FINALLY posting pixs… over a month late. I LOVED her off-white vintage style dress, especially the split sleeves and lace at the bottom. Chris gave a beautiful blessing. Part of it stated that she lights up a room with her smile and that she should share that smile with others, as it will bring them happiness. Oh boy does it ever! WE LOVE OUR LITTLE ANGEL!!!

It’s apparent that blogging has become my last priority. I’m sorry to disappoint my enormous fan base but with weather like this, sitting at my computer is the last thing I want to do. I promise I’ll send a few updates in this month. In the mean time….

Gracie is now sleeping 9 hours each night. (I know I know - I’m “lucky.” My sisters hit it on the head when they said God sent me an easy baby because he knew if I got a hard one I’d never have another one. lol) Nothing is more rewarding than waking up in the morning, meandering into her bedroom and finding her in her crib, already wide awake, greeting me with her beautiful toothless smile. Lately, however, I find myself waking up before she does. I’m surprised that rather than going back to sleep, which is VERY MUCH in my nature, I lie in bed daydreaming about her. I smile, feel a slight adrenaline rush, can wait no longer and hop out of bed, excited to see my little angel.

This is a familiar feeling, and reminded me of something, but I couldn’t quite figure out what. Until today. Christmas! Even as an adult, Christmas still brings with it curiosity and excitement - the one day a year I would rather get up than sleep in. The idea of a great gift that might await. I love it!

How lucky am I, to wake up every morning to the best gift of all!?! It’s like Christmas… Every Day!

My “happy” little baby, wearing an outfit from my friend in Italy. (taken with my iphone. Great quality, aye?)

Her first shoulder ride.

The joy of my life!!!

Refer to Post “American Idol 2009″, Posted 4/2/09

Danny: Wonderful story, wonderful performer, we’ll see more of him. TOP 3
Adam: Without question the most talented, a true performer. (despite his slightly “creepy” factor) TOP 3
Allison: The next “most talented” - however, she won’t have the fan base to carry through to the top 3.
Kris: Ladies man=huge fan base of screaming (and crying?) little girls. TOP 3

Man I’m awesome! I should win some kind of award … ; )

Last week I was able to run for the first time since having my baby. (For the first time in nearly 12 months, actually). Man it felt good to get my sweat on! As usual, I watched TV while on the treadmill, and that day I found myself watching Oprah. The episode baffled me. As sweat was dripping into my eyes and off of my chin (why do I love that so much?) …. there sat a 400lb woman on TV, who had just received BRAIN SURGERY to help her loose weight.

“I’ve tried everything my whole life; Every diet you can imagine, even gastric bypass - and nothing has worked.” Seriously? You’ve tried EVERYTHING? Exercising? Hard? 45 minutes a day - everyday? I couldn’t help but roll my eyes as she enthusiastically announced, “I’ve lost 11lbs in 3 months! I haven’t changed anything I do, but now I make healthier choices. I don’t TRY to, my body just wants healthier foods.” Here’s a little secret America. You don’t need freakin’ brain surgery for your body to crave healthier foods. That’s a byproduct of exercise!

I’m so tired of all the lazy people in this world who want something for nothing. A magic pill, a special diet, lipo, SURGERY. My theory: Anything worth having requires work. A lot of work. That’s how God meant it to be. A healthy body is no exception.

What it all comes down to is self control. Such a fundamental principle, yet society gives it no merit and constantly praises those who escape it.

“The height of a man’s success is gauged by his self-mastery; the depth of his failure by his self-abandonment… He who cannot establish a dominion over himself will have no dominion over others. He who masters himself shall be king.” - Miracle of Forgiveness.

I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong. (It’s happened once before). Maybe there are people out there who’s brains are simply wired wrong and exercising doesn’t do a THING for them (riiiiiiight). I have to remind myself that all I can do is worry about myself, so I’ll continue to run my heart out and as the sweat drips from my face I’ll enjoy every second of it… after all…. I’ve earned it!

Every day Gracie makes me happy, and every day I tell myself, “It couldn’t get any better than this.” Well… it just did. Five minutes ago Gracie shared her first giggle with us. Not just mommy. Not just daddy - but BOTH of us. We were both there to share the moment, and we were both left in utter happiness, awe and amazement. I couldn’t hold back the tears, and I’d be lying if I said Chris’s eyes didn’t tear up. And the best part - we caught it on camera!!!

We were sitting on the bed and Chris was entertaining Gracie - a nightly ritual he looks forward to. He always spends at least an hour doing “baby sit ups”, helping her “stand” and trying to make her smile… Tonight he was making her legs “run” and she kept getting the biggest smile, while cooing. He said, “Look Nat. She’s about to laugh.” He did it again and I could feel that she almost had it figured out. I made him pause while I ran down 2 flights of stairs to grab the video camera, all the while crossing my fingers that I hadn’t missed the moment or that she wasn’t yet bored. I returned, got the camera rolling and Chris started where he left off, sound effects and all. Not more than two minutes later she let out a little giggle. Her first giggle!!! It was all I could do to keep from bursting into tears and laughter, so as not to cover up her new precious sounds.

My heart is FULL and I simply can’t hold back the tears of joy. My little angel let out her first giggle! What an absolutely incredible moment! I can’t tell you how thankful I am to have caught in on camera, where I can re-experience it again and again.

“It couldn’t get any better than this.”

……….. Five minutes later she was sound asleep ……….

I CAN’T BELIEVE my little girl is already 2 months old!!! What amazes me is that she’s already showing her little personality. For example, she’s a happy baby. Always smiling… especially when she first wakes up and after a good feeding. Another trait - she’s a bit of a drama queen. If she’s eating and her bottle comes out she screams. I mean… SCREAMS. When this first started we would panic every time, fearing that she was hurt or I was pinching her or something. Now we can’t help but laugh. Our special little drama queen lol.

Last night I found her sucking her little thumb - ALL ON HER OWN! It was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I’m sure I should break her of it before it becomes a habit, but it’s just too adorable. I included a pix of her in her little Easter dress as well. Chris picked it out. She’s daddy’s girl, that’s for sure.

Weight: 40th percentile
Head: 30th percentile
Length: 90th percentile!!!

It’s 3:02 a.m. and I am, once again, playing the binki game. I have been since 12:00. Sure I’m exhausted. Sure I should be irritated. But baby G is making it rather hard. You see, every time her binki falls out - and she’s quick to let me know - I run to her rescue and put it back in her tiny mouth. In return she dazzles me with a smile so big that I can even see it under that darn binki. How can I not laugh at that? (break to replace binki. And back.)

Tonight she’s been in this pattern where she stops sucking her binki and holds perfectly still. I’ve been in this pattern where I let out a sigh of relief, “She’s FINALLY asleep,” and get up to check on her. Without fail I’m greeted by her beady eyes peering over her blanket, open wide and perfectly alert. (binki break) Doesn’t she know it’s 3:00 am? (3:25 now). Doesn’t she know that NOW is the time to be sleeping? I think not. (Diaper break. Blow out. Change of clothes. And…….. Back. Wait. Binki break. NOW back). After 7 weeks of “scheduling” her, I’m starting to learn that she’ll sleep when she’s good and ready, and not a moment sooner.

So I’ll sit here, insuring I answer her every whimper, and as I’m greeted by her big eyes and little smile I will continue to giggle silently, while I resist the urge to scoop her little body into my arms.

How I love my little - What’s this? 4:09 and she’s asleep. There’s my cue.

I watched this with my mouth gaping wide open, and I’m still a little puzzled over the whole thing. I’m not sure WHY… but I am. Maybe I’m just surprised I never caught on. After-all, I had all of these movies memorized as a kid.

Disney made one movie and they’ve been tracing the template ever since. It makes sense from a business stand point, but still… I feel a little gypped. (I hesitated to use the word “gypped” - until Chris said, “Really? You think you’ll offend someone? How many gypsies do you know?” Good point).

I haven’t blogged forever - and I’d love to write something worthy of reading… but that’s just not going to happen. However, what would a blog be without a post about American Idol? So here we go:

Last month I was recording American Idol and had every episode stored when I realized not only will I never get around to watching them, but I don’t CARE to watch them. I deleted ALL of them and started from scratch - skipping the monotonous no-talent clowns and enjoying what really matters: The top 13 contestants. From the first episode until now I feel it’s obvious where this year is headed.

The Top Five: (not necessarily MY top 5)

Danny: Wonderful story, wonderful performer, we’ll see more of him. TOP 3
Adam: Without question the most talented, a true performer. (despite his slightly “creepy” factor) TOP 3
Allison: The next “most talented” - however, she won’t have the fan base to carry through to the top 3.
Kris: Ladies man=huge fan base of screaming (and crying?) little girls. TOP 3
Scott: I’d love to say he’ll be in the top 3, but I think his touching performances will only get him so far. Watching him always leaves me in awe, but he sounds like an EFY performer to me - which isn’t very unique and I wouldn’t buy his CD.

PS - Am I the only one thrilled to see Megan kicked off? Watching her was just TOO PAINFUL! I was embarrassed for the poor girl, bless her heart.