Merry Christmas and See you in the New Year!

I'm just packing up and getting ready to head out on a whirlwind tour of Alberta to hit all the events of the season: Christmas parties, a skating potluck, New Year's Bashes and all the visiting, eating, card playing, and wintry festivities we can handle. I can't wait!

The car is nearly packed, presents are nearly wrapped, Miss Gracie is having a nap, Bailey is chewing his new bone, Brad is at work, trying to look busy for a few more hours, and I am runnning around trying to get everything from 'nearly' to done.....

Hope you all have a great holiday season and a fantastic start to the new year. I'll see you in 2010!

Gracie and 'Little Lambie' waking up from their nap and getting ready for the big trip:

Gracie's Babbling

Gracie's still doing great, cute as can be and happy. She really likes to 'talk' and loves it when you try and imitate her. Her eyes light up, and she looks at you like, "You do understand!" Sorry sweetie, I don't know what the babbling means, but it's cute.

I can't get her talking on tape very well, because she stops as soon as the camera comes out. Who'd have thought she'd be camera shy with all the photos she's had taken of her? I'll keep trying. For now, here's a little taste:



And a (sideways) video of her laughing:

Hand-Me-Downs

Gracie is so lucky to have so many people who love her all ready. She's three months old today and has all ready gotten so many gifts and well wishes from all over.

Since Jada is just about a year older than her, she has a great supply of hand-me-downs, too, which is great. The funny thing is, the shirt Gracie was wearing in an older post that says: "Gorgeous, Just like her mom" is one of these hand-me-downs. I think that may be worse than me buying it myself, but it's funny so I like it.



How cute is that smile?



There's also one for Brad "Perfect, Just like my dad":



yep, another hand-me-down, so really Curtis is the perfect one. Still cute, no matter who thinks we're perfect or gorgeous, everyone knows Gracie is both, even with drool running down her chin.



She likes her exersaucer, but she's not quite big enough to reach out and grab things, she just sits and watches while we play with the toys. She has us trained. While she's smiling at us with those big eyes, she's thinking: "Dance Monkey, Dance."

Gearing up for a new year

I've been looking into some classes to take in the new year and I'm excited! I've been looking forward to taking classes since we moved to Edmonton. One of the pluses of being in the city is having better access to amenities and more options when we're looking for things to do.

Since I was pregnant when we moved here, I didn't sign up for many things. I took a yoga class, but couldn't do all of the moves with my belly in the way... now I'm having fun picking out what I'm going to do. The best part is that there are a lot of things that Gracie and I can do together.

We've all ready started a strollercise class which is great! It kicks my butt, but makes me feel better. It's been a few months since I did any intense cardio and I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things. I think I'll keep it up once a week next year and maybe a few others.

I'm looking at taking a dance class with my friend Lacey and then another daytime class with Gracie. Either Salsa Babies or Mommylicious. Don't they sound great! Both of them are classes I can do with Gracie and are during the daytime so we're home when Brad's home.

So, while I decide, here are a few pictures of Gracie, right after she woke up today. Aren't I lucky?

Give and Take

We are hoping to go on a little trip to Seattle in January. Brad is going for work and Gracie and I decided to tag along and do some sightseeing. Has anyone been before? Any suggestions? We'll only be there for a weekend, but I've always wanted to go, so it should be fun. I may have to watch Sleepless in Seatle for some inspiration...

Now that I've asked your advice, I have a tip for you. Go check out Scrapbook and Cards Today's blog. They just posted their winter issue, which is completely free online, plus, they're doing their 12 days of giveaways right now. They are three days into it... stop over there and enter all of their giveaways to make your Christmas even more merry!

Here's a few shots of Gracie in her swing.

Sad



Happy



and Gorgeous (Just like her mom)



:)

Long Time Gone

We've been away for awhile visiting my family in Hanna. Brad was at a hockey tournament, so Gracie and I went to Hanna for a few days. Mom came up to Edmonton on Monday and we spent a few days shopping and visiting and then she brought me back to the farm, so Brad could come out after his tournie and we didn't have to have two vehicles in Hanna.

We spent all day Tuesday at the mall and Gracie was so great! We shopped from 10 to 4 or so and she just rolled along in her stroller and slept or watched all the people and Christmas decorations go by. I almost got my whole list done in a day! Yippee!!

Then, in Hanna, mom and I scrapbooked, Curtis, Brandi and Jada came out to visit, and we all visited and played scrabble and card games all weekend. Brad got there Friday afternoon and we went to a Christmas party where Gracie saw Santa for the first time! It was such a great weekend!



Jada wasn't so sure about Santa, and wasn't going to stick around for long...



Gracie's first gift from Santa was this great mirror. She loves to look at the 'other baby' in it and it helps me keep her looking to the right.



Can you see her little bald patch? What a cutie. Looks like I took a razor to her hair, but it's just rubbed off from laying on her back.

Santa did such a good job with all the little kids, too. Everyone loved seeing him, especially since he's so busy this time of year. And, a little mini me Santa showed up, too!



Thanks Auntie Linda for the cute Christmas outfit! Gracie looked so great and was mesmerized by her shiny shoes.



Did anyone notice the title of the post is also a Dixie Chicks song title? :)

Snowy Weekend

We've gotten soooo much snow here! Big piles of fluffy, white stuff all over the city. We've just been holed up this evening, watching movies and decorating for Christmas. I think tomorrow, we'll get lights for outside and a tree if the roads are okay.

A tip for anyone wanting a real tree: go to IKEA. They have great trees for $20 and you get a $20 gift certificate to the store for the new year. What a deal!!

I took Gracie to the pediatrician this morning and all is well. She's got a bit of a flat spot on her head that we have to straighten out, but apparently, they're very common now that babies sleep on their backs, instead of on their tummies. We just have to make her look to the right instead of the left. So far, so good. We just put her aquarium on the right side when she goes to sleep and she faces it.

She's been going to sleep so well today. I've just been wrapping her up and laying her down and she puts herself to sleep which is so great. Especially at 6 am. How lucky are we??

She's also really discovered her hands lately. She rubs her eyes when she's sleepy and likes to suck on her fists. I think it just makes her look cuter.

Gracie's 2 Month Shots

Shots

Poor Gracie got her first shots yesterday. Three shots, all in the thigh muscle. Ouch! She was pretty good about it, though. She cried a little when she got them, but then was good right after. A few hours later, she got a little fussy. Not bad, just wanted to be held.

Oh, all right. I'll cuddle the adorable little baby girl nuzzling into my neck.

Growing Like a Weed

She got weighed while we were at the clinic, too and she's grown again! She's gained 3 inches in length since she was born and she's 12 pounds, 1 ounce, now. She's just about exactly on the 50th percentile for girls her age in height, weight and head circumference.

Guilt Trips for New Moms

The only thing I hate about the clinics is that they are so pushy. New mom's must breastfeed. Easy for me, because I am, right? Somehow, it isn't that simple - they made me feel guilty about a bottle of formula they gave Gracie in the hospital.... What?? How do mom's get through this gauntlet if they choose not to breastfeed?

And postpartum depression is a serious concern, but sometimes new mom's really are happy and healthy... Yikes. I don't know how to act in there. Too smiley and they think you're faking, no smile and they think you're a danger to yourself and your baby.

Scrapbooking Release

Before we left for the clinic, I did a little more scrapbooking. I have had this package of felt shapes for at least a year and had no idea how I was ever going to use them. Now, thanks to Gracie and her brightly coloured mats and toys, I can actually use some of it... and it's kind of cute. Of course, it's still bright, so I just used a picture, black cardstock, an assortment of felt pieces and a white pen for this layout.





Compare the teeny tiny baby in this photo with this little 80's girl in legwarmers:

Christmas???

Can you believe that tomorrow is December first? Hmmmmm... I really must get some shopping done. I'm not even sure what we're doing for Brad's side of the family, yet. Usually, they draw names, but I haven't heard anything. Must call and check on that. We decided not to get gifts for the Benedict side of the family this year, which is going to be hard. I love buying gifts, but we all decided that we have so much, we'll focus on spending time together instead of gifts.

I've rooted out my Christmas decorations and music and am thinking of getting a tree this weekend. Where will I put it? No idea. That's what I need to figure out. This is our first Christmas in Edmonton, so I'm still figuring out where to put things. We never put up lights in Lake Louise either brecause we lived in a two story and we didn't have a ladder and we were grinchs, I guess.... We put a string of stars in our front window and called it good. This year, we're hoping to get some more lights up.

It's also Gracie's first Christmas, so it's got to be special, even if she won't remember it. We've got to get her started in the Christmas celebrations the right way. We'll start some little family traditions of our own.

Speaking of, here's some new pictures of Miss Gracie:





And some more scrapbooking. I decided we needed a Brad and Gracie page in her scrapbook:

Gracie's First Trip to the Theatre

Brad and I went to a movie yesterday and took Gracie. She slept through the whole thing! It was great. A bit of a date for us, and we didn't have to worry about leaving her with someone else or anything. Am I a bad parent though, for taking her to a movie about vampires and werewolves?? Yep, we went to see the new Twilight movie... and took our 10 week old daughter.

We took Gracie and Bailey to the dog park again today and they both enjoyed it. We've got to get out in the fresh air while it's still nice enough.

I got a bit of scrapbooking in, today. Here's another layout. I can't get a good picture of it, so the colour is off and you can't see the title.... oh well.

A Day Out On The Town

Gracie and I went shopping today and I found these cute tights for her:



She has a bunch of party dresses for Christmas and no tights or anything to wear with them, so now she's ready. I also found myself a new jacket and a bunch of soaps and stuff from Bath and Body Works. A good day out.

Some more pictures of Gracie, all bundled up for our winter walks:



Her new snow suit is a little big....



but it's so cute!

And a little picture of her waking up. She's so cute when she's starting to come to, stretching and rolling all the kinks out.

Gracie's Favourite Chair

I've talked about the chair that my grandparents gave Gracie before, but it really is her favourite place to hang out. She can grab onto the animals now and the chair rocks while she's in it, because she's so happy in there she kicks and squirms like crazy.

It's a great place to kick back and relax:



or to stretch out and play:



See her grabbing that birds tail? We may have to teach her that we don't grab animals by the tail... Poor Bailey may be running away from her soon.

I had to make a layout so that I remember how much she likes her chair. I have so many pictures of her in that chair playing and laughing, so I had lots to work with.



And some close-ups:

Two months old!

Gracie's two months old today! Time is flying. I forgot to mention that we had Gracie weighed last Friday. She's 11 pounds 2 ounces now and has grown 2 inches in length since she was born.

For some reason, Gracie refused to take a bottle on Saturday at the shower and she hasn't taken one since. It's gotten to the point that she screams and cries when we try and give her a bottle, and before Saturday, it was no problem. Any ideas? I can't think of anything that would have turned her off the bottle so completely and I'd like to fix this. Last night, we got her to take an ounce, but it took an hour and she was not too happy about it.

The good news is she slept through the night again last night. It's getting to be more common.

Anyway, this is a layout I made this week:



And another Gracie picture:



And here are a few photos of the baby quilt my mom made for Gracie:







Isn't it the most beautiful thing you've ever seen? And so nice and soft. I folded up one edge so you could see the back, but it's hard to show how soft and cuddly it is.

Another Busy Weekend

We went to Hanna last weekend where Sam held a baby shower for Miss Gracie. It was so great to see everyone! Lots of friends from high school, family friends and family all in one room. It's amazing how things have changed. A few friends were there with their kids, two were pregnant, and everyone is in new places with new jobs or new activities. It's so great to catch up.

Other people were taking photos all weekend, so, again, I have none from the weekend. I'm relying on everyone else to pass pictures on.

Here are some from when we got home. A few days have passed and we're just playing and getting back into our routine.









So far, Gracie has rolled over twice today, and she slept through the night Monday night, again! Yay! This time, I slept, too, which is even better.

On the Move

That's right, Gracie's all ready starting to get mobile. On Monday she rolled over for the first time! She's done it a few times since. As long as she's got some motivation (ie. a toy just out of reach) she'll work and work until she rolls over. So far, just tummy to back, but she's rolled both left and right.

The funny thing is, she rolled over right after a strollercize class. I think all the moving around (on my part, she slept through the whole thing) motivated her.

I actually don't have any new pictures to share. **Gasp!** I guess the need to capture Gracie every five seconds has worn off a bit... We're heading to Hanna this weekend, so there should be some more photos for next week.

I have a few new layouts to show, though. Of course, they're all about Miss Gracie!