7 months

My dear Gracie poo,

Wow 7 months old I cant believe how fast time has flown although I should remember it from your brother but it seems as though it has gone by so much faster with you. You are just getting more and more fun everyday. You are so happy and everyone that comes in contact with you says how happy and content you seem. We are so blessed let me tell you! Here is a glimpse of you at seven months old!

You still do not roll from your back to your tummy but can roll from side to side with ease. I think you are just content where you are and when you are ready you will do it.

You are sitting on your own for a good couple seconds until you get excited and then down you go. Its so cute to watch you try these new things and see the wonder in your eyes when you get them down. You will be sitting in no time now which will be different because sitting leads to crawling and crawling leads to walking...two mobile kids OH MY!

We went to the gastro specialist to check on your acid reflux and he said you didn't need your medicine anymore and that the more you ate solids the better you would feel. This was such a relief to us. You seem so much happier now (tummy wise) and that is wonderful! Now you are eating "real" people food like its going out of style. You love fruits and veggies and tried chicken for the first time the other night. The only thing I have seen you refuse to eat is bananas which is the polar opposite of your brother. How can such two different babies come from the same mom and dad! This is baffling to me! You love to sit at the table with us and talk and laugh.

You still get up at night (come on girl lets get this one down!) about 3-4 times although since we introduced the paci we only feed you one of those times. As soon as you can find your paci and put it back in yourself I think we may just start sleeping. Im crossing my fingers that day will come soon although Im not holding my breath :P

You wear 6-9 month clothing but are getting a little too long for those 6 month old stuff. I never thought I would say this but it is so much fun to dress a little girl. To shop for the cutest clothes and put bows in your hair...its just too fun and I love it (yes Kim you were right blah blah)

You are such a joy to be around. I can not wait to see what the next months bring. I love you more then words can ever say!

Love mommy

Paci's

I know wierd name for a blog post but I have to just say how much I love a paci (not for me for Grace!) Noah would never take a paci but he was and is a good sleeper so that didn't bother us much. Now that we have our little Gracie poo who thinks sleep is for the birds we tried the dreaded paci route. I just never wanted to have to wean her from the paci or go through power struggles around it. Well guess what...I have thrown all that bullshit out the door and if a paci is going to help her sleep she can have it till she is 21 for all I care! We are now down to 1 feeding a night thats right 1! We went from 6-8 times getting up a night to 2-3 times. We can pop her paci back in her mouth and she goes right back to sleep. It is heaven! So never ever will I judge people who take this approach...Im sorry that I did in the past....lesson learned! NEVER SAY NEVER bc it always seems to come and bite you in the ass! So if someone asks me if Grace would like a paci I would gladly say YES PLEASE :P

6 months!

Me and my love
Such a happy girl

Dear Gracie,

6 Months Old!!! I can not believe it! I feel as though we have just met! This time is going by much faster with you then it did with your brother. Slow down time!

You are just getting more and more fun everyday. Your personality is just shining through. You still love your brother more then anything else. And I can see how your relationship is going to be. His mission in life is to make you laugh and you gladly follow along. We are loving you in your new stage as each day seems to bring something new to the mix. You are such a happy little girl and only really get fussy when you are tired or hungry. You recently had RSV and you were a pretty sick baby but your smiled through it all. Here is a glimpse of you at 6 months...

You are not rolling not from your back to your front but from your belly to your back. And you are so proud of yourself when you do this. It cracks me up!

You are trying to sit up and are almost there. You can sit unassisted for a couple seconds now. Wow I just can believe how big you are! You love to play on your mat still and are now enjoying your excersiser.

Your arms and legs are constantly moving. You like to kick and swing your arms. You reach for things you want and put everything in your mouth (including your feet all the time!)

You are still a picky eater and wont eat more then about 4-5 ounces at a time. We started you on solids this month and are working up to three meals a day. You love oatmeal, rice, apples, blueberries, sweet potatoes and pumpkin. You will only eat organic stuff but you are so picky its worth the extra cost. You are not a fan of veggies yet but we will keep trying (plus I dont blame ya :) )

You still nap 3-4 times a day and are usually down for bed by 7-8 at night. You do not sleep well and we are still working on this. You still dont eat enough during the day to make it through the night without wanting to eat. We are hoping the more solids you eat the better you will sleep at night. We can now just put your paci back in your mouth and you will go right back to sleep. Of course this is like 15 times a night. Im looking forward to the day you can find it yourself and put it back in. I think this will be finally be the time you make it through the night!

You are definitely a momma's girl. If you see me in the room, you want me to get you. :)

You respond to your name, and you recognize our voices when we are in another room. If you hear me or your daddy or brother talking somewhere else, you will strain your neck to try and find us.

You light up when you see us and are always so happy!! Don't get me wrong, you can get fussy at times, but overall you are super laid back and content to go with the flow as long as we don't push or alter your schedule too much!

Gracie, you are dearly loved!
Love,
Momma

Currently

Currently...

Obsessing over: this no-sugar thing! I LOVE IT and have never, ever felt better in my life. Sounds crazy, and I guess it is a pretty crazy thing to say, but it's true. This new way of life is so much better for me and for my family. Noah even ate veggies and shrimp last night! I am PINK obessed! (Oh BTW I am almost to the ten pound mark!)

Working on: my fitness. Remember that Fergie song? haha. But really, lately I've had such a fire burning under me to workout. I attribute this to my new way of eating. I still go to hot yoga all the time and love love love the way my body is feeling.

Thinking about: My choice to go back to almost full time at work. I worry I am going to miss my babies too much and regret this choice. But I know APS would not give me this oppertunity again so alas here goes nothing.

Anticipating: the birth of our sweet baby girl in just a week! I cant wait to get out to California and snuggle her and give her kisses! I just wish I knew what to call her (hint hint Jenny!)

Listening to: Adele's Set Fire to the Rain. I am obessed with her right now. Her songs are just beautiful and meaningful and full of everything that music should be!

Eating: Egg whites full of veggies...protien baby!

Wishing: that Grace would just sleep. Is that too much to ask for??? :P

How about you? What are you up to today?

Five Months

I know this song is suppose to be about a relationship but everytime I hear it I can't help but think of you my Gracie Poo. You were sent to me from God and I thank him everyday that I was choosen to be your mommy!

Dear my Gracie girl,

You are five months now...where has the time gone! It seems as only yesterday we were preparing for you to come into our lives! You have brought us such joy in just the five short months you have been here. Here are some of the things that you have been doing this past month.

You are super inquisitive. You watch everything that is going on around you...you especially love to watch Noah and seem to just relish in everything he does. He continues to be the one who makes you laugh the most. I hope that this continues for the rest of your lives! Your smile and playfullness lights up the room!

You weigh 16.7 pounds and you are already wearing 6-9 month clothing. You are going to be long/tall like your brother and daddy! I am happy you will be tall...it will make you a better volleyball player ha!

You started daycare last week as mommy had to go back to work. It was so hard to leave you but you did great. I get daily texts from the girls who take care of you. You have already won their hearts as you did ours! Your smile is contagious and you love to talk talk talk!

Day One at Daycare

Day Two

You are still bottle feeding and drink 4-5oz. You still struggle with your reflux so Dr Grambort suggested going to see a specialist for it. Your appointment isn't till Feb so we have awhile to wait for that. The Dr was also concerned about your neck muscle so we have an appointment tomorrow with a specialist for that! Hopefully this is the one and only appointment we have and they can give us some helpful hints to help you

We went to see your Aunt Jenny and Uncle Jeff for Christmas this year. You got to go to Disneyland for your first time. You were a trouper! You even slept through Pirates of the Carribean and The Haunted Mansion. I bet next time we go your won't be sleeping through those :) You made out at xmas although you had no clue of course what was going on. You didn't do very good sleeping away from home and daddy and I were up 4-5 times a night with you. Needless to say it was not a restful vacation for us.

Mommy and you at the mall the day before xmas

Waiting in line at Disneyland with Gram and Jenny

In line with daddy

Christmas Morn

New Years Eve-Ready to party!

You talk constantly. You scream loud, you squeal, laugh and have all sorts of fun sounds you like to make. You still love to play on your mat and you are FINALLY trying to roll over. You also LOVE to sit in your bumbo. While we were at Aunt Jenny's we would sit you in the middle of the table and you would just talk and watch everything going on around you.

On your playmat

Entertaining everyone with that smile!

You are trying to sit up and are actually closer to sitting then rolling over. I can already tell you are going to do things on your own time and how you want. Stubborn...you must be a DUVALL!

You are now taking a paci to go to sleep which has made bedtime easier on all of us. Since we returned from California you have only gotten up once a night and even slept through the night one night!!! WOOOHOOO We are very thankful for that!

You know who alot of people are and recognize voices. You are not scared of strangers and will go to anyone which is wonderful.

You are a very happy baby and only fuss when you are tired or hungry.

Gracie, you are such a joy to be around. You make us smile constantly (yes even at 5 in the morning!) and bring so much love into our family. I can not imagine our lives without you. All of us adore you and love watching you discover new things. We can't wait to see what the next month brings...SIX MONTHS!

Love your mommy

The Paper Mama Photo Challenge

This week The Paper mama Photo Challenge is Pets! I love this pic of my sweet boy and my first baby Lady Bird. They are best friends and it warms my heart!

Four Months

Dear Gracie,

You are now a big four months old. It is hard to believe you have been with us for that long. I

often still think of you as my sleepy little newborn, but you are far from that! Here is a look at what you are up to this month:

You love to sit up and often cry if we lay you down. You are so interested in everything and are constantly looking around.

You were waking up only one a night but now you are back to two. Although you are now sleeping full time in your crib so no more car seat! Yay for that! I am sure its just an adjustment and we can go back to the once a night wake eat and go back to sleep mode. (Fingers are CROSSED!)

You love your schedule. You eat every 2-3 hours and nap in between each feeding still. In the evenings you cluster feed and go down around 7-7:30. You have now started eating a little cereal at night and you seem to enjoy it. You have a smile on your face the entire feeding.

You smile and talk and laugh all the time and you are LOUD! We love it. You have so much to say and get so excited when we are interacting with you. Your smiles are full face smiles and they are so stinkin' adorable. You love smiling at your big brother the most!

You love being in your bouncy seat or swing. You are starting to like sitting in the bumbo alot more then you use to so when Noah and I are doing an activity you sit in that and watch watch watch!

You grab everything. You reach for toys and teethers and love getting them and putting them straight in your mouth. You love putting anything and everything in your mouth and you often find your shirt and suck on it till its soaked! Your hands are constantly in your mouth.

You get fussy and mad when you are tired or hungry and it is so funny and sad at the same time. You make the cutest pouty face and your daddy and me just laugh and laugh! When you are hungry, you get MAD fast!

You love your bath and especially now that you get to take it with your brother. You lay there and laugh and laugh at him and his sillyness.

You are wearing mainly 3-6 month clothes, but quite a few 3 month still fit you. You are SUPER long and are starting to chunk out which I LOVE!. I think you weigh around 15-16 pounds still, but you have your 4 month check up in a couple days so I guess we will see :)

You have added so much joy to our lives, Gracie. We love you.