First Visit to the ER

Well it was bound to happen eventually, but I didn't think Grace would have her first emergency room visit at the ripe age of 17 months!! She started fevering on Saturday, and we were able to bring it down to 100 by that evening. After a sluggish couple of days, she woke up at midnight on Monday morning with a temperature of 104!! Yep, that was enough to scare the life right out of me! Two vomiting spells later, we arrived at the ER. Unfortunately, she got sick in her carseat as soon as we pulled up. I rushed her inside while poor Matt went back to the house to get us ALL a few outfit changes......just in case. Don't think I'm a horrible mom. I had her all snuggled up in her blanket until the doctor told me she was burning up and didn't need it......ok so I thought it was her safety net! Grace was such a trooper and only cried for a second when they took her blood and inserted an IV line! You can see her checking it out in the last picture. By 4am, all tests came back negative and we were told she simply had a virus and it needed to run its course. While we'll likely pay a few hundred dollars for the doctor to give her more Tylenol and Ibuprofen, there's nothing like the feeling of relief when he looked at us and said she would be fine!! AHHHHHHHHHH!

The next few days involved lots of cuddling, napping, and watching every known episode of The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse at least 5 times (I'm quite sure Grace has developed a slight addiction to "Mick"). Hey, if that's what my sick baby wants, that's what she's going to get! Instead of movie quotes, Matt and I now speak "Mickey Mouse" and walk around the house doing the hot dog dance!

Needless to say, Grace is on the mend and even got to enjoy her new cozy coupe today!!

4th of July

We headed north to Bloomfield for the 4th of July this year. We packed in 3 days full of fun over the holiday weekend. First up was Jack's birthday party. The party ended up taking place at the park after the public pool was closed 3 hours before the party was scheduled to start! We had a good time noneless running off all of our energy and feasting on cake, ice cream, and the smorgasbord of deliciousness Laura had prepared!

On Saturday, we were off to the parade in Linton. Grace LOVED it and, much to our surprise, wasn't scared at all with all of the commotion going on around her! Her favorite part was the marching bands. She clapped and danced as each one passed. She also discovered a new love for NERDS and tootsie roll pops! Great! Let's just hope she's not like Matt after loading up on sugar! haha We were soaked by the end of the parade, but glad we stuck it out. After the parade, we went to a cookout and continued to "play" in the rain. After the great food and a glass or two of sangria, the rain didn't seem to bother us. :)

Finally, on Sunday we had our last cookout of the weekend at mom and dad's. We left all fattened up and ready for our trek back south. Grace didn't get to see any fireworks since they got rained out so we just might have to have our own fireworks show in Knoxville this weekend!

Shout out to Papa!

Grace has just learned what she'll be doing in 12 years during the summers months!! Ohhhh the memories!

While Matt was away on his 4th annual "B.B." golf trip, I decided to find something fun for Grace and I to do each day. On Saturday, we went to the Secret City Festival. We found all kinds of things for kids to do, but we hit the jackpot when we discovered the petting zoo area! Grace LOVES animals, and she isn't afraid of any of them. We got up close and personal with a camel, llama (ahhhhh), emu, monkey, and a few others. In the center of the tent, we found an area where the kids could get in a cage with baby goats, sheep, and a gigantic turtle! Grace was in her element, and as soon as I put her down, she took off for all of them! We walked away with lots of goat poo on our shoes, but Grace loved it!

The line for the pony rides was a bit long and it was getting close to lunch time, so I opted for the "ride" on the long-horned steer. Between the scenic backdrop behind the steer and the fact that I was about to pay $5 to have Grace sit on this thing, I was laughing so hard I could barely get Grace on the saddle! As you can see from the look on her face, she was EXTREMELY thrilled!!


Even though it was 93 degrees that day, we had a great time! I can't wait until next year when Grace can fly on the bungee ride and slide down the giant, inflatable tiger!! WHO HOO!

Breakthrough!!

We have some exciting new from the Gentry household today!! This morning Grace looked at me after eating her breakfast and said, "poop". The exciting part is after she said it, SHE DID IT!!! WHO HOO!! She's starting to get this whole potty training concept!! I say in two weeks from now, she'll be completely potty trained and we'll be diaper-free!! Ok, ok....I know that's a bit of a stretch, but it's always fun to dream!
The other big news from our house this morning is it appears that Grace is starting to learn her colors. I was showing her a full page of stickers, and she pointed out the blue, green, and yellow stickers correctly!! Yea, punkin' head! While this may not be exciting to the everyday person, I can assure you it is VERY exciting to ME!!!

New Vocabulary

Grace has been (well has always been) quite the little chatter box lately. She has started saying some two-word phrases and has also picked up a few additional words as well. She can now say "Oh no," "All gone," "Good boy," "Good girl," as well as "cool" and "Lala" (that's a shout out to you Aunt Laura!) The words she has been saying for a while are now starting to sound more like the actual word and not just words Matt and I can understand! :) Am I trying to brag and say she's a genius? No, but I would definitely venture to say that Grace will one day be competing for the TOP of her class! haha
Grace has also started to attach herself to somethings.....in particular her blankie which she calls her "me." I have no idea where that came from, but I do know we have to have a "me" in at least 3 different rooms of the house! She has also discovered her babydoll that she got for her birthday. Grace loves to feed baby Lula her bottle (sound effects included of course), wrap Lula in her "me", and take her hat off when she gets too hot. It's so cute to see her motherly instincts kick in at the ripe age of 16 months!
Finally, Grace has discovered my bracelet drawers. She puts them ALL on (from her elbow to her wrist) and walks around with her hand in the air so they won't fall off. It's pretty hilarious to watch! Something tells me that our little sugar smacks is shaping up to be quite the little girly girl!!

A Visit to the Zoo and Splash Park

Last weekend, we tried out a local splash park. At first, Grace was a little timid when the water splashed her face, but by the end of the morning, we were running through the fountains and completely soaked! Next time, I guess I'll wear my bathing suit.....WHOOPS! We had a great time nonetheless, and can't wait to go back. Plus it's FREE....you can't beat that! A great way to beat the summer heat and easy on the wallet as well!

Two weekends ago, we visited the Knoxville Zoo for the first time. Matt and I could hardly wait to take Grace since she LOVES animals! First up, was the new butterfly exhibit. Grace zipped through it like she was running a race. Then came the camels....apparently they like goldfish crackers. Immediately after walking up to their area, one came right over to us and started eating Grace's crackers. Matt and I were in such shock, neither one of us said or did anything except stare at what was happening! I'm still cracking up thinking about it! Luckily, I was already holding Grace and she won't have to endure any "llama" nightmares like I did! haha Grace also got to see the elephants, zebras, monkeys, giraffe, and lions which are her favorites. Although our visit was cut a little short since our punkin' head woke up at 6:15am that morning, we still had a good time!