The Fournier Family

Halloween

2009-11-04T06:15:00.000-08:00

We started out our halloween by going out to breakfast at Big Boy. We went to the mall at 3:30 to go trick or treating. It was fun and perfect for Grace. It only takes about an hour and she got about 1/4 bucket of candy. Perfect for her. She was a princess and Jack was a lion. I've tried to put on here but for some reason I can't. I will keep trying.

After the mall we went over to Bernie's aunt and uncles for some pizza. We were having a great time. Gracie was having so much fun with Bernie's cousin Danielle. After a little while we were sitting relaxing watching Winnie the Pooh. All of the sudden Gracie threw up everywhere! All over the couch and carpet. I couldn't beleive it. Bernie's aunt is so nice, she of course said it was no big deal and said that the carpet needed to be cleaned anyways. We cleaned Grace the floor and couch up and went home. She was fine the rest of the night and next day. Not sure what happened...

On another note, Jack is getting big and is 4 months old today! Time flies. He is so happy and is starting to talk. He learned how to blow bubbles this week too. This time change has him a little screwed up. He has been waking up at 5:30 and not going back to sleep until we are on our way to daycare! Not necessary!

Gracie's birthday is on the 27th. She is going to be 2. It makes me want to cry thinking about how big she is getting. She is so smart, she learned how to spell her name this week. We have been teaching her her address. When you ask her where she lives she says, Midland Rd. She hasn't quite figured out the numbers yet. I'm trying to figure out a way to get her bink (pacifier) away from her. SHE LOVES IT! So does Jack so we will have this same problem in a couple years. Gracie's new favorite thing is to watch Barney in her bedroom. She goes in there as soon as she gets home. She loves it. It saved Bernie and I also. A couple weeks ago she started to get scared of her bedroom. We put Barney in there a voila! She's not scared anymore.

Another hospital visit!

2009-10-20T12:05:00.000-07:00

Well we spent Thursday night through Saturday afternoon at the hospital with Jack. I swear that sweet little boy is going to give me a heart attack one of these days! This time we were there for blood in his poop. They tested him for something called Melix (sp?). That is like little polyps on his bowel (I think) which caused the bleeding. That test came back negative so we left the hospital knowing just as much as we knew when we went in!

Now for the long version of the story.....

We got to the hospital after sitting in the doctors office for 2 hours. The amount of blood in his poop concerned his pediatrician. So the nurse that helped us get settled kept calling Jack a girl! Hello, he doesn't look like a girl and she even changed his diaper! Strike 1 for Bay Med. Then they take him to get his IV. We tell them right away to put it in his foot because his veins are hard to find. They got it easily in his foot last time. Did they do that? No. They got it in his arm after about 40 minutes trying to find one! Strike 2! Then they needed to draw blood and again couldn't find a vien, so while listening to his scream they poke his finger and get blood that way. I had just calmed him down when they try to flush out his IV and he started screaming. The IV was bad. Strike 3! So they take him back to the room to take it out and try again. He was in there for about an hour, came back with red little cheeks and bloodshot eyes from crying so hard. They couldn't find a vein so they didn't put one in and decided to let him sleep. Gee thanks! They tried again the next morning because he had to have an IV for the test he was having done. Again, they couldn't find one and said they were calling the anesteologist to see if he could find one, if not we were headed to Saginaw. Well he found one, IN HIS FOOT, so he was good to go with the test. For his test he could not eat for 8 hours because they had to put dye in his little body. He did so great! I was so proud of him! He laid there and slept for all but about 10 minutes of the hour test. When we were done he was ready to eat! They called someone from his floor to come get us, it took them 20 minutes! I was just about ready to go up myself when they came down. At this point he's mad cause he wants food! So the rest of Friday was pretty uneventful. His test was negative but he had more blood in his poop so the pediatrican called the pediatric surgeon in Ann Arbor to see if he wanted him down there to do a scope. He decided he wanted him observed for 24 more hours. Friday afternoon Gracie came to see me and baby Jack. So Friday night I was pretty upset when Bernie got there because I was worried about Jack and I missed Gracie like crazy! The night nurse came in his room about 7:30 pm and said that she wanted to change his tape by his IV so he didn't squirm out of it. Ok no problem. She didn't come in until 11:30! He was sleeping so good, after that he was restless the rest of the night. Strike 4! The next morning the new nurse came in and thought that Jack was a 9 month old with a heart condition! Are you kidding me! Strike 5! Friday night through Saturday morning he didn't have any more blood in his poop so they sent him home. So he's doing good now and still no blood. They said it could of been the antibiotic he was on from his last hospital visit. He is home and happy now. We just need to watch for more blood. If we find some he has to go to ER. And you better believe we will not be going to Bay Med, we will go to Covenant. Our doctor told us to go to Covenant to. Bay Med is done for us. We were not impressed at all!

Good idea

2009-10-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

My sister had a great idea to one day make this blog into a scrapbook/journal. I think it's a great idea and since I am horrible with keeping up with the kids baby books, I will try to post more often. I will also post more about Bernie and I and not just about our perfect kids! So some of these posts might be more for my benefit than anyone elses.

Well Gracie will be 2 years old next month! The idea of that makes me want to cry. She is my baby! She is so smart and says things everyday that just keep us laughing. She recently started saying shampoo while taking and bath and says shampoop! It is hilarious. She calls Woody from Toy Story, Hodey. Since starting daycare she loves to come home and rub our backs or her babies backs to sleep. She loves to be cuddled for about 10 minutes at night before bed. She always switches between Bernie and I. I think it's the best 10 minutes of the day for both of us. She loves loves loves her daddy, they are pals. She is such a good helper with Jack. Everyday she gets me a diaper and throws the yucky ones away. She gives him his bink or bottle if he's upset. She just loves him. She calls Jack either Jimmy Jack because that's what my dad calls him or Jackaroni because that is what my sister in law calls him. She is really just the sweetest little girl and so smart!

Jack is 3 months old already. He started cereal on Monday and seems to like it so far. Last night he had it about 9:30 right before bed. He liked it but was not to happy because he was hungry and he wasn't getting it fast enough! He slept really good. He's a good sleep anyways, but the cereal made him sleep good for about another hour. He is a sweet baby to. He is a flirt (just like his dad). We are in trouble! He has alot more unique features than Gracie. He has big ears and they stick out and are absolutly adorable. He has very long skinny legs. I don't think they have gotten bigger since he was born. He has such a tiny tiny butt, it's so cute. He last long skinny feet and big hands. He is starting recognize his name. He has scared up by being in the hospital when he was first born and then again a couple weeks ago for a virus.

We got very lucky with our babies, they ar both so sweet and love each other so much. Jack's face lights up when Gracie comes around. They have us wrapped around their little fingers.

Now Bernie and I! Nothing real excited with us. Our life revolves around our children! I think our excitement is going out to dinner this weekend kid free. Yeah!

The best time of the day for us is when the 4 of us are hanging out and having fun. We love our little family.

Crazy life!

2009-09-10T06:50:00.000-07:00

Things have definately changed since we had Jack. Having 2 babies is a lot different then 1! It is wonderful though. Jack is growing like a weed! He had his 2 month checkup on Tuesday and is 10.13 lbs and 23.5 inches. He has grown an inch and a half in 3 weeks! He is a sweet baby. He smiles all the time and is starting to coo. He loves Gracie and smiles at everything she does. Gracie is a great hleper too, she loves him! She gets diapers (even when he doesn't need one), she gives him is pacifier if he's fussy and tries giving him his bottle. She's a great big sister. They are in daycare now and Grace loves it! She has a little boyfriend named Matthew. She talks about him all the time! Since she started going to daycare she has learned to sing, itsy bitsy spider, twinkle twinkle, and the clean up song. She sings them all the time.

Baby Jack & Gracie

2009-07-19T15:42:00.001-07:00

Jack is home safe and sound! He had a doctors appt. last week and everything looks perfect. He is 8lbs 1oz and 19 1/2 inches long. He is such a good baby. He never cries unless he is hungry, then you know it! He is a good sleeper to, waking up usually only 1 time during the night. Gracie loves him, she is very good with him. We are enjoying our babies, and are very tired but it's wonderful! We are having fun with my stepmom and sisters in town this week from Utah. Gracie is a goofball and is keeping them very entertained!

Improvements

2009-07-07T11:57:00.001-07:00

Look at how sweet baby Jack looks watching his mommy and daddy. This is Heathers sister. Jack is doing better today. They were able to turn his oxygen down to 94% and they are increasing his feedings. Slowly but surely he is getting better and will soon be home with his family. We love you Jack!!

Baby Jack

2009-07-07T07:40:00.001-07:00

Baby Jack is finally here. Jack made his arrival via c-section on July 4th, which is special, because he now shares his birthday with his grandpa Kaiser. His cord was wrapped around his neck 2 times. He weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz. and was 20 in. He is gorgeous. He is having a rough start. When he was born he swallowed some muchonium (spelling??). The morning after he was born he was transported to a different hospital due to breathing problems. He has a hole in his lung and is still on 100% oxygen. He is expected to be in the hospital for atleast 7 days. We have not been able to hold him yet, which has been very hard. He is a tough little guy and will be just fine.

New swingset!

2009-06-30T08:29:00.001-07:00

We got Gracie a swing set a couple weeks ago. She loves it and wants to 'wing' all the time. She loves the slide to. She's a little daredevil and when the slide is slippery she falls right on her tummy and thinks it's hilarious! She figured out how to climb up the ladder right away to. She loves it.

Ice cream

2009-06-30T08:28:00.001-07:00

Gracie loves ice cream! We take her to the park and you can get a ice cream cone that is about 2 inches tall, ice cream and all! She absolutly loves it. The other day she was sharing with a duck (no we didn't let her eat it after that) and the duck took it right away from her and ran away! Needless to say, she pretty much started hypervenilating! I had to give her my cone. Then last Sunday we took her and she wasn't quite full when she was done with hers, she ate most of Bernie's too! She loves sweets.

She had her 18 month check up on Tuesday and she is 26.6 pounds and 32 inches long. She now says her abc's k-z. We need to work on the beginning of the alphabet! She's such a smarty pants and loves to here that.

Due date

2009-06-28T12:11:00.000-07:00

Well today is my due date and I feel no different! Everyone thinks I should have him on the 4th, which is my dad's birthday. That would be very cool, but it's a week away! I've come to the conclusion that Jack is up there with my dad having to much fun. I'm sure my dad is teaching him all of the naughty things he shouldn't be learning!

"Peekle" and abc's

2009-06-17T09:52:00.000-07:00

That is how Gracie says popsicle! She absolutly loves them. When we buy them she has to hold onto them the whole way through the store, cries when I take them away to pay and has to hold them all the way home. They are her favorite treat. She gets so excited when we buy them! When I hand them to her she says "peekle" over and over, she's so excited!

The last couple weeks we have really been saying the abc's with her and she repeats them perfect. The last couple days she will say them all by herself! Not all of them together, but 3 or 4 in a row, then she will skip a group and say another 3 or 4. When she did it for the first time, I almost cried. I couldn't beleive it! Last night I was cleaning the kitchen and she started at q and went all the way to z! She's our little smarty pants and when we tell her that she is so proud of herself and gets a cheeseball grin! We love her so much.

I have a doctors appointment today, I'm hoping to here that I'm almost ready! I only have 11 days until my due date! I'll keep you posted.

3 weeks and counting...

2009-06-05T12:07:00.000-07:00

The countdown is on! I had a doctors appointment on Wednesday and everything looks good. She did say though that right now Jack is about 8 lbs and if I go another 3 weeks he will be arounds 9 lbs! I don't find the humor in this but everyone else does! Like my mom says, it's going to hurt either way no matter how big he is.

It looks like we are going to have a BIG healthy baby boy. As long as he's healthy we don't care.

5 weeks to go

2009-05-22T05:53:00.000-07:00

We are anxiously awaiting our newest addition. Jack should be here in about 5 weeks. I'm really hoping it's not that long. Gracie is excited to have a little brother, or so we think, all she knows is that Jack is in my belly. She comes up to me and points to my belly and says Jack. She's so sweet. She is acting more like a toddler now than a baby and I love it, but she's getting so big. She talks so good and is our little parrott! She loves to be outside and would spend all day in the garage with her daddy. Yes I said the garage, she loves it. She also loves to ride 4-wheelers when we go to my parents. She gets rides from her grandpa, uncles and dad. She's going to be a little tomboy. She really doesn't have a choice with all of the boys she is around all the time! And now we are adding another boy to the group.

Well we will keep everyone updated with when this little guy will be here!

Easter

2009-04-14T09:23:00.000-07:00

Gracie looks so pretty in her Easter dress. We had a fun day. We went to my sister in laws for dinner and an easter egg hunt with her cousins. Gracie did good with finding the egs until one opened and she found candy! Then it was all over! After that we went to my parents for dinner and easter basket for Gracie. The night before we decorated eggs with my parents and one of my brothers. Gracie did better then I thought she would and didn't make much of a mess. I thought I got all of the dye off of her hands, (except for the parts of her hands that were dyed the color for a couple day!)When I put her dress on her Sunday morning her arms had dye on then, it had run down her arm! It was pretty funny.

We had a fun Easter sunday. Holidays are so much more fun with kids.

Deja Vu?

2009-03-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

We are experiencing deja vu! When I was 7 months pregnant with Gracie we got a new car and the next day moved into our apartment. Here we are 16 months later and I'm 6 months pregnant, I got a new car last week and next weekend we are moving into a house! I love my new car. It's a Buick Rendezvous. My 2 door Cougar was not cutting it anymore and with 2 kids, I don't think so! Compared to my car, this one drives like a Cadillac. I love it. And our house is so cute. I can't wait to move. The 3 things I'm excited for is a dishwasher, a washer a dryer we don't have to share or go up and down the stairs for, and a big backyard for Gracie to play in! Bernie is excited for the garage! So we have a lot going on right now and are very excited!

2009-03-25T06:25:00.000-07:00

My sister Nicole tagged me. I have to make a list of my top ten things that start with "G".

1.Gracie (of course!)
2.Grandparents
3.Games
4.Gummie worms
5.Grapes
6.Ground bologna (yummy!)

My list is only 6 and not 10! That's hard and I can't think of anymore. :)

Making Cookies with grandma

2009-03-07T12:58:00.000-08:00

Gracie had fun on Thursday making cookies wih grandma. i think she had more fun eating the chocolate chips! So it's now Saturday and she is getting ready to make more cookies with grandma! These are good memories for her! Just what your supposed to do at grandmas, make cookies!

Show me your teeth!

2009-02-10T11:56:00.000-08:00

This is the cheeseball face we get when you ask her that! I know I say this in every post but she is hilarious. She is such a sweetheart. We have decided to name the baby Jack and if you ask her where Jack is she lifts up my shirt!

She's so much fun!

It's a boy!

2009-01-29T06:42:00.000-08:00

Yup, we are having a boy. We are very excited. We had the ultrasound on Monday and there is no mistaking it for a girl! Bernie is SO excited. He was on the phone before we even left the office. When got about 4 picutres of the baby. One being 4-D which is really kind scary. We were told before we saw the 4-D that they are best done around 25-30 weeks. I'm only about 19 and it's a really freaky picture! One of the other pictures is the one showing very clearly that it's a boy. Bernie said that was the only one he wanted to take with him! Sure enough, Tuesday morning that was the only one missing. To funny.

In Gracie news, she is doing great. She has such a funny personality. We are constantly laughing at her. Right now she has pink eye, strep throat and an ear infection! Poor baby. She is getting better though.

We are very happy to have a girl and boy. Gracie is going to be a great big sister.

My Sweet Husband

2009-01-19T06:09:00.000-08:00

I never blog about my husband but he deserves a post about this comment. On Saturday as we were getting 5 inches of snow we were trying to take a nap. Never actually got to because our sweet daughter didn't think she needed to! Anyways, we were laying in bed talking about family and he said , " I do have the perfect family, you, Gracie and the baby." How sweet is that! I wanted to cry. :)

Twin boys!?!?!

2009-01-06T08:07:00.000-08:00

No I don't know if that's what we are having. I had a dream about it the other night though and it's haunting me! It would be exciting but Gracie will be about 19 months and it would be total chaos! Bernie would absolutly love it. He says all he wants is a healthy baby, which I know he does, but he really wants a boy. Gracie has him wrapped right around her chubby little finger!

New Year!

2009-01-06T07:51:00.000-08:00

We have a fun New Year's Eve. We went to Bernie's sisters. She had everyone over. We ended up leaving about 10:30. Gracie could of partied all night, she was showing no signs of being tired! She's our little party animal. Bernie and I on the other hand we tired. We went home put Gracie to bed and relaxed on the couch. Bernie fell asleep. I woke him up with about 30 seconds left until the ball dropped. We gave each other our midnight kiss and it was off to bed!

The last 2 weeks have been so nice with only having to work 2 days a week! Now it's back to reality and working 5! Maybe that's why I'm a little crabby today. Hmmmm...?!

We are looking forward to 2009 and all that it will bring us. Mostly our newest little addition to the family in June! Bernie and I are finding out what we are having on Janaury 26th. I think we are going to keep it a secret from everyone. That is going to be really hard! I don't think Bernie can do it. We shall see....

Christmas and everything else!

2008-12-30T12:24:00.001-08:00

First of all I just love this picture of our little Miss Gracie! She has to be the most gorgeous baby on the planet! She is more and more fun everyday. She walks everywhere, hardly ever crawls and is a human tornado! We are teaching her to help pick up her toys. She's getting it. We praise her everytime she does it, so she is so proud of herself!

We had a great Christmas. It started Christmas eve with the annual get together at my parents. They have family and friends over with yummy snacks! It's fun to just hang out and chat with everyone. After everyone has left we get to open 1 gift, that is our pajamas. It's always fun to see what everyone's look like. Christmas morning we went back to my parents around 9:30 to open gifts. We had a really good time. Gracie was so fun. We would help her open her gifts and if there was one spot where the paper was gone, she would point to it. She's an angel. After gifts we made a big breakfast and relaxed for a few hours. We then went to my sister in laws to have Christmas with Bernie's family. We again had yummy food! Everyone enjoyed opening more gifts! We had fun singing American Idol kareoke ( I just watched!). I have to say, I married into the funniest family. They are so much fun, they always keep me and each other laughing!

Being with family is the most important part of the holidays I think. Maybe now that I have a baby and one on the way, but I realize that more this year. Gracie is still so little and doesn't understand Christmas but now we see it through her eyes and are so excited to see how happy she gets! When she gets really excited she opens her mouth really wide and puts her hand over it. It's so cute.

And I had a doctor's appoitment yesterday. Everything looks good and we find out what we are having on Janaury 26th. I can't wait. Should we keep it a secret from everyone?!?! :)

Baby #2 is on the way!

2008-12-16T06:58:00.000-08:00

Yup, that's right. We are pregnant! I am due June 28th. We are very excited to be adding to our family. I'm feeling much better now. The first couple months were pretty rough. I was sick all day long and no time to rest with a 1 year old! I'm really trying to eat healthy, not just for the baby and I but because I'm hungry all the time! Even though Gracie doesn't know what's going on I know she's excited to be big sister!

Our baby is 1 already!

2008-12-02T07:54:00.001-08:00

Our sweet little girl turned 1 on Thanksgiving day. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Maybe both. She is just getting so big. This year has just flown by with her. It has been so fun and amazing watching her learn and grow everyday. She is really the sweetest, happiest little girl. Here are a couple pictures of her. This is her birthday outfit. She looked so cute. It made her look more chunky than she is! She wasn't feeling the greatest on her birthday but did great! (we found out the next day she has an ear infection :( She was happy all day though. We had dinner at my parents, Bernie's family came also. We had lots of yummy food and were stuffed! Some of my family came over also to help celebrate her birthday. She liked her cake, but didn't dig into it like we thought she would. But with having no nap and not feeling well, that was expected.

A few fun things about Gracie:

-She is starting to walk, she is so proud of herself when she does. As soon as she sits down she claps and looks at everyone to make sure you are too!

-She has 12 teeth and loves to have them brushed.

-She loves bath time and when I take her out she shakes her head no!

-She says hi, tickle tickle, da da, ma ma, growls when she sees the dogs

-She knows where your eyes and nose are. She pinchs your nose so you will say honk honk and when you ask her where your eye is she practically pushes her finger through the back of you head showing you!

-She gives kisses all the time and we are teaching her hugs.

-SHE IS FEARLESS! Just like her dad! She falls off the stairs and thinks it's funny! When she does get hurt she scowls makes a perfect O with her mouth and says owe really softly.

-She loves books and brings them to us all the time to read. She will point out the dogs and cats in them. She also knows who Santa is. She points at him too! We'll see how she likes to sit on his lap!

-She loves medicine! When she sees me get out her anitbiotic for her ear she scrunches her shoulders and says mmmmmm! I've had her tylonol in her diaper bag this past week in case she has needed it, she knows where it's kept, gets it out and brings it to me! I promise we don't give her medicine that much!

This has been the greatest year with Gracie. We have so much to be thankful for. We are a happy little family and she makes it better everyday. We love you more than you know Gracie Anne.

Finger painting fun!

2008-11-13T13:06:00.000-08:00

My mother-in-law works at a daycare and Gracie spent the day there yesterday. I was really worried about leaving her and was getting a little choked up talking to Bernie about it after I left. She can be weird sometimes with strangers. I just didn't want her to be scared. Well she wasn't! She had a blast. I guess she was making the kids laugh with the silly way she laughs sometimes. This is a picture of her painting her firetruck. Her first piece of artwork! So precious. We also got her "report card" telling us what she ate and when and different things she did. We are thinking of sending her there a couple days a week, she loved it and the interaction with other kids is good for her. Now that she has been there once I won't worry the next time!

Fifi the Poodle!

2008-11-04T13:16:00.000-08:00

Yes Gracie was a Poodle for Halloween. She looked so cute. We went trunk or treating at the mall with her cousins. Both of our moms came too. It was fun. She didn't know what was going on, but we had fun anyways!

I had to put this picture in there because I love her leopard outfit!

Halloween Eve

2008-11-04T13:11:00.000-08:00

The night before Halloween we carved pumpkins with my parents, brothers and my brothers girlfriend. We had a lot of fun and some intersting conversations! As you can see Gracie is loving her Halloween cupcake, she ate the whole thing in about 5 minutes. She loved it. I can't wait for her birthday, she is going to tear the cake apart! She likes carving pumpkins and got her hands right in there, and then tried eating it. She didn't like that so much.

We really had fun carving her first pumpkin with her.

Is she walking?!?!?!!?

2008-10-28T10:16:00.000-07:00

Yes you read right, we might have a walker! I don't know wheather to laugh or cry. She has taken a total of maybe 10 steps since last week. She is just getting to big. I want her to stay little forever. Her dad on the other hand wants her to grow, grow, grow! I can't believe she is going to be 1 next month already. It really has been the most wonderful crazy year ever!

Is it time for another baby?!?! I say YES!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

Well I don't have a computer right now to post pictures so my post will be a little boring! We went to the pumpkin patch a couple weeks ago with Bernie's family and my mom. We had a really good time. They had a petting zoo, Gracie wasn't really impressed though! The only thing she showed interst in was the bunny which she grabbed and wouldn't let go! We took a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch and got to pick out our own pumpkin. We picked a small one for Gracie and she loved it. When we tried to take it from her to put on the floor on the way home and she screamed! So needless to say she held all the way home.

Loving the swing!

2008-10-21T07:58:00.000-07:00

This last Saturday I took Gracie to the park with her grandma (Bernie's mom) and her cousins, Carlee and Bevin. She absolutly loved the swing! She would just laugh and laugh. It was so cute. She went down the slide a few times, with me holding her of course and she loved that too. With all of the fresh air she got on Saturday she was wiped out. She was asleep by 8:20 and didn't wake up until 8:30 the next morning!

Good thing she's cute!

2008-10-10T10:46:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little girl....who has learned and likes to hit! She has now done it 3 days in a row. My mom watched her on Wednesday and she hit her, we were leaving my grandma's yesterday and I told Gracie to give her a kiss goodbye and she hit her so hard! It was loud! My grandma acted like she was crying and Gracie laughed. This morning I dropped her off asked for a kiss and she hit me! We're in trouble. We tell her no everytime, is it going to sink in?!

She is a sweetheart though. She says hi very good and every animal is a kitty. She has 6 teeth and a molar coming in. She is a pro walking around the furniture and is starting to stand alone for longer each time. She knows where the candy jar is. It's a pumpkin and the lid comes off. She knows how to take the lid off, drop it on the floor and pulls out every candy bar! She's a stinker!

We are looking forward to her first Holloween. We are not sure what she's going to be yet. We are also looking forward to her first birthday (already) with the WHOLE family from Bernie's family as well as mine celebrating Thanksgiving and her brithday together. We have lots to be thankful for this year!

Getting dressed!

2008-09-21T17:38:00.001-07:00

The first picture is of Gracie crawling up the stairs!

Gracie's Uncle Jengiz (my 16 year old brother) spent the night the other night. He was playing with Gracie while I was doing laundry. I walked into her bedroom to see what they were doing and he had gotten her dressed for me. She had on shorts, a new shirt that she hasn't worn yet that is part of her fall wardrobe and a vest that she hadn't worn yet. He was so proud of himself and said that getting her dressed is hard work! It was a really cute. He's a good Uncle.

Up the stairs...

2008-09-19T06:35:00.000-07:00

Yup, Gracie crawled up the stairs last night! She did it without a problem like she's been doing it forever. Bernie was at the top cheering her on, I was at right behind her almost crying. Our baby is getting so big. Her personality is showing more and more each day and she is a goofball!

2008-09-16T08:58:00.001-07:00

Here is the lastest picture of Gracie. She has such a personality, she's very goofy. She instantly puts us in a good mood when we see her. We love her so much.

Another Gracie story...

2008-09-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

I know I've said it beofre but we really have the sweetest baby girl. First of all after 9 1/2 months we finally moved her into her own room. Yes she has been sleeping in our room this whole time! But it hasn't been all me, her daddy likes her in there just as much. Anyways, last weekend we finally made the move and she loves it. She's been sleeping great. She is so sweet because as soon as one of us goes into her room in the morning she is standing there waiting and she says hi, with a big smile! It puts you in an instant good mood. Such a sweet girl...

Little Miss Hollywood!

2008-09-02T17:08:00.000-07:00

That is what we were calling Gracie on Monday when she was hanging out in the pool. She had on her yellow rhinestone studded sunglasses on! They are so cute.

Our sweet Gracie

2008-08-26T13:15:00.000-07:00

Just a quick story about how sweet Gracie is. The other morning we went into the bedroom to make sure Bernie was up. I sat on the edge of the bed with her and Bernie was on the other side of the bed. She scooted off my lap crawled over the balled up comforter on top of Bernie and gave him a kiss! That's all she wanted to do, she turned around and came back to me. It was just the cutest thing ever. She is the sweetest baby and will give you a kiss whenever you ask. I love it!

Marriage and a sick baby

2008-08-18T06:29:00.000-07:00

I know it's been forever since I have posted anything. So much has happened so if this is a long blog I'm sorry! I don't even know where to start, but I'll guess I'll start with the biggest and most exciting news.....BERNIE AND I GOT MARRIED!!! We got married in Traverse City on July 13th. It was a small ceremony with family, but it was perfect. My stepmom and sisters were able to be here from Utah as well as my sister and her family from Utah also. It really meant a lot to me that they were all able to come for it. It was fun having both familes together. (pictures to come.)

Now in Gracie Girl news...

She's doing great! She has a little bit of pnuemonia right now, but it's not slowing her down. She is everywhere! She's crawling, and into everything. She is so much fun. She now has 5 teeth, soon to be 6. 4 on bottom and 2 on top. She pulls herself up and is so proud of herself when she does. She plays patty cake, peekaboo, dances (kind of, she moves her arms up and down when a song comes on). She thinks it's funny when she sneezes. One of my favorite things she does is when she's sitting in one position, to get to get to another position she pushes herself up on all fours (she looks like a little monkey!) and drops down to the other side. It's hilarious! She is such a happy baby. The first thing she does in the morning is smile when she sees you. It's so sweet. She is getting such a little personality, she's a goofball. We are constantly laughing. She's such a joy to our lives.

I am so ready for fall. I can't wait! It's my favorite season. Yesterday I bought a couple fall candles (pumpkin spice and apple spice) and lit them. They make the house smell so good. I got out my fall deco. My sister got me a couple things last year. I just love the trees changing and the crisp autumn air, the smell of autumn. We have High School football games to look forward to (Engin is playing freshman football) Gracie will be his little cheerleader. We have Gracie's 1st brithday to look forward to on November 27th, Thanksgiving day.

We have lots going on all the time and a very busy baby! Life could't be better. Married life is great, we are a very happy little family.

6 month checkup

2008-06-10T09:35:00.000-07:00

Today Gracie had her 6 month check-up. The doctor said that she looks and sounds perfect. We already knew that though! She is in the 90th percentile for her length at 27 inches and the 97th percentile for her weight at 20.5 lbs.!

So in honor of our perfect porkchop turning 6 months here are a fews things she does and likes:

1. Blowing spit bubbles
2. Screaming (she's going to be able to compete with her cousin Adi!)
3. She tucks her hands behind her head when she sleeps and moves her head back and forth until it's comfy. (so cute)
4. Eating her toes!
5. Sits up perfect
6. Reaches for everything in sight!
7. She has 2 teeth on the bottom
8. She plays peek-a-boo
9. She loves to go for walks and look at everything, especially the leaves move on the trees.
10. She laughs and smiles all the time, she has to be the happiest baby ever!
11. She flirts and is shy with Grandpa Olgac and Uncle Engin.

And my favorite thing, is the first thing she does in the morning when she wakes up is smiles at you. Sometimes when I'm trying to wake her up in the morning and she's just a little bit awake and I say her name she will smile, even with her eyes closed. It is so sweet.

We love her so so much and can't believe she is 6 months already!

6 months old!

2008-05-26T15:52:00.000-07:00

Gracie is getting more fun everyday! She sits up perfect, and loves to play with all of her toys. She now weighs 21.5 lbs. and is 29 ins. long. She weighs more and is longer than her 16 month old cousin Adison. She still has those beautiful blue eyes, and we are thinking dark hair like dadddy! She has her first tooth and another one on the way. She is going to be 6 months old already. We can't believe how much time flies. We love watching her learn new things everyday.

2008-04-28T13:50:00.000-07:00

This might be kind of hard for me because Gracie is only 5 months old, but we'll give it a try!

1. Typically, what time do you wake up?

Between 6:30 and 7. I usually have to wake Gracie up about 7:30.

2. On a good night, what time are your kids in bed?

Anywhere between 9 and 10.

3. How long have you been a mommy?

5 months already!

4. How old were you when you became a mommy?

26.

5. What is your favorite kids t.v. show?

She's only 5 months old so she show but she loves to watch tv! She will sit on our laps and be fixed on the tv forever!

6. What is your least favorite kids t.v. show?

We don't have one....yet!

7. What is your favorite chore?

I don't have a favorite. Anything with Gracie isn't really a chore.

8. What is your favorite meal to cook?

Bernie is pretty picky so we eat pretty simple meals. We love beef tips and potatoes and we love mac and cheese with hamburger in it! Pretty boring, but we love it! Gracie loes her vegtables so far!

9. What meal do you cook most often?

Probalby mac and cheese with hamburger. It's delicious and so easy! We also like grilled cheese and tomato soup.

10. What is your kids favorite meals?

She loes squash, carrots, cereal and her favorite so far is sweet potatoes. I seriously can't get them into her mouth fast enough!

11. What is your favorite thing your husband does with your kids?

He comes home after work and they play on the floor while I make dinner. He plays peek-a-boo with her. She get's very excited when he walks in the room. She loves her daddy.

12.What are 5 things that make you smile when you're being a mom?

1. When the first thing she does in the morning is smile. If I'm trying to wake her up and she's kind of awake and I say her name, she's smile even though her eyes are closed. It's so sweet.

2. She kicks her legs and waves her arms when we walk in the room.

3 Listening to her laugh

4. Wathcing her learn to sit up

5. Wathcing how excited and curious she is about her toys, I love her face when she's really concentrating on picking one up. I love watching her learn.

13. If you could take you kids anywhere, where would it be?

Right now I would love to take her to Utah to meet her Grandma Kaiser, Aunt Danielle and Aunt Cassidy and of course to see her aunt, uncle and cousins again!

14. When is the last time you went out without your kids?

I think maybe Valentine's day. But Bernie was very sweet a couple weeks ago. It was a Saturday and he called me and told me to pack up Gracie and everything she needs for overnight. He had arranged for his mom to take her for the night so we could go to dinner and hang out and watch a movie by ourselves. I couldn't do it! I'm not ready to leave her overnight yet.

15. What is your favorite past time/ activity to do with your kids?

Just play together, I love to take her or walks. She sits so still and just watches everything.

16. Name one thing you said you would never do as a mom?

I don't know, I can't think of anything right now.

17. Name one thing you do, that your mom did?

This is my sisters answer, but my thoughts exactly! Holidays in our house were always full of traditions, just little things that always made them special. Now I am trying to implement some of those fun traditions, along with making up new ones.

18. What is your favorite quality your mom has?

Well I have to answer for my mom and step-mom, since they are both such a huge part of my life. They both listen and give advice without judgement. I love that about them. I can talk to them about anything.

19. What is your favorite kids book?

I don't know exactly what it's called. Something about being a grandma. But Bernie's mom got one for her and my mom and at the end of the book there is a page to write down what they wish for Gracie. They are really neat to look at and read and she will love them when she gets older and can see what her grandmas wrote to her and about her.

20. What is your advice for new moms?

I would say spend as much time as you can with your baby. Don't take it for granted because it goes by way to fast. I can't beleive Gracie is 5 months already.

21. What is the scariest/ most heartbreaking moment you have had as a mom?

I haven't had a really traumatic moments yet, thankfully. Last week she did choke on her cereal. I know it's jsut creal but it scared me!

22. What is your most joyful moment as a mom?

Watching her learn new stuff. Her curiousity. She's always been very curius and looks at everything all the time. Everything she does I love, she maes us so happy.

23. When is the last time you were told "I love you" by one of your Kids?

Well she can't say it yet, but I know taht's what she's saying when she gets so excited to see us.

Gracie is so special and sweet. We couldn't imagine life without her.

Pictures

2008-04-16T16:03:00.000-07:00

trying to eat grandpas chips

going for a walk

sitting up!

Getting ready for cereal

Showing off my Easter outfit

Gracie is getting bigger and more fun everyday! Here are a few pictures to see how sweet she is! These were taken over the last few weeks.

Growing, growing growing!

2008-04-15T12:25:00.000-07:00

Gracie had her 4 month checkup and weighs in at 17.2 lbs. and 25.25 inches long! She's such a chunk, but just to cute! She is starting to get some hair, finally. She is so much fun, laughs all the time and is such a happy baby! We love her so much.

Our chunky monkey!

2008-03-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

Just a couple new pictures of our Gracie. We have started trying cereal and she seems to like it. As you can tell from the picture, it's a little messy! We found out on Thursday that we cannot give it to her when she is really hungry! She gets very angry because she's not getting it fast enough! Ah, she has such a little temper. She has her 4 month checkup on Monday, I will let you know how much she weighs and her length then! Anyone want to guess?! Last time we weighed her she was 16lbs, yes she's our chuky monkey!

I've been tagged!!!

2008-03-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

My sister Nicole tagged me so you all get to read some interesting, or uninteresting things about me!

What I was doing 10 years ago-

I was a senoir in High School getting ready to graduate. If you read my sister Nicole's blog you will see we drove around Caro thinking we were cool and went to Subway after football games. We also went to Wal-Mart all the time! Ok, it's Caro, what else was there to do!?! We thought we were so cool! Looking back we were so not cool!

5 things on my "to do" list-

1. Stop looking at the clock! When is it going to 5:00?
2. Pick up Gracie from my grandpparents
3. Go home and figure out what's for dinner
4. Play with Gracie and attempt giving her some cereal. It will be day 3 and she does pretty good, except when she is really hungry she just gets mad because she's not getting it fast enough!
5. GO TO BED! :)

What snacks do I enjoy-

I love popcorn, cheesecake, chocolate cake with chocolate frosting! Anything sweet. As far as healthy snacks I like pretty much all fruit and veggies.

5 jobs I've had-

1. Toward Healthy Development daycare
2. Thelen car dealership
3. Horse farm while living in Lansing, I loved it!
4. CoCo Tan
5. Law firm, currently working there and really like it.

What would I do if i was a billionaire!

Well that's a lot of money but I would have no problem having it! I would pay off all debt, buy a house (maybe a couple), go on vacation with Bernie and Gracie and whatever else we wanted!

5 places I have lived-

1. Millington, MI
2. Caro, MI
3. Lansing, MI
4. Bay City, MI

5 things people don't know about me-

1. Every morning as I'm walking out the door I have to check to see if I have unplugged my straighting iron even if I remember doing it.
2. I am always late for everything! I don't think I've ever been to work on time, always five minutes late. Now that I have Gracie, forget about it!
3. Bernie and I would be getting married in May if we hadn't gotten pregnant! But we would never change it.
4. I love celebrity gossip magazines!
5. I wouldn't be upset at all if I got pregnant right now. We only plan on having 2 kids so we would be done. But we do want to get married before we have another one. I think about how upset I was when I found out I was pregnant for Gracie because we had just gotten engaged and wanted to be married before we started a family. Now, I couldn't imagine my life without her.
I might be a little freaked though since she's only 4 months old!

3 bad habits-

1. I play with my hair way to much!
2. crack my knuckles
3. I am such a procrastinator

I tag Jolyn and Julie

Proud mommy and daddy!

2008-03-25T07:15:00.000-07:00

Is it almost April or is it still January? What's the deal with the snow?! We were spoiled with a 55 degree day a couple weeks ago.

Well last week we were surprised and excited when Gracie rolled from her back to her side. Then last night after her bath she was on her stomach so I could put lotion on her back and round little bottom when she pushed herself up onto her knees and continued to roll onto her side! I couldn't beleive it. Bernie was cheering her on to keep going, I was ready to cry and tell her to stop and stay little! It is so fun to watch her learn all these new things. We think she will be sitting up soon. When she is on her back she pulls her head up. She's ready to go, go, go! She loves her teething rings and is grabbing them better everyday. My brother Engin, who is going to be 14 in July wanted to put one in the freezer last weekend. She ended up not liking the one from the freezer, it was to cold. Well later in the day she was chewing on one and Engin said, is that the one from the freezer, I told him no and he said, you know, babies like it when it's been in the freezer! It was cute, he has become the baby expert!

We had a good Easter. It was Bernie's birthday, also Cassidy's birthday, she turned 9! Already! We had a good time at Bernie's sisters with the family and Gracie enjoyed playing with her cousins, who she is going to get in all sorts of trouble with! We then went to my parents and had dinner and celebrated Bernie's birthday. It was a good day. I will post easter pictures soon!

Pictures!

2008-02-24T14:57:00.000-08:00

Well I finally have some pictures of Gracie. She is so much fun, she's starting to giggle and today put her pacifier in her mouth by herself a couple times! She kind of shoved it in with her fist. She is starting to reach for toys and smiles all the time. Her hair is starting to grow in too and is fuzzy! We love her so much.

I'm getting so BIG!!

2008-01-31T12:55:00.000-08:00

Gracie had her 2 month checkup today. She is getting so big! She is in the 90th percentile for her weight at 12 lb. 10 oz. and in the 75th percentile for her height at 23 inches long! She is our chuncky monkey and we love it!

The doctor said as far as everything else goes she looks and sounds perfect. That's all that matters. She did have 3 shots today though and of course screamed. She had huge tears, I felt so bad.

She is growing healthy and strong!

**We are still trying to figure out what color her hair is going to be. Brown like her daddy's or strawberry blonde like mommy's. She for sure has the blue eyes like mommy and daddy though!

Hi Everyone!

2008-01-24T17:23:00.000-08:00

Gracie is now 8 weeks old! She weighs about 12 pounds but we will find out for sure next week. She is getting so big so fast! She smiles all the time and has adorable dimples, you can't see them very well in this picture though. In the last couple of weeks she has noticed her mobile on her swing and likes to suck on her fist. She hasn't found her thumb yet though. She is sleeping pretty good at night, I got a few helpful hints from some friends, thanks guys! She is such a good baby we love her so much and are having so much fun watching her grow.

She met her new cousin last night, congratulations John and Mary!! He is her 3rd cousin named Benjammin. He is a beautiful baby with a ton of dark hair and looks just like his dad. He was born on January 19th and weighed 7lb 4 oz. The same as Gracie! I was curious to see how big she was compared to him. I couldn't believe that just 2 months ago she was that tiny. Gracie will have another new cousin in a few weeks. Her aunt Kelly (Bernie's sister) is pregnant with Bevin, we can't wait to meet her too!

Back to Reality

2008-01-07T11:37:00.000-08:00

Well the holidays are over and we had so much fun! I think the best part was the present that Bernie and I got, Gracie Anne. She is so sweet and starting to smile! I will post pictures of her soon. We also had visitors for the holidays, my sister and her family came from Utah. They were here for 2 weeks. Her girls are so adorable! Avery is 3 and has such a personality. When she left I told her that I was sad and she said, don't be sad, Bernie will keep you so you won't cry. She was a big helper with Gracie and loved her. Adison is 11 months and such a tiny thing. She has the sweetest voice. She took her first steps while she was here! We had so much fun, but it always go by to fast. I will post pictures soon.

Now, everyone has gone home, the Holidays are over and I'm back to work as of today. Back to reality..

Grace Anne Fournier

2008-01-03T21:02:00.000-08:00

This is Gracie. She is the most perfect, cutest little girl in the world. She was born on November 27,2007 and was 7 lbs. 4 oz. and 18 1/2 in. She has big blue eyes and her mommys nose. She is now 5 wks old and weighs 9 lbs. 12 oz. and is 21 1/2 in. She is growing healthy and strong.