Where are we going?

I just got the call that I have been waiting for all morning. Nate got his first choice for rotations, so we will be heading off to Ohio this summer. I am happy that he got his choice, a little nervous about starting over in a new place and sad to be leaving Iowa. We have had such a good time here and gotten to know so many great friends. Our ward has also been so great. We still have a while more to enjoy it and then our adventure leads us to Ohio.

Gaining again

Gracen went to the doctor yesterday and he gained a pound!!(in 5 days) I never thought I would be so excited over something like weight gain. He is such a happy little guy. Next Monday we are going to check again one more time before I go to Utah. Hopefully we will get another pound, he needs it. Also, we put in our first choice for Nate's rotations yesterday, and of course, it is Ohio. We might know by Friday if we are leaving for Ohio or staying here. Either way is fine with me although I will be sad to leave all the friends I have here.

Christmas Already!!

After our Thanksgiving dinner at the Marriot with DMU (it actually didn't taste too bad and I didn't have all that cooking and cleaning to do so it was nice) we went home and put up our Christmas tree. Gracen, Brynlee and I are leaving in a week and a half to Utah for my friend Kassie's wedding and for Christmas so we will not be here for most of the month of December. We are so excited to go back home and see our family and friends. Nate will be joining us on the 23rd of December after he is done with classes. So we decided we better put it up and enjoy it for a couple weeks. Brynlee was so excited when she woke up from her nap and saw that Nate was stringing the lights. She is going to be so fun for Christmas this year. I think she finally gets the idea. She keeps telling me she is going to ask Santa for a flashlight and a pink camera. Gracen is getting to be so much fun! He loves looking at the lights on the tree. He had another appointment with the doctor the day before Thanksgiving and once again had very little weight gain. He was up a half ounce in 6 days weighing in at 7lbs 11 1/2ozs. Still so tiny. We are going back on Monday to have a weight check again. We are hoping and praying that he starts gaining better. We'll see what happens. Putting on the first ornament.
Even Gracen got in on the action!
Brynlee wanted to put them all at the bottom where she could reach, but we didn't think that looked too good so I talked her in to letting me lift her.

Gracen's first pictures

I took Gracen to get his first pictures when he was one week old and they turned out so cute. He just slept the whole time. We went and picked them up on Tuesday so I had to post them.

Brynlee's "noon" bed

Brynlee got a new bed in July and has always called it her noon bed. My mom sent her a bed set for it for Christmas and she got to open it early. She was so excited and now she just wants to sleep in her noon bed. She kept telling me she was so tired and would go in and lay in her bed. She is so cute! Thanks Grandma for the bed set, she really likes it!
I thought this picture of Brynlee and Gracen was so funny. It kinda looks like he is smiling at her, but he isn't he just had his mouth open. Brynlee loves being a big sister! Gracen is now three weeks old and he is such a good baby. We have really enjoyed having him!

Trick or Treat

Brynlee was so excited to be a bumble bee for Halloween. After we put her costume on she started buzzing and said "I'm going to go sting my grandma." She ran out to the kitchen and backed herself up laughing and "stung" grandma. I was able to take her out and go to the trunk or treat at the church. It was a nice break for me. When we first got there she saw someone dressed up as spider man and she said "a monster" she was scared of the costume. It was kind of funny to see her hide from him everytime she saw him. She got lots of candy and all day she has been asking for a treat.

Gracen is too small for a costume so I found him this cute little pumpkin hat. Brynlee really wanted him to be a pumpkin and every time she saw a little pumpkin costume she would say baby Gracen is going to be a pumpkin. She would cry when I wouldn't take the costume home for him.

Gracen is so small the hat didn't fit on his head very well. He still looks cute anyway!

Brynlee made such a cute bumble bee. We went outside to wait for Laura Lee and Addie and Brynlee was telling me she was going to sting her "best friend" Addie. Her best friend changes daily and it is funny to see who it is.