Update for Aunt Janice

So I've put making a post off for quite a while. I guess you could say I've run out of things to say lately. I'm not exactly sure why. Gracie has definitely not stopped providing us with new and exciting milestones weekly. Maybe my brain has just been tired. I've been keeping up with video posts and pictures though. You can always check those out here:

photos
videos

I think Gracie's brain must be tired too. She just has more energy than me so she keeps right on using it to do amazing things every day. In the last two months she has hit several milestones and experienced many firsts. Here's the condensed version:

5/21 - rode in a shopping cart without her baby carrier
5/22 - Sat in a restaurant high chair
6/3 - tried whole peas (and hated them)
6/9 - first bad reaction to food (it was a gerber Hawaiian smoothie and the clean up was no fun)
6/13 - started crawling army style
6/27 - started getting to a sitting position by herself
6/29 - pulled to her feet
6/30 - crawled on all fours
7/2 - started saying "Ba-ba-ba-ba..."
7/6 - starting using M's and N's
7/9 - starting using pincer grasp to eat her puffs
7/13 - Top right tooth coming in

We also took a trip to the zoo. She did more people watching than animal watching and fell asleep in her stroller before we left but I think it was a pleasant trip.

Last week Matt's family came to town and we had fun hauling the two babies (Gracie and my niece MacKenzie) around Indiana. We went to the Children's Museum, did a lot of shopping and a lot of playing. It's always neat to see two little one's interact. They were definitely born with little personalities.

It makes me wonder what Gracie will be like as she grows up. Right now she's quite calm and seems very contemplative. She's constantly watching people and things as if she's trying to figure everything out. She laughs and smiles but not at the drop of a hat. Strangers in the grocery store really have to work to get her to smile (this secretly pleases me). We'll find something that makes her let out one of her deep chuckles but the next time we do it it's old news and not nearly as entertaining.

Just recently she has started laughing at Preston (our dachsund) when he scurries over to eat anything she's dropped out of her high chair. One tried and true practice that gets her giggling is a game I call One-Two-Three. I put her in the middle of our king size bed sitting up and stand at the edge of the bed. I swing my arms big as I say, "One...Two....Three" and I launch myself (gently) at her on the three. She's thinks it's wonderful. I wonder how long this will amuse her. Only Gracie knows.

Six Months

I'm a little late with my six month update. We had a very busy first half of May. Gracie was actually six months old on May 3rd so this is more like a six and a half month update. She is blossoming every day.

On May 7th we (Gracie and I) boarded our first flight home to Corpus Christi, Texas. Gracie did wonderful. She made lots of friends the whole way there and she only cried once when I pinched her with my seat belt. Whoops! Poor baby had a little bruise on her leg for a couple of days but it didn't seem to bother her. She absolutely adored her Grammie Carol and Grandpa Marty. While we were there we did a lot of shopping, ate Mexican food, went to the beach and "swam" in a kiddie pool in the back yard. She enjoyed digging her toes into the sand but did not love the waves rolling over her feet. She loved the kiddie pool though. I think she thought it was a big bath tub and she didn't want to get out. We spent time with her Great Aunt Patti, Great Great Aunt Lois, Great Grandpa Carl and Great Grandma Billie. She soaked in all the love and attention and I'm pretty sure she didn't want to leave but alas we had more family to visit.

On May 14th we made the 5 hour journey to College Station, TX (thanks for the ride Aunti Patti!) to visit Matt's side of the family. When we got there Nana Debbie, Aunt Shannon and Cousin MacKenzie were waiting for us. My cousin's Pam and Melanie came by too. Everyone wants a piece of Gracie. Who can blame them? Gracie thoroughly enjoyed her Nana, Papa, Aunt, Uncle and Cousin in Aggieland. We ate great food, took a walking tour of campus, Gracie and MacKenzie swam in the baby pool while I got a back massage (Thanks Shannon!), shopped, visited with old friends (Trey, Jenny and Ava), celebrated Uncle Cory's birthday (Happy Birthday Cory!) and then headed back home via Houston Intercontinental.

I think Gracie misses having so many people around. She seems a little bored with me by the afternoon but perks up when Daddy gets home to play with her. We had her 6 month well baby visit yesterday and she took those shots like a champ. Until last night anyways. About 6:45 pm she started wailing because her legs started hurting. I gave her some baby tylenol, bathed her (which seemed to help) and then she sobbed herself to sleep on my chest. She was out by 7:30. Today there are little bruises where the needles went in and red, hard, knots too. She weighed in at 16 lbs 14 oz (my guess was 16 lbs 13 oz, man am I good) and was 25.25 in long. Her head is still the biggest at around the 75th percentile.

I'm convinced she's going to be smart. Not just because her head is huge but because she is very contemplative. She always seems to be studying things. Just today I noticed she is starting to use her hands differently. She will grab a toy and then watch her hand as she moves it up and down at the wrist. This sounds silly to anyone who doesn't have children but it really is a milestone. Up to this point she would grab a toy and just flail her arm about but now she has figured out that she has this added level of control. She isn't crawling yet but I can see the wheels in motion as she lays on the floor trying to decide what the best way to get to a toy is. She is sitting up completely on her own now. Apparently this happened while we were in Corpus. At least that's what Matt says. She constantly amazes me.

In honor of her six month birthday and the name of this blog I've decided to make note of a few things that I'm beginning to see through Gracie's eyes.

* Putting my hair in a pony tail - Gracie's eyes get really big whenever I start to put my hair up because she knows I'm going to swing my pony tail for her. I find myself excited when I start to gather my hair because I can't wait to see the smile on her face.
* Walking to the park - We've started putting Gracie in the backpack carrier when we walk to the park. When Matt puts her in it and swings it up onto his back her eyes open up so wide and she smiles so big. She looks down at me as if to say, "Look Mommy I'm taller than you!"
* Bath Time - Gracie finds so much joy in splashing and playing with her toys in the tub. It is no longer a chore but a wonderful way to wrap up the day. Even though Matt is the one that usually bathes her I find myself hanging around the bathroom just to watch her bath dance on the floor before she goes in and the smile on her face as she starts to splash around.

Note to Gracie:

I can't believe you are six months old already. We've already experienced so much together that it feels as though a lifetime can't hold all of the precious memories. A lifetime will not be long enough to show you how much we love you but we will do our best to make sure you know.

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.