The fair...

On Friday I was watching the lunch time news and discovered that the Washington County Fair was happening. I love the fair - mostly for the food - and since we live less than 10 minutes from the fair grounds, and admission is free, we decided to make an evening of it. I was most looking forward to the "dock dogs" show - you know, the dogs that chase something off the end of the dock to see how far they can jump into a huge pool of water! The Dorsey and the Diefenbaughs joined us for our evening adventure and Gracie's first encounter with fair life! We got there just in time to grab a fabulous, greasy dinner and catch the dock dogs "extreme vertical" challenge. It was like high jump for the dogs. We then walked through the animal barns, and shared snow cones and an elephant ear before packing up and heading home. We weren't there long, but we had a great time... well, I did anyway!

There was a horse named Grace...

...and one named Hannah (who was also a new mom!).

Young love...

Yesterday Gracie's boyfriend, Emmett, and his mom came down for a visit. Gracie and Emmett have had a long-distance Internet relationship through their mom's blogs for the past 5 weeks, so this face-to-face meeting was a very big deal! Plus, us two Hannahs hadn't seen each other since March, so we were looking forward to some adult time together.

The initial introduction was a little awkward...

...but they soon relaxed and started enjoying each other's companionship.
They moved quickly to holding hands (we did not pose them - just the joy of that "grab reflex" they both still have)...
...and Gracie discovered the joy of putting her feet up on her man's leg!
In order to make his move, Emmett needed to be on his belly...
...it didn't take long to see the real connection between the two!

Not only did the babies seem to have a good time, but I had a lot of fun visiting with Hannah. I have a few friends who I wish lived a lot closer to me, and she is definitely on the top of that list!

After our fun day together, we met up with Kristen, Shannon and Sophia, and Marisa and Sydney for dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. We had a great meal - other than the fact that my baby decided to scream throughout dinner and Merrick had to come take her home for me. After dinner we came back home for a (way too long) photo shoot of the roommates and the babies. It was fun to see them all together - there is some serious competition now that handsome Emmett has been introduced to all three girls.

You can tell by her facial expression that she is not happy to be sharing his attention with these older ladies.

Who would have guessed... six years ago at Hancock Street House... time just flies!

Stages of waking up...

First of all, yes, I do put her on the floor when she is sleeping. Second, yes, I do believe it was the flash of my camera that woke her up... still, I wanted the pictures. She seems to sleep enough as it is.

Guy Smiley...

Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.
~Mother Teresa

Where is thumbkin...

From one of the first pictures, we thought this might be a possibility...


...and sure enough, we have a thumb sucker!


She still can't control her hands enough to keep them in her mouth for long periods of time. Every once in a while, however, she finds the thumb and sucks away. I have to say it is pretty cute... I just hope it doesn't develop into a hard habit to break.

Something like a phenomenon...

A strange thing happens when a little girl is born... for some unexplainable reason, everyone in your life is overcome by the need to purchase pink. You would be amazed at the things that come in shades of pink... clothes, wash cloths, binkies, blankets... it is incredible! Before Gracie came, our baby room was shades of neutral with subtle hints of green, yellow and blue. It was the ultimate gender neutral room - if anything it leaned toward being boy-ish. The decor in the room has not changed, but the closet no looks as if a pink Easter peep vomited. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining about the gifts we have been given - the clothes are beautiful and our little girl has worn pink almost every day of her short life. I just wanted to point out this strange phenomenon... I wonder if the same thing happens when you have a little boy but with shades of blue?

Not a lot has been happening lately. We had a fairly lazy weekend - just sticking around and getting some small errands done. We have yet to make it to church, which means that we haven't been to church since May 25. Yikes! I was in the hospital for four Sundays, and our sleeping/eating routine hasn't yet become "church-friendly." Speaking of... at our last check-up, the doctor said that since Grace is gaining weight I no longer need to wake her up every three hours to eat through the night - we can now just let her wake us up when she is hungry. The good news is she seems to be able to go about 4-5 hours at night without eating, meaning that in two chunks I am getting 8-10 hours of sleep. She is still a little finicky, and some nights is awake every two hours, but I am cherishing those 4 hour stretches when they come! She also takes great naps during the day so I am still finding time to get house work done and naps in throughout my days!

On Sunday we had a fun get together with Merrick's sisters and their families and our cousins Pete and Jennifer and their little girl, Kayla. The six "big" kids had a great time playing together - and the babies... well, they didn't do a lot.

Melaney & Gracie

Playing inside - they loved that rocking chair

Cake and ice cream!

They did so well playing in the pool all evening... until right as we were getting ready to go, Ella fell in. She quickly announced "THAT'S ALRIGHT!" Well, I am glad she thought so.

Little miss sunshine...

Making weight...

The past few weeks have felt like preparation for a boxing match. Every week Gracie has gone to her pediatrician to be weighed. Babies are supposed to gain an ounce a day - half an ounce is acceptable, but ideally doctors want to see about 1/2 pound each week... well, Gracie has been a bit slow to put on weight - just another characteristic she didn't get from her mom. =) She was 5 pound 13 ounces at birth and 5 pounds 9 ounces when we left the hospital. She had dropped to 5 and 1/2 pounds two days later at her first doctor appointment, so Dr. Moshofsky wanted to see her again two days later. She only put on one ounce in those two days, so we went back a week later. She was up to 5 pounds 12 ounces, but that was only three ounces in 7 days. He again gave us a week to fatten her up and today when she was checked she was tippin' the scales at 6 pounds 4 ounces! She finally made weight... granted, she is still in the "extreme featherweight" category, but the doctor is impressed with her 1/2 pound gain this week. She did it!

I do have new pictures of our little porker, but the camera battery needs to be charged before I download them. I'll try to post them later this weekend.

Also, happy 5th anniversary to Kelsie and Alex. Congrats - we love you!

Cost of having a baby...

So, our bills are just starting to come in... these aren't the final numbers, but will give you an idea of just how much it can cost to have a baby.

My first 22 days in the hospital: $53,215.95
Perinatologist care: $3,630
Surgeon fees (for the c-section): $3,983
Gracie's 3 days in the hospital: $4,187.90
Baby Grace... Priceless!

So far we are up to just over $65,000 and that doesn't count the hospitals fees for my surgery, my three days of postpartum care, all of our prenatal visits... when the final numbers come in I'll have to give another update. For now all I can say is thank goodness for insurance!

How wonderful life is...

...now Grace is in the world!

I can't believe it has been 10 days. Time has flown by - and every day is more fun than the day before. We are all adjusting - Gracie is adjusting to life, and Merrick and I to life with Gracie. She still doesn't know the difference between night and day, and that has caused some minor issues with my sleep schedule. Other than that, she is doing great! The doctor said "I think she's gonna make it... She's a keeper!" Well, we think so anyway.

Here are a few pictures from our first week and a half with our daughter. Some people were having difficulty seeing the slide show, so I will just put these in individually. (You should be able to click on a picture to see a larger image.) Enjoy!

Gracie's first picture

Getting clean and warm

Meeting mommy

The Brownlee family

Snuggled up

Proud papa

Sleeping with mom

With cousin Melaney - who is exactly 8 weeks older

Snugglin' with daddy

Bringing home baby!

Resting in the car seat

Folded in half

Big yawn

Napping with mom

Daddy's hands

New outfit from uncle Craig

More napping with mommy