Latest update

Whew....what a week. I feel like Gracie and I have done more running around then anything! Then Matt worked in the yard all day today while I tried to some spring cleaning around the house. Trust me, no easy task with an almost 4 month old! We have been so busy that I almost forgot to post a new blog. Don't worry, I will try to keep up with my biweekly updates...notice I said try! Amazingly enough, between running around all over El Paso this week, Gracie has been doing a couple of new things and perfecting her other skills. She has figured out that she can bring stuff to her mouth. The elephant toy we got her for her Easter basket is her current favorite chew toy. She totally loves it. She is also enjoying tummy time more. Which is great, she is learning to push her feet all around. Other then that nothing really to report. I will post a couple of pics I took earlier this week. Enjoy!!!

Easter Weekend

So we had a great weekend. I have always loved Easter weekend. It is a sign of so many things. I love the springtime, it means warmer weather is on the way! We went to church, the early service mind you, and it was Gracie's first time at church. She did a great job. She loved the music and slept right through the message. I also have to say that she was the cutest baby there...but I might be a bit biased. After church, we came home to change clothes and head up to see Brian & Leda. We had a fabulous dinner and colored Easter eggs. It was a blast. I just have to post a couple of pictures of Gracie in her dress and her Easter outfit. She wasn't in the mood to smile when she was looking pretty in her dress...but she turned it on for her cute 1st Easter outfit! Enjoy and until next time!!!!!

People say....

So people say that Gracie looks like Matt...ok, I have said many many times that Gracie looks like Matt. I think I have this figured out...she looks like Matt but I am finding many things that we have in common. She is my daughter you know. Having said this, I have further proof she is my child. Only my child would jump ahead to milestones she is supposed to conquer in her 4th month without conquering all of her 3 month ones. Now, I know that she won't conquer all of them on schedule, no child ever does, but only my child would jump all over the place as much as she is. For example, she refuses to do a "mini push-up" which a few kids can do at 3 months (I know she can because she has done it before but she just won't do it) but she carries on conversations with you, she bears weight very well on her legs, etc. all of which are what all 4 month old's can do. I know...your confused...just another thing to prove that she is going to be a lot like me. :)

On a less confusing note, it has been so nice here. We are having upper 70's lower 80's weather and it is GREAT! I am loving the spring time in El Paso. Which I should remind myself more often that the day we got here it was 106 degree out. Anyway, since it was so nice out, Gracie and I decided to go out in our yard with a blanket and play. She really enjoyed being outside. The sun is so bright that it took her a minute to get used to it even being in the shade, but we spent a good 3o minutes just taking pictures and talking. We also played with Daisy who got so excited she had someone to play with outside. She at one time was panting so hard while taking a breather with us on the blanket that her mouth was wide open and Gracie stuck her foot right in Daisy's mouth. I took a picture and it is so funny. It looks like Daisy is going to take a nibble out of Gracie's foot! I will make sure I post it...I promise you there were no animals or baby feet injured in production of the photo. :)

Other then that, no other new news. Gracie is still completely fascinated with the fact that she can put her hands together. She can spend a lot of time just staring at her hands...way cute. Ok, I will stop rambling on now...until next time!

**Remember, no animal or baby feet were injured in the taking of this picture! :)**

Gracie's 1st day at the pool!

So we had another first today, we took Grace swimming. Matt goes to the pool twice a week to do physical training. Well, we have been talking about taking Gracie so she can get used to the water and enjoy being in it. So we finally decided to take the plunge. Grandma Beth and I met Matt after work to our local indoor swimming pool. We all got ready and put Gracie in her adorable little swimming suit..she of course looked super cute. When we first put her in, she was kind of unsure but after a few minutes she seemed to really like being in the pool. I think she was amazed at all the water considering she doesn't take big girl baths yet. I walked her back and forth bouncing up and down. Grace really enjoyed the feel of the water around her. We had to take some pictures to show for our new adventure that I am sure you will enjoy! We are definitely going to continue to take her to the pool. It was a blast! Until next time!

Milestones

Ok, so I have said that I try not to obsess over Gracie and when she meets her milestones. I am actually doing better about it believe it or not! However when she conquers one, I get so excited. even when the milestone is something simple. But I guess most new mom's do! Gracie has figured out how to put her hands together and almost clap...yes I know it isn't much but I love to watch her look at her hands. I am pretty sure she has been doing this awhile, but I just really noticed it today. I just sat in bed and watched her. She was so fascinated. I am pretty sure she sat there for a good 5 minutes just looking at her hands. It was cute.





Another exciting thing that happened this week is that Gracie got to meet another Grandma! Grandma Beth arrived on Friday and she is completely in love with Grace. As soon as we got home, Grandma Beth had to hold her and just make over her. They have spent their time talking, singing, and just getting to know each other. It is fun to watch Gracie interact with everyone. I am going to post a couple of new pics today and one of them is of Gracie with her Grandma.





Well, other then the exciting hands adventure and meeting Grandma, nothing else is new here...so until next time...


Gracie and Grandma talking!

The first time Grandma Beth got to hold her Grace!

I am a by the book mom...kinda

So, most you second time mom's are probably cringing at me, but I can't help it. I am a by the book mom and I am proud of it. I won't start Gracie on cereal until she is 4 months old, solid foods until she is 6 months, and so on. Although, I do have to admit, I broke my "by the book" mold just a bit....and with in reason too I must say (I can justify anything). Anyway, we received a jumper activity toy as a gift and I put it together because I thought it was way too cute. Now I knew that when I put it together she wasn't going to be using it for awhile, but I just had to do it. Everyone knows patience is not one of my stronger points. Well, of course I read the directions and it said that it is safe to put an infant in the jumper as long as they are holding there head up well! Gracie conquered holding her head up almost 3 weeks ago. She is now trying to pull herself up from a reclining position to a sitting position. We are so excited..and it is fun to see her try to pull herself up. She gets frustrated and you can almost here her say "Forget it, it is not going to work so why try." It's cute...plain and simple. Got, off track again...sorry. So I was trying to get some stuff done and I saw the jumper out of the corner of my eye. I thought, you know what, I might as well try it...what is the worst that is going to happen? She is going to fuss and want to do something else. Well, the exact opposite happened...SHE LOVED IT! She was talking to the animals and trying to reach them (her arms are a little short). If I had a dollar for every time she smiled at the monkey, I would have at least 100 bucks in my pocket. She was adorable, oh who am I kidding, she is adorable all the time. Of course, I had so much fun watching her and taking pictures (I have now blinded my child :) ) that I didn't get my stuff done that I wanted too. Regardless it was fun. I am going to post a few pictures from her adventure in the jumper so enjoy! I will post another video soon...one that I promise you won't have to turn your head a complete 90 degrees to enjoy! Have a great weekend and look for another post. Grandma Beth comes in today so I will have to post some pictures of that!



The one on the top is a little blurry, but she is smilin'! The one in the middle is Grace getting ready to eat the seat...apparently it tasted good. The one on the bottom I just loved the look she had on her face! :)

I hate things I can't change....

Alright so as most of you know, I can be quite the perfectionist....well ok, in some areas! It is becoming more and more apparent that the perfectionism has reared it's ugly head when it comes to Grace. So, over the last couple of days Gracie has developed cradle cap which is super common and just needs to run it's course. Well, the only problem I have with this is that the cradle cap is making her have a bald spot on top of her head. I am not for sure if it is from washing it, brushing it, or what, all I know is that the little hair she did have is slowly disappearing. Now I know it will grow back and it won't matter in a couple of months, but it is just the fact that I am having a mommy moment where I don't have control over the situation. Again, most of you know I have a problem when I am not in control of a situation! :) Alright, I feel better and I am sure all of you are now smiling at me and my new mommy antics. If you look up new mommy in the dictionary...yeah, don't' be surprised if you see my picture.



On a cuter note and the main reason I decided to post another blog today (be proud I am doing one twice in one week), Gracie was super cute today talking to her daddy. Matt is home after being at the hospital on Wednesday for severe dehydration. He is doing much much better and really needed a couple of days to rest and relax. Well, they were sitting on the couch enjoy some rest and relaxation and Gracie started talking to her daddy and just smiling up a storm. I grab the camera and recorded a little bit of it. This is her new favorite thing to do. We are already trying to sit up on our own. But of course, she can't do it very well...she still needs someone to hold her middle. Anyway, I thought I would post the video on here so you all could enjoy if you so choose too. I know the Grandma's will greatly enjoy it. Please ignore the fact that it is sideways...apparently you can't flip it after you record it...lessons learned in video recording. Enjoy the video and until next time!

Grace Anna is 3 months

Well, a friend of a friend has a blog updating everyone how her pregnancy is going. I thought it would be a good idea to do one for Gracie considering we are in the military and we are not able to keep up with our family and friends like we used to! So I am going to attempt (yeah we will so how this goes) to update once a week so you all can hear how Grace is doing. Don't be surprised if in a few months, you check this and surprise...no new blogs, means I have totally forgotten about it so just send me an email and tell me to update it!

So, let me give you a brief summary of our last three months...December 5 we went in for our routine 38 week check up and found out that I was carrying too much amniotic fluid. So the doctor suggested we have a C-Section. I thought he meant in a couple of days...well, he meant that day. I was admitted and Gracie joined our world at 10:25 pm with the stats of 7 lbs 7 oz and 19 inches long. We came home a few days later and had your typical first weeks of no sleep. She has been growing leaps and bounds since then. She is cutie patootie who looks so much like her dad it isn't funny. I sometimes have to remind myself she is my child b/c I gave birth to her!


So, fast forward 2 months and we are in present time. Grace is doing really well. She is getting bigger and bigger by the day. We are growing out of our 0-3 month clothes at a rapid rate. It is almost heartbreaking to put away all of my favorite outfits, but there is nothing I can do about. (Ok, I know a number of you are saying, what a Faith thing to say!). She is also cooing and smiling all the time. As a matter of fact, she is sitting here next to me in her boppy just smiling like crazy. She had her first laugh on Saturday along with being on her tummy and lifting her self up. She did that right before we went to go get her 3 month pictures taken. It was awesome. I have to admit, I obsess over her development but I am getting better.

We bought her a new play gym....and she loves it. One of her favorite things is when we lay down with her and play with dangly toys. She is really becoming interested in the toys and reaching for them. She does grab them here and there but she is still just interested in staring at them.

Another frequent question we get is how is Daisy (for those of you who don't know Daisy is our 9 month toy poodle) is adapting to the new baby...well actually it is going well. She does get jealous here and there but mostly she loves Gracie and is more then willing to share us with Grace. Daisy's favorite thing to do is to climb up on my lap while I have Gracie and chew on her Dingo bones. I have logged many hours on the couch with those two. Daisy also has an issue trying to figure out which toys are hers. But she has her own basket of toys so there isn't much confusion but I am sure she finds Gracie's toys much more interesting.

Well, I am going to sign off for now. I will be posting more later...I am looking forward to sharing stories, achievements and other things that will surely happen in our life! Enjoy the pictures and don't let me lag behind on posting blogs! Ciao for now!