Christmas Morning

Gracie had her first Christmas and seemed to enjoy it, despite the fact that she was having some serious teething pain. Her big gift from Santa was a Fisher-Price kitchen. (Santa apparently found that same kitchen on sale yesterday at Wal-Mart for $30 less than he originally paid for it. He is really hating the fact that he can't find his receipt!) Anyway, Gracie was actually more interested in the toys than in the wrapping paper, although she was particularly fascinated with the bows and ribbons on the presents.

We feel so blessed to have such a happy healthy, little girl and that the Lord provided money for Christmas presents during these tough financial times! :-)

Peek A Boo

Gracie was playing on the floor with her blanket and decided to play a game of Peek-A-Boo with us. She really got a kick out of it.

Ho, Ho, Ho

Gracie had her nine-month check up last week. She weighs 19 lbs 5 oz (which is off the charts) and is 29 inches long (which is 90th percentile). Everything else looks good. She is still not crawling yet, but she is rolling all over the place. We are so thankful that God has given us such a happy healthy baby.

I couldn't resist putting my Santa hat on Gracie and getting a few shots...

Random Pics

Here are some random pics from the past month (including Thanksgiving). Gracie has been teething and there were very few days when she was feeling good or didn't have a nasty drool rash. Praise the Lord, though, her 2 bottom teeth have just poked through! My sweet little baby is growing up!

Feedin' Time

Wow, I didn't realize that it has been a month since my last post. Everything has been so hectic with the holidays and everyone being sick. I'll try to make up for the previous lack of posting.

So, I let Gracie feed herself a couple of weeks ago. It was messy, but she actually did a pretty good job. Eventually she abandoned the spoon and just started licking the food out of the container. She seemed to enjoy it, though.

Barrel of Laughs

Gracie has starting doing this really weird laugh...I don't know what else to say about this one.

Trick or Treat!

Gracie was a little Indian this Halloween. We said she was Pocahontas (ok, a white, bald Pocahontas). Anyway, she did really well with the costume, even the headband. I love the little feather sticking up. She loved chewing on the tassels. We first visited her cousins and had to get a group photo with Batman, Tinkerbell, and the UGA cheerleader.

Behind the Wheel

This picture is so cute, but I should probably explain the context. We were in the car at the mall parking lot. I had just finished feeding Gracie. John was holding her while I was getting things together in the diaper bag. I looked up and saw this. She really got a kick out of the steering wheel.

Hitting the Books

Gracie loves to have books read to her. Her favorite, by far, is Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? She gets so excited when I read it. I think she looks so cute turning the pages!

Fun in the Park

The weather was so nice today, we hung out in the park with some friends. Gracie had to warm up to the swings, but eventually she really enjoyed them. She spent most of her time watching the other kids run around. I can't wait until she can run around with them.

Bananas!!

Gracie's favorite food is bananas. The other night, we were feeding her and she was trying to lick the bananas that had run down her chin. She's been sticking her tongue out a lot lately...hope she's not trying to tell us something.

Fun With Daddy

John was changing Gracie's outfit last week, and she was giggling up a storm when he started to play with her.

Picture Perfect

Here are some pics that were taken lately by a family friend, Chris Dewalt. He did a really good job, especially considering that he didn't have any background or lighting stuff. http://www.dewaltphoto.com/index.html

All Smiles

Gracie has been doing this really weird smile. She will squint her eyes and smoosh up her checks and give a huge grin. It is hilarious!! She looks like she is going to get into soooooo much trouble!

An Amazing "Feet"

Gracie really does not like to wear shoes. Yesterday, we decided to have her wear some cute tennis shoes I got her. I put her in her carrier and was getting my things together to leave. When I walked back over to get her, this is what I saw. She had already used the end of the carrier to push her shoes off. She thought it was funny. Smart girl.

Fo' Shizzle

Gracie decided to try on my Clemson hat. She kinda looks like she's in some baby gang or something.

Play Time

Gracie has gotten really good at sitting up. She loves playing with her little bucket of Fisher Price shapes. I love watching her facial expressions when she plays (like in the last picture). You can totally see her thought process on her face.

Feeding Time

Gracie likes carrots...I think it is because they are orange, like a Clemson tiger paw. :-) Gotta start her early.

Hat's Off...or On

We went to the doctor today for her 6 month check-up. Gracie was only in the 90th percentile this time for height and weight. I guess she's slowing down a little. Hehe. She weighed 18 pounds and was 27 1/4 inches long.

Here is a pic of Gracie right before we took a stroll around the neighborhood. I love the top picture...she looks like she knows a secret. I love the hat, too.

Striking a Pose

Here are some pics of Gracie playing in her Exersaucer. She loves that thing, and it is a life-saver when I need to get stuff done around the house. I particulary love the expression on her face in the first pic.

Time with Daddy

Here are some pics taken of Gracie and her Daddy before he had his back surgery. They were spending some quality time together. Unfortunately, John won't be able to pick Gracie up for 6 weeks, but he can hold her if he is sitting down.

Worn Out

Poor Gracie. She was so worn out yesterday. We spent 6 hours in Athens at the neurologist and hospital getting John ready for back surgery on Monday. (We had no idea we'd be gone that long.) She was so good everywhere we went and she was very social. On the way home she feel asleep holding onto her little book, which I thought was cute. By the way, look how long she is getting! Her feet almost hang off the end of the carseat. She won't be in it much longer. Last month when we were at the doctor she was over 26 inches long and the carseat is only for kids 29 inches and shorter.

Sitting Pretty

Well, Gracie's fever broke Wednesday afternoon. She was still feeling bad and acting kinda irritable until Saturday. She also got a really bad rash, which the doctor said was from the fever. She is all better now, with the exception of a lingering cough. Thanks for your prayers. Here is a video of Gracie showing off her new skill that we discovered last week - she can sit up. She's still very wobbly, but I can't believe she is already able to hold herself up.

By the way, I know we act like total dorks in all of these video clips. We forget that other people will see them. :-)

The Feel Bads

I noticed Gracie was fussy today and sleeping a lot so I took her temperature and it was 101. I took her to the doctor. The doctor ended up sending us to the hospital to get blood drawn and a chest x-ray. Look at that picture. It doesn't seem right that a little baby should have the gauze and tape on her little arm. They had to draw blood from her arm and 3 people had to hold her down. I was talking to her trying to calm her down, but she was screaming so loudly that I ended up crying a little as well. Then, she had to be held down again for her chest x-ray and she got even more upset. (I think they should have tried the x-ray first and the blood second.) Anyway, the doctor said that she has Bronchiolitis (caused by a virus). So, please pray that our little one will get better soon. She already seems to be feeling a little better after a really long nap and some Tylenol.

Chillin' on the Floor

Playing around on the floor...

Gracie finally rolled over!!! And just when I think she can't smile any bigger...check out the second picture.