Here's Your Sign

We took Gracie to the Brewers game on Wednesday, and she was looking expecially cute. She had on a pink Brewers onsie with matching pink pants with a little bow on the waist. He feet tend to get cold, so she had three pairs on-white, then pink Brewers, then pink and white booties. Add her pink flower pacifier holder and pink dotted blanket, and she was adorable. Imagine my confusion when a fan came up to me and seriously asked "Is it a boy or a girl?"

Gracie's Big Day Out

Nana and Grandpa Kruse came out to visit this weekend, and Gracie had a lot of fun with them. We took her to the zoo for the first time.

Here are some pictures of her favorite animals.

She got to ride with Nana for a while...


Clearly, she is very interested in the animals!

Message For Shirley

I asked Gracie if she had a message for Shirley, and she got quite talkative. I'm sure Shirley will understand what she's trying to say!

Dear Daddy

Dear Daddy Dearest,

When you change my diaper and notice that it's leaked onto my outfit, please don't say "Oh well, it's just on the leg." It really annoys momma to come home to a baby with poo on her clothes.

Sincerely,
Amazing Gracie Kickapoo Wiggle Bean Stinkerton

P.S. Momma usually uses that Shout! stuff that is hanging from the bassinet when this happens so my clothes don't all have poo stains on them.

Tricky Girl!

Gracie loves to trick momma. This morning I woke up at 6 a.m. and realized she had slept for 8 1/2 hours, so I figured she was very hungry. After I fed her, I handed her off to Daddy so I could get ready for work. Before I left, I fed her again (we're getting low on frozen milk, gotta stuff her while I can!) and was surprised when she started to fall asleep eating. Her arms went up into the "touchdown" position-a sure sign of a sleepy baby. She stopped eating, and started making her falling asleep noises. After a few minutes I decided to put her down so I could get to work. As I laid her in the bassinet, both eyes popped open and she grinned from ear to ear. As she lay there, she started to wiggle, as if she was doing a happy "I tricked momma" dance. Sassy girl!

Antlers

Last night Gracie got fussy around 8:30 so I took her to her room to settle her down for the night. After changing her diaper and bringing her to the rocker she got really upset. She was producing ear-splitting screams like I've never heard from her. Daddy knew I had a headache, so he came in to try some of his magic on her, but even that didn't work. After he gave up I tried again and got her settled enough to eat, which settled her the rest of the way. As she was finally starting to make her cute falling asleep noises, Brian came back into the room. He started stalking toward Gracie and as he got close he stuck his tounge out like he was going to lick her (don't laugh, he's done it before!). I held up my hand and said "Don't you dare, she's finally falling asleep and if you wake her up I will hurt. you." He laughed and said "Oh, a mommy deer with antlers, huh?" I smiled sweetly to him and corrected him; "A mommy deer that hasn't slept in two days-with antlers." He looked from me to the baby a couple times and then slowly backed out of the room talking in soothing tones about how he planned on doing the laundry today. Good choice, Daddy.

Roly Poly

Gracie has been trying to learn how to roll over. Here is where she's at so far.

4 a.m. Feeding

Saturday at 4 a.m. I awoke to Gracie crying and went into her room. I changed her diaper and brought her to the rocking chair to feed her. While she was chowing down, I started to think about what I needed to get done over the weekend. There wasn't much, so I began dreaming about a restful couple of days. Since going back to work, I have been relying on the weekends to catch up on rest, and it hasn't been going very well. I've been back for three weeks, and the first weekend I was sick and the second weekend the rest of the fam was sick. So there I was, dreaming about an afternoon laying on the couch napping with Gracie when the fire alarm goes off! I kid you not, at first I didn't know what the weird beeping was and it dawned on me it was coming from the hallway. I stopped Gracie, got dressed, and went into the hallway. No smoke, fire, or evacuating neighbors. I decided since we are on the first floor and have a sliding glass door I'd wait on an evac. After all, it would be quite challenging to get the kid and cat out alone without loosing the four legged one. Long story short, Gracie got to see her first fire truck-complete with lights and siren, and didn't get back to bed until about five thirty. There truly is no rest for the weary.

Piles of Smiles

I have been trying to catch Gracie's smile on camera for what seems like a month! My camera was just too slow every time and I'd get the aftermath-which looked like a smirk. Finally, here are some cute ones of her great big smile.Finally, I'm off my tummy!

Look, it's Daddy!


Boy, I love that Daddy!

She Did It Again!

Gracie slept through the night again. I am so amazed-I didn't even have to give her shots this time. I really needed that eight hours, so I am very thankful. Maybe I'll make it through this week after all.

Before I Was A Mom

Before I was a Mom

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom

I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.

I never felt my heart break int o a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,

the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

First Mother's Day

I know it's not officially Mother's Day yet, but with Brian on the overnights, we do things whenever he is actually awake. This afternoon he asked me if I wanted my presents, and I told him that's up to him and Gracie. He decided I did want my presents, and went into the other room calling "close your eyes!" When I opened them he said "This one's from Gracie," and was holding these adorable teddy bears. Notice the tag!

Then he did the "close your eyes" bit again and gave me this necklace. I had told him I wanted a mother and child necklace and he picked it out. It's perfect! Tomorrow we will finish celebrating at the Brewers game. A friend of ours got a table at Fridays, just over our bullpen. It will be a blast!

Who Looks Like Mama?

My mom sent me these pictures of me when I was a baby. Looks pretty familiar!

What A Let Down

Remember how excited I was about the photos of Gracie for the USA Baby Cutest Baby Contest? I found them online last night, and I really don't think they do Gracie justice. She is so much cuter than any of the photos show. Needless to say, I doubt my little monkey will be winning this one. If you'd like to vote for her-or just see how a professional photographer can take an adorable baby and make her look-not adorable-here are the voting instructions, and they only count through May 15th. Her photos are numbers 57-60.

Two Month Checkup

Gracie had her two month appointment yesterday. We learned that she is now 10 lbs, 12 oz which is the 50th percentile. She is 23" long, which is the 76th percentile-where'd she get that? I forget the actual number for the diameter of her head, but it was the 75th percentile. The doctor said she is doing good, and growing like a weed-I've noticed! She also got her first vaccinations. I don't know if it was harder on her or me. She was crying so hard she lost her breath and couldn't cry!
She didn't really nap at all yesterday, and was really fussy-probably because I was sick- so I was nervous that we'd have a rough night. She wouldn't go to sleep and I was physically exhausted from the fever I'd been fighting, so I was naughty and put her in her bassinet with the boppy to prop her up. I turned on the vibrations and nature sounds and gave her a nuk and she fell fast asleep-and slept for eight hours! Yup, my baby slept through the night for the first time.

Today Is Hard

I am really struggling through today. Fridays are hard to begin with because I have a tougher class schedule than the rest of the week. Gracie had a really tough day with Daddy yesterday, and was fussy all evening. The good thing about that is that she actually slept really well last night-6 1/2 hours! However, I am so worn out from the rest of the week that it didn't really make me feel rested. I was managing through the morning and then I went into the lounge for lunch. One of our occasional subs was in there visiting with her two kids. Her oldest will be two in July and her youngest is 3 1/2 months (but was very premature). I almost started crying, looking at her baby and wishing it was Gracie. They asked if I wanted to hold her and I said no, then I won't make it through the afternoon. Thank God I only have two more classes. I'm comin' Gracie!