Grace Meets Her Great Grandfather!

Today Grace met her great grandfather, my Pop-Pop, for the first time! He's visiting Texas for 3 weeks and will be here for Grace's baptism on August 18th. Grace is my Pop-Pop's third great grandchild, and the other two are also cute little girls. It was so cool introducing Grace to him.

We're looking forward to spending quite a bit of time with him during the next two weeks until Martin's family arrives from Ireland. In fact, he'll be staying with us all week next week, which will be really special.

I keep thinking about how blessed Grace is to be surrounded by so much love! And during August she'll experience two weeks of non-stop hugs and kisses when Martin's family is here. We can't wait for that...just 11 days 'til they arrive!!!

Grace's First Photo Shoot

Grace had her first professional photographs taken today! I was a bit worried about it since I have clear memories of my younger brother throwing tantrums while a desperate photographer tried everything to make him smile for the camera. But Grace was awesome...she was wide awake the whole time, and the photographer got some adorable shots of her. The hardest part was deciding which ones to buy because we honestly wanted to buy them all! This one is my favorite since Martin and I are each holding one of her hands. I think it's so sweet!

Grace is 2 Months Old Today!

Happy 2 Month Birthday, Grace Calleigh! At the doctor today, Grace weighed in at 11 pounds, 2 ounces, and she's now 22 inches long. She's come a long way in 2 months, that's for sure! So have her parents...Martin and I have been parents for 2 whole months, and we're having the time of our lives. I've never felt such overwhelming joy, such unconditional love, and such a strong need to protect someone. Being a Mom is, by far, the most amazing experience of my 28 years of life!

About her shots...Neither of us made it through without crying! Thankfully, it was all over in about 10 seconds, so our baby girl didn't suffer for long. My dear friend, Ann, was there to comfort me since Martin was working. I was so glad she was there to help us through it. Grace bounced back in minutes, as soon as I started feeding her. It made us both feel better that eating comforted her, and our tears faded away much more quickly than I expected. Grace is one tough little munchkin! (See more pics from this doctor's visit at http://picasaweb.google.com/amberfogarty/BabyGraceWeek9).

p.s. Happy Birthday to Grace's cousin, Maddie! She's 1 year old today :-)

3 New Records

The past three nights Grace has set new records, sleeping 5, 5.5, and 6 hours! Not only are we proud of our little girl and amazed by how fast she is growing, but we're also incredibly thankful to be sleeping for longer stretches. Perhaps our delirium from sleep deprivation will start to wear off now...time will tell!

In other news this week, Grace and I spent some time at my office yesterday. Martin says since she's almost 2 months old, she has to start earning her keep! LOL. In all seriousness, Grace visited my awesome coworkers for awhile, then took a nap, and I started to catch up on my work. Although I still have over a month of maternity leave left, I'm easing myself back into work a bit at a time so I'm not too overwhelmed when I return full-time.

On that note, Grace and I also visited her daycare yesterday to get another tour and meet the staff. I visited there when I was about 5 months pregnant, so it's been awhile. I have a friend whose daughter goes to the same daycare, and she highly recommended it to me. Luckily, it's close to my office so Grace won't be too far from me. Even though the place is great and the staff at the daycare seems wonderful, I still left there in tears yesterday. The idea of leaving her in the care of anyone else is heart-wrenching, but I know it's an inevitable reality. My Mom did it, and it broke her heart, and I know it will break mine. Enough about that before the waterworks begin again...

Tomorrow Grace will be two months old! So two months ago at this time, I was in the early stages of labor and didn't know it! In some ways, it seems like so much longer, yet it also seems like just yesterday. Grace also gets her 2-month shots tomorrow. I know, what kind of Mom would schedule those on her 2-month birthday? I'm terrible. I'm bringing a friend along so she can hold my hand while I hold Grace's hand. I'll let you know how it goes and who cries more, Grace or her Mommy!

Uncle Billy is 21!!!

Today, Grace's Uncle Billy is 21 years old, and she wants to wish him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Billy will also be Grace's Godfather. Her Baptism is coming up on August 18th! She is so glad her Uncle Billy will be her Godfather :-)

Lots of Love & Hugs & Kisses for Uncle Billy from Grace Calleigh!!

Grace's First Road Trip

On Wednesday, Grace took her first road trip! Together we ventured to Waco to visit my parents and spend the night at their house. Grace was thrilled about the idea of her very first road trip and sleepover at her Nana and Pop-Pop's house.

We had a great time! We visited both Nana and Pop-Pop's offices so Grace could meet their coworkers, who have all seen dozens (maybe even hundreds) of pictures of their new granddaughter. Grace gave both offices her seal of approval by stinking them up...at Pop-Pop's office, she actually needed a new outfit because her diaper couldn't handle what she had to offer!

That night we had a nice time playing with Grace and showing her around the house her Mom lived in for seven years (from age 11 to 18). Grace thought it was SO cool that she had her very own crib at her Nana and Pop-Pop's house, although she knows she'll have to share with her cousins, brothers, and/or sisters in the years to come ;-)

Grace slept well in her new crib, and we headed back to Austin the following day. All in all, it was a fun road trip and a wonderful visit with Nana & Pop-Pop. The only drawback was being away from Martin (a.k.a. Daddy) for the night. Grace and I both missed him a TON!

Where's the Pause Button?

One of the most common sayings when you have kids is, "Time flies." Another one you hear often is, "They grow up so fast." I've found both sayings to be true, and I utter both on an almost daily basis. Grace isn't even two months old yet, and I just can't believe how much she's changed since her birthday! Today I was looking at pictures from her first week of life, and I'm in awe of how different she is now.

I'd like to coin a new saying though...one that I've said a lot since Grace's arrival -- "Where's the pause button?" I sometimes wish that I could push pause on these special moments with Grace and savor them for just a bit longer. I already find myself wishing she wouldn't grow up so fast, even though I know she'll always be my baby girl.

So, my sweet angel, don't be in such a hurry to grow up! You're my first born, and I want to cherish every second of your life.

A Night with Nana & Pop-Pop for Grace & A Night on the Town for Us

Last night, Martin and I had our second night out since Grace was born. We went out to dinner with friends and followed it up with drinks at our favorite bar to celebrate Martin's birthday. Grace enjoyed a fun evening with her Nana and Pop-Pop while we were out. She loved every minute of it, as did my Mom and Dad! Even though it was tough being away from her for the evening, I know she was in the best hands, the same hands that raised me!

Martin and I had a blast celebrating his birthday with our friends. It was fun being out again, but it definitely felt different, like someone was missing (our sweet baby girl!). Our lives have changed so much...we are parents! Holy cow!!! Can you believe it?!?

Two Milestones

Milestone #1: Grace rolled over for the first time on Tuesday (July 10th) from her tummy to her back! It was awesome :-) I was so glad to be there to witness the big moment.

Milestone #2: And tonight Grace will "graduate" from her bassinet to her crib. She's growing so quickly. I remember when we brought her home from the hospital and put her in the bassinet the first time. She looked so small...Martin and I actually thought she was almost too tiny for the bassinet. Now not even seven weeks later, she's outgrown the bassinet! Sleep tight tonight, Grace -- your first night in your crib!

Happy Birthday, Martin!

Today is Martin's 28th Birthday! Happy Birthday, Sweetie :-) Grace and I enjoyed spoiling him today. We went to the bank to have lunch with him and took him balloons and cupcakes. Then when he got home from work, he opened his gifts and was especially excited about the Spiderman Operation game that Grace got for him. He also loved the Holy Trilogy DVD set of his favorite Irish comedy, Father Ted.

We made him a nice dinner and had a nice relaxing evening. All in all, a wonderful day in the Fogarty household! Check out all the pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/amberfogarty/MartinS28thBirthday.

Nothing Worse...

After six weeks of Grace's life, I've come to the conclusion that there's nothing worse than hearing your child cry. It's something I don't think I truly understood until listening to Grace's cries. When you hear other people's kids cry, it affects you, but never in the way it does when your own child is in pain or unhappy. I find it heartbreaking when Grace is screaming her little head off, which I must admit doesn't happen all that often. She's a happy baby for the most part, but since last night she's had a sore bottom that has resulted in her absolutely wailing every time we change her. It was to the point today that I was crying right along with her because her cry sounded like she was in so much pain. All I want to do is make that pain go away for her. It breaks my heart when I don't feel like I can, which I why I'm awake right now. When I close my eyes, I keep hearing that cry, and I can't sleep. It's midnight; she's asleep; and I should be too! I'm off to try again...here's to getting some zzzzzzzz's!

Happy 4th of July!

Grace is looking incredibly adorable today in her "Baby's First Fourth" onesie! She even waved the American flag for us this morning! My brother & sister-in-law got us an awesome onesie that she'll be wearing tomorrow. It has an Irish flag on it and says "Made in America...With Irish Parts." Too cute...

We're having a BBQ in a bit, and I can't wait for some good food and good fun with the fam :-) Grace is sound asleep after keeping us up most of the night. She's decided now that her favorite time of day is from 11 PM to 1 AM. For the last week or so, she's been wide awake for those two hours every night. The last two days she's been having a growth spurt, which means she's eating every thirty minutes to an hour. The milk machine (a.k.a. ME) can hardly keep up! (Notice that in my last post, I wrote that she was getting the hang of sleeping during the night and staying awake during the day...I spoke too soon!)

On Friday, I went to the doctor for my follow-up visit. All is well, and I was given the go-ahead to work out. YAY! I'm ready to start running again. Up until this point, I wasn't supposed to lift anything heavier than Grace. Speaking of lifting heavy stuff, I stopped in to the pediatrician's office on Friday to check Grace's weight. I literally almost fainted when the scale stopped at 9 pounds! Our little girl gained 3 pounds in 5 weeks, which is understandable considering how much she eats (well, drinks).

Life in the Fogarty household is wonderful! We are cherishing every moment with Grace :-) She is the BEST!!!