8 months (a little late!)

Dear Grace,
You are eight months old! I feel like the last month went by really fast because of all the changes you have now accomplished. Here is a look at you at eight months old.

You are sitting now by yourself! Yay FINALLY! You sure do rock to the beat of you own drum and will do things as you please. We are sure in for it! You sit and play for hours. You lunge forward to grab things you want but once you are down there is no sitting back up so mommy needs to help.....You are beginning to get frustrated just sitting, but you have made no attempt to take off crawling.

You are loud. Like really loud. Your high pitch scream can break glass. And our ear drums. You scream when you want attention or just when you are happy and overly excited. You also talk and babble constantly. You have dada down pat and scream it when your daddy comes in the room. You are such a daddys girl and its so cute to watch! You have also been saying baba this month. We are working on mama. You are almost there on this one! I cant believe how much more verbal you are then your brother was!

We are working on signing for milk and you are doing pretty good at it. I hope this helps us more at night then anything else!

You are a very happy baby. You only get fussy when you are hungry or tired or when you need a change of activity. You love to laugh.

You are eating like crazy. I don't think there is anything that you have refused! And if you do refuse to eat anymore of anything I can just add some cereal to it and you gobble it down. You love to talk to us when you eat and love to blow food out of your mouth...you think its hysterical...me and daddy not so much :D

You still get up a couple times a night but not to eat just to get your paci and go back to sleep. Your daddy and I are taking every other night now so its been great getting at least one full nights sleep every other night. And then you will have some nights that you sleep the whole night! I hope to have more and more of these!

You are around 18-19 pounds. You are still in size 3 diapers and you wear 9 month and some 12 month clothing.

You LOVE your brother. You light up when he is around, you want whatever he has, and you love laughing and playing with him! I keep telling everyone you are going to be a tough girl because he is so rough sometimes with you. But you are a sweetie and just go along with the flow.

You are such a sweet little girl and so laid back. Its going to be exciting to see what the next couple of months bring. We love you so much Gracie and are thankful everyday that God gave you to us to love!

Love

Mommy

Bullying

I was always shy, goofy and awkward. Afraid to stand up for myself. (I know hard to believe huh!) I had friends but I would never say I was "popular". Especially in elementary and middle school. High school is a different story. I think in high school I finally found my voice (literally!) and started figuring out who I was a person. I stopped putting up with people who were just down right mean and I knew I didn't have to be friends with them anymore.

But lets go back to those middle school years. They were HELL for me and I mean per hell. I was a big dork. I had braces and wore glasses. I mean look at me!!! Look at that hair! And I thought it looked so good too!!! I remember one day my mom had left early and my dad was getting us ready for school. So I sprayed my bangs straight up and wore really tight clothing. I never did that again. I was made fun of all day. And here I was only trying to fit in.

Kids were brutal in middle school. They would make fun of me for what I wore, how I talked and basically who I was as a person. I can honestly say that I dont think I would have made it if not for my sister. I know I was suppose to be the big sister who took care of her little sis but it was the other way around for us. Kim was always the "cool" one. She hung out with the most popular kids of the school and because she is so kind even the kids who weren't popular loved her! But if someone was mean to me or said anything to me I only had to mention it once to her and it would all stop. I don't know if she threatened to kill them or what but I can tell you that whatever she did say they would no longer say a thing to me. So for that I am eternally greatful. Not everyone has a Kimmy. The torture these people put me through goes way beyond what I wrote. I still feel the scars in me. I'm still hurt and angry with them. I feel sorry for thier kids. Will they end up being bullies too? I'm still effected by things that were said to me to this day. I won't wear something again if anyone makes a rude comment about it. I wish I didnt let people still effect me but I still think that shy little girl is in thier somewhere. I hope one day I can look in the mirror and say well they can chose to say what they want because I love myself and Im going to be myself like it or not!


Being young is hard enough. I didnt need any help feeling more insecure about myself. I don't thank them for anything. I could say that they helped shape me into the person I am today but those feelings and the sadness I felt when I was young were terrible. I shaped who I am...I chose to say no more and I chose to have a voice. I chose to say this is me... Im sorry you dont like it now go away please.

Sadly many kids don't have a chance or cant say "no more" to bullies Their bullies won't stop. I see this everyday where I work. I think this is one of the many reasons I chose to work at a middle school. Face those demons head on. And also to be a guiding support for those who didn't have a Kimmy in their lives. I hope I can be an inspiration to them. I hope I can encourage them as well as my own children to speak up for themselves, to be an individual and to be ok with what God has blessed them with. I hope my two will never have to go through what I did as a kid. I hope they never have to endure the pain of hating who you are and wishing you were someone else. I want to protect them and keep them safe. The best I know how to do this is to share my stories with them. To share how it felt to be bullied.

Who would have thought that this dorky insecre girl could have turned out so great...NOT ME :)

Have you heard about this movie? I’m planning on seeing this documentary, BULLY. I have a feeling it will be a film that I think should be shared in all schools.


Thanks to The Bullying Project for inspiring my blog today! (http://www.thebullyproject.com/)

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