Busy Busy Busy

I know my Mom is laughing right now because Grace's need to be constantly on the go is a great reminder of how I used to be (or maybe still am). As a friend pointed out today, I haven't updated recently, sorry, Sarah. The crawler/getting-into-everything girl makes it a bit difficult to get on the computer. One would think Grace would still love to nap, but apparently she has decided that's not necessary. Grace is exploring everything! As you can see above she thought it would be fun to explore underneath her "office". Who knew that could be fun? Grace actually crawled through it to get to Lizzy on the other side. Of course, by the time she got through it Lizzy had moved. And so that game continues.

Grace continues to have no interest in food. I feed her every night and she makes the same face every bite. A look of: would you eat this crap, mom? I get about 4 bites in and then she refuses to open her mouth anymore. Oh well. We will keep at it. Maybe this is why as a 6 month old she weighs 14 lbs and 3.5 oz. At her 6 month check she still had the 75th/25th/10th percentiles: 26 3/4 inches tall, 14 lbs and 3.5 oz and 41 cm head. She's a peanut.

Grace is definitely keeping David and me busy. We found a cheap babysitter to keep an eye on her while she's playing in her cage. One would have thought the cat would have noticed that she could easily jump over the wall, but no.

I think I can quit going to the gym now because I chase Grace around all day it's probably the equivalent of working out for an hour. Can ya tell I am a bit worn out tonight, I am belaboring this point.

Almost Turkey Time!

Happy Half-Birthday, Gracie!

I'm a big girl now!

Gotta make sure Dad doesn't leave me in this cage alone!

This stuff is disgusting, Mom!

Yes, that's right--Grace turned 6 months old yesterday. I can hardly believe it. Where does the time go? At 6 months Grace is so much fun! And always on the move. We fed her "solids" for the first time yesterday. It was really more of a runny oatmeal stuff that tastes horrible (I actually tried it so this is not just an assumption--it's disgusting). Grace was not a huge fan. As you can see from the pictures above. We were dying laughing as we spooned it into her mouth because she kept making the funniest faces. Grace is also crawling up on her knees now. Really? Where did this kid come from? We ordered a "play zone"--really more of a cage to trap her in so that we can leave the room for a minute without wondering what she has gotten into now. She only seems to like it when one of us sits in it with her, which completely defeats the purpose. She had Dad suckered in today and I found them enjoying Sunday football from the confines of the cage. Today is the first time I have ever seen Grace sit up. Mind you it doesn't last long. I am not sure if this is because she cannot balance long or because she would rather be on the move. It took me and my slow camera many attempts to capture this (okay, three) because by the time the camera would snap she would fall over. Faceplants are one of her many talents. Grace carried on quite the conversation with the cat today. If only David or I could understand what she is discussing with Lizzy. I'm sure it's something along the lines of: don't you miss all the attention you used to get before I came along, ha. David and I are so in love with out little girl. We have enjoyed the past 6 months so much and look forward to a lifetime full of time with our sweet, cuddly, loving squealer. Now if we can only figure out how to get time to pass a bit slower. Thanks, Grace, you make our lives so much richer.

Ah.....Vacation

If only I could swim on my own!

First trip to Cheeseburger in Paradise!

Mmmmmmm, Mai Tais

Hard day at the beach!

We just got back last night and I think David and I are in need of a vacation from our vacation! We had a great time in Hawaii. A week of beautiful weather and fun. However, Grace is always on the move and we are exhausted from constantly chasing after her and repositioning her etc. Let's be honest--it was the flight home that I think really killed us! Grace did so well on the flight over that we didn't give the flight home a second thought. Mistake!! Grace got her own seat once again (we lucked out both legs by getting a free seat--thanks Alaska Airlines!). Grace screamed bloody murder for 85% of the flight. Keep in mind this is a long flight. We were so worn out from trying to comfort her, put her to sleep, anything to keep the daggers from our fellow flyers out of our backs! We survived and she was oooing and smiling at everyone as we landed and they quickly forgot what a little terror she had been!

It was a wonderful first family vacation with Grace and we couldn't have done it without Auntie Emily and Uncle Tim. Thanks for all your help with G. Above is a picture of Auntie introducing Grace to her first Mai Tai. I didn't capture the look on camera as she licked the straw. It was priceless and she certainly wasn't born with a taste for rum......maybe some day in the very distant future!!

We can't wait for our next vacation! However, David and I now know that we will be alternating: one vacation with Grace, one vacation with out Grace! Look out Grandmas and Grandpas.

A Batch of Firsts!

The last few days Grace has experienced many firsts. Grace took her first plane ride. She has recently started a very high pitched squeal scream which she practiced like a champ on the plane! Fortunately she won the hearts of all of our seat mates before she started this charade. In truth, she did great! There was one extra seat available on the flight so we got her a seat! This made all the difference. It was a long 6.5 hour flight but it went well.

Today we took Grace to the beach. Oh the sand.......need I say more? I think it was pretty much anywhere and everywhere it could be once we got home. Grace didn't seem to mind. She happily chewed on her hands and feet all the while eating sand. Of course Mom was a bit hysterical at first but I got over it and relaxed.

Grace took her first swim! The Pacific Ocean and Grace are now acquainted. She loved it. She screamed and laughed as the waves approached. It was so refreshing to see that she likes the water.

Now if only we could get Grace on "Hawaii Time" and stop her from waking up at 5 a.m. we will be good to go.

Aloha from Maui.

Trick or Treat?!

Happy Halloween! I am ashamed that it's been so long since I have last updated the blog. Now that Grace is constantly on the move, yes that's right, she crawls, ugh! I can hardly look the other way while she is out and about. It has clearly limited my blogging abilities. Grace had three Halloween parties to attend this weekend! She had so much fun dressing up and Trick or Treating. Her favorite candy this year was the plastic keg cup I was holding at the firm's party. She chewed the side of it for quite some time. That was a better option than the beer bottle she was initially chewing on....Oh Grace! We hosted a party at our house for all of Grace's little friends aka our PEPS group. It's funny to see the babies interact now. Grace is the only one who crawls so she makes her way around the circle stealing toys from the other kids. We may have to work on this whole sharing thing soon.

We are off to Hawaii tomorrow but I am packing my camera cords so I can update from there! I am reallly feeling for the person who is sitting on the window of our row. Grace is into telling stories in squeals and screams and it's not in a quiet way!

Aloha!