26 Weeks Old

Grace Lynn is 26 Weeks Old today... holy moly, where has the time gone?!  That means tomorrow (the 17th), yep, she will be 6 months old!!  Her eyes are a little red and swollen in this picture because she is just getting over a slight cold (had a fever of 103.8, poor girl :( but thankfully God answers prayers and her fever has broke, so she was able to go to school today).  She is still a cutie!!

This last week I had my birthday and it was absolutely wonderful!  My recipe to a great birthday is:
A 'dash' of present opening with my baby girl.
A 'pinch' of a first birthday text from my mom.
A 'dash' of a first birthday call from my best friend Stephanie.
A 'teaspoon' of lunch with my wonderful mother-in-law.
A 'splash' of a visit from Grace's Great Granny and Great Papa.
A 'tablespoon' of time with Nana, Papi, and Aunt Goober.
A 'cup' of Cowboys for a date night with my handsome husband.
And, ENDLESS (there is no amount that is ever too much) love from my wonderful family!

Great Granny stealing kisses from Grace and
having a yelling contest, LOL

Snuggling with Nana while Mommy and Daddy
have a date night :)

Thank you all so very much for the birthday cards and birthday wishes this week.  It really meant a lot to receive kind cards from my grandma, aunt cookie, and grandma gardner in the mail this week!

This was my first birthday as a mommy and definitely a great one.  Any day I get to wake up to the beautiful face of Grace Lynn and my handsome husband Garrett is a great one, but this being the first birthday with the both of them was so special!  And, Garrett bought me a very nice digital picture frame for work that I LOVE!; however, it is very distracting! LOL.

The same week that I celebrate a birthday, Grace Lynn gets to celebrate her half-birthday!  Wow, I can't believe she is already half-way to a year.  She is growing up way too fast, but is growing up absolutely beautiful into the most precious girl I could ever have hoped for.  Happy half birthday baby girl (tomorrow).

25 Weeks Old

25 weeks old today!!

25 Weeks Old and teething...
Everything (including hands) into the mouth

This last week was so much calmer than last.  Grace Lynn got to go back to KinderCare since she is not contagious and I got to go back to work.  She was very happy to see some familiar faces (her friends and teachers!).

This weekend I actually got out and ran for the first time since Grace was born... yep, I know I've been slacking :(  It is just so hard to find the time between work, house chores, and spending time with family.  Thank you so much Erin though for running with me and for the encouragement!!  It wasn't easy to say the least, but I survived!  Now, I just gotta get back out there and do it again... I am so wanting to get back into shape!

Well, Garrett survived his last day at his old company; it was a bittersweet day.  He has been working there for about 7 years and Thursday was his last day.  They have been good to him, but he was offered an opportunity elsewhere  and we do believe that it was God opening another door for him.  So, Monday was his first day at his new job.  So far, he enjoys the people he works with and the company is a good company.  I cannot wait to see how he grows with this new company and thank God for this opportunity.  We have been praying about his job situation for a while and this just affirms many of our questions.

Grace Lynn also went to the doctor for another follow-up this week.  Thank you all for all the prayers... they are being answered!  She's been using her inhaler for several days now and her bronchialitis is showing signs of improvement.  The doctor was very impressed with her progress and said that she is doing well!  She goes back again next week for her 6 month physical and for another follow-up... so, we will see then how she is doing, but so far, all is on the up and up.  She is one happy girl and is moving like crazy... we do believe she will be crawling in the next week or two... only time will tell.  We aren't rushing it though because time is already going by WAY TOO FAST!

Loves her cereal!!

Can I have more pretty please???

Our little squirmer!

She loves to roll and turn herself around

You never know how you will find her :)

24 Weeks Old

This week has been a crazy one, hence the lateness of this blog entry.  Here is baby girl at 24 weeks though :)

Before I get into the craziness of this week, here are some good things from this weekend;
Grace, Garrett, and I went to the Starks baby reveal Friday night and we are so very happy to say that Grace Lynn will have a little girl friend at church now.  Courtney and John will be welcoming Haley Marie in February and we couldn't be more excited for them!

Team Pink and Team Blue; Yay for Team PINK!

Saturday, Grace and I went to Jenny's baby shower for little Tanner.  We had a wonderful time!  That is going to be one blessed little boy and we cannot wait to meet him in the next couple months!!  Fingers crossed that he lets you get through your Christmas staging rehearsals first though Jenny :)

Grace and I with mom to be and great friend, Jenny

Then that evening I stayed the night at my parents while Garrett was hunting.  It was nice to have my family help with Grace and we did some fun birthday shopping too.  Yep, Garrett had his birthday this last week and we showered him with love and some gifts.  I think his favorite thing about his birthday though was getting to hunt all weekend and catch up on some sleep :)  Sunday morning, I went to my home church; always great to see my church family there.

Now to the craziness... Grace Lynn has been coughing the last week, but it had gotten significantly worst by Sunday evening; so I took the following morning off to take her to the doctor.  While there, I learned that it was worst than we had expected.  She was not breathing too well and was wheezing a lot.  They told me that she had bronchialitis (just another way she takes after her mama I guess... luckily she got it a little later than when I had it as a baby; so her body is able to handle it a little better).  While at the doctor, they did some nebulization treatments and monitored her oxygen level.  When her level read 90% and was not coming up, they had me take her to Pediatric Emergency at Florida Hospital.  She was there all day and they monitored her oxygen levels, took some x-rays, and nasal swabs.  Fortunately and thank God, all of the tests came back negative for any major respiratory viruses.  And her condition did not worsen.  They therefore let us go home that evening.  Prayers really are a powerful thing and God is good.  I know several family members and some friends had Grace in their prayers all day Monday and those prayers were definitely answered.  It could have turned out much worse.  Thank you all so much!!  Grace has since had a follow-up appointment and another nebulization treatment; she has another follow-up on Monday.  Until then though, our baby girl has to use an inhaler 3 times a day to help with her breathing.  And, we just have to monitor her to make sure her breathing doesn't get any worse.  I'm not sure how long she will have to use an inhaler, but hopefully we will find out more on Monday.  She is definitely one little trooper though and is ALL SMILES!

Love my little girl... what a trooper she is

Playing while at the hospital and getting some love from daddy

Her hospital band, resting after a long day,
using her new inhaler, sleeping some more,
the dreaded nebulizer, loving on Maggie after a long day

23 Weeks Old

Guess who is one more week closer to 6 months... this pretty girl :)

Last week Grace got to learn all about the color BLUE at daycare and got to make some more fun crafts.  Here is just a sneak peak of some of her artwork.

The color blue isn't the only thing that she learned last week though... unfortunately one of the other babies has taught our baby girl how to suck her thumb.  We aren't too thrilled about it.  However, children will learn (and learn pretty quick) from other children and adults.  This is just one of those things we are going to have to work on with her and try to untrain her of.

Saturday Grace and I went to a Fisher-Price play date while Garrett went out scouting.  We had a wonderful time!  It was great for me to be able to catch up with and see some high-school friends of mine and for Grace to get to socialize with their baby girls, while also playing with some fun toys!

Daniela (Ellie), Myself (Grace), and Abby (Alyssa)

All in all it's been a great week.  Grace is still struggling to sleep through the night, but as long as I can manage through the work week, I know it will be okay.  Garrett doesn't do quite as well with lack of sleep, so we are hoping that she will sleep through the night eventually.  The fact that she is such a happy baby all around and so very cute makes it hard to be mad, despite how tired we are :)  She will always put a smile on our faces!!  Here are some other pictures from the week.

I can drink out of a sippy cup now all by myself!

"All God's GRACE in this sweet face"

We definitely have a roller on our hands

22 Weeks Old

Grace Lynn is officially 5 months old now (as of Monday).

All smiles in her Dominican Republic outfit that
Aunt Goober brought back from her missions
trip for her!

I can't believe how fast this time is flying by.  She is getting smarter and smarter every day.  She is one inquisitive and happy girl.  Last week at daycare they learned all about the color Red.  She got the opportunity to make some fun stuff like a sun-catcher, butterfly, finger-painting, etc.  Here is a snapshot of some of those things.

All about RED

This is what happens after a fun day at daycare and an hour long
car ride home; She is a cutie

Garrett got with my mom and decided to treat me this weekend.  He offered to babysit Grace while my mom took me out for the morning and guess what I got?!  I got my first ever professional massage!  Yes, that's right, I had never had one before and had always mentioned to him how I really would love to go get one.  I just couldn't ever rationalize spending the money.  Well, he planned a day (without my knowledge) for me to finally have a day to treat myself and get one; and I absolutely LOVED it!!  I am definitely blessed with one great hubby!!

Also, Friday evening Nana babysat Grace so Garrett and I could go out for Allie's birthday.  It was such a great time.  It is always fun spending time with good friends and what made it even better is that it was at Cowboys (Garrett's and I's place that we don't make it to nearly enough).  If you don't know our story of how we met, you can read that HERE.  Thank you mom for watching our girl.

Sunday, after church, we drove down to Winnie to welcome another new baby into our church family.  Jackson Broome finally made his arrival!  Grace got to meet her new friend and we got to spend some time with the proud new parents.  Congratulations Ashley and Zach; we are so happy for you and can't wait for Grace and Jackson to grow up together.

Checking out her new friend with Jackson's Grandma

This week has been all-around a good one.  The only thing that still isn't all that grand is Grace's sleep schedule.  She is still getting up every 2-3 hours and we are not sure why.  She's happy, clean, etc.  I think she's just gotten into this habit and it does make the work week quite a long one.  So, for the meantime, we have reverted back to her swing; for some reason she tends to sleep a little better in that.  We'll see if we can't get her sleeping better again and then maybe try the crib again.  On the plus side, she is one of the happiest babies I've ever seen and the lack of sleep doesn't seem to bother her at all.  She is still all smiles during the day.

Oh, and new milestones:
Grace is starting to hold her own bottle and she loves to drink water out of a glass (big people's glass).  If it is in her reach, she will lunge for it and open mouth go right for some water.  It is so cute and quite funny!  If you have access to facebook; you might be able to see a video HERE.  Unfortunately, I do not have the file and am unable to upload it directly.

She loves to bounce in her bouncer and she can now make it bounce really well on her own (with the help of wii fit though; she is still a little short without it).

Grace has also figured out how to work her musical pig and it is too cute.  When we get home from daycare, sometimes I will leave her in her car seat for a little bit while I unpack some of her things and get some of her stuff ready for the next day... while I am doing this, she has learned to entertain herself.  I especially love how she claps her feet to the music.

Finally, please don't forget to VOTE for Grace Lynn in the Gerber Generation Photo challenge.  There are only 7 more days to vote... so if you have facebook, please take the time to place a quick vote and pass the word along to all your friends and family.  Thank you so much!!

VOTE HERE

21 Weeks Old

Grace Lynn is almost 5 months... just under a week shy.

This last week has been a long one just for the simple fact that we are not getting ANY sleep.  Grace has decided that she wants to wake up every two hours at night (this has been going on for a little while now).  So, we decided to try the so-called Ferber Method beginning on Friday in hopes of her sleeping more by the start of the work week; well so far, we haven't had too much luck.  But it has only been 4 nights and we are hoping after a week or two, she will be sleeping much longer.  I think part of the problem is her teeth are probably bothering her and/or she is waking up hungry.  So, we have also decided to try loading her up during the day and just before bed in hopes that that will hold her over.  In doing this, just before bath time, we now give her cereal (yes she is eating off a spoon!).  She is starting to get it pretty well too.  At first she was pretty unsure of the whole thing and made some lovely faces.  Here is to hoping Grace figures this sleep thing out and allows mommy and daddy to get some rest too!  The only downfall so far to this sleep method that we have found is, with letting her cry more, we can't get back to sleep very quickly and also, baby girl now has a sore throat and has lost her voice; she sounds so pitiful :(  On the bright side, she still wakes up smiling and is overall very happy during the day... she is a trooper.

First time eating cereal

This weekend was also the Sheppard family reunion.  I always enjoy making it up to the reunion in Valdosta when I can and always have such a great time!  It was so wonderful to be able to go up with my mom and dad this year and take Grace to her first Sheppard reunion.  And, she was the youngest family member there this year!!  As a child going to the reunion I used to hangout with a few girls my age and this year, one of those girls brought her daughter Elle.  It just so happens that Elle and Grace are about the same age difference as Lauren (Elle's mother) and I.  It was so neat to see them interact and meet each other for the first time.  It will also be neat to watch them as they grow together at these reunions.

Myself and Lauren (1990); Elle and Grace meeting for the first time
with their grandparents

At the reunion, Grace got to meet much of her family for the very first time and she also got to have her first experience in the lake and with sand on the beach of the lake.  Yeah, go figure we live in Florida and she still hasn't seen a beach or lake (until now).  Garrett and I aren't much beach people and with a pool, haven't found any reason to go to the lake, let alone had the time for it really.  She was too cute in it though!!  All in all, it was just a wonderful time with family and I can't wait to get back up there (hopefully again next year!) and hopefully Garrett will be able to make it again.  He was unable to go this year, but was able to spend time with his dad while he was in town and also with his brother.  They ended up having a great day together as well.

Just before trying to eat the sand and 

then drying off after a fun time in the lake

Chatting it up with Great Granny

Hanging out with Nana and 

Great Granny changing her first diaper since changing her children many years ago!

Tuckered out after a long day, but tell me those are not the most beautiful
eyes ever on the most beautiful baby girl ever... love her!!

Finally, football season has started and of course you know this family is all about the Knights and Bucs!  Here's daddy and his girl ready to watch the Bucs first game of the season together :)

Oh and don't forget to vote for your favorite baby by clicking HERE.  Only two weeks of voting left and you can vote once a day every day until then.  Thank you friends and family for your support.

20 Weeks Old

Grace Lynn is 20 weeks old now and one picture just won't cut it for this week.  Here is her "Watch Grace Grow" picture and then you will find a lovely collage of some other shots during her little picture session... she makes me laugh so much :)  She did not want to sit up and did not want to sit still this week.

20 Weeks Old

1. What you lookin' at?! 2. Loves to suck on those little fingers
3. Sideways tongue 4. Getting ready for dance

Friday was "College Colors Day" and her daycare encouraged all the children represent their favorite college; so, yep, you bet Grace went in wearing her UCF Knights onesie!  She was very happy to represent black and gold (lookin' cute in pink) on Friday.

GO UCF KNIGHTS!

Saturday, Garrett and I spent the day with his family and Grace got to spend some time with her Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Sam, and Uncle Colton... it was especially nice for her to get to see her Grandpa since he's been working out of town for the last few months and has to go right back for work, so she hasn't been able to see him very often.  We just had a wonderful time together and ate some good 'ol burgers.  It was a good time.

Aunt Sam, Grandma, and Grandpa with Grace

Sunday we just enjoyed a quiet afternoon/evening at home after Church.  And then Monday Garrett went out scouting with his buddy Zach to prepare for muzzle loader season, while Grace, myself, and mama hung out for the day.  Then that evening my dad and sister also came over and we all hung out together.  Again, just another relaxing day/evening with family (so blessed!).  Oh and my dad made us a quilt rack to hang (display) the quilts that my Great Aunt Sherry made us... we love it!  Now we just have to get some more frames to put some pictures on it.  You know we aren't short on pictures of our sweet Grace :)

Quilt rack... Thanks Daddy!!

Other things this week, Grace is holding/grabbing every and anything and is rolling from her belly to back like crazy!  We can not get her to stay on her tummy for anything, lol.  Also, Grace has been entered into the Gerber Generation Photo Search 2012... here is her entry link (https://apps.facebook.com/gerberps/detail.do?entry_id=249844).  Please take the time to go in and vote every day for our sweet girl!  Voting starts today and ends on the 24th.  Every vote is much appreciated!!  So, please also pass the word to your family and friends :)  Thank you all!!

VOTE FOR GRACE LYNN MYERS