Six Months and Crawling...backwards!

On October 29th, Gracelyn turned six months old. It's hard to believe that we are halfway to the one year mark. A little unnerving and yet it is such exciting times for our sweet girl. She is learning something new literally everyday. A couple weeks ago she started sitting up independently from lying on her belly. She just tucks her little feet up under her and scoots her tushy back. Trent and I both got to witness this grand accomplishment the first time. Every time we applaud Gracelyn she beams with pride and shows the best smile. Lately, she has begun to lengthen her trip to her bum by crawling backwards for several strides before finally making it on her bottom. This means the girl is making it to every corner of the room now. She is on the brink of crawling forward but for now she reaches as far as she can and ends up on her belly. She enjoys pulling up on her crib and while holding onto our hands. I love how she throws her hands in the air when she playing and reaches out with her palm up like she is trying to wave. My favorite new thing is the most delightful squeal that she makes. She's just plain happy and it shows with every high-pitched squeal. I am anxious to see her stats when we go back for WBC in a couple weeks. It's been almost three months since we've had her weighed and measured. My arms can attest that she is growing but mostly in length and not so much in chub. I think she might be tall like her Daddy and Aunt Joni.

Sleeping arrangements have continued to be an issue, although for now, we have an arrangement that seems to be working well for all of us. After several nights of attempting to keep Gracelyn in her crib and surviving the torture of hours of crying (one night of two 1/2 hours of it), we stumbled upon a new approach. One night about three weeks ago she finally fell asleep on a sleeping bag on the floor in our living room. It was such a relief to see her sleeping somewhere other than our arms that we almost left her there for the night. Instead, we decided to transfer her on the sleeping bag onto the floor in our bedroom. Unexpectedly, the girl slept all night! And each night since she has done very well. We can lay next to her for just a couple minutes on the floor if she wakes up when she put her down and this immediately settles her. When she wakes to eat, which is now back to once (most nights), I can lay next to her and catch some rest and then return to our bed once she is settled again. It's so much better than struggling to find comfort while upright in her room. I don't know if she likes to hear us breathing or finds comfort in our smell but I am so thankful that she have found relief at night...for now.

Over the past few weeks, she has been going through a major mama stage where she would whine or cry when I left her sight even for a moment and wanted to be held often. It is difficult for many reasons...sometimes it is just plain tiring, it's hard to get things done around the house when she isn't content with anything but being in my arms and yet at the same time it's hard not to hold her all day and just sit on the couch watching TV. However, in the past week, she seems to have had a shift in this and is much more content. I wonder if she started having a little more anxiety with her new mobility and just needed a little more reassurance that mommy would still be around even if she started exploring more. I am still learning her and need some much Godly wisdom in knowing how to best respond and train her. What a big task!

Here's her six month shot...notice the paper has to be out of her sight, otherwise, it is in her mouth.

Trying to enjoy the outdoors even when it's chilly.

Pulling up

Pumpkin Patch in Liberty

Exploring with her new friend, Joel McCall, who is getting ready to have a new baby sister.

Her best friend, Charleigh Ford. They still are a little oblivious to each other but will be playing together before we know it.

We traveled to Salisbury on Halloween weekend. Here's Sarah as a candy corn getting ready to play in the marching band...what!! She's growing way too fast.

This is just odd but funny!

Steven in the tree...love this picture.

Five Months & Moving

Random Pictures in no particular order

Friends and Babies (Gwynne & Gentry, Sarah & Charleigh, Me & Gracelyn)

Daddies and Babies (Trent & Gracelyn, Jared & Charleigh, Brad & Gentry)


Eating homemade rice cereal and loving it!


Meeting Papa for the first time!

Four Generations

Gracelyn and Piggy--we love it when she comes to visit!

Sitting up like such a big girl.

Playing on the floor

I love when Grammy comes to visit too!

Our first family vacation--Lawrence, Kansas to see Andrew Peterson in concert

Visiting Piggy and Pops in Abilene while attending Lectureship

Pigtails!

Crazy morning hair

Ok, so I never got around to posting her four month picture. Better late than never.

Stormy Nights

I learned something today...Gracelyn is old enough to learn from discipline and the time has come to use it.

Situation #1
The little cutie bites! She has bitten me before while nursing her and I've flicked her on the cheek and told her no without much reaction from her. Well, today she bit again and it was the hardest yet. Calmly (ha! as calm as one can be after having my ninny clenched between her toothless jaws and her fist full of my flesh squeezing and yanking my ninny from between the death grip---sorry if this is too graphic for some readers!) but firmly, I looked her in the eye with my pointer finger in her face, said "No!" and proceeded to flick her on the cheek...harder than before. Some of you might be thinking this is horrible parenting and others may be wondering why did I wait so long! Well, she got the point and the little baby melted. She cried the saddest cry I've heard yet and I don't think it was because her cheek hurt. Unfortunately, within a couple minutes, the little peanut did it again and she got the same response from me. Again, very sad cry. It took everything I had not too cuddle her close and tell her how sorry I was to discipline her and tell her I would never do it again. But then, love for her caught the best of me. I told her I wasn't mad but that she couldn't treat me this way. She actually attempted to chomp down once more and this time all it took was a firm NO and the tears flowed. She made the connection and for the rest of the time that she ate, she was aware of her little jaws. And instead of pinching, she rested her hand on my flesh. First battle over, at least for now :)

Situation #2
Our vacation ruined the poor baby's sleeping pattern. Before we left for Texas, she went to sleep around 8:30, slept in her crib all night and usually woke up once in the middle of the night to eat, only to go right back to sleep. During our vacation, she slept in the same room with Trent and I, both in the hotel and at our friend's home. I was intent on catching her before she started to cry to keep her from waking up the sleeping heads surrounding our room. To add to it, I nursed her in bed, fell asleep a couple times and eventually put her back in her portable bed. Evidently, she loved being close to me and loved having the milk buffet open at all hours of the night. We returned home and of course, she expected the same treatment! It took me a couple nights before I realized that bringing her to bed after she woke up when I put her down was not the best idea. Last night in particular, she woke up four or five times, several minutes after I laid her down. By 4am, I closed the door to her room and got serious about getting her to sleep. She of course wanted to nurse even though it had only been an hour since the last session. After a very long, frustrating hour, we was asleep in her bed. Throughout that hour though, there was a thunderstorm outside. I really feel like it was a gift from the Lord. I felt like He was reminding me that I wasn't alone in that room with her and to remain patient, steadfast and gentle. Gracelyn slept until 7:30 so it was an improvement. But it could be another long night. Trent and I are ready for tonight...as sleepless as it may be, we are ready to get her back on track. Our strategy....lots of prayer...and...well, we've thrown out a few ideas and we'll see what works best. Just hoping now that it doesn't take too many nights to get her back into the swing of things!

Words Now, Pictures Soon

So much to say...I have gone over this post in my head multiple times but the trick will be to remember all that I wanted to document now that I have a chance to sit down and write it.

Gracelyn's stats at her last appointment on August 12th (almost a whole month ago!)
Weight: 12 lbs 15 oz 50%
Height: 24 inches (that's two feet long people!) 85%

Biggest accomplishment since my last post: Rolling over! On August 17th, we witnessed her first time rolling from her belly to her back. She was so controlled and smooth that I almost didn't realize what happened. To this date, she hasn't completely rolled onto her tummy but she is close and it's fun to watch her waller (is that really a word?) around. And one of the benefits to her rolling from side to side is that I have discovered the total cuteness of her tush! When I'm changing her diaper on the changing table, she almost always rolls away from me to play with the back panel, giving me the full moon look. She is such a doll from her top side to her bottom side!

Finding her voice: Her sounds have become more varied in the past few weeks. Lots of "ahh-ahh-ahh" and every now and then a "ma-ah" which is fun to think she is calling for me. One of my absolute favorite sounds to hear is her laughter! She has developed tickle spots on her ribs and under her chin. Although I love to make her laugh, it is priceless to sit back and watch her and her daddy bust out in giggles. One of my least favorite noises is the classic whine that she has grown fond of. It's a lovely close-mouthed hum that she sings on the same pitch. It can make Trent and I just a bit crazy sometimes. But I'm grateful to hear the sounds of a baby in our home. What a gift!

Hands on: I am amazed at how Gracelyn is becoming more proficient with the use of her hands each day. She holds her pacifier with her thumb and fingers, trades it back and forth between hands and tries to put it in her mouth, sometimes successfully. She loves her orange monkey teether, chewing on its every piece. I am a bit surprised that she hasn't discovered her feet yet. Every now and then she will notice her socks but she doesn't realize her feet are connected and always ready to play.

Eating time: So I believe that breastfeeding is one of the most amazing inventions of God. I love the convenience and bonding time with baby Gracelyn. She rarely goes more than two hours without eating during the day and usually wakes once in the night. It won't be long before she will get to eat from a spoon instead of the woobie only. I hope to make rice cereal for her as it would be much cheaper and supposedly more nutritious...we'll see how it goes. I have given her the tiniest pieces of banana to try and I may or may not have seen her Piggy slide in a taste of ice cream last week. Her faces have already been quite entertaining with the new flavors.

Bathing: Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday are bath days and we both look forward to it. While giving her a bath the other day, I started telling her about Jesus washing her cleaner than the soap and water. I decided that at every bath time I would share the gospel story with her. What a perfect time to talk about the filth of our sin being cleansed by the blood of Jesus. I have done it several times now and I realize I need plenty of practice before she really begins to understand my words. How many times have I verbally shared the Good News of Jesus in just a few sentences? Unfortunately, not enough because I have found it more difficult than I want to admit. So I am praying for the grace and wisdom I need to teach my daughter about the precious gift of salvation. What a privilege!

Singing songs: My mom came to visit last weekend and I was reminded why I sing to Gracelyn so often. My mama sang to me! And it's great to hear her sweet voice sing to my baby. "Cy and I", "Five Little Ducks", "Gobble, Gobble song" and "Climb Up the Mountain" are some of the new favorites. I also love to hear Trent make up songs for her. My favorite...You're my baby Grace, with a lovely face, I love your crazy hair, when it goes everywhere.

Kisses: We ask for kisses from her all the time and she is catching on quickly. Most of the time, she lunges with mouth wide open for a wet one. But every now and then, when she gets an onry bone, she will turn her little face away and pretend to be interested elsewhere. She seriously appears to know that it makes us crazy, especially her Daddy, who will keep asking for a kiss until she finally gives in ;)

That's all I can remember for now and the bed is calling my name. I promise to post pictures soon!

Let's just admit it...I'm a baby wearer

Since the beginning of our relationship Trent and I have discussed the kind of parents that we want to be. Before we were parents, we would often discuss the parenting styles of our family and friends and compared notes on what we thought would fit us best. Now that Gracelyn is on the scene, I realize that so much depends on our baby.

I used to hold some things in my mind as ideal...baby and I will hold a pretty firm schedule, we will go out often on grand adventures, baby will feel good about sleeping in her crib during nap and at night, baby will breastfeed at least through the first nine months, baby will only cry when she is hungry or sleepy and I will meet all her needs so quickly that I will, in fact, be able to anticipate her need before she even begins to cry!

Ha, Welcome to reality, Mindy!

Trent and I have been wrestling with some of these things, especially recently. Not wrestling each other, but just trying to decide what is best for Gracelyn and our family. Late last week, I decided that it would be best for Gracelyn to start going to sleep on her own. I think I read it in a book somewhere. Gracelyn was not a fan. From the beginning she has either fallen asleep easily in the arms of her mommy, daddy or grandparent or while nursing. Now here I was, patting her belly, saying "time to go to sleep darling" and leaving her alone. Within minutes she was crying, was too worked up to find the slumber zone and I was stressed. And then started wondering...why am I pushing my three month old to fall asleep on her own when all of us love the way we were before? So I turned to Dr. Sears website. I read some of his material when Gracelyn was little and I was concerned about her waking up so often in the middle of the night. He provided some awesome information about REM sleep and that babies are designed to enter light periods of sleep often as a survival tool so they can tell mommy and daddy when they are hungry or cold, etc. It was just what I needed at the time to give me reassurance. Overall, he preaches that babies are designed to communicate their needs and as Gracelyn's mommy, I get to learn to listen and stay in tune with her which I have learned is a full time job! He also says that if you resent it, change it...otherwise, if everyone is satisfied with a particular method, stick with it.

After more discussion and prayer, Trent and I decided "why rush it?" Gracelyn will only be a baby once and I don't anticipate that I will ever look back on these days and wish I had held her less!

So I declare that for today...

• I'm a stay at home mommy with a flexible schedule (although I do try to get a shower by noon)


• who loves holding her sleeping baby (even while eating lunch, doing the dishes & blogging)


• who nurses when Gracelyn wants (I am terrible about pumping so the woobie is all she's got)


• who doesn't know what the heck Gracelyn wants sometimes


• who needs a break now and then (Thank Jesus for Trent!)


• who has a hard time telling people no when they ask to hold her although I secretly want her close


• who feels like my most regular communication with the outside world is through facebook (although I really enjoy the live version of people)


• who hopes to breastfeed until Gracie is at least a year old


• who really enjoys spending time at home in this peaceful, beautiful house


• who loves Jesus and really wants to be better at spending time with Him


• who loves my husband for being the man and father of my dreams


• and who has alot to learn!

One thing that Trent and I have decided to hold firm on is that our bed is his and mine, not a family bed. A couple weeks ago we had a situation that led us to both feel more comfortable with Gracelyn near us at night. Since then I have gotten lazy and enjoyed having the opportunity to sleep next to her and feed her without the trouble of getting out of bed. For us though, we realize that long term, it's not good for our relationship. Having babies in bed makes it hard to make more babies ;) So we are onto the commitment of me getting up to feed her in the nursery (which is just once a night these days) and Trent helping to get her back to sleep when she fidgets herself awake. It's a good system for us and I think it will pay off for our relationship in huge ways now and later.

Well, that's enough about parenting, here's a little update on Gracelyn's habits as a three month old.

• Her new favorite toy is her hands. She has so much more control of her movement and is actually holding toys and reaching out to touch her books.


• She actually laughed at me on Saturday. We were playing on her changing table while I was getting her dressed and I was pretending to wrestle a toy out of her hand while tickling her belly. She just laughed and giggled like crazy. It was one of my favorite moments yet.


• She stayed in the nursery at church for the first time this past Sunday. She spent half the time in class, fell asleep in the arms of a worker (Linda H.) as church was starting, woke up happy mid-service and enjoyed dancing and singing with another worker (Ryan VP). Although I hadn't really planned to have her in the nursery this soon, I was grateful that she did so well and enjoyed being able to listen and participate in worship without interruption. I don't know that we will do it every week but it is nice to know she is comfortable with other people for a short while.


• She is losing her beautiful hair in patches. She loves to sleep on her side most of the time so the sides of her head have little bald spots. Her hair on top is long enough to cover some of it.The crazy part is that her hair is very long in the back and she doesn't seem to be losing any of it there. So she could end up with a serious mullet or something worse that only babies can pull off and still look precious. It will be interesting to see what color her hair will be as it grows back in. Will she stay black?


• Her eye color is starting to change a little. Found a few brown specks among the grey blue color that is dominant now.


• She goes for her shots and well baby check on Wednesday. I am going to take a guess at her measurements...13 lbs 3 oz and 24 1/2 inches long. I'll let you know the real results.

All Things Fotos

"You want some of me?"

"Put your dukes up!"

"Ha! Just kidding man"

Our new friend, Gentry Axel Dean Allen

The family of three -- Brad, Gwynne and Gentry