April 19, 2010

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"

April 16, 2010

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

April 15, 2010

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

April 5, 2010


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


March 5, 2010

FiRsTs

Baby Grace has been experiencing alot of "firsts"these past few weeks.  She had her first immunizations, her first big snow (with a little snowman), her first grasps at an object, her first paranoid parents trip to the doctor and her first slam dunk (I have the pictures to prove it!).  
As we are watching her grow and mature each day it is amazing to think she's only been her 12 weeks.  As I said earlier, she has started to grab onto toys from her play gym and laughs when she makes them rattle.  She watches your every step and responds with smiles and giggles when you talk to her and laugh with her.  She even wakes up with a smile on her face every morning (is that normal?).  Talking about sleep, Gracie is sleeping up to 9 hours at night and taking about 4 naps at day without a peep.  It's amazing what sleep and prayer can do for a weary mind and soul.  We find so much more joy in her throughout the day when we've slept more than 4 hours!  As a matter of fact, she's napping now :)
Being first time parents I'm sure we are more paranoid than the average people so when we brought Gracie into the doctor because we thought she might have an ear infection or sore throat we just wanted to have some peace of mind.  After cornering ourselves in the "well" wing of the doctor's office (even though we thought she was sick) for an hour and seeing the doctor for 5 minutes we were told that our daughter is perfectly healthy and content.  Our doctor told us that it could of been colic or she just felt like being fussy for a few days and that we should move her into her own room.  She sleeps in our room in her own crib right now so we're thinking about moving her but she still seems to little but that may be because I'm not the ready one. But we are grateful to have a healthy baby girl whose eyes light up a room.
Strong girl

Content before her immunizations, could bear to take pictures of the after crying
swoosh

February 20, 2010

Painting at the Pottery. She was out until we tried to do her hands, she made fists and squished the black paint everywhere so we just did her feet.

Gracie is almost 10 weeks old (Tuesday) and we are so amazed at how much she's grown! She had her 2 month check-up earlier this week and she is 11 pounds 23 inches. She's in the 80th percentile for her height and 50th percentile for weight. Tall and slender... she doesn't get that from her parents that's for sure!  The doctor was impressed by how strong she is, she holds her head up without wobbling and can pull her head up slightly.   She is socially smiling now which is melting all of our hearts!  
We spent our first night away from daddy yesterday while he's away on a hunting trip.  Mommy's bot very good at swaddling so it was a long night. We're both ready for the professional swaddler to come home!

February 3, 2010

no more NB...


Grace is not a newborn anymore :( We moved up to size 1 diapers today after she had an accident all over daddy this morning) She's grown out of most of her NB clothes too! I wish he could stay my itty bitty baby forever! But on the brighter side, she can ft into the dress Pops got her when she was still in my belly.She has started to do pouty faces with her bottom lip stuck out and her eyes squished up which makes her look pretty pathetic but absolutely adorable; I think she's learning early how to manipulate her daddy!



We made a day trip up to Lubbock 2 days ago for momma's doctors appointment (all is well) and we got to have lunch with some good friends and their babies and baby bellies. We are really missing them!
It's been a rainy day here in Midland so we've just been hanging out and doing laundry (she spit up all over clean sheets so I had to strip them off and start over again...she thoyght it was hilarious). 
GrandDad is moving back this week and we are really excited for him to see how much Gracie has grown since Christmas!
  








"I didn't do it..."