2 months from a year--10 months old.

Our little Grace just turned 10 months old, how can time possibly fly by so fast? At what point did she already grow up in to a little person? A little person that is 100% attentive, and responsive, and opinionated? I wish I would have been able to notice the exact moment. One of the things that I constantly aim to do as a Mommy is to live in the moment. She wants to eat a french fry---okkkkay. She wants to climb all over the puppies after they've just gotten out of the lake--okkayyy. She wants to stay up 2 hours past her bedtime--okaayy. As much as I hate admitting it, I can't control it all. Dangit. Really, I can't? Ugh. Oh well. Grace wins this one. It's so much more of a free feeling, and I love being this way. I know that I won't always be carefree, because I'm still me. I'm a control freak. But, I feel that as these 10 months have passed, I've slowly gotten a feel for what I can chill out on, and what I need to be stern on. I know that Dan and I will constantely be challenged raising Grace, but as long as we continue to raise her as a confident, happy, little (not so little!) girl--she will grow up in to a confident, happy, respectful, grown woman. And I'm going to stop thinking that far in advance. After all, she's ONLY 10 months old!

Wow, hello 26!

First off, why in the heck am I blogging on my birthday? Oh yeah, because it's just another day--that just happens to be the day I was born! My day has started off wonderfully so far, Grace let Mommy get an extra 30 minutes of sleep this morning,I had a better-than-normal cup of coffee, the dogs aren't being too nuts, my Mom and Leslie are coming in to town so Dan and I can have a date night, and I actually had enough basil to harvest it and freeze it. (Sorry, I'm such a big dork when it comes to plants!) Anyways, while enjoying my coffee and listening to Curious George in the background I had some time to reflect on 25, which was by far my most life-changing year of my life.

Being 25 has been wonderful, it marked a  quarter of a century of my life. Well, assuming I'll live to 100? Eeek. Okay, let's not think THAT far in advance. Anyways, so during year 25, I've learned a lot about the person that I am...more so, the person that I'm becoming. I'm a Mommy. I'm the future wife of Dan. I'm a daughter. I'm a friend. I have really tried to keep all of those things in line, and really cherish my relationships with people this year. It's been crazy hard, but I manage! With all of those in mind, I've also learned of the type of person that I want to be! I have done things this year that I never thought I could have successfully done. My biggest challenge has been being a mother. Of course it comes "naturally", but everything is definitely not natural. I went from being an insecure, out-of-her-element mother--to being confident, and being able to trust my instinct and trusting the fact that I actually know what's best for that little human being that we're raising. Regardless of all of the hard times (the few months of ZERO sleep, being away from friends and family, and just the daily challenges in life) I have realized that 25 was an invaluable year. I have learned lessons and have taught myself so much. With all of that said, bring it on 26!



She's 8 months old...wow.



There's no way she's 8 months old. Nope, no way. She can't possibly grow this quickly. Hm. Am I in denial? Look at that little sweetheart!

7 months--a little late! :)

12.6 down! 5 more to go!

Well, as many of you know--I started doing Weight Watchers a couple of months ago. It's been a very interesting experience. In a sense, I LOVE it--because now we constantly have a fridge full of fresh veggies and healthy snacks...but I don't love it because I LOVE to cook. Let me rephrase, I love to cook with butter, and pasta, and cheese. All of which are things that I would never lose weight if I continued eating them the way we did. During my pregnancy, I gained almost 60 lbs! (Granted, a big chunk of it was water weight, but 60 none the less. Yikes.). When we moved to Austin, my partial-italian man got me addicted to sweets and to pasta. Ugh. It tasted sooo good. I still may or may not have dreams about strawberry shortcake icecream from Cold Stone. :) Anyways, after trying on all of my pre-preggo summer clothes...I knew it was time for a change. Not a temporary change, but a lifestyle change for our little home. So, that meant me enrolling in Weight Watchers and both of us working out. I can now say that I am 5 lbs. away from my goal weight of 140 lbs, and I couldn't be happier! I've struggled trying to find a workout plan that I really enjoy because some of the times I have to have Grace with me, and others Dan can watch her. So, I started the Couch 2 5k running program and have been doing it for 3 weeks. Today was the first day that I had a pretty tough time completing my workout. Previously, the longest stretch I had run was for 1.5 minutes. This week, they bump it up to 3! Are they trying to kill me? Joking, but as some people may remember. I'm the short distance sprinter. Well, I was. I'm talking highschool time. Yikes, that was a long time ago. Anyways, 3 minutes of running in a hilly neighborhood pushing a 20 lb. baby and a jogging stroller. No bueno. Oh well! Because guess what?! This girl DID IT. Woohoo. I was really dreading this week, because I felt that it'd be the most challenging for me. But, I did it. And I'm a bad ass. So, anyways--I think this is the first post where I haven't rambled on and on about Grace. Hey, this Mama still matters. Right? Dan and I are on a track of a healthy lifestyle, and I only hope that Grace will always see us like this. Being conscious of what we put in our bodies, and how we take care of ourselves. Hopefully this summer we can run a race as a family. Hm, sounds like a short-term goal for me! Like I said, it's a lifestyle change. I'm dedicated to giving my family the best, and while financially I can't really do that, I can educate myself and help to guide my family in to living and being as healthy as possible. So, there's my schpill for the day. I know Dan probably doesn't read this--but if you do, I love you and can I please have these shoes for finishing week 3? :D

 Okay, if Dan isn't reading it--then Dad, can I please have these shoes for completing week 3?
I also have to throw in a new picture of Grace and I that I just love. I adore her sweet smile, but sometimes seeing her not smile is just as sweet!

Happy Good Friday everyone!

Summer in April?

This past weekend we had the opportunity to go to one of Dan's co-workers house in New Braunfels and enjoy their beauuutiful little oasis in their backyard. Grace also got to swim for the first time! It was the cutest thing because the water was a little too cold for her at first--then before we knew it, she was splashing around in her floatie. Adorable! For all of your North Easterners, can you believe we are already swimming? It was almost 90 that day. I predict a HOT summer again! Thank the Lord I won't be pregnant this time. But, we need to enjoy these days now because before I know it--it'll be too hot to let Grace play! I predict many a day like this in our near future. Here are some cutie-pie pictures of our little family! :)

You want me to do what?... With a 7 month old?!

FLY FOR 8 HOURS?!

Oh lordy. I can feel the anxiety brewing now, and it's 3 weeks away! We're going to Boston for 9 days in April for Grace's baptism, and we are oh.so.excited! However, not so excited about the flying. We went previously in November for his sister's wedding, but that was when Grace was just a little baby! She was only 3 months old--and still loved to sleep on Mommy. Now, that is so not the case. I'm sure if she's sleepy enough, we'll get a little bit of sleep out of her. Oh gosh, okay. Anyways, so here I am--planning (doing what I do best!) for our trip. Making sweet Marianne a nice, extensive, list of goodies that Grace needs for our stay! So, what have you been up to lately? We've had all kinds of things going on! Mommy is having some sleepless nights (growth spurt/learning new things?), baby is crawling (backwards), and Daddy is torturing the dogs. Of course, Daddy is doing much more--but that's the first thing that came to my mind. As far as my sleepless nights, I'm actually okay with it. I'm surviving! Grace has started rolling over on her tummy, and enjoys sleeping that way. Unfortunately, she will wake up and can't roll back over! I'm not sure why, because that's what she learned wayyy earlier. Maybe the bed is too squishy? (Squishy the right word? Hm..) Anyways, it's pretty funny...because I've heard that babies practice their new skills while they're sleeping. And boy, is she practicing them! Once again, I'm going to go on a rant of how special it is to watch her grow. She's so funny! And has such a funny little personality, it makes me laugh. Somedays, she'll just be super calm and content and happy (maybe gets that from me?) and then other days she's also super happy, but hyper!, and loud!, and verrryyy expressive (must be from Daddy!) She truly is just a nice little blend of both of us, and I couldn't be prouder! So, last week I had several friends call me and say "well, hello Ms. Suzy Homemaker!"--turns out they had been keeping up with my little adventures lately, which include embroidering and cake-baking. I LOVE it! Both of them! When I was baking that damn cake, I was seriously obsessing over it. (Crazy, much? I think so!) Seriously, I would brainstorm different ways to make it work. And FINALLY! I came up with this...this little beauty is pretty much what Grace's baptism cake will look like. So proud, and not too bad for a 3 week baker!

Had to sneak in a little bit of this cutie pie! Love her!

Xoxo, have a great day everyone!

Crystal



6 months, fruit-cup!

Last night, I was holding Grace after feeding her last bottle of the night and she fell asleep in my arms. I didn't want to let go! I just sat there thinking about how fast these last 6 months have flown by, and by flown by--I mean, the fastest 6 months of my entire life. How can she have have gone from a helpless little 9 lb baby, to a little 21 lb. girl who is trying to explore and see the whole World around her? Amazing. So as I'm holding her, I say a little prayer to God thanking him for our sweet perfect blessing. She's changed my life for the better in so many ways, I can't even count them! Regardless, she's going to eventually grow up and be a grown-up one day...so I'm going to cherish those little snuggles that I get, from here on out.

As most of your know, I have the luxury of being able to stay at home with our little fruit-cup (yes, got that from Rango). It's most definitely a change of pace from working, but I wouldn't change it for the World. I get to experience every single move that she makes, and it's the most rewarding feeling in the world. Shout out to Grace's Daddy for giving us this opportunity to spend this time together :), love you boo!

So, anyways--here's what's going on with Grace. She is seriously almost OFF the charts on her growth. Her weight and head circumfrence--she's in the 99th percentile. Her height--she's in the 100th! oh. my. goodness. I'm thinking she's going to be tall like Mommy! Our Pediatrician is really great, she was so impressed at just how happy Grace was! She was impessed with her ability to sit up for long periods of time, and that her little teeth already grew in. Way to go baby girl, I'm so proud of you! :)

Wellp, time to go--nap time is over, so blogging and pinning is over too. Love you all, and thanks for listening to my ramblings!

Xoxo,
Crystal

Warmer weather brings more smiles!

Have you ever tried to take a picture of a tooth?

Fabulous Five Months

Hi, I'm Crystal, Mommy of Grace, girlfriend of Dan, maintainer of the home, and do-er of homework. All of this ultimately means, I'm a blog-less blogger. Well, I'm making time to update everyone on Grace. She is a big whopping 5 months old. Actually 5 1/2 now, because I'm a procrastinator! Our little chunk is just growing like a little weed! Not only physically, but I can see her just maturing as a little person. It's such an incredible thing to witness. She literally changes every single day! Just last week I was talking to a friend about her not being able to sit up unassisted. Then, bam! The next 2 days--she was doing it! Then, I had suspicions of her teething for a while...but nothing had happened. Then, I'm giving her a bath one day, and I see the glare of tooth. I FREAKED out. Actually, that's an understatement. After I got over the shock of the pain of chomping down on my finger--I called everyone! The response I got? Crystal...you knew it was happening! :) Mommy's intution, I suppose. So, here I am--witnessing all of her physical changes and then I can also see her personality forming too. She's such a laid-back, easy-going little monkey. She also has the funniest new laugh, it actually sounds exactly like Dan's. HA! She like chuckles, and then will let out big belly laughs too. Sooo funny! We couldn't have asked for a better baby, and I thank God for her every single day! Anyways, thanks for listening to my ramblings--I could talk about her ALL day long. Oh wait...I do!

Being 4 Months Old Must Be Fun!

Oh my goodness, our little angel is really 4 months old! Time just fliiiiies by now, and every day she passes up another milestone. This age is really so much fun to me, and I feel like each blog as she gets older will probably say that--until she hits 2, right? She is such a little joy to be around, and I feel like I know her better and better each day. Amazing. Just amazing. So, here she is--Ms. 4 months old!

We can also add to that list that she got her ears pierced! Grandparents weren't too ecstatic about it...but, she looks just as beautiful as ever. Now, she just has little diamonds in her ears! :) Well, I had a whole lot more that I wanted to say--but the little person who my whole entire world revolves around, just woke up early from her nap!

XOXO,
Grace's Mommy

Thankfully Three Months

I labeled this post "thankfully three months" because HOLY CRAP! Dan and I have made it this far as new parents! It's pretty funny, because three months is supposed to be the magic age for babies. They aren't just little baby blobs anymore--they start to develop personalities, and are overall just a little more fun! That smile that we used to see every once in a while during months 1-2 would just light up my whole entire sleep deprived day. Now, I get to see that lovely smile ALL day...and it just lightens up my life. I swear, God made babies so adorable just to make us forget all of the craziness that they put us through. It's like the second I see that heart warming smile...I forget that I have had my sleep interrupted 5 times in one night, have a permanent spit up stain on my shirts, gotten poop on my hands, and have walked around in a state of delirious-ness for the past 3 months. It all just instantly goes away. This must be what the ultimate form of unconditional love must be.

I'm a dork and made the text too small, but if you click on this picture--you can read it better!

It's nothing short of amazing the amount of growing that Grace does in the physical sense, but already seeing her mature in her personality is such a special thing to witness. She is what gets me up everyday (literally!), and it just excites me each day knowing that Dan and I will witness something new.

Two Months Together...

Life is beautiful, never take anything for granted.

Xoxo,

Hard to come up with any words for the beauty in this blog post.

Boston in the Fall. Beautiful.

Grace on Halloween. Bootiful.

Grace and her Daddy. Beautiful.

Happiest baby ever. SO beautiful.

Life is beautiful.

One Month at a Time...

At one month, Grace...

• definitely weighs more than 10 lbs. The last time we went to the doctor's office, which was about 2.5 weeks ago, our little chunk was 10 lbs and a few ounces. (Do I win Mom of the year because I don't exactly know how much she weighs? Next month I'll be more prepared!)
• is definitely not wearing newborn clothes anymore. Actually, she hasn't worn those since she was about a week old. She's wearing 0-3 month and exclusively 3 month pants.
• is eating 4 ounces at a time! During the day, she eats every 2-2.5 hours, and at night time (if we're lucky!) she will go every 4 hours. What can I say, she's hungry! and I'll feed her!
• loves to be held! We're still trying to figure out all of the things she likes. As of right this second, she's laying on my chest.
• likes to be swaddled to go to sleep. Once we notice she's sleepy, we'll swaddle her and most of the time it calms her down completely.
• is holding her head up like a champ! Yesterday, she actually turned her head towards me when I said something to her!
• is making more and more noises everyday. Mostly it's cooing, grunting, and snorting. She's our little piggy!
• is just fascinated by the most simple things. At the moment, she likes G-Moms black and white pajamas and anyone wearing glasses. 
• isn't too sure about her pacifier. Sometimes she loves it--most of the time, she doesn't.
• has completely and utterly stolen her Mommy and Daddy's hearts.

She's here!

So...this is a little late! 

Hello Girl Baby Announcements

Shutterfly has cute birth announcements and cards for Easter.

View the entire collection of cards.

Letter to Grace...

Hi love! Still baking in there, aren't ya? Don't you think that it's about time for you to come out? Okay...maybe to wait a day for your Nana to get here from Boston...but aren't you ready? Surely it's not THAT comfy in there! Throughout my pregnancy, I have been so thrilled to meet you. I never would have thought that the feelings of anxiousness, nervousness, and just excitement could really take over my whole body. You are what I think about day and night. And that won't ever change. I feel so silly for being so ready and impatient to meet you. I'm the lucky one that will get to have you for the rest of my life, what's the rush--right? For 9 months I have been nourishing and protecting you, and I plan to keep it that way for the rest of my life. Your Daddy and I are so excited, and just can't wait to see your beautiful face. What are you going to look like? Of course, I know you will be stunningly beautiful in our eyes...but whose features will you get? Will you get my hazel eyes, or your Daddy's brown eyes? How about your nose? Hopefully it's mine ;). Joking! Your Daddy has a smile that can light up the room--so I really hope you get that from him. And I'm SURE you will be a chubby one. You've had quite a bit of time in my tummy, so surely that reason is to gain more weight and not just to drive me crazy! I know that you are going to be full of energy, all you've done is move around since I could feel you. I hope that you get a combination of your Dad's energy, and your Mom's sense of calm. I did acupuncture today to get your labor jump started--and through the whole process, the one and only thing that I thought about was our little family. I thought of the way that your Daddy will look holding you, the way that I will look at you, the way your other family will love you, and the way that the puppies are going to totally freak out (and also love you) the first time they hear you cry.

Regardless if none of these traits describe you, you are going to be so loved. Now come out already, so we can meet you! Lots of people are waiting for your debut! :)

Cloth Diaperin' Mama

So, I can't even count how many times that when I told our friends and family that we were cloth diapering--the "oh my gosh, are you crazy?!" and "Oh, I'll give you a month" looks that I got. Hell, I even got that from Dan. At first! (Don't tell anyone, but he actually told me he's really excited about it!) But, I'm here to tell you--the cloth diapers aren't going anywhere people. I'll have the luxury of staying at home with Grace for the first 6 months or so of her life, and I think it all just works out perfectly.

So, when you first think of cloth diapers...how many of you think of safety pins and a peice of cloth? Yeah, me too. Not so much! Cloth diapers have come a long way, and I was convinced from my dear friend Lacey that it's the way to go. Not only are you doing your part to save our planet, but it's the more economical choice too. I'm not sure if I will be saving bundles of money, since I chose to not go the cheapest route...but over the past 9 months I have kept my eyes open for any type of sale I can get.

Here's a peek at what we've got so far. Yes, I said so far. Sorry Dan! This is by far my favorite drawer to show people when they have come to check out Grace's nursery.

Helllllooo cuteness. Can't you just see that cute little cloth bum crawling around? I'm so excited, and I can't wait to prove everyone wrong show everyone, that cloth diapering isn't that much harder and is a better choice! Enough about me being a brat to prove everyone wrong... ;)

This last weekend my Mom, Leslie, Grandma, Eme, and Steph came to visit us! We had such a great time, and it was nice to see all the ladies in my life. We're all getting so excited for Grace's arrival, and my poor mom thinks that every time my name pops up on her phone--it's me telling her I'm going in to labor. As if she wasn't already such a worry wart! Here's a few pictures!

I told Eme to make a funny face, this is what she came up with. I just love her!

5 generations! Soon to be 6! I love this picture!

So, what do you think about cloth diapering? Are you mad at me for admitting that I want to prove most of you wrong? :) Anyways, well I hope y'all have a blessed Thursday! Is it really already Thursday? My goodness. 37 weeks next week!!!

After 2.5 years, I have FINALLY figured out what's wrong with Gabby.

Yes, you heard that right. If you know me, you know Gabby. Gabby is my sweet, sweet chocolate lab that I love SO much. However, she has easily been the most high maintenance dog in the whole world. See, Miss Gabby has a little tummy problem (or so we thought!). She throws up, alot. Probably atleast 3 times a week. It's the saddest thing I've ever seen because her eyes water, and she shivers. Just like a person really. She just looks so miserable, and it's made me so sad over the years. I genuinely thought that it was a food allergy, so I've always bought her the best best dog food...have tried cooking her chicken and rice...have bought little balls to put in her food to make her eat slower. You name it, I've tried it. So, the other night, I ran across this term called Megaesophagus. Sounds pretty weird, huh? Well, apparently it's common in labs and I found a blog that also has a sweet little chocolate lab that has the same problem. Who woulda thunk it? I was so surprised that someone else out there has been going through the exact same thing as me! There are dogs out there that have more serious cases of this, but luckily Gab's isn't so severe. So, get this. The way to treat it at home? Make the dog sit in this ridiculously cute (but has to be so torturous, especially for an insanely hyper lab!) chair!

Or, just go see your vet like we will do. For now, our treatment is whenever she is acting like she's going to be sick...we'll just go play ball with her outside. It's like it relaxes her, and seems to do the trick 90% of the time. Anyways, I know this information isn't for everyone, and I doubt anyone really cares--but it was a huge milestone to finally figure out what's wrong with Gab!

We'll have this be the dog blog today. So, the other weekend we went to this lake that had such a beautiful view (mhm...you could see a power plant in the near back ground). Regardless, it's been 40 days of 100 plus degree weather, so ANY lake is fine with Dan and I, and especially the puppies! The dogs had so much fun. I kind of worry when Gabby swims with other dogs, because she is a really strong swimmer and let's just say that Frances is not! So, she occasionally dunks him...big deal! Regardless, they LOVE to swim! I sometimes worry if they are going to come back when they go in to the water. So, here are some pretty funny pictures from our lake trip.

Dan lives to torture our dogs. Here is, throwing Gab in the water!

Check this picture out! Thanks to my awesome new camera, I can actually capture this. Even though, they look like the meanest wolves ever!

And, I apologize for no border--and I can't believe I'm putting this up here...but here I am. A lovely 8 months pregnant. Yikes. Oh, and check out the power plant in the back. Beautiful, just beautiful.

Happy Friday!