Take a Look

Jay and I always get comments about who Grace looks like. The resemblance can’t be based soley on hair and eye color because all three of us have brown eyes and brown hair. It seems like the “She looks like Jay,” comments outnumber the “She looks like Kate” comments by a slim margin. (Regardless, everyone agrees she's a cutie as you can see : )

Here are some other themes:

Newborn -->Infant: Personally, I think she looked more like me when she was a newborn and is starting to look more like Jay now.

Features: Another comment is that the top half of Gracie’s face is all Jay, and the bottom half is all me.

Mood: The resemblance seems to shift depending on what mood she’s in. When she’s thoughtful and contemplative, she looks like me. When she’s laughing and mischievous, she looks like Jay. (This isn’t based on just my opinion, but I can’t divulge my sources : )

Speaking of family resemblances, I did this Yearbook Yourself thing that has been on a few friend’s blogs. If you haven’t seen it, it puts your photo into yearbook photos of different eras. Quite interesting and such a good use of my free time, I might add. A few photos were eerily familiar because they looked so much like relatives, especially my mom. Others also showed me what I would have looked like if I’d have developed my styling skills in high school.

For your entertainment:

Bet that some people (i.e. Jay) would say the glasses in this photo (1966) aren't that much different than ones I acually wear today.

This looks a lot like my mom at that time, or so I think she did, since I wasn't around in 1966 : )

And finally, this (1990) is how I would've looked if I could've ever gotten the hang of how to use the dang curling iron. Truely a skill I've never mastered.

And that might be for the best. That said, I was the recipient of many a perm in the late 1980s, so I'm not sure that's any better. I'm hoping Gracie never learns what the perming experience is all about and I'm crossing my fingers that she doesn't ask her mom for curling iron tips.

The Perfect Storm

A disclaimer: I still realize that we are super lucky and have a great baby – and we are so fortunate that she’s as good as she is, especially when it comes to sleeping. That is why when she was difficult to get down last Thursday night, it took me off guard. This sleepless trend continued and intensified over the weekend, through Wednesday.

We started off with a fun "girls' night" (Jay was in Vegas). As you can see by the photo, Grace was fine during the day, but come bedtime – yipes! She’d be near sleep or fully sleeping as we placed her in the crib. But when her head hit the mattress those eyes flew open and the yowling began. Since she’s been so good, we hadn’t heard that type of cry since before we moved.

I realized that a number of things were going on in her little world and caused what I like to call (dum, dum, dum): The Perfect Storm.

Here’s thoughts that might have been going on in her cute little head:
* My daddy’s out of town.
* I’m eating a green food with a funny texture (green beans).
* Everything around me is sooooo fun to look at (pug) and grab for (pug).
* I fill my pants right after Mommy puts me in my crib (perhaps because of that weird green stuff she feeds me).
* My Grandma Patti is visiting me this weekend! She’s fun. She gave me a cow and sings to me.
* I’m went to a party (happy adoption day Dominic!) with two big dogs, four kids, one baby, many toys and many adults.
* I like my mommy and I kinda like to know where she is at all times. Mommy?

It’s a lot for even an almost 7-month-old to process! Given that Jay and I tend to be analyzers/overthinkers/obsessers, I wouldn’t be surprised if Grace had that trait too. Maybe she just had a lot going on in that little noggin and wouldn’t let herself go to sleepyland.

Then Sunday night I discovered another factor that contributed to (dum, dum, dum) The Perfect Storm: A tooth pushing through. Aha! She’d been fine when her first two came in, but apparently this one was different.

On Monday night, Jay was introduced to the bedtime struggle and we discussed when/if we’d try any cry-it-out options. We decided if the sleep struggles continued after this tooth came through, then we’d give them a chance. I warned Jay that I might need to leave the house. I don’t deal that well with Gracie’s yowling. Crying I can deal with. Howls that sound like “Mommy!” … not so much. This was obviously tooth pain, so we gave her some pain reliever and added a few things to the bedtime routine – a book and a fella we like to call G. Raffe. (He's been mentioned and pictured in previous posts.) We read/gnawed on a book. Then when we put her down, her giraffe stuffed animal accompanied her. After a bit of wimpering she grabs G. Raffe and drifts off to sleep. Whew.

Is that another tooth I see coming through? Good thing we can count on baby Tylenol, Oragel and Mr. G. Raffe to help us weather this storm.

Way To Be Tall

We went to our new pediatrician for the first time a few weeks back and wouldn’t you know it – Grace is in the 97th percentile for length. She’s thriving according to the doctor.

Speaking of being in good health, as some of you know, I recently got motivated to try running/jogging/moving on my feet faster than I would by walking. I’ve been trying the “couch to 5K” workout – yes, that’s actually the name of the program – which eases you in to the whole thing. The program's advice says to not rush the process and that’s fine by me. My last experiences with running were ones from track and field week in high school, and they involved searing sideaches and intense wheezing. To make this go around more favorable, I’ve taken Grace with me on at least one “run” a week. It’s a great motivator to look down at that little grinny face. Sometimes she even appeases me by grabbing on to the side of the stroller as if to say “Whoa, mommy. Slow down! You’re running so fast that I have to hang on for dear life.” My own little personal trainer!

The runs I’ve gone on alone are those that I've done around our house. Those have been fun, too, but for different reasons. The first time I gave it a go I had just walked around the corner of our driveway in time to see a doe and fawn crossing the road about 15 yards away. And then a few nights ago I was going to go out for a jog close to dusk. Then I heard a grunting sound coming from the wooded area around our house. Ummmm. Right then seemed like a good time test out our elliptical machine that we just got set up in our basement.

Regardless of how I do it, it’ll be good to get myself into shape because soon I’ll be chasing Grace around the house. She’s accomplished the freestanding sit and I imagine the crawling and walking will be here. In this photo she look likes she's trying to transition from the seated position to one of more mobility. Her face seems to say, "But Mommy, all the other babies are crawling!" Not so fast little one ... not so fast.