A Very Merry Christmas to All

Ryan and I have so much to celebrate this holiday season. We're very thankful for one another and for our new addition (as if you couldn't tell by these posts, right?).

This has been one of the most enjoyable holiday seasons for us so far! While we are definitely human, and truly do enjoy the presents and the commercial "stuff" during the holidays, we are careful not to get too caught up in it all. We've put forth a little extra effort this year to really celebrate and enjoy the little things, to restart old family traditions, and start new traditions of our own.

So, we hope you get to enjoy "the little things" this holiday season too! Merry Christmas...and Happy Holidays!

Much love to all!

Here are just a few of the things we've enjoyed so far this season...

Gracie's first visit with Santa

...anxiously waiting in line to see Santa


....tired of waiting in line to see Santa :-)


decorating the Christmas tree


...getting bored of mommy's silliness
(while decorating the Christmas tree)...



....tired (of decorating the Christmas tree) :-)

our little stocking stuffer!

an old Gibbens family tradition, renewed...
St. Nicholas Day - Dec. 6th

On the eve of St Nicholas Day, Gracie put her shoes outside of her bedroom door, expecting to receive gifts to fill her shoes (she got to put out both shoes since they were so small). Since this was mommy's first year acknowledging St Nicholas Day, Grace's shoes are buried because mommy was stumped as to what goes in the shoe...but we'll be ready next year and not go overboard :-) Adults also get to participate in this tradition as well. Mommy got a Christmas CD and daddy got a memory card for his phone so he can store more pictures of Gracie. It's a fun tradition that we'll definitely continue.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas

O Christmas Tree!

It was a frigid and windy day when we chose our tree, and it was a little unlike any other Christmas tree hunt experience. Ryan and I had to take turns looking at the trees so Grace could stay warm in the car. We took turns giving coordinates and checking out one another's picks. I wasn't disappointed per say, but I hope we can go back to the old way next year. It is a big deal and a major tradition for Ryan and I to choose our Christmas tree together, so this was a little difficult.

It went a little like this...

Ryan: "I'll wait here, you go see if you want to get a tree here because you have lots of questions."

Erin: "Excuse me sir, when were your trees cut? ...oh, does anyone here speak English? Gracias! ...Excuse me sir, when were the trees cut and where are they from? (back to the car)...okay Ry, I broke some of the needles and they're still sappy and smell fresh. They're $55 for the 5 to 5 1/2' or $65 for the 6 to 6 1/2'. The guy said the trees were cut last week and they're from southern VA. We can stay if you think the prices are reasonable."

Ryan: "Did you pick a tree?"

Erin: "Oh, no." (...back to the tree lot)
Erin: "How about row 4 tree 6?"
Ryan: (to lot and back to car) "It is okay, but how about tree 2 in row 5."
Erin: "You were supposed to tell me the row first, then the tree....but I'll try to find it"
(to lot and back to car)..."That one has a crooked trunk...I'm cold...pick another"
Ryan: "You care more about the specifics than I do...just pick one."
Erin: "Fine." (to lot and back to car) "Either row 2, tree 5 or row 7, tree 1"

And we leave with a tree tied to the roof! But it is a pretty tree, and we got to decorate it as a family! It has hardly lot any of its needles, so I think I did a good job choosing the lot. :-)

This is our "mantle," for now anyway



...and this past weekend, Ryan and I had a blast

baking 24 dozen cookies!

Really, it was fun.

They turned out exceptionally well too.

Now it is time to pack our bags,

head to PA and relax (yeah right!).
We can't wait to see everyone and

enjoy lots of yummy dinners and treats!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Gracie Pix - 15-18 Weeks

talking and playing with daddy


jingle bell in the box...


build those muscles!

peek!

happy girl

working on her sitting skills

whoa...that's concentration!

frustration!

yum!

fa, la, la, la, la...

Our Little Miss at 4 Months!

Grace has been so fun lately! She's learning new things every day and never ceases to surprise us.

Her newest development is the appearance of two teenie-tiny white bumps that seem to want to poke through her lower gums. I didn't believe it at first, because I didn't realize babies could get teeth so early. But thanks to babycenter.com, I quickly learned she is perfectly within normal range (while surely on the lower end of the range). Thankfully Connie already introduced us to the homeopathic teething tablets. So I bought them at Target the other day and they seem to relieve her discomfort, even if only for a minute. Too bad there are no remedies for the incredible amounts of slobber she produces.


While we are on the topic of her mouth, Gracie has finally decided it is okay to eat even though I'm not there during the day. However, she recently decided that she wants to have in-depth conversations with daddy when he feeds her in the mornings. So until we break that habit (which may be more appropriate once she's eating with us at the table), it takes a long time to get her to finish a bottle (despite her ability to complete a breastfeeding session in about 10-15 minutes). She has been working on holding her own bottle, and even pulls it into her mouth when she's ready for it.

Gracie is also practicing using a cup and spoon ("her first shot glass!" as uncle Rob said) and can clumsily hold and use both surprisingly well. She must have already made the association with food, because even if she has just eaten, she usually wants to eat after she's had the cup for a few minutes. When we first gave her the cup, about three weeks ago, she would just push her face against the it and stick her tongue in it to lap at the liquid like a cat, spilling all but a drop. But after only a few weeks, she now puts both hands on the glass, pulls it to her mouth and actually drinks from it, only spilling about half of it. She doesn't understand that you have to tip it back, so we still have to help with that. But it is amazing how quickly she has caught on to what to do with it. We usually only put a 1/2 teaspoon of water in it at a time, since she isn't supposed to have much water. I think she'd sit there and drink it for an hour if we let her. I also tried putting breast milk in the cup. That was funny! She was so angry that she couldn't just drink it, that it wasn't quite worth that effort right now. So we've moved back to little bits of water for practicing.


Grace seems increasingly interested in food. We have brought her to the table a few times with her little cup and gave her a spoon. She enjoys listening to us talk and watches our every move very intently. She plays with her cup and spoon, but soon begins to lick her lips and leans forward when we take a bite. So, I think we'll only do this every so often after she has eaten, at least until she can have baby food (another 2 months). I've looked up all the signs that she's ready for food, and she is showing about half of them. I'm sure by the time she actually gets to taste food, she'll be beyond ready for it. We're trying to wait the recommended 6 months before starting any foods because I have so many food allergies. Supposedly, the longer you wait (up until 6 months) the less likely the baby is to develop food allergies. But of all the rules I've wanted to break since she has been born, the no food thing is the hardest. I am so tempted to just give her a taste or two of some foods.

Ryan and I started sleep training at only a few days old, so with the exception of the first three weeks (when she screamed her head off all night long), Grace is an exceptional and independent sleeper. She chose her own bedtime of 7:00/7:30 at about 4 weeks old. She is adamant about this schedule, which is nice and difficult at the same time. We have to be home by 6:30pm every night and I don't get to spend as much time with her as I'd like on the week days, but Ryan and I get to have dinner together and still have time to do whatever needs done as well. My experience with child development led me to the creation of a sleep routine, but I had no idea how serious she would get with this routine. She knows, without a doubt what comes next. And if it doesn't happen in the amount of time she thinks it should, she gets so ticked! But back to being a great sleeper...she sleeps from about 7:00/7:30 until 7:30/8:00am, with an average of two 20 minute snacks in those 12 hours. It isn't too bad really. She puts herself to sleep every time (nighttime and nap time). She doesn't even want to be rocked or held to go to sleep. She just gives a little "I'm tired" whimper and expects us to lay her down in her bed and let her suck her thumb. That's cool with me! She still takes two naps each day, usually 1-3 hours. So she is certainly getting enough rest. I read somewhere that the sleeping abilities/patterns a baby establishes by 2 months will carry them through childhood. Hopefully that is true and we will have an independent sleeper who loves her own bed and takes naps. Now if only I could get her to sleep when we're out and about...no such luck. She's a stubborn one so we're pretty much home bodies until she stays awake for more than two hours at a time.

We started using sign language with Grace this month. We're only using 12 signs until she can sign them back (which according to our sources, says 4-8 weeks when starting this early), 6 of the signs are ones she needs (milk, more, etc.) and 6 signs are things that she likes (butterfly, water, light, etc.). I could be way off base, but she seems to imitate the more sign when she really likes whatever is happening and she's interrupted with my..."you want more? more? more?" (while constantly signing more).


She has also started to imitate us in other ways, which is pretty funny. She was imitating Ryan's language pattern when he was ranting about something about a week ago. She imitates when we shake something or clap, although she can't quite do it very fast or make a sound with her claps, but the motions are there. It is very cute.

Gracie is getting stronger by the day, which seems to have drawn her to toys recently. She is very good at tummy time now. She can even play for a few minutes while holding herself up on her elbows. She often looks like she is swimming or flying, arms and legs straight out and her back arched. We have a lot of fun at bath time too. She enjoys being squirted with the tub toys, kicking/splashing, and trying desperately to drink the water. And over the past week, she has been wanting to sit up a lot more. She is very wobbly, but has the concept down. For now, we only let her practice for a few minutes each day until she is visibly getting tired. But she loves sitting up and being involved in whatever we are doing (including shopping...yes!). It'll only be a few weeks until she perfects her sitting skills I think. She tries hard to sit up from a laying position, and while she can't do it by herself yet, those little stomach muscles are amazingly strong.

The skills that Grace seems to be most focused on right now are "talking" and singing. She talks and talks and talks...to anyone or anything that will listen (people, herself in the mirror, and her favorite is talking to her butterfly mobile). She is just starting to add consonant sounds (so far she likes the g and the b sounds). Based on the level of effort and enthusiasm Gracie shows in talking, I think she's going to be a talker before a walker. On a funny note, she is as quiet as a mouse when we are around other people, so you may not get to see this side of her for a while, unless you spend more than a few hours with her. She just started talking to her teachers at daycare, but will only do so when the other kids are sleeping. It is almost like the movie Mannequin...she'll only talk when no one is looking and only to those few people that are allowed in on her little secret. I think she gets this shyness from her daddy. As we all know, I sure haven't mastered the art of silence.

Well, there you have a long and probably too detailed synopsis of life with our Little Miss - this term of endearment has come about because we're convinced our little one with a big personality (aka: drama queen) will be an actress, singer, or similar dramatic profession one day and I fugire it is the beginning of a stage name that can grow with her :-)

We can't wait to see what month 5 brings...stay tuned!

Christmas Pictures

We had a lot of fun with our first professional family pictures today. I can't wait to do pix with Santa! Here are a few for you to preview...

"An Evening in December"

This evening, I went with 9 of my lady neighbors to see "An Evening in December" at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Herndon. It was a wonderful presentation...a little music, a little humor, and a good hard look at the true meaning of Christmas. The leading ladies were simply fantastic. I would highly recommend trying out the publications or CDs by either of them.

Here's all I could find online about "An Evening in December"

http://www.i-newswire.com/pr228983.html

I would love to go again next year...any ladies who would like to go, it is completely worth the time and money, and a lot of fun as a night out with the girls...no matter your faith. They apparently sell out fast, so you have to know when tickets are going to go on sale, if you're interested. I heard it was better in the past at McLean Bible Church because they have more room to accommodate the large number of attendees (somewhere over 500 tonight). So I may suggest if they have it at this church again, I'd go much earlier to get in line and get a seat with more shoulder and leg room.

Thanksgiving Weekend

To make a long story short, we had a great Thanksgiving weekend!

Not in the pictures that follow...We met up with Wes, Leslie and Audrey (Ryan's college buddy and family)on Friday for lunch. It was great to see them and finally meet Audrey. I totally forgot to take any pictures, but hopefully Leslie will post the one she took.

We also got to spend a little time with my brother and sister and step mom this weekend as well. It was early in the morning, so I wasn't quite awake, but I can't believe I also forgot to take pictures there.

It was so great to see so many family members. I wish we could just travel around and do that all the time. Grace really handled it well. I think she's getting used to having such a large family and busy-body for a mom :-)

Here are some pictures of the past week...

Gracie can hold herself up on her elbows now

Look at those chubby legs!

Daddy has really been enjoying playing more with Grace

My dad took the train from PA again to spend Thanksgiving with us.
Gracie sure enjoyed getting to know Pappy more.

Robert and Theresia hosted Thanksgiving...
Rob is really getting good at this!

Grace got to meet Great Grandma and Poppa Anderson!

...and Great Aunt Lynn and Uncle Larry (obviously not in this picture)

We spent the weekend in Uniontown, and tried out a local hotel.
Coincidentally, we ended up in the same room that we had the weekend of our wedding.
Grace experienced a pool...she wasn't too sure why all those people were in her tub :-)

Daddy was entertaining Gracie by pushing her around in the wheely chair at the hotel.
He pushed her past the bathroom when I was getting ready and her face just said...
"...look what daddy is doing mommy." It was so funny!

Grace with Great Grammy Beth...
She taught herself how to blow raspberries this weekend.
It is with great effort and a 10 second wind-up, too cute!

The 2008 Rice family picture

A Gibbens-Dowdell-Rice portrait

The yearly "old cousins" photo!

We were the only kids in my family for many years,
so we did literally everything together most of our lives.
Tanya and Terah are twins (almost two years younger than me),
and my brother Evan was the runt...not so much anymore.
You'll never find a closer bunch. I miss our little gang! :-)

Happy 79th birthday Pap-pap!

A family photo
...yes, Grace is watching football.
She sure doesn't get her love of the game from me :-)

Fun at the Aquarium

Ryan and I took Grace to the Aquarium in Baltimore today with Connie, Jelani and Aliana. I kind of expected Grace to generally be fine because she enjoys being out and about, but also expected her to be indifferent to the experience. Well I couldn't have been more wrong. I was shocked to find that Gracie was completely engaged and thoroughly enjoyed the aquarium.

The first thing we went to see was the live dolphin show. I didn't even think she could see that far. But she never took her eyes off the dolphins and actually reacted to them. She was mesmerized by them! We took her up to each of the fish tanks, and she just followed the fish around the tanks with her eyes. She was so quiet and just looked around each time we went to a new tank. It was awesome! Both of the girls had a great day, and were very sleepy by the end of it all.

I know Gracie won't remember the experience, but it was much more of an experience then I thought it would be for her at only three months. I can't wait to do more. We're already trying to think of all the places we can take her. Thanks Connie, for thinking of such a cool experience for us all to enjoy!

Here are a few pictures....

Search for Sitters

I'm really not making fun of anyone...but the responses we've been getting to our ad for a sitter are mostly comical. And then sometimes, I just stare at the response and don't know what to say. So I have to share one sentence from a response....

"It also up on the family like I do my job." Context clues within the paragraphs don't make this anymore meaningful.

This is turning out to be more difficult then I expected.

Our First Surprising Milestone!

Grace seems to gradually do most things. For example, she lifted her head slightly, then held it up and was wobbly, until she could finally hold it steady. So, while these milestones are certainly awesome and memorable, they haven't really been surprising so far. But last night, Ryan turned on the sweeper, so I tried to distract Gracie to keep her from getting upset. I laid on my back on the floor and held her up above me. And instead of crying like I thought she was going to, she laughed! She actually laughed. I was so surprised, that I started banging my foot on the floor so that I didn't startle her (by yelling), but could get Ryan's attention. I thought, there's no way she'll do it again right then so Ryan could hear her. But I repeated the motion and she laughed again, twice! It was so cute! I spent the next 20 minutes making a fool of myself trying to get her to laugh again, but she just looked at me like I had two heads and did her own thing. I can't wait to hear more!

Happy 3 Months Gracie!

Here are a few pictures that I took this week of our beautiful girl....

Happy 3 months old Gracie Girl!

....she was soooo sleepy

Another of Grace's favorite mobiles



This is the typical face we get when we put Gracie in the car seat...

A picture is worth a thousand words!

(I believe that is the look I used to give my brother when we were little...

he'd always say...."stop giving me the evil eye, Erin!" :-)

She gets it honest.)