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...