Four Months

Gracie continues to be the BEST baby ever (no, I'm not biased...she really is)! I just can't get over how good natured and content she is on a daily basis. As long as she's fed on her schedule, she's a happy baby. Her teachers have commented to me that she is one of the happiest babies they've seen, which makes me just that much prouder of her!


One of my favorite games to play with Gracie is being the tickle monster... she giggles and giggles and giggles. I love her little belly laugh, and we're getting to hear it more and more these days! It is also much easier to make her smile.


I feel like Gracie is changing so much every day! She's now able to grasp toys, and I've seen her transfer a toy from one hand to the other once or twice. It's amazing to watch how much concentration she has to use just to get her little hand where she wants it to go! She loves playing in her exersaucer. She often sits and talks to the toys on the exersaucer as she pushes the buttons that make music. She can also sit in her bumbo chair with its toy tray for a little while, but she often gets frustrated more quickly in that than in the exersaucer. She is also becoming much more aware of her surroundings, and she loves to focus people's faces, even when they are walking all the way across the room.

Gracie also found her feet this week! On Thursday morning I was changing her diaper, and her footed PJs looked like tigers on her feet. When she kicked her legs up, she noticed the tigers were moving and grabbed for them. She did this several times during the diaper change, which made it a little harder than normal for me to finish quickly! Later that evening, she was again kicking her legs up in the air and grabbing her toes. Too cute!

We're still waiting on her to rollover. She's not a huge fan of tummy time, although I think she is getting a little bit better now that she realizes that she can see more if she lifts her head and shoulders up. Once she starts to get mad that she's on her stomach, she'll kick and wiggle, but she hasn't done it hard enough to make her self turn over. And as far as rolling from her back to her stomach, I think she's just so happy staring at ceiling fan that she has no interest in moving from that position!


Gracie loves conversation! When she hears people talking, she will often chime in, sometimes rather loudly. In the last few weeks, we've been trying to put Grace in her highchair while we eat dinner, so she can watch us eat and listen to us talk about our day. At this month's check-up, her doctor mentioned that Gracie is one of the most talkative babies she's seen in a long time. Is it any surprise, knowing her parents?!?


Her four month appointment went well. She's now weighing it at 17 lbs 15 ounces and is 26.5 inches long, so she remains in the +95% for both her weight and height! She had to get three more vaccines this month, and they again made her scream. It is so hard for me to see her in pain, but thankfully she calms down rather quickly once they are finished. Gracie had a slight fever at her appointment, but there didn't seem to be anything wrong with her, so the doctor didn't seem too concerned. Her ears were a little pink, so they did some kind of test where an instrument blows air in her ears to measure how the eardrum moves. The test results were normal, so the doctor didn't think we needed to put her on any medication. Thankfully Grace's fever was gone by the next day.


In the last month I decided it was time to start moving Gracie's bedtime up. After playing at daycare all day, she is one tired little girl, but I was still nursing her at 6:30 and again around 9:30 before putting her to bed. She would often sleep most of the evening in her swing, so I figured she might as well be in bed getting good rest. I was so afraid that she'd stop sleeping through the night, so after consulting with some friends with older babies, I decided to gradually move her 9:30 feeding earlier until it merged with her 6:30 feeding. A few nights last week she only ate one feeding at 7pm. Those were rough nights where Grace would wake up in the middle of the night, but putting her pacifier back in her mouth was usually enough to get her to go to sleep. I'm hoping this gets better over the next month! For now, we're flipping between one and two feedings to try to find the right balance. It is definitely the most challenging issue I've had so far!

Dear Gracie - Revenge is a dish best served cold

Dear Gracie,

Remember on Saturday night, around midnight when you decided to wake up and start crying? And remember how I ran in and put your pacifier in your mouth and begged you to go back to sleep? And then remember how you did for about one minute before you started crying again and I had to come back to your room? And then remember how I pleaded with you to go back to sleep but you didn't and your mom came in and tried to calm you down but you wanted to eat so she fed you? Well, I hope you remember it because I do. And I will...forever. You interrupted your dad finally getting some and I am not a happy camper.

If you don't remember it, then maybe you won't understand when I get you back, but I will. Oh, this injustice will not be forgotten. Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Your Father

Ian and Megan's Wedding

This weekend Gracie had two firsts: first trip out of state and first wedding! My cousin Ian got married on Saturday evening, so we made the short three hour drive up to OKC on Saturday morning. All of my mom's brothers and sisters, plus some of my cousins, were able to make it to the wedding, so I was excited to spend two days with the family.

Gracie did great yet again in the car ride, with only a little bit of fussiness with a dirty diaper. Unfortunately for her, there are few stops between the Texas border and Norman, OK, so her dirty diaper situation lasted a little longer than she preferred. Thankfully it only took about 5-10 minutes of driving/crying before we entered Norman and stopped to change her. The rest of the car ride was peaceful.

Once we'd checked into the hotel, I fed Gracie while we waited on Megan and Steven to arrive. Then the five of us headed to Bricktown to meet most of my family for lunch at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar, where the food portions were Texas-sized and surprisingly delicious for a tourist trap! Then we headed back to the hotel for some quality time with the family, minus Trinity, who had to check out the local comic book shop less than 2 miles from our hotel!

The wedding itself was beautiful, and the reception was a lot of fun. Hooray for red and black themed weddings! Hooray for free wine, beer, and champagne! Hooray for plenty of family to hold Gracie so Trinity and I could have some fun!

The groom with the girl cousins

I had fun picking out Gracie's fancy dress!

We love our champagne!!!

Love this picture with her Aunt and Uncle!

Gracie had so much fun dancing with Mimi, Mommy, and Daddy, and she also loved watching the strobe lights and the other kids dancing and playing with baloons. Once the dancing was through, we headed back to the hotel to spend some more time with the family. We had a big meeting room reserved all weekend, so we munched on chips, guacamole, and salsa and had great conversation. We kept Gracie up WAY past her bedtime, but the jilt in her schedule didn't seem to phase her too much. I'm glad we have a flexible baby!

Sunday we just spent more time catching up with the family and shared lunch before hitting the road. Gracie slept the entire trip home without a peep. She was one tired baby... and so were her parents!

For Gracie

Trinity was in a morbid mood yesterday, explaining that he has been very nervous about death recently. While I do not share his anxiety, it did really make me think about what would happen to Grace were I to die tomorrow (and what a terrible thought that was for me).


Since she is too young to remember this part of her life, I would want my daughter to know the following things:


1. I love you...in a way I have never loved anyone or anything in my life.

2. The moment you were born, Dad got to tell me that we had a baby girl. As the doctor poked your head over the curtain, I started to cry tears of the purest joy I have ever felt...and I could not stop. It was unbearably hard to hear your dad getting to touch and hold you while I was stiched back up.

3. I held you almost constantly for the first month (ok, maybe the first two months) of your life. I couldn't, and still can't, get enough of holding and cuddling with you. And so far, you're still my little cuddlebug.

4. Your first day of daycare was the hardest day of my life.

5. Every time you learn something new, you get this wonderful look of surprise/ amazement/ accomplishment, which I just love seeing in your eyes.

6. I'll never forget your first smile or first laugh!

7. I think you are the most beautiful baby I've ever seen... you are just perfect in my eyes! I am so proud of you.

8. In short, being your mom is the biggest blessing of my life. I cannot imagine a single minute without you in my life.

I'd also want her to know the following advice:

1. You don't need a man (or woman) to make you happy, but I hope you do find someone to share your life with. I can't imagine my life without your dad's love and support.

2. Read, read, read! If you find yourself struggling through a book, don't be afraid to put it down and find something else you enjoy reading. There are two many great books in the world to waste time reading one you don't enjoy. My personal favorite is Gone with the Wind.

3. Go to college and find a career you love.

4. Don't be afraid to go after your dreams.

5. It's the quality, not quantity, of friends that is important. Surround yourself with people with similar interests and character.

6. Respect other people's opinions, even if you don't agree with them. Our choices are part of what makes each of us an individual.

Wow, I think I could keep going forever. So I am just going to stop before I burn the midnight oil and bore you all to tears.

I love you, Gracie!!!

RSV

I'm simply amazed at how good-natured our daughter is, even when she's sick. This past week Gracie caught RSV from daycare, so we had to keep her home Tuesday to Friday.

Over the weekend Gracie was stuffy-nosed and coughing, but she wasn't running a fever and was her normal, happy self so we weren't too concerned. When I dropped Gracie off to school on Monday, I mentioned that she seemed congested to her teacher. As soon as I got to work I went ahead and made an appointment with her doctor for the next day, more for my peace of mind than anything. Thankfully her teacher called Trinity on Monday afternoon to let him know that her cough was getting worse and that another kid had just been confirmed for RSV. Trinity quickly re-scheduled our Tuesday appointment for Monday evening, where they confirmed that she had a mild case of RSV.

Breathing treatments and sleeping in her swing (to keep her head upright) commenced. I thought that the breathing treatments would be a battle with her, but she just sits in her highchair chatting away! Cleaning out her nose with the automatic aspirator is another story. She flails her arms around and tries to pull her head away. I try to remind her that it will feel better once we've gotten all that crud out. She doesn't seem to care, but who can really blame her?!? I wouldn't want a loud machine being pushed up into my nose either.

Overall, you wouldn't even know she was sick based on her disposition. Trinity and I took turns staying home with her, and she just played, laughed, and smiled all day every day! She even did great at taking naps, which allowed us to get some work done.

Four days later, she is sounding MUCH better. Her follow-up on Friday went really well, and they think the RSV is gone. She is released to go back to daycare on Monday, and I hope that we have a few sick-free weeks ahead of us!

First Day of School

Well, Gracie and I both survived her first two weeks of daycare! I'm pretty sure she faired much better than me though.

Originally, I'd planned to let Trinity take Gracie to daycare for the first day. I thought it would be best so that I wouldn't have a total meltdown while dropping her off. Plus, I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to get ready for work myself... the first day of a new job is NOT the day to be running late! But the more I thought about it, I just couldn't imagine not being there to make sure she was ok (I know, I know, it's not boot camp) and to learn the procedures for drop-off. It also helped that I didn't have to arrive at work until 9am that morning. So, the three of us loaded up the Vue and drove the quarter of a mile to daycare. But not before the obligatory first day of school (and work) photo! I just couldn't resist.

Somehow I managed a smile!

I did really well until we walked into the daycare and the manager asked, "How are you doing this morning." I, of course, was not ok and began to tear up. I got control and walked Gracie to her classroom, where I again began to cry as we learned the procedure for dropping her off every day. Thankfully Trinity actually took Gracie out of her carseat and handed her to her new teacher. And the crying began again! We finally made our way back home, where I surprisingly held myself together until I got in the car to go to work. I cried for about half the drive and then made myself think about anything but Gracie.


My saving grace for the rest of the day was my new job. Once I got to my office building, I started to get excited about my new position, and once I got inside and started working I was ok. Thankfully, no embarrasing meltdowns at work!


Trinity is the designated picker-uper, so I knew Gracie was happily home around 5:15. I was very ready to head home when 5:30 rolled around. When I got home, she didn't even notice because she was conked out in her swing. I guess daycare is exhausting, especially your first day. Thankfully I did get a big smile once she was semi-awake after eating.


The rest of the week was a teeny tiny bit easier for me. I still teared up each morning as I left her classroom, and this week honestly hasn't been much easier. But at least I have made it out the door without any tears!

Happy New Year

We celebrated the new year in a low-key way this year. We met Jen, Mike, and John for dinner at Carino's and then headed back home to celebrate. It couldn't have been a better night! Gracie went to bed around 9pm, which allowed us all to play our new game of Pictionary on the Wii. We took a short break for the countdown to 2011, complete with a champagne toast, and then continued playing until almost 1am! We ended early because the next morning Jen and I had tickets to the Tech bowl game at the cotton bowl stadium.

Gracie: "Celebrating the new year is exhausting!"

My alarm clock went off way too soon on Saturday morning, but it was worth it to get to go to a Tech football game this season! It was very cold in the stadium, but Jen and I had a great time. We were sitting on the pressbox side, which is in the shade, so we moved to the endzone at the beginning of the 3rd quarter to be in the sun. It made a huge difference, and we enjoyed the rest of the game with feeling in our toes!

Tech Pride

Cheering on the Red Raiders!

What a great way to end 2010 and start the new year! I am so excited to see what 2011 has in store for our family!