Tuesday, September 28, 2010

And a few more pictures....







Also, at Gracie's 1 year appointment a couple weeks ago she weighed 18 pounds 6 ounces and was 30 1/4 inches long! She has been taken steps for awhile now but as of this weekend she is REALLY walking!

Gracie's 1 Year Pictures







And these are just a few!

Monday, September 20, 2010

A few links...

It's been a sort of long weekend. Gracie has been extremely cranky and just not sleeping. The last couple weeks she has only been taking one nap and that one nap at times has been very hard to get her down for! She also has been struggling to go to sleep some nights.. really putting up a fight. I'm praying its just a phase.. I am comforted knowing that at this age it seems nothing lasts very long! I still didn't quite feel I got the "restful" weekend I was hoping for and was feeling a little frustrated last night. God heard my prayers though when I got a phone call saying the little boy I babysit wouldn't be here today. I have definitely enjoyed some quiet time this morning.

I was re-looking over some blog posts and just thought I'd share them with you this morning.. One is on motherhood.

The other is on marriage.

Hopefully they will encourage you today. I know that they did me.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Gracie's First Birthday Party!

Well Gracie is officially a ONE year old now! Wow.. that was actually really weird to type! We had her one year doctors appointment and she now weighs 18 pounds 12 ounces and is 30 1/4 inches long... so basically she has gained 10 pounds and grown 10 inches!
We had a birthday party for her on her actual birthday this past Saturday. We did a ladybug theme and we had a great time! Here are some pics from the special day!







I'll probably do another post soon with a few more pics from her birthday... they only let me upload 5 at a time and I still need to download a few from my camera! And I promise.. she did smile at her party! She looks so serious in some of these pics!

Friday, September 3, 2010

Gracie: My First Year at OneTrueMedia.com

A look back at the past year...

My Birth Story, One year Late, for those interested!

Well, one year ago I started FINALLY having contractions with Gracie! I meant to post a birth story forever ago and never got around to it and so I thought I finally would today. I don't know who is particularly interested in this.. BUT I wanted to have it recorded...

I had shown no signs of progress at all, even at my appointment on her due date.. none. I was frustrated but had heard many times that this is very normal so I just tried to enjoy my last days before motherhood.
Thursday morning, September 3rd, 2009.. Matt and I went out to pick up some watermelons and tomatoes from a friends garden. I just felt sooooo tired. I had been having decent amounts of energy but that day it was not the case. I went home and pretty much rested all day. When I woke up from a nap about 4 that afternoon, Matt came in the room and was reading a magazine. Then all of a sudden I felt something.. "I think i might have just had a contraction!" I remember telling him.. So we just waited to see if it happened again.. sure enough about 5 minutes later. We timed them for a bit and then I thought.. "oh gosh, this is going to drive me crazy if we just keep waiting for them!" So we decided to go heat up some leftovers, tacos, I debated this not wanting to see them later.. but they sounded good, so I thought oh well!

I continued to have bursts of contractions 5 minutes apart.. then they would spread a bit further a part.. then close together again. We just relaxed. I really wasn't in all that much pain and so I just thought.. this probably isn't' even it. We watched some of the football game and then about 8 headed out for a walk. The walk was hard! The contractions were definitely getting stronger! We actually ran into several people we knew on the walk. I didn't' want to say i was having contractions b/c I didn't want to make a big deal if it wasn't anything so I tried to just keep breathing as we had a short conversations!

We headed back home and I decided that I should get more of my bag together and at least straighten my hair! haha I had taken a shower that day but just let it air dry and it was looking a little crazy. I thought I do not want our first pictures with my hair looking nuts! I debated makeup and decided it was silly to put on makeup to go to the hospital, especially since at this point it was almost 9.

The next hour we just timed contractions.. some came really close leaning in on 3 minutes apart and then others were still about 5. I finally decided it was time to call our doctor. She told me to get to the hospital!

We left the house about 10:30. My whole pregnancy I imagined our hospital ride to be chaotic and stressful and for me to be in a whole lot of pain. I had like two minor contractions the whole way there. All I could think was.. oh gosh.. we are going to get there and they are going to say go back home, you aren't even dialated!

We pulled up to the ER and went in.. I was breathing pretty normal. The guy at the desk even asked, "Are you in labor or are you being induced?" I said, "I think I'm in labor" (haha) He insisted on me using a wheel chair but I could have totally walked.. the contractions didn't seem so bad right then! Once again making me very nervous.

We checked in about 11:15 (which note to self.. unless a complete emergency, do not check in at the hospital prior to midnight.. we got charged for the whole day!!!!)
They checked me and thank goodness I was dialated to a 3 and they said I was definitely in labor and to just stay put! I felt so much relief!

At this point I called my mom. She had called earlier that night but I didn't tell her about the contractions. I knew she would have got right in the car and I didn't want her coming if it was nothing. So when I called she was obviously asleep,
"We are at the hospital mom"
"WHY!?!"
"We are going to have a baby!"
.. haha, I thought it was very funny she asked why!

So from about 11:30 to 2:30 we just walked around the hospital, I sat on my exercise ball, I went to the bathroom like 10 million times. I kept feeling the urge to go! I even got in the whirlpool tub for awhile! And finally around 2:30 I got nervous. The contractions were a lot closer, hurting a lot more and I just didn't know if I could do it! At this point I was dilated to a 6 or 7.. BRING ON THE EPIDURAL!

I was nervous for the epidural and that was probably the worse part of the whole thing sitting there, trying to be so still when the contractions hurt so bad! But when it finally set in...awww.. relief!

My mom arrived about 3 AM and for the next 3 hours we just talked, watched episodes of The Office and tried to rest. I was not very successful at resting! About 5:30 my doctor showed up and was going to break my water since that had never happened. But when she came in, apparently it had just broke.. I couldn't feel a thing. So they said I was ready to start pushing because that was the last thing they were waiting for, I was fully dialated!

At 6 I started pushing and pushed for 45 minutes.. it really wasn't bad. I guess that's b/c I had an epidural. I was informed that pushing is not fun otherwise!

And at 6:45 AM, Friday, September 4th.. Gracie Irene Maestas was born!!!
8 pounds 4.5 ounces, 20 1/4 inches long

and they said she was a small baby!

Has it REALLY been a year!?!?! We are having her first birthday party tomorrow! I'll post pics afterwards!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Summer Update!

Well, no I haven't fallen off the face of the earth... It is kind of funny to me that now that I have "more" time in my day since I haven't been babysitting this summer.. I actually have blogged less.

It's been a great summer! We have been busy but its been fun... Gracie has had a summer full of firsts...

... her first trip to an outdoor pool and a splash park.. SHE LOVES THE POOL!!!
...her first trip to the zoo
...first time picking blueberries, and for that matter, my first time too!
...her first Royals Game!
...trips to the park and time in swing, which she also loves!
...this local gym has free "gymnastics" time for little ones once a week and we have been going to that... Gracie loves crawling all over everything... its actually quite a work out for me!
...her first 5K, also my first 5K.. we walked it this past weekend to support DYM, the youth ministry building that we meet in for our church service..
...her first time at a Sports Camp, our church held a Sports Camp for kids in our community the last week of June. It was a great time! We had 48 different kids there throughout the week!

And I could go on and on.. but you get the idea. It's been fun! I can't believe it is already July! I just keep thinking back to this time last year and how excited I was getting that my new little baby would be arriving soon. And now my new little baby is growing so fast and turning into such a fun little girl! Gracie is SOOO busy.. she crawls crazy fast, pulls up on EVERYTHING (which has resulted in some minor ouches!) and is starting to just stand up w/ no assistance. I can't believe that she will be walking soon! SO NOT ready for that!! I already can hardly keep up with her!

I hope everyone else is enjoying the warm weather and all the fun that goes along with it.. here's a few new pictures!





Thursday, May 13, 2010

May Update

Well Gracie is officially 8 months old.. crawling (the real way)like crazy..she laughs, claps, getting better at eating.. not great but better.. and I'm starting to wonder where my little baby is! She is turning into such a "big" girl! She is a lot of fun right now and I'm just trying to soak in this stage of her life as her first year seems to just be flying on by.

As for us we are gearing up for summer! Only 2 weeks to go and I'll be done babysitting. We have some big projects planned for the summer, including painting our house! We actually got FREE paint from a program here in the county we live in so we are very excited! We have also been working hard (or should I say Matt has been working hard:) ) on the backyard, mulching and working on our garden. It is looking really nice. We don't have any BIG plans as far as traveling goes.. just visiting some family which is always nice. We also have some events we are working on with our church.. a kids sports camp and a back to school night. Both of those we did last summer and we are excited about hosting them again this year! Also we are excited b/c this past week we started our 2nd community group Bible Study! We decided it was finally time to multiply. We have some of our neighbors getting involved as well which has just been awesome to see. God is truly at work in our community!

Well I hope everyone else is enjoying this month of May!

And finally here are a few pictures of my little girl...

My first mothers day:)
Matt made the day SOO special! He bought me a new outfit.. and its VERY cute!, made me breakfast, took me out to a fave sandwich shop of ours for lunch and also had a gift card to crate and barrel for me (from Gracie!) .. it was so sweet of him and I enjoyed the pampering:) The only downer was Gracie was really fussy on Sunday, her top teeth are coming in! Poor baby:(

Gracie w/ her daddy after bath time.. she was a little unhappy!

Gracie entertaining herself w/ some cooked spaghetti noodles:)

the last two are of Gracie playing in her room.. she is starting to pull up on all sorts of things!

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Just a few pictures from the week...

Gracie loves to stand up, which means we spend a lot of time helping her stand up:)


My little crawler...


Gracie will NOT hold still for diaper changes at all. She rolls, crawls.. whatever she has to do to get away... I just couldn't resist:)


We bought a computer from someone for a really good price. Everything was included except for the monitor... someone recently let us have their old monitor.. think we might need a bigger desk now?:) (for the record, this is the same desk I have had since elementary school!)


Gracie loves her daddy...

Friday, April 16, 2010

Project 365: A Glimpse from the past week!

well.. a glimpse from a week a couple weeks ago:)

Strawberry Scones... WONDERFUL!


Gracie playing on the floor with her Grandpa and her Great Grandma.. they were in town for a visit over the weekend.


one more pic of Gracie and her grandpa...



Eiley and Gracie hanging out in their hats:)


Some fun in the tub w/ lots of toys!


Gracie at her friend Hudson's birthday.. it was her very first birthday party!

Friday, April 9, 2010

Starting our garden!

The weekend is ALMOST here! I'm so looking forward to sunshine and projects! We are starting to work on our garden this weekend. Last night Matt got our plot of ground ready and we are going to work on it more this weekend. I can't wait to start planting!

Is anyone else planting a garden? This will be our first year to do it and so I don't know a whole lot. We are planning on doing tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, peppers, some sort of berry maybe.. someone even told me cantaloupe was really easy?? We will see what we end up doing and I'll try and share our progress. If anyone has any tips let me know and I would love to know what you are planting. I also really want to do some herb pots this summer.

I have also been trying to de-clutter my house as well.. I've been taking a drawer, a closet, random basket one at a time when I have a few minutes and just sorting through... throwing things away, putting things where they should be!:) It is amazing how much I have been able to accomplish with just a few minutes here or there.

So... all this to say.. what are you plans for the weekend? any spring cleaning projects or yard work?

YAY for SPRING!!!!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

New Update Video

Here is a link to our April video!

Hope you are enjoying your day!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Project 365: A Glimpse from the Past 2 weeks...

Gracie is learning to crawl... unfortunately for her she is going in the wrong direction and gets stuck underneath our furniture:(


Matt and Gracie at a fave KC restaurant of ours.. La Bodega!


Gracie eating bananas and playing with her spoon...


Chicken Chili on a cool spring day.. recipe link here! It was WONDERFUL!


Strawberry Hand Pies
.. not the best picture but very delicious, especially with a scoop of ice cream!


Gracie loves her Johnny Jump Jump type swing! I just wish we would have started using it sooner.. My grandma found it at a garage sale and showed us before we had Gracie. Both Matt and I agreed that it looked like some sort of a death contraption.. but now we love it!


Matt has a new toy.. well actually we both do. We finally traded in our 3 year old flip phones and upgraded as well as switched our plans to Sprint. We have a friend who works for Sprint and he hooked us up w/ an awesome plan. So now for less than we we were paying for a measly 500 minutes, no texting, no internet.. we get it all plus double the minutes!


Matt and Gracie just chillin on an 80 degree day.. LOVE that its getting warmer!


Gracie and I prayer walking our town..


Kabobs and fresh pineapple on the grill... Delicious!


Chik Fil A...YUM!


Isn't this outfit so cute?! My mom brought it to Gracie this weekend.. This is when we were out shopping in downtown Lawrence.


This is my blueberry pie I made for dessert.. all from scratch I might add;)(the outer edge of the crust did get a little brown..grr...)

Gracie's First Easter

Here are a few pictures from Gracie's first Easter... It was such a great day! (Oh and yes Gracie has a horrible looking rash in some of these pics across her chest. It's looking somewhat better but we are thinking that it is eczema:( )