The Mouse Family Blog

Grace at 7 Months

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Mouse) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:40:00 +0000

At seven months, Grace is really blossoming into her own. She has lots of personality these days. Lots of people have been telling us that she "misses nothing" or is "really alert". She seems to either be a very quiet baby, or a very loud one. When she's talking she likes to say something that sounds exactly like "hey!" She hears her mom and her sister saying that word a lot. She also loves to "razz" or blow raspberries and make lip smacking noises (Grandma Ann taught her to blow kisses - one of Lauren's favorite things to do when saying good night).

Grace is taking 3 naps and sleeping through the night almost 12 hours. She has started solid foods, but lately seems to not care much for the jar variety baby food. We're not quite sure yet what to do about it. Maybe we'll get a food mill and see if home made stuff suits her tastes. She has no teeth yet. She is wearing 12 month size clothing.

She can roll over from back to front and front to back. She sits up by herself and only topples over if she's really reaching far for a toy. She loves to play with all kinds of toys and they all make it to her mouth immediately. She's got quite a strong grasp and is also strong on her legs. She hasn't made any major advancements toward crawling yet aside from sticking her butt up in the air and pushing up on her hands.

When she smiles, she is the most beautiful baby in the world (apologies to other babies we know).

Beach Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Mouse) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 21:05:00 +0000

So every time we come to Florida, I (Liz) try to capture some amateur beach photos. We've seen the professional photographers down here at the beach with the whole families decked out in white shirts and khaki pants or jeans. So here's the best of Grace...

And here's the best of Lauren...
(dumping sand out of a seashell onto Grace's head, and then screaming that she is done)

But to make up for it, here is a link to Lauren in her past beach photo shoot...
click here.

Of course, it really started almost 5 years ago on Siesta key beach with Liz in a white dress and Jace in a white shirt...
click here.

Girls on Film

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Mouse) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:57:00 +0000

In front of Grandma and Papa's orange tree (turquoise anyone?)

Liz's birthday!

Lauren rides the turtle at "The Creek"

Lauren and Grandma at Siesta Key beach

At the Beach with Daddy

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Mouse) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:37:00 +0000

Jace came down during the girls trip to Sarasota for the Valentines Day weekend. Here he is with Lauren and Grace at Siesta Key beach...

And here's a cute shot of Lauren on the playground equipment they have at the beach in a nice shady pine tree grove where we have our picnics.

You can tell from our jackets that it was a bit cold at the beach. It was REALLY windy too. Lauren was kinda freaked out by the combo of the weather and the seagulls that could ride on the breeze and just hang in the air about 8 inches above your head. She 'lost it' after a while down by the surf and was ready to "clean up and go to the playground!" Watch the video...

Florida...at least it's not snowing here

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Mouse) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:16:00 +0000

Liz and the girls are in Florida for the annual (I've gotten sick of Chicago winter) getaway to Liz's parent's house in Sarasota. The pictures are from Siesta Key beach. As you can see it's not quite swimsuit weather here, but I'll take windy and in the 60s over what they are having in Chicago right now thank you very much. Plus having other people doing the cooking, cleaning and laundry (not to mention some child care) is what I call a vacation!

Grace at Six Months

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Mouse) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 23:28:00 +0000

Wow - time flies by! Beautiful Grace is six months old! In the past month she has started solid food...so far, she is pretty happy with the rice and oatmeal baby cereal, but the debut of carrots got mixed reviews. You should watch the video of her first meal. She is sleeping great - three naps, 12 hours at night (7pm - 7am) with one wake up around 3 or 4 to eat.

We had an interesting visit to her pediatrician this month. Her weight gain was not what our doctor expected to see...so much less so, that the doctor took her to another room to weigh her on another scale. Turns out she only put on 6 ounces since her 4 month visit. Her current weight still puts her in the 75-90%tile so we're not very worried. She still has fat rolls on her legs that go on for days. We are assuming that the introduction of solids will give her to opportunity to eat as much food as she wants. Since she is so happy and sleeps well, we're not worried that she isn't getting enough. We have introduced some formula now and then for ease of babysitting and we give her about 4 ounces at night as a cluster feeding to help her get tanked up for a long night of sound sleeping. She does not have any teeth, but likes to chew fingers (especially moms) and anything else she can get in her mouth.

6 Month Stats:
Weight = 17.6 oz (75-90%)
Height = 27.75 in (95%)

The dress and pants in the photo are Grace's 'classy Minnie Mouse' outfit by Mommy Said Sew (aka Liz). Lauren has a coordinating outfit! Go to www.mommysaidsew.com to see more pics of the girls and their outfits.

Grace and Lauren in the Matrix

noreply@blogger.com (Jace Mouse) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:57:00 +0000

Okay, this is pretty geeky, but worth checking out.

I'm not sure how or why this site does this, but it's neat for a look.

My favorite is this "simple ascii" version of the video.

Lauren goes Sledding

noreply@blogger.com (Jace Mouse) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 02:28:00 +0000

Here's a video of our trip to Winnemac Park, here in our neighborhood. We don't have much in the way of hills. My favorite part was (unfortunately not caught on film) when Lauren yelled "Go, go, go, look at that grown-up go!" Lauren had a pretty good time despite getting cold, and even took a couple of small wipe-outs in stride.

Grace comes to Dinner

noreply@blogger.com (Jace Mouse) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 12:59:00 +0000

Congratulations, Grace! She's starting solid foods, which means she gets to hang out with the family for dinner. She ate rice cereal tonight and LOVED it. Lauren also decided to try "an old favorite," but she was n0t as impressed.

Also, note the new duds, a gift from Aunt Charolette.

Oklahoma Christmas 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Mouse) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:10:00 +0000

Here is a slide show of pictures from our 2009 Christmas / New Years trip to Oklahoma. We stayed with Jace's parents in Elk City and then with Jace's brother Bret's family in Norman. We enjoyed seeing all the aunts, uncles and cousins and wish we lived closer!!

Faith and Grace

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Mouse) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:31:00 +0000

With names like theirs and faces like theirs, one might think they were angels!

Happy 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Mouse) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 19:47:00 +0000

We celebrated the new year in Oklahoma with Jace's family. It was wonderful to see the girl's grandparents and three sets of cousins. Here is Lauren sporting her party hat (she did not stay up until midnight - neither did Jace for that matter).

I heard somewhere that a great new years solution for kids is to have a count down party at noon so they don't miss out on the fun. It's conveniently before nap time, so food and games and "happy new year" can be enjoyed before *bed*.

Grace at Five Months

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Mouse) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:37:00 +0000

Here's our beautiful baby at five months. Grace is a lovely, happy baby! No trip to the doctor this month, so we will have no new stats, but stay tuned to next month when she has her 6 month visit.

Grace is doing great being on a schedule now. She eats 4-5 times during the day and sleeps from 7pm to almost 7am with 2 wakings to eat. She takes 3 naps, and the second one overlaps with Lauren's nap, so it's mommy bliss for 1-2 hours every afternoon.

Grace can roll over from her back to her tummy. She continues to be very strong with her head control...doing what we call baby crunches when we lay her down on her back, she lifes her head and shoulders up to see what's going on. She loves to keep an eye on what Lauren's doing. She is making friends with our dog Indy. She even talks a bit more in baby babble. She hasn't quite mastered sitting yet, but is working on it. She told us that for Christmas she wants world peace. Good girl Grace, good girl.

And a few more pictures with Grace...

Potty Training

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Mouse) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:41:00 +0000

Grace at 4 Months

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Mouse) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:43:00 +0000

Grace is 4 months old and here she is dressed out for the Christmas season. We got a late appointment at the Dr. this month (flu season has them super busy) 1 week past her actual 4 month b-day.

Here are the stats:
Weight is 17 lbs.
Heights is 26 in.
Both are in the 95th percentile

Grace is finally settling into a routine thanks to the work on our house wrapping up. (The above picture was not even taken at home!) She is going to start sleeping in her crib all night...actual 'sleeping' may vary. We'll start with the sleep training as soon as the work is completely done. We'll also be transitioning to a schedule with only three nap periods during the day... the middle nap is even supposed to line up with when Lauren will also be asleep - oh blessed hour of mom time!

Grace is developing according to average...she coos and is actually quite talkative and can even shriek in excitement. Lauren did not shriek. She thinks her sister is the bees knees and even enjoys the exersaucer for a little while, but mostly she still likes to be held.

We think she is beautiful. What a blessing it is to have 2 healthy kids. While we were waiting for the Dr, I popped Lauren on the scale, she's about 35 lbs. She also still likes to be held, but mercifully she also likes to ride in the double stroller, so we are spared the agony of schlepping around a heavy toddler when she gets tired on excursions.

For Those Interested in Chicago Public Schools...

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Mouse) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:12:00 +0000

they are holding a few community meetings about the recent race-based admission shake-down:
click here for dates and times.

Gorgeous Grace

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Mouse) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:27:00 +0000

We Heart Family Grounds

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Mouse) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:17:00 +0000

We LOVE this place. We're not the only ones (it's super busy) so I don't feel like I need to keep it a secret. Especially nice place to go when your house smells of wood stain and guys named Ziggy and Mario are operating power tools in your living room.

Lauren likes to play dress up.

www.familygrounds.com

Belated Happy Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Mouse) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:55:00 +0000

Happy belated Halloween to everyone. Our apologies for not posting pictures sooner, but we've been distracted (more on that later). The work on the house has kicked into overdrive as we try to get everything done. Our goal is to be done with phase I (and some stuff from phase II that is sneaking it's way in) by Thanksgiving. To that end, the workmen are kinda all over the place, so I (Liz) have been trying to be out of the house as much as possible with the girls. Sewing has not really been easy to do, so the girls are sporting store bough costumes this year. There is always next year...

Grace dressed as a bug/butterfly. Lauren was Tinkerbell. She told everyone that she was either "a princess" or "Cinderella." The morning of Halloween, we trick-or-treated through the shops in our neighborhood with some friends. I was feeling really sick (I'd been ill the night before but thought it was just fatigue) so I left early and went home to retire to bed with Grace. Lauren and Jace enjoyed handing out treats to the kids that came by in the evening. Lauren was so sweet and welcoming.

It turns out I had mastitis. All the symptoms pointed to H1N1 (except for the part related to breastfeeding) so I ended up being relieved not to have H1N1. Especially since the night before I had visited my friend's newborn in the hospital. So I've been recovering from that and will be catching up on some more posts soon.

Cheese!

noreply@blogger.com (Jace Mouse) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:55:00 +0000

Moonrise over Winnimac Park

noreply@blogger.com (Jace Mouse) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:31:00 +0000

Edit: Well, I guess you just had to be there, and my iPhone just couldn't do the scene justice. I took this photo with my phone, as Lauren and I (Jace) were over at the park (with about 50 other families), enjoying one of the waning warm(ish) days of the year.

Montrose Harbor

noreply@blogger.com (Jace Mouse) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:06:00 +0000

We were going a little stir-crazy this afternoon, so we took a trip over to the lake.

Lauren had a nice time venturing around, while Grace mostly slept in the stroller. Afterwords, we took a little trip down Lake Shore Drive and an ill-considered trip to a neighborhood pub (parent lesson: newborns and loud raucous football fans don't mix).

It's slowly donning on us how much closer the lake is here at our new house. It's not within walking distance, but it's just two miles down a main street. That also puts us onto Lake Shore Drive, so we've had a fun time "rediscovering" one of the most beautiful drives in all of Chicago. In fact, we've driven it four or five times already this weekend.

Hello Beautiful

noreply@blogger.com (Jace Mouse) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:56:00 +0000

Rocking Out to Old McDonald's Farm

noreply@blogger.com (Jace Mouse) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:08:00 +0000

at Family Grounds Coffee Shop.

Museum Of Science and Industry

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Mouse) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:42:00 +0000

Today the workmen in our house are staining the hardwood floor, so we vacated and headed down Lake Shore Drive to the Museum of Science and Industry. I (Liz) decided the best course of action for toting a toddler and a baby around would be on foot instead of via stroller. Grace does not care for her car seat...and I envisioned myself with a crying Grace strapped to the stroller as I pushed it careening through the crowds in pursuit of a run away Lauren...more frightening that a trip to the chiropractor. So I strapped Grace into the Baby Bjorn, slung the diaper bag over my shoulders, buckled the waist belt, grabbed Lauren's hand (after having a conversation with her about how big girls get to walk through museums by themselves, but they need to stop when Mommy says stop and come back when Mommy says come back) and off we went.

It was of course a free admission day.

So we were not alone in the museum.

But the crowds weren't as bad as free days at places like the Field Museum or the Shedd Aquarium. "Free" however is a misnomer if you park in their garage (are there other options?) - $16. Also, I apologize to Grace for not getting a picture of her on her first trip ever to a museum. I will make it up to you, I promise.

One of the best parts of the museum for toddlers is the Idea Factory which is an enclosed play space where they can run around with a bit more freedom. Here is Lauren streaing a crane arm which she used to pick up blocks with a magnet. The top picture of the post is her playing with the main draw...a water feature that snakes through the whole area (smocks recommended).

Here is Lauren with our admission tickets sitting in front of a "giant Thomas." She liked the train exhibits.

Lauren enjoyed driving the submarine USS Chicago, and peeking through its periscope which looks out of the museum to the tree and cars outside.