Our baby is 5 years old today! Even as blessed as we feel about having her in our lives, I have a confession to make. When we first found out I was pregnant with Gracie we were in shock, me especially. Sam had just learned how to tie his shoes, we could travel without a diaper bag, or stroller, life was good, and we were running a man to man defense. I was starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel of toddler hood, and thinking about the possibility of going back to work part-time. And then, on our 10th wedding anniversary, with a 7 year old and 5 year old, we found out that I was pregnant. This wasn’t what we’d planned and we were overwhelmed. I cried for a couple of weeks. When I went to the doctor and they placed a huge red AMA* on my chart and read me the list of risk factors associated with pregnancies in women over 35 as though I had committed a serious crime, I began to panic. I wondered how in the world I would manage this new test of patience, sleep deprivation, etc. with the closest family being 1,000 miles away. I was being selfish and silly but I didn’t realize that until further into the pregnancy. This simply wasn’t in my plans and the surprise threw me for a bit. And then, after much thought and prayer, I realized what a blessing had been bestowed on us and I began to embrace the pregnancy and the thought of the additional love within our family unit. Once Gracie arrived, there were no more negative thoughts, just awe and wonder and thankfulness. We, as a family, are thankful each day for this little bundle of personality, sassiness, silliness, attitude, beauty, and love that we were so graciously blessed with 5 years ago.
I mentioned the word blessing a couple of times in the above paragraph. The name Grace means blessing. This name was given to our daughter because that is what she was to our family, a blessing. We like to think, that after my father passed away after an 8 month battle with esophageal cancer, he got to heaven and told God that I needed a daughter for the years to come. He requested a blessing for us that we didn’t know we needed.
To celebrate Gracie’s birthday my mother, sister, nieces, and I took Gracie to NYC to visit the “American Girl” Doll Store. We had a very fun lunch at “Ellen’s Stardust Diner” at 51st and Broadway.
Trumbls, our waiter at “Ellen’s Stardust Diner” is an aspiring actor. Here he is singing to Gracie. To learn more about “Ellen’s Stardust Diner” and their support of aspiring actors, actresses and musicians, visit: http://www.ellensstardustdiner.com/.
Gracie and her look-alike “American Girl” doll. She had such a special day! If you haven’t already done so, visiting the store is a worthwhile trip for mom’s and daughters. To schedule lunch, dinner, or tea you can visit the “American Girl” store website at: http://store.americangirl.com. There are stores in several major cities.
Birthday breakfast. Gracie decided to sway from the traditional birthday breakfast of Great Grandma’s Kuchen recipe and have pancakes this morning. She’s a girl who knows what she wants, even when she has a summer cold and an ear infection.
Attempt number two…..
Robyn Graham Photography 