Grace hits the 1 year mark!

just so you are prepared...this post has a lot of pictures, and they're all very messily spread around. i'm having issues with blogger at the moment. but, hopefully you can still enjoy the post.
also, i realize she is now 13 months old. i know. i suck at posting. but, better late than never right???



Gracelyn's Birthday was on March 18th! Can you believe it?! Our little girl is already 1 yr. old!! It is so unbelievable. To think that we have had her in our lives for a whole year...wow. Sometimes it feels like its dragged on, day by day, by day...by day...but then, miraculously, it all the sudden has been 1 yr. and you realize that it truly has flown by.

We started our journey with this.

life flight & a lovely i.v. in her beautiful noggen!

and this in the middle...

definitely all cause for stress...

however, we've also had these...

moments like these, have made the difficult patches all worth it...

and most recently...we've had this...a little walker. who walks EVERYWHERE. and gets into almost everything...there's still time for that i suppose

Our feisty little Gracey-lou has been a challenge and a blessing, all rolled into a chubby little ball with big blue eyes & a giggle to melt your heart.

I liked this survey...so I'll think we'll use it for Grace too!

1. Height & Weight: 18.76lbs. & 26in....i think

2. Fav. Color: She is constantly pointing at the pink fish on our shower curtain...but I would say she really loves bright colors.

3. Fav. Movie: She is always very attentive for Veggie Tales...and also Muppets...although i'm trying to lay some baby einstein on her. make her educated. :)

4. Fav. TV Show: probably Veggie Tales. although her favorite thing to see on the t.v. screen is pictures of herself....

5. Fav. Food: Her favorite baby food is the Apples & Cherries. But, let's be honest...she doesn't actually believe in eating baby food for me. she loves baby cheetos and also is constantly getting adult foods. So, she loves ranch, bread, cheetos, orange juice.

6. Fav. Treat: The girl loves oreos. And I recently discovered she also has a thing for nilla cakesters...must run in our womanly genes

7. Fav. Toy: Mommy & Daddy's cell phones...remotes..however, since she ruined a remote, and a charger...we have tried to keep these away from her. Her newest favorite toy is her dolly. Her Grandma Venice bought it for her for her Birthday, and it giggles when you press it's belly. Grace adores this little dolly. She laughs, smiles & giggles right along with it, and we are constantly catching her hugging it, kissing it, picking it up and snuggling it. She just loves it.

8. Fav. Outfit: She hates getting dressed, AND undressed. Her fav. outfit is her Birthday Suit.

9. Fav. Activity: Following around mommy & Daddy and crying until they pick me up. Also, taking all the movies off the shelves and THROWING them behind me. Making a mess. Whining. Ok, a more realistic one...Grace really loves to be outside; going on walks, getting the mail, taking out the trash...any excuse to be outside.

10. Fav. Subject in School: Well, she's not in school, but I imagine she'll love music & dance. She is always dancing to music and shaking her booty. The girl has rhythm.

11. What do you want to be when you grow up? Topher said "just like her mommy"....I

roll my eyes at this...and say that she probably always wants to be Daddy's little girl. We want her to be whatever her little heart desires.

12. What makes you happy?: Cheetos, the outdoors, cuddling with Daddy, playing with Daddy, making a mess, pictures of herself or cousins, looking in the mirror

13. What makes you sad?: Being alone, when mommy & Daddy leave or won't hold me, when I have to eat, when I have to take a nap

14. Best Friend: Daddy, daddy, daddy. And if I had to choose other people....her cousins, Uncle Austin, Grandpa Curtis

15. Personality Traits: FEISTY, STUBBORN, silly, sweet, independent (she can do it all herself...), dependent (her happiness depends on you being RIGHT THERE ALL THE TIME), cuddly (as of late...she loves to give hugs, esp. to her cousins), funny, cautious, energetic

16. Special Stories about you from the past year: Since people really already know the gist of Grace's journey...rather than get super sentimental...because that's what every post is...I'm going to share with you a little it of Grace's fun personality...

She loves to make faces. They make everyone around her laugh out loud.

She has one where she clenches her whole face, with her mouth open & stretched out, and then she shakes her whole body...almost seizure like...but it is hilarious!

Another face, she does pouty/kissy lips, tilts up her chin, and breathes REALLY loud through her nose, while spontaneously blowing snot out. It may sound gross, but it also is really funny.

She loves music & loves to dance. ANYTIME that music comes on, she will start to wiggle. Doesn't matter if its a phone ringer, a commercial, or a full out song, she'll shake her bottom back and forth, raise an arm in the air and shake her booty, bounce up & down. It is so so cute to watch.

She loves little kids & babies. She can't keep her hands off them, always wants to hug them, and if just passing one by on a walk or in the store, she'll wave at them furiously until they see her and wave back. If she ever sees one crying, she'll make a sad face and blow kisses to them.

She frequently falls asleep with her butt in the air.

Everytime we change her diaper, she thinks its time to run away. Once the diaper is off, she'll immediately flip over and crawl away at lightning baby speed, sometimes attempting a dive right off the bed, and of course, she is giggling the entire time.

This little girl is resilient. She can overcome so many things & be so tough. When she had her heart transplant, she sat up by herself for the first time a week later, in the hospital.

She has developed so quickly physically, and not let anything hold her back. We are constantly amazed by her & her ability to overcome challenges & obstacles.

We are anxious, nervous & I guess excited, ;) to see what this next year holds for us!

Happy Birthday Gracey-lyn-lou!

Here are some pictures of her Birthday for your viewing enjoyment!
This was the start of our beautiful baby and her lady bug

cake...

She started out fairly timid...not so sure about this sticky red stuff on her hands...

And she became more daring as the night wore on

Soon you have this sweet face...

And of course Topher and I did NOT encourage her to put her gooey hands on her head...that would be completely mean of us...

And you end with this. Isn't it a work of art? It turned the entire bath tub pink too. She had such a fun time mawling that cake. It was hilarious to watch....I think I may have snorted a few times from extreme laughter..luckily that didn't end up on film.

Anyway, it has been an adventure of a year. But it's becoming more and more normal feeling rather than high maintenance health concerns every way you look. Its an amazing feeling to finally think Grace is going to be ok, and that she is here for the long haul. But I think that after a year of ups and downs, that feeling is finally here to stay.
Thank you to everyone who keeps updated on Grace & how she is doing. We appreciate so much the support we get from so many people, even the people whom we have never met or even spoken to in person. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers & support! Grace has needed & been blessed by every bit!