2 Months

    Yesterday, my little angel turned 2 months old.  I'm not going to go into my usual rant about how fast time is flying, etc.  But just know that I am thinking it.  I know it seems impossible, but I swear each day we fall more and more in love with this girl.  She is just such a sweet little thing.  She has fit into our family so well.  It just seems like she has always been here.  The kids love her so much and they love interacting with her.  She is one lucky girl to have such an awesome big brother and big sister.  We are all lucky to have Graceyn in our lives.
     On Monday, we went in for Graceyn's two month checkup.  She now weighs 11.8 pounds (66%) and is 23.3 inches tall (86%).  So she is clearly growing like a weed!!!  In two months she grew three inches and gained about 4 1/2 pounds.  She is doing a great job growing.  Her doctor said she looks great again and I told her I don't really have any concerns for Graceyn.  She is just doing such a good job of doing exactly what she is supposed to be doing.  Yay Gracie!
     Some of the things that Graceyn loves are: laying under her play mat, looking at her brother and sister, smiling, being read to (her favorite book is Snuggle Puppy), being rocked, cuddling with Mama, sleeping in her car seat, sitting in her swing, and being talked to.  She has started to coo back and "talk" back and I love every second!  It's so sweet.
    Some of the things that Graceyn doesn't like: taking baths, taking her reflux medicine, being tired, not being able to see someone, and tummy time (sometimes).
    All in all she is a pretty laid back baby.  She has her fussy moments, but for the most part she is pretty calm.  She usually only cries when she is hungry or tired.  So that makes it easy for me.  If she recently ate, I know she is ready for a nap.  If she recently slept, I know she's hungry.  She is still eating about every two hours during the days.  Sometimes more, sometimes less.
     Sleep is still touch and go with her.  She continues to take really good naps during the day.  I have noticed that the days she actually sleeps more during the day, she sleeps better that night.  Nights are still hit or miss.  This past week she has been having some longer stretches.  Last week, she would go maybe 3 hours for her first stretch and every 2 hours after that.  Last night was great.  She fell asleep at 8:00 and then woke up to eat at 10:00.  I immediately thought that it was going to be a rough night since she woke up so soon after falling asleep.  I was amazed when I looked at the clock when she woke up next and it said 3:45!  She almost went 6 hours!!!  Those 6 hours of sleep were the best sleep I have gotten since she has been born.  I'm not getting too excited yet because Ashlyn and Dawson had nights like that and I got my hopes up and it didn't happen again for a long time.  I'm just really, really, hoping she is turning a corner with her sleep. 
   Here are the two month pictures I took yesterday.  I plan to take a shot like this every month so we can see how she has grown.

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7 and 8 Weeks

   My goal is to write a post every week. Every week, it seems that time just gets away from me and I don't post as much as I want.  With summer approaching, I will have lots and lots of posts and pictures to share.  I have just got to get better about posting.  In my defense, I don't know how to upload the pictures, only Joey does.  He has been super busy.  It's something we will both work on.  Here are some pictures from the last two weeks. 

Dawson talking to Gracie during tummy time. He is such a good brother. 

Ashlyn wore this same shirt. 

She just loves her play mat

She's getting good at holding her head up

Smiles

Love all the smiles

This was also Ashlyn's shirt.  Love that she gets to wear her old clothes. 

As the weather warms up, we have spending a lot of time at my sister's house in her backyard.  The kids literally spend all day out there running around playing.  We just can't wait for Ashlyn to join us.  Here is a picture of them eating lunch. 

She loves it when they are around and they love playing with her.  Melts my heart. 

Day at the Zoo

    As the weather FINALLY starts to get nice, we are finally getting to get outside more.  We headed to the zoo yesterday for some fun.  The kids have such a blast at the zoo.  They just love looking at all the animals. Here are some pictures from our most recent trip.

Katy and Ella feeding the giraffes

The giraffes are always a hit

Silly boys

Best friends enjoying the meerkats. 

The lion was resting right next  to the glass.  It was pretty neat to see one so close. 

The kids love playing in this plane.  Dawson dove right in. 

Our zoo has tons of peacocks that roam around.  Usually they are kind of nuisance since so many people feed them and they are always just begging for food.  Today, we actually saw one with its feathers out.  That was a rare treat. They are pretty cool with their feathers out. 

Where did the otters go?

Riding the carousel

Ella feeding the chickens.  She was really good at it. 

Dawson got to try too. 

Baseball Game

   A few weeks ago, Ashlyn came home and told us that she was going to get to sing the national anthem at a Sky Sox game.  She immediately asked us if we would come watch her.  Of course we answered, "Yes!"  She had been practicing the anthem for a long time at school and she was so excited for the chance to sing it at a game.  Since this was such a big occasion, we invited my parents and brother to come watch too. 
     The weather here has not been very nice lately. It has been cold and windy, and not nice.   I was watching the forecast like a hawk to see how the weather would be on Thursday night for the game.  The news kept saying it would be in the 60s. 
    Well, on the night of the game the clouds started rolling in.  We decided to still go because it meant so much to Ashlyn to sing at the game and we already bought all the tickets.  As soon as we got there, it started to rain.  Luckily, the stadium has a lot of overhang areas to stay dry. There were a lot of kids from Ashlyn's school there.  She was so happy to see some of her friends.  The eventually gathered all the kids onto the field.  After waiting some time to sing, it finally there turn.  They all did a great job singing the national anthem.  It was pretty cute to see.  Ashlyn did a great job and it really was a neat experience for her. 
    The stadium has a neat kids zone area with a huge slide and bounce house.  We purchased passes for the fun zone before the game.  The kids were excited to play there.  Unfortunately, it started to rain shortly after they got to the fun zone.  It was starting to get late and the temperature was really dropping.  We decided to cut our night short.  We didn't get to watch any of the game.  Getting to watch Ashlyn sing was still more than worth it for us.  Despite the weather, a fun time was had by all.
    Apparently, her school sings at the Sky Sox game every spring.  I look forward to Ashlyn doing it next year.  I am hoping for better weather so we can actually stay and enjoy the game. 

Ready for the game

Waiting for Ashlyn to sing

On the field

All the singers lined up

Getting ready to sing

Fun on the slide

Its a huge slide

Pitching a ball

Pro in the making

More slide fun

Jumping

So cute!!!

She really enjoyed throwing the ball. 

Mother's Day

   I had a wonderful Mother's Day this year.  The fact that I am a mother to three amazing children, is enough of a gift for me.  I honestly could not ask for a better family.  I have always wanted to be a mother, but never in my wildest dreams did I think that God would bless me not once, but three times with such great kids.  They are the light of my life and each day that I get with them is a true gift.  I feel so incredibly blessed each and every day. 
    I also feel so blessed to have such an amazing mother.  A mother that taught me so much over the years.  The most important lesson she taught me was how to be an amazing mother.  She is so thoughtful and caring.  She does so much for everyone and I am so blessed to be her daughter.  I know I will never be half the mother she is, but I am so thankful she is in my life.  My kids are pretty darn lucky to have such an amazing Gram too.  They love her so much. 
    My Mother's Day started the way it does every year, with breakfast in bed.  The kids woke me up by bursting into our room with gifts and a tray of food. Dawson was especially cute.  He was so excited to give me the gift he made at daycare.  He was literally jumping up and down.  He made me a picture on a canvas and it was so cute.  It means the world to me.  Ashlyn made me a bunch of pictures and gave me a heart frame with a picture of the three of them in it. Both of their gifts came from the heart and that is what matters most. It was all just perfect!
    Unfortunately, the weather was just awful on Mother's Day.  It was really cold and snowy.  Normally, I would have requested that we go to the park or on a walk, but that was out of the question.  After breakfast, the kids and I snuggled in bed and watched a movie together.  After that,  my sister and I decided to take a little time for ourselves and go shopping. Shopping without kids is a rare treat so we really enjoyed it.  We also went and got foot massages which was just heavenly!  What a great time we had!  We ended up going to dinner at my parent's house.  With such a large group, there was no way we could have gotten into any of the restaurants in town.  Mother's Day is just too crowded.  Instead, we had a nice casual dinner at my parent's house and I got to spend some time with my mother.  It was a very nice day.  I just hope next year the weather is nicer!

Dawson holding his gift for me

Looking at some of the artwork Ashlyn made me

Eating breakfast in bed together

Gracie's present to me was her big, wonderful smiles

Dinner at Gram and Papa's house.  If you look out the windows, you can see the snow.  What awful weather for Mother's Day!

Seven Weeks and Sickies

    This week was a crazy one!  We had a lot going on this week.  The biggest thing was that Ashlyn lost 3 teeth this week!  She lost them over the course of three different days, so the tooth fairy was making a lot of stops at our house.  Ashlyn gets very excited for the tooth fairy.  She even leaves pictures and notes for her.  The tooth fairy left letters for Ashlyn.  She also folded the dollar bills into a basket and a cat.  Ashlyn loved it!
     Unfortunately, their was also a lot of sickness at our house this week.  Ashlyn had a very bad case of the stomach flu on Monday.  Joey had to pick her up from school.  We quarantined her and Joey to the guest room in the basement in hopes of it not spreading.  She had to miss two days of school.  She has not missed one day this year and we were hoping she wouldn't need to miss a day.  She was feeling much better by Tuesday.  So far, she is the only one in our house to get it.  Joey was having a lot of pain behind his eye and finally went to the doctor and he was diagnosed with sinusitis.   The doctor prescribed a bunch of medications and he is finally feeling better and much more energized.  Dawson has been battling a cold for over a month now.  We decided to take him to the doctor but it seemed like it was more than just a common cold.  He was diagnosed with a sinus infection.  So he is also taking medicine and seems to already be feeling better.  It is odd that everyone got sick around the same time, but I'm really hoping Graceyn does not get sick too.  I'm hoping all the sickness is behind us and we can all feel better.
     Graceyn turned 7 weeks yesterday.  Wow time is just flying.  She is smiling a lot more at us.  I love it.  I think she is going through her big 6 week growth spurt.  She has been a little more fussy and wants to be held a lot.  Ashlyn went through the same thing at the same age.  I know it will pass quickly and we will have our happy and content girl back in no time.  She is not doing much else new this week besides being the most precious little girl in the world.  She is still waking up every two hours at night.  She continues to be wide awake for a period each night.  To say I'm exhausted would be a big understatement, but I'm hanging in there.  I know she will eventually sleep longer chunks.  Hopefully.
    This week I got the okay from my doctor to start running again.  Graceyn can't go to the gym daycare until she is 3 months old.  For the time being, I am running on my treadmill in the basement.  My sister gave me her swing and I put Graceyn in it while I run.  She usually just watches me until she falls asleep.  I'm sure she's used to the sound since she heard it a lot in my tummy.  I am so excited to get to run again, and run fast again.  I'm going to be training for a big half marathon in November.
    That's what happened this week.  I will be posting soon about Mother's Day.  I know I will have lots to write about.  Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there.

I had to capture those teeny tiny feet.  So precious.  

Pretty girl 

Our girls

Bryan went to the cabin last weekend.  My sister came over with Jameson and Ella for a sleepover.  The kids had an absolute blast together.  Dawson, Ashyln,, and Ella all fell asleep in Ashlyn's bed.  Here are the girls eating breakfast.  

Ashlyn writing a note to the tooth fairy.  She was telling her that she lost her tooth while eating toast.  

Her note and her tooth

Doing tummy time.  She eventually fell asleep.  

Pretty little lady

Hanging out on the couch together.  

At the park enjoying the beautiful weather we had last week.  

Going high

The love this Jeep so much!  We take it on rides around the neighborhood.  It is pretty funny to watch.  They giggle the entire time.  

Ashlyn made this bracelet to wear to school.  It says, "The tooth fairy lives in my backyard"

My Grandma buys Ashlyn a subscription to an animal magazine each year for Christmas.  She just loves reading about animals.  They have drawing contest that she really wants to win.  This is the picture she drew.  

What a precious girl.  Be still my heart!

Our little lady