March Madness

Pop-pop (my grandfather) traveled all the way down from Delaware for a week to meet Gracyn, visit with LuLu, Vance, Sara, Preston, Lee and I. We spent 3 days with him and he just loved every minute with Gracyn.

We are thankful that Gracyn has 6 great grandparents and 4 grandparents! Lee & I both have made such wonderful memories with our grandparents and can't wait for Gracyn to experience the same thing! She's definitely got them all wrapped around her.

Rice Cereal

Gracyn LOVES rice cereal! Yeah, right!

Gracyn’s First Words & Steps!!!

Our baby Gracyn is a genius…she said her first words today and actually stood up by herself! It was an amazing feat because she isn’t even 5 months old yet.

While Gracyn and Daddy were sitting on the couch after our bottle this morning, she started babbling and I didn’t pay much attention to it. A few minutes later she started again, but this time she was saying DA DA DA DA DA!!! Gracyn’s first words! Since this morning, this is pretty much all she has been saying all day long.

Secondly, she took her first attempt to stand up today as well. She started by lying on her belly, pushing her butt way up in the air, and then using her hands to push up. I couldn’t believe it. She stood up for about two seconds and then fell softly on her diaper. She tried it twice more before pooping out.

It really has been a monumental day for Gracyn.

It has also been a monumental April Fool’s Day (hehe)!

April Fool’s Everyone!

Signed,

Daddy Day Care Management

4 Months Old

Happy 4 Months Sweet Girl!

It's amazing how much you've grown, here's what you've been up to? 

- You're 100% bottle fed now and doing great, eating 6-8 ozs. five times a day.

- You are still not loving tummy time! You consistently roll over from front to back each time we lay you down on your tummy.

- You are working your way to crawling, you are starting to inch worm along. You will pop your bottom up in the air and move along, but not fair...just a couple of inches.

- You have discovered your hands and put everything in your mouth.

- Just last week you found out about your feet. You will lift them up in the air and just stare at them. They're pretty cool, huh?  

- Almost all of your dark brown hair is gone and your hair is growing in blonde!

- We are hopeful too that your eyes just might stay blue!

- You have an infectious smile and relaxed personality. You smile more for daddy than anyone else. You have great chats with mommy every morning while we get ready for the day! And, Bella just loves to give you kisses...you'll be her BFF once you start eating real food!

At your 4-month well visit you were:

Length: 25 inches

Weight: 13.5 lbs

and, not too happy about those 4 shots. 

We love you so much precious girl. We can't wait to see what Month 5 brings!

~ Mommy & Daddy

Dirty Diaper Diaries from Daddy Daycare

The last three months of Daddy Daycare have been great. Gracyn has to be the most even-tempered baby I’ve ever seen. Thankfully she has a good mix of both Galloway and Shields qualities that makes her very enjoyable to be around. Depending on her mood, she can either be very quite while taking in all of the sites and sounds or she can be conversing loud and proud with the baby in the mirror…ya’ll can figure out which side of the family is which ;).

Fortunately for Mom & Dad, Gracyn responds well to being on time and on schedule (just like her old man). As long as she has a full belly and ample sleep, she seldomly cries. Not to mention sleeping through the night makes life much easier for everyone. Here is a typical day for daddy and Gracyn:

-Tell Mommy good-bye and to have a good day at work. Go down for nap (insert daily house-hold chores here for Daddy)

-Wake-up with a smile on your face. Daddy picks you up from crib and we stretch way up in the air! Snuggle with Daddy while we yawn and wake-up some more.

-Talk to baby in the mirror

-Change diaper (ps Daddy never gets “used” to dirty diapers)

-Put on outfit for the day…generally not color coordinated.

-Drink bottle

-Tummy time, play time, and Bumbo time.

-Rinse & repeat every 3 hrs 45 min.

Just recently you have started rolling over on your own and are starting to get the crawling motion down pat. Although when you try to crawl, you mostly just move around like an inch worm…ie Butt up in the air and then back down. When you learn to get your feet down some more you’ll start getting better traction, and then you’ll be up and running! Regardless, it is just so darn cute to watch you progress and become more of a little person.

Signed,

The Management

Daddy Daycare

Girls on the Road!

The Galloway girls (minus Bella) took a road trip Sunday to Myrtle Beach. Auntie Sara & Uncle Craig were there to bring Priss a bookcase for her room (didn't get a photo).
Here's Gracyn with LuLu & Vance.

Snack time with Auntie Say-rah!

Happy to see Daddy after our afternoon away.

3 Months

We are a few weeks behind the 3 month post. We took these photos of Gracyn on her 3 month birthday (Feb. 3) and have just been a bit too busy to put them on the blog. She's wearing one of my dresses in this picture...how sweet!

Gracyn is definitely daddy's #1 fan. They spend the days together (I am a little jealous) and he can get a smile out of her faster than anyone else.
And...he's pretty smitten with her too!

Our sweet girl!

Gracyn here's what you've been up to:
- You are sleeping really well during your day naps & at night
- You are not a fan of tummy time, but you work on it every day with daddy.
- You have been on little trips with daddy to Lowe's, the hardware store and many other places. I am going to have to work hard to keep you "prissy"!
- And, you had your first nights away from us when we went to Boone. You stayed with your ShuShu for 2 days and your LuLu & Vance for 1 day! You did great, but we called home every few hours to check in on you.