All Clear!

I threw on clothes to check out our building. Our hallway was clear, but it smelled like smoke outside, so I checked upstairs. Don't worry -- I touched all of the door knobs before I tried to open them. There was smoke in the second floor, but nothing seemed urgent, so I came down, we got Grace up, and we went outside. By the time we got out, the firemen were lugging fans inside (instead of fire hoses), and the alarm had just switched off. The fireman said that it was just food on a stove, and it sounded like everyone was okay. Praise the Lord!

What did we grab on our way out the door? The laptop and back-up hard drive. Things are just things, but since we had two minutes... I think it's probably time for an online backup subscription.

Baby's Sleeping! But we're not...

Caleb and I actually got Grace to sleep around 10 tonight, and just falling asleep ourselves when our condo's fire alarms started going off. Still not sure what's up, but like any sensible adult, I thought I'd blog about it while Caleb's checking it out.

Home for Christmas

So a little belated, but better late than never! Caleb, Grace and I spent a wonderful two weeks down in Texas with our families, and Grace had a fun time getting to know her grandparents, aunts and uncles. We've discovered we all sleep better now with Grace in her own space outside our room. (Well, Caleb, Grace and I sleep better at least.) She's started playing with her toes, and making raspberries. She came extremely close to rolling over the last evening we spent with the Bells, but she waited till we got back to Seattle before completing the move. A few times now I've found her on her tummy in her crib, just starting to get fussy when she realizes what she's done. She's still not a big fan of tummy-time!

I think in this first photo we were on our way to the Carroll's Christmas party, and I at least thought there was a canny resemblance to Bing Crosby.

Nannie

I sent an e-mail to Gramps, Dad, and Uncle Bob:

I was looking through this set of slides that Bob marked as being from 1964. Who is the elderly woman (not Mom-mom) in these pictures? There's one right before these of someone's yard with a sign that says "The Kenworthys", but I don't know if it's connected.

Gramps wrote back:

The "elderly woman" is my grandmom, Sarah Ann (Nannie) Wright (Nee: Anderson) on her 92nd birthday. I believe that she lived another five years. She's the one that had only one grandson, ME! She had four sons: one died at birth, one at age six, one in WWI, and Samuel. Only Sam and the two daughters lived to adulthood. Kathleen had no kids. Sam had one daughter. Then there was me! After she was saved she started praying for a "preacher" in the family. Everyone laughed at this silly old lady... especially me! How could even God do anything with that rascal? Ask me if I believe in the power of prayer.

Love,
Gramps (the Rascal)

Grace, if you read this someday, that's your great-great-great-grandmother, born in 1872. If she lived to see your birth, she would have been 136! The people in the top photo, from left to right, are my Uncle Bob, Nannie, Gramps (my grandfather), Mom-mom (my great-grandmother, Gramps's mom), and my dad, your grandfather. Never be afraid to ask the Lord for great things, and don't despair if his plans take longer than you think that they should (Genesis 15). We love you!

She rolled over!

This past Friday I'd put Grace down on her back under her play gym while I worked on the computer, and the next time I looked up she was on her tummy! I'm sad I missed the actual rolling over after she came so close several times while we were home with family over Christmas, but it was still pretty exciting. And then she did it twice more yesterday while home with Daddy.

And even more fun - I woke up last night and heard her start to whimper a little, but just as I got out of bed, I heard her little aquarium music box that's in her crib start to play. And then it stopped. And then it started again. And of course, I had to wake up Caleb to come look at her waving her legs in the air, but by the time he got to her room, she'd stopped. It was really cute though. :)

3.5 Months!

 
I can't believe Grace is nearing four months already; it's gone so quick! And I realized it's been way too long since I've posted here. Somehow the days just seem to fly by between diaper changings and nursing and laundry and napping and grocery shopping and everything else. Grace and I'll be heading out in a few minutes to pick up Caleb (Daddy!) to go to our Community Group tonight, but I wanted to make a quick catch up post before I forget her newest milestones.

Two weeks ago, Grace finally started sleeping in her crib. Always before she'd wake up as soon as I lay her down anywhere, so she'd been sleeping with us. I think Nov 16 was the first evening we left her in her crib, and I when I went in to check on her she'd fallen asleep. Mommy cried. Her little baby was growing up! And then her baby woke up an hour later. But from then on, Grace has been napping in her crib semi-regularly as well as the swing and carseat.

And then two days before Thanksgiving, I broke out with hives again and had to take Benadryl around the clock which made Mommy really drowsy, so we had to make a sudden transition to the crib. Fortunately, the next day we got a package with a new mobile for her crib from the Rays, and from then on she's been sleeping (mostly!) in her crib. It was amazing how good it felt to be able to toss and turn any time I wanted to all night long. :-)

And just two days ago, Grace slept a straight 9 and a half hours. Unfortunately, I was so blown away by this development, that I still got up every two hours all night long to make sure she was alright. Moms can be rather foolish when it comes to their babies. :)

Sunday Afternoon Quotes

L: "I want to play with Quicken"
C: "Hm, that sounds like work..."
L: "Ooh, but I love organizing finances!"
C: "And I love you"
L: "I get so excited about the idea of reconciling our bank statements! It just feels so good to have them all neat and tidy!"