The Bells of Bellevue

Andrew Moments

2011-11-07T08:42:00.000-08:00

Some favorite Andrew moments from this week:

Last night, I was playing with Andrew upstairs; he picked up a book off the bookshelf, waddled over to within about two feet of me, then turned around and started to squat. He realized he wasn't quite close enough to sit in my lap, so he started kinda waddling backwards till he could plop in my lap. It was pretty cute.

After reading the book for a page or two, he stood up, turned around and stuck the book on my head, and laughed.

He also loves to help Mommy - while doing the laundry earlier this week, he came toddling in with a dishcloth I'd had folded up in the laundry basket waiting to be put away. He walked over to the dryer, opened it, stuffed the washcloth in and pushed it closed (it wasn't latched all the way). He left, and came back a few minutes later dragging a dish towel, opened the dryer, stuffed it in halfway and closed it again. He also loves to help me sweep and tries to hold the vaccuum for me, though it's a little heavy for him.

I'm loving being a Mommy to these two darlings! (And I should mention, Grace is sitting in my lap while I type, trying to read what Mommy's writing . And doing pretty good with it!)

Will you marry me?

2011-10-13T13:47:00.001-07:00

Gracie asked Daddy last week, "Could you marry me if somebody else walks me down the alley?"

Story Time

2011-09-14T12:48:00.001-07:00

Today after I'd tucked Grace in for her nap, she asked if I could stay and she could read a book to me. And she did! Not perfectly, but she knew a bunch of words by "sight" (more than I realized!) and tried to sound out the words she didn't know.

It was really sweet, and I was so proud of how hard she kept trying and how she persevered, even when a 2 minute board book turned into 15 minutes of painstaking labor. My little sweet pea is growing so fast!

The day after...

2011-08-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

First Word?

2011-08-17T10:43:00.000-07:00

Grace and I were playing on the computer this morning (starfall.com has some great phonics "games"), and she sounded out, "b..o..x... box" all on her own. I think she might have sounded out other words before, but it's impossible to tell if she's really sounding them out, or just had it memorized. She still can't get all three letter words, and anything beyond that and she's guessing, but it's such fun seeing her surprise and excitement when she gets one.

Grace - Almost 3!

2011-08-10T09:03:00.000-07:00

Andrew at 11 Months - Happy Baby!

2011-08-10T08:58:00.000-07:00

First... shuffle?

2011-08-10T07:50:00.001-07:00

Yesterday while standing up, Andrew picked up a foot and set it back down a couple times. Not quite a first step, but getting close! :-)

Our Little Economist

2011-07-07T12:09:00.000-07:00

On the way home from Half Price Books, Grace told us:

Next time, you'll give me some money, and I'll take the princess and put her on the counter. The clerk will check her out. I'll pay give her some money, and then I'll take the princess home! Next time, I'll remember to do that.

Our busy lil' fellow...

2011-06-26T19:10:00.000-07:00

A Good Question

2011-06-25T13:51:00.000-07:00

While putting Grace down for her nap this afternoon:

"Do flamingos have chins?"

Swim Lessons

2011-06-24T19:49:00.000-07:00

Grace and I've been doing swim lessons this week at the local community pool, and we've been having a blast! She's slowly getting more used to putting her face in the water, and today I actually got her to float on her back with me just barely touching her. I'm so proud of you, my precious daughter!

10 Months and Standing!

2011-06-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, Andrew pulled himself up for the first time on the dresser in our room (he was fascinated trying to open and close the drawers), and he's been enthralled with practicing it ever since. Whenever he wakes up in his crib, I find him standing like this - generally crying as he's gotten himself up and can't get himself back down. He's happily cruising the house now checking out anything and everything! This evening, he spent a long while standing at the window in the living room, just looking. He's emptying laundry baskets, and pulling out all the electronic stuff we've been storing by the TV. It's gotten trickier again, but I'm loving it. :-)

Eight Months and Crawling!

2011-04-20T15:51:00.000-07:00

Well, it's still technically an army scoot, but as of today, my life has changed forever. Again. :-) Within minutes, our little guy can now scoot himself to pretty much any point in a room, and he's been having a blast checking out the tv, his closet, and underneath Grace's little table. Mama and Grace are still recuperating. (Just kidding. Kinda.) And Mama and Daddy have some serious childproofing to do tonight!

From the "I don't want to forget that" pile...

2011-03-17T16:36:00.001-07:00

In the car today, Grace was telling me about the puppies she saw on a Daddy-date from several weeks ago:

Gracie: We saw a Bichon and a Peek-a-poo!

Mama to Daddy: Did she just say Bichon?

Painting Andrew's Room

2011-03-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

I've been looking forwards to painting our kid(s)'s rooms for years, and we finally did it! Well, one wall at least. My sister came over tohelp us paint last week, and Grace had a blast working on her little section. :-)

Five Month Photos

2011-03-07T12:41:00.000-08:00

(1/14/11 and 1/16/09 respectively)

Six months!

2011-03-01T17:55:00.001-08:00

Andrew turned 6 month old last Sunday, and it's been an exciting week for our little guy! His first tooth finally poked through - the bottom middle, though we'd been thinking we felt one on the top for a couple months now. He's sitting up pretty well on his own now, and just tonight he's discovered he can "scoot" himself backwards on the wood floors. He looked so excited with himself!

I didn't know you knew that!

2011-02-21T12:28:00.000-08:00

Conversation with Grace the other day:

G: Daddy, what is in your ear?
D: (after checking my ear and not finding anything) Uh, I don't know, sweetie, I think that's just my ear.
G: What is it called?
D: I'm sorry, Gracie, I don't know.
G: You should look online.
D: ... Did you say that I should look online to find out what it's called?
G: Yeah!
D: (double-checking) Where is "online"?
G: It's... on the... on the laptop!

Whoa. :)

Eyes on You

2011-02-17T13:51:00.000-08:00

So we have a Baby Einstein or something video of zoo animals that has a song with dancing numbers that goes something like "One, Two, I love you...". Yesterday, Jenny brought over some of her classroom posters, one of which is a series of numbers with little faces drawn on them, that looks rather like the dancing numbers from that song. As soon as Grace saw those numbers, she very excitedly proclaimed "One, two, eyes on you!"

January 2011

2011-02-07T18:20:00.000-08:00

We've been having a fun winter with the kids; Grace loved building her first snowman! And making "snow cream" with Daddy to eat. It's been fun watching her learn and grow. This afternoon, I painted a trial swatch on her wall to test out a color we're thinking to paint her room. I told her not to touch, so instead she brought over her pink stool, set it down just inches from the wall and sat on it to "watch the paint dry". Tonight at dinner, Caleb asked her what she did during her naptime, and she told us that one "baby (doll) changed other baby's diaper". She loves books, and keeps a dozen or so in bed with her at all times. And when she puts her baby dolls to bed, she makes sure to leave them a book to read. And then she'll sit on her stool and sing All Creatures to them. She loves taking care of Andrew too, and though we still have some "tricky" moments, generally when he gets fussy, she'll go find him a toy, and sometimes she'll rub his head and tell him "don't cry, Andrew", or sing him a song.

Andrew keeps getting bigger - his 3-6 month pajamas fit him just fine, except the sleeves hit him about his elbows now. He looks so pitiful with those pudgy arms sticking out, so I've started putting a sweater on over his pj's to sleep at night when it's really cold. He's still a very happy baby; he'll grin and grin just cause somebody looked at him. And tickles earn you an adorable belly laugh. He still has his fussy periods (as his grandparents well know!), but it's such a joy having him around. He's getting close to sitting up now too; he kinda flops forwards on his arms, but he can hold his balance for a few seconds before tilting over to one side or the other.

He's rolled a few times (the first was the day after Thanksgiving!), but still not consistently. I think he's having too much fun just watching big sister Gracie to really try yet. At his four month pediatrician's visit in December, he rolled over four times in a room from his tummy to his back, but I don't think he's done it again since then. He has gotten pretty good at squirming around in a circle though. If I lay him down with a burp cloth under his chin (he's quite the little drooler!), within a few minutes he'll be off to the side somewhere.

More Gracie-isms

2011-01-30T17:48:00.001-08:00

Grace to Daddy as he takes her baby doll from her at dinner, spoken with a great deal of concern for her baby: "Take care of Lisa! Try not to hurt her."

While watching the intro to Winni the Pooh

Grace: "Where's my rocking horse?"

Mama: "We don't have a rocking horse."

Grace: "We must buy one."

Mama was checking Facebook this morning while Gracie was eating breakfast. When I turned back to her, she peered at me intently and asked, totally out of the blue, "Do you play with fire?"

Don't remember what she saw, but this morning Grace told us, "How curious!"

At dinner tonight: "I'm thinking... I'm thinking... I'm thinking of... my... birthday!"

Gracie-isms

2010-12-28T18:02:00.000-08:00

From Grace to Daddy, after her bath and wrapped up in her hooded towel:

Grace: "I'm a vegetable!"

Daddy: "Oh really? What kind of vegetable are you?"

Grace: "I'm a... I'm a... I'm a quash!"

Mama Diaries - Dec 15

2010-12-15T09:24:00.001-08:00

9am - Wake Andrew up to nurse him while reading my Bible. Enjoy some snuggle time before hearing the brush pick-up truck. Hear Grace a few minutes later; I snatch her out of bed and run downstairs to see if we can see the crane picking up brush, but we just miss it. Grace isn't worried - "we'll see it next time, maybe". Dress Grace, diaper Andrew, dress Andrew, diaper Grace.

Grace is pretty clingy this morning; I'm guessing because I haven't had a "normal" day at home with her since last Friday. It's been a fun, but busy couple of days (well, excepting Monday when I was so dizzy I had to spend most of the day in bed), but it often throws her for a loop after too many days without more regularity.

10am -Get Grace's breakfast started with a banana, while I work on laundry and bring Andrew downstairs. She gets really upset though that I didn't let her sit on the counter and help make her oatmeal. After breakfast, she helps me pull the clean diapers out of the dryer and into a basket. She's getting to be a real help!

11:00 am - Andrew gets a bit fussy while I'm trying to clip his fingernails (definitely easier while he's asleep!) and Grace tells me its his "eating time" and "feed Andrew and he stop crying". I nurse him a few minutes, then put him down for his nap.

11:30 am - I run upstairs to grab socks to take Grace outside to play. When I come back down, I find her in the study kneeling before our (Caleb's and mine) chess game. Grace wants to know if she "can look at them". Caleb forfeits the game (finally! ;-) ) and tells her she can, and Grace says "I'm growed up!" We'd been telling her when she's older we'll teach her out to play, and now she's happily playing with the chess pieces, enjoying her "growed-up-ness".

She then finds Daddy's magnetic building set and asks if she can "please play with it?" So we sit on the floor and play for a good while. Grace wants to build a house and make a person out of them, and then enjoys putting all the little balls back in the boxes.

12:00 pm - We snuggle on the couch and watch Barney. Then Grace helps me make her pb & jelly sandwich; she carries everything to her little table for me, then I let her practice spreading the pb and jelly, then put the sandwich together for Mama to cut in two.

1:30 pm - Put Grace down for her nap, and rest a bit myself while both the kiddos sleep. Sweep the house, work on laundry and do a bit of Christmas shopping online.

3pm - Andrew's awake, so nurse him while Christmas shopping, change his diaper and play awhile. We play peek-a-boo while Mama folds a couple loads of laundry.

5pm - Put Andrew down for a nap and get Grace up. She helps me put her laundry away - I sit in the floor with a pile of hangers and as I put a shirt on a hanger, she hangs it up in her closet. Then she put her pants and pajamas in the little nightstand I set up for a small "dresser" for her. She really is getting to be a good helper!

We then spend a long while playing "put the laundry basket on Mama's head". Grace would pretend it was a drum, wait for me to say "what's that drumming on my head?" and burst into giggles. Occasionally she'd steal my line and say "whose drumming on my head?" before I could, followed my more giggles. We then head dowstairs where she plays with the chess pieces in the study, then we go outside and run until Daddy finishes work.

5:50 pm - Daddy's done! And Mama fixes a quick dinner of mac & cheese and baked beans, with hot dogs in both dishes (a merging of our two family traditions for a mac & cheese dinner).

7:00 pm - Daddy bathes Grace while Mama & Andrew fold more laundry, then Mama reads stories with Grace while Daddy bathes Andrew.

8:40 pm - Both kiddos in bed, and Mama & Daddy get some time to finish laundry, cleaning the kitchen and computer work.

10:40 pm - Mama decides it's time to stop blogging and head to bed!

Ready for Christmas!

2010-12-07T09:12:00.000-08:00

Daddy Diary, 12/04

2010-12-04T09:15:00.000-08:00

8:00 AM -- Got up

8:30 AM -- Heard the Saturday morning garbage truck in the apartments behind our house. Heard Grace cry out a second later. Scooped her up, and reassured her that it was a friendly garbage truck. She wanted to go see it, so I wrapped a blanket around her and we went down the alley to peek over the fence and see it. We caught up to it a ways down the alley and peeked through a crack in the fence to watch it, but "it was stuck" for a long time and not doing anything. Watched it eat some more garbage, came back to the house. Grace wanted to be wrapped up like a baby, so I swaddled her, and we played "My Baby"

11:05 AM -- Planet Earth has finished, and Grace has wandered off to the playroom to go get something. I set Andrew up on the couch and take his outfit to the

11:16 AM -- We hear a garbage truck. Grace is scared and wants to hide. I wrap her up in a blanket ("My Baby"), and we read and sing some songs on the couch. She suddenly remembers that she wanted that orange from breakfast after all.

Ate the orange, finally took that applesauce to Laura, who was asleep with "How to be a winner at chess" and "The story of Christianity" next to her. Oh, I love my wife!

Mimi called to see how things were going. It's ironic that the first time that we're all sick and both of our moms are sick too!

Grace found the napkin that I dropped on the floor while I was updating, and she made it into a baby blanket. I got her a clean napkin.

12:03 PM -- We changed Purple Baby's diaper, Grace stubbed her toe.

geomag

trhomas

Origami

5:00 -- Laura went back to bed, Grace awake

Played outside for a while

Came inside, played Play-doh while I heated up the soup that Laura made last night

Ate supper together, Grace told us that Andrew "has an Andrew award"

Laura took Grace, I changed Andrew's outfit (outfit #4, fleecy onesie with snowmen on it)

Epiphany about "Wear snug-fitting not flame resistant"

Tickled Andrew, tummy-time with Andrew

Laura took Andrew upstairs, played with Grace

Sleeping through the night!

2010-11-11T14:47:00.001-08:00

Andrew's officially sleeping through the night now! Or if not, at least he's down to one 3am feeding. Several nights now he's slept from 10:30 or so until 6:30 in the morning, and the rest of the nights this week he's woken at 3:30 and 6:30. Sheer bliss! I think it's largely due to the fact he can finally successfully get his thumb in his mouth. For the last couple weeks he's been sucking (rather loudly, I might add) at his fist in hopes of finding that thumb, and once I watched him as he'd simultaneously turn his head to the side, dart his fist towards his mouth, and open his mouth. Over and over again. It really looked like he thought if he just did it fast enough, he'd catch it! I'd really meant to avoid thumb-sucking with his pacifier, but as much as he's liked it before, now he frequently spits it out and goes for the thumb. And it's kinda exciting seeing his personality and motor skills develop. We're open to advice! :-)

I do really enjoy our night-time snuggles though and will miss them when they're gone, but it's alot easier to handle both of them during the day when I get to sleep in those 3 hour blocks! Caleb's been great about watching him from 7 till 9 on the mornings I really needed the extra sleep (like, every morning for those first 10 weeks!), but it's sure nice being able to get my day started earlier.

He's started really engaging his toys lately too... this afternoon, I held his (hand-me-down from Grace; thank you, Joel & Sarah-Jean! ) carseat mobile over him while he laid on our bed, and he'd happily bat at the dangling bugs (they're really cute bugs!). Then he started grasping at one of them and just held on for quite a while. It was pretty sweet just watching him figuring it out.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-06T12:03:00.000-07:00

We cheated a bit this year and did some costume recycling, but the kiddos hardly minded. Especially once we asked Grace if she wanted to dress up like Buddy, the lab belonging to a lady down the street - she loves to run out and pet himwhenever we see them walk by. I figure there'll be plenty of years to come to get more creative in our costuming! :-)

It was fun though; the Methodist church a street over from our house was hosting a Trunk or Treating event, with a hotdog supper and an organ concert. We timed it for just half the concert, not certain how long Grace would enjoy sitting and listening, but it was alot of fun. At the end, they did a Disney sing-along, and she was just catching on to Chim-Chimeney from Mary Poppins when they finished, and she was a bit disappointed they weren't going to sing it again. But then she got really excited when they started When You Wish Upon a Star - she said, "I know this one!" I think she was remembering Twinkle, Twinkle, but she still enjoyed hearing words she knew.

We did some Trick-or-Treating on the way home; Grace enjoyed getting things in her bag (thanks, Leslee!), but was a little confused why we weren't going in anywhere. When we were almost back to our house, we saw Pappy & Mimi who'd stopped by on their way home from Arkansas with a big bag of candy to satisfy all the trick or treaters who dropped by. (This was the first year Caleb and I've actually lived somewhere that kids came by, and totally forgot to stock up on candy. Oops! We'll be stocked up come next year though.)

11 Weeks & getting more sleep!

2010-11-05T19:26:00.001-07:00

Andrew's eleven weeks old today, and slept through the night last night for the second time! The first time was Oct 30, after Mary's birthday party. I think he was so stimulated, he didn't sleep as much that evening as usual, and I ended up nursing through dinner. Didn't make dinner quite as easy to eat, but he slept from 10:30 to 5:30! So the past couple days I've been working to duplicate that and keep him awake and nursing more in the evening, and last night it worked - again he slept from 10:30 to around 5:30. Though both times, Mama was still up every couple hours waiting for her baby to wake up.

Daily Joys - Thursday, Oct 28

2010-10-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

During breakfast today, Grace made a little hole in her oatmeal & applesauce mixture, and told me it was a bed; now she just needed a baby. She then proceeded to put a piece of banana peel across the top of her bowl, as the roof (which sounded more like "woof"). At my suggestion, she then ate her banana down to size, and stuck it in the bowl as the baby. Later, when I tried to get her to eat her banana, she just gave me this quizzical look and said "it's the baby!"
Andrew actually slept in three-hour increments again last night! Even though he's still nursing twice a night, it's amazing the difference when I get those longer sleep periods in between. (Though when I mean slept in three-hour increments, that actually means three hours from the beginning of one nursing session to the next; but in between feeds and diaper changes, it still leaves a good two hours of solid sleeping for Mama.)
It was pretty chilly this morning, so I put him in his little pumpkin outfit - it's warm and soft, and quite adorable! He has no idea how cute he looks. :-D
I changed Andrew's diaper while Grace was eating breakfast, and as soon as I got that poopy diaper off, he was just gave me the biggest grin! Talk about pay-back for all the work of Mommy-ing. :-D
While changing his diaper, I heard Grace saying "shoo bug, shoo bug!" I settled Andrew, got a tissue and went to take care of the bug (sure enough, a little gnat walking around her high-chair tray), at which she exclaimed "No Mommy! I shoo him, with my hand!"
This afternoon, I was going through our mail and turned around to realize Grace had scooped a handful of dirt, baby basil plants and all, from our little herb garden. I explained to her that she hurt the baby plants, and she told them "I'm sorry!". Later, we were playing out front, and while Grace was playing in the flower beds, I pulled a couple weeds to her great consternation - "No Mama! Plants!" - and she picked up one of the weeds and tried to stick it back in the dirt. Oh, I love her! :-)
While Grace napped this afternoon, I stuck Andrew in my sling and vaccuum the downstairs, then we took a little walk. I realized I haven't often taken the time to do that with just him like I did with Grace, and it made for a really restful afternoon.

Children Update

2010-10-27T10:05:00.001-07:00

When I got Grace up from bed this morning, she walked in her closet and told me she was going "grocery shopping". Then she ran back and asked for a hug and kiss, and then back off into her grocery store, closing the door behind her. A minute or so later, she knocked on the door, and when I asked "who is it?", she told me "the neighbors!". She also got her first haircut two nights ago; just a little bit off her bangs which were in her eyes, but the last two mornings when I've gotten her up, she's told me "first haircut! In bathroom." Some other Gracie-isms -

"what happened?", whenever Mom or Dad move something around, like the basket of kid shoes. Usually said in a very concerned tone, with her arms emphatically gesturing.
"I love him!" - Often in reference to Andrew, but sometimes a random toy, like the picture of the "man in his nightcap" she accidently pulled out of her Night Before Christmas pop-up book.
"It's won-derful!" - Again, said very emphatically with gestures. I suspect she picked this up from her WeeSing DVD.
"I don't like it. I don't like it at all!" - Often referring to diaper changes, but last week she said this about her blue, singing hippo. Followed a couple mornings later by "I love him!"

Andrew's starting to play with his toys finally, though he easily gets overwhelmed by them still. But yesterday, I laid him on our bed and dangled some rings in front of his face, and he'd bat at them awhile. But when I try a more complex toy, he immediately makes a face and starts quietly fussing. He's getting really good at holding his head up now when I have him up on my shoulder, and he's still such a happy baby! As soon as I get within his view, he just smiles and grins!

Daily Log #4: Week 8, 10/20/2010

2010-10-20T08:40:00.001-07:00

Andrew's two months old today!

9:20 am Nurse Andrew 20 minutes while reading my Bible, then leave Andrew dozing on our bed while I run for a quick shower. Grace is waking up.

10:00 am - Get Grace up, and finally get her to wear one of my favorite shirts she has - a red and white plaid peasant blouse with Winnie the Pooh on it. I think it might be the first time I've gotten it on her actually... Caleb helps me carry her downstairs while I get Andrew, and change their poopy diapers. Start boiling water for Grace's breakfast, but when she sees the soggy Raisin Bran Caleb made for me, she wants that too. (I've never been a big fan of Raisin Bran, but when Caleb inadvertently discovered it forms a brown, sweet mush when left too long in milk, I found my new favorite breakfast cereal. Grace agrees, it's yummy!) Andrew's getting awfully sleepy, so after Grace is settled in her high chair with her mushy Raisin Bran, I take him upstairs for an outfit change (he needed it), a quick feeding, and lay him in his crib. He's out within minutes.

10:40 am - Update my blog while waiting for more Raisin Bran to get soggy. Grace finishes playing with her cereal, so I clean her up while singing made-up versions of the Heigh-Ho song from Snow White. Grace likes it anyways. Then I get out my broom and sweep up the kitchen, and Grace runs to find her little broom and dust pan set to help Mommy. Grace asks for a drink, and given the choice between apple juice and "bunny milk", wants the "bunny milk". (Thanks to my mom, who thought a funny name for plain milk would make it more palatable. It worked!) I reheat the water from Grace's oatmeal, and use it to mop half the kitchen floor, while Grace sweeps up the other end. (Yes, I was very careful!)

11:15 am - I ask Grace if she wants to play with her pom-poms (one of our favorite dollar store finds!), and she's all for it. Only she has to spend 15 minutes carefully setting up all her dolls in chairs around the coffee table first. She needed my help carrying her little rocking chair (thanks, Mimi & Pappy!), but she showed me precisely where she wanted it. Each doll then got their own cup of pom-poms, sitting on its own coaster. When Amy dropped one, she even taught her to help clean it up!

11:30 am - I hear Grace calling "Oh, music!" and then "where's Hum-Bear?", which are two lines from one of her favorite Wee-Sing movies. We then had to go outside and walk around knocking on trees, just like Hum-Bear does in the movie, until we heard a plane going overhead - "there it is!". Once we were outside, of course we had to swing too. Once I pointed out to Grace that her shadow was also swinging, she spent the rest of the time peering over the side of her swing watching her shadow. And making sure he was buckled up too.

[Daddy note: my office window faces the front of the house, so I heard Grace and Laura calling for the music and took a quick break to open the window and look out. Once Grace saw me, she got a big grin on her face and she asked "Daddy all done?". No, Daddy was just taking a break. Back to work... ]

12:00 pm - Back inside for a quick snack at her little table. She's gotten better at staying put while eating, as I've gotten better at taking her food away if she doesn't. Imagine that. She was disappointed I didn't let her help take Daddy's leftover pizza back to him, so I had to make him a second (slightly healthier) plate so she could help carry it once she was done. She was very careful to carry it with two hands, and only lost one carrot that rolled off. After she gave Daddy his plate, she went back to look for the carrot, which I'd already picked up. She's a good little helper though!

7:35 pm - I do our reading flashcards with Grace while we wait for Caleb to take cookies to our neighbors.

7:38 pm - Grace uses our flashcards as food for her doggy.

Happy Birthday, Caleb!

2010-10-17T20:41:00.000-07:00

I love you so much, and it's been a wonderful three years with you! You've been the best husband to me any girl could ever hope for.

Love,
Laura

For the grandmas...:-)

2010-10-14T20:37:00.000-07:00

Daily Log #2: Week 8, 10/13/2010

2010-10-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

2:30 am - Up with Andrew for half an hour, nursing, changing his diaper, and then swaddling and giving him his pacifier till he's back asleep in the crib.

3:00 am - Mama back to bed.

5:50 am - Up and nurse, change his diaper again, and feel something wet and warm all over my hand. Change his outfit, swaddle and put back in his crib.

6:25 am - Andrew's still fussing, and I'm pretty tired so hand off to Caleb.

7:00 am - Andrew's asleep, and Caleb's up for the day while I'm back to bed for a couple more hours.

9:00 am - I wake up and feel quite rested for a change. Andrew just woke up too, and Caleb brings him upstairs. I nurse him in our bed and read my Bible and Andrew dozes on and off.

9:50 am - Run for the shower while Andrew dozes on our bed, and Grace is still content in her bed.

10:20 am - Andrew's still asleep, so get Grace up and dressed. We head downstairs and play for awhile. I'm hoping to make some pumpkin Swedish Spritz cookies to take to our neighbors, but realize the cookie press hasn't been unpacked yet. Spend awhile looking for it while fixing breakfast for me and Grace.

11:00 am - Nurse Andrew 10 minutes while Grace finishes her breakfast. Clean her up, and Caleb searches for the cookie press. He finds it and has Grace bring it to me. Thus throughout the day, she referred to it as a "big present".

11:15 am - Play in playroom; I try putting Andrew on his playmat, but he's a bit fussy. He has a few minutes of tummy time, then I sit and hold him while watching Grace play. She's been putting her headband on her monkey, and then running her little car down the spiral ramp we got for free out of someone's garage. While I was trying to clean up some of our breakfast mess, she found her flashcards and dumped them all over the floor, and then took apart the box. After which she found the tape dispenser, and pulled off a long piece, until I noticed what she was doing and cut it off for her. She then spent quite a few minutes making bandages for her fingers with her piece of tape.

11:50 am - Nursed Andrew a bit more as he was seeming fussy still and a bit hungry. Grace was getting ready to change one of her doll's diapers, but instead start pressing on her chest, looking rather like she was doing the heimlech maneuver. When I asked her about it, she said something about stickers in her mouth, and brought her doll over to me to fish them out. Sure enough, the doll has a hole for a mouth so she blows air when you press on her tummy, and two little stickers where wedged down in there.

12:00 pm - Finish nursing Andrew and put him in the pack 'n play so I can fish stickers out of a doll's mouth.

12:10 pm - Go check on Andrew in the playroom, and notice that Grace is using the hand towel out of the bathroom as a dolly blanket. Andrew's looking awfully sleepy, but I realize he can't sleep very well in the pack 'n play with Grace playing in the playroom, so carry him upstairs and put him down in his crib. Rub his forehead for a few minutes while he sleepily sucks on his pacifier, and he looks to be well on his way out. I spend a few minutes rinsing the poop out of his pajamas from a diaper blow-out last night, gather up the laundry and take it downstairs to put on a load, and notice that there's enough for at least two loads now. Grace comes in the laundry room talking about "helping Mommy", and I realize she's got the "We Help Mommy" book and another Little Golden Book she picked out to read. I make a quick trip to the bathroom and regret the lack of a hand towel.

12:20 pm - I decide to ignore the messes (though I do get Grace to help me pick up the flashcards all over the floor), and read books with Gracie. First though, she wants help putting on her pink raincoat that Daddy found in the boxes he opened this morning. I get the zipper started, and she pulls it up the rest of the way. Then I sit down on the couch, and pull her up with me, but she scrambles across my lap and lays down like I hold Andrew. So I snuggle her and we read a couple books. One of them is a "what will I be when I grow up" sort of book, and when we reached the firefighter page, Grace told me she was going to be a firefighter when she grows up, but she needs a pink hat. And a kitten.

12:40 pm - Grace and I mix up some cookie dough to make some pumpkin Swedish Spritz cookies. She sits on the counter and helps dump in the flour and baking powder. Definitely makes things a bit messier, but she's so excited to help, it's worth it.

1:00 pm - I run to the bathroom, re-discover the missing hand towel and reclaim it from the playroom. I put Grace in her highchair, and heat up some leftover split-pea soup for her, Daddy and me. Eat mine in between baking a couple batches of our pumpkin cookies. Clean up Grace and scoop the split-pea soup out of her bib. Take Daddy his soup. Eat Grace's leftover soup.

1:45 pm - Put Grace down for her nap. Andrew's wide awake, so take him downstairs.

2:20 pm - Nurse for 20 minutes while checking email.

2:40 pm - Put Andrew in the swing so I can finish baking the cookies and start cleaning up.

3:15 pm - Change Andrew's diaper and get him dressed and ready to run some errands with Mama.

5:00 pm - Arrive back home. Andrew's awake, and Grace is happily playing in her bed, so I take him upstairs and get Gracie up. I nurse Andrew on her big girl bed while Grace lines up all her toybins on the foot of the bed and carefully fills the "carseats" with her dolls and stuffed animals. And then the whole lot of us headed for the library, where Grace got a Goldbug book for us to read. And then she and Andrew had some tummy time together on her bed.

5:50 pm - Caleb finishes work and plays with Grace awhile while I take care of Andrew who's getting a bit fussy.

6:00 pm - Change Andrew's diaper and nurse him for another 15 minutes or so. Naturally, he poops again, so I change his diaper again, while Caleb plays with Grace. Pastor Lovell stops by to pick up another load of boxes, and our living room suddenly looks twice as big.

6:40 pm - Loaded up the kids in our new double stroller (new for us, anyways), and headed down to the Fiesta for dinner and some grocery shopping. Andrew's asleep by the time we get there. While I'm checking out, Caleb and Grace get ice cream for us to split. When Grace realized she couldn't hold the cup herself, she got pretty upset. I couldn't blame her - who wants to be babyfed ice cream? So Caleb ran back and got a second cup that he cut down to size for her. Caleb good-naturedly pushed the stroller so I could eat ice cream on the walk home (and "baby-feed" him a few bites!).

9:00 pm - Caleb's washing Grace up while I'm working on the kitchen and moving along the laundry. Andrew's still in his carseat (it fits in the stroller) and just waking up. And I'm pooped! I'm not sure I've sat down today for more than 5 minutes other than dinner and driving errands earlier.

9:10 pm - Andrew's back asleep in his carseat, so I head upstairs and join Caleb and Grace. When Grace sees me, she moves over on her big girl bed and pats the spot next to her for Mommy to lay down. While Caleb reads her a Bible story, Grace alternates between snuggling between us to climbing all over Mommy, but she was so sweet and snuggly, I didn't mind a bit. At one point, she patted me and said "Grace's mommy, not Grandma's mommy". I take over with Grace so Caleb can finish some things with work, and we have a really enjoyable time reading our three books, then taking an unfruitful trip to the potty. Afterwards, I laid her in her pack 'n play, tucked her in, and sang a verse of "All Creatures". While saying goodnight at the door, she asked for a kiss on her cheek, and then wanted a hug - how could a Mommy resist?

9:50 pm - Grace is resting, and Andrew's still asleep. Oops - I'm probably going to regret leaving him there in about two hours. I've got the cookie press still soaking in the sink, laundry in the basket upstairs to fold, laundry in the dryer, laundry in the washer, and a mess in the playroom, but I think at this point, it's all going to wait till tomorrow. It's been an exhausting, yet enjoyable day. Thank you, God, for two beautiful children and a wonderful husband!

Daily Log #1: Week 8, 10/12/2010

2010-10-12T09:17:00.000-07:00

We've had some pretty short nights with Andrew lately, and I'm ready to get him down to just one waking a night, so I thought it'd be worthwhile to keep a detailed log for a few days and work towards getting him on a rough schedule. It's funny - he doesn't cry like Grace did, or fight sleep, he just wakes and fusses pretty frequently. I'll get up and give him his pacifier, and he'll fall right back asleep, but about the time I'm getting most comfortable in bed, he wakes and fusses again until I go in to him.

With Grace, we'd sometimes have nights where she'd just cry and cry unless we were holding her and doing deep knee bends (you think I'm joking), and so this time through still seems easy by comparison, but for such a quiet little guy, I'm still getting very little sleep (well, until 7 in the morning or so, when Caleb gets up with Andrew and lets me sleep another hour or two. Not ideal, however, as I'd really rather sleep at night and have some time in the morning before Grace wakes up to, I don't know, maybe shower?) Anyways, here goes for the first of our logs...

7:00am - Nursed Andrew in bed with us for about 30 mins, left him asleep under Daddy's care and ran off to Starbucks for some much-needed Mama-time (and a quick grocery trip). I had a really enjoyable couple hours reading my Bible and journaling, and mapping out what I hope to accomplish with our kids and home this week. As part of that, I'm going to try keeping a detailed daily log the rest of the week and try to figure out Andrew's optimal nap and sleep times. (Last night was pretty rough - from 1:30 on, I was up with him nearly every hour. He doesn't really cry, but he gets fussy-sounding enough I'm afraid he'll wake up Grace. Sometimes he seemed really hungry, but other times he just wanted his pacifier, and still others I really have no idea...)

10am - Andrew woke up right around the same time as I got home and Grace woke up. Daddy breaked from work and watched them a few minutes while I put groceries away and dumped the coffee grounds I got from Starbucks on our new compost heap (or what will hopefully turn into compost one day; right now it just seems like a large buffet for the flies.)

10:15 am - Nursed Andrew for 15 minutes while riding the backseat of Grace's "car" (ie. her bed).

10:30am - "Played" with Grace in her room for awhile. She was still pretending to drive her car, after buckling all her baby dolls in their "carseats". Put Andrew on his playmat for awhile downstairs while I fixed oatmeal for me and Grace. Took a picture with my cellphone of Grace wearing her headband to send Mimi, who's out of town for the week.

11:15am - Andrew was starting to get fussy, so I changed his diaper and put him down in his pack 'n play with his pacifier. He quieted immediately, so I went back to a late breakfast with Grace and filled in this log.

11:30am - Got some yogurt and applesauce for Grace, started a load of diapers and checked on Andrew, who is sleeping soundly. Grace finishes her breakfast and has a blast pouring her water back and forth from her cup to her bowl. She's trying so hard to be careful, I let her do it. :-)

11:45 am - Gave Grace some soap bubbles to play with while I work on finishing the dishes from last night and empty the dishwasher. Use wheresmycellphone.com to find my cell. Find my cell in the playroom and be thankful Andrew's a sound sleeper. Add blue food coloring to my dishwater in an attempt to make blue bubbles; it doesn't work. Kill a mosquito with my bare hands (the things you do for your children...).

11:50 am - Andrew's fussing; give him his pacifier and see if he falls back asleep. Hurriedly put away rest of the dishes.

12:00 pm - Get Andrew, change Grace into clean (and dry!) clothes, and then nurse while playing with Grace. Andrew dozes in my arms a few minutes. Play our "reading game" with Grace.

12:20 pm - Play in the playroom with the kids. Andrew has some tummy time, then watches himself in his little mirror. Grace changes her monkey's diaper, then makes macaroni and cheese in her little kitchen. Grace helps me wipe off the walls where the workmen got some dirt in the hallway, then uses the sponge to clean Mama's vacuum and Grace's vacuum. And then the sponge becomes a bed for Caleb's old Chewbacca pez dispenser. Andrew gets a diaper change, I make some phone calls and Grace plays by herself awhile.

1:00 pm - Andrew's starting to yawn a bit, so put him down in the pack 'n play with his pacifier. Grace spends quite awhile playing with her "card bucket" - putting her old credit cards in a yogurt tub with a slit in the lid I made for her over a year ago. She hasn't touched it in ages, but seems totally taken with it today, and puts them in and dumps them out over and over. I'm a bit reluctant to interrupt her for lunch and naptime.

1:20 pm - Fix Grace a cheese sandwich, and heat up some chili leftovers for Caleb and me. Andrew looks to be asleep. Grace and I eat lunch at her little table; Andrew's apparently not asleep, but happy as long as he has his pacifier.

1:45 pm - Put Grace down for her nap. Andrew looks asleep, but periodically wakes a bit and fusses quietly. Work on laundry a bit and finish emptying the dishwasher.

2:10 pm - Andrew's definitely not asleep, but still really quiet, so I think I'll lay down and rest a bit while I can.

3:10 pm - I can hear Grace happily playing upstairs, but not quite sure if she's waking up from her nap, or if she's been playing the whole time and hasn't been asleep yet, so I'll leave her a little longer.

3:30 pm - Both kids are definitely awake.

3:45 pm - Nurse Andrew 20 minutes or so while watching Grace play in her room.

5:30 pm - Put Andrew down for a nap in his crib with his pacifier. Grace gave him his little teddy bear, and sang All Creatures to him.

5:40 pm - Andrew starting to fuss, so gave him his pacifier and rubbed his forehead for a few minutes until he started to fall asleep.

6:00 pm - The brush truck came to pick up all the tree branches we'd had pruned about a month ago. (It didn't occur to us till too late that you should wait till the pickup week to have that done. Fortunately, none of our neighbors reported us, but our grass is a tad worse for the wear.) Caleb heard them coming, and we all ran outside to watch. Grace loves big trucks right now, but the claw and noise made her a bit nervous, and she clung to my neck the whole time. She was really excited though, if a little relieved they left the trees in our yard alone.

6:25 pm - Andrew's fussing again; maybe a half hour nap? He still looks pretty sleepy, so gave him his pacifier and waiting to see if he'll fall back asleep. He doesn't. My dad arrives for dinner (my mom's out of town), and he and Caleb play with Grace outside awhile while I fix dinner and watch Andrew in his swing.

6:45 pm - Dinner - taco salad

7:15 pm - Nurse Andrew for 20 minutes or so. Finish dinner and cleanup while Dad holds the baby.

8:30 pm - Nurse a few more minutes and change Andrew's diaper while Caleb gets Grace ready for bed.

8:45 pm - Give Andrew a bath, and nurse a few more minutes. We're trying the "tank him up" method tonight, I suppose. Once Caleb finishes with Grace, we sit on the couch awhile enjoying our happy, well-fed, surprisingly awake little guy until he starts looking sleepy and yawning.

9:30 pm - Put Andrew down in the pack 'n play. He fusses every few minutes for awhile, and we keep giving him back his pacifier.

9:50 pm - Turned on a fan for white noise and rubbed his forehead awhile, and it seems Andrew's finally really asleep.

10:30 pm - Move Andrew upstairs to his crib for the night. We'll see how this goes...

Sleeping Baby

2010-10-11T14:30:00.000-07:00

Since Andrew's such an easy sleeper (and I want to keep him that way!), I've been trying to follow more of a schedule with him. Yesterday evening, he'd fallen asleep around 6:30, and Caleb and I decided we should wake him up around 9 so he wouldn't take his long stretch of sleep during the evening instead of at night. Caleb carried him out into the living room, and that little guy slept right through a diaper change, so we jostled him, poked him, kissed him, bounced him, tried to nurse him, talked to him, kissed him some more, put him on the floor for some tummy time, put him on the floor leaning on the boppy, put him on the couch, tried to nurse some more, tickled his feet, gave him tummy time on mommy, and finally gave up and put him in his crib.

Firefighter Gracie

2010-10-11T13:49:00.000-07:00

While Caleb was still off on his paternity leave, we took the kids down to the Museum of Natural Science and History. Most of it we skipped over, but Grace had a blast in the children's museum. She's a huge fan of fire trucks and garbage trucks right now, so this was a total hit.

Precious moments...

2010-10-08T10:10:00.000-07:00

A couple days ago, I'd been having a difficult time getting Grace to come downstairs and eat lunch, and I'd been getting pretty frustrated with her. But totally out of the blue, Grace went over and leaned on her "big girl bed", clasped her hands together and started to thank God for "my bed, by babies", and a few other things I couldn't quite make out. I do love being her mama!

Andrew's getting bigger...

2010-10-07T14:55:00.000-07:00

He'll be six weeks tomorrow, and he's a fast-growing little guy! He's still keeping his mama and daddy pretty tired, but overall he's quite the easy-going baby, and can sleep right through his big sister's loving kisses and happy shrieks (though we're working with her on that one...)

He's been working on holding his head up, though it's still awfully wobbly, and he only lasts a few seconds before he has to take a breather. When he's on his tummy on my chest though, he can squirm his way up till his head's right under my chin - to mama's delight.

Now that my life is being a mama anyways, it really doesn't seem that much more work adding in a second (though I think I got off easy so far!), and it's so enjoyable watching the two of them grow. And there's nothing quite so wonderful as snuggling on the couch with the two of them!

Our Little Grace is growing up

2010-10-07T14:48:00.000-07:00

We have a baby! :-)

2010-09-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

So I know we've been horribly remiss in posting these past few months, but man, they've been busy! We've moved to Dallas, bought our first house, and now we have our adorable little Andrew, and he's already three weeks old! It's been a really enjoyable three weeks getting to know our new little guy.

We had his two-week check-up last week, and he'd already grown from 6lb 15oz at birth to 8lb 10oz. When we brought him home, his newborn clothes were too big for him, and now he's already outgrowing them! It sure is fun watching babies grow-up though! Now that we've been through it once with Grace, it makes me even more look forward to seeing what kind of little boy our Andrew will grow up to be.
He's a pretty laid-back little guy right now - our nights are still a bit rough (as expected with a newborn!), but he's a good sleeper overall, and unlike his fiesty big sis, he stays asleep when you put him somewhere, which makes things surprisingly easier.
I've still never tried managing the two of them by myself; Caleb has some time off work, and both of our moms have been a huge help these past few weeks with watching Grace and bringing meals.

Grace has been handling all the transitions really well, though she has had a few melt-downs where she wanted Daddy to "nurse baby brother!" or put her baby dolls in the swing with him. I've felt really bad I haven't been able to play with her more like we used to since I got home from the hospital; I overdid it a bit the first week, and landed myself back in the bed for the second and it was really frustrating not being able to play with my little toddler like she wanted me to. We've had some fun snuggle times on the couch though!

It was so sweet when Grandma & Grandpa brought her to the hospital the morning after Andrew was born. She came in with her arms full with two of her dollies, and said "Mama! Daddy!". But as soon as she saw Baby Brother, she dumped the dollies on the bed and stretched up her arms saying "hold baby brother!". She sat up on the hospital bed with me, and we helped her hold him in her lap, and she started talking about how "baby brother come out of mama's tummy". She was so excited he was finally here, and still loves to hold and rock and sing to him.

We've had a few times where she wanted to wear his clothes or sleep in his bed or something, but overall she's been really good at understanding what things are too little for Gracie, and enjoying those that are too big for baby Andrew.

Baby Andrew is here!

2010-08-27T13:28:00.000-07:00

Andrew was born a week ago today, August 20, at 2:15 in the morning. More photos and details as we have time! :-)

Grace likes...

2010-07-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

Tonight at supper, Grace told us she "like blueberry, like helicopoly, like Mary Mack". (That last one is a book we had from the library back in Bellevue based on the Mary Mack rhyme.) It was a bit random, but really cute how particular and emphatic she was in letting us know.

We have a house!!!

2010-07-23T20:33:00.000-07:00

:-) :-) :-)

Sorting Silverware

2010-07-23T20:30:00.001-07:00

This afternoon, Grace really wanted to see what was going on as I was emptying the dishwasher. I pulled over her little stool and set it up next to the silverware drawer, and after I dried each spoon or fork, I'd hand it to her and she'd put it in the tray for me. I had to show her where I wanted them to go when I switched between spoons and forks, but she'd proudly put each subsequent one where I'd pointed. It was alot more fun than doing it by myself, and she actually saved me some stooping and bending (which is getting a bit harder with a growing belly!). And she so loves helping Mama! :-)

Dancing Gracie!

2010-07-14T19:43:00.001-07:00

Our Little Sleepyhead

2010-07-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

She couldn't leave her baby bed without every single one of them...

So big, and so tiny!

2010-06-20T18:54:00.000-07:00

At the dinner table tonight, Grace was chattering away as she often does when she's starting to get tired, and at some point she looked at me put her arms out and said "Mama - so big!" I told her "yes, mama is so big. And how big is Gracie?"

And then she did her arms out again and said "Gracie so.... so tiny!"

Learning to dress herself

2010-06-19T07:58:00.000-07:00

This morning when we got Grace up, we discovered she'd found one of her shirts that was next to her bed and stuck it over her head. She even had one arm through a sleeve! We were quite impressed, though sadly had to take it off to get her pajamas out from underneath.

We love you so much, Gracie!

Like Mama, Like Daughter...

2010-06-10T20:07:00.000-07:00

When I put Grace in her baby bed tonight, she laid down with a book in each hand and wanted me to tuck her in. Last I saw of her, she was trying to prop herself up a bit to look at one of the books, and we haven't heard a peep from her since.

A Quick Catch-up

2010-06-10T19:46:00.000-07:00

So... it seems during the times when life is changing the most, we have the least time to write about it. :-) But now that Grace is sleeping well again (and Caleb's working late), I thought I'd do a quick catch-up post.

First, and I'm pretty sure I've posted some about it, but I don't remember exactly what, we're expecting a little baby boy at the end of August. We still have no idea on names, but have a dozen or so favorites to choose from at least. :-) It's been a much, much easier pregnancy this time around, with almost no sickness or anything to remind me I'm pregnant. Except a kicking baby in my tummy. I showed Grace how she could feel the baby move yesterday and told her we'd have to "wait and see" if the baby would move. While reading books this afternoon, she several times would put her little hand on my tummy and say "wait-see".

Yep! We've moved back to Dallas, and have been here about four weeks now. And absolutely enjoying being close to family again; it's been great fun being able to have our parents over dinner for a change! And they've been awesome about offering to watch Grace so we could settle into our temp housing and do some house hunting of our own. And I'm totally loving having a washer & dryer of our own again! I think that's my #2 favorite thing about being down here, after family. Followed by having a backyard and garage (no more 400 foot walk in the rain to carry in the groceries!). Every morning Grace has to take a tour with Daddy of the backyard and clean out the bird bath and see the "purple gate" as she's dubbed it. And in the afternoons, she loves digging in the flower pots with her little spoon. We still really miss our condo at times, but it was so often rainy and muddy, we'd never yet just let her freely play in the dirt like she's been able to here.

We left all our stuff in storage up in Seattle, except what we could fit in our eight suitcases (Grace had her own seat on the plane, so we got to check two more for free! Plus lots of carry-ons). It's a lot harder than I realized not having a more permanent home, and I've been surprised how much I miss the regularity of our routines and having our own stuff, but God's been teaching me a lot through this. Yesterday I was reading the dedication of the temple in 1 Kings, and it struck me how long the Israelites waited for the fulfillment of God's promise to have a land of their own. And realizing that in reality, we are wanderers on this earth; right now our lives just happen to match that much more closely than we've been accustomed. We're really hoping God will lead us to a house soon (preferably before the baby arrives!), but if not, we'll be living in this limbo-sort-of-place another six months or so. I've realized I had very firm ideas of what having a baby is supposed to look like - painting a room, getting everything set up - and it's been hard not even knowing where we'll be living, but many, many people have delivered in much harder circumstances than living in a roomy two bedroom house with other people's furnishings. I could be on a donkey on my way through the desert! :-)

Anyways, that's a quick overview of where our lives are now, and as Caleb's done with work, we're off to enjoy some good ol' Blue Bell. :-D

Flying to Dallas!

2010-05-27T16:05:00.000-07:00

Grace didn't sleep very well in the hotel the night before our flight - we'd gotten to bed around midnight, and she was up around 4. For about 3 hours. She was so tired by the time we got on the plane, she fell asleep before she could finish her dinner.

And ya know, I think Southwest was not only the cheapest flight we could find (and no baggage charges!), but the nicest airline we've flown in quite awhile.

Thanks again, Paula, for all those grapes! And the ride to the airport. :-) Grace absolutely loved having her favorite snack!

Last Days in Seattle, Part 4...

2010-05-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

Last Days in Seattle, Part 3...

2010-05-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

Last Days in Seattle...

2010-05-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

Last Days in Seattle...

2010-05-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

Pigtails! :-)

2010-05-06T18:09:00.000-07:00

Riding High

2010-03-20T08:36:00.001-07:00

Grace has never been all that great about riding in her stroller, and I'd actually given up taken her in it to the park as I'd often end up carrying her on one hip and pushing the empty stroller with my other hand. But with Baby #2 on the way now, I've realized it'll make my life a lot easier if I get her used to riding in it now. And as of yesterday anyways, she suddenly loves it! We went for a walk to the park in the morning, and I told her we were going for a "ride", which seemed to make all the difference to her little mind. She talked about "riding" all day - so much so that we walked to the grocery store in the afternoon, and she managed to get Caleb to take her out for a "ride" after dinner when Mama left to watch a friend's sleeping baby.

I'm totally excited, and hoping this lasts!

Little Helper

2010-03-14T22:37:00.000-07:00

Also, we worked in the Children's Ministry at church this morning, and at the end, when all of the rest of the kids had been collected and we were sanitizing the toys, Grace came over and pulled a Clorox wipe out of the container. I told her not to eat it and followed her to make sure that she didn't, but she just wanted to wipe the toys off like Mama and Daddy. :) She's been practicing at home by using the baby wipes to wipe up her dollies. :)

- Caleb

First three-word sentence!

2010-03-14T22:34:00.001-07:00

Grace said her first three word "sentence" tonight - while we were finishing dinner, Caleb had given her the rest of his soup in a little teacup, and she was busily spooning her applesauce from her bowl to daddy's bowl and pouring it back. At one point, she very emphatically informed us "daddy bowl empty!"

Stickers & bow-ties?

2010-03-03T16:05:00.000-08:00

Grace loves wearing her headbands, though her usage is a little un-ordinary. And she's recently discovered the joy of stickers; Mama got her a pack last time we were at Michael's, and we stick them everywhere!

Airplanes, farms and ping pong balls....

2010-03-03T15:38:00.000-08:00

Just a few more of Grace's favorite things! She's been fascinated with airplanes of late, and every time she hears one fly by, it's "ei-bee! ei-bee!" Which of course, means airplane. Most mornings (when Mama's feeling up to it) we take her little ride-on airplane for a walk around the complex and watch for airplanes. Unfortunately, it's been pretty cloudy of late, but we usually see at least one low enough to be visible. It's such fun entering into the joys of such a little person! Last week we went to the library and found a couple children's books on airplanes. They were both a bit disappointing - lots more pictures of kids than actual planes - but we've still enjoyed "reading" them.

Last Saturday we took Grace to a local community park and farm, and ever since she's been talking about the "fahm!" with all the oink's and quack's and cock-a-doodle-doo's that go along with it. I'm gonna have to take her back pretty soon. :-)

And during my last Target run, I picked up a pack of ping pong balls for her, and that might be the most fun $1.40 I've spent in a long time! She's had such a blast filling up her pail and dumping them out into various containers or chasing them around the hallway. And she's so determined to pick up two in each chubby little hand - it takes her awhile, but she can do it!

Our little lady

2010-03-02T14:13:00.001-08:00

Grace came around the corner a few minutes ago wearing her tutu (which mama had helped her put on) with her red dress strewn over her head (which she put on herself) and carrying our bathroom scale. I love her enjoyment of life. :-)

Mommy?

2010-02-27T18:39:00.000-08:00

Last week Grace started calling me "mommy" instead of "mama". I'm really not sure where she got it from, we've always said "mama", and when here books say "mommy", I often read it as "mama" so it wouldn't confuse her. For a few days, she was even saying "mommy" in her sleep. Maybe it's just an inevitable part of growing up, but I'd gotten kind of use to "mama"! Fortunately, this week it's back. :-)

Wisdom from Laura

2010-02-27T10:20:00.001-08:00

"Eating too many donuts feels so much worse than eating too few."

New words!

2010-02-02T16:46:00.001-08:00

Grace's vocabulary is expanding so quickly these days! Just this week she's started using two syllable words (and phrases). So far, it's:

leopard - a puzzle piece from her alphabet puzzle book
purple - Daddy told her she was wearing a purple shirt this morning
sit down! - What Mama and Daddy say when she's standing on her rocking chair. And now what she tells herself.
grandma - We're pretty sure we've heard this one a few times now.

Ok, so there's a handful of other two syllable words she's mastered for quite some time, but they all consist of double-syllables - mama, dada, mimi, coco, and so on. And of course, it'd probably take a parent's ear to translate from Gracie-speech, but to us it's amazing to hear!

Update: I should have added "pappy" too! She definitely knows that one, but I neglected to list it earlier as it doesn't quite qualify as a double-syllable. But we definitely know what she means! :-)

She's also started singing recognizable songs now. The first is from a lullaby CD we have called Sounds like Fun. It's got a phonetics song on it that goes something like:

apple, apple, ah, ah, ah
apple, apple, ah, ah, ah
baby, baby, bah, bah, bah
....

A week or so ago, I caught her walking around going "ap, ap, ah ah ah" in a singsong voice. And a few days ago, she's starting picking up a boardbook we have that's a humurous adaptation of Skip to My Lou, and singing "lou lou". That's as far as she gets, but it's pretty cute.

It's a hat!

2010-02-02T16:39:00.000-08:00

Gracie likes putting things on her head.

This is her nativity scene, just in case you can't tell.

The Joys of Motherhood

2010-01-31T21:14:00.000-08:00

I've been sick all week, and haven't been able to read or sing to Grace as talking very much sets off my cough, but this morning I woke up from a nap to hear Grace knocking at our door. I'd opened the door and squatted down to talk to her, and she ran in and started to sit in my lap, but then changed her mind and ran off again. About twenty seconds later she was back with a rather large alphabet picture book and plopped down to read with Mama. It's nice to know you're missed!

Gracie and her Babies

2010-01-25T15:15:00.000-08:00

This is how she's gone to sleep every night since we got back from Christmas. Until this past week... but you'll have to wait for a new photo of that one. :-)

And it can never be just one baby. It's "bay-beee bay-bee" over and over till she has her armful.

Thank you Aunt Sarah-Jean!

2010-01-23T22:09:00.000-08:00

Ah-mi!

2009-12-04T09:37:00.000-08:00

While we were at a friend's this week, Grace started clasping her hands together and emphatically saying, "ah-mi!". I was at a total loss as to what this meant until yesterday - I was talking on the phone with Caleb, and at the end of the call we prayed together. Right after I said "amen", Grace clasped her hands together and affirmed "ah-mi!"

Our first tree!

2009-12-03T14:04:00.000-08:00

Since we've never been home for Christmas, Caleb and I haven't bought a tree since we've been married. But now that Grace is getting older, decorating sounded much more exciting this year. So on Black Friday, I picked up a "collapsible" tree from Fred Meyer for half price. We don't have much storage space, so we liked the small box, but it is a kinda funny looking tree. The entire thing is a big spiral, so when Grace tocuhes the bottom of the tree, the entire tree wiggles. We thought it made an appropriate young married's Christmas tree though, and with the lights and a smattering of ornaments, it looks just about perfect.

I also found Grace a little Christmas dress, and couldn't resist trying it on her a bit early. :-D

Thanksgiving

2009-12-03T13:58:00.000-08:00

Last week was a bit of a rough week - we all three got sick the weekend before Thanksgiving, but Caleb was so busy at work, he couldn't take much time off and put in some really late nights. Grace was waking up coughing several times a night, and we were all running pretty short on sleep for awhile. But it's past now, and we're all happy and healthy again! Well, Grace is still waking up several times a night with the remnants of her cough, but usually a long hug and a drink of water does the trick. Ok, and 20 minutes of rocking.Thanksgiving was a lot of fun though - we had several friends over for a potluck again, and it was just a really good time. Our dining table is kind of on the small side, so we made do in the living room floor, but it worked. :-) We did have some fun ventures with a turkey that leaked juice all over the fridge and my first attempt at pumpkin pie - (who knew you had to add sugar!?!), but it all worked out. We've developed a wonderful tradition (in my mind, at least!) of Caleb taking care of the turkey Thanksgiving morning, and he was wonderful about getting that huge bird in the oven, and cleaning up my messes. He's gotten pretty good at carving it, too! I do think I have the best husband in the world. :-D

Grace and the Laundry Basket

2009-12-03T13:57:00.000-08:00

So Caleb and I were working around the house one day last week, and Grace must have gotten bored and decided to stick the laundry basket over her head. I poked my head out of the kitchen to see what she was up to, and she was toddling about like this. She had a stuffed bunny in there with her, and it was pretty funny watching her try to pick up various objects around the room. So of course we had to run get our cameras before helping her out.

More of Grace's Favorite things!

2009-11-20T12:58:00.001-08:00

Sitting in Daddy's computer chair and playing with the keyboard and mouse
Stacking things - especially her giant blocks we made and Mama's Rice a Roni boxes.
Hiding things - we play peek-a-boo with anything and everything! Most often while Mama's folding laundry.
Putting things in containers, and out again - One day this week, I found she had taken the lid off a big tin box, and filled it with Caleb's tea packets. Very neatly done too!
Dancing to music - her little CD player and airplane from Pappy & Mimi are particularl favorites for this one! Last night, Caleb started singing the song from the airplane, and she went and got it from her room.
Helping Mama - she loves to help me sweep, and if I give her a rag while she's in her highchair, she'll wipe her tray. Yesterday, she even wiped out her little bowl!
Pushing strollers - she calls them "di", though I have no idea why.

Grace's Favorite Things

2009-11-20T12:27:00.000-08:00

Caleb thought it'd be fun to start a list of Grace's favorite things. So here we go, in no particular order...

Bananas
Dogs
Grapes (she knows the sign for this one now too! Unforunately, they were 4.99 a pound last time I checked... :-( She still asks for them almost every day though.)
Bubbles! Often while Caleb changes her diaper at night I'll blow bubbles for her, and now she can sign (and say!) "more", so she'll keep asking for them, then throw her arms in the air with a little squeal when I blow a bunch for her. It's pretty darling.
Soap suds - She calls these bubbles too ("bah", that is), and sometimes after her lunch while I'm washing dishes, she'll see the bubbles in the sink and ask for them, so I'll scoop her up a handful and put on her highchair tray. Her hands and tray get cleaned (and her mouth!), and she has a blast trying to eat them! (I tasted them once to see why she finds them so appealing, and the suds feel like eating pop rocks, so I can't really blame her. I figure she doesn't get much of them in at least.)
Jumping on our bed - closely monitored, of course!
Walks - she'll go over to our back door and "hug" it, asking for a "wa".
Water - Another "wa"! She loves to stick her hands in Mama's glass.
Her doll, Lily. She loves to stick Lily in her exersaucer, or stroller, or sit her on her little box-seat. And she also loves to try to wear Lily's shoes.
Shoes - "sho", and she tries to wear everybody's! Especially Daddy's giant A&M house shoes or Mama's crocs.
Books - I've started putting a few in her crib when I put her down for a nap, and she'll sit and look at them till she falls asleep. She's gotten really good about not tearing our books now, so I've started reading her some of my old Little Golden books my Grandma gave me when I was her age.

Ok, I'm sure I'll think of more later, but our little one is just waking up and Mama has some laundry to go grab first.

My First Cheese

2009-11-16T16:23:00.000-08:00

So I made my first ever attempt at homemade cheese today. Paneer, actually, though it sounds like you can make mozzarella in a very similar manner. It sounded so easy, I've been curioius to try it for awhile, and as we had a bunch of whole milk (bought for Grace, who doesn't like it) that was about to go bad, I figured I'd go for it.

Just in case you're curious, you basically bring the whole milk until a very foamy boil (you better catch it fast though or it'll be over the pan in a matter of seconds!), remove from heat, and add a couple tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice. Stir a couple minutes until it starts to curdle, then let it sit for 10 minutes or so. Then you basically strain the liquid out from the curds. The directions I was following said to use cheesecloth to strain it, but I didn't have any and used paper towels instead. Then press it between two plates stacked with cans for, um, I forget how long, but I left it several hours, before cutting into squares.

And apparently you can make ricotta from the leftover whey, but I'll save that for another day.

More Adventures of Gracie

2009-11-16T16:16:00.000-08:00

Grace has discovered where Mama keeps her cereal!

She does love her books! And Mama and Daddy's books too.

Unexpected Joys of Motherhood

2009-11-16T13:42:00.001-08:00

Fun times from today:

Grace brought me her diaper to put back on her. At least she recognizes that it's not supposed to be off now!
We're transitioning to one nap a day, so I put her down around 10:30, but when I peeked in to check on her around 11:15, she was just lying in her crib, singing to herself. I'd never heard her do that before, but she was asleep before I could get the baby monitor and camera ready to record her. :-p
We had a blast playing on the big bed - rather, Gracie playing while Mama folded clothes. And then we played hide and seek in the pillows, and jumped on the bed until somebody was pooped.
We had a slight temper tantrum as Grace wanted to go play outside, but it was raining. I would have taken her actually, but once she fights me for it, I can't. I wonder if this is how we appear to God sometimes when He's waiting for us to stop fighting so He can give us something good?
Grace is finally grasping the sign for "more" - I was washing dishes while she was eating her lunch in the kitchen, and once she saw the soap bubbles, she started asking for some ("bah, bah!"). After they'd dissolved (ok, she might have eated them...), she signed for more "bah bah's".

After all this, she was getting tired again, so I just put her back in her crib with a book and had to come post this before I forget. :-)

Mama's Little Helper

2009-11-13T13:26:00.001-08:00

Grace loves helping Mama now - today she helped me pick up all her (clean!) diapers, one-by-one, and put them back in the laundry basket. And when we were done, she gave me a big hug! It doesn't get much better than this. :-)

The Pay-off

2009-11-03T18:56:00.000-08:00

You know, baby hugs totally make everything all worth it.

:-)

Gracie's Costume

2009-10-31T10:30:00.000-07:00

Can you guess who I am??

2009-10-29T09:51:00.001-07:00

My first mobile blog test post!

Mischievous Giggles

2009-10-21T11:56:00.000-07:00

While I was checking my email this morning, I heard a burst of giggles, followed by little feet pattering out of the kitchen and on down the hallway. My mama's instinct was telling me something was up, but I thought I'd finish what I was doing, then go find me a Gracie. But just a minute later, more giggling made me look up to see Grace coming back to show me she had my kitchen towel, stolen off the refrigerator door. Once she knew I'd seen her, she turned and, with more giggles, toddled off back towards the hallway as fast as she could go. Thank you, God, for letting me be Grace's Mommy! :-)

Peek-a-boo at the Park

2009-10-19T21:16:00.001-07:00

New Words

2009-10-19T15:15:00.000-07:00

Grace is really chattering these days; this morning she picked up a book and sounded like she was reading it to me, in her own little language. She loves sitting on things, and she'll pat my glider when she wants up, and she'll say "rock". Well, Mama knows that's what she's saying anyways. Most of the time she prefers the noises things make though, so a car or truck is "vroom".

Her new favorite pasttime is helping Mama sweep. When I forget to close the pantry doors, I'll frequently find she's pulled the broom out and is attempting to sweep the kitchen floor. She's a good little helper, but we're hoping to find a shorter broom very soon. She gets really upset when I'm trying to sweep up a mess and she can't help! It was funny the other day though, I'd dropped a dish rag on the floor, and she squatted down and started scrubbing the floor with it, just like she's watched me do countless times around her highchair. Children really are little mirrors!

An Ill-Planned Drive

2009-10-19T15:09:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, we thought it'd be fun to take a day trip over the Olympic Peninusla and revisit a state park Caleb and I had driven to when we were dating. It had been such a fun trip before, and the autumn leaves were beautiful, we just assumed everything would work out this time too. Unfortunately, Grace had officially outgrown her infant seat, and it was a little more complicated than we'd expected getting Grace's new carseat installed, so we were a little later getting started than we'd planned. And then she cried, loudly, until we stopped for a very late lunch at Jack in the Box. She finally slept after that, but neither of us had double-checked how to get there, so hours of driving left us hours away still when she woke up from her afternoon nap. We'd ended up on Highway 3 driving through an industrial looking area with no playgrounds in site, so we took a half hour detour to a little state park on some island. It wasn't quite what we were hoping for (our hoped-for colorful leaves were replaced by tall evergreens), but Grace had lots of space to run and play, and we had a fun time picking apples and feeding them to a friendly deer.

On the way home, we stopped at McDonald's, and had a blast on the play-structure. (Kids are a free pass to play again!) We took Grace up to the top, and I took her in my lap down the slide. We wore her out pretty well, and she slept the entire way back. We're planning a repeat in a week or two, but this time we'll check the map first. :-)

Grace's First Joke

2009-10-19T15:00:00.000-07:00

It's a car seat; get it? :-D

September Review

2009-10-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

We just reformatted our laptop and got everything set back up again, so I've been going through the photos from last month, and thought I'd post a few.

Our playgroup kind of fell apart for the summer, but several weeks ago we had Anna and Adeline over, and the girls had a fun time climbing all over Aslan.

One of Grace's favorite pasttimes for last month was emptying my diaper bag every chance she got. She seems to be losing interest in it now, but I still have to make sure it stays zipped if I want to be certain of it's contents!

While Mom was visiting, we took Grace for a lengthy drive (it started out as a trip to the zoo, but she fell asleep in the car) up to the outlet malls. We didn't buy anything, but had a fun time watching the fountain and playing peek-a-boo.

The afternoon after my mom left, I took Grace to Kelsey Creek Park. It's totally my favorite park at the moment - Grace loved the toddler-sized playhouse, though she wasn't quite big enough to crawl through this maze.

Belated Photos at the Bells

2009-10-10T10:12:00.000-07:00

These got missed in my first upload...

Belated Photos at the Bells

2009-10-10T10:10:00.000-07:00

Caleb finally dumped his camera this morning, and I thought these were too cute not to post. :-)

Grace's First Drawing (Attempt)

2009-10-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

Actually, Mama and Daddy did most of the scribbling, but Gracie helped. A little. And yes, that is black crayon remnants stuck to her mouth.

Shoe Attempts

2009-10-05T14:29:00.000-07:00

Grace has really been trying to figure out this shoe thing lately; just yesterday I caught her in the hall trying to put her doll's shoes on her own feet. She got her toes just barely in one of the shoes, and tried to walk, but it didn't stay for very far.

Grace's First Happy Meal

2009-10-05T14:22:00.000-07:00

My mom came up for several days last week to stay with me and Grace while Caleb was at the Mars Hill Men's Advance (that's their name for the men's retreat), and she bought Grace her very first happy meal. Mama split the chicken nuggets with her, and Grace had her first sip of Coca Cola out of a straw. (My mom slipped her a drink while I was in the restroom. :-) ) She enjoyed a couple french fries too, but bananas still reign as her favorite food. You really have to search for them, but McDonald's even has toys for babies, and Grace had fun opening and closing the doors on the little farmhouse long enough for Mom and I to finish our own lunches. It was great fun! :-)

And for comparison's sake, here's Grace's very first McDonald's run, with Pappy and Mimi just a week after she was born while Mama and Daddy were at Scott & Helen's wedding reception. :)

A Lazy Sunday Afternoon

2009-09-11T15:10:00.000-07:00

At least, I'm pretty sure when this was taken. Most Sundays we go to the 11am service at church now; Grace wakes up from her first nap right around the time we need to be heading out the door, so we do a quick diaper change, throw some clothes on her (gently, of course!) and buckle her in her carseat. This last Sunday, Caleb and I were volunteering in the nursery, so we spent a couple hours playing with Gracie and her other young friends, then back in the carseat for the trip home.

We've developed a tradition of Taco Bell for lunch on Sunday, because as soon as we get home it's naptime for Grace again, and it's nice not to spend her nap making lunch. Some days she naps a good two hours, but frequently just an hour or so, during which Caleb and I crash on the couches with our books or the laptop. Afterwards, we have fun reading books, lounging on the floor, and often walk her down to the park. (It's sweet, there's a small park with baby swings just a 5 minute walk from our condo). By 6:30, she's ready for dinner and bed, and then we pull out the pizza, ice cream and a movie. Ah, it's a good life! :-D

New Shoes!

2009-09-11T14:25:00.000-07:00

Trying out our new shoes.

Rivers of Clouds

2009-09-06T14:58:00.000-07:00

A little belated, but I'm finally going through some of our photos of our Dallas trip, and the clouds we saw on our way back were just too amazing not to post. In all my flights back, I've never seen such a beautiful sunset over the mountains. As we approached Rainier, the clouds surrounding the base of the mountain just seemed to spill over into the foothills. Unfortunately, none of our photo attempts could quite capture it (and I spent a little too much time trying, rather than just enjoying the moment). It's amazing to think God enjoys sights like this all the time. :-)

Both of the flights went really well though; we were pretty nervous as Grace didn't have as much time to toddle about the airport as we'd hoped, and for the first hour or so, she was pretty squirmy and kept wanting to get down, but we tried to follow her bedtime routine as much as we could, and she eventually fell asleep in Caleb's arms for the rest of the flight. It was sweet - on the way back, there was a nice Asian lady behind us who spent a looong while playing a game of "poke your finger through the seat" with Grace. She kept her entertained for a good 20 minutes at least.

Uh-oh!

2009-09-02T10:38:00.000-07:00

Once she mastered walking, Grace has really turned her attention on words now. She's been saying mama and dada for several months now, but just this week she's really started using them to refer specifically to us. Especially when she wants out of her crib! Often when I go to pick her up after her nap, she'll be standing there at the crib rail and hold her arms out to me saying "ma-ma! ma-ma!". And often signing for milk.

And just yesterday, she started saying "uh-oh!" At least, I think that's what she's saying. I'd been using it for awhile hoping she'd mimic. (Really, what could be cuter than a little one-year old toddling around saying "uh-oh"?) While we were eating dinner, she sat in her highchair saying "uh-ooh" over and over. And indeed, it was pretty adorable.

Gracie's New Buddy

2009-08-25T19:50:00.000-07:00

I must say, I was quite impressed with Cassie's forbearance with our curious little baby.