Update on Grace

Our sweet Gracie Belle is growing and is a new baby almost every day! When she was born, she was 6 lbs, 11oz. At her 1 month visit she was 7 lbs, 15 oz, and most recently, at her 2 month visit, she was 9 lbs, 7 oz. She's not growing quite as fast as Ben did - he started out at 6lbs, 1 oz and was 11 lbs, 4 oz at 2 months - but I guess that's just because she's going to be a dainty girl! We weigh her at home on our scale (not sure how accurate that is) and we were excited last week when she finally made it over 10 pounds! She'll be 12 weeks this Friday... it makes me laugh to think that some of my friends brought home newborns that are the same size that she is now.



It's hard to say whether or not Grace is an easy or hard baby. She's a homebody. She definitely does not prefer to be out and about. This makes things like church, grocery shopping, and going out to dinner a little challenging. On the other hand, she is a great sleeper. If we're home, she's very predictable. Wakes up at 7am, eats, plays, naps. Repeat 5 more times. She started sleeping through the night (10pm - 7am) consistently between 7 and 8 weeks. For this, I am eternally grateful!


One thing that she has really enjoyed is meeting new friends. She's normally not very happy laying on the floor (though that is changing a bit just this week), but if she has a little buddy with her, it's an entirely different story. In the first picture, she's practicing her dance moves with her bestie, Lyla. I loved to dance, and Lyla's Mommy is a dance team coach, so we think these girls are going to be getting their grooves on before we know it!







This is Grace's other best good friend (and potential husband), Grant. Grant's mommy is Melissa, and Melissa and I have synchronized uteruses. (Is that too much information... sorry). Anyway, Grant's big sister Emily is two days older than Ben, and Grace is 3 weeks older than Grant. So, we are perfectly matched up for play dates. Emily & Ben have been great friends for the past 18 months, and it looks like Grant and Grace are off to a pretty good start!





Lots of people have asked about how Ben has handled having a new sibling in the house, and I have to say that I couldn't be more proud of him. He obviously gets much less attention, and often has to wait to have his needs met, but for the most part, he has been very patient. I notice him getting restless and antsy sometimes because we haven't done as many outings since Grace has arrived, but I've never seen him take any of it out on his little sister. He brings me diapers and burp cloths and is very concerned about doing things himself (like going to the potty, getting water, picking out clothes.) Brian even taught him how to sort laundry! (Can you hear the Hallelujah chorus?!) Here are a couple pictures of Ben loving on his sister and playing with her on the floor:

Grace reserves lots of smiles for Ben, and she follows him around the room when she hears his voice... makes nursing her a bit challenging when she's so concerned with what her Bubba is doing.

OK, sorry for the super long post. I'm almost done, I promise! Just this week, Grace has started "talking". All you have to do is prop her up and start talking to her, and she really gets going. She oohs and aahs, and makes this crazy little squealing noise. It's pretty cute. She LOVES talking to Brian... when he holds her and makes faces at her, she will go on forever! I managed to get her new noises on video this morning - enjoy!