PBJ

I love peanut butter, is an under statment.  So when Gracie turned one I was very excited to share a peanut butter sandwich with her.  So you would understand how disappointed I was when the doctor told me that the age had been pushed back to age 2 for peanut butter.  It seems that in the last couple of weeks Gracie has had some close calls with peanut nuts/peanutbutter.  Although I am 99.9% sure that Gracie is not alergic to peanut butter, I wanted her first PB experoience to be with me, at home, with her dad, where if something did happen I could take her to the hospital.   Anyway, I have been wanting to give her, her first PBJ so I decided to do it early. She of course loved it, just like we thought she would. Yum, yum!  Saturday lunches just got that much more fun.

PBJ

PBJ meet Gracie

Gracie meet PBJ

what a poser

yum yum!

One night a long time ago I had eatten a spoonfull of PB.  I then picked up baby Gracie.  She tried to kiss me, she seemed to really like the smell.  Troy decided he would try and see if she did the same thing to him, she did.  She loved the smell of peanut butter.  So we video taped it because we thought it was so funny. 

Peanutbutter from Candace Schenk on Vimeo.

For you entertainment!

When Daddy is Away....

Mommy & Grace Will Play

This past weekend Troy left a day earlier then the team to get some recrutting done so Grace and I had a lot of time to ourselves.  Let me refrase that we had a lot of time together with lots of other people.  Friday night we had a girls night out at Olive Garden and Grace came along.  I think she loved dinner with just the ladies and of course she loved the food.  She hammed up all the attention that was given.  The dinner lasted long enough that we played hookie from bible study and headed home for bed. 

Saturday, Grace played at Christina's while I had a photo shoot.  We then headed from there to May's Farm with our Awana friends where we cooked hotdogs over a fire, and then went for a very interesting hay ride with comentary.  We got to pick out our own pumpkins and walk thru the maze.  It was a blast and we had beautiful weather to go with it.  We headed home where Grace got a half hour to 45 minute nap.  We played, changed, pack & loaded up the car for the next even of the day.  A double surprise party.  It was a fun noght but by the end Grace was wound up, she was on her last stretch of energy, giggly and silly.  We head home for head but first a bath nothing better then carmel in the hair, yuck. 

Sunday we recovered with Troy back and had lunch with friends and sat around chatting while the kids napped.  It was an eventful weekend.  I normally try not to pack them that full but it was a great weekend.

 Gracie cooling off

not very modest;)

 she loves animals

 the hay ride with miss sassy

 picking a pumpkin

 Gracie's new cheese face

 my country girl

 mommy time

 so thirsty

 fresh

 I turned around and Gracie was eating this tomato like an apple

 yum

Happy Fall!

Bed Time

In our house bedtime goes something like this, our nightly ritual of brushing our teeth, putting on PJ's, read a story, pray and then one of us rock's Gracie threw two songs.  This is one of my favorite times where I am able to hold my Gracie, snuggle with her and just love on her.  Such a sweet girl.

my baby girl at 3 months in her rocking chair

at 23 months I found her rocking in her chair looking at a book

oh also with her baby

Are You Alone?

Do you ever feel alone?  I don't mean the great moment where you can sit in peace and quite and get what you need done or do whatever you want.  I mean you feel alone inside.  One thing about moving from place to place that I have come face to face with is a feeling of being alone.  No longer being surrounded 24 hours of the day by my girlfriends in college or sitting and share with them face to face anytime.  Sometimes standing in my house, in the middle of target or at the grocery store I feel alone.  Why am I alone?  I have to step back and remember that I am never truly alone.  God is standing by me 24 hours of the day.  I have a husband that supports me in all things, all challenges and all struggles.  And tonight as I look at the people on our prayer list I realize how many people I have in my life all the time.  People that have touched my life and influenced my life.  What a total lie to tell myself I am alone, that I have no one to turn to.  I have plenty of people to turn to but it is my choice to open up.  With all the moves I have become more closed up, a way to protect myself but all the while missing out on great relationships.  Don't get me wrong there are times when I am really good at stepping out of my box and really opening up to someone.  But it is easier just to keep quite and not say anything but doing so you miss out on so much, so many great people, great opportunities to be blessed.  You miss out on so much when you close up.  But it is easier said then done, to keep your heart open.  I think that although I know it in my heart to trust in the Lord in all things, it will always be something I am learning.

23 Month's

While I was working on closing out September business today it dawned on me that not only was it October but it was October 5th, Gracie is 23 months today.  Although I still walk into the baby section of the story she is not a baby anymore.  She is a full toddler in all her ways.  

 Gracie before you turned 2 you like too:

• play in your coupe
• play chase around the house over and over again until your parents feel dizzy
• wrestle with daddy
• you are really good at copying words
• we have cancelled out the passy for everything but bedtime
• you love pushing up a chair to the counter to help me cook or do dishes
• you love vitamins
• love reading books
• you actually seem to enjoy Sesame Street
• you love to take a bath and poor water on your head, I think you feel very brave
• you have tested the idea of the potty a few times
• you copy so many of my actions, it just makes me know how much you see everything
• you love pushing your baby around in your stroller
• you love Awana
• you can sing the B-I-B-L-E
• although we have no idea what you are saying, you are always telling us stories
• you can open & close all the doors in the house

*isn't this little sweater adorable, my friend Christina picked it up at a church sale, thanks for all the adorable clothes.  Thankfully Gracie now has plenty of winter clothes and I am no longer worried.

A New Car

Over the last year every time we came across a coupe car Gracie would go crazy she loved it.  So I made my first Craig's List purchase, $20.  A great buy, the car was in great shape.  I was so excited about this purchase I could not wait to show her.

getting in for a test drive

checking out the interior

turning the key

checking out the exterior for scratches

driving it home

the proud new owner of  a coupe

trunk room

Fall Decorations

I love fall, the weather, the leaves the smell, I love it all.  This year I went threw the Pottery Barn magazine and just wanted to decorate like crazy.  I did just that, I found about a hundred things I wanted to do but I was not willing to pay for all of them.  So, I settled for a couple of things I really liked.

 my something old, from last year

 something new, what a weird pumpkin that I 

found at the market, and yes it is real.

 pictures to help me remember for next year

 something borrowed, the glass jar with the indian 

corn I saw on someone's blog and loved the idea, 

borrowed the idea and I am keeping it : )

 white pumpkins, so fun

 also borrowed, the twill tied the leaves onto the candle, 

this cost me about 10 cents, way to much in PB 

magazine.  The acorns free from the neighbor.

I thought I would post a picture of Gracie for the people who 

really don't care about fall decorations.  This whole post is really 

for my mom who listened to my fall decoration ideas.

My cutest decoration of all Gracie.  My friend Christina 

found this outfit at church consigment sale.  I am almost 

100% sure it is homemade.  So cute.