Baby G’s first PRIDE!

Grace is asleep right now and she’s been ready for bed since around 6:30pm.  She was completely exhausted and will likely remain sleeping for the next 13 hours or so (which is one of the perks of a busy day, I get to sleep in too)!  After her day in the sun, amongst the excitement of people cheering, children playing and rainbow flags for as far as the eye could see, I don’t blame her for being pooped because I am too!  Today was baby girl’s first Pride and she had an absolute blast.  Pride is something that me and G have been looking forward to attending as a family since last year so we were pumped that we finally made it. :)

For Pride last year, we wanted nothing more than to take our beautiful gal to the festivities but unfortunately she was just 3 months old and only weeks away from her cleft lip surgery.  We had made it 3 months without Grace catching anything and we knew we had to make it just a few more weeks without her getting sick because if she did, we would have to postpone her surgery.  This meant that participating in super fun festivities with lots of people (like Pride) was out of the question. 

 

Fast-forward a year and not only did we finally make it, but we were joined by my BF and her little gal, Olivia who is Gracie’s same age.  They just happened to be in town for a visit so the timing was perfect.  A few other friends joined us as well and together we watched the parade with two very excited little girls.

The entire parade Gracie sat happily perched in her carrier shouting, “Yay! Yay! Yay!” over and over.  It was the cutest thing to watch.  She pointed at everything and waved back to the people on floats who waved at us.  G was able to snag a set of Pride beads for Grace, which made her the happiest baby in town.  I really was proud of the girls.  They made it 2 hours in the sun without a problem.  They were excited and fuss-free.  Such good little gals!

We decided that we would skip the activities at the fair grounds later in the day because it was past lunchtime and we were all starved.  A delicious lunch + mimosas + a much needed naptime (for the babies and the mamas) brought our first Pride as a family to a close.  It was pretty sweet. :) 

  

Oh, and guess what else?  I got a YES!  I finally ovulated today on CD33!  Is it weird that I ovulated that late?  Everything I’ve read says that most women ovulate around CD14.  In either case, I’m still just so pumped that I got a yes.

Happy Pride friends!

What makes a marriage “real”?

In light of this morning's news, I have been glued to the television all.day.long and I’ve checked-in to my various social networking sites about a hundred times.  I can’t get enough of the pictures, the stories and interviews on the SCOTUS decision.  I have no doubt that most of you have done the same.  What a joyous day it’s been!

As I’ve followed today’s events, there is one thing I’ve heard and read over and over again from fellow LGBT-ers, and that is, “Now we can really get married”… “I’ve dreamt of the day I could really marry my partner”… “Finally we can have a real wedding”.  Surprisingly, these comments have all come from people who I thought were already married.  These are friends and acquaintances who have had weddings; they’ve worn the white attire, exchanged rings and made that oh-so important commitment to love one another forever.  To be honest, it’s all left me a bit perplexed.  I’m not saying that referring to a legal marriage as a “real” marriage has bothered me necessarily, but it certainly has made me think.  After reading the 6th or 7th comment like this today, I spent the better part of the afternoon reflecting on my own marriage and wedding, asking myself the question, what makes a marriage “real”?  Do you have to be married on paper to really be married, or does a symbolic ceremony count as real?  I know my personal answer to this question and it would appear that my definition of what a real marriage is, differs from many others in the LGBT community.

When I knew that I wanted to marry Georgia, I stopped by my local jeweler and picked out the ring that I had stalked online for weeks.  10 months and 10 payments later, I took the ring home in its little blue box and couldn’t have been more excited.  I had the ring, I had the blessing of G’s parents and I had her 30^th birthday trip to San Francisco all planned – or what I now lovingly refer to as our *engagement trip*.  Yes my friends, she said YES!

Following the BIG engagement, our A-mazing friends threw us a semi-formal black and white themed engagement party.  It was beautiful.  From the invitations to the food and decorations, it was more than we could have ever asked for.  They didn’t leave out a thing.

A few months later as a special gift to us, my talented sister, Missy, took our engagement pictures on a sunny day down by the river.  These photographs are framed throughout our home and will forever hold a place in my heart.

Because we were married in another country, we were engaged for a year and a half (we needed lots of planning time)!  Even with our extended engagement, that year and a half went in a flash.  Before either of us knew it, it was already bridal shower and bachelorette party time!

Our bridal shower was hosted by our moms at our favorite local winery.  Aside from the actual wedding, this was my favorite of all our wedding events. Our friend Becca made the most beautiful cake for the shower.  Me and G handmade about a million wine charms for our guests and my 91 year old great grandma gave the most touching toast. We were surrounded by so much LOVE. 

Both G and I celebrated our bachelorette parties in Las Vegas, NV (separately, of course)!  G was in on the planning for hers but mine was a TOTAL surprise!  I was given a scavenger hunt that instructed me to call several family members that I am closest with.  With each call, the person on the other end of the line told me the story of how they met and fell in love with their spouse.  They then told me whom I would need to call next.  When I got to the end of my hunt (totally in tears), I was told to pack my bags because I was joining 10 of my closest friends the next day in Las Vegas.  It was like a bachelorette party out of a movie, tons of friends, surprises everyday, an awesome hotel.  It was seriously amazing!

And this brings us to the BIG DAY!  November 7^th, 2009, a day Georgia and I will hold in our hearts for all time.  The weather was beautiful and both brides were surprisingly calm and stress-free.  Joined by 40 of our family and friends, we made the vow to love, honor and remain committed to one another for the rest of our lives. 

All of these wonderful events and that special day on the beach in Mexico will forever be our REAL wedding.  Our ceremony was symbolic and to this day we are legally married in Vancouver BC but not in the US.  Even with this being the case, November 7^th, 2009 will forever be our real wedding day.  When gay marriage passes in New Mexico (it’s just a matter of time before it does), we’ll go down to the courthouse and we will legally wed, but there will be no reception to follow and no wedding cake.  For me, for us, our real wedding, our forever wedding took place at sunset in Cabo San Lucas Mexico nearly 4 years ago.  Legal or not, that will always be our wedding day.

I know there is no “right” answer to the question of gay marriage and what constitutes a real marriage.  Some feel it is extremely important to have that piece of paper and others don’t.  What are your thoughts?        

My Coming Out Letter

As most of you know, tomorrow is the much anticipated SCOTUS decision regarding same-sex marriage.  Given the fact that my family doesn’t have rights in New Mexico, these two decisions could have an immense impact on us and every other LGBT family in the United States.  As it stands today, New Mexico does not have constitutional or statutory bans, but they also do not allow same-sex marriage.  

This is a great article in The New York Times; if you’re unfamiliar with the two cases, click here.

In celebration of the SCOTUS decision, I am going to share my “coming out letter” for the first time on my blog.  I sent this letter to my entire family in October, 2008.  I’m talking parents, grandparents, godparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, the whole family and friends (It took A LOT of stamps).  Most of those closest to us already knew that Georgia and I were together and planned to marry, but I sent it to them anyway. ;)  I don’t for one minute regret that I shared this letter with my loved ones all those years ago.  As my wife would say, “you came out of the closet like the Kool-Aid Man busts through a wall”.  Direct is my style, I guess.  So here is my letter, and best of luck to all of us.    

Hello Family,

I hope that this letter is finding you all healthy and happy.  I wish I could sit and visit with each of you, but I realize how busy our lives are, so I decided to write instead.  I haven’t seen some of you since Christmas, and for others it’s been even longer than that.  A lot has happened in my life over the past year, which is why I’m writing you today.

Some of you may have already heard the news I wish to share, and for those of you who have, please know that I did want to be the first to tell you.  My news to all of you is that I am getting married!  My bigger news is that I am engaged to a woman named Georgia.  This brings about the third piece of me that I wanted to share with each of you.  I am a Lesbian.  Georgia and I have been together for over two years.  We own a beautiful home and we have three dogs.  We met at work three years ago and at the risk of sounding cliché, it was love at first sight.  Georgia’s Mom and Dad are native New Mexicans. She has one brother and like me, she has a really big family. They are all wonderful people who love and care for me very much. I can’t wait for you to meet all of them.
  

I realize that this may be shocking news for some of you, primarily because many times being gay comes with a negative stigma and is not accepted by everyone in our culture.  Without going into a deep explanation of why I have chosen to accept myself for me, more than anything I want to remind you that I am still the Kristin you have always known.  I am a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a niece and most importantly a Christian.  Many times people who don’t know gay people think that being gay is a choice, something that can be changed. The fact is- it is not. I would never choose something that may offend my family and go against the social norm; however, choosing to live a lie would only hurt me emotionally and psychologically. Accepting myself as a gay person was a process for me. It took a really long time to accept who I was and disregard what other people may think of me. I know “acceptance” of this news may take some time for you, but more than anything I would ask for your love and respect. I truly believe I am the person my parents and you all wanted me to be, the fact that I am a lesbian is just a part of what makes me whole.  I have always felt that the most important thing you can do for yourself, and as an example to others, is to live an authentic life.  My faith in God has never faltered. Even though I still struggle with the fact that the Catholic faith does not accept me, I will leave that up to God to decide. God is still a part of my daily life and I thank him everyday for all he’s done to keep me strong and make the person I am today. I am “coming out” to you all today because I wish to have a closer, more genuine relationship with each of you.  I wish to dispel myths and stereotypes about who gay people really are. We are human beings who love each other just like you, and as you can see, we do not all fit the common socially constructed mold.

I have been blessed in finding someone who loves and supports me, that shares my hopes and dreams for the future and most importantly, someone who loves her family as much as I do.  From this point forward, when you see me, Georgia will be by my side.  All I can ask from each of you is for your love and support as we begin our lives together.  Please do not hesitate to call or email me.  I would love to hear from you.

P.S. The date for the “big day” is November 7, 2009 in Los Cabos, Mexico

Love,  Kristin

In the weeks following my mailing of this letter, I received countless calls, emails and letters from our loved ones and every single one came from a loving place.  I never thought that this would be the reaction… Just goes to show, don’t ever underestimate the people who love you, and never let your fear of the unknown keep you for living an authentic life.    

27/52: Proud to be from New Mexico

“I am proud to be the first U.S. Senator to participate in the NO H8 Campaign.  Gay and lesbian couples who accept the responsibility of marriage should have all the rights that come with that responsibility.  The time for marriage equality is now.”

– Senator Martin Heinrich

United States Senator for New Mexico

26/52: Day 22: {enjoying life} with my water baby

Laid Off.

I can’t even believe that I’m writing this post and yet I am, and it’s true.  I’ve been laid off at work and my last day is Friday, June 28th.  You may remember reading a post I wrote a few weeks ago talking a bit about my work stress.  At that time, all I was hearing were rumors of potential lay-offs but nothing concrete.  Since then the rumors of downsizing have become reality and myself along with two of my employees and a good friend in another department are being let go.

The levels of sadness and worry that I’ve gone through recently have been, at times, unbearable.  I’ve been with my organization for nearly 8 years and some of my dearest friends are people that I work with.  One of my absolute best friends (and the person who married Georgia and I) is my boss who I am going to miss so very much.  I met G at work and in the 7 years that we’ve been together, I’ve never known what it’s like to not work with her.  I must admit that this is one of the things that makes me the saddest.  People have often told me that it would drive them crazy to work with their spouse.  For me, it’s been pretty great.  It’s been all I’ve known.

The most difficult part of all of this is that our TTC#2 efforts are going to have to be put on hold for a while.  I want to burst into tears just writing this but it is what it is.  We’re pretty sure that G will be able to add me to her insurance but even with that being the case, I can’t really start a new job and then tell my new boss 3 months later that I’m expecting.  I also wouldn’t be eligible for the leave I would need with a new baby for a full year, or so it seems to be the case with the companies I’ve looked into.

One of the greatest things about my job was that along with having awesome fertility benefits, adoption assistance and total LGBT support, it’s a very family friendly organization.  This is the reason that I’ve stayed even with the instability of the company and the two previous rounds of layoffs that have happened in the past two years.  To think that I stuck around for such a long time and worked my butt off only to be let go one month before what was going to be my first IUI, well, it’s pretty shitty.

I know my little family will get through this and we’ll be ok, but for now I’m sad, I’m stressed and I’m feeling angry.  I do believe in the power of prayer and positive energy and I am definitely in need of both right now.  Any prayers, positive thoughts or vibes that you can send our way would be so appreciated.

Must repeat daily.

Blogging Mamas Meet!

This past weekend I finally got to meet my fellow blogging mama friends A & C from sotOhana!  Georgia has known C since high school but it had been 18 years since they last saw each other.  It just so happened that these high school friends both married bloggers and A and I have since started following each other via the awesome gay community of bloggers on the World Wide Web!  A & C live in the Pacific NW but happened to be visiting New Mexico so this gave us the chance to grab dinner and introduce A & C to our baby girl.

It was so great to meet the Soto clan in person and we loved getting to hear all about the BABY on the way for A & C (yay)!  This little one will be their first and we couldn’t be happier for them.  Grace pretended to be shy at the start of dinner but quickly came out of her shell.  By the end of our meal she reached out for C and was happy to be held.  I’m so glad we were able to get together and congratulations again to the happy mamas-to-be!  You gals are going to be great parents.

At dinner Grace decided she would just pick her own dish.  Hmm… what to order? ;)

And to all my other blogging mama friends, if you ever visit NM – drop me a line!

I SUCK at charting.

True story.  I really, really do. 

When we were TTC Grace, Georgia didn’t chart.  To be honest, we didn’t even know what charting was at the time.  It wasn’t until after Grace was born that we learned of the benefits of charting, especially if you’re someone like me with irregular periods and PCOS.  I started charting using Fertility Friend on Tuesday, June 4^th (CD8) following an orientation of the website and mobile app as well as the review of several “how to” videos.  You would think this would have done a sufficient job of teaching me how to use the software… not so much.  I had planned to begin charting the month prior but didn’t get a period.  At the end of May when I did get my period, the plan was to start charting on CD 5, but I could not find a basal thermometer for the life of me!  I finally found one 4 days into my search at the 3^rd Target I visited.  Apparently basal thermometers are hot commodities these days – who knew?  As it has turned out, waiting for aunt flo and finding a basal thermometer were the least of my troubles…   

Here are the charting issues I’ve run into in just the past 2 weeks:

Issue #1: My digital basal thermometer reads all over the place.  I figured this out one morning when I decided to take my temperature for a second time immediately following my first temperature reading.  The second time, my temp totally changed and it was only like two minutes later.  Below is an example from this morning.  The top temp was taken at 8:08am and the bottom was taken at 8:14am.  I know the difference between the two isn’t huge but it’s definitely a difference, and on other days there has been even more of a discrepancy.

Issue #2: Every day when you chart your temperature it’s plotted in a graph as a solid dot.  As I was charting I began to notice that on some days my dot was an open circle.  After checking the key I found out that if something in the data indicates that the temperature may be slightly inaccurate, the temperature will be plotted using an open circle instead of a dot.  WTH?  Why has my temperature shown as inaccurate in 7 of the past 14 days?!  I literally take my temp every morning between 7:00am-8:15am and plug in the numbers.  How can one even make a mistake doing that?  I don’t understand.  Here is my chart since day one.  It’s a total mess. :(

Issue #3: The first day I took my temp I didn’t realize that my basal thermometer was set to Celsius and not Fahrenheit.  I took a picture of my temperature to later enter in Fertility Friend as I always do and realized later at work that it was Celsius (because my temp was in the 30’s LOL).  I googled “how to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit and did the calculation using the formula given.  I cross referenced my temp in Fahrenheit against several other Google searches to make sure it didn’t change.  I later found out that my wife has an app that could have done this in seconds, ha!  As you can see in my chart above, my temperature increased drastically following my initial test day.  This can mean one of two things.  1.) My recorded temp was incorrect on that first test day  2.) I ovulated the one to two days prior, which means I would have ovulated on CD6 or 7.  Don’t women usually ovulate around CD14?  Again, I don’t understand.

And then there is Issue #4:  This one is 100% my fault.  The first pack of ovulation tests (OPK) I purchased was a 7 day supply.  I kept telling myself to go get more as I was running low but I didn’t.  I ended up running out and not getting more until 2 days later.  This meant that I didn’t take an ovulation test on CD15 and CD16.  I know, I know, what a bonehead move.  Since taking my first ovulation test on CD8, I haven’t had a surge in the over 2 weeks since I started this process.  I’m thinking (and hoping) that I ovulated during the two days that I didn’t test.  I’m praying this is the case because if not, it would seem that I didn’t ovulate at all this month and that’s not good. 

So there you have it.  I suck at charting.  I’ve learned more about the whole process since I started so hopefully my charts begin to look more “normal” and make more sense as the weeks go by.  In the meantime, if you have experience charting, if you have tips or can help direct me in any way – it would be very much appreciated!  This is all so new to me and I feel as though I have no idea what I am doing. :( 

Just because she's so stinkin' cute ;)

Happy "Father's Day"

To my wife (who is currently installing new kitchen hardware)! My heater fixing, air conditioner replacing, light fixture installing, home repairing, electronics guru of a wife. You remind me of my dad in more ways than you know. Gracie is one lucky girl, and so am I.

25/52: Day 15: {from above} Chalk Art!

Summer Bucket List: Color with Grace – check!

Transfer Consultation Complete √

Today G and I completed another step in our TTC baby #2 journey.  We had our transfer consultation and it went pretty good!  When we were going through the TTC process with Georgia, I wasn’t present for the consultation she had with our sperm bank.  The way it happened to work out, she was on vacation with her brother in the state where our sperm bank is located, so she just did her consultation in person.  They tried to Skype me in but had technical difficulties.  Because of this, I wasn’t really sure what to expect this time around.

It turns out, the consultation is really just a series of Q&A’s and not the psychological evaluation I thought it was going to be.  For those of you just starting your journey to conception and you’re curious about this step in the process – here are a few of the questions I was asked:

* Questions from the NP:

- Describe the relationship you have with your RE?

- What is your plan for conception?

- How are you getting your purchased vials to NM?

- Are you aware of the process you will follow when/if you are successful?

- Are you aware of the infectious disease tests that are conducted on all vials?

- Are you aware of the options you have in deciding what to do with any remaining vials you may have when your family is complete?

* Below are the questions we had for the NP.  She actually answered all of them… I was shocked!  For some of the questions she gave us ranges but they were very close ranges.  We received more info about our donor’s offspring today than ever before, so that was nice.

These were our questions:

- How many live births have there been so far from our donor?

- How many vials does our donor have left for purchase?

- What is the ratio of baby boys to baby girls from our donor?

- What is the age range for children born from our donor?

- What is the total family count for our donor so far?

- Is our donor still available for purchase with new families?

The thing I found most interesting was when the NP told us that a little over 70% of the births that have come from our donor have been boys!  For as badly as Georgia and I wanted a little girl, I feel even more blessed knowing that we got one even with the odds stacked against us!  GIRLS ROCK! 

I’m not crazy so I wasn’t very concerned when I originally thought this was a psychological evaluation.  It is funny though to see just how off the mark I was in understanding what this step in the process would entail, ha! 

Speaking of crazy, check this out…

Apparently you now get a vibrator with the purchase of ovulation tests… I can only speak for myself, but when I’m peeing on a stick, the last thing I’m thinking are sexy thoughts.

First trip to the dentist

When Grace was born there were three things that our midwife checked for immediately.  She inspected the severity of Gracie’s cleft lip, she checked to see if she had a cleft palate in addition to the lip, and she examined the baby’s gum line to determine if that too was impacted by her cleft.  Thankfully, our little gal was not born with any malformation to her palate.  To say that this was a relief would be a huge understatement.  We quickly learned that Gracie’s lip was a unilateral incomplete cleft and was not bilateral, which was also such an answer to prayer.  After the nurse check our little babe out, she informed us that the upper gum line (the alveolus) had been affected and that our plastic surgeon would give us more details on what this would entail in our next appointment.

What we learned was that when Gracie’s lip fell short of completely attaching in the middle, her upper gum line did as well.  This meant that Grace would need to have an additional surgery called “alveolar bone graphing” at around age 6 and the operation would involve a procedure that would replace the missing bone with bone material from another area of her body.  We also learned that often times kids with a split gum never get the one to two teeth that would normally grow down in that area.  This meant that if the teeth did not come in, Grace would have a gap in her gum line even after her bone graphing and the space would need to be filled artificially with a dental implant or two.  These implant(s) would be replaced and change in size as Gracie grew.

We were reassured that while the alveolar bone graphing was definitely needed down the road, there was still a chance that Grace would get teeth in the split in her gum and would therefore not need artificial teeth… translation, she will need surgery but there is a chance that we won’t have to pay the who knows how much, on artificial teeth in addition to her orthodontic costs.  We hoped for the latter.

This brings us to last week and Gracie’s first visit with the orthodontic team that will work with her for the next several years.  First, I must say, the father/son team were some very awesome dudes!  They were engaged, super child friendly and when the younger of the duo walked in, Grace reached out because she wanted him to hold her, haha!  The babe’s teeth were examined, cleaned and flossed, just your standard dentist stuff.  As expected, she was not a fan of the flossing but she also didn’t meltdown, which was a relief.  Me and G got an A+ from Gracie’s dentist on the condition of her teeth (yippee!) and he told us that of all the patients that have been referred to him by our plastic surgeon, Gracie’s lip is the best work he’s seen!  We know that there is a small chance he tells this to all his parents of cleft kiddos, but either way it was still great to hear. 

The BIGGEST and best news we received from Dr. C, was that he is fairly certain that Grace has teeth working their way out in the split in her gum!  I hope he's right!  :)

Here are a few cell phone pics from Gracie’s dentist day.  

They’re a bit blurry but cute all the same.  :)

24/52: Day 10 {You} #fmsphotoaday

15 Months of Gracie

You guys, I have a 15 month old!  I’m not sure how or when that happened but it happened.  During Gracie’s first year I felt like time flew… now I feel as though we live our lives in worpspeed.  This kid of ours says new words, learns a ton of new things and does totally off the wall funny stuff every single day.  It’s nuts!  As promised, I am going to do my best to write a follow up “18 Months of Gracie” and a “21 Months of Gracie” post leading up to our gals second birthday.  I figure that while I may not have the time to document her monthly development as I did during her first year, I can totally commit to tracking her development at least every three months.  Sorry in advance for the long post… :)

The stinker playing hide-and-seek @ 14 months!

To my Gracie girl, so much has happened since I last wrote a monthly post about you that I don’t even know where to begin.  I think it would be easiest if mama grouped your updates, so here goes.

Associations: You can now identify 11 of your body parts and you’ve been doing this for almost two months now!  You can identify your head, mouth, eyes, ears, tongue, nose, belly, toes, legs, hands and feet.  Mama has been trying to get all of this on video for the past month but to get you to hold still and show me all 11 is impossible.  A few weeks ago I was able to get most on video.  You’re such a little smarty pants!

New words: book (boo), bath, yeah, tent, Dora, cat, ice, fish (fshhh), duck, light (ligh) ball, thank you (thannn), bye, sky, love you (yayou), night (nigh), which is what you say at bedtime, mouth (mou), hat, up, please (peas), yay, ouch, eye, head, wow, out, apple, happy (hapa).

This is in addition to: mama, dog (dough), mom (mum), brush (rush), hot, bottle, yum, water, hi, uh-oh and papa (food), which are the words you started saying around your first birthday.

Communication: your verbal communication continues to develop everyday.  In the past month you’ve begun to imitate more and more of the animals we read about.  You can buzz like a bee, tweet like a bird, moo like a cow, bark like a dog, growl like a bear and you can shriek like a monkey!  Mama was able to catch some of your animal sounds on video.

You LOVE: your tent, morning cartoons (especially Dora), bath time, taking "drives" around the neighborhood in your Cozy Coupe, your stuffed bunny, going to the park with grandma & grandpa, playing with mommy’s iPad/iPhone, watering the roses with mama, feeding the doggies with mommy, bananas, blowing bubbles, using a fork to eat (you refuse to eat without one), your box of books, peas and carrots, swimming, your wagon and Mia.  You love all your cousins but you are obsessed with Mia! 

Signs: now that words are becoming your main way of communicating, we’re seeing you sign less often.  Some signs that you still use are, “all done”, “more” and “water”.

These are your absolute favorite books right now:

New developments: You no longer walk, you RUN!  You also climb on everything, all the time.  Your mamas have had to baby proof every drawer and cabinet and install a permanent baby gate because you get into everything.  You’re such a curious little gal.  You also have a new bottom tooth and a MOLAR!  Mama couldn’t believe it when I spotted your top molar.  This brings your total number of teeth to ten.

Growth stats: at our last doctor visit you weighed in at 22.5 pounds.  You now wear a size 4 shoe and you’re still fitting in your 12-18 month clothing with the exception of a few 12 month tops.  You’re still wearing a size large cloth diaper and I think you’ll be in that size until you potty train.

Speaking of potty training, this is one of the exciting things you’ve been up to these past 3 months.  Mama and mommy aren’t pushing the potty on you too much, we’re just trying to sit you on the potty at least once a day so you can start to get used to it.  So far you’ve peed in your big girl potty twice!  This made us so proud so there has been lots of celebrating.

We’re also having so much fun with your hair!  Now that it’s longer we’ve been able to have fun with different styles.  Even grandma Grace and Nani have gotten in on the action.  I’ve got to hand it to grandma Grace though.  I showed her how I style your hair just once and she has done so many adorable hair-dos on her own since. 

There aren’t a whole lot of other things that I can think of that have happened since mama’s last monthly post for you aside from the novel I just wrote... ha! You did take your second flight for our summer vacation, OH and you got the “all-clear” at your 13 month check-up with your plastic surgeon, Dr. C!  This was the best news because it meant you would not need any additional reconstruction of your lip in the next year, yay!

Other than Nani and grandma Grace, I’m not sure that anyone is still reading this marathon of a post at this point.  For those who are, thanks for keeping up with the happenings of our little gal.  It really is amazing what all can take place in 3 short months, sheesh! 

Happy 15 months to our beautiful Gracie.  Your moms LOVE YOU as high as the sky and as deep as the sea.  Xo, mama

Summer Bucket List: Take 15 month pictures - check!