Cruising

It is hard to believe Gracie is already 10 months old! And how many new things she has learned to do in such a short amount of time. She has really started cruisin along. She can climb a couple steps ( though once there she has no clue how to get back down!). She drinks well from a sippy cup and is pretty good at self feeding. She is ALL over the place. She loves dogs and is fairly gentle with them. And a couple days ago she started saying mama ( though not really in relation to me... but she refused to make the mmm sound until now!) And she's hilarious playing peek a boo . Yesterday she even ducked behind my shoulder playing. We don't have much news to share but just wanted to share some pics of her playing with the doggy and playing peek-a-boo with mommy. ( I had to include a pout picture in there b/c she is always smiling so much... variety!)

Another Day at the Zoo

So we tried out the zoo again yesterday and it was by far the most fun we have had there! Gracie was actually interested in a few of the animals, though still not that many of them! She was especially intrigued by the kangaroo exhibit. They were only a few feet from us and were just the neatest. Gracie was kicking her legs and smacking the tray on her stroller with excitement!

She had so much fun and saw so many new things. She is really interested in peacocks. And looked a little puzzled when we went into the butterfly house. She even got a little ice cream! And by the end of the day she had of course, fallen fast asleep.


On other news, she has started eating a little bit of table food. And she LOVES cheese! She shovels it into her mouth faster than you can put it on her tray! She's not too interested in pasta, but loves any kind of bread. (But certainly not more than she loves cheese!)
Yesterday she started clapping!!! And last night she started "cruising!", which (for those of you who may not know) means she started walking around holding onto the furniture! Which is also the step right before walking!!! Everything is happening so fast and my baby is getting so big!

Crawling!!!

Okay.... so early last week Gracie was sitting on the other side of the apartment from the bathroom playing in her toy bin. I went in the bathroom to brush my teeth ( which probably only took a minute or two ) , came out and literally tripped over Gracie. Yes, she decided she had had enough of being in only one spot and decided she was ready to crawl! And now she is crawling all over. She can even crawl up a couple of steps! It is so amazing how she went from being content to sit in one spot for long periods of time to just moving all over. She didn't even give me any of the signs that she was ready like th physical therapist that evaluated her said she would have. She's my little genious who just enjoys surprising us!

So, in the past few weeks we have had multiple evaluations from the school district. Because if Gracianna is diagnosed with the neurofibromatosis, it is likely that she may have learning disabilities. So we have had a special ed. teacher, a physical therapist, and a school psychologist come to evaluate her. And all said she is looking pretty good. They keep calling her a preemie though and are going by her " adjusted age" which is SO irritating to me because she was obviously full term- my OB was just an idiot!! But for her "adjusted age" she is dong well and she is still doing alright for her chronological age. Which is very good news! They will come back out in the fall to re-evaluate her and then there will be a meeting to decide where we go from there. If things continue to progress as they have been then they will just keep on eye on how she is doing but she won't have to be in the program. We will be going to see the neurologist again soon as well... I know it's still so early but I am really hoping that she is just a really birthmark-y kid and will not develop any other symptoms!

Her hair is getting so crazy. And the hair on the back of her head is finally starting to grow in! Her hair is super curly (surprise, surprise!) and it's funny because the hair on the top of her head is like mine but in the back it's like her dad's! She has "two-tone" hair! It'll be interesting how it turns out!

I signed her up for Kindermusic sign and sing class this summer! I am so excited to see her interact with a group of kids in a setting like that! And we have planned another trip to visit her cousins! This is going to be such a fun summer for her!

All Over the Place

It has been so interesting checking on my sleeping Gracie lately. She keeps getting into variations of the weirdest position! Besides the fact that now that she is all over the crib!
Gracie is really starting to move all over. Of course she isn't crawling around the conventional way... but she has her own unique style of getting around! She loves crowds of people and is just so social!

Here is a picture of her playing with her friend......

She gets along so well with other babies. And is so happy just to get to be around them. She studies them and then tries so hard to interact with them!

And here is just the cutest picture of her in just about the strangest tub position!

A Whole New Baby!!!

Well, it has been an extremely eventful long weekend. Saturday morning in a matter of an hour, Gracie figured out how to go from her belly to sitting and how to really pull herself to standing-- she was doing it before but only if I helped a little!! BUt she was sitting in her crib playing while I picked up her room and grabbed the bars and pulled herself up. She looked so proud! ( HEr crib did get lowered two rungs by the end of the day though! I'm not taking any chances!) And ever since, she is like a whole new baby. She is all over the place. She may not be crawling, but she sure is starting to climb and scoot more. She is starting to make more and more sounds as well. It is almost like she has all of a sudden really started developing a much stronger
personality.





She went swimming for a first and second time as well. I think she's going to be my little fish! She seems to feel the most secure and have the most fun though if you are on the steps and she can feel a bottom. But she loves to splash around. She also took her first shower with her mommy and loved it. I can't help thinking that maybe she was just excited to see what it is that happens behind that shower curtain. She always sees me go back there but probably didn't really know what I was doing. Maybe not, but it's funny to think about!


















I am really working on clapping with her too. I clap everytime she goes from her belly to sitting or stands... or really any kind of accomplishment. I clap and cheer. And slowly but surely she is starting to try. Right now she mainly uses one hand to clap and closed fist, but she is getting the idea. Besides, the proud look she gets makes it near impossible not to do it!! I'm so proud of her!! And she's got two little teeth half sprouted on the bottom! She is starting to used her little jaws to mash things when eating . So, I've been giving her some table food here and there. And she's drinking out of her sippy cup splendidly! Ahhhh, my baby is changing sooo much!!!

Stuck and Standing

Gracie is finally getting her first tooth!! It is very exciting... she does not seem to really be in any pain. And she seems to be handling it very well....

She is getting to be extremely social and is thoroughly enjoying the warm weather. Our schedule has been a lot busier and she has been adapting beautifully.

She is holding her own bottle now too! Which actually makes being so busy a lot easier. I can now give her the bottle in the car when we are on the go....
Her newest problem: She keeps getting her poor little legs stuck in the bars of her crib! She has woken me up a few times in the night to be freed from the bars.

But in this particular picture the only reason I even discovered her like this was because I was just peeking in on her... She wasn't even complaining! In fact, when I walked in, it looked as though she was completely defeated. She had actually fallen asleep stuck like this, lying on top of her blanket. Poor Gracianna.....

Her biggest new achievement: standing.

She was standing before but now she is starting to pull herself up to standing. She is also able to remain standing for a considerable amount of time... sometimes even daring to go one handed! (Such a daredevil!)

I'm beginning to think we may skip crawling altogether and go straight to walking. She does walk to me if supported. She doesn't really want much to do with being on her belly.... I guess we'll just have to wait and see what she ends up doing!

Scootchie Scootch

Well, my little peanut has begun scootching all over the place. She puts her little bum up in the air holds herself on her arms and inches forward. It's pretty darn cute if I do say myself.

She has also started waving "bye-bye"! And is SOOO vocal. I think she will be talking our ears off (just like her mom!).

She's been loving the nicer weather. We went to the zoo again and she stayed awake this time! She wasn't too interested in the animals. She merely glanced at the giraffes and rhinoceros'. But there was a peacock walking down the sidewalk and she couldn't take her eyes off of it. I am determined to have her love the zoo as much as I do by the end of the summer!
She is super interested in standing. She likes to stand now as much as possible. She can't quite pull herself to standing yet. But boy, does she try! She keeps climbing all over me in the quest to get herself to standing. So I am figuring it won't be long! She is getting so much personality. She's just so funny!

My First Easter!!

We had a fairly quiet first Easter. The funnest part was probably getting dressed. We couldn't seem to decide on an outfit so we took pictures in both of our choices and emailed them for a vote! We decided on the outfit above....

We went to a small get together at my aunt and uncle's. And then a small dinner at Papa and Meme's. We can't wait till next year when Gracianna can get a little more into the Easter bunny!!

A Day at the Zoo

Gracianna has a new fascination... which provides unlimited amusement.... BALLOONS!! She is so funny with them. She'll pull them down and start batting it, then try tasting it.... and then it usually bops her in the head and she will just look bewildered for a few moments. It is so funny.

It was a gorgeous day yesterday so we decided to go to the zoo with Papa. We got all ready and really excited to see the animals. We even read our baby animals book first to get revved up for it!



Unfortunately, we were not the only one's with the brilliant idea. And by the time we started looking at animals.... well.... the picture says it all. Gracianna was sound asleep! Oh well next time!

Splish Splash

Gracianna has been so much fun in the bath lately. She just recently started being able to sit up (without slipping!) all by herself.
Her favorite bath toys are a plastic bowl and some plastic keys. She gums both of them constantly while in the tub and splashes around with them. She fishes around for the keys because she knows they're in there. (She's SO smart!)

I have a kindey infection and have been without my little peanut for two days! I can't wait to get back on my feet and am able to take care of her again!!! Also, on Thursday we went to the eye doctor ( people with neurofibromatosis often will have nodules on their irises). The Dr. said that she was in the clear so far, although they often don't show up until later anyways. He did say that she was slightly myoptic and had an astigmatism though... figures since I have terrible vision! Poor Gracie!

Also, I discovered that I had somehow chosen the option that you had to be registered to comment and have fixed the problem.... so please let me know what you think! ( Anyone can comment now).

Crazy Girl

Gracianna has started a new, kinda strange, half rolling-half tummy time position. She rolls her upper body to the side but leaves her legs straight. She refuses to actually roll though! It is pretty humurous. She just lays her little head down and to the sideand plays like that. She has also started reaching like crazy for people. And had her first real incidence of stranger anxiety this weekend. She is just more and more fun everyday.....














On a messier note...The other day she grabbed her spoon away from me and insisted upon holding it herself... which
was messy but soooo much fun for both her and myself!!

Seven Months!!

Gracianna just had her 7 month birthday! Yesterday we saw the geneticist. She said that with the number of cafe au lait spots Gracie has she most likely has neurofibromatosis. But we still won't be able to diagnose it until she displays at least one other symptom. At this point, all we can do is watch and wait. If she does have it she may not even be greatly affected by it.


Gracie is suddenly gumming every surface in sight sooo hard. I think that a tooth may be on its way! And she seems to babble more and more every day. She is starting to lower herself in a semi controlled manner from a sitting position to being on all fours. She hasn't completely figured it out but she's trying! She alsohas gained a full pound since last Tuesday! She weighed in at 18lbs 11 oz at her doctor's appointment yesterday. I can't get over how big she's getting, and how fast. She seems to have more of a personality everyday. Although she is still the same laid back, good tempered baby that she's always been!