Walking With God

This week I was in cleaning mode. On Thursday I was dusting but Gracie had had enough time to herself under her play gym and was not afraid to let me know it. I decided to take her along on my cleaning journey. We started by dusting the piano and really never made it much further.

I was showing her all the pictures and Willow Tree Angels and telling her who all the people were and who gave me the angels. She seemed very enthralled; but, then again, she always does these days. She's like a little sponge soaking every word and image in.

There is one particularly special piece on our piano. It is a picture with the "Footprints" story on it. It is also a music box and when you wind it up it plays "Amazing Grace" and a little white dove glides across the picture. My Grandma Billie (my mom's mother) gave it to me when my Mimi (her mother) passed away. Mimi always had this picture in her room and I just loved to wind it up and watch the dove dance.

I wound up the music so Gracie could watch the bird "fly" while I read her the story. She loves the dove as much as I do. She couldn't keep her eyes off of it. As I read the story, for about the hundredth time, it began to touch me in a way it never has before. I was holding Gracie on my hip and tears came to eyes. Here I was, carrying Gracie because she just needed a little "Mommy" time and I thought about how God does the exact same thing for His children. Sometimes I'm playing under the play gym of life and even though I know He's right there watching over me I just need a little "Daddy" time. A little time to be carried. And He picks me up and carries me just like I do for Gracie.

I've needed to be carried quite a bit over the past couple of years. Sometimes I didn't even know it and I would probably be just like the guy in the story that asks, "Why did you leave me when I needed you most?" Becoming a parent has helped me to understand God's Love so much better. I will walk by Gracie forever. Some days she'll need me to carry her and one day she'll need me to start letting her make her own decisions. She'll even need me to let her make mistakes. I will let her walk the path of life and I may not always be able to be there physically but I will always be there.

God will walk by His children forever. He will let us make our own decisions and even make mistakes. He will carry us when we need Him to and one day we will walk with Him in Heaven. Just as I believe my Mimi is doing today.

Note to Gracie:

I will carry you, little girl, whenever you need me to. You will grow up and go to school and move away but I will always carry you when you need me to. I will do my best to teach you about God and His Love. I want you to learn about Jesus and I pray that one day you accept Him as your savior. I love you Gracie Girl, and your Daddy loves you and Jesus loves you most of all.

My Favorite Age

A few weeks ago I thought Gracie had found her voice. She started cooing and "talking" to all of her toys. She would "talk" to them in the car or while she was sitting in her papasan. It was really cute.

Now Gracie has found her voice in a whole new way. She loves to scream. She does a lot of it. She screams at her toys. She screams at us. She screams in her bed. She even screams in church. Good thing it's so darn cute or we might find it a little annoying. I've done some reading online and it sounds like this is pretty common at her age. She is just learning how to use her voice and loves the sound of it.



We took Gracie to Cradle Roll Class on Sunday. Matt and I stayed in there for about five minutes taking pictures. She was doing so well that we decided to leave her and see what happened. Apparently she didn't miss us one bit. Matt picked her up after class and they said she did just great. She did have to pass on the cheerios they handed out to the bigger kids but I don't think she minded. For all those experienced mothers who read (I know you're out there) what age did your little ones start protesting being left in a class setting like bible school? She's the little one on the left. :)



I know I say this all the time but Gracie is growing like a weed. Side Note: Trust me I know how fast weeds grow because they are taking over my garden right now. As soon as this weather warms up I will be weeding and mulching like crazy. I've decided that 5 months is my favorite age so far. She is turning into a little girl and I just love that. She is starting to develop a personality and always has Matt and I laughing for some reason or another. I can't wait for our family to get to see her in person. The next three weeks cannot go fast enough.

Blue Light

I like to nap with Gracie. Even if it seems as if I've had enough sleep at night I still feel pretty exhausted during the day. I'm convinced this is because "mom" sleep is not nearly as restful as regular sleep.

We have a king size bed so what I end up doing is putting her in the middle with a pillow on Matt's side to guard the edge (which is really about 3 feet away). I put a receiving blanket down to guard against any spit-up/poo mishaps, pop her paci in and give her her blankie. Then I hop in beside her. I'm a side sleeper so I end up with my head on my pillow and my body under the covers facing her. She's started doing this thing once I get settled and look into her eyes where she laughs just once. If you've heard her laugh on any of our videos then you know she's got a low pitched giggle. I think she laughs because all she can see is my head. She lets out just one little grunty laugh and then she settles in for a snooze.

She usually sleeps for about 30 or 40 minutes. I've learned, though, that she isn't done with her nap at this point. She always needs another round. I wake up as soon as she starts squirming and pop her paci back in. Sometimes the timing is perfect and she passes out quickly but other times it's a bit of a process. Every once in awhile we share the sweetest moments in that time between dreams. She'll just lay so still and stare at me. I try and keep my eyes closed in hopes of setting a good example. I open one eye ever so slightly to see if she's closed her eyes yet and she'll just be staring at me with a sweet little smile. Sometimes I give in and open my eyes so that we can stare at each other. I've never looked at anyone's eyes so closely.

They are so many shades of blue. They are very dark at the edge. Almost like slate. Then they start to dilute to a softer blue towards the middle. The blue that is at the very center is hard to describe. Light blue just doesn't do it justice. It's almost as if there is a blue sun peeking out from behind her pupils. It's like blue light. Even in the light itself there are different shades.

At some point during our staring contest she starts to blink very slowly until she's barely keeping her eyes open. Then she drifts off into her dreams. By this time I'm usually wide awake so sometimes I sneak out of bed and get something productive done. On the better days I just lay there and watch her.

Roly Poly

Gracie is on the move. She has been rolling belly to back for awhile but just today rolled from her back to her belly all by herself.



I bet she'll be crawling before we know it. Maybe I'll be able to the shed the last few pounds of baby weight when I have a mobile baby to chase after. :)

Gracie's Big Adventure

The spring has finally sprung in Indy. We've had some warmer weather the last couple of weeks. It hasn't been warm enough to get Gracie out much but we've taken a few strolls to the park and back with her tucked warmly into her stroller. It's actually the wind and the sun that make it hard to expose her. Poor little girl looks like she's going to have my pale -- I mean fair -- skin. On Saturday I decided we'd been cooped up long enough so we bundled her up and had an adventure in the front yard. I've finally figured out how to post pictures so I'll tell this story using photos.

First, we just sat for a bit.



Then we said hello to the grass.



Then we said hello to the flowers.



Then we just sat and watched the world go by while daddy played with the camera.



Isn't she a cutie?




It's strange to think that Gracie has never experienced all these things. She's never felt the grass or smelled a flower. She has yet to see a bird. She has no idea what those big things in all the yards are or that they will be turning green with leaves soon. She has no idea that the tulips in our flower bed are coming up and her mommy is looking so forward to seeing them.

We had a cold spell this week. We even got snow yesterday...boooo! But spring is definitely in the air. This springtime is very special because we get to watch our little girl blossoming right along side the flowers. Do you think it feels like springtime to God every time one of His children chooses Him? He must watch us growing up in Him and feel the same way we do about our little ones.

Gracie Goes to Bible class

Today was a big day for Gracie Girl. She went to Bible Class for the first time! We had to sit in the toddler class because the cradle roll teacher was home sick. She sat in my lap and watched all the "big" kids singing and learning. She got to hold all the same toys they did (animals to represent what God made, Bible that says God Loves Gracie, etc.) and really stayed interested most of the time.

She was more alert and attentive today than yesterday. Her voice sounded different today than it did yesterday. It's almost as if she is expressing more emotions with it rather than just crying because she needs something. She babbles when she's happy. Squeals and laughs when she is excited. And kind of "harumphs" when she is upset.

She got another tooth today. It had been right beneath the surface the last couple of days and today it erupted onto the scene pretty uneventfully. In other words, she didn't seem to experience any pain. Don't worry, I put a bit of orajel on her gums tonight before bed just in case.

She has started playing all of her toys like maracas. She shakes them so hard that she hits herself in the face. This doesn't seem to bother her though. She just keeps right on going. I noticed it in the car the other day when I started to hear a banging in the back seat and I thought maybe a cup was rolling around and hitting something (I really need to clean my car). It turns out it was Gracie Girl going to town with a toy on her car seat.

We're going to try the cradle roll class again next week. They have one of those moon shaped tables with seats in it. All the babies sit in them and the teacher sings and tells them stories. I might even try and leave her for a bit. We'll see. I haven't really made up my mind completely on that. I'm taking baby steps.

Baby Orajel: A Mom's Best Friend

The Tylenol and Orajel worked like a charm. I highly recommend it to any mother with a teething infant. Gracie slept very well last night. She's back to her old self today. She's enjoying some exersaucer time right now. Spinning around to play with all of the toys. There is a globe on it that she spins. I like to say she makes the world go round. Right now that's the way my life feels. Gracie demands pretty much my every thought and I am more than willing to give them to her. I'm so thankful that I get to stay home with her. Who wouldn't want to look at this face all day?