One month!

Ok...so, I started writing early this morning, but am just now returning to add pictures after midnight. I'm not meeting many days that go "as planned" lately!

It is so hard to believe our little peanut is a month old today! We are experiencing all the typical joys and struggles of new parents (and unfortunately last night was particularly rough). It is amazing to see how she is growing and to watch all of her "firsts"!

Within the last few weeks we've witnessed/enjoyed/celebrated:

• All of the everyday little changes we see in her


• Grace's umbilical cord stump fall off (I know half of you are thinking "ewww" but this is the last bit of her attachment in the womb, so it is a milestone!)


• Her first bath

• Her first Halloween - she was dressed up as a glow worm as Duane handed out candy to all of our trick-or-treaters (This is Grace and our friend Boaz. Grace slept through Halloween for the most part, but she was awful cute while doing so!)

• Her new ability to grasp our fingers or small objects - normally my shirt or necklace as I feed her :)


• Her eyelashes, eyebrows, and hair beginning to grow


• Weight gain above and beyond her birth weight - making her pediatrician very happy!


• Great progress in nursing (still lots of room for improvement, but so much better than when she first came home!)

Every single day seems to hold new challenges and joys! Duane and I are both so thankful for all we have learned, been a part of, or accomplished in this last month. Grace is truly a blessing and gift from the Lord and we wouldn't want anything to change! God certainly does mold us, teach us, challenge us, and bless us through our children. It has been a wonderful experience to see Him do so in the lives of those around us, but to experience it for ourselves is something truly amazing!

If you think of us in the days ahead, we would greatly appreciate your prayers for rest, continued progress with nursing, health for all of us through the cold and flu season, continued regulation of daily scheduling, and that as we bond as a family, Duane and I will continue to take time to grow together as a couple.