What We Did Yesterday

Grace and Her Papa

playtime

going for a walk (aka naptime for baby)

naptime (for Vic)

Four Months

Last week Grace celebrated her four month birthday, and got two shots at the doctor to celebrate. She weighs just over 13 pounds and is 26 1/2 inches long, which puts her in the 99th percentile for length. At this rate she'll outgrow her mama by the time she's ten.

Our Peanut is doing great, and is such a joy to us. She occasionally works herself up to a serious cry at naptimes, but overall is a happy kid. Her latest trick is sucking on four fingers at once (her hands get so slimy that we've taken to calling her "swamp thing"), she drinks milk like a champ, and she's recently discovered her knees.

Here's to our little four-month-old!

Melinda

On the (Sixth &) Seventh Day, We Rested

It's been crazy around here lately, and we've been in desperate need of some rest, both physical and mental. This past weekend, we made full use of both days for playing, cooking, napping, and catching up. It was a gift.

Grace also made full use of both days. She did the usual (sleeping, eating, playing, cooing) and also threw in some huddling under a blanket after a shower,



and some wide-eyed stroller riding.


We look forward to a short week, a nice long weekend complete with a designated day for giving thanks, and entering the busyness of next week fully rested. We wish you all the same.

Melinda (& Vic)

A Recipe for Autumn

As I stand in the kitchen, drinking my umpteenth beverage today (I'm getting over a cold), and occasionally checking on the Peanut via video monitor, I peruse cookbooks and food blogs to find recipes for those foods that are quintessentially fall. Soup and stew are my favorites. In fact, Vic and I have even reserved www.bisquette.com should I ever want to make bisques, chowders, stews, and other soups for a living. (But don't look now... we haven't actually put up a website there.)

Beef stew was dinner the last two nights. It's cliche but true that it just gets better with each reheating. The night before that we tried a new recipe -- a chicken and corn soup from one of the food blogs I read regularly for gluten-free inspiration. I did a little tailoring of the recipe (I don't like cilantro, and agave isn't something I have around the house), but you can find the original here. In a word, delicious. Or, to quote Jack Black in Nacho Libre, "I make the soup... It's fantastic!" This is an autumn recipe I will definitely be making again. Probably next week.

What is your favorite fall food?

Melinda

The Many Faces of Grace

So this blog is supposed to be about the Lipsey family. Lately, it's been all about one particular (and very popular) member of the Lipsey family. Okay. We understand. She's pretty popular with us too. And we promise to post an update about something non-baby-related very soon, maybe about our new house (if the offer is accepted) or about Vic's new office. Maybe even a picture of some of the delicious meals that get cooked around here from time to time.

Until then, these photos will have to do... Oh, and if it seems like some of them are a little blurry, that's only because Grace is in constant motion. This is a little girl who will probably skip crawling, skip walking, and go straight to running.

Grace was a ladybug for Halloween

A Day in the Life

Grace is now three months old, and her days are busy ones:

being fed by papa

sleeping in her hammock

being held by her grandmother
(who came for a two week visit and was such a huge help!)

hanging out in her bumbo chair

dancing with mama

Our days are busy too, not only with caring for the Peanut, but also with two big moves. Vic's current office is bursting at the seams and, while we're so thankful for the growth in the business, we needed to find an office that would allow everyone to have more than a foot of personal space. So sometime around December 1, they'll all be packing up their computers and heading for the new office near Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood. The location is more centrally located, convenient to I-5 and 405, and 2 1/2 times the size of the current office. There are also lots of windows and two outdoor decks, so everyone will get to see the light of day, even in the winter.

Our other move is our home. We've been renting our current home since we were married in the summer of 2006. The home has been a wonderful gift -- more than we needed really -- and we've liked living here. But with an upcoming change of landlords and the move of Vic's office, not to mention the favorable market for home buyers, it just makes sense to find a new place. We've been out looking several times, and hope to hear back soon about the offer we put in on a home near the mall.

With all this, we are even more thankful that Grace is sleeping 8-9 hours per night...

Melinda

Diaper Distraction

A little video of Grace dancing and cooing to a lullaby, being distracted after the trauma of a diaper change. (There's sound involved, so adjust your speakers accordingly.)

Ten Weeks

The Peanut is now ten weeks old, and couldn't be doing better. We're so thankful! At her two-month checkup, she was pronounced healthy and happy, developing well. She's still on the low end of the percentile charts for weight, but continues to gain steadily, so apparently she's just decided to keep a petite figure. On the other hand, she's at the 97th percentile for height and, after seeing the Olympic athletes this summer, we're guessing she's aiming to be a high jumper (wow, those girls are tall).

Grace eats well (although messily), coos, smiles, burps, cries, and does a myriad of other things for which babies are praised and for which the rest of us have to say "Excuse me." She watches TV (The Price is Right is a favorite). She also sleeps -- consistently 6-7 hours per night and, for the first time, 10 hours last night. Wow. More of those, please. And she and her feet look beautiful in pictures...

Melinda

Living in the Country

Grace is not the only baby in our house.

I don't really consider Kenmore to be "the country" but we certainly have our share of wild animals coming through the backyard. You've seen pictures of the deer who visited a few months ago. There are mole holes dotting the landscape. A blue heron perches nearby occasionally. Once in a while a floppy dog drops by (okay, not exactly a wild animal).

We've known for a while that a raccoon was living somewhere near our house. Then, right around the time Grace was born, we discovered that it wasn't living near our house. It's living under our house. And it's not alone. There are two baby raccoons as well. And these guys don't seem to have learned yet that they're supposed to be nocturnal -- we see them during the day pretty frequently.



Thankfully, these babies don't need diaper changes or middle-of-the-night feedings.

Melinda

Our Own Little Gnome

We have a lot of nicknames for Grace these days: Peanut, Wingnut, Widget, Wiglet, Pooper, Thunderpants, Little G, and Baby Bird. We had never considered calling her a gnome. On our trip to Wyoming last week, however, we took pictures of her in a number of scenic spots, leading to a comparison with the Travelocity Gnome (seen here).

It was a six day trip (two days each way, two days/three nights there) for a mini family reunion with the Lipseys. Grace got to meet her Grandmom Lipsey for the first time, as well as a number of great-aunts and uncles and cousins. The peanut slept well in the car, and we stopped for an hour every three for food, diaper changes, and stretching our legs. Our pace was definitely slower than it would previously have been, but that's not a bad thing.

The drive through Yellowstone and our stay in the Tetons were absolutely beautiful. This is the area where we spent most of our honeymoon, and to return with Grace was a lot of fun.

So here are some photos -- enjoy!

Melinda

A Month Already?

Our little peanut is now one month old, and growing like crazy. Her earlier problems with slow weight gain are a thing of the past, and she's in the 95th percentile for length/height. She holds her head up for 20-30 seconds at a time, still has huge feet for her size, and has slept for 5-6 hours during the night on three occasions in the last week or so. Of course, she also cries regularly, fills diapers constantly, keeps us up most nights, and grunts quite unfemininely. But the pediatrician gave her a thumbs up at her one-month checkup yesterday, and we're so glad.

A few photos of our beautiful girl...

How Grace is Doing

Our little peanut is two weeks old, and she's doing great!

To recap the last two weeks, the doctors were concerned at our first appointment because Grace had dropped more than 12 ounces since birth. All babies lose weight after they're born, but this was a bit more than they'd have liked. They told us to wake her every two hours to feed her, then the following day the instructions were to continue with that plus supplement with formula. Waking a sleeping, satisfied baby to try to get her to eat is ridiculously difficult, and after about two days of that we'd had enough. We needed to do what would work for us and for Grace. So we let her sleep, but filled her little tummy to the brim whenever she would eat. At the next appointment, she had gained four ounces -- enough to let us avoid a fourth doctor visit until a week later.

In the meantime, we set an appointment with a lactation consultant at the hospital so we could check to make sure Grace is eating well. While we were there, the consultant noticed some redness and swelling on Grace's chest, and was concerned enough to send us to our pediatrician that afternoon. The pediatrician was concerned enough to call back to the hospital for a consult with another doctor. That doctor (who, incidentally, had spent the day reading about the exact symptoms Grace had) was concerned enough to recommend that we come back to the hospital and have Grace admitted for two days so they could give her antibiotics via an IV. Apparently newborn babies don't have the immune system developed yet and they don't have the barriers between body systems that older children and adults have. So, for example, if they get an infection in their blood, it could spread easily and quickly to their lymph system, nervous system, brain, organs, etc. Given this explanation, we completely agreed with the doctor's recommendation. After a quick trip home for a few essentials, we went immediately to the hospital. Grace did so well, surviving the IV in her hand and several blood draws via a poke in her foot. And, after two days, the redness had completely gone and the swelling was significantly reduced. The hospital released her, and she's now on an oral antibiotic for several more days to finish off the infection.

We don't recommend five doctor visits and a two-day hospital stay within the first ten days of a baby's life, but if it should happen to you, we do recommend Providence Everett Medical Center and the Everett Clinic. The doctors and nurses there were great during Melinda's pregnancy, Grace's delivery, and the stay last week.

So what now? Well, we're home, trying to get some sleep between feedings and diaper changes. Vic is back to work and Melinda is establishing a pattern for her days with Grace. Thanks to all who sent their congrats, brought food, prayed, helped, and encouraged. We like our little girl a lot and can't wait to introduce her to you!

Announcement

Tomorrow, Tomorrow

So, Grace, tomorrow is your big day. Your papa and I will call the hospital first thing in the morning and they will (hopefully) tell us to come right in and start the induction process. They use an IV drip and something like a cricket bat, we think. Anyway, we don't know how long it will take, but we can't wait to meet you in person. In the meantime, we've got our waiting-for-baby kit, complete with distractions (movies, books, cards, computer), snacks (fruit, meat, cheese, cookies, pasta with browned butter and sauteed sweet peppers -- the usual), and comfy clothes and shoes for pacing the halls.

We know you like your current home, and you're afraid you won't get ice cream again anytime soon, but come on! It's sunny in Seattle -- trust us, that's awesome. So you have to come out before the rain comes back. Or you can talk.

Your bed is ready, fun blankets and cuddly socks await, and there's a giant stack of diapers with your name on it. And there are a lot of people counting on you. So step up, take the stage, and let the birthday party begin!

Love,
Mama & Papa

No Baby

Just an update to let everyone know -- no baby yet!

We've Got a Backstop

We were going to call it a "drop dead date" but, while that term works well for work-related due dates, it just seems inappropriate when discussing the birth of a new baby. So instead we're calling it a backstop. We'll go to that date but no further. The doctor says if Grace isn't born before next Saturday, August 2, we'll give her a little nudge (or a large shove) that day.

In order to allow their doctors to have a life outside of work, the hospital maintains a rotating schedule. There's no guarantee that the doctor you've been seeing all along will be the one to deliver your baby. But we've really enjoyed our doctor, and he'll actually be on call at the hospital August 2, so we're happy about that possibility. Of course, if Grace is born in the week between now and then, we'll be happy about that too!

In the meantime, would you be praying for some relief for Melinda's restless legs/arms syndrome? Around here, we refer to it affectionately as "crazy legs" but it's not quite so affectionately referred to when, despite being exhausted, Melinda can't sleep because her legs want to get up and go running. If you happen to be driving around Kenmore at midnight and see us out for a walk, don't be surprised. (And please don't honk hello -- you'll scare us to death and wake up the neighbors.)

Crazy legs aside, things are going well and we're enjoying the beautiful sunny weather we've been having in the Seattle area. We just look forward to bringing Grace out into it...

(Don't forget to comment on Grace's middle name in the "We're Taking a Poll" post below.)

Waiting for Grace

Just a quick update to say that our little peanut has apparently decided she isn't quite ready to face the world yet. She's not officially due till next Sunday (July 26) but the doctor says it could pretty much be anytime now. In the meantime, you can help us -- see the post below and submit a comment to help us decide on her middle name.

Melinda

We're Taking a Poll

As mentioned in our last post, we're still working on a middle name for our little peanut. We have three options in mind, and are open to new ideas too. What we're hoping for is some feedback from all of you. What thoughts or feelings do these three names evoke?

(And no fair giving the thumbs-down on a name just because it reminds you of an old girlfriend who dumped you or the lunch lady who wouldn't give you extra helpings.)

One more thing... we ask that if you're going to leave a comment on one name, you comment on all three. Otherwise, it's not really an accurate comparison. Thanks! And again, feel free to suggest a name you think should be up for consideration.

Without further ado, here are the names:
* Grace Elizabeth Lipsey
* Grace Amazing Lipsey
* Grace Victoria Lipsey

The Latest on Our Peanut

Well, we're down to the "see the doctor once a week" stage in the baby countdown. Our little peanut, who will undoubtedly be called Peanut from time to time but whose actual name will be Grace, is doing fine. She's standing on her head like a good little girl, ready to make her appearance and greet the world. The doctor says things are progressing well and he guesses it'll be another week or two, although he also mentioned that we're in the phase where she could come anytime if she wanted to. So it looks like she'll be just about on time. Of course, there are no guarantees and we know that first babies are often late. We're just taking it one day at a time.

We had a final ultrasound about a week and a half ago, during which we saw blurry shapes moving across the screen but where the doctor was able to determine that Grace is currently about 6.5 pounds and has chubby cheeks.

Overall I'm feeling pretty good. I tire quickly, and have to alternate busy, active times with times of rest, but am sleeping well which helps. I'm continuing to swim and walk on a regular basis, and feel really good when I do.

We're close to having Grace's room (the walk-in closet) all set up, although there are a few things yet to be done. We've got the car seat, so we're legal to bring her home from the hospital, the baby diaper service will deliver our initial batch next week, and the only major item we haven't purchased yet is the stroller. We think we'd like this one, the Bumbleride Indie.
It's supposed to be highly maneuverable, relatively light, easily foldable, and usable as a regular or jogging stroller, not to mention the height-adjustable handle (important since Vic is 6'2") and the fully reclining seat (important for use with a newborn). And it's pretty.

Oh, and we haven't decided on a middle name for Grace yet. Probably something we should get around to sooner rather than later...

Melinda

Victoria

Several weeks ago (and yes, I'm just now getting around to blogging about it), Vic surprised me with a weekend trip to Victoria, BC, for my birthday. Although I've lived in the Seattle area most of my life, I'd never gone the few hours north to see Victoria, so this was an especially fun and thoughtful gift.

We took the Victoria Clipper from downtown Seattle, which was a great way to take the trip -- smooth, quick, and easy. Our hotel in Victoria was beautiful and had a fantastic view across the harbor to the main part of the city. The lights of the city sparkled on the water at night, the mini ferry boats crisscrossed it all day, and the birds bobbed along the shoreline. Taking a bus to Butchart Gardens was simple, and we spent a couple of hours wandering through the grounds, oohing and ahhing over the amazing colors, textures, and beauty of the flowers. We enjoyed a yummy dinner in Chinatown, semi-crashing a 93-year-old Chinese woman's funeral dinner in the process (thankfully none of the guests even seemed to notice that the restaurant had seated two white diners in the corner of the room). We stumbled onto a pizza place that serves gluten-free pizza, and there we heard about the national Canadian gluten-free convention in town for the weekend (which we visited the next day to sample various products -- yum). We discovered delicious coffee (for Vic) and dark hot chocolate (for me). There was people-watching, Italian gelato, a dip in the hotel pool, and a nap on the lawn overlooking the water. And there was a beautiful birthday rose delivered to our room.

What a lovely weekend.

Melinda

At Butchart Gardens

Victoria Harbour Ferry

eating pizza

delicious Chinese food (aka crashing the funeral dinner)

Victoria at night