Happy Birthday Gracie!

Wooohoooooooo....my baby is one year old today!!  It's been a draining, tiring, tough, but wonderful year.  I can't imagine an easier baby.  Sleepless nights were rare, and she was a champion breastfeeder, decent eater, and all around happy and gentle kid.  Grace got sick quite a bit more often than Sophie did, but *knock on wood* nothing ever serious.  By now, Grace saying "mama", "baby", "helloo?" and "uh-oh".  I'm not sure if she knows what she's saying, but I think talking is just around the corner!  She's not quite walking unassisted yet, but loves practicing while holding our hands.  I'm kinda sad that she's growing out of babyhood, but at the same time excited about the fun times we have ahead of us.  We can't imagine our lives without her....she completes our family.

sweetest.baby.ever.
Grace at exactly 1 year old.

11 months

Grace, 11 months 5 days

It's been a trying month for Grace.  She's been sick with a double ear infection, a possible food allergy to eggs, roseola, and a cold.  So she's lost a bit of weight and not her happy usual self.  And although she took her first international vacation at 10 months, she didn't have a chance to enjoy it.  Poor baby....I think she's on the mend though, and we're seeing an allergist in a few days.  Here's hoping that next month, she will return to the happy baby we know and love.

10 months

Grace, 10 months 3 days

Her babyhood is almost over...*sniffle* Every day Grace is more fun. She epitomizes the happy baby. She loves to joke by growling and imitating sounds, blowing raspberries and smacking her lips. She's babbling and singing all the time. Grace pulled herself into a standing position and spends her time crawling from room to room. Bedtime is a dream...she falls asleep at 8pm on the dot! But it wasn't all fun and games this month....her double ear infection and eardrum rupture were no joke! It was two weeks of forced medicine, tears, whining, no appetite, weight loss....thank goodness it's all over!

9 months

Grace, 9 months 1 day

It seems as if in the past month, Grace's development has zoomed forward.  She's such a fun baby these days, we are relishing this stage.  She can seat herself up, crawl on her hands and knees, pull herself to a kneeling position, grab the tiniest debris on the floor with her thumb and forefinger and feed it to herself(!), babbles a lot and loudly, shake her head no, wave bye-bye, clap her hands, and make a scary face (growl included!).  And as always, she wakes up smiling and goes to bed smiling.  We love her so!

Her stats this check-up:

Height: 28.5 inches (82 %-tile)
Weight: 20lb 3oz (75 %-tile)

8 months

Grace, 8 months

It's going by too fast.  I'm trying to live in the moment, especially because she is just a great, happy, funny baby, but I find the months passing and my littlest one growing so quickly.

These days, she is sitting up unassisted, has two teeth, eats solids like a champ, likes to bounce when she's excited, shakes her head or grunts when she's trying to be funny, babbles a lot at home, and idolizes her big sister.  She's also trying really hard to crawl, but can basically make it around anywhere my pushing herself backward or rolling.  She can brighten your mood instantly with her big grin...we are in love with her!

Seven Months

This is what seven months looks like...

Gracie can stay seated up, pass things from hand to hand, rock herself back and forth on her knees, and has her first tooth!  It's been a rough month with her first ear infection, but she's getting over it now and her smile is returning.

6 months

My baby is 6 months old.  I can't believe it.  These days, she's still the happiest person I know, smiling at everything and everyone.  This girl will beam as soon as she makes eye contact with you.  She's also rolling, rolling, rolling, pushing herself up high when she's on  her belly, and starting solid foods.

I love this picture of my two girls!

5 months

Grace, 5 months and 6 days

These days Gracie has rolled over, grabs objects (and hair), drools like crazy, and loves to hold her feet while she's lying on her back.  She's our roly poly little piglet.

4 months

The pediatrician said it best today: "She's a big girl."

Weight: 16 lbs 3 oz (94%)
Height: 25.5 inches (90%)

These days she's laughing, cooing, babbling, grabbing at objects and leaning forward.  Not quite completely weaned yet, but we're working on it!

She melts me

My angel, Grace

Two Months

Look at this cutie pie

Gracie's developing quite a personality! She loves looking at faces and smiles and coos all the time. I took her to the pediatrician for her well-visit and she's growing very nicely!

Her stats:

Height - 23.5 inches (89%)
Weight - 12 lbs, 9.9 ounces (91%)

One Month

It's hard to believe Grace has only been part of our family for one month. This weekend was packed with activities related to this anniversary, which is so important in Vietnamese culture.

On Friday, I took her to have a well-visit with the pediatrician. Apparently, she's gaining weight like crazy...more than 20% of her body weight in two weeks! Her stats were: 22 inches long (83rd percentile) and 9lb 14oz (71st percentile).

Sunday afternoon, we held a family luncheon at Wildfire restaurant to celebrate her one-month birthday. As always, it was great seeing most of my family again. The food was terrific and the atmosphere was very nice. Grace received a lot of beautiful gifts and money for her college fund from our generous guests. One day, she'll realize how lucky she is to have such a loving and supportive family....Thank you, everyone (because I know the ones that matter read this blog!).

Gracie's crossed eyes = working on something in her diaper, no doubt!

Sophie is really a ham these days.

This is one photogenic family. Nice smiles!

Seriously, doesn't my aunt look sooo young? She has a college-aged kid!

One of Sophie's best babysitters, my cousin Aimee.

Some of my closest and bestest cousins.

This pose has left me at a loss for words.

My sister and my honorary sister (who is really my cousin Jenny), and moi

My littlest girl

Grace, 6 days

Sometimes when I look back at Sophie's baby pictures, I'm amazed at how much she changed in her first year. Since I was living it, I didn't notice or appreciate it until each stage had already passed. So that I don't do the same thing for Gracie, I'm starting a new monthly routine where I'll post her picture in order to document her growth.