Happy 2nd Birthday Gracie!!!

In honor of my Gracie Girl turing 2, I wrote a little something for her.
I wrote one before she was born, when she born, and when she turned one.

Woohoo! Gracie is Two!

Today is your day once again

My Gracie Girl is turning two!

It seems like yesterday you just turned one,

My how the time flew!

I still remember the day you were born,

8:55 am, Sunday, July 1, 2007 was the day

Measuring in length 20 1/2 inches

And 8 lbs. was what you weighed.

That first year surely went by fast

We marveled at all the things you learned to do

From rolling over, to sitting up, to walking

And just admiring the many faces of you.

Your first birthday came and went

And you started doing so much more

You asked questions while reading books

And our cat, Millie, you began to adore

You started taking care of your babies

You took them for walks in your stroller

And rocked them and fed them bottles

You'll be a great mommy someday when you are older

You started talking quite a bit

Saying everyone's names and counting to 10!

You even know all of you body parts

And you even started bossing mom and dad around then!

Oh how you love to color and trace mommy's hand

Dancing is also something that's very fun for you

You enjoy taking bubble baths and swimming in the pool

And you love to watch Elmo and Rudoph too.

Your turning into a girly girl

As you love picking out and putting on your shoes

You love when your hair is up in "piggies"

And also having your toenails painted too.

I'll always keep these moments close to my heart

But look forward to the memories that lie ahead until you turn 3

You'll be a great big sister when that happens too

Happy 2nd Birthday! Mommy and Daddy love you Gracie Baby!

Happy First Birthday!

It's really hard to believe now that Gracie's first birthday was almost a year ago! We went all out for her birthday as it was also her golden birthday. A lot of people came to celebrate with her. We had it at Grandma and Grandpa Mueller's because they have a nice big yard. The pool was set up and Grandpa even rented a tent because it was hot. She got a lot of neat gifts including her very own car and tricycle! Even Papa and Grandma Vicky came and surprised us!She had just started walking and really wasn't talking yet. She looked so pretty in her birthday dress. She did like her cake as I'm sure she will this year.

On Gracie's actual birthday last year, we went to the zoo for the first time. She loved it! We made sure she wore her birthday girl shirt so everyone would knowit was her special day. She walked hand in hand with Grandpa and Daddy through the exhibits. She loved the monkeys and petting the goats. She even toook home many souvenirs with her as the zoo is filled with mold-a-ramas.

Gracie was such a lucky girl that she also got to have a second birthday party down in Highland with Daddy's family. She got to hang her with her girls Maddie and Sydney. She got awesome presents down there too including some purses! Uncle Frog even gave Gracie a special shirt just from him. Again, she loved her cake even more this time and had no problem digging right in.

Coming Home (part 4)

<

Coming home was something we really looked forward to after having Gracie. The hospital bed was just not cutting it and niether was the food. I was released to come home on July 3rd, 2007 (Chuck and I"s 3rd anniversary). They wheeled me up and took me down to my car. I sat in the back with Gracie of course. Grandma went ahead of us and took pictures as we pulled into the driveway. Their was a banner our front that said "welcome baby" and Amy and Erin had decorated the inside of our house with "it's a gir" decor and baby stuff. It was cool. We showed Gracie her room and introduced her to Millie and Hazel, which up until this time, had a good time sleeping in her crib and the playyard. Papa Weiss and Grandma Vicky and Uncle Frog (we call him the Godfrogger since he is also Gracie's godfather) came to visit. It was a tiring day recooperating and entertaining. Of course Gracie slept not a wink that night so we were up! Let's hope that the twins sleep on the same schedule or I will be getting no sleep! So with glee, we welcomed home Baby Gracie!

Meeting and Greeting (part 3)

Meeting your child for the first time is a time like no other. It is something that you will treausre forever and no one can rob you of that. We knew Gracie was going to be a girl so we spent months trying to picture in our heads what she would look like. Would she have brown eyes like us? Would she have red hair like Chuck? Who would she look most like? It's a fun guessing game to play. The minute that little baby is placed in your arms, you suddenly move down on that list of importance and your baby instantly becomes number 1. You can't help but think about what you just went through to get her here and you marvel at the wonder that you created this precious little being. You can't stop staring at her because she is the most important thing that you have ever done. You never want to put her down because you just met her and can't bear to be without her. That is how I felt the minute Gracie Lynn was placed in my arms that July morning nearly 2 years ago. Here are some of the first pictures and pictures of her first visitos.

Labor and Delivery (part 2)

<>

Again, Gracie's 2nd birthday is quickly approaching and I wanted to share with you my amazing journey with my baby girl with you. Being pregnant again, it's nice to have something to compare it with. And before I embark further in this pregnancy, I will share with you the magic of my first. As stated in the previous post, I made it 41 weeks until they decided to induce me. So here I am, it's June 30th, 2007 and I have just been admitted to St. Joe's. They interviewed me asking me all kinds of health questions while Chuck went home to get the bags. I then called everyone I knew basically to tell them I was finally having this baby! At about 1 pm, the doc came in and inserted something called Cervidal. Really it was like some sticker tampon thing because there was a string hanging out. He said it would soften my cervix. So then Chuck came and my friend Dana happened to be there visiting her friend's baby so we walked around the maternity ward. I could already start to feel some contractions but they were all in my back. I would go back and they would hook me up to the fetal monitor. I ordered some food and watched a little tv. Went for some more walks. Dad and Amy came and we sat around and talked. Finally around dinner time, the contractions really started to get painful. They were all in my back. I would sit on the birthing ball and lean over the bed and whenever I had contraction, I would have Chuck push with all his might on my back. It hurt pretty bad. It was like menstral cramps times 100! I was slowly dialating however. About 9, I was in pain and I just kept watching the number on the monitor (the number that is for the contractions) get higher and higher. They gave me something that I can't remember the name of and told me it would help. Did it? Nope. It made me feel drunk and that is what I told them. I felt so dizzy and sleepy. I would literally sleep for a few minutes and then wake up for the contraction. Then sleep again, wake up in pain. Finally, they told me I could get an epidural. Thank goodness! So first some lady comes in and tries to give it to me. I explained to them that my spine is not straight, I have scoliosis. So she went and got the real dude who is supposed to give these things. So once again, he attempted. Finally, at the 3rd attempt, of having this huge needle jabbed in my back, it was so much better! I was surprised that so far, I had not shed one tear of pain! Finally then, they started pitocin to speed things up. I was finally able to get some sleep around midnight. Around 2, they checked me and I was almost fully dialated, so Chuck called mom to come back. She was going to be there when I had Gracie. Then at 5 am, the nurse said I was a ten and could start pushing. I was like, "Lady, I am still so freaking tired and I don't want to yet." So I guess about 7 was when I started pushing. They told me to push like I was taking a poo so I did. I was instructed to push for 10 seconds, 4 times in a row during a contraction. Chuck started counting for me which I immediately told him to stop! It was annoying at the time. Chuck had one leg and mom had the other. Pushing was what I did. At 7:30, I asked the nurse if she could see the baby yet. Shortly after that, Chucks cell phone rang and he actually left my side to answer it. It was Amy and my dad waiting anxiously in the waiting room. She must have asked "what's going on?" Because he said "Uh, were still pushing." I started yelling "thell them we will call them when we are done!" Then about 8, I asked "how much longer of this?" Dr. Egan came in and said I would probably push for another 45 minutes. OMG I was so tired and sweaty and gross. I kept asking, "can't you just grab her out yet?" Then this team of nurses came in and started chanting "push her out, push her out, way out!" Are you kidding me? Finally at 8:55 that sunny July 1st morning, Gracie decided to come out! Wow! That was great! She was here! They put her on my stomach and even though she was covered in gook, I touched her and said "it's about time baby girl." Then they whisked her away and the doc had to push on my stomach to get the placenta out. Finally I was like "Um, yeah, I have to go to the bathroom." He said "No, that's your placenta coming out." That felt great too to get out! Finally, done. I was exhausted and it took the doc half and hour to sew me up as I had tore pretty bad. Gracie weighed in at 8 pounds and 20 1/2 inches long. Finally I was a mommy! It was the greatest experience!

Due Date Come and Gone...... (part 1)

So as Gracie's 2nd birthday is fastly approaching, I though I would share some of the memories of being pregnant with her and the wonderful memories we have made over the past 2 years. Each day I hope to post a piece of the Gracie journey with you. I had a easy and great pregnancy with Miss Gracie except for one thing....I went WAY over my due date. As I was sitting around yesterday thinking, "hmmm, June 23rd, (which was yesterday), was my due date with Gracie." Did it happen that day? Nope! I remember feeling very HUGE. Well, I did gain 60 pounds afterall. June 23rd, 2007 was a Saturday. The week before I had scheduled a doctor's appointment for that Monday, the 25th, you know, just in case I hadn't gone into labor yet. Well, sure enough Chuck and I show up that Monday morning with no baby. I was thinking ok, well they'll induce me or something. So they gave me a non-stress test. I had to lay there for half an hour and push this button everytime I felt the baby move. It was ok but I was like, "C'mon people." He checked to see if I was dialated. Was I? Nope. Not even to a 1. So he sent me home and said "Come back on Wednesday. We'll induce you." So I went home and cried because in case
some of you don't remember, I was also told that I was a "big one" and that I would be giving birth to this 10 pound baby who I affectionately called "sasquatch." So Wednesday came and we went back. Same thing. Hooked up to the machine. No dialation. "See you Friday" said doc. Went back Friday. Same thing. Hooled up to the machine. No dialation. They said for sure they would induce me on Monday as I was a week overdue now. They did say to go to the hospital on Saturday for another test. So I get there and they are like "why are you here?" I started crying because I tod him how overly cooked I was, there was no dialation, I had to keep being hooked up to the machines, they keep saying they will induce me but don't and so on. The nurse was like "oh." Then she left. I was like wtf? Finally my doctor, Dr. Egan, came around the corner and said "are you miserable?' I nodded. He said "would you like to be admitted?" I nodded again. But the minute I said that I got really nervous. Because now I had already told my friends, yeah, I'll go walk in the Relay for Life, and yeah, I'll go see Everclear at the Taste of Joliet. I thought for sure this baby wouldn't come until Monday. So I was led to my birthing suite and put on gown. I started calling people just to let them know where we were. I remember calling my mom and saying "uh, this is it. I'm here." Chuck was sent home to get my bag, which had been packed for months, and they interviewed me about my health history. So that is the story of how I finally got admitted to be induced even though I had a stubborn cervix that did not want to dialate! Stay tuned for how the induction went tomorrow!