Gracie's two month pictures

We had Gracie's two month pictures taken over a month ago and I've been meaning to post them..

Gracie wasn't too happy about being moved around at this point, but overall she did fantastic. Ryan and I are very pleased with how they turned out.

We can't believe how big she's getting!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Monday, September 15th was my 28 (ugh!) birthday.. Ryan was so sweet and invited some of my friends over to celebrate on the Saturday before my special day. He had a Fajita and Margarita party for me and it was so much fun!!

Tiffany and I
Rachel and I

My wonderful husband, Ryan and I

Matt and I

Gracie, Natalie and I (Jesse her husband arrived later when he was off work)

Payton and I

Me and Emily

Ryan also bought me a Coldstone Ice Cream cake. So yummy!! He thought he would be funny and have it say "Happy 22nd ? Birthday Melissa". I was telling everyone that I was turning 22, so he decided to include that on my cake..

Emily brought her daughter Allison and Natalie brought her daughter Jordan, which was so great for Payton to see her friends too! Here they are doing "Ring Around the Rosey".

It was so cute, the three of them were doing somersaults all at he same time and would occasionally bump into each other with their bottoms! Silly girls!

On my actual birthday, Ryan and Payton made me Belgium waffles with whipped cream and strawberries for breakfast. My waffle maker is Mikey Mouse, so I couldn't resist taking a picture of the waffle on Payton's Mikey Mouse plate.

My birthday was so fantastic and it was wonderful to hang out with my friends. Thank you Ryan for being the best Husband EVER!!!

Making Music

Yesterday Payton had her first Mini Music Maker class. It's every Thursday morning for 45 minutes for the next 10 weeks. Out of the ten kids, we are one of six who know each other. The class is so much fun and Payton really enjoyed herself!

The kids danced to the music while playing with scarves. They would dance until the song told them to freeze.

They also played with instruments and Payton really liked the bell. She kept pretty good beat!

Gracie was really good during the class. I'm sure she enjoyed the music as well.

Payton was pretty shy and didn't really talk. I would catch her smiling quite a bit.

Here's Payton, Jordan, and Allison holding hands one their way out to the car. It was so cute. We're both looking forward to next Thursday!!

Headed to the lake

Tomorrow morning the girls and I are headed back to the lake to stay with my parents for 6 days! We're packing up the car tonight and leaving first thing in the morning to make the drive over. Unfortunately Ryan won't be going with us, next summer for sure though.

This is what we get to wake up to every morning. I'm looking forward to having my morning coffee and conversation with my step-mom! However, I'm not looking forward to sharing the bed and getting kicked throughout the night by my little "monkey" Payton!! ;)


Here's what we'll be enjoying during the day..

.. and what we'll be climbing to get back to the house from the boat! Thank goodness it will get me more in shape with ALL of those stairs!

I'll try and keep updating our blog while we're away.

We'll be back next Tuesday.. so long for now!

Laryngomalacia

Last Wednesday Gracie had her two month check up and we're happy to report that she has gained two pounds and grown an inch. She is now 11.02 pounds and 23 inches long. Our little girl is healthy and happy, even after having two shots and an oral vaccine.

While we were at the appointment, we mentioned to Dr. Haugen that Gracie is a loud breather, chokes quite often when she's eating and tends to gasp for air. Ryan and I have mentioned it before to both pediatricians while we were still in the hospital and also to Dr. Haugen at Gracie's previous appointments, but everyone had said not to worry and she sounds fine. But that still didn't sit well with Ryan and I. So, we mentioned it again, and Dr. Haugen listened to Gracie breathe one more time, and said that it sounded like she has "Stridor" which is floppy cartilage in Gracie's throat which causes the noises when she breathes. To make sure, Dr. Haugen referred us to Children's Hospital to meet with a specialist.

Thursday afternoon Children's called and said that they wanted to see Gracie ASAP and for us to come in on Friday morning. Ryan thankfully was able to get the day off, even at such short notice. First, Children's Hospital is FANTASTIC!! We had been there before for Payton when she was 4 months old. Children's Hospital is full of super friendly doctors and nurses and definitely make you feel comfortable, not scared.

In order for the doctor to see what was causing Gracie to have noisy breathing, they had to put a scope up her nose and down into her throat. Gracie sat on my lap while the doctor inserted the small camera. She did really well considering how uncomfortable that must have been! She cried towards the end, but thankfully it only took 15 seconds.

Well.. Dr. Haugen was right, Gracie has Stridor, also known as Laryngomalacia. When Gracie breathes in, there is floppy larngeal tissue that blocks her opening of her airway. The collapse of the tissue into her airway causes non-smooth air flow which then makes her have a low-pitched fluttering noise. Thankfully it's something that she should grow out of, but if it's still happening later down the road (18-24mo), they can do a simple surgical procedure to remove the excess cartilage.

With the Laryngomalacia Gracie sucks harder to feed, which causes her to swallow more air, produces more gas which makes her vomit and be more spitty. This also is often associated with acid reflux. So, we need to keep Gracie laying at a 45 degree angle when sleeping and keep her propped up after feeding. All of this now makes sense on why she loves to be sitting up rather than laying and why she gets so fussy towards the end of the day with all of that gas! The dr said that's probably why she loves to sleep in her swing or carseat since she's propped and not acid-y.

click on the picture to enlarge

Here's a diagram on what's happening inside of Gracie. Poor girl! She's still a happy little girl and we're glad we know that her breathing will become easier as she grows!

Sunday morning french toast

This morning Ryan and Payton got up and went grocery shopping, so I could sleep in a little later than normal. It was so sweet! When the two of them got home they both made yummy french toast!

Payton loves to help in the kitchen any chance she gets. If I don't ask her to help before hand, she'll pull her chair over to the counter when she realizes that I'm cooking dinner or making something in the kitchen.

Daddy and Payton

Payton kept trying to add more things into the french toast liquid. Thankfully the cinnamon cap was secure.

I can't tell Payton in advance that I'm going to take a picture or she won't look, so this is what I get when I call her name.
Gracie smiling
After breakfast we were able to sit and relax and have a lazy Sunday morning. Ryan kept getting Gracie to smile. I couldn't help but take the opportunity to take some pictures of our precious girl.

It's been a pretty lazy day today. Payton and Gracie are both asleep and the house is pretty quiet, except for a little noise from ESPN. It's been a perfect day for our dreary weather. :)

Saturday night playdate

After a busy day Saturday, that night a couple of my close girlfriends came over to hang out and watch chick flicks. Ryan's group, Quiet Monkey Fight, was celebrateing their 50th show, so he wasn't home. Thankfully it gave me a great reason to have some girl time! Tiffany, Nika, and Nika's daughter Kiley (10 days younger than Gracie) came over..

Tiff and Gracie

Tiffany brought a bunch of chick flicks to watch, but unfortunately we didn't get to watch any of them. At one point we had put a dvd in the player, but never actually turned it on. We all kept chatting away and catching up.
Kiley and Nika
Unfortunately this was the first time that Nika and I had seen each other since we (the Zdeneks) had visited her in the hospital. It was long overdue and was great to be able to catch up. It's crazy on how busy life gets when you add a little person to your family! I can't believe the summer is almost over and soon we'll both be going back to work.. yuck!

Kiley (will be 9 weeks tomorrow) and Gracie (10 weeks)
This picture was taken at midnight and Kiley was still wanting to partack in the evening fun. Gracie, not much of a nightowl anymore, had passed out around 10ish. **She didn't wake me up until 6 a.m. this morning!! Yay!!**
The two girls are so cute together and I can't wait to see what they're like as they grow up. When Ryan got home he was able to see what it would be like if we were blessed with twin babies! We concluded that we are just fine with singletons.
It was so much fun having the two babies together. When one would hear the other fuss/cry, they would decide to fuss as well.
Payton thought it was pretty cool having two little babies, but didn't stay up too long to hang out. She went to bed at her normal bedtime and left us girls to continue our chatting.
Wednesday both girls, coincidentally, have their two month check ups. It will be interesting to see how much bigger Gracie has gotten and hear how much Kiley has grown too! Nika and I will have to call each other and share the kids stats. At both girl's one month check up, the two of them were the same height and weight. Too funny, considering they were the same weight and length when they were born too.

Ten weeks today

Today Gracie is ten weeks old! I can't believe that ten weeks ago she entered our lives! Ryan, Payton and I are so in love with her and enjoying every minute of it! Gracie's a great little baby. She's been sleeping longer in the night (going to bed around 10pm) and only gets me up once to eat, usually between 4-5 am. She's a fairly content little girl, but does have her evening fussy times. We're working on routines with her, but don't have too high of hopes considering her age. :)

The girls and I have started working out again, daily and Gracie has adjusted to her morning stroller ride nicely. She sleeps through most, if not all, of class and doesn't wake up until we are home.

Gracie mid-July
Early August

Mid August

Gracie and Payton playing on the floor

Gracie ten weeks today!

Showing her cute little smile

Gracie's eyes look like they are going to be a pretty blue color and her hair is still red. She's been loosing a little on the top, but it's still fairly thick in the back. She has her two month well baby check up next Wednesday, so we'll see how much she's grown since last month.

Ryan and I can't believe how fast this summer has gone and some days we wish we could freeze time. We look forward to the months to come and experiencing all of those fun milestones with Gracie. Happy 10 weeks Baby Girl!!

Coffee on the boat

I have to say, living the retired life sure is fun! Payton, Gracie and I have been here in Loon Lake since last Wednesday. We aren't leaving until tomorrow to go home and if it weren't for Ryan not being here, I don't think I would ever want to leave. It's been so hard us being away from Ryan for as long as we have.

Payton and Grandma driving the boat
This morning we decided to take our coffee while cruising the lake. The girls and I didn't change out of our pj's, we got up and went. What a life!

Dad, Me and Gracie

The girls and I are having so much fun! It's been nice being able to relax and spend time with my parents. I feel like I'm a kid with how much they spoil me and the girls. I've even been able to take a nap and play on the computer during the day! We all really wish Ryan was able to come with us though. We miss him so much and are looking forward to seeing him tomorrow evening when we get home!!!

I'm not sure what Dad and I are looking at, but Gracie doesn't care. :)

My little coconut. She sleeps the majority of the time when she's on the boat. It's rare when we can get a picture with her eyes open.

Outside in the sun

Monday morning we all sat outside and drank our coffee. It was beautiful out, so I wanted to take advantage of the sun.

Payton cleaning the counter

Payton stayed inside to help make pancakes with Grandpa and Grandma.

Grandpa and Payton making pancakes. My dad made her Mickey Mouse pancakes like he used to make me when I was little.

It was so nice sitting outside eating breakfast

Later that day Payton had Grandma paint her nails. Of course Payton picked out a bright blue color. She's learning her colors and blue and green are her favorite ones to say!