Now she's Nine Months

The day Gracie turned 9 months were with the Poulsen family. Gracie was able to see her namesake, Grandma Grace. I cherish these moments which are so rare and special.

This girl cut teeth. Ugh, it is her Achilles' heal. She does well through the day but we have had some rough nights. She is still my most happiest baby though.

I love watching Gracie's excitement with her siblings. She kicks her feet and starts jabbering when she sees them. It is the most heartwarming affection to watch.

She is full on crawling. I've had to keep on eye on her with the stairs but luckily she likes to be nearby people so it's not too often she wonders off to them. Once she started crawling it didn't take her long to learn to pull herself up as well. It's so cute to see how proud she is of herself.

So far there is nothing she doesn't eat. She loves solids and has begun feeding herself. Her favorites are applesauce and bread. She takes after her mom.

I knew it had to come eventually, and it did this past month; stranger danger. When we are out somewhere she will initially smile, at almost anyone, but if they move in and try to talked to her she starts crying. I'm still impressed how much she smiles at everyone.

How (almost) failing AP English became an eternal blessing

During my first semester of my senior year in high school my boyfriend, and closest confidant, was killed in a tragic car accident. It was one of the most impacting events of my youth. It tested my faith, trust, and testimony of the atonement.

It also took a toll on my studies. Up until that point I had been nearly a 4.0 student, with more than half being AP classes. With the intense emotional fog I was in, I became behind in many of my classes. My AP English class, which I had eagerly enrolled in, was borderline of a failing grade.

Against my "finisher" personality, I transferred out of AP English. I remember feeling like a quitter. It was very depressing. Little did I know, it would be a pivotal decision which would affect me for the eternities.

You see, because I dropped out of AP English I had to take Freshman English in college. Freshman English was where I met Lindsay. Lindsay had the idea to set me up with her brother. As you can guess . . .

Today we mark 12 years of marriage.

There have been times we both have felt like we were failing, and even times of wanting to quit, but we make the decision to keep going, to keep learning, and to keep loving. Though Elder Holland used this for another context, I believe his phrase "no one fails who keeps trying and keeps praying" applies to marriage as well.

Tag-Alongs

Christopher travels to Phoenix about once a month for work. I suggested he let us tag along one time to make a family getaway out of it. At first he wasn't to keen on the idea but then it just so happened one of his potential sales reps invited us to come stay at her house. I jumped on the invitation!


I think I needed the getaway more than anyone else. As a family we haven't got away since Thanksgiving time and I feel like life's demands are constantly stretching me thin. A few days away from daily responsibilities was a good refresher for motherhood.

The kids were thrilled to tag along on Dad's work trip. The biggest excitement was swimming at the pool. We lucked out with one of Christopher's sales reps having a membership to a resort with an awesome pool. Though the temperature wasn't too hot, the pool was heated so it was enjoyable.

Another day we crashed a ward party which had dinner, dancing, and child care. Christopher and I were a little hesitant to be going to a ward party we weren't members of but his salesrep, who's ward it was, insisted we join her. It turned out to be a great date night.

Unfortunately, it down poured one day which made for us stuck inside watching movies. After a long day being couped up we took the kids to a local arcade.

The last day was filled with fun. In the morning the kids and I did a hike. It was a little steep and their was some complaints but we made it to the top. Afterwards we had lunch and then headed to the McCormick Stillman Train park. This, and swimming, were the highlights of our trip.

This definitely wasn't a vacation; as Christopher worked and I solely was with the kids, but I'm glad we had some time away. Just having a change of scenery sometimes is good rejuvenation.

Leaps and Bounds at 8 Months

This last month has been monumental for Gracie. She has learned to crawl, cut two teeth, began liking solids, and claps. The landslide of milestones has begun.

Two major traits about Gracie; one negative and one positive.

First the negative: she has been my worst sleeper. I can't say she can take all the blame though. She has had the most inconsistent schedule/routine. I was kind of a sleep Nazi with the other two but life's responsibilities make it hard for me this round. Plus she has cut teeth earlier than Max and Ella did. I really wish she would at least sleep through the night though.

Second: she is my happiest baby. I think that my be why I let the crummy sleep slide. Not only is she content without ample sleep, but usually still happy. This girl smiles all the time. Though she has showed signs of stranger danger, more often than not, she smiles at anyone and everyone.

2017 Valentine

14 Days of Valentine's

I'm not a Pinterest mom. I'm far from it. I can't remember the last time I was even on Pinterest, and even when I was it was mostly for searching recipes. The fluff and holiday excitement is fun but I don't typically have the ambition to do it. And some stuff is just too over the top.

This Valentine's was different. I bought small tin mailboxes and filled them each day with different things for the kids. Each morning the kids were so excited to open their boxes and see what they got. Some of the items were simple, like sprinkles to decorate cookies. Other items were more exciting, like a small set of Legos.

Even though it took a lot of preparation and ended up costing more than I anticipated, it was a really fun way to show the kids we love them. The problem now is I'm afraid I've created a high standard for this holiday, we'll see if I can live up to it for next year.

Super Seven

 

Sits up

Says Dada

Signs milk

Still no teeth

Sleep is inconsistent

Smiles all day

Starting to like solids 

Tiny Dancer

 After months of requesting to be in dance, I finally signed Ella up for ballet and she loves it! Following class each week she is eager to show us a new technique she has learned. I love seeing her excitement for developing a new talent and building her character.

A Birthday Goal

On my 30th Birthday I set a goal to be proxy for 30 temple ordinances before my next Birthday. For the first few months of the year I was going once a month. I then had to take a break once Gracie was born. I knew this would be the case, so I did most of the ordinances at the beginning of the year.

I realized, days before my 31st Birthday, that I had a couple more ordinances to accomplish my goal and decided I would spend part of my Birthday fulfilling that goal. This was not a huge project but it did take some effort and proper planning to accomplish. It was well worth my time and I have already seen the blessings from doing it.

*I would like to note this would not have been possible without my good friend, Julie, watching Ella.  

Avocad-yum

Blurry pictures documenting Gracie's first solid, avocado. Taking a picture and trying to feed an infant is not a good combo. The eating went well though. 

She took several bites even without showing signs of hunger. Max and Ella really wanted her to try big people food, and being that she's six months old, I thought it was probably time to give it a go. I've been delaying this milestone for several reasons; it's time consuming, it's messy, and it makes me nervous with allergies. I'm hoping her love for eating Momma's milk transcends to solids.