughing, and jabbering about something. My absolute favorite thing she does is "give loves". She is not a super cuddly baby at all. But every now and then she will lay her head down on my shoulder, leg, whatever she is close to, and say "ooooooooo". She also does this to her babies, animals, and yes, even her sippy cup. Amazing how we don't have to teach them this. She's never seen me "love" a cup. Unless it had a milkshake in it, maybe ;)

Here are some pictures from her birthday party. It was a vintage Strawberry Shortcake party. She played outside in the wagon most of the day. And her favorite part of the party was when we all sang happy birthday to her. She looooved all the attention. She still is not a fan of cake, which I am NOT complaining about. It was such a fun day. We felt so blessed to be able to share the celebration of our special little girl's first year of life with our family and a few close friends. I thank God everyday for choosing us to be her parents. Such an honor!

What Gracie is up to....

I wanted to add a few things a/b what Gracie is doing these days:

*She is loving summer so far. Atticus has come over 2 days in a row for a pool party!! This picture was actually in the living room (with no water) while Vanessa and I were getting ready for our lunch. But they have enjoyed playing in the backyard in the pool as well. She looks so precious in her bikini. I only wish it was still cool to "let it all hang out" when you're my age. :)

I will note that this was taken after she had eaten lunch. So shes a little "fluffy", which I love!

*Grace has been army crawling all over the place since the week before we left for Costa Rica. I keep waiting for her to figure out how to get her knees under her any day now. Time for baby proofing!!

*She has 2 teeth now! You can kind of see them in this picture. She loves to twirl her tongue around and feel them. And she has learned to make clicking noises with her tongue (like a dolphin).

*Gracie has also learned how to say "byebye" (which sounds like "bahbah") and wave her arm when prompted (sometimes). And she reaches for us to pick her up now. Which thrills my heart since she won't snuggle with me!

She is still growing like a weed! Almost 22lbs (as you can tell from this picture)! We are currently on the search for a convertible car seat since she has outgrown her infant one. I am loving this phase that she is in. I know I've said that every update. But she really is the funniest little girl. I can't wait until she can talk to me. I'm sure we are going to hear some funny stuff from this one!

Sizzling Summer!!!

I can NOT believe summer is already in full swing! May and June have been a whirlwind at the Harrell house! Two beach trips later I've finally found a moment to update. So here's what we have been up to!

At the end of May we went to Destin, FL with my parents, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew, and one of my cousins who recently graduated high school. It was a wonderful week, full of family fun and relaxation. I feel like Clarke and Grace are growing up so quickly. I can't wait until they can actually play together though. Sugar and Poppy are going to be busy grandparents with these two! This picture is of Gracie and Adam getting ready to head out to the pool at the beach house. She is stylin' and profilin'!!

This picture was taken in Costa Rica. Adam won a trip through his company for being a top performer! I am so proud of him for working so hard this past year. It was a treat to getaway just the two of us for an all expenses paid trip. Definitely a once in a lifetime sort of thing. We snorkeled, got a couples massage, and enjoyed some AMAZING food. Gracie enjoyed splitting her week between each of our parents house. She was a sweet girl they said, and stayed on schedule perfectly. Thank you Lord for grandparents that live so closely that we are able to get away when we need some quality time!

Mother's Day

Well, here is a picture from my first mother's day!!!! Grace has started this silly Elmer Fud smile, and its gotten worse since she's had a tooth come in. So cheesy. But it always makes me laugh! It was a great day! Adam did his best to make it so that I didn't have to lift a finger which was so nice. He even changed the dirty diapers! :) He ran a hot bath for me that night after we put Grace to bed. I got to relax and read Dr. James Dobson's new book "Bringing up Girls". I'm only a chapter in but I'm already loving it. We have a huge responsibility to guide this little girl. Sometimes I'm overwhelmed by the task because I know her little heart is going to be so fragile. I just want to protect her from this world and the lies little girls are told a/b who they should be. It's definately been challenging me to learn to live the things I want Grace to immitate. Everyday, Lord, please give me the words to fill her heart with true confidence in who YOU created her to be!


My favorite thing Grace is doing right now is giving kisses! She is still not a cuddler....but she totally understands "kisses"! She loves to kiss this dog, her babies, and her glow worm! And if we are lucky, mommy and daddy get one every now and then!


Just wanted to share some pictures of our sweet girl! I will update with beach pictures soon! She's going to be so cute with all those rolls in her little swimsuit!

A few things I forgot

So, I forgot to mention a few things in my post the other day.

(1) This is my favorite picture from our Easter trip to Austin. Clarke (my nephew) loves his "Gracie Beff". And she loves him too. She can't take her eyes off of him when he's around. He's always busy...which is very entertaining. She is usually a very talkative girl, but its hard to get anything out of her when she is watching him. It's pretty funny. Just wanted to share this one because its so sweet. I can't wait until they can finally play together!

(2) Proud moment!!! Grace had her first Sunday in the church nursery this week! We have been visiting Fellowship Bible Church in Conway, which we are really enjoying. But are still praying about where the Lord would have us. (Please pray for wisdom if you think a/b us.) Anyway, I dropped her off, acting as unemotional as I could. After 6 months of being in the nursing mothers room, I was ready to sit in a service without distraction, but at the same time knew I would think a/b her the whole time. My sweet friend Casey checked on her and told me she was "happy and as content as could be" which gave me a huge relief and I actually could enjoy the sermon. When I picked her up, all the nursery girls went on and on a/b what a happy girl she is! And what a fun smile she has. Why was I EVER worried???