Fall has arrived...finally

Thank God the weather has finally dipped below 90 degrees. It was 70 degrees this morning! Glorious! Grace is definitely enjoying the beginning of Fall here in Lower Alabama...especially Alabama football! Look closely and you can see that Grace is also representing University of Washington with her cute socks (plus she had a UW onesie on underneath the Alabama jersey). Football is definitely a way bigger deal down here than on the West (or East) coast. People are obsessed. They fly huge Alabama or Auburn flags out of their gargantuan trucks and dress head to toe in their teams colors on game day.

And Grace is getting bigger by the day. She kept blowing out of her size 1 diapers, so now she is in size 2! And I tried rice cereal today, but had no luck. She hated it! She kept spitting it out, made a hilarious grossed out face, screamed, pushed the spoon out of her face and then tried to pull herself out of her Bumpo seat. I think I'll stick to my original plan and wait until 6 months when she can eat REAL food.

Grace is 4 months!

Grace celebrated her 4 month birthday on September 8th. She is getting so big! At her 4 month appointment she was in the 50th percentile in height, weight, and head circumference. She is 24.5 inches tall and weighs 13 pounds 11 ounces. She is definitely a solid baby, not skinny like Michael and I were (I never even made the growth charts until I was a toddler). I love chunky babies, so I'm happy that she has some meat on her bones!

She was sleeping great for months...but then about a week ago it all changed. She will no longer sleep on her back! For about a week she would wake up every 20-30 minutes all throughout the night. So both she and I were pretty much zombies for about 6 days straight. Poor little Grace was so overly tired that she wouldn't nap during the day. Even though I know it is considered a no-no to put a baby on his/her back to sleep nowadays, I just wanted to try Grace on her tummy to see how she slept. It worked like a charm...8 hours straight! Although we are both sleeping much better, I haven't really slept too soundly because I am constantly getting up to check on her. But she seems to love her new sleeping position and she is definitely strong enough to lift herself up with her arms and even flip over. So I will just continue to pray over her every night! She seems so much happier during the day now that she is getting uninterrupted sleep. Hallelujah!

Grace has been making some really great facial expressions lately and has even begun to giggle! Here are a few of Grace's faces...

Concerned:

Flirtatious:

Surprised:

Excited:

Confused...or constipated:

Happy!!!

Swagger Wagon

This weekend we went to Dothan, AL (near Michael's hometown) to pick up our new (but used) minivan! We are now proud owners of a Tan (or Gold) Toyota Sienna. I love it! I grew up in a minivan (my parents had a white Chrysler Plymouth with burgundy cloth seats...it was a beauty!), so I feel completely comfortable and at home in my new car. And now I can actually fit Grace and groceries in the car. My Jetta worked great when I was single, but with a husband and a baby it had transformed into a sardine can. I can finally bring my double BOB stroller back to Alabama (currently in my parents garage in Seattle) because it will now fit in my car! Oh the joys of motherhood.

Grace cheered on Alabama as they whooped Penn State this weekend. She would have cheered on Washington, but (1) she went to bed and (2) unfortunately Alabamians don't think Pac-10 football is very exciting so they don't air most of the games I'd actually like to watch. Lame!

Showing off to Grandma in the bouncy seat.

Representing in her new sweats...

Grace loves her Exersaucer

New Toys

I recently put together two new toys for Grace...the Exersaucer and the Johnny Jump Up. I don't think she quite knows what to think about either contraption, but she is getting the hang of them both more and more each day. It is so much fun watching her grow and discover new things!

Labor Day Weekend

Over Labor Day weekend we traveled to Valdosta, Georgia to visit our dear friends the Rathmanns. Grace had so much fun playing with Lauren, Hailey, and Faith! Thank you Randy and Nancy for your wonderful fellowship and for always making us feel at home. We wish we lived closer to you all!