Swimmin'!

We took Gracie to the Y today for a dip in the pool. She's been in a pool once before when she was a couple months old, but I don't think she had any idea what was going on. Today she did, and seemed to enjoy it! Our Y has a huge indoor pool and an indoor kiddie playpool. We did have to get G a new swimsuit, which we were able to find at Target (yes, in December!). Luckily, the Y has a nice family locker room, so I had Randy's help in preparing her for the pool and when we got out- he went to work out while we were in the pool. I took her to the baby pool first, and there are these big buckets that fill with water and dump into the pool. Those seemed to scare her a bit. But at the other end of the pool she did fine! She shivered for a minute until her body adjusted to the water (which was a good temp), and we found a couple toys to play with and were good to go! We then moved on to the big pool, and a family from school was there, and I was able to talk to the mom, who is a riot! It was nice being able to hold Gracie without my back breaking under her weight! Randy joined us after his workout and took a couple pics that turned out great!

Christmas Photos

Photobucket Album

Christmas Eve Photos

Click the photo below to view the album- click the first photo to view larger, then you can view each photo (some have descriptions).

Photobucket Album

11 months

I didn't forget that Gracie just had her 11 month birthday. I was waiting until I had some good pics to make this post. Then I realized I could just use her Christmas photos that we had done a couple weeks ago, but I had to scan them in. So here ya go:

Now, the updates:

*She's a walker! She walks more than she crawls, and can now stand up without pulling up on anything. We sometimes let her walk when we're out in public, but boy is she slow!

*We're really looking forward to Christmas. She opened her first gift the other day (from Olivia), and it was so cute. I think she's going to enjoy it.

*She says "doggie" (dog-GEE) "Daddy" (da-DEE) "fish" (ish), "sock" and will woof like a dog. Still no mama. =(

*We are working on gradually switching her over to milk. We're getting organic milk that has DHA added, which rocks.

*Some days she refuses to be fed from a spoon, and only wants stuff she can feed herself. Which makes for interesting meal planning.

*She has taken more notice of the TV and sometimes will sit for a few minutes and watch. I'm not ENCOURAGING this, but I usually put Sesame Street on while she gets her bottle in the morning, and it is cute to see the skits she pays attention to. And I love me some Cookie Monster!

I can't believe she will be ONE year old in less than a month. Grandmama and Boompa are coming from Las Vegas for her birthday and I am SO excited! I am tracked out right now, and will be off the whole week of her birthday, which is great. This year has just flown by, and every day I think how lucky we are to have our little family.

New camera

I got my Christmas present early: A new camera! I got a Canon Powershot SX110 IS. I LOVE IT! I wanted to get it early so I could figure out how to use it before Christmas and get some good pics of that day. Here's a couple pics I've taken. I have a lot to learn, but I've really enjoyed the macro feature. I wish there were more pretty flowers to take pics of!

Gracie and Olivia checking out gifts.

Improvement!

Big Girl Shoes

We decided it was time that Gracie had some proper shoes, now that she's walking, well, toddling around. She has really fat feet, and I wanted to make sure we got good shoes that fit her well and were the right type. We went to Stride Rite, and the lady was really helpful- showed up the kind of shoes she needed and measured her foot (she wears a 4.5W), and showed us the trick to putting them on. We picked out some cute ones that will go with a lot of things, and the lady said she should be able to wear them for about 3 months. Now Gracie needs to learn to walk all over again- the shoes have kinda thrown her off a little, but she can do it. Here are some pics of her new kicks! (excuse the red-eye, I'm too lazy to fix it).

We had just gotten back from the Hurricanes game tonight. They actually won!

I'm looking forward to my holiday break- one more week of work, then I'm off for 3! Then on for 1 and off for 1 when Grandmama and Boompa come for Gracie's birthday!

Decking the blog-halls

Thanks to Kelly for the linkage to the Cutest Blog on the Block site for some holiday decorating cheer!

These piggies were made for walkin'

Here's a couple pieces of evidence of the almost walking baby Gracie!

Thanksgiving

Gracie had a great first Thanksgiving! We went to Randy's parents that morning to fry a turkey (YUM!) to take to his Grandma's, and we had lunch there. Then we went back to Randy's parents to fry another turkey to take to his Granny's, where we ate dinner. Gracie got to meet a lot of new relatives, and tasted several traditional Thanskgiving foods: cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, ham and stuffing. It was a nice day!

We are also proud to announce that we have almost finished our Christmas shopping! A lot was done last week, and I have the majority of the gifts wrapped as well. We have a 4.5 foot fake Christmas tree that we put on our coffee table in the corner of the living room- so far, Gracie has not pulled it down. We got everybody new stockings and have decked out our front porch with lights. We're all Christmased-up!

Gracie has also been practicing her walking, but still prefers to crawl. She's getting a little better about her walking attempts, though. Won't be long!

7 steps

Gracie took 7 unassisted steps tonight! Randy had plunked her down on her feet in the middle of the living room, and she stood there for a while, then decided, on her own, to walk to the couch. It was at LEAST 7 steps, and she made it without falling! You go, girl!

Signage

Gracie seems to be catching on to the signing thing. We now think she is doing "milk" and "more". Tonight at dinner she was going to town with the sign for milk, which she has done before, but we always just figured she was waving. But she was pretty fussy anyway, so when she kept at it, we gave her some juice in a sippy cup (which she promptly sucked down), and she never made the sign again! She was also doing "more" today. We are suprised that she's doing milk, because we haven't really done that one a lot recently, though we used to do it all the time. And we didn't give her "milk" tonight, but if she wants to use that sign for drink, fine by us! I want her to be off the bottle totally by a year- I just don't want her to get so attached to it, like some kids seem to do (Suri Cruise?!), and she still doesn't hold it by herself, so I think we'll be able to do it. She goes to town with her sippy cups, too. Getting rid of the wubbies is going to be harder.
We went to see TransSiberian Orchestra last night- it was great! The first half was a kind of "story" and some of it was a bit slow, but the second part was awesome- very theatrical with pyrotechnics and energy galore. Those are some talented people. And it actually got me in the mood for the holidays- before Thanksgiving, even!
In other news, our TV is broken. =( It's only a year and a half old, but the other night it started making this scary popping noise, and the following day it was REALLY making the noise (all this despite the volume being muted since we use our surround sound) and then it started emitting this horrible buring smell. So something is fried in there, and we have to take it to Best Buy to get fixed, and they have to send it off, so no telling how long it will take. We have our smaller TV in the living room now, but it is kinda pitiful in our TV spot. At least we have a backup.
Also, it looks like I am going to get to student teach in the spring! I have made arrangements with NCCU and Harris Creek to work with a first grade teacher for 5 weeks, and that teacher's TA will be covering the lab. Everything is go from the HC end, and so long as NCCU doesn't pull any of their typical crap, I should be good to go. Finally.
We got most of our Christmas shopping done today, and we got a fake Christmas tree. We didn't want a real one because Gracie would just eat the needles, so we got a little 4.5 foot tree (it's actually really pretty!) at Target, and we're gonna put it up on a table so hopefully little sticky-fingers can't do too much damage to it. We had a pretty successful weekend. And I'm off work next week- woohoo!!

MORE!

We *think* Gracie signed at us tonight! More! She's recently started clapping (with one hand closed and one open) and will clap back if you clap at her. But tonight at dinner, she was doing a similar thing, but we think she might actually have been doing the sign for more! We started doing it back, then giving her more, and they we'd just ask if she wanted more, without doing the sign, and she did it! So maybe she's getting it. We were very excited, and hoping it wasn't just a fluke. We're going to step up the signing now- nothing like a little positive reinforcement, huh?

Madam Crankypants

We had one of those rare nights of Gracie crankydom tonight. It started off on a bad foot when I picked her up from Grandma's, as she had evidently chomped down too hard on a hairbrush she was playing with and hurt her mouth. She was upset from that when I put her in the car, and thus didn't really take her drive-home nap. She fell asleep as we were pulling in the neighborhood, so I sat in the car and let her sleep about 15 minutes when I got home. Evidently, that wasn't enough. So she was fussy and agitated all evening. Nothing was good enough for her, nothing entertained her for long, and she kept trying to get into stuff she shouldn't be into, so I had to keep redirecting her. Sheesh. And getting PJs on her and ready for bed was more of a battle than it normally is. I ended up stuffing her bottle in her mouth as she was mid-cry, which is just not a good way to end the night for me. Poor kid. Oh! And we think she's full-time teething again, which doesn't help. I sure hope tomorrow is better. Most nights we barely have to look at her to get her to laugh, but we heard very few giggles tonight. Sad. =(

This pic wasn't tonight- it was a couple nights ago when Grant, Sherry and Olivia stopped by to play. Evidently in this pic Olivia had pawed at Gracie and pissed her off, and Olivia started crying because Gracie was crying. But this is indicative of how we all felt tonight...

They're even cute when they're mad, though!

10 months old

Gracie just turned 10 months, and I cannot believe it. She hasn't hit any new milestones recently, with the exception of:
*pointing- we're not real sure why she points at some things (like the rafter at the RBC Center), but she does it.
*standing- she can stand indefinitely now, and "dance" in place a bit without falling over. She's taken several steps, but they're very unsteady and uneven.
*cruising- all OVER the place. She also pulls up on everything, including pant legs and the cat.
I really want to read to her, and have several board (and other) books, but I can't get her to sit still and listen to the story. She'll watch as I point to pictures, but as soon as I try to read, she's got ahold of the book and flapping it and chewing on it. I wonder when she'll start getting interested in me reading to her.
I don't have any 10 month pics yet- but she hasn't changed a whole lot since 9 months, to be honest.
We're looking forward to the holidays, but trying to take them one at a time. We're going to see Trans Siberian Orchestra this weekend- Randy got us tickets. I've never seen them before and am excited- it is supposed to be a neat show.
Not much else going on. I've got to work this week, but I'm off the whole week of Thanksgiving. Can't wait for that!

Finally!

We went to the hockey game again today and guess what? They actually WON! In a shoot-out, nonetheless. It was a good game, if a bit of a nailbiter. Gracie was more wiggly today than she has been, but we survived.

A lull

Not much going on around here. We went to another Hurricanes game today. A whopping loss. They have GOT to get their game together, and it would help if Staal would get his ass in gear and stop standing around. Meh.
Gracie did well at the game. We ended up getting her a gray and pink jersey (in a bigger size so it fits her much better) to help keep her from being identified as a boy.
I am getting very excited about the holidays. I want to take them ONE at a time, however. The carols on the radio already are KILLING me. And the fat man in the red suit is ALREADY taking orders at the mall. Poor Thanksgiving. A holiday that all Americans can enjoy together, regardless of race, religion, creed, etc., and it just gets totally shadowed by the 3 months of Christmas. Sad.
Gracie is working hard on her walking skills. She can stand by herself pretty much as long as she wants. She's tried taking a couple steps, but they have been less than successful. At least she's trying, though! She still doesn't wave reliably, or clap, or sign. But boy can that kid crawl! And eat! She's eating us out of house and home. I'm constantly looking for healthy meal ideas of things she can feed herself, so please send me any suggestions!

President Obama!

Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

Now- bring on the change, Super Brother Man!

Gracie's First Hurricanes game

We went to a hockey game today! We've been wanting to take Gracie, but needed an afternoon game. Randy got lower level seats from someone at work, and even though the 'Canes lost, we had fun! Gracie enjoyed looking around, and only got fussy a couple times- nothing some snacks wouldn't fix. We'll definitely go again. Here's some pics:

Gracie's First Halloween

Happy Halloween to you all, and Happy Birthday David!

We waited until the last minute to decide what Gracie should be for Halloween, so we ended up dressing her as a Carolina Hurricanes hockey player! Yep, she looked like a boy, but that's ok. She's still cute. In fact, we went as a team:

We carved 3 pumpkins, but none of the pics turned out very well of the other one- we got tired of carving, so I got the drill and drilled a bunch of holes in it- turned out pretty cool, actually! We took G trick-or-treating at 2 neighbor's houses. We had about 20 kids come to our house. Here are some pics of Gracie playing with the pumpkin last night:

So it was a great Halloween! Hope everyone's was just as good!

Funny video

This is awesome!
The Great Office War

The State Fair

We took Gracie to her first state fair on Tuesday night. It was Randy's birthday, and we celebrated with some fine fried stuff. I am happy to report I did not do nearly as much damage as last year. I had a yummy fried bologna sammich, a couple fried pickle spears (I like the chips better) and an orangeade. Those are the things I look forward to eating at the fair. Randy had a corndog, an Italian sausage (it wasn't that good), and a fried Twinkie. Gracie took in all the sights, and quite enjoyed all the people watching. I tried to get some good pics, but no such luck. Here's a pic, anyway.

Yesterday Gracie and I met Kelly and Ella in Burlington for lunch. Ella is getting so big! And she is just adorable- very smiley. It is so weird to me that several of my friends and I are carting around younguns at the same point in our lives. I never would have thunk it, and it is neat. I love that our kids will grow up with each other, kinda like cousins, I guess (I wouldn't know, as I don't have any cousins). Then Grace and I went to the Carter's outlet and got a couple cute outfits for winter. I also got a package today from my Grandma Amos with three super cute outfits- so she is stocked for a while.

Gracie is a super-speed demon crawler now. She gets around so well, and pulls up on anything that will stand still (and some things that won't!). She let go of the chair yesterday and actually tried to take a step toward me, but fell immediately. At least she tried!

Tomorrow is my last weekday of track-out. But it won't be too long until I track out again for Thanksgiving. They already have the Christmas decorations up at the mall!! Are they kidding me?? TOO SOON, people! One holiday at a time, please.

Duck, duck, GOOSE!

Poor Gracie! She has a purple goose egg on her forehead. She was trying to pull up on her dresser as I was trying to put socks on her, and her hand slipped and she bonked into one of the drawer pulls. She didn't fall far (she was only on her knees) but fell hard, and the purple bruise (and the howl) that came up immediately scared me enough to call the doctor. The nurse told me just to keep an eye on her and make sure she was acting ok, and that is was a good thing there was a swollen spot (as opposed to an indentation). So now she has this lovely bump, but it doesn't seem to bother her. I'm sure this is only one of many bumps to come as she gets more and more mobile, but it's still scary.

See video below

That was the best video I could get of Gracie standing. She's been working on it all weekend in her pack-n-play. She holds on to the sides, then lets go and just, well, stands there! We've seen her go for at least 10 seconds. Whenever we put her on the floor, though, she just wants to get down and crawl for things to get into. We're taking bets on when she'll be walking. The kid won't wave, won't say "mama," but her gross motor skills are coming right along.
We've been working hard on the mama thing, too. Even Randy goes around saying it all the time to her- he knows how much I want to hear it. But the only thing she does when you say it to her is say "dada". Hmph.
We're moving up in the world of food, too. Gracie eats mostly baby food still- 3rd foods, which have the chunks of pasta and veggies as main meal, with some fruit, too (usually a 2nd food fruit- they're about the same consistency as the 3rd fruits). Most of the 3rd foods are pretty good- especially one variety that is like, Pasta Parmesan I think. She eats the Graduates puffs, 'Lil Crunchies (basically cheesypoofs) and diced carrots and apples. I bought some unsweetened organic applesauce today because it is cheaper than the baby food, and some diced pears to see if she'll eat those. She gets little bites of bread, pancakes, broccoli, mashed potatoes and had chunks of the innards of potato wedges at Buffalo Wild Wings today. Just about anything I think she can chew I'll let her try. There's not much she won't eat.
We'll be taking Gracie to her first NC State Fair later this week. It's going to be perfect fair weather, too. We had to buy her a little coat today. I had a hard time finding one, because I have a thing against hoodies. I can't stand to sit with a hood bunched up against my back, and I can't imagine how that would feel all strapped into a carseat with a big wad of hoodie behind you. Maybe it wouldn't bother her, but it bothers ME, and that's enough. I finally found one at Target with a detachable hood. It is size 12 months, which is what she wears, but sorta swallows her. At least she can wear it all winter.
I am tracked out this week- woohoo! Randy's birthday is Tuesday, and G has a Dr. appt. on Wed., so it will be a kinda busy week. Looking forward to spending some time with Grace.

Standing

Got my laptop back

Yay! And it is all shiny because they had to replace a good portion of the plastic casing.
Now I can post some more pics, and maybe a video if I can get it to upload in a reasonable amount of time...
My mom always told me that her favorite period of my childhood was about 4-9 months, and now I know why. Gracie has been so adorable and agreeable up to this point. Now, however, she is developing a strong will- or should I say, a "won't". As in, she won't lie still to have her diaper changed, she won't play contently in her pack-n-play, she won't let me put jommies on her, she won't let me have whatever item she has that is contraband... She wears us out. It used to be so easy to entertain her, but now all her toys are old news- she wants a little danger in her day, apparently.
I have 3 more days of work until a week of track out. Thank goodness. Then 4 weeks on, 1 off, 2 weeks on, 3 off, 1 on, 1 off. Woohoo! I can't believe it is almost the holidays.
Here's a video of Gracie trying to stand on her own- this was a couple weeks ago- she's much better now:

<40> I can't get any other stupid videos to upload. Sigh. I'll try again tomorrow

Cats vs. Roomba

http://tomatonation.com/?p=844 <--clicky

This is the funniest story I've read in a while. Tears rolling down my face funny. Whew.

Tagged!

Kelly tagged me for this little activity. Here's how to play:

-Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
-Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
-Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
-Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I have a secret crush on Joe from Blue's Clues. (guess it's not a secret anymore, huh?)
2. I have a LOT of weird things that I do, including not walking on sidewalk grates, only eating tomatoes with certain other foods (I refuse to eat them on salads, but like them plain with salt), and not writing tomorrow's date on my whiteboard until it is actually tomorrow.
3. I am absolutely terrified of grasshoppers and praying mantises (and other bugs of the like).
4. I have the song "Take On Me" by A-ha as my ringtone on my phone.
5. I have never been out of the United States, and don't plan to go abroad anytime soon- there's too many places in the US that I'd like to visit (but I seem to keep going back to the same ones!).
6. I used to play piano and the violin. I wish I still did.
7. I don't like to follow recipes when I cook. I'd rather play around with the ingredients until it tastes ok.


Everyone I would tag has already been taken by Kelly! I guess I can tag Sherry and Becca.
Edited to add some tags: MaoMao and Case I may think of more later.

Hill Ridge Farms

We just got back from a trip to the farm and pumpkin patch! We decided not to go to Busch Gardens- we just didn't feel like driving/riding all the way up there, and we knew it would be crowded, so we all spent some time together in town. I had wanted to dress Gracie in a cute fall outfit, take her to a pumpkin patch, plunk her down in the middle of the pumpkins and get some cute pics. And so we did.



Hill Ridge Farms is a local attaction with a bunch of kids' stuff, including some animals, gem mining, a teepee, a fort, play areas, a grill and food stands, a giant tube slide, hayrides and a big pit of dried corn to play in. We got lunch and checked out the animals, went on a hayride and picked out some pumpkins. It was fun! It was SO busy for a Sunday morning. I've only been there before on field trips with school, and had no idea how popular the place was. Here's a couple more pics:







I need to edit them, and I have some videos, too, but the laptop is at Geek Squad getting fixed, and I don't know if the old desktop can handle the video. Maybe I can edit the pics on here, I'll try.

We're not as young as we used to be

We just got back from Cedar Point, and though we had a great time, we have come to the realization that youth is no longer on our side. We made the drive in 10 hours and a little over a tank of gas (woohoo!) and went to the park Fri. night for a couple hours. Lines weren't too bad, but we had to eat and thus only rode Maverick, Millenium and Dragster. Dragster was a fluke- we were leaving, a couple minutes past closing, and saw they were still letting people in line. So we hopped in the queue and walked straight to the loading area and STRAIGHT onto the ride. NO kidding. People who have been there before will appreciate the awesomeness of this. We were like, the 2nd to last train of the night.
We then got up Sat. a.m. and got some Starbucks, came back so we could get in early (we were staying at the resort) and the line to get in was all the way back to the hotel! There were SO many people there, and lines were horrible, so we didn't do a whole lot on Sat. Took a nap, even. We did ride the new Challenge Park ride, the Skyscraper. I can't describe, so see the linky . That was fun, and different. Sunday morning was our ticket- we got in early with no big line, got some rides in, had lunch, rode a couple more things and headed home. The lines were decent that day. We're SO tired and sore. And were supposed to be going to Busch Gardens this weekend. What are we thinking?!
Gracie had fun at Grandma's- I'd like to think she missed us a bit (I sure missed her!) but maybe not. She's getting really good at pulling up on her pack-n-play, and can stand holding on with only one hand. So big!

Finally- 8 month pics

You can kinda see her teeth in the last one!

If you give a Grace a pancake...

She will eat it. And like it. We went to IHOP for breakfast this morning and I ordered a small pancake for Gracie. I cut it into tiny pieces and gave them to her one at a time and she gobbled them up! That's about the first time I've ordered something for her at a restaurant. She is broadening her horizons!
She has also figured out how to sit up from a laying down position. Randy's mom said she had done it a couple times this week but she'd never actually seen her do it- just one minute she was down, the next minute up. Then this morning when I went to get her our of her crib she sat up (took quite a bit of effort) and has done it twice in her pack-n-play since then. A new skill- and a useful one at that!

8 months!

I didn't forget about Gracie turning 8 months last weekend. I was going to wait to write this until I did pics, but I don't have the outfit I want to take the pics in yet, and may not have it for awhile, so here goes.
I now know why they say all parents think their kid is the smartest kid ever born. Because Gracie is, without a doubt, the brightest baby ever. She is so smart. And cute to boot! She's got the pincher grasp mastered and gets the puffs to her mouth almost every time. And loves them! We took her to McCormick and Schmick's, the new fancy-shmancy seafood restaurant at Crabtree, for an early dinner this weekend, and she did so well! We almost left as soon as we got there because we didn't realize that it was going to be such an upscale place, but it was early, so we stayed. As long as we had puffs to feed her she did great! (and the food was excellent. I had miso black cod, which is WAY out of my typical comfort level, and it was fantastic.) She can pull herself up on her crib from sitting, and tonight did it from laying down, but I didn't see her- I just turned around and there she was, standing up so proud of herself. She can get into a sitting position from laying down, but nobody has seen her do that, either.
She says Dada all the time, but it seems to be more of an expression of happiness than anything. She also does the ma sound, but only when she's mad about something. Figures.
She's eating the puree fruits, veggies and now meat/dinners. She gets three 9 oz. bottles a day and three solid meals. She has had a couple bites of real people food (mashed potatoes, bread and stuff) and her two bottom teeth are almost all the way in! I can't get a photo of them- she won't even let us LOOK at them.
That's all for now- I will post some videos as soon as I can get photobucket to cooperate (sorry mom!).

DaDa?

So, mommy is the one who does the majority of the baby care. I change diapers, I do the baths, I wipe the butt and the snotty nose. I fix food, I play, I do the laundry. I buy cute clothes and do dishes and go shopping. And what is my reward? The kid's first word is DaDa.
Hmph.
Yeah, I know, she has no idea which of us is DaDa, or that the sound even corresponds to a person. But STILL! All evening she's been babbling about DaDa and how great he is, and how he's so funny and so much fun. That, and talking to the kitties. I swear- what does a mommy have to do to get a little recognition from the child she carried safely for 9 long months! And let's not even go into the whole birth experience. And I just can't wait until she's a teenager.
In other news, Grace has been experimenting with finger foods- the Gerber Puffs are a favorite, and she is getting quite good at getting them into her mouth with her thumb and finger. She has 2 chompers coming in and is getting faster everyday with the army crawl. She can pull up on her crib with a little help, and we installed a better baby gate downstairs to contain her in the living room. She has a walker at Grandma's and gets around really well in it. She gets mad at home in her Exersaucer when it won't go anywhere! She had her first big-girl bath in the tub by herself last night- she was so cute! It is NOT easy to bend over the tub, but at least I can do it by myself, without needing Randy to get her out and dressed.
I was talking at dinner tonight about how I can't believe how fast babies learn stuff. She went from about 3 weeks ago not even being mobile, and now she's a wiz! I look so forward to the next milestone, then it passes in a blink and I am sad. I guess that's what we do from day one- maybe it gets easier as they get older?

A kinda sad event

We had to move Gracie's mattress down on her crib tonight. She is starting to pull up on things, and it wouldn't have taken much for her to topple right over with it up high. We put it down on the 2nd lowest, so that I can still reach to get her out (kinda). I am trying not to think about it, but it makes me sad. It's like, she's not in her baby crib anymore. Just looking at it, it now looks like a toddler crib, and I am thinking that the crib will never be on its highest setting again, ever. I don't know that we want another baby, so, even though that bed will convert into a full-size bed eventually, I'll never see it in "newborn" form again. And that makes me a bit sad. I didn't think about it with the carseat, I guess because I was excited about the new one. And I haven't gotten sentimental about her clothes, because I know other babies will get good use out them. But for some reason the crib hit a nerve.

Purr Motor

On the Move

Updates

I have a horrible cold. I am SO snotty. I have found some Mucinex nose spray that works to clear my congestion (though not for 12 hours like it says!) but it makes my nose run like crazy! But at least I can breathe. I get the worst head colds. They always start with a blazing sore throat, then the congestions kicks in and I'm miserable for a week. And I'm sure Gracie is going to get it. Great.
Speaking of Grace- she has her first chomper coming in! I can even see it, as well as feel it. YAY! She hasn't been too cranky, but she sure does want a frozen teether to nom on.
She's getting more and more mobile. She army crawls/crawls pretty effectively, and she is quickly gaining speed. Won't be long before she can get her tummy off the ground and really crawl. Time to babyproof the house. Joy.
I am tracked out next week (yay!). Not much planned. We've had a rough week at school: a tornado drill for real on Wednesday, and a fire drill for real today. The TV in one of the classrooms shorted out and smoked up the classroom- the teacher had to pull the alarm, and it took the fire truck FOREVER to get there. It was hot and humid out, too- and the kids were bored. All we need now is a lockdown, heaven forbid THAT one is for real.
Let me say now that I hate the months of August through about April. Football season, basketball season and hockey season. So life ceases to exist outside of those sports for Randy, and thus for me (and Gracie). Our lives have to be rearranged to coordinate with the stupid sports. I hate it. There is nothing that comes on TV that I have to rearrange my life for. I think most women feel the same way, right ladies? Boo sports.

Need costume ideas!!

I am very excited to begin thinking about Gracie's first Halloween. I really like Halloween- maybe not as much as Erika, but pretty close, especially since I now have a kid to dress up! I have been checking out all the cute Halloween clothes and will surely have quite a collection as it gets closer to time.
We want to dress Gracie up and Trick-or-Treat at least at a couple friendly neighbor's houses, just for the cute pics (and some free candy!!). We were thinking about doing some kind of theme, with Randy and I dressed up, too. We need ideas. So, PLEASE send your ideas our way. We thought about doing Batman, Batgirl and BabyBat, just because I like Batman. Or some kind of Star Wars theme (I found a cute Princess Leia baby costume!). But we'd like more ideas. HELP!

Goin' Green

We got our new Prius!!! It is awesome. We love it. It came in on Friday, and we had it by 9:15 that evening. It is very neat, and drives incredibly well. We ended up with the Seaside Blue Pearl color (medium blue) with tan interior. It's very roomy and smells so good! I've had fun fiddling with all the gadgets. My favorites are the Bluetooth phone connection, mini-plug for my iPod/iPhone, voice activated GPS and the Smart key. We also got Gracie's big girl carseat and she seems to like it- fits in it much better. I'll be glad when we can turn it forward-facing so it doesn't take up so much room.
Here's some pics:

More Prius pics