Gracie is 17 MONTHS OLD!!

I honestly don't know how the time is going by sooooo fast! Grace is now the same age as Jacob was when I had her! HOW did that happen??? She is getting to be such a big girl and each day her personality gets cuter and cuter. She is such a happy girl (Gigi says she reminds her of my Mom, always a happy baby)... she loves smiling, making her "scrunchy face" (she closes her eyes, scrunches her nose and smiles), and she is also becoming quite the model. Whenever I get the camera out she says "cheese", smiles and sometimes even flips her hair back... SO cute!
There are some things that really bring back memories of Jacob with her. She now goes to our storage room downstairs and wants in... we keep snacks down there and I remember Jacob doing the same thing as he was looking for food. She also likes to give 5, and take Abby on walks around the house (poor dog!). These little things are all things Jacob did too!
Grace is really into babies, strollers, bibs, blankets, bottles, and anything baby! She also enjoys putting the big coins into her fisher price pig bank. Her other favorites are real phones and keys. She could walk around holding all of those ALL day long... that and she loves turning things into purses (shirts, shorts, whatever... she just puts in the crook of her arm and VOILA!)
Our little girl is such a good eater... she will eat almost anything... and ALOT of it! Although she loves eating, when she's done... lookout! She starts flinging things all over and she makes quite the mess. Spaghetti, pizza, juicy fruit, yuck... they are all over. We joke she has to stay in the kitchen up north since there is tile.... no carpet eating for her!
Grace has had such a nice summer. She loves to be outside, and doesn't like it one bit if someone goes outside without her! She had a blast playing on the beach this year... and looked so adorable in her little bathing suits.
Grace has started to sign for milk... that and more continue to be her two sings that she does often. She is walking like a champ now... she started and never turned back. She still loves to push things around while walking too especially strollers! She is going quite fast and never really seemed to have an issue with shoes (I know Jacob had a hard time getting use to walking in them... it would trip him up occasionally).
There is one thing that just cracks me up... I still can't comprehend how totally different Jacob & Grace are. Grace is the complete opposite of Jacob... I don't think they could be any more different. The weird thing is they look alot alike! (At least most think so).
She has become EXTREMELY attached to me... she calls for "Ma" all the time. Some days its very tiring that she really only wants me... but I'm also blessed. I try to spend as much time as possible with them... although I know it is good for them to be with other people I think there main bond should be with Greg & I. Today while I was at work I was speaking with my classroom aide and she began to tell me how lucky I was in working part time... she said when her kids were young (they are now teenagers) she only was able to spend 2-3 hours a day with them. She said she has never let herself forget how much she missed out on. I never want to feel that way, nor do I want to let my kids feel that way. That is why when I'm not working I try to be there as much as possible with them... because when I don't (besides missing them like crazy) I feel like I'm not doing the job that I set out to do... be MOM. Sorry to ramble... but I guess I'm just a little sentimental this week since it was my first week back and it was rough...that and my baby turned 17 months old!!!!!!