Disney World, Florida and Easter

Grace coming down the stairs the morning of her birthday...getting ready to see her...

New big girl bike!!! Happy 4th Birthday Grace!

My birthday cake creation...what do you think?

One of the many times Grace had held her little brother...but this time I got smiles from both of them!

March of Dimes walk 2010. Walking, of course, for Grace born 6 weeks early, for Owen, Grace's friend here in Lexington, who was born 8 weeks early and for my best bud's baby Callie Grace who was also born premature and passed away 5 weeks after her birthday. We love you Craig and Katie and I was honored to wear Callie's shirt!

Grace's 1st time on her bike on 4/25! She did fabulous...

Grace's first time on her skates, also on 4/25. They were a gift from Mimi and Poppy after Grandmere suggested buying them for Grace (because she had her first pair of skates at the age of 4).

Another great Grace and Holtz photo...I just can't get enough!

Look at that push-up...and perfect smile...

OK, well, too much has happened since my last post so I'll try to note the highlights! I'm trying to do the blog differently too b/c the way I was doing it before was taking too much time (one of the reasons I haven't updated it in so long). So, I'm going to put larger pictures with captions- there are lots of pics in this blog since it's been so long since I've updated it!

Here are some of Holtz's accomplishments! He started smiling on 2/25 and cooing on 3/18. I feel like I've waited my whole life to see his smile- he's such a happy baby! He held his head up by himself for the first time on 4/5. Holtz did a mini push up on 4/24 and rolled over from his stomach to his back on 4/25- again...so exciting! Here's some good news...he's a growing boy! He is 3 1/2 months old and weighs just over 14 lbs. and is 25 inches long! Holy moly! He is in the 73rd percentile for length...means he is larger than 73% of other boys his age...and he's in the 54th percentile for weight...so right on track. His weight is average and his length...well, he's a long boy! For comparison's sake, Grace didn't weigh 14 lbs. until she was 6 months old...and at her 6 month appt., she was only 24 inches long! Grace, just turned 4 and she weighs 31 1/2 lbs (19th percentile) and is 38 1/2 inches (21st percentile). What a petite little girl! We finally moved Holtz into his own room on 4/19 and he slept through the night for the first time on the 20th. It's great- mommy and daddy are much happier these days...

Grace's 4th birthday was great...we had a little party here at home with her friends and several members of our family. She got a big girl bike, roller skates and ballet lessons!!!

We spent almost 2 weeks in Florida with Bob and Sharon and had a super duper vacation! We visited with Darlene quite a bit and even met up with Uncle Andy for a day...went to several Polo matches with him at The International Polo Club in Palm Beach. On our way home from FL, we met Uncle Mikey at Disney World. It poured down rain but was a blast!!! Easter was extra fun this year for Grace- she loved all of the candy! She ate so much she got a belly ache! Ha!

One more story before the pictures. Last week I slept in until 8am. When I woke up I asked Evan if Holtz was ok b/c he didn't wake at 6am for his feeding. He went in Holtz's room and there was Grace. She pulled her stool in his room from her bathroom. She had unswaddled him, undone his pajamas, and taken off his diaper. she said that his diaper was wet and so she was changing his diaper- such a little mommy! She's still a great big sister...really no jealousy still. She is absolutely incredible and the light of my life! Enjoy the pictures!

This is Grace's first time feeding Holtz (in Florida) on 3/4. She feeds him frequently now!

Mimi and Poppy bought Grace a kite so this was her first time flying it. We've attempted to fly a kite several times here at home with no success so this was technically her first time!

Building a sand castle with Daddy at the beach in Florida! Grace loved the sand and the ocean!

Ev, Mikey and I getting soaked at Disney World. The picture doesn't do it justice- we had a blast and Grace was surprisingly a trooper! It was Grace and Holtz's first time at Disney World on 3/11. Grace and Uncle Mikey in front of the magic kingdom!

The Beauchamp Family on the ride It's a Small World.

Daddy, Uncle Mikey and Grace on the carousel!

Grace is taking swim lessons with her buddy Dylan...aren't they so adorable!

Our little technology wiz...she's playing brick breaker on Evan's phone...ha-

One of the things we did for Easter this year...chocolate covered bananas and strawberries- yum yum!

Easter egg hunt at our house...

Grace and Mommy colored Easter eggs this year!

Our big boy with a huge smile!

And another one...

Grace chillin like a villain in her new Barbie sunglasses and water bottle!

This is Grace, Dylan and Kate playing in her little itty bitty sandbox. That's all changing b/c we just bought an amazing cedar swing set that we are going to put a sandbox around- it's going to be a blast!

In closing, I must mention the passing of Bob and Verna Margaret Beauchamp. Bob passed away on 3/15 and Verna Margaret just 11 days later on 3/26. We miss them! I always admired the love that they had for each other- I am thankful though that they got to spend a lot of time with Grace and were able to meet Holtz! Hope you enjoyed the long update! We miss everyone!

Introducing Holtz Reagan Beauchamp!

A lot has happened since my last post- most importantly the birth of our new baby boy, Holtz Reagan Beauchamp! Holtz was born on January 18, 2010 at 4:46 PM. I went to the hospital early that morning to have my cerclage removed and my water broke during the removal! We were thrilled because we were anxious to meet our new son. He weighed 7 lbs. 8.1 oz. and was 20 inches long...what a big boy...especially since he was born at 37 weeks. I can't imagine how big he would've been if we would've carried full term to 40 weeks. We technically were considered full term at 37 weeks so we couldn't have asked for a better pregnancy outcome! We owe lots of thanks to our high risk doctor, Dr. Berry Campbell- he was awesome!!!

I have lots of photos on this entry- remember that you can click on the photos to see them in a bigger format.

Grace went sledding for the first time ever this winter...last year we played in the snow in the back yard but she wasn't thrilled about how cold it was. This year, the cold didn't even phase her! We took her across the street behind the school to go sledding. The first two or three times, Grace went down the hill with Evan...after that, she wanted to go down all by herself. I've never been so proud!!! You wouldn't believe how brave she was- she went down by herself forwards, backwards, and on her stomach! It was so much fun...

Several people have asked me to post pictures of me while I was preggy so here are a couple. I worked really hard to exercise and eat healthy and I only gained 12 lbs! Super mommy!!! I was all belly- so so cute!

Grace loves being a big sister. She's really an amazing little girl! She hasn't, so far, shown any signs of jealousy. All she wants to do is hold, play with and help Holtz. She helps me with the snaps on his outfits, helps me change and throw away diapers and helps me put the pacifier in his mouth when he's crying. She is very in tune with his needs- really special to watch!

Bob and Sharon came down the weekend before my cerclage removal to watch Grace while we were in the hospital. We had a good feeling that we would go into labor soon afterwards- luckily we did! Lots of thanks to them for helping us out...Grace loved it!

We've been adjusting to having a baby in the home and are starting to get a flow. Holtz is feeing on average every 3 hours (around the clock) so we are a bit sleep deprived but we are managing. He is such a good little baby!

In several weeks, we are going to be driving down to Florida to spend a week/ week and a half with Bob and Sharon. We are also going to see my little brother, Mikey, who just took a job in Lakeland as a flight instructor, Evan's brother and sister-n-law, Andy and Alisa and Sharon's first cousin, Darlene! We are really looking forward to some decent weather so we can let Grace play outside...she's been so patient but I know she is ready to let loose! On the way down, we are hoping to stop at the Atlanta aquarium and Gatorland in Orlando. I have cabin fever from staying home throughout the pregnancy and mostly now (b/c we don't want to expose Holtz to germs- yikes). I hope the next couple of weeks fly by!!! Warmer weather here we come!

The pictures are all in order so you'll see pics from the hospital first, then you'll see the pics from when we came home- even Holtz's first bath! Enjoy!

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years!

Not much has happened since the last blog post except that we've had the big holidays! Baby Boy Beauchamp (still doesn't have a name) is still cooking (35 weeks today). We are anxious for our ultrasound on Tuesday to get a weight and to check to make sure everything is still going as planned. At our 31 week ultrasound, our boy weighed about a pound more than the average baby so we have a big boy on our hands. We hope to make it at least another week in which we'll have the cerclage removed- can't believe we are almost 36 weeks! I'll keep you posted!

Thanksgiving this year was really low key. We stayed home and had our friend Mike Miller over for dinner. We started playing Monopoly before dinner and Evan was seriously whipping us. We took a break for dinner and while we were preparing our "feast", Grace decided to be a good girl and clean up the game for us (smile). Poor thing was just trying to help but unfortunately we weren't finished playing...you should've seen Evan's face when he realized that his almost monumental win was finished...good for Miller and I. Dinner was great!

Christmas was fantastic this year. Grace really got into the Christmas spirit- you should just hear her belt out Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Every time we hear it, we sing it as loud as we can! She knows a lot of Christmas tunes (probably because I started playing Christmas music before Thanksgiving!!). This year we set up the tree before Thanksgiving too- early but we didn't know how long we had before our baby came so we wanted to be prepared!

Grace sat on Santa's lap for the first time this year and even told him what she wanted for Christmas (something to jump on and a pen book that helps you read- she got both from Santa). When she crawled up on Santa's lap, I said, "Grace tell Santa what you want." Then Santa said, "Grace, what do you want for Christmas?" She looked at me amazed and said, "Santa knows my name!" ha ha - I guess she didn't realize that I had just said her name! It was so innocent and sweet! This is the first year too that we were able to use the "Santa Card." It worked wonderfully- wish I could use it all year long (grin). She has been on her best behavior for a month or so because "Santa's watching" of course!

Bob and Sharon came down on the 22nd and stayed until the 26th. Mimi and Grace made a wonderful gingerbread house and we drove around the neighborhood and looked at lights. When Grace was 1, every time she saw Christmas lights she would shout at the top of her lungs, "Ights Ights!" What spunk! Last year (age 2), she still liked the Christmas lights but she wasn't as vocal about it. This year she really liked the lights that blinked...and she had us stop in front of all of the houses with lights so she had time to look at them. My my how she changes from year to year!

Uncle Mikey came down on the 25th and stayed until the 27th. It's always good to see Uncle Mikey. He is so good with Grace and Grace adores him! Grace especially loves his miniature pincher Piper. She is still talking about Piper. Piper is so small and cute...Piper likes to be by the fire to stay warm, etc.

Bob and Billie came down for the day on the 26th. We played Scattegories (where Billie really whipped us- but she had Bob helping so it didn't really count (chuckle chuckle). Grace loved getting presents from Grandma and Grandpa after Christmas was over- she was in heaven the entire holiday!

On to New Years!!! We really partied hard this year- just kidding!! We stayed home and had one of Grace's friends over (Kate and her mommy Jen). Jen is also pregnant. She is 3 weeks ahead of me so she is really getting close. It was Evan's dream- home and sober on New Years with two really pregnant women and a couple of kids (ha ha- totally joking). Jen and Kate left around 9:30 PM and we decided to still keep Grace up to she could see the ball drop. We played games and ate ice cream cake. Grace had no problem staying up past midnight- it was Evan we had to keep awake.

After the ball dropped, Evan and I were giving Grace kisses all over. She went to push my face away and poked me in the eye. It was terrible pain!!! I took a couple of Tylenol and went to bed. Woke up around 4:30 AM and had to go to the emergency room (not what I wanted to do early New Year's Day). Found out that I had a torn cornea- yikes! Was really glad that we went to the emergency room. Things are much better already- what a story! This is my thought on the experience. Last year (New Year's 2009), we all got the stomach flu right before the ball dropped but throughout the year, we were all in great health! I seriously haven't been sick once since I've been pregnant. So, since I think everything means something and everything happens for a reason, I'm taking my temporary blindness as this- This year, we will see things in a different light. Our eyes will be open to many new things this year- sounds like it's going to be a pretty fantastic year!

Goodbye 2009 and Hello 2010! I'll keep you posted on our baby news!

Hello hello! Back to updating the blog...it's only been a month...not too bad! Well, we decided this year to make our house a bit more energy efficient so last month we did a big attic insulation project. We are so lucky that Grandpa is handy because he was a big help! Grandpa and Evan (and our buddy Mike) spent all day spraying insulation in the attic and what a difference. It's amazing how much insulation we didn't have (grin)! Evan built new shelves in the attic so now we have lots of storage space and Grandpa and Evan installed more lighting in the attic- it's wonderful! Grace was lucky because Grandma came also and played with her all day! It's so nice to have someone take over "mom duties" for a day. They played games and read a lot! Thank you Billie!

Since the last blog entry a lot has happened... we'll start with Halloween! Evan and I enjoy the holidays so much more now that we have Grace. She gets so excited about everything! This year, Grace and Daddy carved the pumpkin...and what a happy pumpkin they carved! I don't know if you can see the picture hanging on the fridge behind Grace (it it's too little, click on the picture and it will enlarge it), but Grace made a jack-o-lantern at the library and she gave it a sad face... (hilarious- that's what she wanted) so it was nice to see that she wanted a happy face pumpkin.

Next in line is trick-or-treating! Grace wanted to be a pumpkin this year so that's what she was! I really did ask her and give her the choice and that's what she consistently said that she wanted to be for several weeks...and what a cute pumpkin she was! The picture on the left shows her getting ready- I had just put the orange stars on her cheeks... they really made the outfit- so cute! And here she is... coming down the steps. She loved her costume and it was perfect for layering clothes underneath for warmth. We did luck out with the weather this year, it was a little on the cool side but couldn't ask for much better.

Mimi and Poppy came down this year for Halloween and went trick-or treating with Daddy. I stayed home to pass out candy (which I love!!!). Mimi was such a good sport, she even brought her cow costume! If you want to see Grace's face light up, you should dress up with her- Mimi was a hit!

We try not to give Grace sugar (so boring, I know)...she gets sugar free jelly, sugar free pudding, sugar free syrup, etc...well, we let her eat as much candy as she could on Halloween! And OH MY GOSH was she a riot. She bounced from one thought to the next and didn't go to sleep until after midnight! Ha ha ha. Although it was fun to see her so hyped up, there's definitely a reason why she's mostly sugar free... my goodness, we couldn't keep up with her!

More big news for our big girl...we enrolled her in a gymnastics class. Evan's cousin John, who is a gymnastics pro, recommended a place here in town called Kentucky Elite. We took his recommendation and it is working out perfectly. Grace's teacher's name is Miss Jessica and she is fabulous with the little kiddos. The observation deck (where Evan and I sit to watch the class) is too far away for us to get good pics so we took one of Grace in front of trophies. They do back bends, somersaults down a ramp, obstacle courses, play in the foam pit, and jump on trampolines (Grace's favorite). Shhh...don't tell her but Santa bought her an inflatable bounce house for Christmas!!! She is a jumping machine.

We took Grace to Joseph Beth (an amazing bookstore here in town) for a kiddie- concert by Funny Bones and Dylan met us there. The kids had so much fun dancing and moving to the music! This picture is in front of a fountain at the entrance to Joseph Beth. After the concert, the kids fed the ducks and fish...what a blast! They went through an entire loaf of bread in probably 10 minutes!

Last but not least is this last picture of Grace, wearing my 3" heel boots around the house. She always enjoys trying on my shoes but usually has a hard time walking in them...well, she was running in these boots. Her cousin's Chelsea and Hayley would be so proud (smile). Grace is such a girly girl! Just look at how happy she is in that picture- what a cheese!

Hope all is well with everyone! Until next time...