This…

…is how my daughter sleeps.  It’s her very favorite position.  And now it’s clear why I had a little anxiety when she first started sleeping on her stomach…or should I say, face.

What’s up, Betty Crocker?

I’ve always thought it would be the neatest thing to make my own baby food and a few friends have assured me that it’s super easy (thanks Joy and Jennifer!).  So, I decided to jump into this foreign land and it was simple and fun.  Here’s my little journey with zucchini (after I had done green beans and carrots), although I forgot to take a shot of it steaming in my handy dandy steamer…

And there you have it!  I’m a baby food chef after all!  I’m also planning on doing butternut squash, yellow squash, sweet potatoes, applesauce and all the other yummy fruits once they’re in season and not so expensive.  Besides being a fun mommy adventure for me, making Grace’s food is going to be so much cheaper than buying it pre-made.  A jar of baby food is usually around 50 cents and making it on my own is roughly 15 cents a serving.  Multiply each number by 16, the number of servings an ice cube tray yields and that’s $2.40 rather than $8.00!  A huge savings!  Since I’m at at home momma, I think it’s important for me to contribute to our family by making our single income stretch out as far as it can.  All in all, I love making food for my little girl and the many benefits it will reap.

Happy Birthday, My Love

To My Wonderful Justin,

Happy 30th Birthday.

I love you to the moon.

Love,

Abe

Five Months

Happy Five Months, Gracie Liz!

-This month you managed to get even cuter than last month.  Really, it’s a pretty impressive feat.

-You’re getting so strong and you hold your head up like a big girl.

-You are able to sit in the tripod position (until you eventually slump over, ha!).

-You intentionally reach out for things and people, trying to put anything that comes your way into your mouth.  The sweetest thing is when you take both of your hands and hold onto mommy or daddy’s face.

-Your attention span is increasing.  You can sit and play with a toy, but it’s usually just your binkie, for longer stretches each day.

-You got to hang out with your betrothed, Mr. Silas Hauge.

-Both of you guys enjoy your binkie.

-Your giggles have become full on laughter, with your longest crack-up session lasting around five minutes, courtesy of Uncle Nicky.

-You’re in the beginning stages of “mommy attachment” and will start to whine if you can see or hear her and are not getting immediate attention (and so it begins…*sigh*).

-You’re napping around three times a day.

-Nighttime sleeping is still going amazing with 10-12 hours per night!

-You’ve discovered your feet and toes and take great pleasure in grabbing them and chewing on them (mommy LOVES this phase and thinks it’s pretty darn cute!).

-You are kind enough to let your mommy dress you up (and down!) for ridiculous photo shoots

-You started on rice cereal and are getting the hang of eating it.

-You earned your wings and are the newest addition to the Richter Adventure Squad.-You have a new division of your “office” and are spending time putting in lots of hard work.

Five months old, Gracie Girl!  How in the world did we get here so fast.  The days and weeks are starting to pass by so quickly!  You are at such a fun age and you truly are the joy of your mommy and daddy’s lives.  Our hearts swell with love for you and we pray each day that you would grow up in a home that loves Jesus and that you would come to know him for yourself.  We love you so so so much!!

Ready for Takeoff!

Last week the Richter family (along with the Santis) ventured down to Murrieta for the 2010 Youth Pastor and Youth Workers Conference.  We were lucky enough to score some cheap tickets and fly down south.  An extra dose of excitement was added because Grace and I got to join Justin this year and our little girl flew on an airplane for the very first time!Catching some zzzz’s on the way to the airport.Dark morning.Waiting in line for Peet’s at the airport.  Still not quite awake.Making our way to the plane.Searching for the perfect place to sit.Sweet!  Sitting right by the window!Grace partook of some delicious breakfast during takeoff.Justin and his girl hanging out in the air.Grace started to get sleepy……and just like that, she was out.

Grace was SUCH a good little traveler.  She seriously didn’t cry or fuss once on the plane.  I didn’t know what to expect, but I’m so proud of what a good little traveler she is and am hopeful for when we fly out to Florida next month.  Even though traveling with a baby means packing LOTS of extra stuff, it’s totally worth it to make these memories as a family of three.

So Delicious!

Adventures in Solid Food, Part I

Justin preparing Grace for her first food feast.My happy girl had no idea what was coming her way.First taste!She’s not too sure…“What do I do with this stuff?”“Why did you do this to me?”Trying to shovel what she spit out back into her mouth.This face pretty much sums up how she felt about her first taste of rice cereal!  Ha!Grace started warming up……and we both got in on the feeding action.There’s my sweet girl! Sam decided to investigate what was going on (yes, it’s gross that our cat is on the table, we know).And there ya go!

Our first try at rice cereal was a great success.  I’m pretty surprised how much fun I have feeding Grace despite the messiness of the whole ordeal.  It’s a really neat experience to see her little mind spinning as she experiences new things.  I love that her face gets messy and her little hands end up covered.  It’s so special that any anal retentiveness just disappears and turns into adventure, both for Grace and for me.

Oh man, I sure do love her!

Doctor visits and family fun

All smiles at the doctor’s office right before getting her shots.Justin loves his little girl!Gracie is a long time customer of Tires Unlimited and, therefore, gets preferential parking benefits.My dad treated us to lunch after Grace’s doctor visit..…and then Gracie treated us to a HUGE poop blowout.  This is post cleanup, hence the lack of pants.She seems to think it’s funny to do stuff like that to her ole mom and dad.Getting love from Grandma DD for our belated Christmas celebration.Hanging out with her Great Uncle Guy.With Jourden, Perrey and Great Aunt Steff.Hanging out with her Uncle Justinand her Auntie Krissy.

Gracie’s First Christmas Eve & Day

Made by my grandma, Arah, the original crafter of the family.

Getting ready for Christmas Eve at the Slavichs.

Up bright and early Christmas morning.  Grace takes after me and is not the most enthusiastic morning person.

Wrapping paper is the most fun part!

“Oh my, what a wonderful Christmas morning!”

Uncle Nicky and Grace before stocking time.

My cute little dad.

Trying out her new sippy cup Gramma got her.  She’s going to be using it before we know it!

Testing out her super cool new Bumbo seat next to Daddy.“Hmmm, seems pretty comfy, but I’m getting kind of tired from all the festivities…”

Impromptu nap.

I love my new hat!

Having two shoes is overrated.

Next year she’ll be eating dinner with the grown ups.My lovely, moist, so-proud-I-did-it-even-without-Lo-but-thanks-for-the-training turkey!

Four Months

Happy 4 Months, Grace Elizabeth!

-You graduated to size 2 diapers.

-You’re wearing 3 month clothes and most 3-6.

-Your eyes are turning into a warm brown color.  There might be hints of hazel (like your cute Daddy with his hazel/green eyes), but we’re not quite sure yet.

-You rolled from your back to your tummy once (you can roll both ways now!).  It was so nonchalant and seemed effortless that it was almost like you were saying, “Yeah, so what?  I can do really cool things.  I just do what I want when I feel like it.”

-You’re starting to echo noises that you hear Mommy and Daddy make.  You can mimic “Ooooooooohs” and “Eeeehhhhhs” for days.

-You’re starting to babble A LOT, some of which includes the sounds “Aaaammmaaaamamaa.”  Okay, okay, you’re not looking at me and saying, “Mama, how are you?  I am a genius and I love you,” BUT, you are making noises that have the sound “mama” in them and all the books say that between now and six months babies can do this.  As the months progress, you’ll learn our names, but for now, it’s just about the sweetest babbling ever.

-You’re getting way more light hair and girrrrrrl, it’s got some volume! 

-You started sticking out your tongue and licking your lips and you continue…

-…GNAWing like your life depends on it!  No teeth yet, but definitely lots of drool and a love of putting all things into your mouth.  We’ll see if you follow in your Mommy and Slavich auntie and uncles’ footsteps and sprout teeth by five months.   Eeek!  Poor Mommy, if ya know what I mean…

-You grab your binkie and take it out of your mouth and you can even put it back in.  Sometimes your aim is a little off and you try to compensate by opening your little mouth as wide as you possible can.  Oh so stinking cute!  

-Your grabbing skills are improving and you can get a fierce grip on Mommy’s hair.  Ouch! 

-You’re starting to really hold and lock eye contact.  You get in the zone and your focus is pretty impressive.-You love your exersaucer!  We call it your little office because you look like you’re a business exec, sitting at a big ole desk.Happy 4 Month Birthday, Sweet Daughter (and Merry Christmas!)!  You are such a joy and we love you so much!  It’s so fun to see how you grow and change every single day, but it’s already going by way too fast.  We are SO thankful for the blessing you are in our in our lives.  You are the sweetest little “young woman” we know.

Swedish Sweet Rolls

It just wouldn’t be Christmas without baking Great Grandma Webb’s Swedish sweet rolls (trying say that five times really fast).  The Slavich and Richter women had fun baking and taste testing this delicious bread and I’m looking forward to partaking of their flavors again on Christmas morning, per our tradition, of course.  Gracie had fun too and was even considerate enough to conveniently fall asleep while I was kneading and greasing and sprinkling and such.  But, don’t let the two pictures of her snoozing fool you-this little one is not the biggest napper!