Christmas 2009

For Christmas this year the whole Matthews side of the family went to my parents house in Susanville. All of us were there, kids, grandkids and sons in-law. The first time that has happened since my wedding! The Albers also were there spending the holiday in there new house, so we more people to spend our time with them as well.

We had a white Christmas, which is sooo fun, though it was mostly ice at first, but the second night we were there it snowed through the night. I probably gained all my baby weight back, non-stop food, and most if it was cooked by my mama, which only means trouble for me.

It was my first Christmas with Stephen and Grace, and we just had such a great time together. I am so blessed. Grace was a hit, per usual with her Aunties, Grandparents and cousins, I don't think she touched the floor at all, everyone was passing her around and playing with her the whole time, luckily I have to feed her so at least I get to hold her a little bit.

A lot of games, a lot of eating and a lot of rough housing is how our weekend was spent!

Such a cute picture of Zach and Grace. (he is 17 now!!! holy... )

They were trying to get Gracie to smile for a picture! Classic

My parents and all their grandkids
Look how tall they are... They are tall, but let's be real, my dad is pretty short
My favorite family. Such a great picture
This is a framer too of Marina and Sandy

A half year of Gracie!

That's right folks, we have had our little one for 6 whole months! Crazy to believe. I cannot imagine my life without her. The way she laughs at you when you blow her neck, or has a huge smile on her face when you get her out of bed, the way that her arms and legs flap and she squeals when you walk into the room. She is so interested in new things, loves being outside, and just this intense look on her face when she sees something that she hasn't seen before, she will grab it, look at it, then inevitably will try to eat anything and everything.

Developments:

• She is now eating solid foods ( a little, more to that soon)!
• She can sit up and hold her self up for a long time now
• She loves being on her tummy, and is now scooting and twisting everywhere, she can move almost across the whole living room!(though it might take a while)
• She is talking more and more, and loves to squeal, especially in church, though we call it making a "joyful noise"
• She loves toys, and will scream when you take it away, or more commonly when she drops it.
• Her favorite toys as of now is an elephant her aunt Chrissy got her and the remote control!
• She loves to jump in her Jumperoo or her Johnny Jump up and can stay in there for like 30 minutes and can give mama a break.
• She loves people! We have tried really hard to pass her off, and get her used to being held by other people because usually it is just her and myself during the day, and it has been a success. She loves being the center of attention, and will brighten up whenever anyone talks to her and plays with her (am I really that boring?)
• As much as she loves people, she also knows that her mama brings her food and comfort and will be fine until she sees me, then starts to cry and (kinda) hold her arms out for me (maybe)

I am sure there is more, but I just can't remember everything!

Normally she'll go to bed around 8, sleep till 430-5 then after eating will sleep until 730. Very doable. Though sometimes she can be up for two hours at night!

Pictures to come soon! Promise, Christmas ones as well!

Christmas Family

I love this picture. My favorite time of year, my favorite people and just happiness everywhere. Love being a family.

O' Christmas Tree.. Growing Girl and Jolly Ol' St Nick

What an eventful week! We have our first official "Baillie Christmas Tree!" We headed up to Crest Ranch in Bonny Doon with Aimee, Kevin and family and found our little 4 footer. It was Stephens first time searching for, finding and cutting down the perfect tree! (I married a city boy) Though it was freezing cold, it was the first of many years going up there with our family. The tradition we are attempting to start involves a hearty meal of eating biscuits and gravy in the morning then heading up to the mountain, drinking cider and finding our tree!

Grace saw St. Nick for the first time and sat on his lap, though she couldn't ask for any presents, she made sure to tug on his beard!

Just yesterday she sat up all by herself for the first time!!! She is growing so quickly it's crazy! She also has a favorite toy, a stuffed reindeer we got when we were at Knotts Berry Farm. It's the first toy that she holds her arms out for and gets a huge smile on her face. I know my last blog I was kinda overwhelmed with being a mom, but let me tell you that she has been sooo fun this last couple weeks, so happy and just bubbly! God knows right when I need a little help.

Below are some pictures of the last weeks, my friend Amy came down and took a lot of pictures of myself and her God-daughter.

My happy little munchkin...

Grace Elizabeth and Eliana Grace going to take communion together...sooo precious. Eliana is about 2 months older than Gracie... Just feeling each other out

Daddy absolutley in love with his little girl,

Momma in love with her little girl...
One of my favorite pictures ever!!!
Grace and St. Nick
Tugging on his beard

Daddy cutting down our tree

Posing with our new tree

Changes

I am so excited to have my own family this holiday season! My dreams are coming true, from having a wonderful husband, healthy baby that is mine... it still trips me out that I have my own child, who came from my womb...and as her shirt says is"50% Mommy and 50% Daddy."

How things can change in a year!!!! I am now a stay at home mother and wife, have dinner ready every night, husbands lunch packed every morning...going to moms groups, attempting to keep the house clean, cutting coupons and planning meals around the sales at the grocery stores.... If you would have asked me a year ago what my life was going to be like the same time next year... I would have never imagined cutting coupons or the ineffable joy that is in me daily.

Grace is getting bigger and bigger, obviously.... that is her only job right now. She is now 14.1 lbs heavy (my back is feeling the gain) and 25 1/2 inches long (as we are seeing her mow through all her clothes that have feet in them. She is almost out of 6 month clothes, and into the 6-9 months and bigger. She is in the 87th percentile for height and 56th percentile for weight.

Developments

She has a fantastic belly laugh, becoming so alert, noticing everyone that comes in the room, usually with a smile, can hold a toy consistently and keep it in her mouth, rolling over more and more, but still only from back to belly, she gets stuck on her belly often. She is also so close to sitting up... just not yet and loves to talk to us. She will bring everything to her mouth whether it be hands, toys and her favorite toy right now... PAPER!

Not so fun developments

Gone are the days of sleeping through the night! She now regularly wakes up once or twice a night, usually she goes right back to sleep after eating, but lately after our long road trip she wants to stay awake a lot more. She spits up a lot more (literally just seconds ago all over her and myself)

She can scream like the dickens and is for sure getting teeth but they can take months to come in!!! She just seems to be a lot more fussy lately.

Her doctor says that by waking up more, drooling, putting things in her mouth and watching everything that goes in our mouth... she is getting ready for solid foods, and I should start soon!!! I was trying to wait for 6 months, and she is just almost 5 months, I am just very hesitant to start, but if she is ready, she is ready..... I just don't want to rush her into anything.

Hopefully that will help, as much as I am joyful most of the time.... motherhood is getting harder for me. Since she has been such a chill baby, I find myself easily frustrated with her cries because I am not used to the sheer volume of it. I am not used to getting up during the night all the time, or her being fussy a lot throughout the day. I find that I am always second guessing what I am doing, what I am eating, if I should put her down rock her to sleep, if she is sick or is it just her teeth.... I have to put her down and leave the room just to cool myself down and be a loving mom, not a mad, frustrated mom. I feel bad for being so frustrated and feel that I am not loving enough!!! I ask God for more patience... and He just seems to give me more opportunuties to practice rather than peace within.....

At the park for the first time with our FOUR MONTH OLD!!

Can you believe that Grace is now 4 months old? My goodness is time flying by! It is hard to imagine a life without our little bundle of joy. Everyday she is doing something new, and quickly becoming a little person full of personality and attitude. She is turning over regularly now, laughs all the time, can play in her johnny jump seat, and loves it!!! She also can spend a lot more time on her tummy now, lifting her head and playing with toys, and can spend a good 15-30 minutes that way.

We knew that she is too small for the swings at the park, but we wanted to try anyway... put a little blanket infront or behind her... and away we go!!! Here she is! There is a video of her at the end being pushed.

Teething!

AHHHGGGHHHH!!! Teething sucks! Gracie went from never crying or being fussy to an almost constant state of fussiness! Yes, she has moments of cuteness and is all and all a good baby. It just feels like someone swapped out my girl with this new cranky creature! The thing that tops it all off. is that just last week she realized that she has vocal chords and likes to scream in every octave known to man... and the high pitched one is her fave.... So instead of my quiet little angel that loves to smile and laugh, she uses an ear shattering scream to get my attention!

Pam Tovic said it best "Good things babies are cute, otherwise we would throw them out the window."

More than anything, I just want my baby to feel better, I hate to see her in pain. It breaks my heart. Since she is such a good baby, I know she really must be hurting to be this fussy.

I am using the Highlands Teething tablets, and they seem to work somewhat... Anybody have any other tricks that they use to get through this? (for both baby and mama)