See video below

That was the best video I could get of Gracie standing. She's been working on it all weekend in her pack-n-play. She holds on to the sides, then lets go and just, well, stands there! We've seen her go for at least 10 seconds. Whenever we put her on the floor, though, she just wants to get down and crawl for things to get into. We're taking bets on when she'll be walking. The kid won't wave, won't say "mama," but her gross motor skills are coming right along.
We've been working hard on the mama thing, too. Even Randy goes around saying it all the time to her- he knows how much I want to hear it. But the only thing she does when you say it to her is say "dada". Hmph.
We're moving up in the world of food, too. Gracie eats mostly baby food still- 3rd foods, which have the chunks of pasta and veggies as main meal, with some fruit, too (usually a 2nd food fruit- they're about the same consistency as the 3rd fruits). Most of the 3rd foods are pretty good- especially one variety that is like, Pasta Parmesan I think. She eats the Graduates puffs, 'Lil Crunchies (basically cheesypoofs) and diced carrots and apples. I bought some unsweetened organic applesauce today because it is cheaper than the baby food, and some diced pears to see if she'll eat those. She gets little bites of bread, pancakes, broccoli, mashed potatoes and had chunks of the innards of potato wedges at Buffalo Wild Wings today. Just about anything I think she can chew I'll let her try. There's not much she won't eat.
We'll be taking Gracie to her first NC State Fair later this week. It's going to be perfect fair weather, too. We had to buy her a little coat today. I had a hard time finding one, because I have a thing against hoodies. I can't stand to sit with a hood bunched up against my back, and I can't imagine how that would feel all strapped into a carseat with a big wad of hoodie behind you. Maybe it wouldn't bother her, but it bothers ME, and that's enough. I finally found one at Target with a detachable hood. It is size 12 months, which is what she wears, but sorta swallows her. At least she can wear it all winter.
I am tracked out this week- woohoo! Randy's birthday is Tuesday, and G has a Dr. appt. on Wed., so it will be a kinda busy week. Looking forward to spending some time with Grace.