Ear tubes? Check.

October 15th. A year ago today, I was hoping that I would be one of the few women who actually deliver on their due date! I was so incredibly positive and hopeful... bless my little heart. Little did I know that I'd have to wait another 16 days to meet my baby girl! (Due dates are for the birds).

I have a feeling that the next few weeks approaching Grace Louise's first birthday will be oh, bittersweet. She looks like a little girl in these pictures. They are only itty babies for a short short while. She has started taking her first steps in the past week, walking a little farther each day! This afternoon she asked for "waduh" instead of "nee nee". (water...drink...for those of you who don't speak baby). She stops nursing when I'm rocking her to sleep just to climb up to my face to give me another kiss. Completely unsolicited kisses. Those are the best! She turns her head to the side with a coy little grin and waves at just about everybody and everything. She is so friendly. Oh, I could go on for days about all the things that melt my heart.

Grace Louise's ear "surgery" yesterday went off without a hitch. We were in and out of the surgery center within an hour and a half. She slept GREAT last night, so I'm hoping that the tubes are already making a difference. (Or maybe she had some residual laughing gas to sleep off... either way, it was great rest for all of us!)

More pics from our Pine Island vacation...