Sweetly Sleeps

Ryan and I were pleasantly surprised at how early in life Grace started sleeping through the night. She has always liked her sleep, and thanks to the BabyWise method of eat-play-sleep throughout the day, she started sleeping through the night around 2 1/2 to 3 months! She would have nights here and there where she would wake up crying or whining, but I stopped nursing her during the night around 3 months. I could tell she was fine without nursing somewhere in the night because she would just fall right back to sleep if I put her binkie back in her mouth. I figured she would keep crying if she really were hungry.

About 2 months ago, it was like Grace forgot how to do those long stretches. Each time she would cry or whine in the middle of the night (3 or 4 times in one night, sometimes) I would simply make sure she was swaddled really tight and have her binkie, but she would still wake up a couple hours later... over and over throughout the night. A few weeks ago I even tried to "Ferberize" her, by letting her cry herself to sleep in order to teach her to self-soothe (Dr. Ferber method). We tried it for 5 days... and she proved her stubbornness by not allowing herself to fall asleep (got the stubborn side from her daddy). An hour, sometimes two, later she would still be crying on and off to the point where I would give up, re-wrap her, give her the binkie, and hold her until she calmed down enough to sleep again. I was really discouraged, but after talking to lots of different moms about it I realized Grace simply wasn't ready to cry herself to sleep yet! I figured I would try again at 7 months.

Over the last week or two I've noticed that when I wrap Grace up and lay her on her back to sleep, she gets into this funny position... really rigid/arched back, with her head to the side and looking up/back. How can that possibly be comfortable?! She would still cry when I put her down for naps or for bed. Plus, as I've checked on her during naps, she seems to move her head back and forth quite often, making me think that she is truly uncomfortable. A little lightbulb went off in my head as I thought of laying her on her stomach. I've tried this before (months ago), but she has always hated "tummy-time" and had never slept on her stomach before. She didn't know to just lay her head down and fall asleep because her immediate reaction is to be mad that she was on her tummy. But the most amazing thing happened this time! SHE WENT RIGHT TO SLEEP! She literally laid her head down, with only a few seconds of whining and crying, and closed her eyes. Not just that, but she slept for HOURS without stirring!

The very first time I tried it, I had to wrap her with her arms by her sides so that she could get used to the idea of sleeping like that. It's probably not suggested, but I knew that she wouldn't relax otherwise. After that first time, I only loosely wrapped one arm so she still had the feeling of being wrapped, incase she needed that in order to relax. But now... I can literally lay her in her crib on her stomach, put her stuffed lamb next to her, and she falls right to sleep! I've walked into her room during almost every nap for the last several days because I can't get enough of how adorable she is in that position.

I love her chubby legs and feet.

How cute is that with her lamb under her arm!

The last 2 nights, Grace has slept completely through the night. We are SO excited that she is sleeping well again. It makes her happier, and heaven knows it makes mom and dad happier. :) Part of me wishes I'd tried this a long time ago, but I also know it was a matter of waiting until Grace was ready to stop being swaddled and try a new position. Soon, she'll be rolling around her crib and sleeping in whatever position she wants!

It's a little bitter-sweet for me, because I look down at her in her crib and think "Grace doesn't look like my baby anymore! She's like a little kid." She's getting so big... But at least we're all sleeping better now! :)

There and back again

Last week, Grace and I started our travels. First, we flew to Salt Lake City as sort of a layover for about 36 hours. While we were there, we visited Ryan's aunt, uncle, and some cousins who hadn't met Grace yet. She wasn't cooperating, but it was nice to see them for a little bit.

On wednesday, I went to lunch with Ryan's sisters, sis-in-law, and our new FUTURE sis-in-law (marrying Ryan's brother in August)! We wanted to get together with just us girls (no boys or kids), go to lunch, and talk wedding. I had such a blast with Jessi, Abby, Tori, and Katelyn! We ate at Smashburger (one of the greatest burger places ever) and probably bugged everyone else there with our noisy girl talk and giggles. I took my camera with me, but I completely forgot to take a picture.

Thursday morning was a big travel day and the change in time zones was crazy confusing. Trying to keep up with when the girls had eaten last, nap times, etc was interesting. Walking around the airports with the two 6 & 7 month old girls in the double stroller won us endless looks, smiles, and comments from everyone. We heard lots of "Oh how cute!", "Are they twins?", "Look at those smiles", etc. Grace will smile at anyone as long as they are looking at her, and she sure got a lot of that. The girls did great on the flights too! I was a bit nervous about how Grace would handle them, but she ended up sleeping half of each flight! She only cried/whined loudly for about one minute. Unfortunately my sister and I weren't able to to sit by each other because of the oxygen mask regulations. Totally dumb, but it's understandable.

When we finally landed in Columbus, Ohio, we were so excited to see Ben and Amanda and meet our new adorable nephew! I was also extremely impressed with their cute house and how amazingly BEAUTIFUL it is where they live (Pickerington, OH). I could totally live there. None of this dry, ugly, Nevada desert with barely any rain. I need GREEN! I didn't even mind the humidity and the cloudy, rainy weather while we were there.

I fell in love with this...
And we officially kicked off the very first of many-to-come "Camp Cousins"! With all the cousins growing up away from each other, we are going to get them together each summer starting when these three are a few years older. It'll be so fun!

Owen is only 6 weeks old and he already sits up in a Bumbo!
Somehow we fit all 3 car seats, 4 adults, a single stroller, and a double stroller into their Honda Pilot.
Owen and Grace chillin' in their PJs. You would think that having 3 babies in one house would be a nightmare, but it wasn't! None of us could hear each other's babies during the night because we all had fans going in our rooms. The only issues we kept running into was forgetting when we'd fed our babies last, when their naps were and how long, etc. Honestly, the time change was just too much for me. haha. A couple days into it my brother finally got out a pen and paper and wrote down the times for us. Genius! Should've thought of that before. I never knew what time it was, or even what day it was! That's the sign of a good vacation, right?

I love this one. Owen has the cutest expression while staring at his cousins Layla.
The girlies in the tub. During our family trip coming up in September, we WILL get a tub picture with all 5 cousins! (p.s. gotta love the difference in skin tone between these two!... and Grace's chub compared to her older cousin)
Toes! Owen's feet (on the right) are soooo long and skinny. 6 weeks old, and they're just barely shorter than Grace's feet. He gets it from his big-foot-dad. ;)
I think I can see why everyone thought these girls were twins. They had such a great time playing together on the floor! Grace doesn't let me leave her for very long with just toys surrounding her. But give her a friend (especially one her size!) and she would play for awhile without any complaints. There were baby laughs, stolen toys (Layla is quicker than Grace), sucking on each other's feet or fingers, and grabbing each other's binkies. So much fun!
Grace had a great time visiting Aunt Amanda and Uncle Ben
I taught Amanda and Lindsey how to make homemade tortillas.
Two of my best friends. I wish we lived closer to each other!
Cute baby Owen!
Walking around Blacklick Woods Metro Park near their house. We looked for frogs just so we could tell Ryan (he's afraid of them) but didn't find any. We did however see a turtle hanging out on a log. It was such a beautiful park and great place to walk around. (the funny angle is because the camera was set on the ground)

Chillin' on their back patio. It was a perfect evening.
A few family shots I took

The flights back to Salt Lake were pretty interesting. Our first one was Columbus to Detroit (where Ryan served his mission!) and was only about 35 minutes long. I had woken Grace up that morning at 6 am (which was 3 am Henderson time) so she was exhausted... as was I. She fell right to sleep sitting on my lap on that short flight. Our next flight was about 4 hours long and it sure was LONG. Luckily, once again Grace slept for about 2 1/2 hours in my arms and played the rest of the time. Such a good girl! The lady sitting next to me was really rude when we first sat down. She was clearly not excited about sitting next to a baby on the long flight. But when Grace proved to everyone how good she is, they were all complimenting her at the end. Even the rude lady was all smiles and playing with Grace by the time we landed.

Such a sweet girl...

Grace and I stayed one more night in Salt Lake before coming home to Ryan again. Again, the time zone change was pretty rough! I was exhausted and didn't get to bed that night until 9:30 pm, which sounds early... but I'd been up since 4 am Utah time. I would have expected Grace to sleep like a log from the long day but she woke up about every hour and a half. :( It was not a good night, to say the least. On monday, before catching our evening flight home, we went to lunch with Grandma Turner at Red Robin and hung out in the backyard with Grandma Goates. It was the perfect way to end our vacation!

I honestly was so sad to leave Ohio. Our trip was so much fun and we made some great memories. I wish we could have stayed longer. Thank you, Ben and Amanda, for having us and being such great hosts! I truly hope Grace and I can come back and visit again sometime in the near future. And as always, I was so glad to spend two shot lay-overs in Salt Lake to visit the rest of our families. Hopefully Grace and I will be up again soon while we avoid the 100+ degree temps here and the lonely husbandless schedule.

What is Ryan up to?

After one week of living out of a suitcase, six flights, and a finals week... Grace and I are back home with Ryan. Our house is in one piece and MUCH cleaner, I must say! Thanks, bud. It's good to be home.

I feel like I have so much to post about, and I don't want to miss anything, so hang in there with me while I catch up!

Ryan finished up with his very last finals week at Touro University! Can you believe we've made it through 2 whole years so far?! I sure can't. Time is flying by, and it's been a great experience. Ryan has learned A LOT of information and has done really well on his tests. I'm so proud of all the hard work he has put in. I am so lucky to have a man who is so hard working, smart, self-motivating, and driven. I never have to tell him to go study, or to do better. Becoming a great doctor is his goal and nothing will stop him. Here is what he's doing next:

-studying REALLY really really hard for the next month

-taking the USMLE in 27 days (board exam for MDs)

-taking the COMLEX in 37 days (board exam for DOs)

-beginning his very first rotation the first week of July

-rotating under a different doctor each month for the next 2 years

-taking a test at the end of each month-long rotation

-studying for and taking other exams and boards (I just can't remember all the details as to when and what they are)

Grace and I are so proud of you, Ryan, and we know you'll do great!

This morning was Ryan's "scrub" class. Sounds funny, but it's just what it sounds like: they learned how to scrub up for surgeries and how to be "gowned" without touching anything. Someone was taking pictures during the class, so here is my cute future-doc in his element:

One last thing... for Mother's Day, Ryan gave me this Certificate. It was so sweet, and so clever of him to create it for me. :) Just don't tell Touro that he used their stationary with the seal on it. hehe

I am grateful for...

my girlfriends.

I'm so lucky to have them. Being able to lean on them for support, a good laugh, a shoulder to cry on, someone to complain to, girl talk, and simply knowing that they know exactly what I'm going through as a married-yet-single mom has meant the world to me.

Thank you, girls! I don't know how I could get through all of this without you. You are my family away from family.

Good luck this coming week as our men finish up with the extra long block week this semester. I know that these next two years are going to be a bit different since we'll all be on different rotations and schedules... but let's not lose what we have. If we stick together we can survive the final 2 years.

Love you girls! :)

Just like new

Recently we were offered a 3-bedroom apartment for a tiny bit more in rent. We went back and forth, back and forth, and back and forth some more on whether or not to take it. In the end, we decided we'd rather stay in our 2-bedroom, save a little money per month, and not go through moving again (which would have been the 5th time in 4 years). In order to make our boring, old place feel a little newer and neater, we decided to make a few changes for cheap. The final product feels great!

(TV and piano switched places, chair and couch switched places)

It's amazing what a few 100 watt light bulbs, $5 sheer curtain panels, and rearranging the furniture can do! We also did a little more organizing in our closets in order to store things better. We were suffering from clutter-buildup in the rooms, but now it feels like everything has a place. Why didn't we do this earlier?!

(yes, we moved the piano across the room all by ourselves. It was way easier than we both thought!)

For the last 2 years that we've lived here, I've really hated our wall decor... or the lack of wall decor. There was hardly anything hanging up and I had a pile of frames and pictures I just never got around to putting up. I finally decided to just DO IT, even if I made more holes in the wall than necessary trying to make it look right. I'm really happy with how it all turned out!

This is my favorite part ... I love that we finally have photos of our families hung up.

Half a year...

I can't believe it! 6 months already?? I held a 2 day old baby recently and I can't believe that Grace used to be SMALLER than that tiny thing. Time has seriously flown by and I don't know why I get so impatient when I think about the things Grace can't do yet. I love where she is right now in development, age and size. She's a lot of fun!

Today at Grace's check-up, she had to get 3 yucky shots. :( I was surprised that she only cried while the needles went in, and had mostly stopped crying even before I picked her up. What a trooper! At 6 months, she weighs 15 lbs 13 oz (46 %), is 25.75 inches long (50%), and her head is 17 inches around (71%).

Grace finally found her toes within the last weeks or two and it's so adorable! She can roll over from front to back, but not back to front yet. She sits up on her own but falls forward if she reaches too far for a toy, or backward if she looks up too high. But most of the time I don't have to sit behind her anymore - only when we're in the pool. Speaking of the pool, she LOVES the pool, even though the water is still pretty cold.

Grace still nurses about 5-6 times a day and will nurse just fine with the cover if we're not at home. She doesn't take a bottle, but only because I don't have a reason or opportunity to give her one... I don't have a good pump, and I never have to leave her for very long periods of time. She eats solid foods sometimes... I realized (and was told by the doctor) that I'm pretty behind in getting her to eat solids. Oops! She just nurses so well that I don't think much about anything beyond that. Plus, I'm a new mom. I don't know what I'm doing! haha Anyway, she likes pears, rice cereal, carrots, bananas, and seems to hate sweet potatoes and avocado. I still "dream feed" Grace around 9:45 at night and don't have to again until about 8 am.

Grace takes 3 naps a day, and will even take a 3-hour one if we've been out in the sun for a little while. I still have to wrap Grace up tight and give her a binkie in order for her to fall asleep. We tried for several days straight to "Ferberize" her (teach her to self-soothe by crying it out when her binkie falls out) but she did NOT get it. We'll try again next month. She still wakes up crying 2 or 3 times a night... sometimes it's from gas bubbles and just needs help burping, but most of the time I can just wrap her up again and give her the binkie back and she'll go right to sleep.

Grace is getting so strong! She can pull herself up if I just hold her hands to keep her balanced. Her coordination is improving too. If her binkie is right in front of her, she will grab it, and figure out (after a few tries) how to get the correct end in her mouth. She likes to sit in her highchair with toys while I'm cooking or cleaning, but the toys quickly end up on the floor. She sort of moves her arms from side to side on the tray and it pushes everything off. Grace will play on the floor with toys if I'm close by, or in her new exersaucer, but not for too long. She gets mad if she feels left behind or forgotten. Hm... who did she get that one from?

Grace is so social when there are other people around, and loves to watch other kids play around her or pay attention to her. She is always getting compliments on how beautiful she is when we run errands. I'm not kidding... We have yet to go to a store, doctor's appointment, church meeting, etc without her getting a compliment. It makes a mama happy!

Gracie is usually a very happy girl. She loves to be tickled, and I make sure I give her some good tickle-time every day. It's too much fun! She thinks it's hilarious when I get down on the ground, crawl towards her and attack her. Peek-a-boo makes her smile and squeal. When she wakes up in the morning or after naps, Grace is always so excited. If Ryan happens to be home when it's time to get her out of the crib, he always asks to do that part. Who wouldn't when you're met with her huge smile and her legs kicking with excitement?!

She sure has her moments... or her days when things don't go well... but generally she's a pretty good girl. I'm so grateful to be her mom and be able to be home with her 24/7. It makes me happy that she knows I'm here to comfort her and give her everything she needs. It's so fulfilling. We love our 6-month-old!

Recent Stuff

Our favorite new park has swings that look like big comfy chairs hung on chains. They're great! My friend snapped this photo of Grace and me while swinging in one.

Most recent family photo for Mother's Day

Her mouth is pretty much either wide open like this, or closed with her tongue sticking out. Silly girl.

Ryan and I went to Brio for dinner to celebrate our anniversary. Our friends watched Grace for us so we could have a nice quiet dinner. Thanks Reynders! The meal was great, it was fun to get out to a new place (which was neat inside, too), and we enjoyed our date. :)

I went to a consignment sale last week where a bunch of moms sell their gently-used baby stuff. I got this exersaucer for Grace, and she seems to like it most the time. She's getting so big! (p.s. Her 6 month post will come tomorrow)

I made Ryan and I one of my favorite breakfast meals for Mother's Day: sticky buns! Mmmm... butter and sugar taste so good. Ryan also got me some beautiful daisies. I love fresh flowers in the house!

Happy 4th Anniversary!!!

I have decided to enter the blogging world for a special posting (at the urging of Jamie) and dedicate this entry to my wonderful wife. It was four years ago today that we knelt across the alter with our families surrounding us and eternity laying before us and were married in the Salt Lake Temple. It was a very special day and even though Jamie swears it was freezing that day, I did not feel it. I don't think that she really felt it either because those of you who have seen the pictures know that she was smiling through the entire day.

But let me take you back to what most people do not get to see about these two crazy kids getting married.

How did she not know she was marrying a cowboy?

I don't know how these two ever got together

We were so young and little looking back then. To this day I still don't know how Jon and Dawn let their beautiful 18 year old daughter marry some wannabe cowboy doctor with dreams of changing the world. The marriage day came and went and life for us began as a new couple.

We worked hard

We relaxed

We made out (don't tell her I said that)

We became better than best friends

And now we added another friend

Our life has not always been full of fun and games, but when my storms arise, Jamie is my sunshine through the clouds. She is more than I deserve and better than I could ever be. She makes me want to be the man she sees in me. I love her with all my heart and would be nothing without my better half. Together we make the couple the Lord needs for His future generation.

I love you babe! May you always know of the love that I have for you. Here is to the four years we have had together and the forever we have in our future.

Your forever love and companion

Ryan