Life is good.

Haven't posted in while, so lets fill everyone on in the Stockton's.

Gracie is now eating solids. It was pretty excited for me. I decided to start making most of her baby food. It's super easy, much cheaper, and seems so much healthier since I know what I'm putting in it. She LOVES eating. Maybe this will fatten my petite little baby up! Although, when she started with squash, she hated it so bad that she made herself throw up! I told Levi, "No baby of mine is going to be a picky eater!" so I kept feeding it to her until she got used to them and now she loves squash! Sometimes it just a little determination and patience! Gracie sits up like a big girl and gets herself up on all fours but no crawling yet! She would much rather roll her way to what she wants.

My birthday was yesterday and it was a great day! I was so excited when I got a Cricut!!! I have been having so much fun with it, scrapbooking away and making signs (well actually I only made one sign). Friends and family made my b-day really special. The only problem was that I couldn't remember if I was turning 24 or 25. How bad is that! I did the math and low and behold, I am 24 years old!

This Sunday we leave for the beach house! I am so excited. This will be our first trip with Gracie. Driving 6 hours with 2 babies scares me a bit but it will be so worth it when we get there! Finally a vacation!

Well, that's about it. Sorry it was a little boring, no crazy waiting room stories or diaper blowouts! I hope everyone has a great rest of the week!

Julia and Gracie playing with Levi. They have him so wrapped around his finger!

Gracie LOVES her teddy Ruxpin. She sits there and holds his hands when he talks to her.

"Yummy squash mom! You're the best cook ever!"

You gotta love those prunes!

Warning: Photo Overload!!!

First, Valentine's day. Grandpa got Gracie and I a rose. He was so excited to give it to us. Gracie loved the smell and kept trying to eat it.

Mine and Levi's present to each other was to go out for a nice expensive dinner. Last year we went to Ruths Kris with Megan and Paul and had so much fun, we thought we'd do it again this year. It was great and we had the BEST steak in the world! It's a once-a-year kind of dinner. Can't wait til next V-day! The picture right below looks sweet but I was actually trying to pinch him for not smiling at the camera! After that we got a few good pics.

I've been bad about putting up pictures lately and I forgot to tell everyone that Gracie is sitting up like a big girl now! She's been sitting by herself for about 2 weeks.

Conner (Levi's brother) is leaving for the Coast Guard on Monday. We all got together on Saturday for a farwell party. We also took some much needed Stockton family pictures. I really love my in-laws. We are like one big happy family. They are so much fun and my brothers are so goofy. The only person missing is little Stetson. Missy is due April 4th, so he'll be here soon! We'll miss Conner but know he'll do a great job serving our country. We also got some super cute pictures of Gracie, Julia and Savannah! It's so funny to look at how different all of them are. Gracie and Julia look so different in age that it's hard to believe that they are only 6 weeks apart!

germs are in the air...

Yes, sickness has been in the Stockton household! Mostly Gracie but Levi and I have been fighting off a few colds also. If you were able to avoid winter colds, then you're amazing and please let me know your secret! My poor little Grace... It started off as a cold. Then the horrible, tight cough came....RSV! We have had her on a breathing machine for the past week. Finally the cold and RSV crept away and what does she have now....2 ear infections! It just never ends. The good thing is that throughout all this mess she has been happy and pretty easy. Her teething was WAY worse than this. It just is so hard to see her cough so hard that she makes herself through up...so sad! It's so cute though, after she coughs she looks up and smiles like "I'm okay mom, it's not that bad."

Okay so I've already established that I am crazy but here is another reason why I have 20 knots of stress in my back.... I absolutely hate doctor's offices, especially the sick waiting rooms! I even hate vet offices. I have this crazy overwhelming fear of germs. When I had to take Gracie to the doctor's office I keep praying that she wouldn't start crying so I could keep her in her carseat. But no, she cried. I couldn't just pick her up because I had just touched the pen to sign my receipt, and we all know it had germs on it! Luckily, I had hand sanitizer in the diaper bag. I put some on but then I worried that if she somehow put my hand in her mouth (which she does) she would get some of the alcohol from the sanitizer. Quick I grabbed a wipe and wiped my hands really hard. Then I realized I needed to wipe off the seat handles since I knew she would touch them. After I made sure my hands were completely germ and alcohol free and anything within a 12 in radius of her was clean I picked her up (she cried for a little bit while I assessed the situation). But I still was freaking out! She keep trying to grab at her toys. I couldn't let her touch her toys because what if the toy to a part of the chair that I did not clean and then she put it in her mouth?! Or what if she dropped it on the floor, the dirty floor? Every few minutes I would grab a wipe and clean her hands and mine. Then they called me back. Okay, I had a problem. The nurse was waiting for me to come but I had the diaper bag, Gracie, and the car seat. I couldn't carry all of it and Gracie was being fussy so I couldn't put her back in the seat. I decided I needed to put the diaper bag in the carseat so I could carry them together. But I couldn't do that! The bottom of the diaper bag was sitting on a chair. The same chair that probably a sick child sneezed and coughed all over! If I put it in the car seat then Gracie would later sit there in the germ bath! What to do... the nurse was waiting....I was panicing.... Snap decision, I grabbed the diaper bag, dumped it upside down in the car seat so the germy bottom would be sticking up in the air and would not be touching where Gracie sits. All of the contents spilled out into the car seat. It was a mess but I was satisfied. The nurse looked at me in the strangest way and moms in the waiting room peeked over their magazine to see what in the world I was doing. I wanted to stare back at them and say "Well, you're letting your kids rub their hands on the dirty chair handles and touch the germ infested magazines, yes, I am crazy. But I bet you that mine didn't pick up any other germs while we're here but who knows about yours!

No you can't finish your coffee!

It is the saddest and hardest thing for a parent to see their precious baby be so sick! Gracie has been sick the past few days and it just breaks my heart! I hate that she can't tell me where it hurt and I can't make it better. I can't imagine what it would feel like to have your nose COMPLETELY stuffed up and not be able to blow it out! How miserable! Even through the sore throat, wheezing, difficulty eating and stuffy nose she still manages to smile that sweet little smile and laugh at mommy's jokes. Poor Levi, it's 9 o'clock at night and I just decided, on an impulse, that Gracie needs a humidifier and now! We can't wait til tomorrow, and no he can't finish his coffee before he goes, he needs to go RIGHT now and get her one before her nose gets worse, hurry Levi! Levi looks at me like I'm crazy but eventually drags his feet to the car, silently complaining. I know, poor Levi. But he did ask me to marry him so he must have known what he was getting himself into right?!

Here's some pics when Grace was feeling better:

Gracie was cheering on the Cardinals. Maybe next year.... We LOVE Kurt Warner.

My beautiful little sis before her first dance.

Gracie with her cousin Savannah.

Grace LOVES her great grandpa. We call him "Old Grandpa".

Grace was cheering her grandma on at the finish line when she walked the half marathon.

No more gummy smile...

My baby girl is getting so big. She just cut 2 teeth! It's exciting because it's just one more milestone to celebrate. I also see it as a little sad because she seems too small to have teeth. She's growing so fast. I'm a little worried about her biting while I am nursing... On the 25th she turns 5 months old! It's weird because 4 months still seems young but when they hit the 5 month mark she's not really an infant anymore! Spencer and Jamie just had their baby, Kymber, and it was crazy to see Grace compared to her! You really don't realize how much your child has grown until you put them next to a newborn!

Weary but will respect

So tomorrow Obama will become our president. I am worried. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Bush made the best decisions all the time but I trusted he did what he truly thought was best for our country. Obama scares me. Almost all of his political stances go against everything that I believe in. He is completely inconsistant, says one thing then completely contradicts himself. Isn't anyone curious about all his friends...Reverend White, Father Flager, William Ayers and his connection to governer Blagojevich? It's all so shaddy and it seems like more and more keeps getting brought up. I do pray that he proves me wrong. I want him to be good for this country. One thing I just CAN'T stand is people who have no respect for the president. I hate the stupid bumper stickers that trash Bush. It's embarrasing for our country. I don't care how much you hate him, he is our president and you respect him. My favorite was someone had a bumper sticker that said "America is my country, but Bush is not my president". Okay genius, you really made a point there! I am not thrilled about this presidency and I am a little nervous to what will happen. But, he is the president whether I like it or not so I need to try and start thinking more positive. It's so important to keep praying for our country!

Bathtime Buddies

Gracie and Julia got to have their first bath together. They had so much fun and their mommies and daddies had just as much fun watching. They were so funny together! Both of them are so interested in each other. We can tell they are going to be best friends!

Gracie: "Are you teething? Well here's my leg to suck on Julia."

Cheese!