She's a Thinker

Gracie is now almost 10 weeks old. She has changed so much since I last posted. It seems as though every day holds some new way in which she makes me smile. It also makes me a little sad that I have a hard time remembering those first few weeks in the hospital and at home as a brand new family of three. I told Matt the second week she was home that I wasn't sure I wanted to go through it all again. Now I'm sure that I would do this again in order to allow her the chance to have a brother or a sister.

Those first few weeks when things seemed so hard flew by so fast that I almost wish I could go back and focus more on all the little things. I feel like I can't take enough pictures or make enough notes about all the milestones she's reaching. How can something so tiny bring so much joy to my life?

If I wrote all of our happenings out in paragraph form this would probably be the longest post ever (and it's already pretty long) so I'm going to list them.

First smile
First time to sleep 6 hours
First time to decorate a Christmas Tree
First road trip (to Louisiana and then Texas) to meet the entire family
First blow out (on the road to TX)
First laugh (at the dogs on Grammy's back porch)
First splash in her baby tub
Lots of smiling and talking with Mom, Dad and the whole family
First time to see the outdoors for more than five minutes (it's too cold her in Indy to get out much)
Slept nine hours in one night (just happened last night)
She's bringing her hands to her mouth to suck on them quite a bit, I'm expecting her to really find them soon
She's enjoying playing on the floor and can even entertain herself for a bit, Granny said she looks like she's directing traffic the way she flails her arms and legs, does that mean she'll be a leader one day?
Napping in her papasan while Mom showers
Napping in her swing while Mom blogs :)


We go to the doctor for her two month check up tomorrow. I'm excited to see how much she weighs and how long she is. She's already in 3-6 month sleepers! I have a feeling she'll be tall. Her hair is still red (especially in the sunlight) and her eyes are still blue. We've got a good little routine in which she eats and then stays awake for about an hour and then goes down for a nap. Sometimes she naps on our lap and sometimes in a swing or a papasan. She really doesn't like to sleep in her crib during the day. She has a bath around 9:30 and gets her last meal of the day at 10 and falls right to sleep after that. Of course, she has a few off days here and there like any baby (or adult for that matter).

I am continually amazed at how fast she is growing and how much she seems to be learning. I am always wondering just what she is thinking and I am convinced that she is a thinker. The new picture to the right is one of those moments that she looks like she is in deep thought about what is going on around her. We were all on the back porch at my parents house and she was enjoying the warm weather and cool breeze. She was watching the dogs and just a few moments before this photo was snapped she laughed for the first time. She is probably thinking about all the new things she is seeing and hearing and smelling.

In a few years she'll be thinking about all the things she can learn from the people around her. And a few years after that she'll be thinking about what she wants to be when grows up. And a few years after that she'll be thinking about how to make those dreams come true. My prayer is that through all of those years she will be thinking about what she can do to make this world a better place for someone else. Even if it's just one person at a time. My prayer is that God helps Matt and I guide her to those thoughts.

Note to Gracie:

Gracie girl, I am so blessed to be your mother. You make me smile absolutely every day! I can't wait see the light in your eyes and the joy in your smile when you experience all of God's blessings in this world. I am excited to share so many firsts with you and I pray that the wonder of this world does not fade as you get older but that you find new blessings every day. I love you Gracie Girl!