6 months....

Today Grace went back to the doctor but this time just for a check-up. We had her 6 month appointment, I can't believe she is 6 months!!!

The report we got was great. She is completely healthy, ears and lungs sound great. She is also right on track as far as developmental skills. I really was not too worried about that since she is crawling and now trying to get into a sitting position from laying on the floor. She has not changed much as far as percentiles go. She weighed 15 lbs. 10 oz. (40%), height was 24 1/4 in. (10%) and a head circumference of 17 in. (50%). So she is right on track as far as all of that goes. Yes, she is a little short for her age but honestly she doesn't have much hope there anyways with her parents being so short. :)

She again had to get her vaccines, 3 shots and 1 oral. However, this time there was not too much crying!! With the first shot her mouth opened up and she had a frown on her face. The second shot brought the tears. Thankfully by the time I got her into my arms she was done with the crying. But she was not willing to let the nurse out of her sight. She would whip her head around trying to follow ever move she made. Guess she was making sure that she was not coming back with any more shots for her. Hehe :)


At the doctors & look at the cool book they gave me!!

On the move

T-I-Double Gg Er

Rodeo.....

Mark and I got to go out on a little date the other week. We were given tickets to go to the Rodeo. Every year Houston has a huge rodeo the month of March, I think it generally runs for 20 days. It was Mark's first time ever going to a rodeo. Unfortunately we got stuck in traffic so he did not get to see all the events they have. We missed maybe half of the rodeo.






We did get to see the Bull Riding, my favorite!




One of Mark's favorite events was the Mutton Bustin'. Which, if you don't know, is kids, age 4-6, riding sheep. A 5 year old won the event!!



The Winner

After the the Rodeo each night they have a concert. The night we went the performer was Brad Paisley. It was awesome!! He always puts on a great concert.

Hockey!!!

That's right hockey in Houston!! Houston actually has an AHL team, American Hockey League. Our neighbor had won tickets to one of their games but could not attend. So we were fortunate enough to receive the tickets. It was the first hockey game Mark and I have been to since leaving Jersey, it was great!! (Of course it would have been a dream if it was the Devils playing but we would have to travel to Dallas to see them.)

We took Grace to the game with us and she loved it!! You will see from the pictures that she could not take her eyes off the game. (The picture above was a struggle to take.) She has watched hockey with us at home and always seems to enjoy it, so we were curious to see how she would react there. I thought maybe she would be more interested in her surroundings but nope she kept her eye on the ice unless they stopped play and the announcer was talking, then she would look around.





We will defiantly have to go back.

Sunny Day.....

Enjoying a beautiful day hanging out in the yard....







One of my favorites

One more

I forgot to post these little video clips from our trip to Nebraska. You may need to turn your volume up on these. I did not have my camera with me so I used my phone to capture the following. The trouble with my phone is that it always records quietly and the videos are only 30 seconds.

I'm sure you will enjoy these just as much as we have. In the video the little boy Grace finds so funny is my nephew, Aiden. It seemed that whenever he was around Grace was either laughing or had a great big smile on her face.

Enjoy.....

Veggies...

Grace has been eating her veggies for about a month now. We took a little video of the first time she had veggies but I'm having troubles getting it to upload. So below are a couple small clips of her eating carrots & peas.




As of now she has eaten butternut squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas and green beans. Peas and squash seemed to be her favorite. Although she does not complain at all with any of them. She just likes food!! Hopefully this means that she will be a good eater for us and not be a picky one. Maybe watching the Food Network during pregnancy will pay off!! Heh :);)

1 year.....

A year already, can you believe it!! At times I find it hard to believe that it has been a year cause it feels like just a few months have passed by. Yet when I think about all that we have gone through this past year it seems like it should be years since we moved here.

This past year has defiantly been eventful. We moved to Texas, Mark got a new job (reason for moving), bought a house, survived a hurricane, had a baby and had another job change. Just a couple of things. When we think of Jersey and all we left behind we can't help but be saddened. However, we prayed about this move for a while and this is where God wants us. Even after moving here and things not turning out the way we thought with Mark's job we turned to God in prayer. We looked for doors to open for us to come back to Jersey but He kept those doors closed and opened more here in Texas. So this we are certain, He wants us here.

Thankfully we have bought a house in a great community with awesome neighbors!! We would be so lost with out them. They have helped us out in so many ways. Between just everyday questions, to what to do during a hurricane, and so much help with Grace. Mark and I are so glad that we have such great neighbors to share Gracie's milestones with. Undoubtedly we wish family could be close to share those with us but are neighbors are quickly becoming "family" in our eyes.

We have also found a great church!! It took some time but God directed us on where to go and placed us in an awesome church. We are starting to become more involved with the church through volunteering and joining a small group. I have also started going to a Moms Club and Community Bible Study. Through both of those I am meeting such wonderful people.

To summarize, we are still working on getting settled but are starting to put roots down here in Texas. Of course, we both miss Jersey dearly and if God gave us the green light would move back in a heart beat! For now, we are here and just pray that we are walking in the path God wants us.

Also on a quick side note, thank you to all of you who have come to visit us through this past year. We loved every minute of it and would love to have you back this year as well as any one else that wants to come visit Texas. We love having company!!!

Chapter 1 closed, Chapter 2 is just starting and I can not wait to see what is in store for us this year!!

Weezer Update

Grace is healthy. She has been off her treatments for a week and a half now and is breathing great. Her ear is also not bothering her any more. However, she still has a running nose and has been waking up anywhere between 3 to 5 times a night, not fun. I feel like she is a newborn again. The reasoning I believe for all these wakings in the night is teeth. Her teeth have really been bothering her during the day so I'm sure it is caring over into the night. I just pray they come in soon.

BBQ

Every year Houston has a huge Rodeo event during March. To kick things off the weekend before is a huge BBQ event. There is tent after tent of people smoking meat, each with their own recipe and secret ingredient and way of smoking the meat. In order to get into a tent to try the food you must have a wrist band for that tent. How you get the wrist bands I don't have a clue. However, Mark was given bands, through work, to get into one of the tents, so we went. The food in that particular tent was not bad but I have definitely had better. Not that I'm going to complain cause it was good and it was free. ;) :)




After we left our tent we walked around all the other tents and saw some interesting things.



Lamb on the Left, Goat on the Right

Pig anyone?






All in all, it was a beautiful day outside and we had a great time!!!

Tired after a long day of fun.

Weezer....

It has taken me a while to get our Nebraska trip posted but things have not gone as smoothly as I had hoped this past week. It all started going down hill Sunday night (March 1st). Grace was up several times through out the night and we finally got some sleep once I sat and held her. We went to the doctor on Monday and found out that she had an ear infection on the right side. She was also very congested so they put her on some medicine to clear that up.

However, the congestion got worse and she started wheezing. Back to the doctors on Wednesday for them to look/listen to her again. As far as the doctors can tell, Grace is/was so congested that she was having difficulty getting enough oxygen. So they are treating it as asthma. For now, they put her on xopenex and we started nebulizer treatments every 4 hours around the clock. Will she have asthma forever, was my question. The answer I got is basically only time will tell. This could be a one time thing or it could be every time she gets a cold/congestion or she could just have asthma. We go back to the doctors this week for the breathing and next week for them to look at her ear again. I will let everyone know what we find out but I'm sure it will all be good as she sounds and is acting much better.








As you can see from the pictures, Grace actually likes her treatments. She actually leans into and reaches for the mask and most of the time she is smiling, talking or sleeping through them. On rare occasions she will cry but then ends up falling asleep. We are very thankful for this.

Oh and neither Mark or I think it will be a constant thing. We are both along the lines of thinking it could be a one time thing. But for now all we have is time and prayer.

Nebraska Randomness

Just some random photos from our trip....






Grace loved my sister's dog. She thought he was really funny. The best was when Remy would start whining cause he wanted Grace and Grace would just sit and laugh and laugh at him. :)



Aunt Mandi

Hanging out with Brooklyn


Telling her cousins all about her life so far....

Gathering

While we were back in Nebraska my parents had a gathering at their house. Which was great because I got to see cousins that I have not seen or talked to in 2+ years.












Great-Grandpa Winkelbauer

Great-Grandma Winkelbauer