Lauren Elizabeth

Gracie at 4 Months

It really is a lot harder to find the time to blog with your second kid. I am hopeful that I can at least post once a month so that my kids can go back and read about all their stages of life. Our sweet Gracie is just the most precious thing. There is something so soft and delicate about her. At almost 4 months she weighs 13 and a half pounds, which is about 43%. She was in the 90% for height and the 96% for head. She is a long girl. She has the most white, bright skin. Her eyes are a really pretty clear blue and her hair still has a touch of strawberry to it. It is fun to see how different her coloring is next to Violet. 

For having such a big head, she is pretty good at keeping it stable and holding it up. She still isn't a fan of tummy time and has a little bit of trouble keeping her head up for very long. She hasn't really tried to roll yet. Sometimes she will shift her weight over so she is on her side, but that's about as far as she will go. She is always trying to get her toes up and push her legs forward. I have a feeling she will crawl a lot earlier than Violet did. She loves to chew on her hands and will gag herself all time, trying to shove those fingers in there. She is a lot more drooly than Violet was and has a tendency to spit up much more than Vi did. She still doesn't spit up a lot, just more than her sister. When Grace gets mad she blows lots of spit bubbles, turns bright red and gets beads of sweat all over her head. 

This little one has become such a trooper this summer. She is almost always on the go for her morning nap. She will have to take it in the car or in her stroller at the park. Since her morning nap is shorter, she tends to take a 3-3.5 hour afternoon nap when Violet is sleeping. It has been really nice to sync up their schedules. Grace will then take a little power nap at some point in the evening. Grace will typically go to bed around 7:30-8:00 and then she wakes up at 4:00 to eat and 8:00 again. She has really been doing great in the sleeping department. We had to let her cry it out for a bit when we were dealing with jet lag. It was a rough week but it seemed to get her back on schedule. 

Gracie bug is full of smiles and the cutest little squeal laughs. Most of the time she sounds like a cat. She loves it when you pretend to eat her belly and armpits. Lots of times when she is sitting in her bouncer she will look at you and just start to coo talk. It is so cute. She looks right at you and you feel like you are having a little conversation about your day. She likes to look at books just like her big sister. I can open a book and just turn through the pages and she will just stare at them.

Grace has learned to like the tub and pool. She was not a huge fan of the tub at first. Now she could splash all day long.  We have taken her swimming a handful of times and she has always liked it. She gets very calm and relaxed in the water. 

She has so much patience. I know that is a weird thing to say about a 4 month old, but she puts up with so much from her big sister. Violet is constantly hugging, smashing and touching her. Grace will just take it and not even be phased. Vi is never mean to Grace but she is very hands on and physical with her. We have had a lot of moments teaching her to be gentle with her.

 She likes to see me when she is falling asleep for naps. Lots of times I will put her to bed in the kitchen and do dishes or work on things. If she can see you then she is content and will fall asleep. She is social, just like her sister and doesn't like to be left out. 

She is not that interested in a binkie, but will take it sometimes. She does not like to be hot. Both of my girls are sweat machines, due to their awesome gene pool. Grace isn't a fan of the sticky humidity here in Michigan. You get her by a fan or in air conditioning and she is one happy camper. 

We really love this little angle girl. She has brought a new sweetness to our family that I am very thankful for. She has been an ideal second child and we are grateful for her!