Bye Bye bumper....

Well Gracie has learned to use the bumper as leverage to get a little closer to getting OUT of her crib! GREAT!!! This is a pic her pushing the bumper down. When I went into the room I caught her with her hands holding onto the top rail! How in the heck? I guess its time to lower the crib too! Not quite sure why they make bumpers anyhow since by time they can roll around you usually need to get it out of there anyway. She is getting so big so fast!!
(Notice Sammie is very interested too... she can see Gracie now.)

Bath time fun...

Here is Gracie posing for the camera! What is that face??

Visiting Family!

This week my cousins (Gracie's first cousins once removed... took us a while to figure it out!) Britney and Kaila (they were in my wedding) came through Dallas on their way back Indiana to go to school. Britney (right) is a sophmore at Purdue and Kaila (left) will be a senior in high school. Aren't they so cute. I need them to take me shopping so I look that cute :)
Anyway, they just loved Grace! They hugged and kissed on her all day and Grace ate it up! She just loved all the attention.

Lake day

We went to the lake yesterday with 6 of our friends. We mainly just hung out drinking beer and sangria (WOW was it strong!). We just had a blast, but of course I forgot my camera. I would have loved to have some pics of Hailey and Rachel doing a face plant when they flew off the tube while we were pulling them! While we had fun playing at the lake Gracie stayed at home with the babysitter and Molly (Hailey's daughter).

Gracie's new favorite toy...

Not sure if you can tell by the pic... but she has the BIGGEST smile on her face! She loves the computer!

TURBO JAM!!!

Well I have a few lingering pounds (7 to be exact!!) of baby fat that I am determined to get rid of. And since I live in the smallest little town we don't have any work out places with a nursery, darn it, so I ordered the Turbo Jam DVDs! I should be getting them anyday. So anyway, I decided to post this so all you out there can hold me accountable. My goal is to do it at least 3 times a week. So I will give you an update in about a week once I try it out! Hopefully in no time I will be back to looking like this... (this is me on my honeymoon... several pounds less than I am now!)

She loves her new sippy cup!

Well we decided to try out the sippy cup today. Honestly, I didn't think she would like it very much since she doesn't really like the bottle very much, but she loved it. It was like she knew exactly what to do with it. She grabbed the handles and brought it right to her mouth. She is just a natural. I'm sort of hoping that when I decide to wean her that maybe we will just wean straight to the cup since she doesn't really like the bottle. We just have to see how it goes. Here are a couple pics of her with her cup. (We did have to lay her back so she would get the water out!)

Sitting pretty

Gracie is learning how to sit better... she can do for a couple minutes now! Here is a cute pic from the other day.

Gracie's first Meme

Travis tagged Grace for her very first meme.

3 Things That Scare Me
Sammie barking when I'm sleeping!
When the phone rings while eating (more startling than a scare)
When my mom gets me out of my car seat and I'm sleeping

3 People That Make Me Laugh
Of course mommy and daddy and usually Sammie

3 Things I Love
Doing chores with mommy while in the Baby Bjorn
Looking at myself in the mirror... I'm cute!
Trying to get the candle that is my bathroom. Mommy wont let me have it!

3 Things I Hate
Car seat... slowly getting better though
Taking medicine! Boy is that a chore for momma.
Getting out of the bath.

3 Things I Don't Understand
Why Sammie (my puppy) always wants to smell me.
Why my mom keeps putting this shinny thing near me and says "smile". Whatever that means.
Why my mom and dad keep trying to shovel that nasty cereal in my mouth. Will they ever learn!

3 Things On My Floor
My Baby Einstein play mat
My clothes... mommy did laundry today
Sammie... she is just hangin out next to me

3 Things I am Doing Right Now
Finally napping... so relaxing, dreaming and coughing every once in a while!


3 Things I Can Do
Roll over
Sort of sit independently
Put anything near me in my mouth

3 Ways to Describe My Personality
Happy
Social
Fearless

3 Things I Cannot Do
Crawl
Eat food (mommy and daddys food looks so yummy)
Grab Sammie... she looks so soft!

3 Things I Think You Should Listen To
Baby Einstein
the vaccum cleaner
the mobile in my room

3 Things I Think You Should Never Listen To
Anything that will take your attention away from me

3 Absolute Favorite Foods
Boob
Boob
Boob

3 Things I'd Like to Learn
How to type on the keyboard, I am watching Momma do it and it looks FUN!
Crawl... want to get that puppy
Mommy wants me to learn to eat food

3 Beverages I Drink Regularly
See "Favorite Foods"

3 Shows I Watch
I've only watched Baby Einstein. I love it!

She's sick... (not teething)

Well Gracie was up again last night and her cough was really getting pretty bad and she had a fever again this morning so I decided to take her to the doctor. We went to our new pediatrian (who I LOVE!) and after checking her out said she has an upper respiratory infection and an ear infection... which he said she probably got from someone else. So who is it?? Adam and I haven't gotten sick or anything, but maybe it was someone this weekend (we were around tons of people this weekend... visiting family and friends). Hopefully she will feel better soon once this medicine starts working! Oh and doctor did say she isn't teething... he could see the little tooth beds, but he said they probably wont make an appearance for a month or two! Can't wait!

Teething...maybe?!

Gracie is feeling pretty rotten today! She has run a low grade fever for 2 days now (99-100), which Tylenol and Motrin help a bit, she has been super fussy, wants to chew/teeth on anything, wont let me put her down (she is napping right now) and really hasn't napped well yesterday or today and woke up twice last night! And today I heard her coughing a bit and she has a snotty nose! So maybe its a cold... or is it teething. I can feel 2 little lumps on her gums so I think teething... but whats up with this cough. I will probably call the pediatrican if she still has a fever tomorrow. What do you think? My friend's baby, Travis, is teething too and seems to have the same symptoms. I guess I wont know until I see those teeth poke through! Poor baby! Well I'm off to try to get some stuff done around here while she naps (which probably wont last long!).

Strawberry Lemonade!

By way of background, I normally order water when we go out to dinner. I didn't this night b/c the water in Dallas tasted funny b/c the Lake is turning over (that is a whole different story though....)

So anyway, on Saturday night I was in Dallas visiting famliy and friends. I went to dinner with some high school friends (Brian, Seth, his wife Tiffany, Ricky, his wife, and Colleen) and I also brought Gracie along. The last few weeks Gracie has started to grab things within her reach, so of course I had all the stuff on the table far enough away so that she couldn't grab it, or so I thought! Well you guessed it... Gracie got a hold of my Strawberry Lemonade (which was nice and full... I had just gotten a refill!) and the next thing I knew it was in my lap... yup... all over me! Somehow the lemonade only got on Gracie's toes! And as if it couldn't get worse, Tiffany snapped a picture. So for your viewing plessure here is a pic of me. And yes it was before we even got our meal... so I had to sit in my cold, wet, sticky and staining pants for about 45 minutes. If I would have ordered the water maybe I would have just been wet and not sticky... oh and I got the pink out of my pants... I was worried about the strawberry seeds! Anyway, it was a great evening!! :)

Trying to beat the heat...

Sorry there haven't been a whole lot of posts lately... not really a whole lot to report on as here in OK we are just trying to beat the heat. I was shocked to learn that it got to 108 yesterday where we live! Adam has been very busy with work... he has had to go in every night this week b/c of stuff they have to do to beat this heat. Some parts of his plant are 90+ degrees, thankfully Adam's office is in much cooler. And of course I keep hounding him to drink water!! Gracie and I have been hybernating in the house. We have gone out to do all the necessary things... you know... grocery shop, etc, but mainly we have been cleaning house, doing laundry, yada yada. This weekend we are heading to Dallas yet again to hang out with some family and friends. So gotta go pack! Just wanted to say a quick hello and hope that everyone else is staying cool!

a new look...

Thanks to Lindsay who is a blogger pro... I have a new look. Thanks Lindsay!

breastfeeding...

How long is too long? I am still nursing and I am totally fine with it and happy to be doing it. But how long is too long? I keep thinking of when I will wean Gracie and I just simply can't decide. It is just so easy now (it was pretty hard at the beginning) and of course it is saving us money and I really do enjoy it. I am thinking about going back to work part-time and am not sure if I want to pump or just wean her before then. Anyway, just wanted to hear your thoughts.

Wedding Weekend

This weekend was our good friend's wedding... John and Sara. Adam and I both went to college with John and Adam lived with John for a couple years. Gracie joined us for the rehersal dinner and did great until it was her bedtime and she got a bit cranky. Adam and I took turns walking her outside until it was over (about an hour!)... but it was worth it...none of our college friends have had the opportunity to meet Gracie so it was great to show her off! We are such stinkin' proud parents. Then on Saturday we got a babysitter because we knew it would be a long day. My grandmother (Gracie's great grandmother) watched Gracie practically the whole day from 10am to 7:30pm. This was the longest I've been away from Grace but I think I did pretty good and I think she did too, but was happy to see me again. It was nice to participate in adult conversation and I even got to go shopping for a couple hours before the wedding while Adam took pictures, etc (he was in the wedding). Anyway, here are a few pics from the wedding.

All the guys... all 6 of them lived together at aTm.

John, Sara, Adam and I

5 Months Today!

Time sure does fly. I can't believe that Gracie has been apart of our lives for 5 short months.

This is what Gracie is up to these days:
1. She has learned to do this funny thing with her lips and ends up spitting on us!
2. She sucks on her two middle fingers to fall asleep and rarely takes a pacifier.
3. She is practically sitting up on her own and does sit up with help in her bathtub now!
4. She sleeps from 8PM to 6-7AM every night and usually takes 2-3 naps (sometimes better than others).
5. Is starting to teeth!!... no fun!

We give her stats update next month after her 6 month appointment!

Play Date

My friend, Melanie, and her daughter, Sophia came over to visit. Sophie is 1 day older than Grace! The two girls have finally noticed on another. Grace just wanted to grab her hands and suck on them. Here are the girls playing on the floor.

Mema Visited...

Adam's mom, AKA Mema, came to visit Gracie for the day. She took Grace, Adam and I to out to lunch and dinner and we really just hung out. She also brought Gracie a new outfit that is adorable and two little outfits they got from China that will fit when she is a big girl. Mema also babysat Grace while I went out to get pampered... got my hair done, my eyebrows waxed, and got a manicure and pedicure. It was nice to get out and do something for myself and for Gracie to be able to spend some time with her Mema. Anyway, here is an adorable pic of Grace and her Mema.

Learning to sit and stand...

She is nearly doing it! She will sit for approximately .25 seconds then crash onto the floor :)
Here is a picture of her sittin' pretty.
Sorry we haven't had more updates lately... its been busy!

She has been standing with help for quite a while but I love this new pic of Gracie and I! Isn't her outfit cute... thanks to Lindsay!

Happy 4th of July!

Well one day late, but Happy July 4th!

We had a nice day of hanging around the pool at my parents house. Gracie enjoyed her new floatie and loved trying to eat the water fountain (see pics below!)... but it was really just a lazy day.

Hope everyone had a great day!

A day at the lake

Today our friends, Gavin and Lindsay, invited us to Lake Texoma to enjoy their new boat. So Adam, Grace and I packed up and headed to the lake. Gracie enjoyed the wind blowing through her hair so much that she slept most of the time. She took a quick dip in the water, but mostly just enjoyed watching everyone. Unfortunatly Lindsay and Gavin's little boy, Travis (who is 2 weeks younger than Gracie) was feeling a bit under the weather... teething!! No fun!! Anyway, both Lindsay and I forgot our cameras so no pics, but I will be sure to get pictures of their beautiful boat next time (hopefully they will invite us again!). Days like today sort of makes Adam and I want a boat... especially since it only took us 20 minutes to get to their boat slip. We can dream right :)

I was tagged...

Lacy TAGGED me!

Instructions:1. Go to Wikipedia.2. In the Search box, type your birth month and day (but not year).3. List three events that happened on your birthday.4. List two important birthdays and one interesting death.5. One holiday or observance (if any).

Events...
1.1851-Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick is published in the U.S.
2.1969-Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 12, the second manned mission to the surface on the Moon.
3.2002- The US House of Reps votes not to create an independent commission to investigate the September 11 attacks.

Birthdays...
1. 1840- Claude Monet, French painter
2. 1948- Charles, Prince of Wales

Deaths...
1. 1915- Booker T. Washington, American inventor, educator, and author

Holiday...
1. United States - National Children's Book week begins

Melanee: Tag You're it or anyone interested in doing this for fun!

Oh the joy of motherhood...

When I think back at the last 4 1/2 months I am completly and utterly thankful for the gift that God has given Adam and I. But some days I dream just to stay clean!!! Yesterday Gracie was calmly sitting on my lap and I felt a warm puddle forming so I lifted Grace up to find poop all over me. If you have ever seen a breastfed baby's poop you will know that it is quite runny and yellow and just really pretty grose. As if it couldn't worse, this morning I was lifting Grace above my head playing airplane and yup... I got thrown up on. I just started laughing so hard and Grace just smiled like as if she was saying, "Gotcha mamma". So that means later today I need to laundry... the neverending pile of laundry. Watch out Oxi Clean here I come!!

Oh the joy of motherhood. :)

Gracie's toe fetish...

My daughter is so funny! She has been pulling at her feet for a while now... well lately its all she wants. If she can't get her feet into her mouth she gets pretty upset and frustrated, but it is so cute! Here is a picture of Grace sucking on her feet while sleeping... yes you heard right... WHILE SLEEPING! Either I am going to have a gymnast on my hands or some weird exotic dancer. Hopefully a gymnast! :)

Back from Ohio...

Well we are back from our 12 day adventure in Ohio! Adam had to go to Columbus and Toledo, OH for work and we have friends (Rob, Kelly, thier daughter Hannah and Kelly's 24 week pregnant belly with Baby Conner inside!) that live in Toledo so Grace and I decided to go along. Rob worked with Adam at Cardinal for a couple years before they moved back home to be closer to their families. We also lived in the same apartment complex as them when we first moved up here so we hung out a lot.

Anyway, the trip went really well and we had a blast with the kiddos. Hannah turns one this Saturday and she is into everything! We even caught her fishing in the toliet at one point!! They had Hannah's first birthday party last weekend while we were there and we had a lot of fun... see below a pic of Hannah eating her own cake! We went to a Toledo Mud Hens game (their minor league baseball team), ate at a Hungarian Restuarant called Tony Pacos where we had Chili Dogs and Paprikas (prononced Papikash). You would know it if you have ever been to Toledo. We also went to Lake Erie and enjoyed the wonderfully cool 70 degree weather and ate outside at a great Seafood restuarant! We got to see another friend that Adam and Rob worked with, Emily! She lives in Cleveland so she drove over for a couple nights to see us! We also helped Rob and Kelly move into their very first home (they have been building a house... it is beautiful... I just wish I had their basement!) Grace also did great on the plane both ways. She slept and ate most of the time. I think the plane makes her sleepy with all the noise and it just soothed her right to sleep. She only got fussy when we were decending back into Dallas but it only lasted a few minutes (THANKFULLY!).

Well I better run... I have lots to do... unpack, laundry, grocery shop! I guess I need a vacation from my vacation! :)

Here are some pics of our trip!

Adam and Grace sleeping on the plane... how cute!!

This is Rob, Kelly and Hannah on the left and our friend Emily on the right.

Hannah enjoying her birthday cake.... yummy!!

Hannah and Grace in the double stroller... this will be used more once baby Conner is here.


Hannah crawling over Grace!

In OHIO

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are in Ohio right now visiting friends, so I probably wont make an update for a while. We get back to OK on Tuesday the 27th! Look for an update after that! Have a great week.
Lisa, Adam and Grace

4 months old... and growing!

My brave girl had her 4 month old shots yesterday. To my suprise she didn't cry after the first shot, in fact she was laughing, but that changed when they gave her the second and third shots. However she didn't cry near as long and hard as she did at her 2 month shot appointment.

Grace is a healthy little girl. She weighed in at 14 pounds and 10 ounces and was 26 inches long (which puts her in the 75 percentile for other 4 month olds)! So she has gained 6 pounds and grown 4 inches since she was born... my little weed!

Now at 4 months old this is what my baby girl is doing:
1. Rolling from her back to belly and belly to back pretty frequently
2. Laughing out loud... which I love
3. Sleeping anywhere from 10-12 hours at night and taking 2 good naps a day
4. Wearing 3-6 month old clothes (but some of them are getting tight in the rise...my long girl)
5. Grasping anything near her and putting it in her mouth (toys, hands, stuff that is mommy's and daddy's!)
6. Trying to crawl...she will pull her back legs up like she is trying to crawl
7. Loves the bath and the pool... she is working on her tan with mommy
8. Has tried rice cereal and isn't too sure of it (see pic below!)
9. Tries to get her toes in her mouth all the time... she already pulls her socks daily so I've given up on them (see pic below)
10. Looks more and more like her daddy every day, but has mommy's blue eyes!
**********
Here are a couple recent pics of Gracie! Enjoy!

Notice only 1 sock! :)

1st taste of rice cereal... "yuck mom... give me the boob"

Yummy... gummy worms!

I think Grace is ready for food... she was really wanting Adam's gummy worms. When we tried to take the bag out of her hands she wasn't too happy! Gracie goes to her 4 month appointment tomorrow and we are going to ask the doctor about starting cereal! She is growing up!

3 YEARS!

Today Adam & I have been married 3 wonderful years. I can't believe how time flies. Our first date was 5 years and 9 months ago (Sept. 7, 2000). We got engaged after 2 years of dating (Sept. 20, 2002) and married 9 months later.

After 2 years and 3 days of marriage (June 10, 2005) we found out that we were pregnant! And after 2 years and 8 months of marriage we had a beautiful baby girl.

What a world wind of blessings. Adam & I have been so lucky to be surrounded by great friends and family. We are truly blessed. Here is a photo of Adam & I at our wedding 3 short years ago.

Play day!

This is Molly (8 months) and Gracie (3.5 months) hangin' out with her new toy. The girls are practically the same size now!Gracie just hangin' around the house! :)
She got a jumper that hangs from the door and she loves it! Although she doesn't really jump yet, she enjoyed just hanging out. Oh and she couldn't figure out how to get her hands out.

Daddy and Gracie!

Isn't this cute. Daddy and Gracie just hanging out talking. I am very lucky to have such a wonderful husband that loves his daughter so much. It just reminds me why I fell in love with him in the first place.

Professional pics

We got some pictures taken this week of Gracie at the Picture People... they did a great job. Here are the 2 that I loved the most!

Recipe Wednesday

Tortilla Rollups (this is a great appetizer of just fun snack for a party)

Ingredients:
12 large burrito size tortillas
1 tub of cream cheese (16 oz. I believe)
1 small jar of salsa (8 oz.)

Directions:
Scoop all cream cheese into a medium size bowl.
Slowly pour salsa into bowl while stirring.
I normally only use about 3/4 of the jar of salsa.
You just want it to be a toothpaste consistancy.
Once you get all the lumps out, spread the mixture onto a tortilla.
Roll the tortillas up.
Refridgerate for at least 1 hour.
Cut into bite size pieces and serve.
Enjoy!

Good book

If you like to read you have to read this book.

Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson

This book is a must read for anyone. It is sort of a tear jerker, but it was great. Not to give to too much away, its about a man, the love of his family, and how things can change so quickly. For me it was hard to read parts of it (especially being a new mom), but it just makes you realize what blessing we have. Anyway, I have it if anyone would like to have it next. I also heard there was a sequel to it, but not sure... does anyone know??

Memorial Day weekend

We had a fun weekend... here is a recap!

Friday: We just hung out around the house on Friday night. We went out for ice cream and just drove around looking at houses (something Adam and I like to do... not that we are looking to move!). Gracie actually learned to roll over really well. She had rolled from her tummy to her back, but now she is rolling from her back to her tummy! She loves being on her tummy and we have finally given in and are now letting her sleep on her tummy. Here are some pictures of her rolling!



Saturday:
We went out to the lake with our good friends, Joey and Hailey! Grace had a blast. I wasn't sure how she would do, but she seemed to like it. Their boat has a nice canopy so the girls (their daughter, Molly came too) just hung out under there most the day. Of course we still put sunblock on them 3 times while we were out there. Of course Adam and I were so worried about her getting sun we forgot to put sunblock on our backs and we got a little toasty. We also tried to put Grace in the water to see if she liked it. She loves her baths... but the lake water was a bit cold so she didn't last long! That night we were so beat from the day we just order Chili's to go and went to bed early! Grace must have been really tuckered out... she slept till nearly 9 on Sunday morning (12 hours!) Here are a couple pictures of Grace hanging out at the lake. It's she adorable in her swimsuit!

Sunday:
We had visitors to Durant! My brother-in-law, Todd, his wife, Tricia, and her brother, Todd and his wife Sara and thier son Andrew (did you follow that!!) came up to Oklahoma to say hi. We went to eat at the only place in town, Chilis (yes we had just eaten that they night before, oh well). It was nice to see them. Todd and Tricia live in Austin so we only see them every couple months.

Then Sunday night we got a babysitter! Adam and I were in need of some alone time, so we got our first "real" babysitter. My mom has watched Grace before, but not really anyone else. We got a college girl that use to work in Adam's office. She was great and it was nice to get out. We went to dinner in Sherman and went to see The DaVinci Code. It was great, I'm just gonna have to go see it a couple more times to catch everything! I only called home once to check on my baby... although I wanted to call like 10 times!

Monday: Haven't done much today (still pretty early), but planning to head to Walmart and Big Lots in search of things I probably don't "need". We are also having some friends over for dinner tonight for burgers... gotta end the weekend the right way! Beer and Burgers! :)

Hope everyeone had a great Memorial day weekend... and of course don't forget what this day is all about... Remember those whose lost their lives for us!

American Idol - TAYLOR!

My favorite American Idol, Taylor, took the gold last night! WOO HOO!!

Just wanted to let all my Dallas friends know that the American Idols Live Tour 2006 is coming to the Nokia Theatre in Grand Praire, TX on September 7th & 8th. Ticket sales start today at 10 AM and the tickets are a small fortune ranging from $48.50-$62.50. If anyone is interested in going let me know and maybe we can get a group together... although we may be the oldest ones there!

Recipe Wednesday

I have decided to make Wednesday Recipe day... so if you are looking for something to cook for dinner or are needing a great desert check here and maybe I can inspire you to cook! Also, if you know of a good recipe let me know and I will post it. ENJOY!

Sausage Quesadillas

Ingredients:
Tortillas (12)
Mixed grated cheese
Bell Peppers (2 - any color)
Italian Sausage (4-5 links)
Cherry Tomatoes (one pack)
1 large onion
olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
* You will also need an outdoor grill.

Directions:
1. Topping: Cut cherry tomatoes in half and cut onion into bite size peices and soak in balsamic vinegar and olive oil. (You will want to put 2 parts balsamic to 1 part olive oil).
**Put this to the side till finished**
2. Cut and grill bell peppers till slightly crunchy.
3. Grill italian sausage (done completely) and then cut into bite size peices.
4. Put olive oil on one side of tortilla. Put cheese, sausage and peppers on tortilla. Top with a second tortilla and a little olive oil.
5. Grill the quesadilla until cheese is melted.
6. Cut into 4's and top with the balsamic w/ tomatoes and onion mixture!

This is super yummy! Great for about 4 people or if you want leftovers it reheats nicely!

SPANX!

If you haven't heard of Spanx you have been missing out. These "bodyshapers" came to the rescue for me and my baby fat. They are basically panty hose for your body. They smoothe and suck in all your bumps and lumps... and you can still breathe. If you haven't heard of them check them out at www.spanx.com. They are totally worth every penny!

The gang

Gracie (13 wks) hanging out with her buds Travis (11 wks) and Katy (28 wks).

It took practically 20 pictures to get all the babies to cooperate! Of course we couldn't get any one of them to smile and look at the camera at the same time, but they are all still so cute! I just can't believe how quickly they are all growing.

Cutie Pie!

Okay so I know she is my daughter, but isn't she cute!

a late Mother's Day fun reading...

IF YOU GIVE A MOM A MUFFIN
If you've ever read the "If you give a Mouse a Cookie" saga, you'll love this!

Happy Mother's Day!

If you give a Mom a muffin,
She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
She'll pour herself some.
The coffee will get spilled by her three year old.
She'll wipe it up.
Wiping the floor, she will find some dirty socks.
She'll remember she has to do some laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She'll trip over some snow boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan dinnerfor tonight.
She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She will look for her cookbook (101 Things to Make with a Pound ofHamburger).
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill which is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook.
The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two yearold.
She'll smell something funny.
She'll change the two year old.
While she is changing the two year old the phone will ring.
Her four year old will answer it and hang up.
She remembers that she wants to phone a friend to come for coffee on Friday.
Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
She will pour herself some.
And chances are......
If she has a cup of coffee......
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

Gracie is 3 months!

I know... time sure does fly! Grace had to go to the doctor last Friday b/c she was a little under the weather (but we got some antiobotics to knock it out)... anyway she weighted in at 13 pounds even and was 25 1/4 inches long. I can't believe she has grown 4 inches and gained 4 pounds since she was born. She is sleeping well at night(normally 7-8 hours), but she is the queen of cat napping during the day. She loves to go on walks and look at herself in the mirror! It is just so cool to see how eat day is a new discovery. It is so amazing to be a MOM! :)

The 4 Meme

I got from a friend and thought it was fun! Enjoy.

Four Jobs You've Had:
1. Daycare center assistant teacher
2. Sales Associate at Inspirations (sold A&M tshirts)
3. Tour guide at A&M
4. HR Benefits Administrator (first "real" job)

Four Places You've Lived:
1. Plano, TX (2nd grade till HS graduation)
2. College Station, TX (5 different places)
3. Sherman, TX (6 months - just temporary)
4. Oklahoma - where we currently live

Four Vacations You've Taken:
1. Colorado - skiing ever since I was 4
2. Galveston - practically every summer since I was a baby
3. Cruise to Caribbean (2 times)
4. Seattle - last fall... our last trip w/o kids :)

Four Vehicles You've Owned:
1. Mitsubishi Eclipse
2. Honda Accord
... that's it... I guess I sort of own Adam's truck

Now - Four Blogs You've Visited & Want to Tag:
Whoever happens to stop by with the time...

My morning Sunshine!

This is why it's so easy to get out of the bed in the morning!

A new look in progress

Okay so I think my old blog was a little hard to read so I thought the green would be easier on the eye! I am planning to spend some time on the blog and get it looking good... one of these days! :)

Good and EASY recipe

Southwestern Chicken (to be cooked in the crock pot)...

Ingredients:
*2 cans whole kernal corn (drained)
*1 can black beans (drained)
*1 16oz. jar of chunky salsa, divided
*4-5 chicken breasts (thawed and uncooked)
*1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
*cooked white rice

Directions:
Combine corn, black beans and 1/2 cup salsa in crock pot. Top with chicken. Pour remaining salsa over chicken. Cover and cook on high 3-4 hours or low 7-8 hours or until meat juices run clear. Sprinkle with cheese and cover until cheese is melted. Serve over rice. * I use medium salsa... normally I don't like spicy foods, however mild salsa was a little bland. ENJOY!

Stay at Home Mom = Domestic Engineer

I found this on Salary.com and thought it was pretty interesting.

"If paid, a stay at home mom would earn $134,121 annually. Working moms would earn $85,876 annually for the "mom job" portion of their work, in addition to their actual "work job" salary."

A stay at home moms job desription:
"Housekeeper, teacher, cook, computer operator, laundry machine operator, janitor, facilities manager, driver, CEO, pyschologist...." plus all the other little jobs that don't fit in these categories.

So now the question is which is better?? I think it totally depends on your little family. For Adam and I this was a tough decision (probably harder for me). I loved my job.. a lot! In fact I miss it a lot too. And when I was up there last week just saying hi to everyone my old boss asked if I wanted to come back. VERY tempting. However, after a lot of thought, I'm simply not ready. Maybe at some point. But I think for those that do work it doesn't make them any worse or better... we just all have to do what is right for our family. And I do thank God daily for the gift of letting me stay home with my baby. It is just such an amazing gift.

Balding Baby

Poor girl... she is already needing to do "the comb over". She is mainly just loosing her hair where she sleeps, but it seems to be getting thinner all over. Maybe it will come back in blonde... or maybe not.

Flexibility

Adam is encouraging Grace to suck on her big toe... she sure is flexible!
Maybe she will be a dancer or a cheerleader??!!

Date Night!

Last night my mom came up to our house to give Adam & I a break! We went to dinner and a movie and it was wonderful. Of course I worried like crazy and called 3 times. But I thought that was pretty good. Grace took 2 bottles from my mom great (about 3-4 ounces each)... and she only tried to eat my mom a couple times :)

Visitors

Katy & Andy with Grace

Ash, me and Grace

Becoming a mom

This is a great early Mother's Day message... 

We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter
casually mentions that she and her husband are
thinking of "starting a family." "We're taking a
survey," she says half-joking. "Do you think I
should have a baby?"

"It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping
my tone neutral.

"I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on
weekends, no more spontaneous vacations."

But that is not what I meant at all.  I look at my
daughter, trying to decide what to tell her.  I want
her to know what she will never learn in childbirth
classes.  I want to tell her that the physical
wounds of child bearing will heal, but becoming a
mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw
that she will forever be vulnerable.

I consider warning her that she will never again
read a newspaper without asking, "What if that had
been MY child?" That every plane crash, every house
fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of
starving children, she will wonder if anything could
be worse than watching your child die.

I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish
suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she
is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the
primitive level of a bear protecting her cub.

That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop
a soufflî`r her best crystal without a moments
hesitation.

I feel that I should warn her that no matter how
many years she has invested in her career, she will
be professionally derailed by motherhood.

She might arrange for childcare, but one day she
will be going into an important business meeting and
she will think of her baby's sweet smell.  She will
have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from
running home, just to make sure her baby is all
right.

I want my daughter to know that every day decisions
will no longer be routine. That a five year old
boy's desire to go to the  men's room rather than
the women's at McDonald's will become a major
dilemma.  That right there, in the midst of
clattering trays and screaming children, issues of
independence and gender identity will be weighed
against the prospect that a child molester may be
lurking in that restroom.

However decisive she may be at the office, she will
second-guess herself constantly as a mother.

Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure
her that eventually she will shed the pounds of
pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about
herself. That her life, now so important, will be of
less value to her once she has a child. That she
would give up in a moment to save her offspring, but
will also begin to hope for more years, not to
accomplish  her own dreams, but to watch her child
accomplish theirs.

I want her to know that a caesarean scar or shiny
stretch marks will become badges of honor.  My
daughter's relationship with her husband will
change, but not in the way she thinks. I wish she
could understand how much more you can love a man
who is careful to powder the baby or who never
hesitates to play with his child. I think she should
know that she will fall in love with him again for
reasons she would now find very unromantic.

I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will
feel with women throughout history who have tried to
stop war, prejudice and drunk driving.

I hope she will understand why I can think
rationally about most issues, but become temporarily
insane when I discuss the threat of nuclear war to
my children's future.

I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration
of seeing your child learn to ride a bike.

I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby
who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the
first time.

I want her to taste the joy that is so real it
actually hurts.

My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that
tears have formed in my eyes.

"You'll never regret it," I finally say. Then I
reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's
hand and offered a silent prayer for her, and for
me, and for all the mere mortal women who stumble
their way into this most wonderful of callings.

Success!

She did it! Grace took 5 ounces of breastmilk in a bottle from Adam. We actually got her to take it from one of our Avent bottles (thank you Lindsay for letting us borrow the Dr. Brown bottle). And she is still doing fine nursing from me. I would like to nurse for at least 6 months... but just want her to have a bottle so Adam and I can get out on occasion! :) Nursing her has just gotten so easy and I really enjoy it. Hopefully she will continue to do this well. Thanks for the advice everyone!

Gracie's new discoveries

Who's that pretty girl in the mirror?

Is that MY foot?

Bottle Drama

Okay so I know this is completely my fault...

Since I am nursing we didn't indroduce the bottle until Gracie was 4 weeks old. We had a few minor problems with nipple confusion so we waited a couple more weeks till she was 6 weeks old. She took an Avent bottle this time with no problem. We gave it to her a few times and it went well. So we waited a few weeks (not really intentially, but it is just so easy to nurse her since its always warm and ready to go, we have no mess with bottles, dethawing frozen milk, etc). So last week we tried to give her a bottle and she wouldn't have it! GREAT! So for the last week we have given a bottle to her every night with a failed attempt. I thought maybe we should change out the nipple size, so I went to a 2 in the Avent bottles. We got her to take 1.5 ounces... needless to say I'm so frustrated. I would like to spend more than 2 hours away from my daughter. Don't get me wrong, I love having her and I love nursing, but I need just a night or an afternoon away from her. So my question is what should I do? I'm not sure that it is the bottle. Sshould I let her cry until she is so hungry that she eats it? Should I try another bottle... I've heard Dr. Brown is good? Any sugguestions please let me know!

I am actually suppose to be going to eat at III Forks in Dallas on May 13th with Adam's work so I will be gone from 4 in the afternoon till probably around midnight. I am not planning on missing it so I need her to take a bottle by then. HELP!

Grocery Store Fun

So I've been to Wal-Mart several times now with Gracie... oh about once a week. It normally takes me an hour to shop. Well Gracie was nicely snoozing like she normally does. She has been awake before but she normally just looks around and takes in all the sites (interesting people at the Durant Wal-Mart), but as I was pulling into the check out line Gracie started crying. So of course I gave her the pacifier which she spit out (like 10 times)! She was awake and hungry!! She was crying so hard and the poor cashier was trying to hurry. Then Gracie let out a fart (which I later found out was a poo)... needless to say she was quiet after that. Thank goodness only the cashier heard it, but I was so embarrassed. I know this is just the beginning of all the times I am going to get embarrassed, but I guess I just thought it would be when she was a little bit older like 2. Oh the joy of being a mom! :)