Froggy Takes a Bath

I had to do it. He was disgusting. She was sucking on him. I closed the door. She kept opening it. I felt like a terrible parent for letting her cuddle up with him. Please forgive me.

And now he smells of citrus and is a bright new shade of green.

And Gracen is happy and sleeping...

roadkill and whatnot

This is how Gracen has been taking her nap for the last 43 minutes.

So the question has come up, on several occasions, about why I haven't been my usual bi-weekly-blogger-self. Let me explain.

Our neighbors down the road have been living a relatively parallel life to ours. We moved into the neighborhood about the same time, they have a toddler too, she stays at home, dad goes to work, blah, blah, and etc. We knew we existed these .2 miles away from each other, and have made plans to "make" plans for months, but we never quite followed through. However, once the plans became true plans, our time has become rather occupied. You see, we're walkers now. We walk every morning, and it's much more motivating when someone is expecting you. We started out going three miles, upped it to six, but were slackers today and only did four. And these are not leisurely strolls. We've got hills. Big mean hills. And they hurt. Amy, you can back me on this. The odd thing about regular exercise is that one really does have more energy. So I've been cleaning, organizing, rearranging, yoga-ing and playing.

On our trek home today, Froggy was apparently thrown from the stroller. I did not notice until we got home and it was naptime. Fortunately, Adam was home so that I could go on the hunt. I found him across 15-501, face down, very pitiful and dirty. He'll be getting a bath this afternoon. I would give him one now, but Gracen is snuggled up in his filth.

And Walker Blue, neighbor baby and Gracie's new best friend, has taught her about "outside." So now, she's pretty sure that if she's awake, she needs to be running around the yard, throwing the ball, picking flowers, dodging poo (Harley still has some issues), falling in holes, tripping on air, catching bees, climbing stairs, putting hands in dog water bowls, turning bowls over, digging up pretty plants, falling in holes again, eating dirt and rocks, drinking out of other dog water bowl, scraping knees, getting bug bites, and petting do(g)s. Oh yeah, and strolling. If I leave the stroller outside on the patio, she'll scream at the top of her sweet little lungs until I either put her in it or move it inside.

Gracie is going swimming in Walker's new kiddie pool this afternoon. Naked baby photos soon to follow.

Adam and Gracen have been getting in some good bonding time lately. They went for a big hike this weekend. I was going to go, but determined my day would be best suited with napping on the couch. While I'm grateful for little breaks such as these, I miss my family when they're gone.

Baby Bella is HERE!!

First of all, we would like to congratulate Sunday and Worth on the birth of their daughter, BellaRose, who was born today in Asheville. We can't wait to see those pictures! She's a lucky little lady.

(In case your curious, she's eating: green beans, soy sausage, avocado, tomatoes, peas, string cheese, and a rice cake in this photo. At her one year checkup, we were told that we need to fatten her up. She was a whopping 19 lbs 2 ounces. This is how much she weighed in February.)

Next, I would like to apologize to my dedicated readers that have been less than pleased with my blogging of late. I was in no way trying to deprive you of access to your Gracie, and I agree, it was simply mean of me to keep her all to myself. I will do better. I promise. And to make it up to you (you know who you are), here is a little photo shoot of cutie-poo in her diaper. She managed to keep it on for a whole 15 minutes. Record. I was actually trying to get a good shot of her to enter her in a Cotton Babies photo contest wearing a Bum Genius diaper. But, as often happens with me, I got distracted and missed the 4 PM deadline.

I don't even know where to begin telling you about our developmental milestones. She's brilliant. It's pretty simple. Sometimes, it's rather sad. For example, she really wants to put her socks and shoes on all by her big self. She'll bring in a little pile of both, sit on the floor and awkwardly try to put them on. Occasionally, she'll get a couple of toes stuck where they should go, and she'll giggle, pleased with herself. She'll even try to put on my and Adam's shoes. These tend to go on more easily, but seem to trip her when she stands. Poor kid. And if she gets really frustrated, she'll start to whimper, bring me the shoe, shake it in front of me, then tap her feet with it. She also likes to walk around carrying a purse. I find this odd, as I'm not of the purse-carrying persuasion, especially since having her. But, she picks one up (it belongs to Hannah, and we're overdue in returning it), and throws it over her shoulder. Then she prances about, often spinning in circles, listening to Jack Johnson. This kid knows how to have a good time.

Adam was a single parent this weekend, as I was off at Renu's bachelorette party on Wrightsville Beach. I am not at liberty to discuss the happenings of this party, but I have to say, that I don't think I've EVER laughed that hard in my whole life. It was nice to have a bit of a break from motherhood, even though I missed her. Adam and she had a wonderful time. Perhaps I should take some more mini-breaks.

Adam and Gracen headed to Charlotte for our family's "Celebrate Everything" Party. Gracie got to spend some good time with the cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, etc. Sorry I missed seeing all of you.

And a HUGE thank you to Rylie Joy for parting ways with her blankie, so that we might have access to another Froggy. His name is FroggyHead. Again, don't be overwhelmed by my creativity here, folks. I think I may need to get that BabyName book back Jess, so I can give these critters something a little more original. I'm not saying that Bear, Baby, LittleBaby, Bunny, Rabbit, Froggy, Froggy2, and Monkey don't love their names, but perhaps we should branch out. Just a tad.

Have you seen me?

Seriously, have you seen this frog? Gracen seems to have some OCD issues pertaining to her Froggy. She must have him to sleep. To travel. To kiss. To carry. To laugh at. To throw up on. It's this last point that has us on a mission. We need a backup, or five. Babies don't understand why their most loved possessions have to be washed and dried at 3Am, instead of sleeping, crustily, next to them.

Do you know how many frog stuffed animals are available online? My guess is upwards of 25,000. I know this because I've been looking. We've spent many hours and many days searching for him. Unfortunately, Gracen has chewed and ingested the tag off of his behind, so we don't know who makes him. He was purchased as a shower gift for Gracie, probably in February or March of 2006, from Target. I've called several people at Target, and they're searching back-inventory, but so far have come up with nothing. We can find things "close" but not him. So here's the thing, if anyone out there is bored and likes a good research project, I'm offering a $50 reward, in addition to the price of the copy-froggy. And if you have a used replica, we'll take that off your hands as well. And if $50 isn't enough, we can negotiate. It's really that important.


For a child that smiles and laughs as often as gracie does, neither of her birthday parties were blessed with overly joyful documentation. At her first party in Weaverville, we were rota-ffected, and the beautiful M&M ice cream cake had to be forced in her mouth. The second, which was just the three of us, began after her bedtime and something about fire on a tiramisu just didn't sit right with her. We're hoping that the Two-Year-Birthday-Bash next May might have some more uplifting footage.

And cloth diapers are back on! We were forced into the disposables with Gracen's sickness, as the the twelve cloth diapers, which will usually last two days, would only have lasted three or four hours. It's nice to have our happy, healthy baby back.

Happy Birthday Gracen

I'm still a little in shock that today is actually here. One whole year and, undoubtedly, it has been the best of our lives. It is interesting looking back on that day. They say you forget the pain, and to some extent that's true. I've at least forgotten it enough to be willing to go through it again, eventually. Gracen's labor was fast, for which I am eternally grateful. Our decision to have an unmedicated birth outside of a hospital setting, even with our "complications," was a good one, and I can't imagine having gone through it any other way. Though, I must confess, had I been able to form coherent words at the peak of transition (in between all the primal moaning), I would have begged for someone to drive me over to UNC and hit me up with an epidural. But, I couldn't talk, as the bizarre foreign noises were taking up all my voice space.

She was such a mystery to me that day, this little person that we made, yet didn't really know. I am amazed at how quickly the bonding came, how overwhelming was the love we felt, and how excited and scared about all the possibilities of what would be. Motherhood is an interesting instinct. Bringing her home, I knew I was clueless on what I was doing, yet felt this remarkable confidence that I was doing it all right, in spite of myself. And fortunately for all of us, we've made it a whole year.

Thank you, everyone, for helping, loving, and watching us through this first year with this spectacular little person, Miss Gracen Elise. We love you, sweet girl.

30 Minutes

One Month
Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months
Six Months

Seven Months
Eight Months
Nine Months
Ten Months
Eleven Months Twelve Months

rota-what?!

We've returned from Weaverville where we had some excellent family bonding time. The joys of family reunion were a little overshadowed with Gracen's latest ailments. Let me back up to last week...

I woke Tuesday night to very strange sounds coming from the nursery. Not quite crying, not really talking, not quite coughing. I had no clue. It was 1:41 AM, and things usually don't make sense at that time anyway. I walked in and was knocked down by the smell of gastrointestinal fluids--of all varieties. We were really lucky when Gracie was little. She wasn't a spitter-upper, so this was my first "real" experience with vomiting. I don't like it. And she can produce a lot of it. I would go into detail here, but some of you have probably already heard more than you care to, so I'll save the rest of you from my ranting. I took her to the doctor on Thursday before we left for western NC, and we determined that she had a raging ear infection. We got the antibiotics, the probiotics, the ear drops, the Magic Butt Cream (for the bleeding diaper rash--owie!) and were off. Saturday, she broke out in a rash. Off the antibiotics. She woke Sunday with an upset stomach and got sick twice more on the ride home. So we went back to the doc this morning, where it was determined that she has Rota virus, a very contagious and very common sickness that most all children will get before the age of five. They now have a vaccine for this. It was the only vaccine we chose not to give her. Of course. But on a positive note, the ear infection is healing without the antibiotics and she's eating again, so I think we're healing.

AND, my biceps are getting huge because I've held her for over a week straight. No more gym for me.

BUT, my mother has been sick since 1 AM, my step-sister is having similar ailments, and my step-dad couldn't move yesterday. Sorry for spreading the love.

Ronny Mac, we're so glad we got to see you, even though we were covered in a blanket of the pathetic. I love you and miss you.

Sorry for no pictures. I think the camera connector is still in Weaverville. It's really a shame because we have some fabulous pictures of Gracen crying over her birthday cake.

PS--I forgot to add: she turned blue yesterday.

Farewell, my love...

It's a sad day here, folks. Gracen's BFF, Vincent, departed this morning on his move back to Canada. They're such a precious little pair, and we'll miss the family so very much. We are planning, hopefully, a playdate in Montreal in August.

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I can't write much today, or any other day so it seems, because I'm busy chasing a toddler. It was pointed out to me that I no longer have a baby now that she's a walker. Toddler. It's a big move. Gracen is loving her new freedom as a walker. She has free roam of the house now, except for the stairs, which is the only place she really wants to hang out. We can wear dresses again since we don't have to bother with the fabric catching on her knees as she crawls and throwing her into the floor. And we're even wearing the dresses she's outgrown (and not worn) as very cute shirts. Her old pants are becoming shorts or capris. We can make this wardrobe go on forever!

I've been in spring cleaning lately. I've decided that clutter is making me crazy, so I must attack. I hit Gracen's room first, eliminating unnecessary furniture and random junk, rearranging her furniture, and organizing her clothes (birth-12 months). I even went so far as to separate into month sizes. Adam is looking for his wife.

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We're leaving for Weaverville in the morning. Uncle Ronny Mac is coming in from San Francisco for a visit, and we want to make the most of his time here. Annie, Adam, Sabrina and Sue Lane will be there over the weekend, so it will be wonderful to have the family together. It hasn't happened in a long time. We might even have to have a birthday party for some sweet little lady!

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This is how Gracen felt last night after her bath, with a cold and a fever.

John Jacob

(singing)

John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt,

that's my name too!

Whenever I go out,

the people always shout,

John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt!"

Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da!

(Repeat four times, each time softer, except loudly on the "da da.")

It's been stuck in my head for two days. Hope someone can join me in this misery...

War of the Hoses.

I told ya she could do it!

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We spent the weekend with Grandma Dot et al in Fork, SC for her 81st birthday. I met cousins I never knew I had and got to spend time with the ones I did know. Yes, Livi, you are blogworthy. Delta and I put together a poster of photos of G-Dot throughout her life. And while I had always been certain that my sister Annie looked just like Gaga (maternal g-ma), it seems she's the spittin' image of Grandma Dot. And as I had always assumed I looked like G-Dot, I find myself now lost in the gene pool. I look like no one, except maybe Ronny Mac. And Gracen used to look like me. Now, she's a little mirror of her daddy. I think I'm a little bitter about it.

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And Gracie loves Grandma Dot. She's gotten to be a little harder to handle, now that this whole mobility thing has become so very advanced. But she was gentle, still, curious, and utterly charming while her great-grandma loved on her.

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The McDaniel Clan (Ricky, Minerva, Olivia, and Delta) put together a wonderful day, and I am so grateful that they are so supportive and loving to this very special lady. Thank you guys for everything you do for this family.

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And in other news...

With the weather getting pretty and this new home to beautify, we're feeling motivated to make the place our own. Adam has become quite attached to his chainsaw of late and is clearing out our woods to make room for, um, prettiness. It's looking great and the task would surely go a tad bit more quickly if I would contribute my time and energy to clearing brush, raking, hauling logs and whatnot. But, really, that's just not my strength. So, I've been planting flowers and moving out the houseplants. What I realized, however, after taking 47 trips into and out of the home with a juice pitcher of water to quench the thirst of the aforementioned flowers/plants, was that fixing the hose situation might be a smarter use of my time. I'll not bore you with the laborious details of my war with these hoses, as I had planned to. Suffice it to say, that at this point, the hoses may be winning. But, I have new weaponry in the trunk of my car that may turn the tides of the war. I'll update you soon.

AND. and. and. (get ready people--this is something to get excited over) Athena and Harley have discovered that they have much more land to run on, they have not escaped, and I caught Thena making poo in the woods. I realize that the poo part might not be real exciting for some of you. For others, who have come to be festive at our home and ventured out to the fire pit latenight and did not for whatever reason "remain ONLY on the perimeter" as instructed, they will be happy to know that soon they may walk through our yard without having to scrape the bottom of their shoes and listen to our most humble apologies. It's a big deal!

Leaving Atlanta

Our week here is coming to an end. Gracen is going to be missing her Aunt Belle and Uncle Shep. We're leaving here to go to Fork, SC for Grandma Dot's 81st birthday party. I'll write more when we get back home...