Grace is 6 Months Old!

It is truly hard to believe that Grace is 6 months old! She's been bringing joy to our lives for a half a year already. It just doesn't seem possible that the time has gone by that quickly.

I was home sick today, so we weren't able to celebrate as much as we hoped, but we did sing "Happy Birthday" to our angel, which produced loads of smiles :) She loves when we sing anything to her. I'm sure when she's old enough to talk she'll tell me that she prefers Daddy's singing to mine. He has a wonderful voice, and mine isn't so great. But she loves me anyway. And, of course, I love her so much!

I was trying to explain to a friend the other day how I've changed since becoming a Mom. Life is certainly different, and I have a new-found appreciation for the gift of life. When I look at Grace, I see a little miracle. One of the things that has struck me during the last six months is the depth of the love I feel for Grace. Becoming a parent introduces you to a deeper, more spiritual level of love than you ever knew existed. It also has made me fall even more in love with my husband, who is an amazing father to our baby girl.

All in all, being a Mom has given my life new purpose. My family is the most important thing in my life. Happy Birthday, Sweet Grace! We love you loads, and we look forward to watching you grow and taking care of you every step of the way!

Getting in the Holiday Spirit

The Fogarty household is gearing up for the holidays! Normally, I'm not a fan of putting up a Christmas tree right after Thanksgiving, but this year I decided to go for it for several reasons. First, this is Grace's first Christmas, and I'm beside myself with anticipation! Second, I wanted to make the most of my four-day weekend, especially since I expect December to be a busy month. Third, this is our first Christmas in our new home, and I want to make it really special!

So yesterday and today I got myself into the holiday spirit and put up our Christmas tree and did some other decorating around the house. I love our Christmas tree and had so much fun showing it to Grace. She's in awe of the lights!

Growing up, I can remember being really giddy around Christmastime! I'm feeling that once again as I think about making every Christmas wonderful for Grace. Grace won't remember her first Christmas, but it will be well documented with pictures and blogs. I already think about showing her this blog when she's older and sharing the thousands of pictures of her from her earliest days.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving one and all! What a wonderful day it was in the Fogarty household, as we celebrated our very first Thanksgiving with Grace! We've never had more to be thankful for...our beautiful baby girl is such a gift.

We had a fabulous spread at our house, complete with turkey, ham, stuffing, and all the fixings. The meal was awesome! It was a team effort with my parents, Martin, and me all contributing to the meal. I was especially proud of my broccoli cheese casserole, especially when Billy said it was AMAZING! Most of you know that I don't usually have much luck in the kitchen, so I celebrate every victory I can get. Hopefully, by the time Grace is old enough to remember, I'll have honed my cooking skills and can make her mouth water. Here's to hoping...

Grace feasted on sweet potatoes for her Thanksgiving feast, and she seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. All in all, it was a great day with family and an opportunity to give thanks for all that's good in our lives.

Grace is Sitting Up!

Breaking news! A new development in Martin and Amber's Adventure as Parents...

Tonight Grace sat up by herself for the first time! How cool is that? She can sit up for very short periods of time, but nonetheless, we are super excited about it. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and we can't wait to show Nana and Pop-Pop, Uncle Billy, Uncle Brian, and Aunt Jen this new feat! On that note, we are also very anxious about celebrating Grace's first Thanksgiving tomorrow. It's going to be a fantastic day!

Fun Times with Mommy

Today I got home from work early enough to take Grace for a walk. It's mid-November in Texas, and it's in the 80's. The weather could not have been more perfect today. So Grace and I set out for a walk and some quality time together. In the morning, I'm leaving for an overnight trip to Dallas for work, so I need all the Grace time I can get.

We took a nice long walk and ended up at the playground by our house. I decided to let Grace try out the swing for the first time. She wasn't too sure what she thought about it. There was a half-smile for a few seconds, but mostly a look of confusion.

As we headed home after swinging, the wind picked up, and the temperature started to drop! The weather folks are calling for a huge temperature drop tonight -- 40+ degrees, they say. Here's to crazy weather in Texas! One day you're out in shorts, and the next you need your winter coat.

So tomorrow morning, I head to Dallas, and I fly back on Friday evening. Then on Saturday, I'll be taking Grace to Waco to visit her Nana and Pop-Pop who are returning tomorrow from the Holy Land. We are excited to see them and hear about their trip!

High School Reunion and Grace's First Football Game

This weekend was my 10-year high school reunion. I seriously can't believe it's been 10 years since I graduated from high school! This is one of those milestones that you think about a lot. Some people look forward to it; others dread it. I looked forward to it because I knew it would be fun to see people I hadn't seen in years. I keep in touch with a few friends from high school, and one of the highlights of my pregnancy was a baby shower with a group of girls from high school. Aside from that group, I haven't seen many of the other people in my class in a long, long time.

I always wondered where I would be in my life when my high school reunion finally came around. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine my life as it is now - with an absolutely awesome husband that I adore and a beautiful baby girl who brings me so much joy! I am so blessed.

Last night was the Homecoming football game. There was a pre-game tailgate party and a reception after the game for the Class of '97. This was the first football game Grace ever attended. Unfortunately, our team lost, but we enjoyed sitting in a big crowd of my high school classmates. Grace was an angel the entire time, even at the reception, which lasted until after 11 PM. Even though it was way past her bedtime, she was the life of the party :)

Then today we had a picnic, which was good fun. There wasn't a huge crowd, but I really enjoyed catching up with those who attended. And the weather was great, and that added to the fun. Having a picnic in November is risky, but it worked out for us!

All in all, the reunion was a huge success! We had a good turnout, and I think everyone that came enjoyed themselves. Tammie and I were partners in planning the reunion, and I want to thank her for all her hard work. I'm so glad we pulled it off!

Road Trip

This weekend we traveled to Waco to see my parents before their big trip to the Holy Land. We also wanted to attend the 25th Anniversary of my parents' parish in Hewitt. Of course, Grace's time with Nana and Pop-Pop was a blast. She loves going to their house and getting loads and loads of attention.

The Mass this morning for the 25th Anniversary of St. Jerome's was beautiful. The bishop presided, and it brought back many memories from my years there. Our family has a lot of great memories at St. Jerome's, and that parish has been a huge part of our lives since we moved to Texas in 1990. Grace was an absolute angel during the Mass. We all took turns holding her, and she stayed awake for most of the Mass and was checking everything and everyone out. She's so curious (and a bit nosy).

There was a nice picnic after the Mass, and then we headed home to hang out for the afternoon. Grace has lots of playtime and showed her Nana and Pop-Pop how she pushes herself up when she's on her tummy. She's getting really strong!

We drove back home late, after the Eagles game, which I don't want to talk about. The best part of watching the game was seeing how cute Grace looked in her cheerleading outfit, even though she didn't have much to cheer for!