Baby girl's 1st Valentines & Happy 5 months!

Happy Valentines Day everyone! While this is usually one of my favorite days of the year, it is more of a bittersweet morning in this household. Trying to soak up my last day with Miss Grace before Mom and Dad board a plane to California... tear. Despite my worry in leaving Grace for the first time, she is in the best hands possible with Grandpa and Grandma Ullrich, and I couldn't be more ecstatic to celebrate my 27th and Valentines Day with Zach visiting wonderful friends of ours! We'll be traveling to San Diego tonight through Friday, and then driving to Santa Monica to meet up with the Short's and stay with the McKenney's. I have a slight feeling we may come home a few more headaches (wine, lots of it) and tad bit more tired (staying up past my usual 9:30 PM) than when we left... but it'll be worth every second :)

In other news, Grace is 5 months old today! Hooray Gracie! Hard to believe we've experienced nearly half a year of parenthood at this point. She is continuing to grow and leave us smiling and speechless day in and day out. Therapy has really turned a corner in these past few weeks as well, making Mom and Dad happier than words can say. Aside from her rolling and moving (Mom can no longer jump in the shower with her on the floor), sitting has become much easier as her neck strength has improved leaps and bounds. Tummy time is actually semi-fun and Grace loves to amuse us with endless jabbering and monkey noises. She also surprised Mom and Dad with her two bottom teeth the other day! I couldn't believe it - they literally came out of nowhere. Praying that with a combination of Facetime, phone calls, i-phone photos and showering her with love this Valentines, she won't be too angry at me pending our arrival home from vacation... keep your fingers crossed! We love you Grace!

Missing Dad

Weekends like these make long weeks without Zach at home worth it. We know it's only going to get harder, so we're trying to cherish every second together. Overjoyed that Grace chose to roll from her back to her stomach for the FIRST time this Saturday so Dad got to witness it! Huge step for our babe.

Zach is obviously the comedian in our relationship - so go figure Grace thinks he is hilarious. Enjoy :)

Taking the plunge...

After much contemplation, I've decided to take the plunge - literally speaking - into the world of swimming and attempt my first Triathlon. I've mentioned time and time again that I would love nothing more than to complete a race of some kind after each pregnancy for not only my own sanity, but also to prove to my kids that their mom has still got "it". The "it" I'm referring to is drive, passion, determination, strength, perseverance and the courage to try something new and step out of my comfort zone. With four months under my belt in my new role as mom, I am quickly understanding how easy it can be for mothers to forget who they were and what they did with their life before the biggest blessing of all blessings came about - kids. What I did before September 14, 2011 seems so insignificant and unimportant in the larger picture now. The miniscule things that I stressed about and issues that seemed so earth shattering at the time are so, well, silly now. While I wouldn't change a thing and am genuinely happier in my new role than I ever dreamed of possibly being, I want to always set an example for Grace by never losing sight of my "it".

My little sisters, Brooke and Lauren, will be attempting this crazy feat with me! So excited to train with the two other people who love to run as much, if not more, than I do. Pushing ourselves to step out of our asics and into a speedo should be an interesting, yet exciting, change of pace. Zach, Lauren and I will also be running the Toledo Half Marathon together on April 22 as a small detour during our weekend of house hunting in Michigan. Our asics shouldn't feel too left out in months to come with this race to look forward to.

http://www.chicagotriathlon.com/

Stay tuned for recaps of mom's first swimming lesson in 20 years - and yes, I said swimming LESSON. Our new Lifetime Fitness membership has a few initial perks that I've decided to take advantage of. Adult private swim lessons being first on the list! Hoping my lessons help me coach Grace in months to come when she also takes her first plunge into the pool :)

Happy 4 months Miss Grace!

Size 2 diapers, rolling from stomach to back no problem, new gurgles and babbles almost every day, hands constantly in her mouth (or anything in sight in her mouth is more like it), smiling like crazy, pulling mom's hair and slowly but surely getting stronger in a sitting position sums up the four month mark for Grace! She is growing longer by the second, and we are anxiously awaiting her measurements at our doctor's appointment on Monday. I'll be shocked if she's not in the 100th percentile for length! Grace is still attending therapy once a week for Torticollis, and making progress day by day. There are certainly moments of frustration and worry, but I'm confident our little girl will conquer each milestone when she's good and ready. We received her cervical spine x-ray results, and all looked perfect! Our next big appointment will be a helmet assessment at Children's Memorial on March 1st. This is necessary due to the minor flattening on one side of her head from the constant turning in one direction. Our pediatrician doesn't believe it will be needed, but always better to be safe than sorry. 

All in all, Grace is healthy, happy and getting more beautiful every time we look at her. Life is good.

New Years Eve in Michigan

First NYE with a baby, what to do? Get together with our fabulous friends who also have babes and head up to our future home state! We spent NYE 2012 visiting our soon-to-be neighbors, the Stowell family, with the Labelles. With five kids under the age of two and a plethora of packnplays and diapers, we somehow made it work! We rang in the new year with our kiddos in hand (some wide-eyed and bushy tailed might I add... at midnight), a (half-full) glass of wine, and pj's on. I wouldn't have had it any other way. Such a fun weekend with wonderful people! Thanks again to Carrie and Matt for hosting such chaos, and for showing us around. Lots to look forward to!

The beginning of the craziness. 

Hey Jack!

Don't be fooled by what looks like a crazy party... haha

Hankster.. getting so big!

Mamas

Zach and Matt 

Dad and little Miss Lyla 

Our wonderful host

Such a strong little guy! 

Grace's potential bed for the night. Unfortunately she was too long! We've got a tall lady on or hands :)

Just noticed the weather warning in the background...  yikes!

Renata, Carrie and I - love you girls! 

Ready for 2012 :) 

Grace and Hank - September 2011 babes

The boys may have been hiding Zach's keys at this point. Took the majority of the day, but eventually
found them in the trunk of the tricycle. Very clever!

Grace and her BFF, Lyla

We've got some long babes!  

Boys leaving to pick up food while we hold down the fort.

Jack and Josh reunited!  

Josh looks like he's thinking " Lady, leave me alone or you'll get a truck in your face!" Haha 

Fun in the basement bumpo. 

We lured the boys in with Zach going first. A bit too heavy.....

But it worked!

Josh is in with the help of his Dad!

New game created by throwing the boys into the massive love sack! Way too much fun.

Too cute.

Haha love this photo.

All of the 2011 babes hanging out in Hank's gym. 

At first it was just Grace on Dad... 

Then Jack thought it'd be fun to join in! Haha.

Making sure Zach knows who's boss. 

Grace is getting confused...

"Here, try this truck Zach!" :)

Kisses from Dad for Lyla.

Gracie meets the McKenney's!

It's been a long time coming, but Grace finally got to meet Mom's dear friend Lindsay the week after Christmas! Lindsay and Kirk made the trip to Chicago after spending the holidays with their families in Toledo. Fortunately they were able to spend time with Kirk's sister in the city, as well as meet Grace for the first time during their stay. I hadn't seen Lindsay since June when they moved to Santa Monica and was missing my buddy more than words can say! Although we only had a day together, we didn't waste a second catching up. After meeting Grace, exchanging gifts, a quick workout and nail date, we topped off our day at the Howrigon's where Grace and Brayden had some baby bonding time. It was sad to say goodbye again, but comforting to know we'll be reunited in no time at all when Zach and I visit Cali over Valentines Day!

Linds and Gracie. So happy she finally got to match a photo to a face!

So sweet.

Pulling Lindsay's long locks. A standard move these days!

About to leave for Howrigon's. Such a fun day!

Babe swap. Thanks again for having us over Meg! 

Kirk, Brayden and Zach

Linds getting some last playtime with Gracie. 

G-Mack and Bray-J! Baby buds :)

No words - hilarious :)

Momma Meg and the babes.

Getting so big! Such a strong little guy!

Dad and Grace - Pre meltdown.

Cutie pie.

Linds (Kirk's sister) playing with Snoop-a-loop!

Michigan fans... boooooo :)

Ready for bed! Thanks again for making the trip Linds and Kirk! So wonderful to see you both,
and counting down the days till our Cali visit :)