A Little Too Much Irritability, Not Enough Flexibility and Now a Huge Load of Gratitude

I'll briefly explain the title of my post. Week seven of Gracie's life has been a little bit of a rollercoaster for me. I'll start with the best parts. Trent and I went on date night with Beau & Joni, Chris & Tammy (friends of theirs), and Monica and Gracelyn. We had an awesome time pigging out at Buca Di Beppo and Cheesecake Factory and enjoying a ton of laughs. Then our family of three spent a night in a hotel on the Plaza celebrating Gracie's six week birthday...if you know what I mean. She had an awesome night of sleep and fortunately I was able to catch her waking up before she started her cry for food and hopefully we saved the rest of the hotel guests from waking up too!

The rest of the week was good but I feel like I am still adjusting to this new lifestyle in alot of ways. Some days Grace sleeps all morning long, other days she sleeps away the afternoon. And then we have days like Wednesday when she slept only in my arms for 30 mintues at a time and wasn't content to be anywhere besides my lap. By the time Trent returned home from work, I was quite ready for a break and ready to get off my seat and move. As I lamented about how I didn't get "anything done today," he kindly reminded me that caring for Gracelyn was quite a huge accomplishment. I wasn't a very gracious receiver of this very sweet encouragement in the moment and instead I was feeling down right pitiful for myself that I hadn't spent more time in the world of "productivity." So, my prayers are for patience and a growing flexibility because days spent in Mommyhood are unpredictable at best.

Then yesterday, while I was at the beauty shop getting a perm (yes, I got a perm), I heard about a local family whose two month old baby girl died of SIDS while taking a nap in the middle of the afternoon. Gut-wrenching. So with a new perspective, I am reminded of the gift that life is everyday and am so grateful for each moment that I have with my family. Please keep this family in your prayers as they grieve. I won't even pretend to understand what they must be going through.

On a brighter note, here are some pictures and video clips.

Curly when wet

I think she has started looking more like her daddy this week.

Ok, this is funny. My sweet college friend, Alisa, sent Gracelyn the coolest gift. It's a lamb that has a warm belly (after heating up the pack inside) and he grants the best warm hugs to all who want one. Alisa suspected that Gracelyn might appreciate this more as she gets older. I think she might be right. Here is Lamby attempting to give her a hug.

Here is Gracelyn punching him in the chin.

Here is poor Lamby begging me for help. And Gracelyn is actually calm. Perhaps we are turning a corner. I will gladly give Lamby all the cuddles he needs until Gracelyn is up for it. Thanks Alisa!

Here's a selection of pictures of me and Gracie. Quick note: I noticed that there were a ton of pictures of Gracelyn and Trent since I am usually the one behind the camera. So, I asked Trent if he would start taking more of us. He responded as usual saying, "I never think to pick up the camera." So I said "Whenever you see something that you think is precious, have your next thought be...I should take a picture of this!" I think he thinks we look precious when we sleep. :)

aha...we are awake!

Mohawk!

Gracelyn is watching the birds outside.

Now, she is talking to her own bird.

Gracelyn was quite happy and I felt the need to try and capture it with my camera. Please excuse the "pillows" that are the size of her head.

She loves to kick her legs.

She loves to eat her arm.

She really loves her daddy.

And now she has found her toys. She is growing up so quickly!