What a thoughtful brother! I'm sure she fell asleep much easier knowing she had such comforts within reach.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Toys
I mentioned yesterday how Isaac sleeps with toys as his "security blanket" and makes sure that Gracie has what she needs as well. Today I caught a picture of the toys Isaac gave Gracie to sleep with while she took a nap in the swing. Most of the time he gives her some of her own baby toys, but today he gave her a couple of his own current favorites...football helmet and baseball glove.
What a thoughtful brother! I'm sure she fell asleep much easier knowing she had such comforts within reach.
What a thoughtful brother! I'm sure she fell asleep much easier knowing she had such comforts within reach.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
X-ray
I am extremely glad that Isaac shares so well with his sister! He is constantly making sure that she has what she needs. If she's laying down for a nap and he thinks she needs her waterfall soother on, he's a man on a mission. And on several occasions, I've found her asleep in her swing with a stack of small toys resting on her lap, affectionately given to her by Isaac, who sleeps with a couple of toys at night and anticipated that she would also need something to sleep with.
And it's no different when she's awake. If he's playing with something, he makes certain to include her. If he's playing cars, he gives her one as well. If he's playing with Buzz, Gracie gets to play with Woody. If he's playing with a ball, she has one too. She'll be eight months old next week, so she's not yet at a point to really "play" in the same way that brother does. But it doesn't seem to matter to our sweet little guy. He includes her anyway.
Unfortunately, his sharing isn't always the best thing. Sunday morning we were getting ready for church. Matt was already gone and I was running around, looking through my piles of folded laundry (that had yet to be taken to the chest of drawers), picking out outfits for everyone when I heard Gracie cough, as if she got a little choked on something. I've heard her cough like that before when she would stick something -- whatever the present "chew toy" is -- too far back in her mouth. So I knelt down by her on the floor to make sure she was okay and I noticed a little round shiny object in her hand.
A dime.
Big brother had found some "pennies" (what he terms any type of coin -- although he could identify each one specifically if you ask him) on the entry table and had, I thought, put them in the piggy bank we keep to collect spare change from the end of the day. But I guess he thought Gracie might find them just as fun to play with as he does.
So I took the dime away from Gracie and she immediately stretched as far in front of her as she could reach to the point she was practically laying on her outstretched legs and I thought, "What is she trying to get?"
Another dime.
So I took that one away and inspected her surrounding area for any other misplaced coins. She seemed fine, so I thought, "Oh, she's okay. I don't think she actually swallowed anything." But when I was talking with hubby and a dear friend from church, we all agreed I had better call the pediatrician anyway, just to be safe. So that afternoon I called the on-call doctor and they said that as long as she wasn't having difficulty breathing or pooping, she was probably okay but I needed to call her regular pediatrician Monday morning and see if they thought it merited an x-ray.
They did. So we headed to the local hospital and had an x-ray...which Gracie was not fond of, whatsoever. But I was once again reminded of the benefits of a small town hospital. Quick service. The doctor took a look at the x-ray and didn't find a dime (or any other coin) anywhere in her little digestive tract.
Whew! I've always heard of small kids swallowing money. But I didn't know it can be such a big ordeal. I thought, "They poop it out...no big deal." I didn't know those things can possibly get turned the wrong way and cause an obstruction.
So now hubby and I joke about how the girl is already devouring money...not a good sign. The teenage years could get expensive!
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| best buddies |
And it's no different when she's awake. If he's playing with something, he makes certain to include her. If he's playing cars, he gives her one as well. If he's playing with Buzz, Gracie gets to play with Woody. If he's playing with a ball, she has one too. She'll be eight months old next week, so she's not yet at a point to really "play" in the same way that brother does. But it doesn't seem to matter to our sweet little guy. He includes her anyway.
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| Cuddles for Sissy |
Unfortunately, his sharing isn't always the best thing. Sunday morning we were getting ready for church. Matt was already gone and I was running around, looking through my piles of folded laundry (that had yet to be taken to the chest of drawers), picking out outfits for everyone when I heard Gracie cough, as if she got a little choked on something. I've heard her cough like that before when she would stick something -- whatever the present "chew toy" is -- too far back in her mouth. So I knelt down by her on the floor to make sure she was okay and I noticed a little round shiny object in her hand.
A dime.
Big brother had found some "pennies" (what he terms any type of coin -- although he could identify each one specifically if you ask him) on the entry table and had, I thought, put them in the piggy bank we keep to collect spare change from the end of the day. But I guess he thought Gracie might find them just as fun to play with as he does.
So I took the dime away from Gracie and she immediately stretched as far in front of her as she could reach to the point she was practically laying on her outstretched legs and I thought, "What is she trying to get?"
Another dime.
So I took that one away and inspected her surrounding area for any other misplaced coins. She seemed fine, so I thought, "Oh, she's okay. I don't think she actually swallowed anything." But when I was talking with hubby and a dear friend from church, we all agreed I had better call the pediatrician anyway, just to be safe. So that afternoon I called the on-call doctor and they said that as long as she wasn't having difficulty breathing or pooping, she was probably okay but I needed to call her regular pediatrician Monday morning and see if they thought it merited an x-ray.
They did. So we headed to the local hospital and had an x-ray...which Gracie was not fond of, whatsoever. But I was once again reminded of the benefits of a small town hospital. Quick service. The doctor took a look at the x-ray and didn't find a dime (or any other coin) anywhere in her little digestive tract.
Whew! I've always heard of small kids swallowing money. But I didn't know it can be such a big ordeal. I thought, "They poop it out...no big deal." I didn't know those things can possibly get turned the wrong way and cause an obstruction.
So now hubby and I joke about how the girl is already devouring money...not a good sign. The teenage years could get expensive!
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| No dime! And no makeup for Mommy. :) |
Saturday, April 9, 2011
It's a zoo in here!
Lions and Tigers and...Giraffes?
I have great intentions of posting updates of our wonderful adventures in the evenings of the day they happen. However, I like to live in a somewhat clean house and I have this weird obsession about having a clean kitchen -- even if the rest of the house is less than desirable. So I'm a week late in posting about our last weekend adventure. But I suppose better late than never.
Last Saturday we took a day trip to the Abilene Zoo. Hubby called me from work the day before and suggested we go. We've been saying for some time that we can't wait to take the kids to the zoo, so we drove a couple of hours to Abilene. It's a teeny-tiny zoo (20 acres) but just about right for this particular day. Isaac, who was previously ecstatic about going to the zoo (and even energetically sang the "Daddy's Takin' Us to the Zoo Tomorrow" song all Friday evening) was oh-so-enthusiastic by the time we got there. Can't you just see it on his face? Gracie was a little cranky, but she's still in the "I can sleep in my car seat whenever I want" stage.
We got a late start, and by the time we made the two and a half hour trip along with lunch and a couple of Wal-Mart stops for zoo "necessities", it was mid-afternoon...and naptime. But nonetheless, Isaac perked up quite a bit when we entered the first "stop"...the snake pit. This cobra...I think it was a cobra...was considerably taken by Isaac. When we first saw him, he was slithering around the parameter of his big box and upon making his way around the home stretch to the front of the glass, my 2 1/2 year old eagerly runs up to the glass cheering, "Hi, snake...Hi!!!" while waving enthusiastically. Then this snake curls up around this huge rock, raises up, and stares at my son for about 5 minutes! Kinda freaky. But fun for Isaac, nonetheless. I think the snake gave him special attention because he was so friendly.
Still in the snake pit....
One of the great things about the Abilene Zoo is that you can feed the giraffes! Unfortunately, we found out they have a daily limit, so you have to be one of the first 250 people in the gate to get cracker tokens to feed them. So we'll definitely take that into consideration for our next trip. Even so, it's still pretty awesome to see the giraffes up close and personal from the bridge that stretches across their "habitat." I felt bad for my little guy, though, who was disappointed (and had a hard time understanding) that we couldn't feed the giraffes after Mom and Dad had raved about how neat it would be. At one point, he knelt down by the fence and stuck out his hand and said (in the cutest little sweetest voice I could imagine!), "Come here, giraffe. Come here, giraffe." Note to self: next trip -- be there at 9am! This boy needs to feed these giraffes!
Mufasa...
Mufasa's wife...
They had lion cubs, that were almost the size of the lioness, sleeping lazily along the front of the brick wall. I didn't get a picture because they looked like a pack of lady lions -- not very much like baby lions. At first I thought that Mufasa here was quite the stud and had his pick of the litter, so to speak. But then I realized that the cubs advertised by the zoo weren't so "cubby" anymore.
By the time we got to the zebras and the rhinoceroses, Isaac was pretty much done. So we made our way back around to a resting bench in the shade by the lions. Mommy tried to get Isaac to smile for a picture by tickling him. And Isaac played photographer and took Daddy's picture while Gracie slept in the stroller.
"CHEESE!"
The older I get, and the older my kiddos get, the more I appreciate and cherish family time. I love days like these!
I have great intentions of posting updates of our wonderful adventures in the evenings of the day they happen. However, I like to live in a somewhat clean house and I have this weird obsession about having a clean kitchen -- even if the rest of the house is less than desirable. So I'm a week late in posting about our last weekend adventure. But I suppose better late than never.
Last Saturday we took a day trip to the Abilene Zoo. Hubby called me from work the day before and suggested we go. We've been saying for some time that we can't wait to take the kids to the zoo, so we drove a couple of hours to Abilene. It's a teeny-tiny zoo (20 acres) but just about right for this particular day. Isaac, who was previously ecstatic about going to the zoo (and even energetically sang the "Daddy's Takin' Us to the Zoo Tomorrow" song all Friday evening) was oh-so-enthusiastic by the time we got there. Can't you just see it on his face? Gracie was a little cranky, but she's still in the "I can sleep in my car seat whenever I want" stage.
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| Gracie's bucket hat was a little odd fitting...didn't provide much protection from the sun. But she looked adorable! |
We got a late start, and by the time we made the two and a half hour trip along with lunch and a couple of Wal-Mart stops for zoo "necessities", it was mid-afternoon...and naptime. But nonetheless, Isaac perked up quite a bit when we entered the first "stop"...the snake pit. This cobra...I think it was a cobra...was considerably taken by Isaac. When we first saw him, he was slithering around the parameter of his big box and upon making his way around the home stretch to the front of the glass, my 2 1/2 year old eagerly runs up to the glass cheering, "Hi, snake...Hi!!!" while waving enthusiastically. Then this snake curls up around this huge rock, raises up, and stares at my son for about 5 minutes! Kinda freaky. But fun for Isaac, nonetheless. I think the snake gave him special attention because he was so friendly.
Still in the snake pit....
One of the great things about the Abilene Zoo is that you can feed the giraffes! Unfortunately, we found out they have a daily limit, so you have to be one of the first 250 people in the gate to get cracker tokens to feed them. So we'll definitely take that into consideration for our next trip. Even so, it's still pretty awesome to see the giraffes up close and personal from the bridge that stretches across their "habitat." I felt bad for my little guy, though, who was disappointed (and had a hard time understanding) that we couldn't feed the giraffes after Mom and Dad had raved about how neat it would be. At one point, he knelt down by the fence and stuck out his hand and said (in the cutest little sweetest voice I could imagine!), "Come here, giraffe. Come here, giraffe." Note to self: next trip -- be there at 9am! This boy needs to feed these giraffes!
 |
| Me and Gracie in front of the giraffes and the observation/feeding bridge. |
Mufasa...
By the time we got to the zebras and the rhinoceroses, Isaac was pretty much done. So we made our way back around to a resting bench in the shade by the lions. Mommy tried to get Isaac to smile for a picture by tickling him. And Isaac played photographer and took Daddy's picture while Gracie slept in the stroller.
"CHEESE!"
 |
| See the giraffe bridge in the background? That's how big (small) this zoo is. But it's great for the younger kids! |
The older I get, and the older my kiddos get, the more I appreciate and cherish family time. I love days like these!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
I Heart Weekends!
I love weekends! I love the family time. I love that Daddy is home with us all day on Saturday. We have had excellent weather the past several days and it was an absolutely beautiful weekend, so we spent a lot of time outside.
My favorite moment of the weekend was late Friday night on the way home. We had driven about an hour and 15 minutes away to watch some of our youth girls play in their Friday night softball game. And since we're an hour from Wal-Mart, we made a grocery stop before heading home. So needless to say, it was a late evening. Gracie conked out as soon as we left the parking lot, but Isaac made it a little further -- past the windmills that have the red blinking lights at night so the airplanes can see them. :)
I love the conversations we have with Isaac in the car -- what we see outside or random things that flow through his sharp little mind at any given point. But soon he grew really quiet and I knew he was getting sleepy, so I looked back at him and he said, "Mommy wanna hold my hand?"
Melt. My. Heart.
"I would LOVE to hold your hand!" So I reached back as far as I could to hold his hand until I was certain he was asleep...and so was my hand and lower arm at that point from resting on the armrest of his car seat. I love that he is so affectionate and cuddly toward his mommy. He still likes to rock and sing at night before bed, and it's such an honor to me that I can give him a little extra security or comfort to fall asleep just by being close. I know it won't last too much longer, but it sure does make a mommy feel special. But then again, both my kids have a knack for making this mommy feel special in a hundred different ways. Praise be to God alone for the blessing of my children!
Other fun moments from the weekend...
My favorite moment of the weekend was late Friday night on the way home. We had driven about an hour and 15 minutes away to watch some of our youth girls play in their Friday night softball game. And since we're an hour from Wal-Mart, we made a grocery stop before heading home. So needless to say, it was a late evening. Gracie conked out as soon as we left the parking lot, but Isaac made it a little further -- past the windmills that have the red blinking lights at night so the airplanes can see them. :)
I love the conversations we have with Isaac in the car -- what we see outside or random things that flow through his sharp little mind at any given point. But soon he grew really quiet and I knew he was getting sleepy, so I looked back at him and he said, "Mommy wanna hold my hand?"
Melt. My. Heart.
"I would LOVE to hold your hand!" So I reached back as far as I could to hold his hand until I was certain he was asleep...and so was my hand and lower arm at that point from resting on the armrest of his car seat. I love that he is so affectionate and cuddly toward his mommy. He still likes to rock and sing at night before bed, and it's such an honor to me that I can give him a little extra security or comfort to fall asleep just by being close. I know it won't last too much longer, but it sure does make a mommy feel special. But then again, both my kids have a knack for making this mommy feel special in a hundred different ways. Praise be to God alone for the blessing of my children!
Other fun moments from the weekend...
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| Isaac ate the biggest strawberry I have ever seen! |
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| My sweet Gracie, runny nose and all. |
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| Pushing Elmo in the stroller around the living room. |
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| Working on my $1 garage sale find. Ignore the cluttered garage. |
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| Transitioning to a sippy cup! What a big girl! |
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| Matt reading a book about animals and bugs to Isaac. |
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| Daddy and Isaac about to look for ants (like the ants they read about). |
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Take Me Out to the Ballgame!
Tonight we took our kids to the high school softball and baseball games. Isaac loves all things sports. Already. At 2 1/2 years old. And he seems to especially love baseball lately. Ever since baseball ended with the World Series last season, he's been waiting to watch baseball again. So we got half price burgers at Sonic and headed to the ball fields!
The weather was beautiful for a couple of hometown ball games! We've had a few days of dreary weather with high winds and I was ready for some sunshine. And our little guy was eager to get outside and play for as long as he could. Last night, I sat in the car with Gracie since it was too cold, while Matt played outside with Isaac at the local elementary school playground.
What a great daddy he is! He grabbed Isaac's bat and ball out of the car and taught him how to hold the bat. You can see the determination on his face! Tongue sticking out and everything!
Then tonight he had a chance to use his new skills at the ball field! Isaac wanted to play in the grassy field behind the bleachers, and before long he was playing in a game of baseball with a couple of elementary age boys from our church. With Daddy's help, Isaac hit three straight home runs!!! I was so proud of my little guy...and proud of those boys for adapting their game to allow a 2 1/2 year old to feel like one of the "big boys."
The weather was beautiful for a couple of hometown ball games! We've had a few days of dreary weather with high winds and I was ready for some sunshine. And our little guy was eager to get outside and play for as long as he could. Last night, I sat in the car with Gracie since it was too cold, while Matt played outside with Isaac at the local elementary school playground.
What a great daddy he is! He grabbed Isaac's bat and ball out of the car and taught him how to hold the bat. You can see the determination on his face! Tongue sticking out and everything!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Birthday
I turned 30 today. I never thought I would think twice about turning 30, but what is it about changing the first digit in your age that makes you evaluate your life? In many ways, life is no where near what I thought it would look like at this point. But in other ways, life is so much better than what I thought it would be. I have a wonderful husband and two absolutely adorable, amazing children...all of whom keep my life fun and interesting. And they are more of a blessing than I would ever think to ask of God.
I don't know that I have ever really set myself goals to accomplish by the time I turned 30. I think I pictured myself in better shape by this point. But the biggest desire of my heart has pretty much always been to be a full-time, stay-at-home mom. And God has graciously allowed that to me. I look at some moms who have 10 year olds by this age, and my oldest is two and a half. So I reckon I will still feel as young (and exhausted) as those 22 year olds who have the 2 year old children. I'm just not sure my 30 year old energy level can compete with what I had at twenty-two. :)
Nonetheless, it's been a good day. Not much different. I had some great memories from the 20s. But I'm quite certain the 30s will hold just as many surprises and keepsakes as the last decade. I still just hate the fact that I turned 30 before my husband. He doesn't let me forget. :)
I don't know that I have ever really set myself goals to accomplish by the time I turned 30. I think I pictured myself in better shape by this point. But the biggest desire of my heart has pretty much always been to be a full-time, stay-at-home mom. And God has graciously allowed that to me. I look at some moms who have 10 year olds by this age, and my oldest is two and a half. So I reckon I will still feel as young (and exhausted) as those 22 year olds who have the 2 year old children. I'm just not sure my 30 year old energy level can compete with what I had at twenty-two. :)
Nonetheless, it's been a good day. Not much different. I had some great memories from the 20s. But I'm quite certain the 30s will hold just as many surprises and keepsakes as the last decade. I still just hate the fact that I turned 30 before my husband. He doesn't let me forget. :)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Catch Up
Wow...it's been a while since I've updated the blog. We have had an extremely busy few months it seems. So I'll give you a quick catch up on what our lives have entailed since December.
Christmas was GREAT this year! It was such a special time, having both Isaac and Gracie. Because we are a family in full-time ministry, we weren't able to be with extended family on Christmas due to the fact it was on a Saturday and fell between the Christmas Even church service and Sunday morning worship service. So Christmas was spent in our own little home with just the Fab Four. At two and a half years old, Isaac really "got" the idea of opening Christmas presents this year. He tore into his presents with such anticipation and excitement..."Thank you, Mommy, thank you! Thank you, Daddy, thank you!" But what did he like the best? His stocking stuffers from Santa -- a matchbox NASA spaceship and a CARS color-changing Lightning McQueen and Sheriff!
Santa Claus came to our house this year and brought Isaac an easel. I think the cutest line of the day was "Thank you, Santa Claus!" from Isaac about 10 times sporadically throughout the day. Very polite!
Gracie seemed to like all the excitement as she was her usual happy self. It was Gracie's first Christmas so we filmed the whole thing, only to later discover that we didn't take ANY still photos of her opening presents. She really didn't open any...little brother was more than happy to help in that department. But still...if anyone knows how to capture still photos from a video, let me know.
It was so much fun having two kids this year. While we don't want to make it about the commercialism that so often encompasses the season, it was so much fun seeing the excitement and wonder in Isaac as he better understood everything this year. This was the first year of "excitement for Christmas morning" from Isaac. I remember being excited as a kid, now I'm the parent with the excited children. Luckily the excitement didn't require us to wake up at 5am, but I'm sure that will come in the next couple of years.
Here are some other pics of the day...
Gracie turned 6 months old February 18th. She is getting so big and is such a joy to our family! She smiles ALL the time and her laugh is contagious, just like her brother's. Right about the time she turned 6 months old, she discovered she has a voice and that she could use it...LOUDLY. She already has the little girl squeals that have a pitch of their own. And she's recently started "talking." Buh-buh-buh-buh-buh and mah-mah-mah-mah. I like to think she's saying "brother" and "mama." :)
She also started rolling over. She doesn't roll over often, but she knows how. She knows how to roll from her back to her tummy, but can't quite roll back the other way.
We also went through a period where Isaac was being really quiet and testy. And after much worry and prayer, we figured out that he was going through a period of jealousy. He's never gone through a period of jealousy and even then, he never displayed the slightest bit of anger toward Gracie. But he was quite the little temper tantrum toward Mommy and Daddy.
But then Aunt Amber came to visit and held Gracie any time she could, which allowed Mommy to give Isaac some individualized attention. (Cue angelic voices)! So after some time with Mommy just to himself, Isaac returned to his normal, sweet, compliant self, much to this mommy's relief!
Now this mommy needs some sleep! Gracie has dealt with both an ear infection and acid reflux over the past month that has caused her to wake up every 2-3 hours every night. Now we're trying to figure out if she is genuinely waking up due to discomfort or if she has gotten in a nice little habit of mommy coming in to her room to soothe her back to sleep. Oy!
Christmas was GREAT this year! It was such a special time, having both Isaac and Gracie. Because we are a family in full-time ministry, we weren't able to be with extended family on Christmas due to the fact it was on a Saturday and fell between the Christmas Even church service and Sunday morning worship service. So Christmas was spent in our own little home with just the Fab Four. At two and a half years old, Isaac really "got" the idea of opening Christmas presents this year. He tore into his presents with such anticipation and excitement..."Thank you, Mommy, thank you! Thank you, Daddy, thank you!" But what did he like the best? His stocking stuffers from Santa -- a matchbox NASA spaceship and a CARS color-changing Lightning McQueen and Sheriff!
Santa Claus came to our house this year and brought Isaac an easel. I think the cutest line of the day was "Thank you, Santa Claus!" from Isaac about 10 times sporadically throughout the day. Very polite!
Gracie seemed to like all the excitement as she was her usual happy self. It was Gracie's first Christmas so we filmed the whole thing, only to later discover that we didn't take ANY still photos of her opening presents. She really didn't open any...little brother was more than happy to help in that department. But still...if anyone knows how to capture still photos from a video, let me know.
It was so much fun having two kids this year. While we don't want to make it about the commercialism that so often encompasses the season, it was so much fun seeing the excitement and wonder in Isaac as he better understood everything this year. This was the first year of "excitement for Christmas morning" from Isaac. I remember being excited as a kid, now I'm the parent with the excited children. Luckily the excitement didn't require us to wake up at 5am, but I'm sure that will come in the next couple of years.
Here are some other pics of the day...
Gracie turned 6 months old February 18th. She is getting so big and is such a joy to our family! She smiles ALL the time and her laugh is contagious, just like her brother's. Right about the time she turned 6 months old, she discovered she has a voice and that she could use it...LOUDLY. She already has the little girl squeals that have a pitch of their own. And she's recently started "talking." Buh-buh-buh-buh-buh and mah-mah-mah-mah. I like to think she's saying "brother" and "mama." :)
She also started rolling over. She doesn't roll over often, but she knows how. She knows how to roll from her back to her tummy, but can't quite roll back the other way.
We also went through a period where Isaac was being really quiet and testy. And after much worry and prayer, we figured out that he was going through a period of jealousy. He's never gone through a period of jealousy and even then, he never displayed the slightest bit of anger toward Gracie. But he was quite the little temper tantrum toward Mommy and Daddy.
But then Aunt Amber came to visit and held Gracie any time she could, which allowed Mommy to give Isaac some individualized attention. (Cue angelic voices)! So after some time with Mommy just to himself, Isaac returned to his normal, sweet, compliant self, much to this mommy's relief!
Now this mommy needs some sleep! Gracie has dealt with both an ear infection and acid reflux over the past month that has caused her to wake up every 2-3 hours every night. Now we're trying to figure out if she is genuinely waking up due to discomfort or if she has gotten in a nice little habit of mommy coming in to her room to soothe her back to sleep. Oy!
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