9 Months Old!

9 months ago today, I had a tiny newborn. Now I have a crawler full of personality and curiosity.

 She's still has her serious moments but they are peppered with laughter and smiles.

Grace can pull herself up into a standing position now and always wants to see what I am doing.

Grace has totally mastered her walker on and off the kitchen flooring. I really need to get a picture of her in it. Anyway, Davey can find no refuge from where Grace now that she can fake walk and crawls so quickly after him. He really is a 135 pound chicken. Most of the time you can find him hiding in plain sight on top of our bed. She still likes to sleep with Mom and Dad and would probably prefer to be carried around on a royal cushion if it meant she was next to me. No matter. It gives me a reason to douse her in a million mommy kisses.

8 Months Old!

Where has the time gone?

Grace can now sit up by herself. 

She loves to chase Davey down the hallway in her walker. She officially has 5 teeth with the 6th one trying to make its appearance.

And her favorite treat seems to be paper. Not that it's what we give her. Or feed her for that matter. She's just that darn fast when paper products are near. When we go to church she grabs the program with lightning fast speed, shoves it in her mouth, and takes a big baby bite. She must think its funny because she smiles and then locks down her jaw. Alex and I tag team the kid as we pry open her face and rescue the paper sample from her taste buds. Tissue paper was a big favorite on Christmas day. I'm thinking that maybe we should have named her Billie instead. Of course, I'm kidding. But seriously, I can't imagine paper tasting that good.

On December 21, Grace and I woke up at the usual 6:45 am. I placed her on the living room floor on her tummy like I always do. She immediately flipped over to her back and then pulled herself up into a sitting position. That was a neat trick, I thought, but then for the next 45 minutes she rolled around to different areas of the living room that was of interest and then sat up to check things out. She's been doing it ever since.

We're closer than ever to having her sleep throughout the entire night. She's at about the 7 hour mark depending on the day. She truly sleeps the longest when she sleeps in our bed right in between Alex and I. I'm not sure why. Maybe because it's warm? Or that she can feel us both next to her? Or that the pacifier (we call it a Soothie) retrieval system (aka Mom grabbing it and putting it in her mouth) is much faster than in the crib? I'm thinking perhaps all of the above. I read a blog comment the other day where this mom was talking about co-sleeping. She said she didn't co-sleep as some political, hippie kind of philosophy. She said she co-sleeps because she doesn't want to get up at dark o'clock to find a pacifier. Yep. That would be me.

Well, New Year's is right around the corner. I hope that 2013 leaves you in good health and that 2014 finds you safe and loved. Happy New Year!

Taking Christmas Pictures is a Serious Business

This is the picture that I chose for our Christmas card this year.

This is the picture I WANTED to use for our Christmas card this year.

Or maybe it was this one...

Or this one...

Or maybe this one...

Either way, Grace was not in the mood at all to take pictures that day. I managed to get some half-hearted smiles out of her. I tried singing and crunching water bottles and making funny noises. Nope. Apparently she's smarter than that. This kid can be down-right serious when she wants to be. She doesn't fall for no ordinary shenanigans. You'd better be talented in whatever tom-foolery you're about to present if you want a genuine smile to happen. 

Tomorrow is Christmas day and our Christmas wish to you is that your day is filled with joy, happiness, peace, and love. Ooh.... and lots of presents! :)

Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today Grace turned 7 months old. Sometimes it's hard to believe that a mere 7 months ago she could hardly hold up her head and talked in her sleep.

She's happy most of the time. Unless she hungry. Or bored. Or tired. Or bored.

Who's #1?!

I love her little laugh and that she has to curl her toes when she's sitting up.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving for all my American friends and family. This year we're preparing a proper Thanksgiving feast. I found a recipe for brined turkey and decided to try it out to see if it makes a difference. Also, I've always stuffed the turkey with a bread stuffing but this year I'm going to stuff it with aromatics (apple, onion, cinnamon stick, fresh thyme, sage, and rosemary). I'm also making green bean casserole, broccoli casserole, mashed sweet potatoes, cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce, turkey gravy, pumpkin bread pudding, and apple pie. I have it all timed out so that everything will be ready at the same time. I'm hoping it works. I made the desserts today and I've already baked the sweet potatoes and the casseroles are ready for the last minute touches before they go into the oven after the turkey comes out. I'm way ahead of the curve this year and I'm hoping it pays off.

Thanksgiving isn't just about the food. A few years ago I posted the 30 things that I was thankful for. Although I'm still thankful for every thing on that old list, some of them now seem a little superficial. Maybe I was trying to be creative and fill the space. Or maybe I truly meant it. Maybe both. It was easy to list the materialistic things when I thought that a family was never going to be in my near future. God has changed all that, of course, when he gave me his free gift-Grace. This Thanksgiving that word has two meanings now. The first, is his grace that I have been forgiven. Completely. And can now stand in his presence without fear and give glory to his name. The second, is my daughter. She is an unbelievably beautiful surprise that has allowed hope and healing to fill my heart once again.

May you have a wonderfully blessed Thanksgiving!

Our 14/7 Anniversary

7 years ago I was young 

and free 

and as independent as one could ever hope to be.

So I want to thank you

for showing up to the church

and saying, "I Do"

and changing my life for the better.