The Sweetest Sound

Graecyn is now laughing.  We've heard her laugh before, but never like she is now...especially once we get her going.  It is the sweetest sound.

Favorite Sleep Position

At night, Graecyn is swaddled so there is absolutely no way she can move her arms and startle herself awake.  But, during the day, this is her favorite sleeping position (just like when she was in utero)...so sweet.

16 weeks old

25 weeks pregnant

Bath Time

Graecyn's really starting to enjoy bath time.  She kicks and splashes like crazy and gets mad when bath time is over.  I tried to get video of it, but of course as soon as the camera comes out she freezes.

She loves her "Sophie the Giraffe"

Wild hair...she now has a baby mullet!

Bedtime Book

Such a good snuggler

She's also become a major chatter box.  She loves hearing her voice (and so do we)...it's the sweetest sound.  The below video is her chatting away while I tried to rock her to sleep...she ended up chatting herself to sleep.

Wedding Bells

'Tis the season for weddings.  Eric, Graecyn and I traveled to North Carolina this weekend for a wedding and bridal shower.  Eric's cousin, Chris, got married on Saturday, April 14.  It was a beautiful wedding and she was a beautiful bride.  Eric's younger brother, Mark, is getting married on May 19, so my sister-in-law, Rachel, and I thought it would be a great time to throw a shower for our future sister-in-law, Amanda.  She had a great time and they got a lot of nice gifts to help them start their new life together.  And, my younger brother, Will, has finally popped the question to his now fiance, Danielle!  They're planning a small destination wedding next winter somewhere in the Caribbean.  I'm so excited to be gaining both Amanda and Danielle as sisters-in-law this year!

Here are a few pictures from Amanda's bridal shower.

Pretty cookie bouquets made by Amanda's mom.

During the bridal shower, we played the game where guests get into groups and make a wedding dress out of a roll of toilet paper.  There were several very creative dresses...even Graecyn got a dress (which quickly began to dissolve from all of her baby drool)!

The pretty bride-to-be, Amanda:

Amanda - Abbie - Anna

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!  It was a very low key and nice Easter for us.  The Easter Bunny made an appearance at our house this morning and was quite generous!  We made it to church for the first time since Graecyn was born.  We weren't brave enough to take her into the main auditorium and aren't quite ready to leave her in the nursery, so fortunately, our church has a separate 'parent viewing' area.  It's a separate room with a live TV feed of the service with toys for younger kids, a private area for nursing moms and a changing area.  It worked out great and we'll probably try to get back into going to church regularly now that we know this room is available.

I turned 33 (!) on Wednesday and had a nice birthday - Eric & Graecyn got me a pretty deep purple calla lilly plant (like the flowers from my wedding bouquet) and an iPad!  He also made me a great dinner (tortellini with homemade roasted red pepper sauce) and baked me a yellow cake with chocolate frosting (one of my favorites).  It was a great way to celebrate!

Finding her hands

rolling from her tummy to her back

happy spring!

Graecyn with her Easter goodies

3 Months!

Today marks 3 months since Graecyn made her arrival in this world.  It is amazing to watch her grow and change.  She is such a happy baby...always ready to flash a big toothless grin that brightens anyone's day.  She is a chatter box, cooing and laughing all the time...it is the most precious sound in the world!  She is getting stronger every day and can hold herself up for long periods of time.  She can roll from her tummy to her back and will probably be rolling from her back to her tummy just as soon as she figures out that all she needs to do is move her elbow out of the way.  She has become a major TV junkie.  Anytime the TV is on, she finds a way to watch it.  If we have her down on her activity mat, she will find a way to twist her body and crane her neck to catch a glimpse; I guess she loves the flashing lights and bright colors.  We have to turn it off sometimes just so she'll pay attention to us! :-)  She's started to find her hands and is always putting them in her mouth now...sometimes even finding her thumb!

Graecyn started daycare this week, going up to 3 days/week while Eric works his part-time carpentry job.  Her first day was Tuesday and both Eric and I took her; it took us forever to say goodbye.  I think it was harder on Eric as I had already had my separation adjustment when I went back to work 2 weeks ago.  He felt guilty for having to put her in daycare (our original plan was for him to be a full-time stay at home dad until this woodworking opportunity came up) so he got her a "sorry you had to go to daycare" onesie that said 'daddy's princess'.  So sweet.

We've been supplementing with formula since we found out she was underweight at her 2 month appointment.  While she still is not quite on the growth chart for weight, she is quickly catching up.  She now weighs 9 lb 7 oz - almost 3 lbs more than she was 1 month ago!  She is my chunky monkey!!

Arizona

A few weeks before I went on maternity leave, I was invited to give a presentation at a conference in Tucson, AZ.  Of course I said yes...who would turn down a free trip to Arizona? 

My speaking committment was for only a few hours and since my parents have a winter home in Fountain Hills, AZ (just outside Phoenix), we were able to spend most of the trip visiting them.  Usually they're back in Iowa by this time getting ready for planting season, but fortunately, they were able to extend their time since we would be there.

We had a great time...took in a spring training baseball game, spent time at the pool and visited a huge air museum.

taking in the baseball game

Air Museum

nap time by the pool