Happy Half Birthday Gracie Mae!!!!!
Weight & Height - Grace now weighs a whopping 16lbs and 15oz. She is 25.5 inches long and you can really see the growth! She is now in size three diapers to fit around that plump cute bum of hers. We just cleaned out her closet/drawers so she is now wearing some 3-6 and 6-9 month clothing, she's about right in the middle of the two sizes. This month you can definitely see the change in her size and is no longer our tiny little 6lb baby girl!
Sleep - Unfortunately, sleep is not my favorite subject regarding Gracie right now. She's seemed to take a big step backward and is waking about every 3 hours again. Also, she doesn't sleep very long in her own bed and I've done what I have to in order to get sleep so I pull her into bed with me. I know, not good but hey a moms gotta sleep somehow! I think she just took after her dad and me and is such a big cuddler!! In her defense, we did go stay at Grandma's while dad was gone for Annual Training, so she did have to sleep somewhere else and adjust. We have a few things we are going to try like earlier bedtime and adding things to her nighttime bottles to help her stay full longer in the night. We have kept up on her bedtime routine really well, including her walk and bath most nights. This next month, I want to try to include reading a book as well. She still naps about 4-5 times a day but they range anywhere from 40 mins to 2 hours and I think she may be trying to drop a nap.
Eat - Grace knows exactly what it means when I put her in her highchair. She loves sitting in it and even stays after the feeding just to play with toys on the tray. We do still have to prop her up with a blanket but she holds herself up pretty well. She is eating stage 2 foods now and so far hasn't tried something she didn't like. I'm excited to talk with her Doctor this week about guideline as far as what other foods we can start letting her try. So far we let her chew/lick carrots and bananas and she loves it! She is still just drinking 4 oz bottles every couple of hours.
Recent Milestones - One of my most favorite, is that she gives the best kisses this month! She will really just lay one on ya! Mostly Momma! I left Grace for the first time with Aunt Shay so I could go to a long overdue hair appointment. It was about a 2.5 hours in total and she did great! Okay, let's face it, I did great! haha It did help to get some pictures of her during that time to see she really was ok and happy though. We also left her with my mom this week to go on our first date, back to the temple! It was much needed and I can't wait to go back again soon. We also went to the cabin with Kort & Kevin and Shay & Tyson on Kolob this past weekend. Grace did great and loved being in the mountains. Grace has come a long way developmentally. She can pass things between her hands and hold things better. She will stop and just stare at her hands like she's never seen anything more amazing. She can pull herself forward on the carpet. She plays with her toys on her tummy a lot but hasn't figured out crawling just yet. She just laughs when I prop her up on her knees like it's just this funny game we are playing! She discovered her tongue this month and loves when I stick mine out at her and make the farting noise. I know, real mature! It's so cute to watch her get excited and try to do it back! She loves to eat anything and everything. Her gums are swollen, she's got a clear runny nose and she slobbers beyond belief but still no teeth to show for it! One of my favorite things of this stage is her love for me. She literally just stares at me with the cutest little smile on her face even when I'm not paying attention to her. She also started this fake cry/cough just to get my attention!
Dislikes - She hates to wait for bottles, especially in the middle of the night! Grace still hates the initial getting into the car seat, but then she gets easily distracted with her bottles. She hates her own bed right now but is getting better. She doesn't like when you don't pay attention to her and wants you right down on the floor with her. She still hates the dark too, in the car at night I always have to turn the overhead light on so she won't start crying.
Mommy Update: I finally got my hair done and pampered which was so needed!! I'm doing so much better in the kitchen and was able to cook for a week straight after Ethan's two-week Annual Training because he couldn't stand another night of fast food! I am working random hours for both jobs and trying to increase my hours now that I can. I found more podcasts that I really enjoy and I'm trying to do things that make me happy and feel like myself again. We have girls night Thursday nights when our husbands go to basketball and that's been great to spend time with friends again. I love being a wife and I love being a mom but I'm learning that neither of those words defines me, I am still so much more.
** Goals for next month **
1. Trying more foods.
2. Get her back in her own bed and sleeping longer at night.
3 . Going on more dates, espeically to the temple!
Monthly Photo Dump
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