Christmas and Video

Good morning! Merry Christmas!! We woke up late this morning since Opie and I stayed up late watching Mall Cop (funny) and Maceo stayed up late too. This morning we got up dressed Maceo in festive Christmas duds, then helped him unwrap some of his presents. Here is a video of of the special morning, keep in mind that Maceo is super sleepy! Smiles-Grace and Opie

12 weeks today!

Oh my goodness the time sure does fly, Maceo is 3 months old!! Crazy! I feel like the time has just flown by, in fact I am stealing time away from sleeping just to write this, seems like everything lately is a stealing peter to pay paul kinda situation. Since I am working about 40-45 hours a week I don't have nearly enough time to take pictures of the little man, luckily Opie is taking over for me. While I don't have any pictures or video of today, I do have some from the last week that I will post with this post. All things are well with Maceo, he keeps getting bigger clocking in at around 18 lbs on our scale here at the house. That puts him at gaining almost a pound a week! He is also doing a ton of talking and yelling, it is fun to hear him find his voice. Anyway, I should d get back to tiding up the house doing the dishes and getting ready for work tomorrow! Smiles-Grace ps. Opie took the video sideways this time, I promise won't happen again!

Baby its cold outside!!

December started and so did Winter! Today we have rain last week ice, and freezing temps!
Opie decorated one of our plants as a Christmas tree and Maceo loves to look at the lights and the red apples. Maceo also had kid friends come over this week and I put up a picture of me reading to everyone. Here also is a video of him just pleased as punch! Smiles-Grace

Let's laugh again!

Maceo has been a barrel of laughs today! He has been laughing almost non-stop, as he is falling asleep he starts grinning and gurgling! Check out this video and the pictures, I apologize that I took the video sideways! Sorry it won't happen again!. Smiles-Grace

Update

We had a wonderful first Thanksgiving! We spent the day with a friend of ours and there were lots of kids there that Maceo loved watching. The little girls just made his face light up. Maceo also did not seem to mind being around 10 other adults and 4 other screaming kids, in fact he took two naps and didn't cry at all (except when getting up from a nap!) Once I get pictures I will post them here.

So the time has come for me to go back to work! This coming Wednesday is my first day back and I am both terribly sad and trying to remember that work is good for me.Anyway, I am going to attempt to post on here with new thoughts and pictures on Tuesday nights. We shall see if I am successful!

Maceo is doing great, everyday I feel that he has a new coo or a new cry. Last night while we were trying to put him to sleep he made a cry that I had never heard before, deep in his throat more of a moaning sound. Sometimes I have to laugh just because I am so delighted to hear him express himself. Lately he has been fighting sleep and Opie and I have resorted to lots of new ways to try to get him to sleep. We are rocking, jiggling, spinning, shimming, patting, swinging, and two stepping him to sleep. Once he is down he sleeps pretty good, in fact he has been asleep for about an hour an half now! I am writing this and listening to him making grunting noises while he sleeps. Our child is not a quiet one!

We also think he may be "pre-teething" he has been drooling and trying to put his gums on anything that gets close to his mouth. While in the past I thought he was trying to find his thumb, I now think that he is just trying to find some relief for his sore gums. I am going to get him a teething ring today!

Maceo is also starting to have chubby thighs! They are super cute and fun to squeeze as he giggles! While going to work and being away from him and from Opie will be hard, coming home will be wonderful! -Grace

First time in the Hot Shop

Yippie! Maceo got to see his daddie blowing glass for the first time yesterday! Opie was doing a demo at Elements glass, the same shop that he has some of his pieces on display. Maceo and I decided to surprise him and showed up to watch his demo. Opie was successful making a grenade that he put inside a bottle!While Maceo enjoyed all the new sounds, smells and lights! Smiles-Grace ps thanks to our wonderful friend Leann for all the great pictures!

Hand Candy

So since Maceo came into this world he has been looking for his hand and in the last week or so he seems to have found it in a big way. He is still waiting for the thumb to find its proper place in his mouth (he has to start by opening his fist, which he hasn't quite nailed the timing on that feat). So here is a video of him in deep concentration sucking on that fist. As with every time I pull the camera out he wises up and stops doing the super cute stuff, so forgive me if this is a little tedious but as his mom I could just look at him for hours doing nothing! Smiles-Grace ps. he seems to favor the left hand!

Two Months!!!

We made it!! So Maceo officially is starting his third month on this wonderful planet. Maceo gave Opie and I two great gifts in the last couple of days, day before yesterday he slept for 6 hours in a row and last night for 7!! Yeah!! During his third month we have lots to look forward to, like Maceo learning how to grab and hold toys (right now he is just grabbing my hair! and Opies chest hair, ouch!). Here are a couple of pictures from his two month old birthday! Smiles-Grace

Hitting Toys

So Maceo is about to enter into his third month on this planet and we realized that he is getting bored with just looking at us! So we brought out the play mat and some of his toys and he loves them!! Check out this video of him hitting them then and then laughing. We are also entering into even cuter outfit phase and he is looking like quite the little man in overalls and he even has sweaters just like daddy! Smiles-Grace

November 11th -Pestering Mom!

Here is a little video of me bugging Maceo! I of course want him to smile for the camera and he is not in the mood for me! Notice how he barely even looks my direction no matter what I do! Smiles-Grace

November Morning

So cold! I do believe that Oregon winter has begun to arrive early. The sky has been gray for what feels like forever (although I am sure it has only been a couple of days), and there is a wet chill in the air. Currently attempting to figure out how to keep Maceo's cute little hands and cheeks warm, but not too warm. Maceo had his first doctors visit last Thursday and all is well. Turns out that he is super big and long, but has a small head for being so big and long, go figure. Opie says that he himself aslo has a small head so perhaps it runs in the family. We are hoping to get some free cranial sacral work done on our little guys head in the middle of December.

It is said to be really good for babies since their heads are growing and of course the journey into this world squishes the head around. We are also going to have Maceo's hearing checked, although we know he can hear us and everything else around him! At this point it is hard to put him down for naps since he pops open his eyes every time he hears a sound. He is also laughing so much more which is super fun and really makes me smile from deep inside. Anyway, I should get back to the laundry and the dishes before the baby wakes up! Smiles-Grace

If you aren't familiar with cranial sacral here is a excerpt from wikipedia -

A craniosacral therapy session involves the therapist placing their hands on the patient, which they say allows them to tune into what they call the craniosacral system.[1] The practitioner gently works with the spine and the skull and its cranial sutures, diaphragms, and fascia. In this way, the restrictions of nerve passages are said to be eased, the movement of cerebrospinal fluid through the spinal cord is said to be optimized, and misaligned bones are said to be restored to their proper position.

More November Pics

More pictures of Maceo in outfits that he has grown out of or is about to grow out of!

November

Well we are now half way into November and the little guy is not so little anymore. Weighing in around 14lbs! Maceo is also starting to smile!! Check out this video! Smiles-Grace

Day of the Dead Party

Baby's first big social gathering!

Big Eyes!

New Pics! Happy Halloween!

Well it looks like Maceo is enjoying chocolate candy this year!!

Turns out he is big!!

Turns out that our little guy is actually 22 3/4 inches and gained a one pound in the last week!That puts him at 9 lbs and 12 oz at 15 days old!! Crazy huh!

Well these pictures are from the last week! Gosh I can't stop kissing him! First car ride, went super well for him, stressed mom out! Smiles-Grace

Finally the labor fog has cleared!

So here I am back for a few moments, to announce our beautiful baby boy! Maceo Beau Waylon! Born September 25th ,2009 at 3:28pm, 8lbs 9oz 21 and 3/4 inches!!

Still Pregnant!

This photo was taken yesterday at the Rose Garden in NE. Look at my belly poke Opie!! Smiles-Grace

Slide Show of all pics so far

http://picasaweb.google.com/chefgracetara/OpieAndGracePlus1?authkey=Gv1sRgCPGllfL6zc_10wE&feat=directlink

Last of the prego pics

Ok, here are the last ones and the polka dots brings us just about up to date. Now we wait for baby! Smiles-Grace

Henna belly

So this picture is of me at the Oregon Country Fair on July 11th 2009. I am 7 months pregnant and my belly has been adorned with Henna, it is almost like a mud that dyes your skin. This day was overcast and gray and I didn't give one thought to getting sunburnt but as it turns out the top of my belly did get too much sun and it burned the top of the henna image into my skin, and so now I have the coolest tan lines ever! Here I am writing this 3 days from my due date and I can still see the heart at the top of drawing on my belly! Smiles-Grace

Prego Pics galore :)

So I am posting these from early in the pregnancy and posting till I we get current which is the polka dot pic Smiles-Grace

Just the beginning!!

We found out we were pregnant back in January and here is a picture that was taken a couple of months later, excuse the hair this is an early morning pic, on my day off!. Smiles-Grace

Pregnancy Pictures Begin Here

So I am going to post a few pictures of my belly getting bigger, excuse the fact that I am not sure if I have exact dates!! Sorry!! Hopefully it will just be fun to see pictures of the baby inside before the baby comes out!! Smiles-Grace

Snow Storm of 2008 Biggest in Years

Well, last Winter we got snow. No joke we got inches upon inches, in fact in some places we topped out at 6 inches of snow! It happened very quickly and effectively shut down the whole city....except me going to work! Luckily I was engaged to a man comfortable driving in the snow and he drove the Explorer (without chains I believe) through the deep ruts of snow, the crazy drivers, and the blizzard conditions about 8 miles to my work. On a couple of days we picked up some of my co-workers on the side of the road (not that you could see the side of the road anymore!) Opie then stayed at work with me and we manned the deli with sometimes as few as 3 people for both shifts (usually about 6-8 people work per shift, 2 shifts a day). Opie was a huge sport and everything was tinged with the electricity that only dangerous weather can create. Right before Christmas day we were taking home a co-worker who made the comment "You know alotta baby's are made during this kind of weather". We all laughed, and then laughed even more when a month later when I saw the pink positive on the pregnancy test!! Our child who is soon to arrive as I write this, is one of many many babies that were conceived during that snow storm right before Christmas of 2008. Also we made our first glass ornaments last year together up at the Firehouse, check out a this pic of me blowing glass!! -Grace

Keep Catching up!! Holiday Season '08

At the beginning of October Opie and I invited friends over and we carved pumpkins and ate lots of candy, along with braised short ribs that turned out so rich and delicious. Then on Halloween Opie dressed up as Burt Reynolds (I had to live with that stache for months!!) and I went super old school and donned a white sheet with eyes and mouth cut out to be a ghost. The ghost thing really freaked people out....strange. Then into November and right before the busiest holiday of the year (my favorite Thanksgiving) Opie proposed!!! We had just had Pho at our local spot and walking home was chilly so I went to put my hands in his pocket and he brushed my hand away and reached in his pocket and pulled out a ring, all I saw was a flash and he was down on one knee!! I really don't remember anything he said but I do remember a pause and I said yes!! The ring is stunning, made in 1904 with a design that looks like it is based on an owl, it shimmers even on grey days. The other cool part is that Opie made a piece of art for the jeweler in trade for the ring (check out the black and white orb). We then took our good news into the holiday and I stuck my hand out for all to see and got much advice and many congratulations. For the day of Thanksgiving we went to McMinville and spent the night with our friends Jeff, Liz and Jason of course gorging ourselves with yummy turkey dinner.