More ruining...

This is a new discovery - the game cupboard.
She crawls in...finds what she wants...
and then comes back out (usually with some help because she gets stuck in there - surprise, surprise).

And in case you were wondering what happens when you leave a one-year-old alone with a 300 count box of Kleenex... here are the pictures.

I love that she looks so serious, as if this was a task someone gave her, and by golly she was going to do it perfectly.

Not to worry, I spent the next 20 minutes re-folding each tissue and stacking them neatly out of reach. They did not go to waste.

A little scare...

Last night we had our first little scare with Gracie. Because we both have dietary issues, Merrick and I have been very diligent about what we have been feeding Grace. Last Monday, at her 1-year check up, our pediatrician told us to go ahead and start giving her dairy products (she needs the calcium) and that it is okay to give her things like berries, honey and eggs. The dairy introduction seemed to go fine. She isn't a huge fan of milk, but she seemed to like the yogurt. We haven't tried cheeses yet.

Well, yesterday for dinner we were a little lazy, so we decided to make breakfast for dinner. I roasted potatoes, and scrambled some eggs, and we sat down to eat. Gracie had been exposed to a small bit of egg in a few things like Gerber baby food, pancakes and her birthday cake, but this was her first "real" egg. She LOVED it! Then, about 10 minutes into dinner she started refusing to eat the eggs. She ate more potatoes, and some grapes, then tried another bite of egg... then it all (and I mean ALL) came back up!

We first thought she might have just eaten too fast, but then we noticed the rash - around her mouth and spreading down her torso. About thirty minutes later she threw up again. This is when I panicked a little, and called the on-call nurse. I had visions of Gracie not breathing and needing to call 911, so this was much better. The nurse was helpful, and said that as long as her breathing was normal, Benadryl was the best thing for her. I hopped in the car, and headed to Freddy's - 2 blocks away. Well, they didn't have any children's Benadryl, so I drove the 2 miles to Wallgreens. By the time I got home she was a terrible color of red, and had hives everywhere. The poor baby looked like a giant, bumpy tomato. (I am now wishing I had taken a picture, but at the time I was too sad to get out the camera). She was tugging and scratching at her skin, and rubbing her eyes like crazy. Thankfully, after a tiny dose of the Benedryl (which now comes dye free by the way!) and nursing, she conked out and slept. Even in her sleep she was clawing at her skin. I felt so horrible, but there was nothing more we could do.

Fortunately, I was able to take a nap that afternoon, so was wide awake and able to stay up with her for much of the night. We were supposed to keep an eye on her rash and check her breathing regularly to make sure the reaction wasn't worsening. By about 1:30 am the hives started disappearing and she stopped scratching herself. At 2 I put her in bed with me, but set an alarm to wake me up every hour to check her. I didn't really need the alarms though because the drugs wore off at 4 am and she was up and ready for her day.

The nurse did tell us to bring her in to see the doctor today, so we went to see Dr. Mosho at noon. He was very surprised that she would have a reaction like this, and though he was able to assure us that this was a semi-mild reaction, the vomiting did bother him a little. He doesn't want to take any chances, so for the time being Gracie needs to be completely egg-free. It is inevitable that she will come across egg somewhere in her diet along the way, but for now we are just adding one more thing to the "what the Brownlees don't eat" list. =)

Speaking of, last Friday I went to the doctor to be tested for allergies. I haven't gotten the results back yet, but she did take me off wheat and processed soy products (along with dairy, which I already avoid). I was taking to Amy on my way home from that appointment and she made a comment about how we were just making it impossible to feed our family. Little did she know what was in store for us with Gracie over the weekend... Today Merrick and I went to Whole Foods for lunch, and we wandered around the store looking for things to eat that were non-dairy, wheat free, egg free, low fat and low in fiber. Man, we really are a fun family.

So, if you think about it, be praying for Gracie that this allergen will pass through her body quickly without causing any more problems, that she won't develop any additional allergies, and that she will outgrow this egg allergy (some kids do, some don't). I'll keep you updated as we know more.

Partying with friends...

We had a fun Friday night bbq with Gracie's friends to celebrate her birthday. It was fun to have another party, and was a great way to wrap up her birthday week. We were again reminded how blessed we are to have such great friends in our lives! Thanks everyone who could make it. It was fun to have you all around to celebrate our baby's birthday.

The 28 car was again a favorite toy of the evening.

A new floor puzzle!

A new book!

I love this picture of Sydney "helping" the Gibson kiddos put the puzzle together.

Marisa reading to Sophia and Sydney... the new book was a hit!

New bubble toys, including a bubble pipe of course!

And balloons - always the best part.
These three girls - Sophia, Grace and Baylie - were up way past bed time and were so great! It allowed the adults to hang out and visit longer than we thought we would be able to. What good girls!

It is official...

On May 27 our good friends, Jeff and Kristen, received word that they have two beautiful babies waiting for them in Ethiopia. To celebrate the good news, we went to dinner at the Queen of Sheba in Portland with the Colemans, Riders and Greenes. The food was fabulous - I recommend it to anyone up for an adventure.
Today (June 27), exactly one month later, they have made it through the courts and the kiddos are officially theirs! The next step (as I understand it) is to wait until the kids have birth certificates - perhaps 2-4 weeks from now - and shortly thereafter the Greenes will travel to Africa and bring them home.

I had to wait to post pictures, but here they are...

Doesn't her smile melt your heart? This is Tigist - she is 3 1/2 years old.

Isn't he handsome? This is Mihiretu - and he is 18 months old.

We don't know much more about either of them, but we do know they are healthy and being well taken care of. Jeff and Kristen have been waiting for over a year, and are very anxious to have these babies home... and we can't wait to meet them both and welcome them into the "family."

The birthday girl...

Note: Click once on any image to make it bigger.

We had quite the day on Sunday celebrating Gracie's birthday. We woke up early and showed her the little pile of presents from Merrick and me, and we let her open one, her new baby, before breakfast. For breakfast we made her favorite - blueberry pancakes. At one point she was waving her arms with pancakes in both hands, and a piece flew off into her hair. She didn't seem to notice, and ate the rest of her breakfast with that huge chunk on top of her head. I didn't see it happen, but Merrick said we would have won $100,000 if we had it on video. Oh well.
The three of us packed up and headed off to church. We decided to go to the 8:00 service (something we don't do often) to give us more time to play during the day. After church we went home to meet the family and pack lunches before heading to the zoo. Gracie had never been to the zoo, and her grandma and grandpa Brownlee bought her a membership for her birthday, so we decided it would be a good time to try it out. Plus, with all of her cousins around, it was a good thing to keep the kiddos busy for the day.
After walking through the Pacific Northwest exhibits, we stopped for lunch on the lawn. We ate, the kids ran around, and Gracie was able to spend some time lounging with grandpa. After lunch we went to check out the elephants, giraffes, rhinos, hippos, zebras and polar bears. It was a beautiful day, and the zoo was fairly crowded, so we didn't see all of the exhibits before we needed to leave. The nice thing about having the membership is that we can go all summer and fall and even next spring! We will definitely get our money's worth. The rest of the gang stayed all afternoon, but we took off to get party stuff all ready.

Our family started showing up at around 5:30. We were just pulling the meat off the grill and setting the tables. It was perfect timing. I kept a close eye on the clock because I wanted to be sure to not let 6:16 pass by without notice. I was able to snatch Gracie up for a few pictures to commemorate her arrival... exactly one year before!
It was nice to have our family all together to celebrate with us. We ate a delicious dinner (we got a few pointers from Matt Rider, and then Merrick did a great job smoking the pork butt and beef brisket), Margaret made potato salad - everything was really yummy. After the meal, we opened a few gifts. Gracie got some clothes, books, a husky from Alaska, a subscription to baby animals magazine and a shiny new red wagon. We have a very generous family - and she has loved everything she was given.

After presents we sang happy birthday and let her have her first cupcake. It took a few practice cakes to get it right, but I was able to make a cake with maple syrup rather than refined sugar, so it was just a little healthier for her. The other kiddos gobbled them up too, so they must have been okay.
It is hard to believe that it has come an gone, but we had a great day of celebration. We hit the sack early that night - we were exhausted from a long day.

One year old...

In 12 short hours my baby will be one. I can't believe how fast this year has flown by. I knew it would, everyone said it would, but now that it is gone I feel like I haven't even left the hospital yet.

The first time mommy got to see her... It's a girl!

I laughed (from relief) when I heard her little scream and everyone on the other side of the curtain said she was perfect and healthy! She was a miracle - an answer to so many prayers.

Gracie is such a sweet baby. It has been so much fun to watch her grow and learn to be a person this year.

Daddy and Gracie then...

Daddy and Gracie now!

We love this little person so much and are so proud of her each and every day. She is learning so quickly these days, and has all sorts of new words, new tricks, new attitudes and new dance moves to show off to everyone around her. Hopefully this week I'll have time to write more about what she is up to these days, for now I am off to enjoy the last few hours of my daughter being a baby.

We love you, sweet girl! Happy first birthday!


Just for fun I am adding this picture of me on my first birthday. (I am the little one in my grandpa's arms). This is just a little proof that Grace does look like me a little bit- even if she does mostly looks like Merrick.

Brrrrr...

We have had a few very warm days this month, and Shannon and Sophia have been nice enough to invite us over to play in the pool.

Gracie doesn't seem to mind the freezing cold hose water...

...Sophie just wasn't too sure about the cold water. Brrrr!

Blueberries!

Waiting for towels.

Perhaps it is because the girls both have the same car, or perhaps it was because it was past nap time, but neither child was wanting to share this toy.

They'll be so proud...

One of Gracie's new tricks is dancing. I don't know exactly when she started doing it, but it is funny to watch her now dance all the time! Today I started the dishwasher and when I came back into the kitchen I found Gracie standing against it dancing to the rhythm of the machine running. For those of you who don't know, my parents are ballroom dance instructors. In fact, they are currently teaching dance lessons on a cruise ship in Alaska! Anyway, I am sure they will be so proud when they return and see their granddaughter dancing away.

A poll...

Please take a quick minute to answer this poll. If you have the guts to fess up about being a blog stalker, leave me a comment and let you know you are reading.

I have been tempted to put a password on my blog, just as a precaution, but I don't have any idea how many people that would effect. I guess we'll see how many people pick answer #5 and go from there...

Opinion Polls & Market Research

The Rose Garden...

We had so much fun at this last photo shoot, and I couldn't be happier with the pictures!

Come with me, daddy.

She LOVES water.

Can't you just hear this squeal?

The family photo when Soren was holding Mickey...

The family photo when Gracie was holding Mickey.

I love her hair blowing in the wind in these shots.

Playing in the grass... I think I need to get this one in color.

And a few more of our family.

Play day...

I have said it before, but I will say it again... I am so thankful that I have some very good friends that live close and have daughters close to Gracie's age. We have so much fun getting together and "playing" with our friends. When the kids are together, it gives us moms time to sit back and chat. For the most part the girls all get along really well, though there has been some fighting over "the 28 car" lately. =)

Sydney (20 months), Gracie (11 months), Sophia (14 months)

Baylie (15 months) and Gracie

Sophia and Gracie

"I love my friends!"

Practicing walking.