San Antonio....

Tonight is catch up night. I'm sure I've missed a few things, but I'm catching the major highlights :) Last week we made a last minute decision to head to San Antonio and watch the Huskers play in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers didn't do so well, but we had a GREAT time. We watched lots of basketball, shopped and did lots of laughing. I love when things come together quickly!

Mom came to the rescue and stayed in Norfolk with the girl Friday while Maggie went to school (I think I heard she let Gracie have ice cream for breakfast, but hey, she's Grandma).

 When we got home Gracie found Uncle Deems hat in the back of the car.....I think it looks better on Gracie :)

Tuesday, Gracie and I made a quick trip to the doctor. She had been complaining about her ears....the good news is her ears were ok. The not so good news is that we found out she's iron deficient....not really a surprise, she doesn't eat much meat and almost no green vegetables....She's had black circles under her eyes for several months now, so they decided to do a blood test, she wasn't very happy about the test, but she did think the Scooby doo Band-Aid was pretty neat. Now we are on the hunt for Iron that she will eat or ways to hide it in things she eats anyway. The doctors and nurses got a good chuckle out of the Norfolk Iron kid being low on Iron....the joys of a small town.

Maggie's 1st research paper.....

Can you guess the topic???...I'm not sure she actually had to research. I think she probably knew the answers already.

 A couple other Maggie notes....Last week was hat day at school....she picked a hard hat :)

Last week she was the "Star Student" for her class. She got to take pictures and a few other things to share. Her teacher has told them in the past they could bring up to 10 pictures. She chose 11 and I told her I thought it would be ok (she hates to break rules)....I'm pretty sure she was really feeling like a rebel when Mrs. Marsden hung all 11 :)

Gracie's 3rd Birthday!

So many people helped make Gracie's 3rd Birthday extra special. She had a great weekend. This morning when she woke up she asked me if it was still her party day, when I told her no, her Birthday was done and she was 3, she asked if she could be 2 for today and have another party tomorrow :) She loved all the attention and fun!

 

These pictures aren't really in order, but you'll get the idea......

The last link in the Birthday chain finally came down!

Gracie keeps asking to borrow Arnie's bike, so for her Birthday she got her very own.
She was really surprised. It took a few try's, but by yesterday afternoon she was riding all over the
driveway.

Aunt Laura and Uncle Mark brought a Minion Pinata....I'm so glad! He was
the hit of the party!

Gracie took Minion cookies to school on Friday. She loved having the kids all sing
to her.

Mommy Minion and Gracie Minion :)

Arnie gave Gracie a hear necklace just like the one Maggie wears. She was SO happy and proud to
show off her big girl necklace. She ran right outside and showed Brandon, "look my necklace from my daddy."

Gracie and her best friend Lauren. They are so funny together. They are so different but
so alike. Lauren turned 3 on Friday. Maybe they could have found one more costume to put on??

Night, Night Birthday girl!

Miss Lauren cut a zillion straws for Gracie to decorate the spokes of her bike. There were enough
for Maggie's bike too, so everyone got fancy tires tonight! (In the living room because it's FREEZING out again!)

 

The post Birthday hang-over :) She wore a Minnie Costume ALL day today and was
pretty worn out. We took it pretty easy, played with lots of new toys, took a nap and watched Frozen.

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY GRACIE!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Gracie T!

Dear Gracie,
Yesterday you turned 3! You are the funniest little person I know. You are ornery and stubborn but you're almost always happy. You are an interesting mix of wild & crazy and shy.  You're favorite person in the whole world is your big sister. You want to do everything she does and you love to irritate her. You know just how to get her in trouble and how to convince her to come back for more.

You're not exceptionally affectionate, but at bedtime you give great big hugs and you always want to rub noses ("nosers"). You still need Bubby, your pink blanket, in your bed at night, we're trying very hard not to let it leave your room these days.

You are still a very picky eater, you eat cheese, bologna, no-no bars (granola bars), oranges and Runzas. You can count to 20 (you occasionally miss 14), say the alphabet and are working hard at spelling your name. You point out G's on everything you see. You are such a smart little girl.

You don't like to be told what to do, we have had many standoffs over things like saying thank you and sorry. You have been known to frequent time-out and you're generally more willing to stay there then admit that you were wrong. You're laugh comes easy and is infectious.

You are a BEAR to wake up, you cover your head and slowly come to life. I usually carry you to the chair in the corner and you try to curl up and go back to sleep while I help you get dressed. Most mornings you tell me you want "one pony, not piggies" but every once in awhile I convince you to put back in the piggies. You need a nap every 2 or 3 days, I'm betting before long it will become a thing of the past. You have a funny habit of putting anything within reach in your bed...you've been known to wake up with piggy banks, picture frames, books, even a lamp in your bed. You like to sneak Peanut the cat into the house so she can sleep with you.

You LOVE shoes. Rainboots, "Super fast tennis shoes", cowgirl boots, sandals....all shoes. It's a real chore in the mornings to get you to pick some for the day. You are always very sad when you out grow a pair. Most days you want to wear a "spinny dress", you're current favorite has Minnie Mouse on it, you also really like wearing "poke-E-ooots" (polka-dots). Maggie still wants to dress like you when it's an option, you don't seem to really care one way or another.

You love to go to preschool. You're favorite things to pack in your lunch box are Uncrustables (you call them "them things"), beef sticks, pudding and peaches. You have lots of friends at school and your teachers tell us you're very well behaved and rarely cause trouble (sometimes we have a hard time believing that).  You love your teachers and the independence you get there.

You would live outside if we let you. Rain, snow, cold, wind....you don't care, you want to be out. You love the playground, the playhouse, playing chalk on the driveway and roaming the yard in the Gator. You really like playing dolls and "pweetending" anything with your sister. Frequently I will hear you yell, "Mom" and when I respond, you say "not you, my pwetend mom." You're just starting soccer, I think you'll be good at it. You're pretty coordinated and you love to run. You love stickers and markers, you would trace your hand (or anyone else's) on any surface that you can.

My heart bursts with love for you, even on the most trying days your giggles melt everyone around you. You are a special little girl. Your determination and ability to laugh will serve you well (I just hope they don't make you the class clown). I can't wait to see what this year brings. Being a mommy to you and Maggie is still my favorite job and while sometimes I wish I could slow things down, I'm also so grateful for all of the experiences and growing we get to do together.

Happy 3rd Birthday Gracie Tato (by the way, when people ask your middle name, if you're willing to answer, you say Tato :))!! I love you like crazy!
Mommy

A little bathroom humor....

Yesterday, Gracie hollered from the bathroom for help. Here is what I found when I opened the door.........


......only Gracie!!!!!

A little barter and some catchup.....

Sunday Maggie wanted to make cookies for a couple of our neighbors. (We've purchased a shamrock cookie cutter since the last episode.) She made some for the high school boy down the road who played at state basketball and she made some for Ned and & Lorri, who live right next door. Ned and Lorri's were just a ploy to get more deer sticks......

....and it worked. She'd eaten 2 of them before she got back to our house and she was SUPER excited that Lorri had given her a giant deer summer sausage. We may have to teach the kid to hunt, in order to feed her habit :)

Now for a little blog catch up....last weekend was State Basketball. The Panthers had an unbelievable win in their first game (triple overtime). It was so fun, we all left sore and hoarse from cheering so hard. Unfortunately they last the next 2 games, it was a great season and we can't wait to do it all again next year!



 One day last week Lauren got to come play. The girls had a fun day. Despite our enormous play room, their favorite place to play was under my desk??? goofy girls!

Friday while we waited for our second State Bball game, we had the best surprise!! Halie and Connor had come to Omaha for a visit. Leslie, Dennis and I took the kids to the zoo. It was so good to see them. It was a little windy and chilly but we had a great time. The girls were so happy to have H & C here.

Our 4 little monkeys! I wish Elsie had felt better so we could have had the 5th monkey too!

Gracie was done!

 A few other recent pictures.....

Maggie had taken a bit of a break from headstands....the break seems to be over!

Maggie and Grandma reviewing her report card.....she did AWESOME and was very proud to share it.

If the workers don't get busy soon I think maybe Maggie and Grandpa will finish digging the pool themselves!



Gracie room has been half done for a year. Last week I finally got some things hung on the wall and now I think it really is done. I still haven't decided for sure about the girl on the wall....it might be a little scary, but Gracie seems to like it, so for now it'll stay.

HAPPY ST PATTY's day from all the O'Robinson girls!

I've spent the last 2 days cleaning and reorganizing the garage. Gracie must be tired of "helping" me. Today she took the Gator and said she was going to Omaha.....then she came running back and asked me to teach her how to turn right :)