Decline of a day

before

Today has gone by so quickly; I thought it was maybe noon, no it's 5:30p.m.  It started out amazing, GRACE SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT! That's in all caps because we haven't had a full night of sleep in almost 2 months.  After she had gotten sick we were back to waking up 5-6 times a night to give her the paci or re-swaddle her. Then it got down to 3-4 times a night, then about 2 times a night and finally last night I went to bed at 1030pm and got out of bed at 7am.  Of course I woke up about 4 because I was just used to it but when I woke up and listened for a few minutes and didn't hear a whine or fuss or giggle or her sucking her fingers to death. Anyways, Gracie woke up around 7 and ate, we played, read a book called 7 Silly Eaters (good book by the way), watched Handy Manny (her favorite, I just think of Fez from that 70's Show when I her Manny talk, is that just me?) and then she refused to take a nap.  Okay, that's fine you can have a longer nap this afternoon.  Jonathan forgot I had Zumba and had made plans to work out with someone so I skipped class, Gracie ate again, finished her cereal (she's doing great at spoon feedings now!), packed up baby and dog to bring Lucy (the dog) to the groomer.  Dropped off dog, go to the pediatricians office to get the rest of Gracie's shots.  Shots done, baby crying, ripped off by the front desk because they made me pay for another visit even though it was their fault I had to come back, get a call from the groomer, Lucy has gone crazy and the lady refuses to groom her.  Crying baby, uncleaned dog.  Nap time! No, only about 30 minutes.  Jonathan is grooming Lucy himself at this point in the backyard with a clipper that only lasts about 15 mins before it dies out.  Recharge, continue clipping. Bath the dog with the water hose.  Playing with Gracie, (tickling is one of her favorite games right now and she LOVES the Rocky theme.  Odd I know but Jonathan sang it to her a few days and she laughed hysterically and she's been doing it ever since.)  Feed the baby, vacuum, mop, clean counters, fold laundry, start new load, unload dishwasher, load dishwasher, clean pacifiers, shower (finally, my first one of the day).  Screaming fit from Gracie at this point because she's delusional from exhaustion.  Rock her to sleep, and she takes a nap!!! And she is still sleeping at this point, amazing.
But at the end of the day when you reflect on what the day has brought (craziness) it's still pretty good because I have an amazing husband who has yet to blow his lid and a beautiful daughter whose laugh I have fallen in love with.  I have a clean house, a groomed dog, a sleeping princess in the next room, a husband grilling chicken outside and a God who has given me all of this.  There someone starting to stir in the other room so I'll make this quick.  I'm working on trying to relax and go with the flow, enjoy where I am in life rather then looking to the next thing and humbling myself to know I can't do everything on my own.  Wish me luck.

enjoying the nice weather yesterday

tutu time

after

SAVE!

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Roll Over and show your ruffles

She rolled over today!! (back to belly)  She has had the rolling from side to side down pretty well for a few days but this morning after breakfast while she was playing on her side she finally got all the way over! I jumped off the couch, clapping and praising her like a crazy person and she smiled like "no big deal mom." After a few minutes on her belly she's over it though and rolls back over to her back.  She's rolled over about 3 times so far this morning and it's only 7:30! 

So I thought I might try and be crafty and make some bum covers for Gracie. This is the first attempt.  I used a pair of covers from one of her newborn dresses, (I guess she doesn't have that big of a bootie yet if it's still fitting in newborn), some ribbon and thread.  I initialed MG on the front but it is kind of hard to see.

"madison grace"

There's poop EVERYWHERE!

Seriously, there is literally poop everywhere. On the couch, on the blanket, on the floor, all over my pants, all up Gracie's back, soaking through her shirt...everywhere!  She let out a silent killer explosion when I was feeding her this afternoon and I discovered it about 20 minutes later when the smell wafted up to my nose.  She had fallen asleep when she was eating and I was doing some online shopping and let her sleep for about 10 mins after she had finished eating; only to find that our own Icelandic volcano had erupted.  An hour later we were both cleaned up, the couch scrubbed, the floor bleached and the washing machine loaded and running with about a gallon of stain treater in it.  I also realized how slippery a naked, wiggly baby is in the shower.

In other news, Gracie had her 4 month well check today and got some of her shots.  I say some of her shots because 2 out of 3 of them are on back order so I have to call back next week to see if they have gotten in the other 2.  I don't think it's fair to stretch out these shots for a month but I don't want to make our doctor angry because we see him about once a month due to paranoid parent syndrome.  She took the shot she did get like a champ I must say; about 15 seconds of crying and then she fell back asleep.  She may have just been mad because the nurse kept referring to her as "him."  "Is he ready? Does he have any allergies?  Lay him down right here. Here we go buddy."  Now to give the nurse some credit, Gracie was naked and doesn't have much hair BUT she did have a pink pacifier in her mouth and her name is Madison...  I think I may be a little worked up still from all the poop.

She had pink blinged-out shoes...she's a girl!

Gracie started rice cereal mixed with breastmilk last week Thursday and she seems like she doesn't mind it.  I would say she loves it but she hasn't told me yet.  She's still breast feeding but she also eats one meal supplemented with rice cereal mush everyday.  We're still working on swallowing and eating off a spoon  but she's getting better each day, which is both exciting and a little sad because it means she's growing up.  Our doctor said we could start with other foods now like green vegetables but we decided to wait another month or so to start that.  I was thinking of making my own baby food and when I asked the doctor about that he looked at me like I was crazy and told me to buy Gerber Organic.  So as I was walking out of the room I became determined to make my own baby food and it may be a pain but I would like to prove a point to the medical community.  During her physical exam she was wide awake and he commented that she showed signs of being a "highly intelligent baby." I'm not quite sure how he figures that but I absolutely believe him, I might be a little bias though.  She is so wide eyed and aware of her surroundings (she yanked his stethoscope off his neck and giggled) and these are characteristics of future intelligent children he said.  I kind of forgave the ridicule he dealt out with the baby food with that comment but I still hold a grudge. (And yes I am trying to work on that characteristic because I know it is not a trait of a godly woman)

I have a large container full of bleach water and human teeth in my kitchen.  That is not a statement I thought I would ever write.  Jonathan has to collect teeth for use in school this semester so he's been going around to different dentist here in Midland to drop off containers to collect teeth and he's gotten about 50 so far.  Some still have gum tissue attached and others are rotted out; I didn't think I was going to be as grossed out as I was but I guess I have to get used to it, huh.

We've been looking for homes in New Orleans and haven't found what we need yet so if you own a duplex in Lakeview and want to sell it let us now. Not that I expect anyone to just have a home in New Orleans laying around.  We're wanting to buy a duplex and live next to my brother and sister-in law (he's in his first year of dental school there at LSU also).  Everything is either super expensive or super gutted.  We've found one that is down to the studs and it's taken about 3 months to find the owner.  After we found the lady who owned it, she decided not to return any of our calls until last week.  She put it back on the market but no news yet.  We would still have to remodel because well I would like to have walls and bathtubs and floors and a kitchen.  We would appreciate any prayers you would throw our way in this situation because we know he has a plan and he works all thing together for our good.
OH, Gracie rolled over yesterday from her back to her belly! She looked at me like I was crazy when I jumped up and started clapping and laughing but I was pretty excited.  She's been squirming for some time now and she's gone from her belly to her back but this was new so I guess she is a "highly intelligent baby!"

2 minutes later

We surround her with pillows now

Will update tomorrow. Going to the doctor for 4 month well check.

Happy Belated Easter everyone! Our family feels so blessed at this stage in our lives; Jonathan starts dental school in a few months, Gracie is growing bigger and stronger each passing day and I'm just enjoying being a wife and a mother.  

Gracie and I have been fighting a cold for a few days and can't shake the terrible cough that comes with it.  Gracie is taking some decongestant drops which seem to be helping a bit but I can't really take anything because I'm breast-feeding :(  

I haven't posted in awhile so let me get ya'll up to date: The entire Coulon family went to New Orleans over spring break to visit family and yes we DROVE!  It was a super long drive but it was worth it, most everyone had the opportunity to see Grace for the first time.  We stayed with Ryan and Rochelle in New Orleans and ate plenty of good food, went downtown to Jackson Square, looked at possible future homes and visited Mike the Tiger at the LSU campus in Baton Rouge.  

      

This was Gracie's first Easter.  The weather was beautiful so we had Easter lunch outside and enjoyed the sun and breeze.  The Lord has certainly laid his hand upon us this year and we are so thankful for the opportunities he has bestowed upon us.  Praise be to you Lord Jesus