Gracie,
Another year has passed us by and now you are a four year old little girl looking back at me. This past year is one for the books! It has not been like any other. It's going to be a year your daddy and I never forget. Here's what your year looked like and what you did/accomplished:
June 2012: You turned three, big girl! You had both sets of grandmas out to Hawaii to visit. We got to check off a couple things from our bucket list like doing a catamaran ride and going to a luau You also helped Mommy and Daddy learn the ropes with you new baby brother, Griffin. You are such an amazing big sister. So loving and kind.
July: We traveled to Omaha for a visit and to baptize Griffin. You made some more friends back in Hawaii with the Mom's Club. And finally out of diapers!!!!! It was a super long process, but you had a lot on your mind with preparing for brother and finally having him here. We are so proud of you for the accomplishment and the hard work you put into it.
August: You started swim lessons with Auntie Alyssa, checked some things off our bucket list (Sea Life Park, Discovery Center) and had playdates with some of our new friends. We also tried to enjoy the beach and Kroc Center as much as possible.
September: We watched the Huskers play on TV, played with brother, saw the pirate ship from the movie, The Pirates of the Caribbean, and checked a couple more things off the bucket list (blueberry/macadamia nut pancakes from the famous Boots and Kimo's Homestyle Kitchen, Kahuku Macadamia Nut Farm, Turtle Bay, picnic and sunset at Ko' Olina Lagoons, professional family pictures on the beach). It was one of the busiest months and one of the most exciting!
October: Our favorite family staycation at Aulani was in October. You had so much swimming and playing. You even went down the waterslide with Daddy. You are getting so big and brave! We also celebrated Halloween again with the Adams', Schonebergs' and an old friend of mom and dad's. You were Minnie Mouse and Peanut Big Top. We also got to see some really high surf at Waimea Bay. It was beautiful and very impressive. The other cool thing we did was hike our very first trail together with some other moms and their kids. You got to see your very first waterfall!
November: Our time in Hawaii was coming to an end this month so we tried to do as much as possible and see our friends as much as possible. We did pineapple ice cream and fed the fish at Dole Plantation with the Schoneberg girls, beach day with the Adams girls, the Byodo-In Temple with the Schoneberg girls, made leis, and one final beach day/playdate with our aunties and all the girls. We said good-bye to our Hawaiian O'hana. It was really hard leaving our friends there but the great thing is that we can go back to visit them! We went home to Omaha to visit before our big move to Texas. After Thanksgiving, we flew to Dallas/Fort Worth to start making our mark there.
December: We moved in to our new house in Keller, TX. You loved visiting the Fort Worth Zoo which is as cool as Omaha's! We spent the month unpacking, preparing for Christmas, and our first visitors. Grandma Pam and AJ came to visit us right before Christmas. We saw the FW Stockyards, Legoland, made Christmas cookies and went to the Texas Motor Speedway to see Christmas lights. December was also your very first class at ASI Gymnastics. You loved wearing your leotards and were always excited about going to do your jumps! Christmas was a ton of fun opening presents. We were also lucky enough to have a white Christmas in Texas. You had fun running around in the yard with the snow falling.
January: Happy New Year! You dozed off at 11:59 p.m. but woke up enough to celebrate for a moment. We continued going to gymnastics, and you really started enjoying it and wanting to go all the time. We also celebrated Daddy's 29th birthday. You even helped Griffin learn to crawl!
February: We had a Valentine's Day celebration at home, you showed Griffin how great of a big sister you are, and you had a playdate at Ms. Amber's house while Mommy had an orientation to go to. You are becoming more and more independant by helping me clean up toys and helping in the kitchen when I need it.
March: We took our very first road trip! We road tripped to Omaha for a visit because we had some things to do there. You did lots of playing with friends and cousins, and we made a trip to the zoo. You started making friends with the neighbors in Texas, and when we got back, you joined them in the Spring Break party. You really loved dressing up like a princess this month. Not sure how that came about but it was super cute! You also started going on the big toilet! No more little potty! We are so proud of you and how much you try to do to be a big girl. At the end of the month, to prepare for Easter, some of our new friends from gymnastics invited us to the church celebration. There you got to pet a bunny and goat, ride your very first pony, and do an egg hunt. That night we colored eggs for Easter too.
April: Easter! You and brother had fun going through your Easter baskets that the Easter Bunny left you. We also went to Family Day at Kiewit. There you got to operate an excavator, do a wax hand mold, bounce and slide on the bounce houses, and eat your very first cotton candy. Towards the end of April, you got to see your Grandpa Adolfo! It had been almost 2 years since we last saw him! You had fun playing and coloring with Grandpa before he went back to Mexico. After he left, we went to a dairy farm where you got to try raw milk for the first time. You loved it! Mostly because it was chocolate. You, Griffin and I got to feed a calf too!
May: You celebrated Griffin's first birthday with a Griffin-de-mayo bash. You had fun bouncing in the bounce house and eating cupcakes. You also helped give Mommy a great Mother's Day this month. We talked about our Omaha trip all month long. We finally left on the 24th to visit home again. While we were there we had the Van Winkle wedding, yours and Griffin's birthday parties with the Hernandez's and Feldman's, and we went to visit our old house to get it ready for the next round of renters. While we were home, we got to see all of our friends and family which is always the best part of the trip!
June: We stayed longer in Omaha to settle somethings with the house while Daddy went back to Texas to work. On June 3rd, Emily and Tenley and Aunt Tina came over to celebrate your 4th birthday. That night we went out for pizza and you got more birthday presents! You are such a lucky girl!
See, like I said, it was a busy year full of adventure! We traveled, we staycationed, we moved again, we made new friends, we saw old friends, we did a lot of celebrating, and we survived!! And you, you just rolled with the punches and presents. You never let it really phase you. You amaze us every day with you sense of humor, your ability to go with the flow at times, and the way you are growing up.
Our wish for you this next year is simple. We want you to be happy and enjoy the life we are trying to provide you. We want you to learn that no matter what life throws at you or where you end up, you will always make it out on top. You will succeed! This next year, you will start pre-school! It's hard to believe schooling is upon us. But we know that you are so ready to be out of this house and in a learning environment where you can learn new things and grow each day. We are really looking forward to this new chapter in your life. It's going to be amazing.
We love you from the bottom of our hearts always and forever G. We are so excited to see what this next year brings for you! Love you so very much!
Mommy and Daddy
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