Happy 1 Month Birthday:o)
(belated again, of course!!!)

Gracie is 1 month old as of Monday!!

Sorry there has not been an update for the past 2 weeks. I have realized 2 things.

1) Grace is little enough that not very much actually occurs in a one week time span

2) If I want to accomplish anything else, I can't stop and record every little bitty cute thing that Gracie does- as much as I want to. Also, I needed to reduce the amount of pictures I was taking, because I would want to just sit and stare and shoot (the camera, that is), and, well, lets just face it...its just NOT practical!!

SOOO... I decided that from this point on, I am just going to write a monthly update (unless something warrants an additional post;oP)

So some highlights over the past 2 weeks:

- Nana came to visit for a week. She and Grace are very sweet on each other:o) I really enjoyed my time with my mom- we had many great conversations, I got to learn more about her and experience fellowship with her:o) We've enjoyed some walks and shopping (Grace has even more clothes now!! and her first fat, pink, piggy bank!!).

-Grace had really bad diaper rash for about 2 weeks. Well, it was bad for about 3 days (which provided for some rough nights:o(), but persisted for another 2. What cleared up the rash? GDiapers (reusable all in one diapers)/ Huggies Pure and Natural diapers, homemade wipes (thanks Lisa and Sandi!), and Arbonne's diaper rash cream.

- We are beginning to settle into a routine. Awake at 7, usually asleep between 7 and 8. Late night feeding at 10. Most nights, Gracie will wake up around 2, although the past 2 nights, she has woken up at 1 and 3:30 to eat. We are wondering if she is having a growth spurt?? Speaking of eating, Grace has been doing something very cute. When she is hungry, she smacks her lips together. LOL. I haven't been able to capture it in a picture, and I feel bad taking time video tape it when she is actually hungry.

- Grace likes kisses!! She smiles after we give her one (and/or a bunny kiss!!). I will be attaching some pics of this lovely little phenomenon. They will show daddy giving her a kiss, and couple of the subsequent looks. She also smiles when we beep her nose.

- Not only does Grace still have the darling little mullet, she is now sporting an Alfalfa sprout. As in the Little Rascals...?? Yup. I won't cut it all- though I want to:o)

- Swaddling....Grace loves it, however, she also thinks it is fun to play Houdini. She will be tightly wrapped one minute (which also causes her to smile- its almost as though she is laughing at us and thinking "Yea right people, like this is going to hold me!" I am also attaching pics of this funny phenomenon. Oh! And she cracks us up because when she gets mad while she is swaddled, she thumps her feet up and down together.

- We decided to wait a few more weeks to try the bottle again, and Sunday was the (2nd) big day. She did great again with it, but also nursed well later. Yay!

Well, that's about all I have time for!!

Enjoy the pics:o)

P.S. The bees are still around. I was stung twice as I was getting ready to nurse Grace, and we called Erlich again. They came and re-dusted, and while we have gone from finding 4 dead bees per day, to 1 every other day- we are still finding them. Brian thinks we just need to stop living in fear of them. I think we should move;oP Hopefully they will start to die off soon!!
Broke loose from the swaddle...ok at first, but after about 10 minutes of wiggling around...life became wretched for poor Gracie!!

and yet...by morning, this is often what we will find, after hour 4-6 hours of peaceful sleeping:o)


The Valentines: Before and After.... At first, Aaron protested..Mommy was holding the wrong baby!!!

X




Gracie likes to grab the liner ties of her changing tables (particularly when she is mad- although she is calm in this picture!!) She doesn't have the control of her hands though to let go, so she is stuck until I realize and loosen her grip:o)

Kisses from daddy....and proof that she smiles spontaneously....I only took one of him kissing her, but the rest (and many more) are of her reaction afterwards. Gas would not have the same consistent results!!!

This last one is of my cousin, Amy's, kids. There is actually a good one of them holding her, but this one made me smile, because as we were getting ready to take the pic, Grace started crying (it was bedtime), and the look of concern on all their faces was so sweet!!





One last picture! This is actually from this week (Today, as a matter of fact)....but just one more example of the swaddling woes we have...although I have to admit, she is very content, and I even checked to make sure it wasn't strangling her, and while she squirmed, she did not wake up- I guess this is comfy for her!!! LOL. On a more sobering note though, I am planning to stop swaddling her starting next week, because we want to start putting her in her crib in her room, and I am concerned she might manage to suffocate or strangle herself. Sigh. Wish me luck...she really likes to be swaddled (although the picture evidence would argue that!!)


p.s. she also scooted herself down somehow!!!

2 Weeks old and lots of changes already!

Well, Grace is 2 weeks old and this has been an adventurous week!!

Saturday- Uncle Steve and Aunt Laura came to visit with Eve. Laura and I laughed so much!! I think between having a 1 week old and a 3 1/2 month old, I think we were both overtired!! It was wonderful seeing my best friend...I can't believe we both have newborns!!
We also had to call Erlich to come out because we found a couple of yellow jackets in the living room. Turns out we had a nest in the corner outisde of where the living room is, AND a black wasp nest at the other end of the house, outside. Fortunately, they were only up in the attic.

Sunday- We went to church for the first time...Gracie looked so cute in her dress that Miss Tracie bought her and the hat that matched so well that Mrs Mioni made. She was quite darling:o) Our adventure started once we got home and found a total of 6 (I think- lost count) yellow jackets in our living room within 20 minutes. While I was nursing, I might add. We ended up crashing the Harvey's house...they graciously let us stay overnight, since Erlich couldn't come back out until Monday. Thank you Will, Rebecca, and Noah:o)

Monday- Relatively quiet. Some good stretches of sleep overnight. More alert times.

Tuesday- Gracie slept for 5 hours, woke for 1 1/2 hours and went back to sleep for another 5 hours!! Woah! I actually had about 45 minutes to myself while daddy and baby slept the next morning.

Wednesday- Had a great photo shoot with Mrs. Bonnie Kundrat. I will post the link to her website once she is done. She is a very talented woman who is venturing into photography, particularly with babies, and as a ministry to the families in church (and as a way to build up her portfolio), she takes pictures of newborns. When I saw the little preview, I coudln't help but cry at how sweet my little girl looked...and how she was able to capture it so beautifully!!!

Thursday- We visited Daddy's work, where everyone thought Gracie was so sweet. Then, we ate lunch at Seasons 52, which was fresh and yummy!! Then, we got free dessert, because the manager just had a baby too, and thought Gracie was so cute:o) A bit of a rough night, sleep wise. We listened to some messages on parenting a newborn as we were driving. VERY helpful! Thanks Marty M.:O)

Friday- 2 week well visit! Grace weighed in at 8 lbs 8 oz., and is now 21 inches in length. Dr. Jeff said she looks great!! He said since she was growing and eating so well, and my milk has been coming in so well, that we could try a bottle. Brian got to feed her for the first time. They both did a great job!!!! Mommy was a little sad.

Overall, this has been a week of changes. Grace has been trying and holding her head up for longer and longer. She tries very hard, sometimes to roll onto her back when she is having tummy time, and she can roll to her side from her back. We are trying to get into a routine now...and trying to let her go to sleep on her own, even if it means she cries for a little while. Mostly I am ok with her tragic cries, but every now and then (particularly like RIGHT now, as I type and she tries to get to sleep), it makes my heart so sad. But she is tired, and it is not helpful for her for us to make her dependent on us to get to sleep. She always falls asleep within 10 minutes, which is great!! I had a moment tonight when I realized, my baby is only two weeks old, but already time is flying by so quickly!!

I feel like I have healed up...been walking faster and longer with Bri in the park, and being able to lift more and more. Hormones make me get emotional very quickly!!

Well, here are some more pics from the past week!
Enjoy!