Family

During my lunch break today, I sat in our teeny tiny break room eating my Cup of  Noodles, reading an Oprah magazine.  I read this article about a woman who wrote down everything she ate during her second pregnancy and why she chose to eat it, more importantly, who affected that decision.  She would write about eating dinner with her best friend after she found out she was pregnant but too worried to celebrate due to prior miscarriages.  However, her best friend said they could celebrate again in 3 months.  She talked about making the peanut butter cookies she has never liked that her great aunt made every year at Christmas time that everyone but her enjoyed.  She ate it anyway because it made her think of her great aunt.  Her reasoning for writing this all down was because she felt by eating and writing down things it would help her baby in some way…impart some wisdom on her child.  This woman symbolically recorded events that she experienced during her pregnancy so she could share them with her children later on.  She also felt that family just doesn’t include those related by blood, it includes friends too. 

Being in the military being away from your family, you begin to rely heavily on your friends in every situation.  Well, it got me thinking about those that helped me through the countless times Matt and I experienced trying to conceive.  There were many friends that were right beside us either in person or over the phone and helped us celebrate in the end.  Thank you so much to all of you.  There are 3 ladies that pop into my mind that helped me in so many ways that I can spend a lifetime trying to repay them.  They are 3 of the best-est friends any girl could ask for.

When we moved to Germany we had already been taking Clomid for almost 2 years.  The doctors said we should continue with the Clomid but it just didn’t work.  Matt was gone so much to the field that we decided we would just take a break and try again later.  My friend Liz was there for all of the ups and downs of those last few months of Clomid, the mood swings, the hot flashes (I often stepped out on the balcony with Mickey, her dog, to take a break) and the heart breaks after the tests were negative.  She was my life saver when it came to staying positive.  I am pretty positive person but every time I saw a negative test, I would feel more defeat.  I remember in particular a ride to Friedberg to get mail or meet the boys for lunch or just to get out of the house talking about “when” not “if” I were to get pregnant what we would do.  I don’t recall what we actually talked about but I do remember the hope I felt radiating from her, she believed with her heart of hearts it would happen.  By just being with her, she once again renewed my hope that maybe, just maybe, someday I would be pregnant.

Liz & I at Heidelberg Castle 2005

Fast forward about a year and a half, Liz had moved and I missed her so much.  However, a “new” round of friends came into my life.  Katie and Mariah became my deployment buddies and I bonded with them quickly.  You have to when you have no one but each other in a foreign country with no husbands!  Mariah was mainly back in the states, but spent those first few months together.  Mariah just had Chloe who I immediately attached myself too.  I was there throughout most of the long labor, I was there for the delivery, and I was the first non-parent to hold her.  She was so tiny in my arms.  Staring at her and the miracle that she was, I once again had a renewed hope that someday it would be one of my own that I would hold that same way.  Ironically, about 20 months later, she would be the second call (after Matt of course) I made on my way back from the doctor sharing with her the delightful news I had waited years to here.  She was there with me when I had every fear in the book, she kept me calm, and dealt with my drama queen moments when I obsessed over every little symptom.  We spent a lot of time together my first trimester, she helped me in so many ways.  Now we make sure we get together as often as possible.  Even though Chloe and Gracie are 2 years apart, I hope that at some point in time our girls will be as close as Mariah and I!

Mariah, Chloe, Me, & Gracie in San Antonio 2008

Katie was convinced I was pregnant when we were in Paris.  I wanted nothing but hamburgers.  Morning, noon, and night, nothing but hamburgers.  At the Eifel Tower, I am sure I made a comment about being hungry…probably wanting a hamburger.  The night we arrived, we ate in our hotel and I paid a pretty Euro for a crappy hamburger but at that time it tasted so good.  Well, her instinct was right, 3 weeks later I found out I was pregnant.  She was one of the few people I told right away.  When I did tell her, she simply said I knew it.  Of course she was ecstatic…she knew the whole story.  She threw me a great baby shower even from miles and miles away.  There were many talks over the 9 months of pregnancy about all the stuff I was going through.  Even though she has yet to meet Miss Gracie, I know she loves her and we miss Miss Katie so much!

Katie & I in Paris

There are many other people that aren’t considered relatives in the technical sense that helped me along the way, the Butzbach clan and those of you at Ft. Lewis.  Thanks again for all the love, the listening, and encouragement I needed from all of you.  You all had a part in molding me in becoming the mother I am and make me thankful for all the ways you have touch my life.  You all will always be part of my family…

One of the greatest gifts God ever gave me, Grace Anna

Baby it’s cold outside!

After complaining about it being too hot on Saturday while we were at the zoo, Gracie had to go outside with a jacket today! I love cold weather and I love when we get fall like weather in El Paso.  Fall doesn’t make it’s appearance in El Paso like it does back home.  That is the number one thing I miss about Illinois.  It is even supposed to get down in the 50’s later this week, we’ll see if that really happens! :)

Here is a cute picture I took of Gracie and then edited.  I really enjoy editing pictures…it is easy and a lot of fun to create something.   It fills my scrapbook longing.  I just don’t have the space or the time to scrapbook like I used too.

As soon as I saw this dress at Old Navy I knew I wanted it to be Gracie’s Christmas dress.  It is simple yet dressy enough.  Now I realize that black isn’t your typical color, but there is a reason why I went this route, plus you never can beat a classic, no matter how young you are! 

Much needed weekend

First of all, I took a hiatus from the blog world.  I needed a week off and quite honestly it was such a crappy 2 weeks all around, I wouldn’t have had too much to say.  But we had a nice weekend and I am feeling much more relaxed.  Although, I am expecting the next two weeks at work to be crazy.  Time will tell!

Gracie is up to the same old stuff with a lot of new twists.  I have officially considered her into the “Terrible Two’s” stage.  Oh my, this girl can throw a fit that will make any toddler envious.  The thing is, it is not really like throwing herself on the floor or anything, it is simply just crying and crying.  Everything is mine, no matter if it really is or not.  She also tells us no A LOT!  But all in all, she is still my sweet baby girl and this morning proved it.  I woke up to her saying “Mama, Mama” then she gave me a sweet kiss, then she told me “I love you.”  What a way to wake up!

Yesterday we headed over to the zoo for their annual “Boo at the Zoo.”  I honestly enjoyed last years better because it wasn’t nearly as many people there.  It seemed it was the place to be yesterday.  Not to mention it was still warm (80 degrees), so Gracie got hot in her kitty costume, but we still had a good time.  She loves anything in water.  The monkey’s and the sea lion’s were her favorite.

Other then that we haven’t been up to much.  I promise I will attempt to keep up more.  Here are some cute pictures I took over the weekend.  Yet another thing I am learning about the “Terrible Two’s” is that she is not into getting her picture taken.  However, I managed to get a few!

Here kitty kitty…the sun was in her eyes!

You see the make-up didn’t last long but she was still too cute!

She looks as though she was really locked up! :)

 

She was telling daddy all about the bears they were looking at!

 

Doesn’t she look like she is up to something?

When did she get to be such a big girl?

“Umm, mom, I am not so sure about this.”

Hanging out in the prairie dog exhibit with daddy

Pumpkin Patch 2009

We all had a fun day at the pumpkin patch this year.  It was windy, the sun was hot, but it was still a great time.  Only in El Paso would you see people in shorts to pick pumpkins.  I put Gracie in a long sleeve shirt and realized once we were outside I should have put her in short sleeves.  She was ok though, at least she was covered to prevent a sun burn.  We stayed away from the corn maze this time considering that is all we did last year because we got lost so bad.  This year they moved to a different location and had a lot more stuff to do.  We just took advantage of the pumpkin patch and the petting zoo.  Although Gracie didn’t pet any of the animals, she was just an observer.  Gracie told us what sound each animal made.  It was so cute.  She was really excited about the goats…she kept running back to them. 

This was our first time ever at an actual pumpkin patch.  Gracie picked out her own pumpkin and liked walking around all the vines.  She wasn’t too fond of the tractor ride out to the patch though.  She cuddled into me and hung on real tight.  She got a Gracie size pumpkin.  She carried all the way back to her stroller which by the way she didn’t like leaving.  Apparently she thought it wasn’t going to be there when she got back! :)

Brian and Leda joined us beforehand at Olive Garden.  It had been a long time since they had seen Gracie and couldn’t get over how much she had grown.  She really has gotten big and is so much a toddler now.  I think the last time they saw her was back in August when she was still in the “in between stages.”  Now she is in a full out run and talking ALL the time. 

We are just taking it easy for the rest of the weekend.  I had a tooth extracted (finally my last wisdom tooth) on Thursday, a fender bender on Friday (leave it up to me to run into a Border Patrol Agent), and I don’t think I ever mentioned that I lost my wallet last weekend so I have spent all week renewing all of my stuff.  Not fun, especially when you have a lot of stuff in there!  I may take Gracie to the park to get her out of the house today or going to the store since we don’t have much to eat.  Who knows…we are just taking it step by step.

Well, here is some pictures from yesterday…we really did have a lot of fun.

My Little Observer

You can see how windy it was yesterday…we didn’t get as many cute pictures as I wanted since dust was blowing so bad.  But I got a few good ones.

 

Gracie’s favorite of the day…goats!

Picking out her pumpkin.

 

My favorite picture of the day!

La Union Maze 2009 …We survived it last year! :)

“Look guys…it’s ducks!”

“They go “Quack, Quack"!”

La Union Maze 2008…so tiny didn’t even have shoes on!

Meatloaf & 2 videos

So, I rarely make meatloaf. It is just one of those dishes that I have to be in the mood for and usually only make it when I can’t figure out any other dish to make with the ground beef that is in the fridge.  Well, it looks like I will be making it more often because Gracie LOVED it.  She seriously ate 2 pieces.  You can see how much I gave her in the pictures below and that was her second helping which she at every last bit of it. 

She seriously couldn’t get enough!

Here is a video I took of her tonight…she was very chatty while eating mind you not!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We really had a relaxing weekend.  Considering that Gracie was out of school all last week we decided to lay low and keep it close to home.  Matt and I even stayed up to watch a movie and a half last night which is impressive that we made it through one movie and the start of another before one of us fell asleep.  Today we all stayed in our pj’s  watched TV it was nice! 

Here is another video of Gracie I intended to post earlier this week.  She has actually started to say “I love you” which is super sweet.  Between that phrase and the way she says “yeah” this girl is going to be more spoiled with that sweet little voice!  I don’t have a chance do I?

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

So, I am sitting here while Gracie destroys plays with every single riding toy she has…I ran across a blog that I read from time to time. This mom has four beautiful children. Every Monday she does a blog entitled “Not Me Monday.” It got me thinking of the things I did this week that one would think “Not Faith…she wouldn’t do that!” So here is my list of top 5 things I did this week that I claim are “Not Me” moments:

• I did not loose (have it stolen) my wallet then walk around crying hysterically between Marshall’s and Ross looking for it with Gracie in my arms while looking at the cute shoes in Ross. Nor did I get even angrier when I realized those shoes would not have a new home because my wallet was no longer in my possession.
  
• Gracie did not have cereal for lunch on Tuesday when she was sick simply because I didn’t want to fix anything for lunch. Did I mention it wasn’t even healthy cereal…it was Captain Crunch which I swore I wouldn’t introduce her too until she was older.
  
• I did not spend entirely too much time on facebook while Gracie slept instead of doing the million things I need to at home and for work.
  
• I did not leave the dogs outside for more then 20 minutes barking continuously while I took the much needed 20 minutes checking blogs, facebook, email after the wallet disaster.
  
• I did not bribe my child with a new pair shoes or a new toy when she through a fit in the Target on Thursday when I was forced to be out of work with a sick baby!!!

So there is my “Not Me Monday.” Since I had today off (gotta love being a government employee), I hope we all have a great “Fake Monday” (that is what I call Tuesday’s after not having to work on Monday!)

22 Months…about 5 days late!

I have been so consumed with Gracie being sick that I realized I never posted a 22 Month Birthday post.  Just two months away from being a 2 year old.  That fact just blows my mind.  But let me tell you, in so many ways we are in our terrible two’s.  However, even during those “terrible two’s” moments, she is still my sweet baby girl who is growing leaps and bounds.  Here are some new or improved things we are doing now:

• Run, run, fast as you can…you can’t catch me…I’m Gracie!  I don’t think walking is in her vocabulary at least 70% of the time.
• Speaking of vocabulary, that is also expanding daily.  We are starting to put two or more words together “I want drink” or “my daddy, mommy, puppy” etc.
• She tells us “I Love You” and uses the hand motions we taught her.  It is the loveliest “I Love You” EVER!
• She answers “yeah” and “no” a lot.
• She brings home art from school…at this rate I am going to have a 100 boxes by the time she graduates high school.
• She recognizes the difference between other puppies and her puppies.  She calls for Daisy and Harley all the time.  She can’t go upstairs without them.
• After 21 months of not being attached to a blanket, stuff animal or anything like that…she has chosen a favorite blanket. 
• She is very strong tempered.  She will let you know when she doesn’t want or like what is going on.
• She is beginning to throw fits.  At the moment, her fits mainly consist of crying, rolling around on the floor, or throwing her weight around if you are holding her.  We are in the flailing about yet.
• She still loves books and is beginning to point out different things or animals.
• She knows a lot of animals sounds.  Her newest one is “tweet, tweet” for bird.
• She is getting so tall!!!!!  She puts her cups in the sink and puts her mink (pacifier) on the table when she doesn’t want it.
• She is still slowly, very slowly, wanting to potty train.
• She is still our lovely little lady!!!!

I have a number of pictures to share with you.  I know I haven’t posted a lot this week and I have not shared pictures but Gracie is also telling us no when she is not in the mood for pictures. I sure hope she grows out of that one fast.  I don’t think I can handle not taking pictures! :)

Some of her art work.

 

So curious.

This is part of one of her fits….

Part two of her fit!

Daddy’s home!!!!

High Five!

Playing outside with mommy’s volleyball…we gotta start early! :)

These were pictures I edited online…I love this program.

She has got that look of mischief in her eye!

I have told you about this before but we are still loving the “Dance Me Daddy” book!

Sick again or still actually…

So, yesterday morning, Matt and I woke up to a very feverish girl.  Matt called his boss who was super understanding and Matt stayed home since I have the opening shift this month.  It is pretty much impossible to call in on a moments notice when you are opening.  I have taken Gracie with me many times!  Well, I called as soon as I could get through on the appointment line to get Gracie an appt.  After fighting a fever and just plain fussiness for a week, I had it.  I knew it was time to see the doctor and it was more then just a cold.  I spent 20 minutes waiting to get through on the appointment line and lucked out in getting an appointment yesterday afternoon.  Those of you that are military wives, know the frustration of trying to get a same day appointment.  The doctor confirmed my suspicions, Gracie has an upper respiratory infection and an ear infection.  So, we got the one shot antibiotic which I think should be renamed “the one shot wonder.”  Of course, I absolutely hate it when she has to get shots, but to het her feeling better was worth it.  They also gave us some medicine to add to her breathing treatments we give her when she is congested.  She is still coughing but it is getting better slowly.   She is now up to 26.6 pounds and is 33.5 inches tall.  She is a growing girl.  She is feeling much better today, not a 100% but I would say at least 85%.  So I think we are going to try daycare tomorrow.  Matt has the day off since he has 24 hour duty today so if he needs to go get her he can.  I don’t have any pictures because I have been giving Gracie a break…we are in the phase that we only take pictures when we want too!  I promise to have some soon.  Hopefully, the rest of our week will be less eventful!

Week in a nut shell…

So you all know I was home with Gracie on Monday and Tuesday…well those two relaxing days came back to bite me.  Wednesday, I went back to work and it was busy busy busy.  I was extremely tired after having a friend of ours toddler overnight because Araceli had 24 hour duty.  Thursday we ran errands all night and Friday we did nothing but I was exhausted!!! 

Saturday we just spent the day out and about together has a family.  We intended on going to the Amigo Airsho but it started raining so we didn’t go.  That night we had yet another birthday party to go too and had a good time.  Gracie is still not feeling great so we didn’t stay all too long.  But we were there long enough to get a couple of cute pictures.  

Then today, we just cleaned the house and stayed home.  Gracie has been battling a cough for the last couple of days so we have been trying to keep it close to home.  Well, I am hoping this week isn’t nearly as crazy as this past one.  I am still exhausted! :)  Enjoy your Monday…unfortunately it came back around!

You can see…..

just how much…..

they love each other!

Sweet baby blues!

Having fun playing skee ball…as you can see this is quickly becoming a favorite thing!

Gracie has learned (finally) how to say “i love you” now she never really does it completely…she was being way too silly but you get the idea!    It’s not the greatest video but it’s still cute!

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