Happy Halloween!

This was Graecyn's first halloween where she actually was actually excited and knew what the holiday was about.  She asked us almost daily if today was Halloween and when I finally said, "yes, today is Halloween", she was so excited!

To help get in the spirit of the holiday, she got to help carve pumpkins...which she was into for about 5 minutes and then professed that "this is boring".

I convinced Graecyn to dress up as Elsa from the movie Frozen so that Cody could be Olaf.  I knew it was highly likely to be cold outside, so wanted to make sure Cody had a costume that would keep him warm.  His Olaf costume consisted of a white snowsuit and a homemade hat.  It didn't take much to convince Graecyn to be Elsa and she it still pretty into this movie.

We invited Graecyn's best friend, Callie, and her parents to come over and trick-or-treat with us.  Callie was a witch and is the cutest witch I've seen!  The girls were so excited and pretty much ran from house to house.  Graecyn practically pulled me through the street.  She did a good job saying "trick-or-treat" and "thank you" and didn't get shy or embarrassed at all.  The weather was pretty crummy for the 4th year in a row - cold, windy, and raining, but it didn't slow them down.

It's so much fun to see holidays through Graecyn's eyes.  Her excitement is contagious!

Miss Independent

We have given Graecyn more independence recently, which she is loving.

We started by not turning the monitor on during her naps.  We bought her a special clock called the "Ok to Wake" clock; you set the clock for the amount of time you want the child to nap for.  Once the clock reaches that time, it glows green signaling to the child that it's ok for them to get up.  Instead of Graecyn calling out to us when she was ready to wake up; she could watch for her clock to glow green and get up and come downstairs to find us all by herself.  She LOVED this new freedom.  We then extended it to the morning; again, we set her clock to glow green at a time when we felt it would be ok for her to wake up (6:45 a.m.).  If she wakes up and her clock is not green, she knows she needs to lay in bed a little longer until it glows green.  This clock has been such a great purchase!  It's so cute to hear her door open and the pitter patter of her little feet coming down the stairs and see the big smile on her face because she gets to be a big girl.

We did this for a few months and recently decided it was time to test out this system at night.  Cody was starting to roll over, which made me nervous not being able to see him on a monitor (we had just a sensor/audio only monitor on him).  Instead of investing in a second video monitor, we decided to move Graecyn's monitor into Cody's room.  I wasn't crazy about the idea at first - I wasn't sure how'd she feel about knowing that Mama and Daddy wouldn't hear her if she called for us in the night; I was worried she'd get scared if she needed to get up in the night.  So, to help make sure she wouldn't get scared, we found a special flashlight for her to use if she needed to find us; she loved it.  She uses this flashlight day or night to come find us.  In the morning, when her "ok to wake" clock glows green, she comes busting out of her room with "Miss Unicorn" in tow.  At nap time, she comes downstairs with Miss Unicorn's light leading her way (even though it's broad daylight).  I'm still adjusting to the middle of the night tap on my forehead or quiet "mama" and having her staring at my face.  I am sad that she's growing up so quickly, but I love to see how proud she is and how she is embracing her new independence.

Gymnastics Showcase

Graecyn was invited to join the developmental (pre-pre competition) gymnastics team last spring; today was her first gymnastics showcase.  We were worried she would get nervous and not want to perform, especially with so many people watching.  But, we were pleasantly surprised; she didn't seem nervous, didn't get embarrassed (even when she tripped and fell down because I distracted her by waving) and she looked so comfortable.  She did awesome and had so much fun!  We are so proud of her!

4 Months

Another month has flown by! New things this month are...

• You're starting to giggle and squeal and you talk like crazy.  It's the sweetest sound!
• You have mastered rolling over from your back to your tummy...we can't keep you on your back any more!  Because of this, we no longer swaddle you at night and put you to sleep on your tummy (since you'll end up that way eventually).
• You love bath time and are so calm and relaxed during it.
• You have discovered your hands and constantly have them in your mouth or grabbing onto something.
• You drool like crazy...your shirts are drenched within minutes of getting dressed in the morning.  
• You love your sister and your face lights up when you see her.
• You have the sweetest smile and show it to us all the time.
• You're ready for bed around 7:00 every night and have given us a few nights where you didn't wake until 6 a.m.  Most nights, though, you're still waking between 1 and 3 a.m. to eat.
• You went on a nursing strike right after I went back to work.  I don't know if it was because I went back to work or because you had a cold and were stuffy (or both).  I'm still pumping and giving you 100% breast milk, but you're starting to show interest in nursing again.
• You can sit up (assisted) and are so strong.
• You weigh 13 lbs 11oz and are 25" long.

You are such a happy baby and have brought so much joy to our lives!  It's crazy to think that 1 year ago we were just learning that our family was expanding!