Talking & Showing off our tongue

Grace finally decides to continue "talking" once we started filming her. You will also see that she has discovered her tongue too.

2 months....

Two months already, where does the time go. The last couple months have been an experience that we will never forget, with all the ups and downs. I would like to think that in the last 2 months Mark and I have become better parents and I would love to say that we have it all figured out but that would just be a lie. Let's be honest does anyone ever really get it all figured out?!?

So with 2 months comes the 2 month check-up. I'm not really sure who had the hardest time. The first two thirds of the appointment went great. She was weighed and we sat and talked with the doctor for quite sometime. She reassured us on some of our concerns and told us our little girl was developing right on track. Grace now weighs 11 lbs., is 21 3/4 inches tall, and her head circumference is 15 1/4 inches. She is in the 50% for weight and head size but only in the 30% for height. The last third of the appointment Grace got her first round of shots. It would be nice if I could say she handled these as well as the PKUs but no dice. As Daddy and Mommy looked away from the needles (we both hate needles) Grace let out a high pitch cry. It is so hard to just watch your poor baby go through that and not just pick her up and hug her until the pain goes away. However, the crying did not last as she was done before we ever got back to the waiting room.

(Notice the band-aids)
Our next appointment will be in 2 more months. It seems so far off and yet I'm sure it will fly by just as fast as the first 2 months did!

Daddy's #1 Fan

Grace loves watching and listening to Mark play the guitar even when he is not playing a song but just messing around. However, Mark says he is not playing the guitar but killing it. :) How ever you choose to look at it is fine cause all that matters is Grace Loves it, song or no song.

Water Damage

On Nov. 15th I woke up and noticed that the water pressure was low but thought nothing of it really. Well about 5 mins later Lewis, our neighbor, came to the door to let us know we had some water problems. It seemed that a root from the tree had put a hole in the water pipe running to our house. I guess 25 years ago when they built the house they didn't think it would be an issue to plant a tree right over the water line. Which I'm sure back then it wasn't but add 20 years to a tree and those roots start to become rather large.

So that morning Mark became a plumber! :) I was so thankful that he didn't have to go to work. I don't know what I would have done if it was just Grace and myself at home.

Thanks, Lewis, for all your help with the situation!! We owe you one.

Aunt Eleanor

Our last visitor for the year was Aunt Eleanor. It was so great to have her here in the house. For those of you who don't know, back in Jersey we rented the basement area from her. So having her here for a week reminded us of our life back home...it was wonderful. She helped out so much with the dinners and cleaning. What helped me the most was she ironed for me!! Other than having her here the best part would have to be the massages she gave us!



While she was here we went to the Norwegian Christmas Festival and we were able to get some cheese and lefse (flatbread). Later in the week, Eleanor, Grace & I went to the northwest side of Houston to visit family. We had a great time with Eleanor but like always the time went too fast.

Smiles....

We finally got a couple of shots of Grace smiling on camera. I'm still trying to get more but it seems every time I bring out the camera she stops smiling. So enjoy these until I get more...








Ok, so this last one is not a smile but I thought the tongue sticking out was cute.

Grace & her duck

Grandpa & Grandma....

This past week Mark's parents were here from Jersey. This was the first that Grace got to meet her Grandma & Grandpa. They too were a big help to us. Bruce and Mark did a few projects around the house and Mom helped me out with the cleaning. Oh and they also cooked a couple of nights for us...Yummy!! We had a great time with them but were very sad to see the week come to an end. Why is it the weeks you want to go slow always go fast?


Helping Grandma with the puzzle...


Grandpa & Grace


Grandma & Grace


Telling Grandpa & Grandma all about her life so far.