Trace's Dedication

Trevor, Trace, and Keri

Trace in his little suit and tie



We dedicated Trace to the Lord today. It was a good service and most of our family was able to attend, which was nice. Trace wore a suit and tie, that some good friends of ours gave us, so he was looking pretty stylish. Afterwards, our family came back to our house for lunch.  It was the first full course meal I have made since Trace was born.

Trace is 2 Months Old Today!!!

Our little man

Trace "talking"
Buddy smiling...

Our little guy is growing up. It seems like his personality is starting to develop, as he is really starting to smile and "talk" whenever anyone looks his way. He has a great big smile and the cutest little voice. Trace has begun moving his arms and legs a lot lately. He loves lying underneath his play gym and loves smiling at all his little toys hanging above him. His smile can light up a room. We sure love our "little man".

Trace is doing really great with his routine. He wakes up around 6:30-7:00 AM and eats every 3 hours. His last feeding of the day is at 10:00 PM and then he sleeps all night. Occasionally he will wake up a little earlier (5:40 AM), but that is rare these days. He eats 6-7 times/day. After Trace eats, he plays, and after he plays then he takes a nap until his next feeding. He is eating about 4 oz per feeding when given a bottle. He takes the bottle really great. The girls love giving Trace a bottle every now and then. We are so blessed by our little guy!!!

I'll leave you with a couple funny comments: 

I took Kaylee and Kianna to the St. Patrick's Day parade on Tuesday with some friends of ours. The weather was in the mid 70's, which was amazing for around here! Anyway, the day before the parade, Kaylee was talking about the parade and said "Mom, parades are where you try and get candy before the kids next to you, right!?" I couldn't deny it, although I never would have described it that way in the past. In fact, they were pretty chinsey on the candy, so her comment proved to be very true!!!!

We frequently call Trace "Buddy". For example, we'll say "Hey Buddy, how you doing?", etc. Well Kianna has picked up on this and has starting saying things like "Mom, Buddy spitting up" or "Buddy so cute".  It is adorable hearing things from a child's perspectives!

Trace is sleeping through the night!!!

Just wanted to share some exciting news...

Trace has slept through the night the past two nights. I am so excited to say the least. His last feeding is at 10:00 PM and then he has made it until 6:20 and 6:30 AM respectively the past two nights. Way to go Trace!!! We swear by the book Babywise, as Kaylee slept through the night at 4 weeks and Kianna and Trace at 7 weeks. The book recommends getting your child into a routine of eating, playing, and then sleeping in that order. The idea is that if you nurse your child to sleep then in the middle of the night if they wake up they will want to eat to go back to sleep. However, if they have awake time AFTER eating then if they wake up they are able to soothe themselves back to sleep. Babywise basically just teaches good sleep habits along with some other tips and I LOVE IT!!!

Theological discussions with a 2 and 4 year old...

Our Growing Family

Trace smiling- 6 weeks old (Notice the nice wet spot on his shirt, proof that he continues to have reflux issues.)
Trace wearing his first sweater and blue jeans. How cute is that...
First cousin picture with our newest addition (Kaylee, Kianna, Bryker, and Trace)

We have had a rough few weeks. It began with both girls having bad colds, followed by Kianna's turning into an ear infection and Kaylee's into a sinus infection. Then while still recovering, Kaylee ended up getting a VERY BAD case of the stomach flu which lasted for FIVE days and of course Kianna ended up getting the stomach flu as well for FOUR days. Thankfully, Trace and I never got the stomach flu and Trevor only had a mild ONE day version of it. I'm proud to say we survived all the vomit and diarrhea and are all currently healthy...knock on wood!!!

Trace is doing great! He is beginning to smile and coo more and more. He has also begun stretching out his night time feeding from 10:00 PM to 4:00 AM lately.  I'm anxious for him to sleep through the night and am hoping it will happen in the next few weeks. Oh to sleep again without waking in the middle of the night...ahhhhh

Well today was a pretty exciting day at our house. This morning we had playgroup at Chuck-E-Cheese. The girls had a blast playing with their friends and Mommy had fun visiting with hers. We came home for nap time and afterwards played outside in the 60 degree Iowa weather! Yea!!! We are all so ready for Spring. Once Daddy came home from work, we all went over to Trevor's sister's house for Bryker's 1st Birthday Party. Bryker succeeded in getting his chocolate b-day cake all over his face and hair to the point of needing a bath afterwards. It was a fun party. It is hard to believe he is already one!!!!

On the way home from Bryker's party, Kianna randomly began talking about how she wants her doggy. We weren't quite sure what she was talking about, but she just kept saying it over and over, as only a 2 year old can. I finally asked her if she was talking about Allie, our dog that died last spring, and she said yes. I told her Allie was in heaven and that we all want her to come back, but that once someone is in heaven they can't come back. She proceeded to talk about how she wanted her back anyway. Kaylee began talking about how "everyone" goes to heaven. I took the opportunity to ask her "who" goes to heaven and she said she wasn't sure. I told her that people go to heaven only if they have asked Jesus to forgive them for their sins and ask Him to come into their heart. Kaylee said "I asked God into my belly, or stomach, or wherever he is supposed to be". Trevor and I tried hard not to laugh at her precious statement. Kianna, our stubborn one, said "Jesus is not in my heart". Trevor told her that Jesus IS in her heart because she is still so little and can't ask Him to come into her heart herself. She again said "Jesus IS NOT in my heart". We couldn't see her, as it was dark outside, but I'm sure she was looking at her "heart" trying to find Jesus and not finding him...