Ellie the Elephant

Car rides with Grace can be a hit or a miss. She will usually tolerate the 8-minute drive from our house to school, but any longer than that and all bets are off. For anyone who has driven with us lately, you know what I'm talking about.

So we have recently got into the habit of bringing Ellie in the car seat with us. Ellie is one of Grace's favorite toys that was a gift from Rebecca from Australia. Grace loves to snuggle with Ellie, chew on her nose and arms; and this makes car rides much more enjoyable for her and for me. We love Ellie!

Blue Jean Baby Queen

There is just something about babies in blue jeans that is so cute! I'm on the search for a white V-neck t-shirt for Grace, and then she and her Dad can be twins! I have a feeling that Grace is going to be a daddy's girl. No one can make her laugh like Greg does, it is the cutest thing. Stay tuned for video of her sweet little giggles.

5 Months Old (a little late)

Grace turned 5 months old on February 17th! Between the horrible weather (lots of snow) and the colds/24 hour bugs/sinus infections going around our house, February was not a great month of picture taking or blogging.

But Grace is doing great! She is rolling over for real now. Gone are the days of letting her lay on the middle of our bed without a fortress of pillows surrounding her. She is also very good at sitting up surrounded by her Bobby or pillows. She is very active and spunky and wants to move. Grace loves tummy time and will complete an entire circle on her belly.

Also, everything is going into her mouth -- hands, toys, her own feet. So this weekend we are officially moving into the new world of solids. I was trying to wait until she turns 6 months, but she is close enough. And she is definitely interested in what we are eating and drinking, which I've read is a sign that they are ready for the next step.

Grace loves to laugh and is a happy little girl. We love our little Gracie girl so much!!

My Little Ballerina

More beautiful photos of my beautiful baby girl. These were taken mid-January (4 months) by Emily Penke of Peeptoe Photography at her studio down in the West Bottoms. The cute plaid dress was her cousin Ella's, the ballerina onesie was a special gift from Aunt Laura, and Doobie Duck was Grace's Christmas present from BooMark. I had a Doobie Duck stuffed animal (three actually) when I was little, so my Dad thought that Gracie should have one too. Hopefully Grace won't lose her Doobie Ducks at Target or the Tulsa airport like her mom did.

On to my favorites of the pictures.

Love,
Katie

Cutest. Baby. Ever.

Okay people, it is official. Grace Sally Ernzen is the cutest baby in the world. We just got the t-shirts made. I know I'm probably a little partial, but really who could argue with this proof.

These are from her 3-month photo shoot with Our 365, the company who took her newborn photos at the hospital. They also have hooked us up with some free photo books and prints from Shutterfly throughout her first year! I know I'm late in getting these up on the blog, but I had to scan them in and couldn't figure out how to change the setting from PDF to JPEG. Finally, here they are.

Also, "Ellie" the elephant is one of Grace's favorite toys. She is from Australia! Thanks Bec!



On the Mend

What a difference a week makes, or even a few days. Grace is doing so much better thanks to lots of cuddles, two humidifiers and taking it easy. After getting worn down myself, and developing a mean sinus infection, I took a sick day and a half and rested up with my baby girl. We are on the way to 100 percent, and just in time for the weekend and some amazing spring-like temperatures. I can't tell you all how excited I am to see 50-degree weather!! I hate being cold, thus I hate winter. Snow is pretty to look at, but that is about it. Give me 100-degree weather any day.

Where was I? Oh yes, on the mend. Here is Grace doing so much better. Another thing that I learned at her pediatrician follow-up appointment yesterday, she gained 8 ounces in 5 days! She now weighs in at a whopping 12 pounds 6 ounces! Yay Grace!

ER, RSV and some TLC

This has been one heck of a week, and not in a good way. More than half of the country, along with yours truly, had their own first hand experience with Snowmagedon (aka, Blizzard 2011, Snowtorious BIG and my favorite SnOMG). Grace only attended school on Monday due to snow days on Tuesday and Wednesday.

She developed a runny nose on Wednesday, and I thought to myself "Poor thing, Grace is getting her first major cold from day care." She seemed fine otherwise and went to bed at a normal time and didn't show any other coldlike symptoms.

At midnight, Greg and I woke up to Grace coughing that horrible seal-like cough that you read about in all of the baby books. She had a temperature of 101, and so I called her doctor. While talking to the nurse on call, Grace started throwing up more than a normal amount of spit up, so we were advised to bring her to the emergency room. Even though my gut was telling me that something was wrong, I kept thinking that we would be viewed like first time parents who run to the hospital for a little cold.

At St. Joseph emergency room, we watched as the nurse took Grace's temperature (rectally! she hated that!), and it was still high even after we gave her Baby Tylenol. The doctor ordered a chest x-ray, and two tests to extract mucus from her nose and urine from a catheder. I can't believe how calm I was. Watching these tests being performed on a a little baby, my little baby, is too much.

We were at the ER until 3 a.m., and we got the diagnosis from the doctor: Grace has RSV. It is a mild enough case, so she was released to go home with us, but it is still scary. I was thinking that she had Croup, not RSV.

Grace is doing okay and we are giving her lots of TLC. She is still smiley, except when we have to suction her nose. I'm looking forward to doing absolutely nothing this weekend except taking care of my baby girl. Will try to post more pictures when she is on the mend.

Any advise on how to keep her comfortable would be greatly appreciated! We are doing the suction thing, the steam shower thing and having her sleep more upright (on my chest). What else have you done for your kiddos?

Love,
Katie