Rub-A-Dub-Dub

10 Things I Wish I Did or Knew Before Having Kids

I decided to actually have an adult post for today. I love posting updates on Gracie and new pictures, but let's face it....sometimes we just need a little 'adult' time.

This is my sad attempt.....

5 Things I Wish I Did Before Having Kids

1. Slept more!! I'm talking 12 hours a night, getting up and making a huge breakfast and then either going back to bed for a few more hours or plopping myself down on the couch for some quality TV like a Girls Next Door Marathon or the Real World. Quality my friends
2. Showered more! I'm not talking about showering for cleanliness (although that's kind of a given). I'm talking about 30+ minute showers just for the heck of it. You know the kind I'm talking about...the ones where you use every salt scrub, body scrub, face scrub, body wash, and foot treatment known to man. And then get out and slather up with about a zillion different body butters. Ahhh, heaven I tell you!
3. Get regular pedicures.
4. Spa days! Can you tell I could really use some pampering?!
5. Sat in my backyard and enjoyed a nice glass of wine in the summer (or a bottle. Hey, who's counting?)

5 Thins I Wish I Knew Before Having Kids

1. It is possible to love someone so much that it actually makes your heart ache.
2. Sleeping through the night is NOT a given.
3. The highlight of my day would be singing the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and I would LIVE for the cute reaction that song brings.
4. You really do think YOUR kid is the cutest thing in the world.
5. Adding a "Y" on the end of any word makes it sound cute. Say it with me: nappy, poopy, spitty-up-y, snack-y, lunch-y.

OK, that'a all for now. Time to give the wee one a little snacky.

Grace is 9 Weeks

We celebrated Gracie's 9 week birthday and 2 month birthday this weekend. I know I say this every week, but she really is getting so much bigger every week. For the first time, I can actually understand how people say "they seem go grow so fast!" She is changing and seems to be doing and learning something new every day.

She has really been enjoying 'tummy time' this week and has even started holding her head up much higher and for longer periods of time. I only managed to get a few pictures though. I swear, every time I grabbed the camera she put her head back down on the blanket. I think she was playing a game with me.

Grace and I have also been having some great conversations. She has started cooing back at me and we sit there and 'talk' back and forth. It is so much fun. I have no idea what our conversations are about, but she loves them and thinks they are extremely funny!





We also had a visit from her Aunt Jana this weekend. Grace loved having another person to play with and 'talk' to. She also loved to have her Auntie rock her to sleep.
Sadly, I've been forced to take self portraites with Gracie since it's just the two of us during the day. Grace wasn't too into this picture, but you get the idea.

Grace is 8 Weeks Old

This was quite the adventurous week for the Gore family. We decided to do a little hiking at Mt Hood yesterday. It was my first real "work out" since Grace was born...actually, it was my first real work out since I was about 30 weeks pregnant, but who's counting :-) Yesterday we packed up and headed to the mountain for the day with enough baggage for a 4 week European trip. So much for going anywhere without a trunk full of things!

We were wondering how well she would do and crossed our fingers. Luckily, she did GREAT! We plopped her in the baby Bjorn (thank you again Brian and Teresa!!) and away we went. She loved being out side and the combination of nature, being held and the motion of movement was a perfect combination. Aaron was quick the pack-horse as you can see below. Grace was so disappointed not to be able to wear her RealTree camo to match dad, but it was a bit chilly for that. Maybe next time!
Here are a few more pictures of the adventure

Lucky for us, Grace decided to hold off on filling her diaper until we returned to the car...at which point she decided to fill 3 of them in a row! This is her after the three diaper changes and an outfit change. I can't wait to show this picture to her when she's older. It's amazing she is still so small that she can fit sideways in the front seat of the car.

Another big milestone this week has been the discovery of her hands. As you can see below, she loves to suck on them. It keeps her occupied for quite a long time. They are constantly in her mouth.

She was so good for the trip. She started crying (OK, screaming) in the car about 5 minutes from the house and we realized it was the first time she cried all day long! It was amazing. We were so proud of her! She is really becoming more of a content baby. Oh, for those of you wondering, she is making up for the lack of crying today. It seems that every really good day is followed by a not-so-good-day.

She is continuing to smile more every day. I just love it! She loves to smile at me when we are up at o'dark 30 for a feeding (otherwise known as 2am). I try not to smile at her and just get down to business so she goes back to sleep easily, but sometimes I just can't help smile with her and play a little. Of course I usually end up regretting that when it's 3am and she still thinks it is play time. ARG!!
I seriously can't get enough of this hoodie with the ears. She loves kicken' it in this outfit in the morning when the house is cool and she's cozy and warm in the fleece sweat suit.

7 Weeks Old

Grace turned 7 weeks old this past Sunday and is more active and interactive than ever. We have been having so much fun with her and love watching her smile. She almost always has a big smile for us after she wakes up from her naps and quite often has one when we change her diaper - perhaps that's because she knows that something special is waiting for us!

She has been cooing more and more and becoming so much more interactive during play time. She loves it when I sing to her - even if it is totally off key.

We had another check up at the doctor's office today. All went well. She is officially a long, skinny baby with a normal sized head. She weighs a burly 9 pounds now and is 22 inches long. That means she has gained 2 pounds since birth and has grown 2 1/2 inches in just 8 weeks. She's quite the busy girl. She is only at the 25th percentile for her weight but is at the 50th percentile for height and head size.

She decided to show off her mad skills for her doc today by holding her head up really high and then proceeding to roll over right there on the exam table. I was so proud that she decided to show off her best skill. Oh, she also decided to show off her second best skill and fill 3 diapers during one visit! Our pediatrician was quite impressed with the rolling over (less so with the massive poops) and told us that she has the motor skills of a 4 month old! I know I'm bragging but I don't care. I'm one proud mama!

Here are a few pictures of our little 7 week old.

How cute is this smile?!

This is officially the cutest outfit she owns. I love the fleece hoodie with ears. It's the only reason I hope for bad weather....
Some very interesting reading. She loves that maple leaf!

Family outing with mom and dad to an Elk viewing area. Aaron is breaking her in while she's young!

Napping with daddy.
Quit makingme take all these pictures!!!! Whaaaaaaaaa!!
That's it for now.