The best is yet to be.

Hello 2018! One of my top goals for 2018 was to start a blog…check! This year has picked up right where 2017 left off and is off to the races. The last year flew by so fast, I am hoping to use this blog to capture moments along the way, because if I can’t slow down time I better keep a good scrap book.

Maybe this year is already moving so quick, because Gracee Rae is now moving quick too! As of this past weekend she is now 10 months old and has picked up the art of crawling, standing, jumping and my favorite – dancing. My sweet girl is all over the place! While attempting to get ready in the morning I find myself trying to figure out the best way to entertain her, so that she doesn’t think the best place to hang out is with mom in the bathroom. What’s worked so far? For the most part, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and a teething cracker gives me a good 10 minutes and as soon as Mickey begins the Hot Dog song, I can count on another minute of finishing touches before we head out for the day.

Besides adventuring around the house, Gracee has spent this last month celebrating – Christmas, the New Year, and Daddy’s Birthday.

She fell asleep on the car ride to the North Pole (aka Bass Pro Shop), then wakes up just in time to meet the man in the red suit. Needless to say, she was a little confused about the whole experience, but there were no tears so that’s a win in my book. Gracee’s first Christmas ended up being covered in snow, setting high expectations for future Christmas mornings. Her dad and I…I mean Santa…didn’t go overboard on the Christmas morning gifts, but I will never forget her sitting in her new Red Flyer Wagon pulling tissue out of her first present to find a sparkly Minnie Mouse. Her eyes lit up like the Christmas tree. It was such a sweet moment to see her realize that there was more than tissue in the bag. Although, the tissue did end up getting played with just as much as Minnie.

We rang in the New Year at the family beach house, where we were blessed with beautiful weather for a chilly January walk on the beach and enjoyed the evening by the fire playing Heads Up. The next week was Daddy’s birthday and Gracee had her first hibachi grill experience. She loved watching the grill master create a delicious birthday dinner and was even more impressed with the drums that came to the table to help sing daddy the birthday song!

Beyond celebrating the holidays Gracee has 4 new teeth and is working on more. Teething…ugh. That is a whole other blog post waiting to be written. Gracce has also had some quality time with Daddy this month, allowing me to take a couple Saturdays to dive into the cheerleading competition season, this time as a judge.  After coaching for the last 5 years this is my way of staying in touch with the cheer world and I am so thankful for Justin and family who help with Miss Rae while I’m out for the day.

There is so much truth to the saying, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” With each month and each moment I am more and more thankful for the Peterson party of 3. I am thankful that we continue to get better with time, so I know that the best is yet to be with 2018 and I am so excited to share it with you!