Here are some cute pictures that Sam took when she was up here visiting:





I just love these pictures. She's not that small anymore, but she's still a cutie!

Lately, Gracie's been more awake during the day. She spends fewer hours sleeping and is more aware of everything happening around her. She likes to stretch out and really kick her legs and flail her arms.



(Notice her little Buddha Belly spilling over her pants. Too cute.)





When we were in Hanna last weekend, we looked at some of my baby pictures and Gracie and I look a lot alike. There are a few pictures that are so similar it's spooky. Brad even suggested he could put one of them in his wallet and say it was Gracie. Brad doesn't have any baby pictures, really. In the earliest pictures he has, he's around 1, so it's hard to compare him to Gracie now. In the next few months I'm sure we'll see more similarities.

Smiley Girl

Gracie has really started smiling in the last week. She smiles in her chair, on her mat, when we're changing her, when we tickle her, and especially if you give her a big, goofy smile. I love it. At 3 in the morning, when you're getting sick of pacing the floor with her, she gives a big smile and you can keep walking for hours. Very motivational.

Here are a few shots of little smiles. I haven't captured a really good one, yet (notice they're all in her chair, the happiest place on earth).







Actually, she's sleeping really well. Last night, I fed her at 9 pm, 3 am and 7 am. Not too bad. I'm just getting up once a night, really. She's getting better at going back to sleep now, too. I'm up for about an hour each feeding and then she crashes again. I even got 7-8 hours of sleep the last two nights! Life is good.

Since we're sleeping more, apparently, we have more time to enjoy every little thing Gracie does. Brad took a video of her dancing along to the music from So You Think You Can Dance in her chair (yep, we're those parents). Use your imagination folks, this one's a stretch.

A Few of Her Favourite Things...

Gracie may not be old enough to sit up by herself or see long distances, but she definitely has a few favourite things.

Curtis and Brandi gave me a little aquarium for the crib that plays lullabies or soothing ocean noises and has little bubbles and bobbing fish that light up and I kept thinking she's too young for that. Then I tried it.... best invention ever. No need to rock her to sleep or anything with the aquarium on, just lay her in front of it, push the button and she'll drift off by herself.

Fantastic!

This is her other favourite:



My grandparents got this chair for her and it is so great! She loves it. Her favourite part, amazingly enough, is the stripey material on the sides. She just stares at it. She is more smiley in this chair than anywhere else.

Last night, she was a little fussy, Brad put her in this chair and turned it to vibrate. She quieted right down and just sat enjoying her little seat.

Got to love the little things that make life easier.

Gracie's One Month Old!

Can you believe it? Gracie is one month old today. I can't believe how much she's grown and that we've spent the last month getting to know each other.

I took her to the Health Clinic today to get her weighed and measured and she's all ready 9 pounds 11 ounces. She's growing like crazy! She's taller and her head is bigger than last time, too. I've officially put away almost all of her newborn clothes. She's definitely in the 0-3 month category for clothes, now.

She's really grabbing things now and she's got a good grip. She grabs for hair, necklaces and anything that swings through her line of sight. She doesn't let go when you ask her to either so if you're holding her, consider yourself forewarned. She's tough.

Another two piece outfit, from Meagan, complete with frogs, her favourite. I think it looks like scrubs. Is there a medical career in Gracie's future, perhaps?




Gracie playing on her little gym mat. She likes to swat the bird, but only for a while and then it starts to freak her out a little bit. A bit overstimulating, perhaps.



I love the little bunny hands on this nightgown. Cute, right?! I tried to get a good picture of them, but she likes to really kick out and it's a bit too big for her, so you can't see them very well.




This was taken today, before we went to the Clinic. Just to capture her on her first month birthday (and wearing my favourite little hoodie).

Back to Gracie...

Two posts about other topics, and we're back to more updates on Gracie. Seems she's taken over our lives.

Here's a picture of her in Hanna with her Aunt Brandi and Uncle Curtis. I really like this picture of the three of them.



And the first time we put her in pants, instead of a sleeper. She looks so much bigger dressed like this. Anyone wanting to look a little smaller after eating too much at Thanksgiving, remember this, wear a sleeper. Apparently, they're the key to looking smaller. Pants just cut you in half.
:)




A photo of her playing on her tummy. It doesn't look like it in this shot, but her neck is really strong all ready. She really likes to be held up on your shoulder, so she can look around. Lights and fans are the big attraction so far.



Tomorrow, she'll be one month old! Time is flying by, but she's doing well, has a good routine and is a very content little girl. I'm hoping to take her in to the clinic to get weighed and measured so there should be an update tomorrow.

A Change of Pace

Thought I'd change things up a bit, today. Seems Gracie has taken over my blog as of late, so I'm going to take a little break from baby updates today to share a few pictures of a project and a new recipe that I like.

In August, we went to an Eskimos vs. Stamps CFL game here in Edmonton with my family. It was a fantastic game and we had a great time, so I made a little mini album with some of the pictures. Thought I'd share it, quick.








This was all made in September, B.G. (Before Gracie), and most of it was made during a meet up with a friend. It's quite simple, but I like it.

Now, the recipe.

I tried a new recipe last night and it's really good, super easy, and fairly healthy, so I thought I'd share it. It's Butternut Squash and Pecan Soup and it's from Rachel Ray's magazine, originally. I changed it a little, because I am not good at following recipes, but here's my take on it.

Ingredients:
2 butternut squash, chopped (4.5 pounds)
or two bags of chopped butternut squash from Costco :)
3 tbsp. margarine
1/2 onion chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. chili powder
1 cup pecans, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups skim milk

Cook the squash, celery, and onion over low heat until soft. Add everything else and bring to a boil. Pour into a blender and puree until smooth. Enjoy! Serves 8.

Jada's First Birthday Party

While we were in Hanna, we got to see Curtis, Brandi and Jada and got to clebrate Jada's first birthday.

It was so much fun! I wanted a good, cake-all-over-the-face-picture, but Jada didn't really get into it, she did seem to like the sprinkles...

She liked opening presents, though. The tissue paper was the biggest hit.











Too cute!

Gracie's First Road Trip

We survived Gracie's first road trip. Five days on the road, travelling to Hanna, Lethbridge, and Crossfield to see family with a 3 week old baby.... could've been a nightmare, but she was great!

Unfortunately, I stopped taking pictures after we left Hanna. Just put my camera in my purse and did not take it out. If anyone has pictures, (there should be about 50 of you, my daughter has a nice, golden flashbulb tan from you all) send them my way, please.

Here are a few from Hanna. I'll post more in a few days.

Papa and Gracie:



Great Grandma B and Gracie:



Four generations of Benedicts:



Great Grandma trying to convert my daughter...



Great Great Uncle Charlie and Gracie:

Gracie's First Pediatrician's Appointment

We had our first appointment with Gracie's pediatrician today. She's doing great and gained another 5 ounces since last Wednesday! She's up to 8 pounds 4.5 ounces, now.

We really like the doctor, too. She's great with Gracie and is younger and very friendly. My ob/gyn recommended her and we liked him so much, we were happy to take the referral. We lucked into two great doctors here in Edmonton.

A Gracie photo update:



We realized we should take a few little videos of Gracie, to add to the pictures we've been accumulating, so we've taken a few in the past couple of days.

Gracie waking up, slowly and reluctantly:



We put Gracie in her new swing for the first time today. She seemed to like it. For about 20 minutes, she just stared up at the speaker where the music came from, listening. Didn't really seem too interested in the little animals hanging down in front of her...

Two Weeks Tomorrow...

I can't believe our little girl is almost two weeks old all ready! Time is flying by.

She's all ready just about grown out of the newborn clothes and diapers. A few more days and we'll be moving on to new outfits and bigger diapers. It goes so fast!

A few more pictures for the family.

Stretching:



Knees tucked in tight, her favourite position:



For the gramma's:



And Sammy and Gracie, Sam with her kidnapper eyes: