Thursday, March 26, 2009

A Rough Go for Baby Gore

Man, month #8 has been full of challanges, which is why the blog updates have been lacking....along with the laundry, house cleaning, grocery shopping and cooking, to name a few.

Grace has been teething for the past few months and FINALLY got her first two teeth 2 weeks ago. She was so fussy the week before they finally popped thru I took her to the doctors to rule out an ear infection. Lots of crying, waking up at night, pulling on the ears, etc. She checked out with a clean bill of health, so we came home and waited for her first tooth to make an appearance. Sure enough, the day after the doctor visit, her first tooth came thru. The second tooth came thru a few days later. Poor girl, it must have been really painful cutting two teeth at once. As soon as they showed up, I thought, "Pfew, I can FINALLY get some sleep now!"

Wrong.

She picked up her first cold a few days later. I suppose we have been lucky to have a sick-free baby for so long, but I was hoping she could hold out a little longer. So, we were back to no sleep, lots of fussy days and nights, etc. Poor girl could barely breathe. She's been sick for over a week now but is on the mend. Of course, I got sick too :-( I'm starting to get better as well, but now Aaron is sick! Man, I should really stop writing now, this is such a downer of a post!

We have had some good times as well, which I managed to chronicle with photos. Here are a few...

Sitting up like a big girl in the bath tub. She loves bubble baths. My friend Kristen told me about Vapor Bath by Johnson & Johnson which has eucalyptus and menthol in it so help clear up the sinuses. We took a lot of steamy baths over the last week to help get that junk out of her lungs and sinuses. I highly recommend this stuff. It seemed to help and smelled pretty darn good.


I found a new toy for Grace. Spaghetti! She was fussing in her highchair while I did the dishes and wasn't interested in any of her toys. So, I grabbed some left over spaghetti from the fridge and just plopped it down on the tray. She loved it! She didn't end up eating any of it but just played with it. A nice bonus was the cold spaghetti kind of stuck to her, so she was never able to throw it on the floor :-) I know, kind of WT of me, but hey, it worked!




She has been sleeping in her swing for every nap since she's been sick. The more upright she can sit, the better.

We managed to get outside in the yard last week and enjoy some 60, yes 60, degree weather. She loved it. She also loved the cats chasing each other around the yard while she sat there and watched. I love this furrowed brow picture. I think it looks like Aaron when he's grumpy :-)


Some of you may remember the celery I used to let her chew on when she was teething. Well, now that she has two little teeth, I've moved to carrots. I was afraid she's break the celery off in her mouth and choke on it, so carrots are the veg of choice for now. She likes carrots too, but not as well as the celery.
Lastly, we finally broke down and got Grace and exersaucer last month. We should have just bought one a few months ago. I just didn't want the extra kid-crap in the house. But, if it buys me a few extra minutes a day it's worth it. This is WORTH IT! She loves it. I found this one on Craig's List for $25. Not sure the discount price was worth it considering it took about 45 minutes to scrub clean. But, it is a major hit.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Happy 8 Month Birthday Gracie

One more month has come and gone and my baby keeps getting bigger and bigger! We have had a great month with some not-so-great highlights. Namely, the cutting of 2 teeth. The first of the two broke the skin yesterday. I'm hoping that helps put an end to the fussiness but I'm not confident. This girl has had such a rough time. She cries or whines at least half of the time she's awake. Hands in the mouth. Tugging at the ears. Not eating solids. Not going down for naps well. Not good. We finally took her in yesterday to her pediatrician to rule out an ear infection. She came out of there with a good bill of health and great looking ears. Must just be the teething.

We have also had some great highlights this month. We took a last minute beach trip last weekend with some friends. Our good friends Leon and Angela scored a house (make that mansion) by the sea and we joined them and another couple for some good conversation, relaxation and wine :-) There was just enough new going on that Grace was actually really good the entire time we were there. Apparently she likes to save the fussiness for the privacy of her own home. Here was the view from the front window of the beach house. Beautiful!

Grace also spoke her first word last weekend at the beach in front of everyone. The girl likes to be center stage. After MONTHS of trying to get her to say mama, her first word is officially dada. Go figure! Aaron, of course, loves it. I'm still working on mama but feel as though it's a lost cause. I wonder if 'kitty' will be next?

She also waved bye-bye for the first time this month. She loves looking at her reflection in the mirror, or as we like to call it, the baby who lives in the mirror. I always hold her in front of the mirror and wave to her. She thinks it's neat. Then, one day, she waved back! So adorable. It's a skill she picks and chooses when to use. Not something she does all the time. Aaron hasn't seen it yet. We were at our friends Darcy and Lucy's house yesterday and Lucy and Grace started waving at each other. It was adorable! They were both very proud of themselves.
Finger foods....
Another first was Grace working on our taxes. Apparently she is more than just a deduction, she is also our CPA. She takes her job very seriously and doesn't like to be interrupted.
Hmmm, let's see...carry the 1, divide by 4, plus the standard deduction of the new baby and the interest on the house......
Another fun first is her love to sit up in the bath tub. Her absolute favorite part of bath time is playing with the water as we fill the tub. She loves it. I attribute her love for getting splashed to swimming lessons. This picture cracks me up. Her arms look kind of buff. She went from Olive Oil to Popeye in an instant!

Who, me?
And my favorite picture of Grace to date....

Thursday, March 5, 2009

One year ago......

364 days ago Aaron and I were certain we were having a boy.



One year ago tomorrow we found out we were having a little girl. We were in shock. It's the first Gore baby girl in 3+ generations. Who knew it was even possible?!



I was looking thru some old blogs and found the one from 3/6/08. Check it out



One year ago I looked like this.....





One year later, I think I still have that gut! How is it possible to weigh less but look fatter than I do in this picture? One of lifes great mysteries!


One year go I went shopping with my mom and sister to buy our very first little girl clothes.


One year go my sister bought the baby bikini that Gracie rocked in her recent swimming lessons.


One year ago I had no idea that having a little girl could be this much fun! I always knew it would be fun, but nothing can prepare you for the joys ahead.


One year ago I envisioned a little girl who looked just like me. Little did I know she would look just like Aaron. I always tell her "it's a good thing your daddy is so good looking because you look just like him" :-)


I love you little G!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

For All You Nike Peeps


And I'm still laughing.........