A little bit of Grace

Our little miss is almost 3 months! I can't believe it. She is growing so much everyday and is so SO fun to play with. She is holding her head up amazingly well, she is wanting to sit up so bad. Everytime we have her in her chair that leans back she does a cruch to get herself to sitting. Such a strong kiddo.

She is starting to giggle. When she's in a good mood I can get her to do a couple of giggles, still super smiley and fun. She's starting to sleep better too, now that we've transisitoned her to her crib. Justin is just a noisy sleeper and I think he was waking her up a lot. =). Last night she fell asleep at 9:15, woke up a little at 5:00, ate then fell right back asleep till after 8! It was Sunday so I had to get her awake and ready for church. I was amazed and so happy. Granted I did wake up at 3 cause it's a habit and checked on her but still. Awesome! 

 

Looking more like a Messenger everyday!

Almost almost rolling over. She gets herself all high centered on her tummy and rocks back and forth till she gets mad. It's only a matter of days before she'll be moving around. AH! She loves to look at the ceiling fan in our bedroom so when I need to get ready I put her on the bed and let her look at it. Once she's mobile I can't do that anymore.

She hates to have her arms wrapped up in a blanket or contained really. So one day as I was getting her ready for bed I pulled her arms out of the sleeves and kept them in the shirt. Then obviously made it better by tying the sleeves. =) She didn't notice for a while then she started to get mad. I quickly took her out but it made me laugh. Yep, I'm an awesome mom. =) 

Justin made her a fun little play mobile thing and she loves to look at her toys in it. I love the look of concentration she has in this picture. She is also loving looking at books. She get so excited looking at the pages and will just stare at them. I love it! I love books. 

Getting some cousin love. 

This pictures cracks me up. I often caption Grace's nosies or facial expressions and this one has so many possibilities.

She is doing so great, weighing in at 11lbs, 9 oz at her Dr. visit and moving up to size 2 diapers. I am getting tired of all the poop laundry I've had to deal with lately. People are always remarking at how alert she is, other people also say how little she is. She doesn't seem so little to me but compared to the giant baby on their arm she is little. She is just the best baby and I tell her that everyday. She is just a joy and light in our life. I love her lots and lots. I worry about her at work that she won't remember me sometimes but then I come home and she smiles big for me and so far I get the most giggles out of her so that makes up for it. She also " talks" to most to me making lots of adorable baby nosies. 

We sure love our little miss!

Visitors!

We've had lots of fun family visitors over the past month. I have been good about getting pictures sometimes....Blame it on the lack of sleep. If I had known that having a baby meant visitors we might have had one sooner. j/k. Our most recent visitors were Justin's grandparents from Idaho. They are lots of fun and are always up for a good visit and card game. Grandma Donna sure got some good smiles out of Grace while she was here. I only got to see them for a little bit since I had to work the weekend but we love to see them whenever we can. 

Grandpa Bill, Grandma Donna and Grace

Then before that in April my sister from California came for a visit. She needed a little get away to Utah =) Her husband was doing some much needed studying to finish his schooling. My sister graciously babysat Grace on my first day back at work. It went ok but I was so glad that it was my sister watching her, so I didn't worry as much. 

We got all the kiddos together for a photo this was the best one I got but I still love it for all the personality that it has in it. It makes me laugh. My sister's boy Gabriel was fun to play with and super chatty they may rue the day they taught him to talk. j/k. He was cute at one point when we were all playing with the kids he forgot my name so he sputtered out, "Baby Grace's momma," to get my attention. It took me a second to realize that oh yeah.... I am Baby Grace's momma. I thought it was cute. My sweet neices love love love Grace and always want to hold her. This picture makes me smile both cause Addie is so cute and Grace's face.

Get used to it kid! I love that they love her so much already and I hope that they'll be friends once Grace gets bigger.

We love getting to see so many friends and family and hope that we get to see them soon. 

Mother's day Madness

We had a busy but great Mother's day this past weekend. I had to work all day Saturday and for a little bit on Sunday so we didn't do much. But I came home to a sweet surprise from my husband and got to snuggle my little baby who made me a momma. 

On Sunday it was busy because it was my sister's birthday and she would be able to Skype with us on her mission. I had to work till 5 and she was going to call at 6. Well we can't leave till the last patient leaves and we had some people still there at 5. But I work with some awesome people who basically kicked me out so I could make it to Logan on time and see my sister who I miss so so much. It was great to see her and hear her fun stories on the mission. 

She is trying so hard and wanting to be a good missionary and example to those she meets. It was great to feel the spirit that she has with her. She may not think so but she is a great missionary with a very willing and dedicated attitude. We miss you Sister Stoddard! Then after dinner we had a fun photo shoot with my lovely momma. 

Me and my baby before church. 

My mom, me and Grace. Three generation shot. 

This pictures makes me a little sad with how little our family has gotten over the past little while. With one sister living in California and another on a mission we are much smaller in number. But it's still cute. 

All the Bryan Stoddard Grandbabies. Hard to get them to all look at you with like 4 different cameras around. Love those kiddos so much. 

All the grandkids minus my sister's boy and baby on the way.

Our little family. Grace is almost smiling in this one. =) 

Over Mother's day I was thinking a lot about moms'. About how from the minute the little baby is made we are sacrifcing. Sacrifcing our bodies, mental capacity, energy and so much more. I sometimes think that I'll never get my body back to a more normal state for a long time. It makes me frustrated at times because it would be easier to not nurse my baby but then I would be missing out on so much. It then made me think of my mom, having six kids and doing so much for us everyday. Many times my mom went without so that we could have something wether it was food, clothing or time. There are so many other great examples of loving, kind and sacrifcing mothers'. It made me grateful that I get to be part of the club now and also appreciate my own mom and mother-in-law so much more.

So Happy Mother's Day to you and your loved moms. Without mom's we wouldn't know where anything is. =) 

Blessing day!

So I have been majorly slacking in the blogging department. I went back to work and it's all I can do to make dinner and keep the house clean. I like going to work but it does make for more messes to clean up. 

On April 14th we blessed our little Gracie. We were kind of nervous about how she'd do, I know Justin was especially but she did great. She was awake right before and fell asleep during the opening exercises. We also had 3 other baby blessings that day and we were the 3rd. So busy day in our ward. I swear our ward is keeping the population of Utah going. When we got here there was a big wave of babies and now there is another big wave of babies coming. Grace is at the beginning of it. 

It was a really nice day weather wise and with family. Justin was nervous but he did a good job. He gave her a beautiful blessing talking about having Faith and Charity. Our little girl will be great I just know it.

 We had to take some photos before hand since my dad left.

 4 generations on the Stoddard side

Yay for Stoddard cousins minus Gabriel- He came the next day.

With the Michilena Grandparents. I forgot to do a 4 generation of the Michilena side that day. We do have one from earlier.

Cutie pie in her sweet dress my mom got. I love it. 

All the Messenger clan minus Jayson and Neha. We were so happy to have everyone there. 

After a while this little miss had had enough pictures and conked out the rest of the day.

I really wanted to bear my testimony but with the 4 baby blessings and all the kids that share we ended up going twenty minutes over anyways. So, I'll share here. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life and the peace and calm it gives to me. With so many changes for my family in the past couple months good and bad. I've never felt the love and protection of my Heavenly Father so close. I know that I am extremely blessed and that it all comes from my Heavenly Father. I know that prayer works and that it can bless lives and provide protection. I know that the Book of Mormon is a true book and that by reading it it will change your life. I know that Joesph Smith is a true prophet called of God. I know that President Thomas S. Monson is called to lead us today. I know that Temples can seal families together forever and that going inside the temple can bring you closer to Christ. I love my family, I am thankful for all that they do for me and my little family now. I love being a mommy as well.

Thank you to everyone for coming to show your support. We love you all and love to see you. =)

New Car

So, if you recall I was in need of a new car and since I am headed back to work soon time was of the essence. I hadn't really had much time to look for a car with all the feeding, rocking and cleaning. So eventually Justin just asked me if I just wanted him to buy me a car. I said, " Yeah....pretty much. If you think it's good then just get it." So one day he calls and said that he found a good one and should he get it. I pretty much said yeah as long as it's not too much and is not to fancy.

Well.....it's a bit fancier then I am used to. It's a 2007 Nissan Sentra, just a litte bit older then my other car. It has about 78,000 miles on it and it's in very good condition. It has one of those keyless car things. It's called a fob I guess and it's just like a clicker and it just has to be within three feet to work in the car. It's pretty fancy. Justin was good and asked them at the dealership to clean it really well since one car he looked at smelt like animals really strong.

So far it's been a great car. It has really dark tinted windows in the back which make driving at night a little harder to see the lights but nice so my baby can fall asleep easier. It's so quiet as well. My car was slightly falling apart and quite noisy.

We used to joke how everybody in my family had a silver car, well we've all slowly been changing to white and I had to jump on the bandwagon. =)  I am just glad to have a safe car and everything taken care of....well kind of. 

Visitors

We had some fun visitors this past weekend. Justin's brother Jayson and his wife Neha came for the weekend to come and cuddle little Grace, and hang out with us too....I guess. =) It is always great fun to see them. They always make such yummy food and bring fun games to play. It never fails to surprise me how much Justin and Jayson are alike when they get together. I really wish at times that their dad was around because I am pretty sure all three of them would be doing the same things.

They had lots of good bonding time with Grace, Neha got her alseep and we had a successful time with Jayson. He was so cute and nervous about holding her  at first and she picked up on that but eventually they both relaxed and had fun with each other.

Whenever I attempt to do a family shot someone is always missing so we are missing Jourdan in this one. Funny side note we took the pictures on a timer and it took 5 in a row and Grace got progessively cranky. This one is almost crying. =) 

We also got some great exciting news while they were here. Grace is getting a Messenger cousin! Well a Butler cousin but on the Messenger side. Justin's sister, Jyana annouced that they were expecting a baby in October. She was tricky and had everyone looking at videos about where she works then added a fun one about her dog. At the end it had the ultrasound pic. Justin's mom started screaming, I was in the other room feeding Grace but when I heard that scream I knew what it was. =) We are so excited for them. Grace will get two cousins this year one on each side, lots of baby fun and love. P.s  Jyana I hope it's ok I shared. 

Yay for babies! Yay for visitors! We are getting more visitors next week my sister and her son are coming for a while. We love to spend time with family and miss them when they are gone. Here's hoping we see you soon!

One Month

Little Miss Grace has been with us for one month. Crazy how times flies and yet still seems to be going slow. We love her more and more each day as she grows. She is getting so much bigger at least heavier. She only has a few clothes that fit her now and they are getting tight not sure from her or the fact that I wash them so often.

She is just the best baby. We've had some fun projectile vomiting as of late, she doesn't like it when I eat spicy foods, or some vegetables. But she's eating like a champ. We made a trek up to Logan to visit my parents and she did awesome in the car. As long as she has a happpy tummy she'll fall asleep in no time and stay asleep. We've braved church two weeks in a row and she did great. Not sure how much she weighs but I am guessing 8lbs and a little bit. She does pretty good in the night she'll go between 4-6 hours depending on when we put her to bed.

We some fun nicknames for her like: baby doll, sweetheart, Gracie pie and other fun names.Here are some fun pictures to see how much bigger she's gotten. =) Still tiny just filling out in her cheeks and everywhere else.

This is how she likes to sleep with her arms out. Funny story. I layed her down for a nap and had her all wrapped up. Justin waited a few minutes to make sure that she stayed asleep. She fussed and fidgeted till she got her arms out then truely conked out. The only thing is that she moves her covers off in the night and has cold little hands when she wakes up.

 

In honor of her first month I did a little photo shoot and tried to figure out my camera. She did pretty good for a while. =) 

She is doing so well holding her head up, and getting so strong. 

Almost got a full smile. =)

We love her so much and are so blessed to have her in our lives. Even at 3 in the morning she's the cutest thing.

I am doing really well. I am really liking not being pregnant and being able to move around faster and to tie my own shoes. I have good energy most days but some days I just need a little nap. Justin is a great help and has been awesome at helping with Grace or dinner or whatever I ask of him. I have to go back to work in about 3 weeks and I am excited and yet dreading it. I sure do love being this little girls momma. It fills my heart with joy when she calms to my voice and when she smiles at me while eating or cuddling. I do enjoy each moment and keep her in my arms a little bit longer at times. It's a good thing they come in packages so easy to love.