Coco

No, not Coco Channel. Coco is Grace's new name for Chloe. She started by saying Coey (like Joey w/ a 'C') for Chloe and would always say her name 3x fast. Chloe, Chloe, Chloe (or should I say Coey, Coey, Coey) and that turned into Coco. It's so cute.

Grace just adores her little sister. She loves to hold her and always says, "Mommy, hold Coco on the lap?" I have to stay near by, because when Grace is done she tries to throw Chloe off her lap and move on to something more interesting.

Here are a few pictures I snapped of the girls this morning.

This picture was taken first thing this morning. Grace had just finished breakfast and went potty. Only after those two things are done, can she settle down and watch a little Elmo. Apparently Chloe digs Elmo too. Or perhaps she just digs sitting in the chair with her big sister. Grace, of course, has Ella in hand. Ella the Elephant was a gift from her Aunt Jana and is Graces favorite thing in the entire world. She sleeps with that thing every nap and night.

Life has started to find some sense of normalcy for us. Mind you, it's not balanced and is almost always way more chaotic than I like. But, such is life with 2 little ones.

Chloe is a GREAT baby. She is mellow, easy going, a good eater, nurses quickly and is a good night sleeper. She's not the best sleeper during the day, but I'd much rather have a good night sleeper. She has slept thru the night twice already from 8pm to 4:30am. It was AMAZING! I can't wait till she can make that (or even longer) a regular occurance. About once a week I manage to get both of them to take a nap at the same time and it's wonderful! Other than that, I'm usually touching, talking to, holding, scolding or playing with one of my kiddos every minute from about 6:30am to 8:30pm. They are exhausting days, but I have to keep reminding myself that they will be good playmates soon. Maybe then mom can do something really exciting like fold laundry, mop floors or empty the dishwasher. Speaking of which, chores have totally fallen by the wayside. If you happen to stop by, please disregard my messy house!

Poor Chloe has her first cold. I feel horrible that my infant is sick, but with our 2 year old little carrier monkey it was bound to happen sooner or later and I'm sure will happen more often than I would like over the course of the next year or so.

Family of Four

We have officially been a family of 4 for 11 days now. It doesn't seem that it has been almost 2 weeks since Chloe came into our world. We have all had to make adjustments to our lives since her arrival. I've had to get used to nursing again. It seems I'm nursing around the clock. This girl is a great eater! She is an ounce away from her birth weight, which means she's gaining weight like a champ. She has slipped into somewhat of a routine, although I use that term VERY loosely. We all know that babies love to fool you into thinking they are on a 'routine' and then decide to change things up just as soon as you grow to depend on that routine.

But, for now, Chloe is eating a TON during the day, takes a 3 hour long mid day nap (that, of course, never really seems to coincide with Grace's nap) eats a TON in the evening and goes down about 8pm. The past few nights she has gone almost a 5 hour stretch and doesn't wake up till around 2am and then again around 5am for a snack and then is up for good around 8am. This is a huge difference to Grace, who seemed to eat every 2 hours around the clock for several months. I chalk it up to Chloe being so much bigger. Chloe is 60th percentile for weight and 75th for weight. Grace was 25th for both.

Grace has been adjusting as well as can be expected. She has meltdowns multiple times a day which are probably part "terrible two's" and part "Mom brought home a baby who just won't leave". Any little thing will be horribly tragic in the world of Grace. However, she hasn't really acted jealous or been directly upset with Chloe. She LOVES Chloe and loves to hold "her bebe". She has endless kisses for her baby sister, and also enjoys showing Chloe how to play with toys.

Here are a few shots of Grace in Big Sister mode.

Wow, what a difference 26 months makes! Check out that size difference.

Grace and Chloe have been enjoying bath time together the past few days. We fill the tub up for Grace and then plop the baby tub in with Chloe and add a little water. This is a great evening activity for the whole family. Grace thinks it's great to bathe with Chloe and helps wash her feet. This usually results in our newborn being totally covered in soap. Chloe loves her bath and is usually in a great mood during bath time. Afterwards, Grace can play in the baby tub. This is bathtime fun at its best!

Aaron has been home for 2 weeks and gets ready to return to work next week. Sigh. I'll miss him so much! He's been a great help and has been the 'primary parent' for Grace while I've been taking care of Chloe. Divide and conquor! Grace has loved the extra daddy time and has gotten very attached to him.

Luckily, I won't be alone next week. Grandma is coming! Yippee!

That's all from the Gore family of four!

It's a Girl!!!

We were so excited to welcome our little girl on Sunday! She was born at 10:42am on Sunday morning and weighed in at 8 pounds 8 ounces and was 21 inches long. That's about 2 pounds and 2 inches longer than Grace! So, in Gore terms, she is a 'huge' baby :-)

I actually had an ideal labor this time. And, by 'ideal' I mean quick! I woke up Sunday morning around 1:30am with some contractions. Because I've had so many false alarms, I didn't think much about it and figured they would go away. I didn't bother timing them or anything and just tried to go back to sleep. I'm guessing they were about 15 minutes apart because it was just enough to go back to sleep between contractions.

When I finally decided to look at the clock it was already 3:30am and I timed the contractions which were now about 8 minutes apart. Eeek! At this point I woke up Aaron and told him to call my parents. I just hoped we had enough time for them to drive the 3+ hours to my house before we had to go to the hospital. My contractions stayed about 7 to 8 min apart till about 7am at which point I decided to get out of bed and into the shower. Wow, what a difference standing up made. I started getting them about 2 to 3 minutes apart in the shower and they were so intense! Aaron and I started talking about our 'Plan B' for Grace and he told me to get back in bed to slow the contractions down. I did and it worked. My parents arrived a little after 8am and we were at the hospital by about 8:40am. By the time I got to the hospital I was only at a 5-6cm and was so irritated because I really wanted to be farther along that that. I was only at a 5 when I was admitted with Grace and she didn't arrive for another 10 hours. By the time I got to my actual room I was at a 7 and went into the shower again to help relieve the pain and keep the contractioons coming. It was so PAINFUL! I cannot even explain it.

By the time I got out of the shower it was a little after 10am and I was at 8-9cm and the contractions were coming one on top of another. My nurse was telling me that I was going to have that baby within the hour and I wanted to believe her but just couldn't. After being in labor and pushing for so long with Grace, I didn't think anything about this labor would be quick. I was wrong. The next 40 minutes were a total blur, but I remember telling my nurse that the baby was coming and was pushing even though they hadn't given me the OK. They broke the rest of my water about 15 minutes before and that really spead things up (who knew you could break your water more than once? News to me, but I didn't bother to ask about it. I had more important things to do :-)

Long story short, I started pushing and had Chloe only 4 contractions later. It was less than 10 minutes total. The doctor almost didn't have time to get ready for the catch. I couldn't believe it. She was a SHE! They put her on my chest and said "It's a Girl" and Aaron did a double take and we both just said, "Really?!" What a surprise! We were even more surprised to find out she was such a big girl. She came out a little purple. The cord was wrapped around her next twice but it wasn't tight, so the doc wasn't concerned about it. She got some color back right away and we were just sitting there in awe of our new little girl.

Cut to 4 days later. We are exhausted but loving our new role of parents of 2 girls. Grace has been a wonderful big sister and she takes this job very seriously. She loves Chloe and wants to hold her all the time. Oh, and by the way, Grace was the only person who consistently told us we were going to have a baby girl...the entire pregnancy! Maybe she knows something. Maybe I should let her pick out some PowerBall numbers?! :-) Grace is very involved with Chloe and likes to be a big helper. It also helped that Chloe brought Grace home some Big Sister presents from the hospital. That was a big hit!

That's all from the Gore house. Almost time to feed the baby!

xoxo,

the Gores

More ramblings from a 40+ week pregnant woman

Yet another post without pictures. At this point, it's actually less about showing you all my massive girth and more about being too lazy to walk into the bathroom, stand in front of the mirror, take a picture and then download it that actually prevents me from posting a picture.

I hope my interesting, informative and possibly witty thoughts keep you intrigued enough to finish this blog post. Here are a list of a few things that have been on my mind:

Random Thought #1 - My Induction:
Love the idea for planning purposes but hate it because I'll be strapped to an IV and will probably have much more painful contractions. I was hoping to have a non-medicated birth this time around, although I swore I would never try that again. You see, when I was in labor with Grace it took FOREVER and finally after 21 hours without drugs, I got an epidural. Directly following the epidural I was ready to smack myself for not getting one sooner. I mean, what was the point of 'holding out' for 21 hours just to have an epidural for a few more hours before the pushing began? Totally pointless. I vowed to order an epidural and a meal right after checking into the hospital for the next delivery. My feelings have changed. Maybe I'm crazy?! Who knows. I pushed for such a long time with Grace and felt so clumsy because I couldn't really feel much. I think it might have gone faster without the epidural. So, this time if I have a fast labor and can make it to 10cm in a reasonable amount of time, I'd like to do the whole thing without drugs to help speed up the process. We shall see.

Random Thought #2 - TV
Now, I'm not a huge tv watcher or lover, but I do enjoy unwinding at the end of the day to an hour or so of good shows. Is it just me or does the Fall Season Lineup seem to start later and later every year? Seriously! These actors and studios make a boat load of $. Why do they get the same holiday vacation as kids and school teachers? Hello! One of the major perks to becoming a teacher is understanding the ratio of pay:holidays. In other words, low pay = lots of days off. I don't think it's rocket science. So why do actors who have high pay = lots of days off? I don't care if they work long hours. Welcome to the real world and please consider working year round like the rest of us. I think America is actually getting dumber by watching the summer reality shows.

Random Thought #3 - Chocolate Chip Mint Ice cream
Really, is there anything better? I haven't craved ice cream at all this pregnancy until today. I had a craving that could only be satisifed by Chocolate Chip Mint ice cream. Oh, and make that Umpqua Dairy Choc Chip Mint. I need to stick by my Roseburg roots. I picked up a 1/2 gallon on the way home from story hour at the library with Grace and have thus far enjoyed 2 bowls while she naps. I think the only thing that might be better than this is finishing up my ice cream afternoon with a sample of Espresso Madness, my other Umpqua Dairy fav. I actually haven't gained weight for the past 3 weeks and lost a pound this past week. Instead of starting off my post-partum slightly thinner than I originally expected, I'd rather treat my pregnant, aching body to a vat of ice cream. I think it makes total sense.

Random Thought #4 - I miss my house cleaner
Dear Charlotte,
It's been almost 2 years since we said our goodbye's. I think of you almost every day and miss you terribly. If I ever win the lottery, you will likely be the first person I call :-)

Random Thought #5 - I never thought I'd say this, but I don't miss working AT ALL
Becoming a stay at home mom was THE HARDEST transition I've ever had. It was a real loss of identity and appreciation for me. I think being a recruiter for one of the biggest names out there really had something to do with it. Candidates loved getting calls from me. They thanked me regularly and were so appreciative. Hiring managers were also happy to have a great partner in staffing their teams, etc.

Cut to being at home, not talking to an adult all day long and having a baby who you sacrifice everything for and never says thank you. It was SO hard. I had this horrible internal struggle of 1) being too much of a control freak to ever let anyone care for my baby and 2) wanting nothing more than to not have to care for my baby every waking hour of every day.

Now, I couldn't imagine life any other way. I don't miss getting up and going to work at all. Because, at the end of the day, work is so secondary to my family. We have been lucky enough to be able to make the financial decision for me to stay home with out kids and haven't ever looked back. I couldn't imagine having to try to be an All Star mom and employee. I just don't think I could personally do it. I'll stick to attempting to be an All Star mom. I'll let you know in 18 years how that turned out :-)

Now off to the Espresso Madness ice cream. I can hear it calling my name from inside the freezer.

Random Thoughts

I will have more to update tomorrow after my 40 week appointment, but for now I bring you a few random thoughts:

• The only thing more dangerous than watching Food Network 9 months pregnant is watching Food Network 10 months pregnant! I want Key Lime Pie!
• Where did summer go? It's pouring outside. At this rate, I think our home garden probably cost us approx $5 per tomato by the time you consider the amount of time and water we used all summer for only a few good tomatoes.
• Speaking of tomatoes. Ensalada Caprese is THE BEST salad ever. I mean, can you really go wrong with a salad that is 50% cheese?

Things I will miss about being pregnant:

• 1:1 time with Grace. I love being able to take the time to sit and color with her, or do a sticker book or just curl up on the couch and read with her. She's at such a fun age and reall into coloring lately. I looove it!
• Using it as an excuse when complaining. For example, calling Hillsboro Garbage and complaining that I had to go pick up spilled garbage from the street that the garbage man knocked out. It just seems to pack more of a punch when finishing that sentence with "and I'm 9 months pregnant!"
• Using it as instant justification for a pedicure! They will soon to back to a luxury as opposed to a necessity. Sigh.
• Getting a donut at the grocery store while shopping 'just because'.
• THE SLEEP! Enough said.

Things I WON'T miss about being pregnant

• Swollen feet, hands, cankles and face. Ugh. I miss my wedding ring!
• Getting up 3-4 times a night to pee. Of course, peeing takes much less time than actually getting up to feed an infant.
• Constantly being out of breath. I mean CONSTANTLY.
• The heart burn. Seriously.
• Finally being able to see what I've been cookin' up for the last 9, I mean 10 months!

An INDUCTION date? Are you kidding me?

I made my weekly trek to my doctor's office yesterday for my 39 week checkup. I remember scheduling this appointment about a month ago thinking I'd never make it that long. Much to my surprise, I'm still pregnant...or large and in charge as I like to call it.

Everything checked out just fine. I'm STILL 2cm and 80%. I think I've been like that for over 3 weeks now. Despite lots of contractions over the past week, I'm not dilating one bit. Oh well. I'm sleeping like a champ and am trying to take advantage of the 10 hours a night I'm currently getting. If only there was a way to save the extra sleep I'm getting now to lessen the blow the sleepless nights with an infant will have on me. Can't I just bottle that?

I remember during my 2nd trimester when I was having multiple contractions, rapid heartbeating and some other complications my doctor jokingly told me, "You'll probably be one of those women who we try to keep pregnant for 9 months and then end up having to induce to get that baby out!" We both laughed. Ha, Ha, Ha. Cut to yesterday in her office when she told me she'd like to schedule an induction date for September 15th (one week past my due date). WHAT?! Are you kidding me? She told me that since the hospital allows you to schedule 2 weeks out, she'd like to get it on the books 'just in case' but also added that she didn't think I'd deliver on my own before then.

I still can't get over it. What if I actually have to be induced? This was not something I had ever considered an option. I always hoped/figured that I'd just go into labor at home, hang out at my house as long as possible and then show up at the hospital just in time to pop that baby out. Getting hooked up to an IV with meds that make you start contracting like crazy is not my idea of a good time. Plus, I've heard the contractions are so painful that it makes you want pain drugs right away. Hmmm, things to consider. I'm keeping an open mind. On the plus side of things, it would be great to have a 'date' when I know the baby will arrive. It would make planning and care for Grace so much easier.

Couldn't end this post without my lovely 39 week pictures. I didn't even make it this far with Grace, so I don't have much to compare it to. Although I'm beginning to think that silver top is a bit hippo-ish. Grace, of course, wanted to be in the photo shoot in her church clothes too.

All in a days worth of parenting

No wonder the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child." exists. It probably has something to do with the fact that it takes multiple adults to match the entertainment needs of a toddler. Or, maybe I should say entertainment 'wants' of a toddler. In any event, we had a 'village' here last week for Grace's entertainment pleasure.

These are a series of snapshots, courtesy of Auntie Marcie, taken in about a 6 hour time frame. This girl was BUSY! Everyone around her was exhausted but Grace just ate up all the attention. Her 'Energizer Bunny' enthusiasm may have partially been powered by her Kool-Ade, or as Grace would say Too-nade, popcicle. She enjoyed sitting with Grandma while eating it.


And what would a sunny day be without a little backyard skinny dipping? Grace couldn't imagine spending the afternoon any other way. I have long given up on having her wear a swim diaper in the backyard and she seems to enjoy a little nudie action.

Lucily for her, her doll Sammy also enjoys a little skinny dipping.

One of the obvious perks of having Aaron as her dad is all the physical things he does with her. He can help her jump higher, fly around the house doing 'jet', hold her on his shoulders while he mows the lawn and speed around the house and patio in her babies stroller. According to Aaron, these are the reasons he works out :-) Grace thinks he is so much fun, but this poor guy is always tired from these activities. He has a great motto though. Even when he's too tired to play, he always does it because he says "I know when I look back on these years I'll be glad I did." So sweet.

Here he is zooming Grace around the patio in her baby stroller. She loves this because he gets her going REALLY fast. I'm always nervous about the possibility of road rash, but neither of them are interested in slowing down.

Low-Rid-er

Aw, come on daddy. One more time. PEASE (as Grace would say)

Aside from totally pushing Aaron to the point of physical exhaustion, her other favorite activity is to 'fing'. She loves to fing at the park and always talks about it when we drive by in the car. Of course, this park is located less than 1/4 mile away and we drive by it daily. When we do she likes to tell me about who pushed her last. She'll say, "Fing mommy! Auntie Push!" So cute. She NEVER forgets to mention it and talks about it CONSTANTLY.

Here she is getting a push in the fing from gama.

Grandma also has developed the 'upside down game' with Grace. She loves when Gama comes to visit because she knows she can go "upsid-oune"

This is immediately followed by "Ta Da" and lots of clapping.

Um, Pop-Pop, I don't think you clapped enough for me.

Fanks Gama. That was fun!

Practicing funny faces with Pop Pop Love you Pop Pop.

Whew....that was a long blog and was literally only a 6 hour period in a day in the life of Grace. All without an afternoon nap! I'm exhausted from just blogging about it. So glad my 'Village' was here to help out for the afternoon!

I'm so tired of leaving the hospital STILL pregnant

Well, we had another visit to the hospital yesterday. I thought the full moon was going to bring baby into our lives a few weeks early, but alas it was a false alarm.

I woke up at midnight on Sunday/Monday, to a full moon, and some serious contraction pain. It wasn't consistent, so I was able to go back to sleep only to wakeup at 3am with serious cramps and contractions every 7 minutes or so. I thought "here we go!" I let it continue for about an our before waking Aaron to tell him "Our baby is coming!" I was thrilled to meet our new addition and get this show on the road. While I was having painful contractions, what bothered me most was HORRIBLE back pain. I'm talking, paralyzing, nauseating back pain. This was quite different than I experienced with Grace, but then again, this pregnancy has been totally different.

I called my parents about 4am and asked if they could come up. The first thing my mom said to me was, "It's a full moon. Babies always come on a full moon." They hit the road shortly after we hung up and I just hoped that I could hang in there till they arrived. Well, by about 6:30am my contractions had subsided but the horrible back pain was still there. I was able to take a little snooze for about an hour and then started thinking that this was very unusual for someone who was in 'labor'. Not good.

My parents arrived about 8am and Aaron and I headed out about 9am to get some walking in to speed things up before heading to the hospital. By this time the contractions were back, painful but kind of irregular. The horrible back pain was still there and I started wondering if this is what 'back labor' is all about.

We did a little walking and shopping and my contractions got worse. We headed to the hospital and I instantly thought they would send me home. I was not in 'bad shape' like I was when I was in labor and admitted with Grace. The nurse checked me and told me that the contractions weren't changing anything and she said that the backpain was likely due to the baby being 'sunny side up' (which is not the desired position for pushing. OUCH!) and wasn't due to me dilating anymore. I was having contractions every 4-5 minutes while I was there, but they weren't doing much, so the nurse discharged me and sent me on my way. On the way out the door I told Aaron, "I'm so sick of leaving this hospital STILL pregnant!"

What a bummer! Nothing worse than the guilty feeling of waking up your family in the wee hours of the morning, having them drive 3 hours to my house only to have a 'false alarm'. One would think I would know what labor was like since I experienced plenty of it with Grace!

Sigh. Anyone know when the next full moon is?

37 Weeks Pregnant

Well, I'm still pregnant. Both a good and bad thing. Well, mostly good I guess. Bad in the fact that it has been a scorching 95 degrees outside with humidity and Grace wants to spend all day in the kiddie pool in the back yard. I'm a constant sweaty, swollen mess! But, the longer the bun stays in the oven, the better.

Here are my latest pictures. I haven't mastered the art of taking pictures of myself in the mirror. Makes me wonder about all of those people on Facebook who have tons of pictures that they have taken of themselves. They seriously have WAY too much time on their hands. That is something that must come with way too much practice. I digress.....





Every week I think to myself..."Just when you thought you couldn't get any bigger!" My belly is still really growing and, even though I'm a week away from the point at which I delivered Grace, I'm convinced that this is a larger baby already. There is just so much baby here! Of course, the other girth may be the direct result of the peach pie I've been consuming. I like to think it's 100% baby and this is my blog, so that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Speaking of peach pie....We picked a TON of peaches last week. Did some canning and have been eating all things peach. Mostly peach bread (not worth the calories because it's both made with butter and I MUST eat it with butter on top as well) and peach pie. I'm happy to report that I may have actually perfected the peach pie. Only took me 6 years to do it :-) I'm a slow learner but have really enjoyed the trial period of baking and eating peach pie on a seasonal basis. Not sure what Grace is going to think when I'm not pregnant anymore and we stop having peach pie and ice cream as a 10am snack :-)

I have my 37 week appointment tomorrow. We shall see if I've dilated any more than I was last week. I am half expecting to go in and be at 4cm, since that is the pattern I experienced last time just before Grace was born. Although I can't wait to NOT be pregnant anymore, I'm already grieving the loss of sleep and know at some point I would give anything to trade the sleepless nights just to be pregnant without an infant to wake me up.

I'm so excited to find out what we are having and am so glad we decided to wait this time. I highly recommend it!

I Think Grace is Channeling Elton John

Seriously......

36 Weeks

Just a quick update on my pregnancy. I had my 36 week appointment this morning. Aaron was kind enough to come home this morning from work so I could go by myself to the appointment, a true luxury! While Grace is usually really good during my doctor appointments, she is still a 2 year old and likes attention all the time. She is not the best at sitting patiently while I speak to my doctor. Imagine that?!

I have been feeling OK lately. Still having lots of contractions, which isn't that abnormal for me. Exhausted. Achy. All in all, things have been fairly normal. So, I was a little surprised to find out this morning that I'm already 1-2 cm dilated and 70% effaced. Eeek! When I asked her, "Do you think I'm going to have a baby this weekend?" (Fully thinking she would tell me No) She answered, "I don't know." Not exactly the answer I was looking for.

My doctor always errors on the side of being conservative. If I'm stressed about all of my contractions, she's always the one to say it's no big deal, etc. She has a 'been-there-seen-that-not-worried' kind of attitude. So for her not to give me that kind of reassurance surprised me. Of course I came home and told Aaron to install the infant car seats and pack his bag just in case!

That's all for now!

34 Weeks Pregnant

I cannot believe I'm 6 weeks away from my official due date and only 4 weeks away from the point in which I delivered Grace. This is NUTS! This poor child is very neglected already, so I've decided to designate this blog to baby #2. No Gracie pictures or updates allowed.



I did manage to take a snapshot of myself this past week. Mostly because I was getting dressed and ready for the day and caught a glimps of myself in the bathroom mirror. My first reaction was, "Wow, I don't look THAT pregnant from the front." Then I turned sideways and my reaction was more of a "WHHHOOOOAA". See for yourself.



Conclusion: Black is an extremely forgiving color and I should throw away any shirt that isn't black.



I serioulsy feel huge this time around. I've gained about the same weight as I did with Grace, maybe even a little less, but this baby is so low that it just makes me look much bigger. (see my post from Grace's pregnancy) I'm actually to the point of having to go buy more maternity shirts because my belly is hanging out of the bottom of all the ones I currently have. Never had that problem with Grace because she was so high. Of course, I had heartburn for about 6 straight months....



Other than the sheer girth of my belly, I'm feeling pretty good. Certainly lacking energy and feeling all other things that come with pregnancy, but I'm just happy to be done with some of the more serious health issues I had early on. If exhaustion and swelling is the worst of it from here on out, I'll be a happy woman!



I keep having dreams about the gender. Still no clue, although this pregnancy seems to be getting its share of "boy" votes. I'm kind of leaning that way as well, since the pregnancy is so different from the first, but only slightly leaning that way. Like maybe 60/40. Thoughts?

The Potty

One of the many things I never realized before having kids is the amount of time my life would be consumed with talking about poop and pee. I always knew I'd spent a ton of time cleaning up those things, but talking about them? Eeek! Well, our life is now consumed with talking about going potty. We have started potty training at the Gore house and, for the most part, it has gone really well. We've been working on it for about a month.

After trying to get Grace interested in the potty for what seemed like FOREVER, I decided to try an Elmo potty chart with Elmo and Sesame Street stickers. That did the trick! She was hooked and would sit on the potty to squeeze out a teaspoons worth of pee just to do the sticker chart. After the 2nd week, I could swear we were "almost there" and she was having only about 1 wet diaper a day. Then we went out of town for a few days and had a major setback. But, we're back on the potty train and doing really well. I'm sure we'll be at this a while and the new baby in our lives will probably cause a major set back, but we are still going full speed ahead. At the very least I'm saving tons of money in diapers and Grace get's to clap for herself and be excited at her accomplishments on a daily basis.

A few other random pictures of my little Gracie. Have I mentioned that this girl is 100% girl? She loves, shoes, moisturizer and lip gloss. I catch her quite often slumming around the house in my gold flower shoes.

With our rescent kitchen remodel came Grace's very own spa tub. She loves a good bath in the sink and I love the fact that I can do it standing up instead of trying to figure out how to get on my knees in the bathroom and bend over the side of a tub with my massive baby bump in the way.

Other than potty training, we have been enjoying all things outdoors this summer. Grace loves to be outside and we are out in the back yard all day, every day. We start our mornings off with a little SPF 50 and then head outdoors, only to come in for nap time. I picked this little picnic table up at a yard sale down the street for $10. We love it!

Of course, a little time in the pool is a MUST. Aaron and I have even been known to join her once in a while in the kiddie pool. We love summer!

Because 3 separate birthday parties are always fun when you're 2.

Wow, what a busy weekend we had. Grace and I headed to Roseburg for her third birthday party. Yes, that's right, she had three, 2 year birthday parties. Hey, why not? We had one with our playgroup, one with just the three of us at home (blogpost and photos to come) and one in Roseburg with the rest of the family. Here are a few highlights from our weekend.



Presents:

This girl LOVES to open gifts. Sometimes, she enjoyed the event of opening much more than the actual gift itself. Such a difference a year makes. Last year she didn't really care much about anything...including eating the cake.



Her Aunt Jana had this Panda made for Grace. Grace just LOVED it. She has a true love for pandas anyway, and when she received one that she could hug and ride, she was in heaven. I asked Jana to hide the gift until the end. Good thing we did that, I don't know if Grace would have opened or played with anything else if the panda was sitting right there with her.

Her very own purse was a real hit as well, compliments of Grandma. It came with her very own chapstick. Again, a HUGE hit. She occasionally naps with her purse and insists on taking it everywhere. It's so cute. And, by the way, the other side of the purse has a giant sequined pink heart on it. Sweet.

Enter, the Elmo cake. This was almost more than she could wrap her head around. She was thrilled. Thanks Marcie for taking over the frosting duties after my super hot, pregnant hands kept melting the frosting in the frosting bag! Of couse, Marcie

A little help from mom to blow out the candle.

Grace also received this awesome car from our friends Dena and Zoe. She loved it! I mean, she seriosuly couldn't get out of it the entire weekend. She spent hours just opening the door, getting in, closing the door, driving around and honking the horn :Repeat: I think it was the sole reason she actually slept well at Grandma's house in the Pack N Play. Thank you Dena and Zoe!

After all the "open se-sants" as Grace called it, came to an end we spent time just hanging with family. Grace loves going to Gama and Pop Pop's house and was thrilled to be their little shadown all weekend. I was thrilled too, because it meant she wasn't being MY shadow and I could actually sit down and put my feet up :-)