She's 15 months old now!!

Gracelyn is 15 months old now! She is so full of life... and expressions and personality and attitude! She is a one fun little girl.

she is a HAM! she dragged her laundry basket into the kitchen, found the pantry door open and pulled out the peanut butter (which she has NEVER had) and put herself, the pb and her sippy in the basket.
I love my little cupcake head, which her daddy lovingly calls her because of her hat.

Gracie is talking quite a bit and each day I am surprised by a new word. Just some of the words she says, "ball" "cracker" "uh oh" "Brandon" "more" "bye" "flowers" and of course "mama" and "dada." I'm really working on "mimi" with her because she calls her "mama" as well, she does adore her mimi!! Gracelyn has a word for both Blaine and Britton and they match the syllables of their names, I just cannot tell what they are. When you ask her a yes/no question she shakes her head no.... which leads me to her attitude. And Miss G sure has one. She knows what she wants or doesn't want to do and doesn't hesitate to let me know (which includes but isn't limited to posing for pictures.) I asked the pediatrician today about time-out and we will put that into motion immediately.

stats for Miss Gracelyn at 15 months:
height- 30 1/2 inches (50th percentile)
weight- 25.4 lbs (90th percentile)

refusing to face the camera. stinker.

Gracie loves her food. loves it. She loves pasta, most fruit, pork and chicken but not beef and now that she is weaned she very much enjoys whole milk. I was nervous about adding it to her diet with her constipation but it's not any worse since she began drinking the milk. I'm still giving her yogurt regularly and mirilax.

very few smiles for the camera these days BUT she is fulls of smiles and laughs all day long.

Gracie is quite a bookworm, which I think is a major reason she is talking so much. She and I read constantly and I love when she comes up with a book, turns around and back up onto my lap. On Wednesday nights at church the nursery workers know that she loves books too so they read to her book after book, which is great because Gracelyn is in there for a couple of hours and she beginning to adapt.

Gracelyn loves her pacifier, as much as she loves food. The pediatrician said today that we need to start weaning her from it. Oh.my.gosh. I am NOT looking forward to this. She has her pacifier in her mouth a lot and at least half of the time her teeth are clenching it and she's not sucking on it. The paci has been through a lot with her, it soothed her in the hospital while she suffered from botulism, it was her motivation in PT, to get her to roll or move across the mat, sit and lean, pretty much all actions were performed in order to get to her pacifier. In order to not sound like I worship the paci, I will say I wouldn't mind getting rid of it mainly because it's disgusting, it's a germ catcher and for the sake of her teeth.

14 months old brings independence

Gracelyn Paige is 14 months old today!!

She is quite independent (or so SHE thinks) these days and she's also pretty dramatic. If she doesn't want to do things, get in her carseat, leave her brother's room and especially get dressed, she'll arch her back and storm off. Her 3 brothers were really only a smidgen like that.

Gone are the days of cuddles or wanting to be held. Now she wants to be down, playing, walking and, most recently, running! She does bring books to me to read to her all throughout the day (which I totally love because her oldest brother Brandon did that at her age and is a little bookworm now at the age of 8!)

Gracelyn is so much fun. She still makes her animal sounds, a gorilla and duck. G loves to play peek-a-boo and will play so well by herself or with her brothers. Even at "school" in the gym, she'll go get on the teeter-totter with the bigger kids and will play on the sit and spin (which she can spin on by herself!)





Gracie is a professional at making faces, which is pretty adorable. She squints her eyes and smiles really big, which is my favorite, and is given most often when you give her food! Food is the way to her heart. G can go from happy and laughing to throwing a fit in a matter of milliseconds, even if it's over a cracker she wants. The girl does love her some food and can snack all day long.


She is sleeping so much better these days! (I actually started typing this post about a week ago and I should change that last sentence to "not so much" BUT I think she's teething so I'll blame the lack of sleep on that.) We lay her down after she nurses and she puts herself to sleep cuddling her blanket and watching her seahorse.
Really the only issue we have is constipation. We use suppositories are are up to 2T of mirilax in her sippy a day.


Miss G is talking a lot, really all you can understand is "mama" "dada" and her newest is "this" pronounced "dis" It's really adorable but she says it as she points to every.single.thing. I know I say it all the time but she adores Britton, adores him. She loves her other bros but Britton loves her and shows her affection anytime.anywhere. She calls him something but I cannot decipher it.

13 months old!

Gracelyn is 13 months old now! It actually seems like the last month hasn't gone by so quickly, unlike the month leading up to her first birthday. probably because so much happened in the last month with camping and her youngest-big brother's birthday party on top of our "normal" craziness.

she wants to be front and center

Gracie is doing very!!
She is eating very well and loving pasta, grilled chicken, turkey, pancakes, eggs, bread, cheese, fruit, most veggies and is a champ at feeding herself! G loves water and I've actually been able to get her to drink 1 ounce of whole milk so far before she throws her sippy down. I'm adding 1T of mirilax to her sippy cup each day.
Miss G is walking all over the place, still a bit unsteady but getting there. Her daddy wanted so badly to make her Frankenstein for Halloween because she still walks with her arms out for balance. (I vetoed it.) As long as she is not sleepy or fussy, she takes the trips and falls pretty well and will jump right back up.
Being a girl, she isn't quiet, she jabbers constantly, but as far as actual words, "mama" is the main word and "duck" has been said a couple of times. Her daddy pleads with her to say "dada" but she laughs and growls at him. Animal noises are plentiful from Gracelyn, what do you expect with 3 big brothers?
Despite the top pic, she is still a mostly happy girl. Gracie absolutely adores her brothers, adores them! In the morning when I get her out of her crib she points to the door to go find them, and they all light up when she comes in the room.
G is doing pretty well in CDO. She is getting less fond of me with the other babies and will want to sit on my knee if another baby is in my lap. I am so impressed with her ability to share with her friends Taryn and Ellie. The girls do very well sitting and playing together! I think it's comes from having big bros that sort of "take charge!" so they are pretty used to it.

at CDO, she loves the baby dolls!

G's 1 year stats

Gracelyn went to the pediatrician Friday!

The doc was very happy with how well G looked, and said she was right where she was supposed to be! She couldn't believe how happy Gracelyn is and how well she is walking! Gracie was all smiles, as always and walked back and forth between the doc and me.
Our only concern is constipation. Of course all the foods G likes at this point don't help with the issue so we are upping the Mirilax in hopes that it helps!
Gracie tipped the scales at an even 22lbs and measured 29 3/4", both in the 75 percentile!
The appointment took longer than normal Friday because the pedi and I reminisced on the past year with Gracelyn. mainly Thursday, March 11, the day I brought her in limp and having no idea what was wrong. We shed tears together and group-hugged Gracie, who had absolutely no idea what the water works were all about! Her seeing for herself how far G has come after how far she was set back made her day!

NOW PRESENTING.......

Gracelyn the WALKER!! She has tackled, head-on, ALL of the hurdles in her way since she was diagnosed with botulism. Now, she is walking, walking 2 months sooner than any of her brothers! G is actually walking steadier than the video portrays, she was anxious to get across the floor to the camera, which she loves, imagine that!

and, because she is so cute, our little Indian Chief!

Gracelyn is ONE!

RM Photography once again did a phenomenal job taking Gracelyn's 1 year pictures. Rebecca is so patient, even with a certain 1 year old that begins crying after less than 30 minutes into the shoot and wants her paci (that totally clashes with her outfit and this mom cannot locate the purple paci) And Rebecca is so super creative that as soon as we finish I am so anxious to see what she captured. If you are in OK or even if you aren't, you should contact her, she has camera, will travel!

Gracelyn is lots of smiles these days and I'm talking huge, expressive smiles. She is one happy girl and we L.O.V.E. it! G does love her pacifier and lights up when she sees it and will snatch it from you and pop it in her mouth. I won't paint a picture of a 24/7 pleasant baby because she is can be full of drama and will throw her head back and squint her eyes and make a really pathetic whimper or wail at times. All in all, she is our princess, the boys, all of us treat her as one.
Miss G is very picky with foods right now. I sometimes can get her to eat yogurt, sweet potatoes, several fruits but it depends on her mood. One thing that Gracie does love, pancakes and will gobble them up!! She is a snacker, just like her mama and does enjoy graham and animal crackers, cheerios. and vanilla wafers.
As far as development goes, as of her 1 year birthday, the 16th, Gracelyn had taken 3 steps with no assistance! She is saying "mama" and "dada" and she does call her brothers something specific but I cannot tell exactly what it is. G can sign "more" and "all done" and "drink"
Gracelyn is sleeping sooooooo much better at night!! She wakes every 3-4, which is quite an improvement over every hour! And sometimes it's just because she lost her paci!! Naps are hit and miss, especially at CDO where they average about an hour long, but that's just fine because she is sleeping at night!
Gracie looks very healthy but I have no idea her stats as her 1 year well check was supposed to be this Friday but instead it was moved to next Friday. I'll post them after the appointment.
Gracelyn Paige, our miracle baby, our princess: mom, dad, Brandon, Blaine and Britton love you greatly. You light up our lives, make us all smile and have taught us so much about determination and helped strengthen our faith.

Happy 1st Birthday to the Princess!

Gracelyn Paige has turned 1!!!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Saturday, October 16 was her 1st birthday as well as her 1st birthday celebration! Our princess had a princess themed party fit for a true princess and because so many people love her we hosted it at the upstairs of our bank. Everything was so perfect and so pink and purple!!
Gracelyn had 2 onesies to go with a purple tutu and a bow and pink sparkle Tiny Toms to match. She was excited about her friends and family being there and smiled a lot! She enjoyed the icing on her cake but not the strawberry cake so I gave her a piece of white and chocolate from the main cake. She loved both of those flavors equally! Gracie helped a bit during the process of opening presents but because I requested mainly clothes, her attention drifted. She is one blessed little girl who is loved by so many! We are all blessed to have her.