4 Weeks Old

I can't believe that Gracie is 4 weeks old today. It has gone by so fast, I know everyone says that but it really does. She is getting really strong, moving her head around and she can even flip over to one side. It is so wonderful watching her change daily. She had a rough afternoon the other day but hopefully it was just gas. One of my good friends reminded me today that they are still trying to get adjusted to life in the world and since they cannot communicate with us, we just have to be patient. I thought that was great advice (she has a two week old at home). John has been working on the in South Carolina daily so Gracie and I get to spend our days together. Then at night Daddy comes home to get his Gracie fix. John and I really enjoying our family growing and can't wait to have another one! (But we will wait until she is at least out of diapers before we do this again :)

Busy Weekend

This past week Gracie's umbilical cord finally fell off. So she got to take her first full bath. It was much more fun than those sponge baths we had been giving her. She just sat there in the water kicking and splashing. (Well we had to help hold her up of course). But she was so good and seemed to love every minute of it. We took her to the mall this past weekend and to a memorial day Bar-B-Que and she was so pleasant. Of course she cries when she is hungry or has gas, but other than that I can't complain. We have nicknamed her Gaseous Gracie because she seems to have an abundant amount. My nephews thought that was hilarious. We just enjoy having her as a part of our family!

Great Day

Yesterday Gracie had a great day with her Great-Grandmother. My Mom's Mother, Nini came to town to meet her. My sister drover her over from Atlanta and they spent Thursday night here. We haven't been able to remove Gracie from her Nini's arms. It is so special to see four generations of women together. Every day we see something new and amazing from Gracie. I have enjoyed every minute of being home with her. Tonight we are going to dinner with our friends Andrew and McKenna, their son is a few months older than Gracie and we are having talks of an arranged marriage. :) Gracie is starting to learn the difference between day and night and we are very thankful. We are still awaiting a six hour night! We have also been blessed that John got a new job with Solvay pharmaceuticals. He will start here in the Augusta area on June 9th with at home study. He then goes to training in Atlanta in the middle of July. We are very pleased that his training is so close, that way he can come home on the weekend to be with his girls! Gracie is scheduled for her baby dedication at church on June 8th. We are very excited because several of our good freinds will be participating with their children as well. I will definetely post pictures from this blessed event. Thanks for keeping up with our lives.

Doctors Visit

Gracie went to the doctor yesterday and she is doing great. She is weighing in at 9lbs 7Oz. Dr. Steve said she is in the 95% and that is awesome. He also said for Mommy to not get hung up in the percent and weight. As long as she is gaining weight and eating she is doing great. She is starting to turn her days and nights around. We get up for two feedings a night and then she self soothes her way back to sleep. John and I said we would have ten more if they had this personality, but since we can't guarantee it we will stick with just Gracie for now. She really only cries if her diaper is dirty or she is hungry. What a blessing for our first child. She also had to go get her hearing re-tested yesterday. She did not pass in her left ear at the hospital, but yesterday she passed with flying colors. John has been reading baby wise out loud to her at night and she seems very soothed by his voice. The nurses in the hospital told us it is very important to start reading right away, since she doesn't really understand what we are reading baby wise works. :) Tomorrow her Nana will come back and bring my grandmother Nini with her. I am so excited for Nini to meet little Gracie. We took her to South Carolina this past weekend to see her new house and meet her cousins. They were so good with her. Her four year old cousin Carter just couldn't get enough of her. He was so intrigued and cautious, he made sure everyone who came near her washed their hands! I will post pictures of her adventures. Thank you all for keeping up with our progress. I will try to keep updating as often as I can.

A Happy Mothers Day

This was my first mothers day and it was definetely a special one. Nana watched Gracie so John and I could get up and go to church. Gracie sent me tulips for my first mothers day and Daddy let me have a nap this afternoon. It is so amazing to look at my daughter and know that I gave her life. She is truly amazing to me, even at ten days old. She can already move her head around and tries to roll from side to side. It is good to see that she is so strong. We still have our days and nights mixed up, she is wide awake until about 2am and then she calls it a night. Despite all of our efforts it is very challenging to keep her up during the afternoon and early night be we will continue to try. I wake up every morning excited to see her and what she will do next. I will post a picture we took in our front lawn after we came home from church. Our first family photo!

A Week Old!

I can't believe a week has gone by already! She is not nearly as swollen as she was after she came out. Of course I thin she is beautiful but that is what mothers are suppose to think. Gracie is actually quite dainty She has been getting on a little bit better schedule at night. We go to bed at 12:30 and have another feeding at 3:30 and then wake up around 6:30. It has been heaven lately! I can't stop staring at her in amazement. She sleeps alot so when she has her awake times where she just stares at me I treasure them. I have already forgotten about the pain of a c-section and would do this again in a heartbeat! She really has a great temperment and cries when she is hungry or has made a mess in diaper. She has peed on my twice already. I thought only little boys did that, but Gracie has defied gravity. Last night I snapped some pictures of her feet and I was laughing so hard I htink I poppes a stitch. It was totall worth it. She defientely has her father feet. Thank you all for checking in on us I will try to stay on top of things.

She has arrived!

Sorry it has taken me a little while to update. Things have been crazy and my recovery will take a little while. We went in on Thursday the 1st to be induced at about 6am. Neither John nor I slept the night before from all of our excitment. We got there and they started the induction at about 7am. Then my doctor came over and broke my water around 7:45. I did good for about two hours of contractions then I requested my epideral. It was great until about an hour and half later when it stopped working. The needle has come out of the part of the spine it was suppose to effect. So for the next hour and a half I got to experience natural childbirth. For those of you who can do it my hats off to you. The anesthesiologist came back in and had to give me a second epideral which stopped the pain, but not the pressure. At about 3:30 I was fully dialted and started pushing. We pushed for about an hour and 45 minutes and nothing was happening. My doctor came in and gave me the news I had been dreading, I had to have a c-section. I cried a little then sucked it up and said lets get the show on the road. I always knew it would be possibility. The took me in for surgery and then brought John back a little later. Grace Elizabeth Kelly "Gracie" was born at 6:10pm. She was 8lbs 14 oz and 22 inches long. The first time I heard her cry I had to join in. This is truly the most amazing thing I have ever experienced. She has already humbles John and I to the amazing grace of the Lord. I came home a little early for a c-section but figured I would rather recover in my own bed. My Mom has been here ever since and I do not know what we would do without her! Aunt Julie even came over to help for a few days. (She taught her how to ROLL TIDE !!) John has been doing everything but feeding her since I have to do that. With a c-section I can't lift her or change her diapers but I just started today. He has been my rock and was amazing through the whole process. I will try to be better at posting, but here are some pictures. Thank you all for your phone calls and prayers. We are all trying to adapt to our new lifestyle with our little blessing. God bless!