This is my new favorite photo of Gracie. Look at that pose and read the T-shirt :)
At 13 months, she's absolutely beautiful, smart, funny, energetic, stubborn and strong. She learns something new every day and it surprises me how much of "us" I see in her. She looks a LOT like my baby pictures, almost like a mini-me. But she looks a little like Richard, too and she has both of our personalities all wrapped up in that little heavenly body — well, maybe a bit more of Richard's personality than mine!
She says Mama, Dada, Minnie, Bye and sometimes No when she shakes her head. She doesn't say these all the time, but these are the words she has been able to say so far. Lately, she wants to be in her parents arms and sometimes doesn't want to go with anyone else except Patricia, her nanny. She loves her! She also loves her family and her Godparents and has a special bond with Grandpa Jorge.
Gracie is a SUPER fast crawler and she walks and stands on her own, but she is usually holding onto something or near a table or wall for comfort. She hasn't taken off walking or running on her own just yet... But soon. She's still very cautious but LOVES her freedom when she is exploring things around the house.
Instead of her toys, she would rather play with a plastic water bottle or the new mail that Richard just brought in from outside. She has a cool pink car (see photo above) that we push her around in and she loves it!!
She is a big girl. In the 90th percentile for height (don't ask me where she got that from! maybe my dad, who was 6-feet-tall...) and in the 80th percentile for weight. She wears 18-24 month clothing and can even fit into some 2T clothes, but not regularly.
Her eyes light up and she smiles when we come home and that makes my day perfect. Even when I am stressed out at work, seeing her smile just makes me feel better. And she's a daddy's girl, big time. She has him wrapped around her little finger (okay, she has me wrapped up, too but who can resist?!). Her daddy usually puts her to sleep, but I am the one who rushes to her bedside when she wakes up in the morning. And if she sleeps in too much, I may or may not wake her up before I go to work just to kiss and smell her :)
She is the light of our lives and we love her more than anything in this world. And she is the boss, but don't tell her I said that!!!
