Stupefy!

What an amazing experience we had in Orlando! We went down for a family trip. First we hit Universal Studios so I could visit Hogwarts!! An absolute dream come true,,,I'm ready for my next trip! Universal Studios was amazing, definitely easier than Magic Kingdom with a little one. We drove through the night on Wednesday night and arrived in the parking lot of the Royal Pacific Resort at 5am. While the men who drove the whole way slept, Ashley 2, mom and I went to the hotel lobby bathroom and freshened up. My I add that driving through the night was awesome. Gracie slept the whole way and there was no traffic. We cut serious time off the drive! The breakfast and coffee shop opened at 6am where I bought $5 cups of coffee and a $2 banana for Gracie....it was worth it to see her smile and say,"Nana!" These prices set the pace for the rest of our purchases at the happiest place on earth.

Since we stayed at the resort, we got to go into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter before anyone else! This was lucky because there was a two hour wait to just get into that section of the park......crazy! We sampled butterbeer, visited Professor Sprouts greenhouse, had a family style lunch of English proportions at the Three Broomsticks, visited Ollivander's wand shop where I got a wand that resembled a Death Stick..I hope I'm not a dark wizard. We saw the frog choir, bowed to Buckbeak, ate chocolate frogs, waved to the Hogwarts Express conductor, and visited with Dumbledore in his office. If you understood all of this, you deserve a magical trip too! If you don't, READ THE BOOKS!

Gracie was an amazing travel buddy! She slept in her pimped out stroller whenever she needed a nap, and slept well in her crib provided by the hotel. All of this with a terrible head cold! She was so sick those first days that I had her doctor call in a RX. Her stroller was the mack daddy of strollers....people stopped and stared and other children slapped their mommas when they saw it. It fully reclines, had an umbrella that clipped on so that she was always in the shade, and a fan that clipped on for a constant breeze. Amazing!
After two days at Universal and living out my wizarding fantasies, we headed an hour and half to the coast of Vero Beach to visit with Mimi and Grandpop. It was Gracie's first time to meet her great-grandparents and she was a doll. Although, I was afraid that she was going to break something at their house with every move she made. She first went after ceramic keepsakes. While I am moving those, she hits up the silk flowers, as I pull those away she is crawling around with the remote control in her mouth. Poor Mimi was not happy about the remote one bit. It is very stressful to try and control a one year old who is desperate to get down and explore after being strapped in a car seat or stroller for days, but at the same time improvise with what is appropriate to touch. In this particular situation....not much.

We had a great visit though and stayed in an amazing resort on the beach where we had a few hours of beach time before we headed BACK to Orlando!

We made it to Disney where we stayed at the Swan and Dolphin resort so we could have one day at Magic Kingdom before my meetings started. Magic Kingdom was great because Gracie was able to ride a lot of rides. She love Winnie the Pooh's ride the best. And then she met him at lunch! God was with us, because we had our character lunch during the only thunderstorm we encountered. It never rained on us! Praise Him! However, it was very very crowded! Too crowded. and the express pass system was useless. No point! The next two days of our trip, Dad and I were at a Regional Growth Summit where we really learned alot. Blake and Gracie enjoyed time at the hotel, pool and Disney Boardwalk. He was tired of themeparks and she was happy to hang with daddy! Mom, Jason, Ashley and Sydney spent one day at Animal Kingdom. I have never been there and hate I missed out. All in all, it was a trip of a lifetime that I can't wait to do again and again and again!

Gracie even made a friend in the playground at Toon Town while Sydney rode a fast roller coaster!

If you want to see more pictures of the fabulous trip you can view my facebook page.

Gracie's Baby Dedication

Gracie had her baby dedication finally! We did it at the Church at Tuscaloosa where we have been attending for several months now. I am very happy with this church and can't wait to get involved. She was a perfect angel.

Gracie wore the dress I wore for my christening. My Nana made the dress. It was so so special. Then we all went to eat at Cypress Inn!

Gracie Update

I need to get better about my blog! So sorry! Here is an update of where Gracie is and what she loves!
She is 11 months old TODAY! We are only 1 month from her first birthday. I can NOT believe this! She is an infant..a helpless baby that needs her mommy for everything. Or is she.......?

• Gracie can show me where my nose and mouth are.
• Do the motions for the Itsy Bitsy Spider.....sort of.....
• Clap
• Blow Kisses
• Wave
• Shake her head
• Say five words (mama, dada, byebye, night night, uh oh...her fav!)
• Follow simple commands (Gracie, go get your blanket)
• Crawl, unless mama is watching
• feed herself
• Pull up on anything
• Stand briefly without holding on to anything
• She knows what the dog (woof Woof) and the cow (moo) say but they both sound like boooo when she says them.

I am shocked everyday at what she knows. She is an absolute joy to be around.

Shhhhhhhhhhhh

There is no greater feeling after a long day, than to have a sweet angel sleep on your shoulder. Gracie no longer wants to be rocked to sleep. We are very blessed that we can just put her in her bed with her blankie and tell her night night. Then she sleeps 12 hours at night...Praise the Lord! He heard my prayers and saw my exhausted tears.

On a rare occasion, Gracie will fall asleep nursing at bedtime. On those special nights I will rock her for as long as I can...sometimes hours. I want to savor every second. Blake and I have gotten more joy out of this child than we could have possibly imagined. Every moment with her is filled with love and laughter...maybe a song and a little wacky dancing.

8 Months

Here are Gracie's 8 month pics with the cow...

I absolutely adore her in a headband but she adores taking them off and chewing on them. Maybe she will learn to love the.m.

Bath time and more!

We love, love, LOVE bath time! She doesn't get a bath every night because I am afraid it will dry out her skin but she is a huge fan of baths. Gigi got her the coolest rubber duckies ever because they light up different colors. She plays with them and her Finding Nemo bath book. You can dump a cup of water on her head and let it run all over her face and she doesn;t care. She will gasp for a second and then go back to the fun!

Gracie is getting so big! She is sitting up like a big kid now. She is showing no interest in crawling but I can't complain. I will enjoy her stationary for as long as possible. We are weaning now and have cut back to only one nursing session a day. I wasn't necessarily ready to stop nursing, however, I have been so sick with bronchitis and sinus infections that I just can't shake. The medicine I need for my asthma and congestion is not possible as long as I am nursing. I just remind myself that my goal was to nurse for 6 months and I should be thrilled at going 9 months!

Sweet Gracie is growing by leaps and bounds. She has been the sweetest and easiest baby over the last several months. She is now 8 months old. She had one cold that last about 2 days and she was the best patient ever. Still so happy and sweet. I got her cold and have been sick on and off (mostly on) since January. My doctor thinks Gracie is sucking the immunity out of me and it is about time to wean her. I plan on having her strictly on formula and baby food at 9 months. She had her first taste of formula at 8 months and it didn't faze her. She will eat anything we present to her.
Gracie is so gentle. She doesn't grab my hair, but she will rub it and watch it flow through her fingers. She pets the dogs but doesn't pull on their hair or tails. I am very impressed with what a gentle girl she is. Becky is now keeping 3 other babies with Gracie. She will touch and hold their hands but she is so sweet and patient with them. She is sharing the attention better than you could ever hope. The other babies are younger and are getting adjusted to their surroundings so they take up a lot of Becky's time.

She has not figured out how to crawl yet but she can push up on her hands very well. She may never crawl...we will see. Her legs are very strong and once she gets her balance figured out she will be a great walker.

Gracie made her first trip to Auburn and I loved taking her to our favorite spots to show her off. She doesn;t meet a stranger.