Gracie van Gogh

Gracie made her parents proud today at Ms. Ruth's as she completed her first masterpiece. I can definitely see the influence of her mom in her artistic expression, and know that this piece will fit nicely next to some of Abigail's finest. If you can't read the Spanish on top, the translation is, "Thank you God for my hands and my feet. They are for You" May this be prophetic in her life. Amen. Gloria Dios!!

She "Graces" Homework House Fundraiser

Nana Gaines caught this photo just minutes before Gracie's big debut at the HH Fundraiser. She donned Baby Versace, white tights and sparkly shoes, and wowed onlookers on the red carpet as she made her entrance carried by one starstruck dad. She and her dad were so proud of her mom who dazzled on stage, and showed off some of the HH's finest. The weekend with Nana and Papa from MI was a great time, and we couldn't get over how funny Gracie thought it was when Nana asked her, "Who's your daddy?" or said, "Buca di Beppo?" She thought this was knee-slapping funny everytime (except as we entered Laguna Beach and she had a slight meltdown). Big news... Grace has started rolling over, and is looking forward to making a Midwest curtain call over Spring Break as she flys cross country for the first time. Look forward to seeing all in MI and IN. See you in early April!

Gracie Meets Her Great-Grandpa and the Beach

This weekend the Gaines family traveled to Coronado to spend a night visiting Gracie's great-grandpa and getting her first introduction to the Pacific Ocean. We stayed at the Hotel del Coronado and though her mom got a touch of the stomach flu, it was a magnificent trip and as you can see below, we enjoyed a spectacular sunset with Point Loma in the distance.

Lots to report!

Grace had her first taste of solid food and LOVED every bite. She feasted on rice cereal, peas, bananas, and carrots. When the first bite of cereal was put in her mouth she got a huge grin on her face. She showed obvious delight for her new found palate of flavors.













First B-Day with a daughter in tow... What more is there to wish for?






















Grace attended her first APU vs. Biola basketball game- A very heated rivalry here in So. Cal. It got a little loud for her liking, but we figured it was time for her to become a cougar fan!














Last weekend the family enjoyed a little get-a-way up at Lake Arrowhead. We stayed in a beautiful 3000 sq. ft. house overlooking the Lake and snow capped pines. Grace was enamored with the Ducks!

Sick Days...

Poor Grace has come down with something over the past few days. She's had an ongoing fever accompanied by a stuffy nose and cough. She's been wanting to sleep a lot, but still remains smiley and generally content throughout. Pray for her!!
P.S. I've been amazed by how many people say they keep track of our blog. E-mail me and let me know so I can sign you up to make comments!

The Latest

Grace is soooo close to rolling over. She rocks back and forth, but just can't seem to make it all the way over. Any day now! At her 4 month appt. this week we found out that she is in the 96th percentile for height, measuring in at 26 in., but is in the 41st percentile for weight, a light 13.5 lbs. Welcome to the family, Grace!! Thanks Nana Lena for this adorable outfit!


Grace and Harley are beginning to bond these days, also. She's becoming more and more aware of his presence and likes to touch his soft fur and smiles if he licks her hands, or feet. He likes to nuzzle her and seems pleased that she's becoming more interactive with him. After all, he's just waiting for the day that she can actually throw him a ball, or rub his tummy... He's sick of this baby stuff!

Gracie's First Valentine's Day

We had lots of fun with Gracie on Valentine's Day. She certainly has stolen our hearts and looked adorable adorned in her jumper of hearts from Grandma Aldrich. Here's some shots of our Valentine's sweetheart!

Baby Blue's

Grace has turned out to have some of the most captivating blue eyes. They're now the thing that people probably comment on the most (up there with "she's so alert"). Grace has made a few developmental milestones this week: Taking out her pacifier and putting it back in, picking up her toys by herself and putting them in her mouth, and laughing at funny faces (not just when being tickled). Here's also a pic of Grace in her first pair of pink boots that her Grandma Aldrich brought back for her from Texas. Stylin'! She has become such a consistently happy baby (unless she doesn't get her naps) and will give a big grin to to just about anyone! We're such the proud parents!!

Hitting the Books

One of the things that my daughter already loves is to read. Her mom and dad read to her daily from all sorts of books, including her Baby Bible that we've read through at least 20 times to date. She's even learned how turn pages, and will turn them before you even finish the page. The last photo we thought was too cute not to post after an evening walk and dinner in the Village.

Gracie's Sweet 16th

Tomorrow Grace will officially be 16 weeks old and continues to amaze us with the amount of joy someone so small can bring. Each day brings new surprises with the most recent being quite a funny little laugh. We found her ticklish spot and now have tons of fun just listening to her laugh, while not being able to fend us off. A big thanks to Aunt Becky and Uncle Ben for watching her last night so mom and dad could have a date night at the Griffith Observatory in LA. It was out of this world!

Gracie gets caught off guard rolling around on the couch


Mom and daughter hit the sack for a Sunday afternoon nap


Gracie checks out the cute babe in the mirror!

Gracie's Class Reunion

This afternoon, Gracie got the chance to hang with some old friends at our birthing class reunion. It was amazing to see all the little ones after seeing all the women so pregnant for 10 weeks this fall. All the babies were beautiful and as you can see in the photos, quite photogenic as well. The fella on Gracie's left kind of leaned in for a snuggle, and dad started getting kind of protective. He was eyeing her all day and moved in when they all went to the couch for the group photo. Waaattch it! We also got a kick out of the little Asian boy on the far right who couldn't quite make it through the photo shoot!

Bumbo seat is a must!

For all of you out there who have a baby 3-14 mos. I highly recommend the Bumbo Seat. Grace loves hers and you can take it around with you anywhere!

Nana and Papa give Gracie something to smile about!

Grace was all smiles (minus a few melt downs) when Nana and Papa Gaines made a visit to Glendora for the New Year. The weather was perfect for them and we were able to enjoy a morning along the parade lines of the Rose Parade with Aunt Becky and Uncle Ben. Afterwards the boys hit the Rose Bowl (maybe next year Michigan). Grace already misses them and can't wait to see them again in the spring!

Gracie's First Christmas

Jacob and I were grateful to celebrate our first Christmas as an official "family." Grace made the day complete for us and even though she was a little fussy throughout she still blessed us with so much joy. We spent the day at Grandma and Grandpa Aldrich's and Aunt Becky and Uncle Ben joined us for Christmas dinner (thanks for changing the horrific diaper). She can be seen here donning her Christmas cap, as well as discovering the toys on her rocking chair. She's starting to really get into different shapes, lights, and sounds. She especially likes to punch at the birdie and lady bug attached to her Baby Einstein jungle gym. Everyday she does something new and exciting that makes us laugh and fills our home with so much life and fun!

West Coast Swing

Just a couple of shots of Gracie in her new swing lovingly passed on by a family in our church. She wasn't down with it at first but by the second go around she was groovin' . As Christmas fast approaches Gracie's even racking up gifts from my students. Our Christmas is already complete. She's more than we could have ever asked for. Gracie would also like to personally take a moment on her blog to welcome her cousin, William Cash Gaines into the world. She wishes him nothing but the best and wants him to know it's okay to cry for an hour or so in the middle of the night for no reason, just to let his parents know who now runs the house. She also wishes to make his acquaintance in the near future and invites him to come West and experience a SoCal winter where they can play at the Finkbiner playground. She realizes this winter will be tough, and she'll try to make it out to see his Fort by Spring, but will send her dad in the meantime.

How You Know You Love Your Pacifier

This morning, Abigail photographed Gracie after an intense hour of sucking on her pacifier. As you can tell, she's pretty worked up about it, and left the "ring around the mouth" to prove it. She's definitely a passionate little girl. As her father, I fall in love with her more and more each day. Today we walked the streets of Glendora in the Baby Bjorn as the sunset on a beautiful fall SoCal day (mid 70s for you MidWest folk). She slept on my chest as we walked and I couldn't help but thinking more than a few times that there's nothing more I'd rather be doing. Then of course we had a complete meltdown and I might be up with her tonight at 2:00am, but this afternoon, we had a moment. Blessings to all. Can't wait for the MidWest nieces or nephews in a few weeks. Gracie heads to Lake Tahoe for her first (of many) trips to the cabin in a week. We need winter gear!

Our lil' pumpkin!

Grandma Aldrich got Gracie this pumpkin costume that she showed off at her first trip to the pumpkin patch. She was a little worn out after the trip! Can you believe that she already weighs over 9 lbs.?! We're such proud parents!

Gracie at 15 days

Here's an updated look at our little Gracie who continues to amaze us with her beauty and charm. She had a great day with mom as you can see in one of the photos below. Parenthood is wonderful. Abigail is an amazing mom who loves despite exhaustion. She's so nuturuing and quite the natural at his whole motherhood thing. It's fun seeing her in this new role. I'm back at school and missing them both during the day. My students and co-workers continue to shower us with baby stuff galore. A nice blessing. For those wondering about Harvestfest 2006...I heard murmurings about a slightly scaled down version from Abigail. If you've never experienced Harvestfest, you've never tasted culinary divininty. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Blessings to all. Gracie misses her Michigan grandparents (at least it seems so), and can't wait to meet her Indiana aunt and uncle in a few days.

Amazing Grace!

At 7:24pm on Monday night, Grace Gaines breathed her first breath while her adoring parents looked on in disbelief. Abigail was amazing through almost 20 hours of labor, and I tried to be a good coach, but felt struck by the fear of God most of the time. Gracie weighed in at 6lbs 13oz and was 19 1/4 inches long. She's now resting at home with mom with grandparents and aunts and uncles a plenty. We'll share more thoughts on the whole thing later, but figured most of you just wanted to see the photos...so here goes.