4-6 weeks old

Grace Jane

Bright eyes and all smiles!

Enjoying a little tummy time

So ADORABLE!!

WOW!!

Catching up on a little sleep... isn't she cute resting on her hand :)

It was a hard day.. but this seems a little dramatic

Our little angel

Sweet girl!

Things are looking up :)

Well, we thought we should update everybody on how Grace has been doing. We have been continuing to monitor her blood levels over the last couple of weeks. So far her numbers have been consistently dropping. This week is the first week her numbers have gone UP! We couldn't be happier. We have been talking weekly with our Doctor here in town as well as at Primary Children's. Both Doctors are thrilled to see this turn without any interventions. We are all hoping she will continue to increase her numbers on her own (which we think she will). She continues to grow and is right on track with her development. She is happy and healthy and now that she is turning this corner we have no reason not to think that things are only going to get better. I'm sure Grace will be happy to have people stop poking her with needles as well.

We are loving being parents. We have officially crossed over to the other side... you know when parents start to say "I can't remember what life was like before we had kids" and you realize they don't talk about anything but their baby (I will just apologize ahead of time for that-we can't help it:). It's a crazy place to be but we are loving it. Grace is such a beautiful little girl. She brings so much joy to our little family. Now, if you will allow me I have to brag just a little... She is so strong. Today during her tummy time she pushed herself up and moved her head to the other side! She is holding her head up more all the time and is getting better at steadying it. She is starting to focus on things and she will follow things with her head and eyes if you move it. She is really starting to get the smiling thing down too. She will focus on your face and smile back when you talk to her. It is so amazing to watch her grow. Everything is new and exciting. Everyday she is learning and growing. We are thrilled just to be apart of it.

The Boat

Not to take away from Grace's arrival, I thought I should involve the progress of my little hobby of building a sailboat. I love sailing but boats tend to be expensive and there isn't a huge market for them here in land bound Idaho. Jane's mother was gracious enough to let me use their shop room in their basement this winter to work on this little project. Above is the first step and it already starts to look like a boat.

Next came some reinforcement framing and the bottom. The boat is about 11' so an 8' piece of plywood was too short to cover the length. Also I added an extra "rib" in the middle to add stability and strength.

This is the bottom completed. I just had to cut some small pieces to fit. The white pieces in the bottom were an experiment in trying to find material that would bend to fit the curves of the boat. I tried this manufactured material and it was a total flop. Sadly, I had to make it work because of my very limited budget. Hopefully it holds later! ha ha. Also added is the keel box in the center and the mast stepping position towards the front.

This picture and the next show the attachment of small blocks that will be a part of the framed rail around the upper edge of the boat. They are glued and screwed into place.

See Above.

Due to the failure of trying to find a material that would bend with the curves of the boat I was forced to do some research on how to bend wood. I tried to strong arm some pieces but they just broke and cracked. I ended up building a steamer. I found a cheap PVC pipe, tea kettle, a hot plate and some old washing machine water tubing. The pieces of wood are put in the pipe, which is sealed up on both ends. The tea kettle is filled with water and brought to a boil on the hot plate and the steam runs through the washing machine water line into the PVC pipe and steams the wood. And it worked!

This is a picture with the steam bent pieces attached to the upper edge of the boat. There is another piece attached to the inside, making little handle/rope tying points in the gaps between the wooden blocks.

Close view of the bent wood and framing of the upper edge.

And this is about as far as I've got. I have really enjoyed working on it so far this winter and will put some other pictures up as it progresses.

Phone snapshots

Three weeks old and getting cuter everyday

Taking a little nap

Our bright eyed girl!

Holding Daddy's hand

Waking up to see the world

Only one week old and already smiling

She can give quit the look :) but those cheeks are irresistible!

Great big Yawn!!!

Cuddling with Dad

About a day old

Only a few hours old

The swing of things

We have now been at this family thing for about three weeks. Grace is doing well, but we have had quite a time. When she was born she had some little spots on her face that indicated to her Doctors that there might be something going on with her blood. Sure enough, a blood test told us she was low on platelets and red blood cells. After lots of prayers in the hospital and a couple of extra days stay, her platelet level reached a safe level and she came home. Unfortunately her other blood levels have been slow to rise.

We have had to take her to the hospital every week for blood tests. This has been hard on Mom, having to hear poor Grace cry so hard in the hospital. It came to a point when our Pediatrician recommended we go see a specialist at Primary Childrens Hospital in Salt Lake. We went this past Friday morning and the Doctors and Nurses at Primary Childrens were very helpful. They ran some tests that were not available in Pocatello and were able to reassure us that Grace's body is on track to recover. Her blood levels are not optimal, but with time and careful watch the specialist Doctor (Hematologist) believes she will rebound right back.

So, the weekly blood tests will have to continue for now, but Grace is doing well. As for her parents, Jane is doing well and is trying to get some rest whenever she can. I am staying very busy with school, National Guard stuff, new baby, work, etc, etc. Anyway, til next time.

-The Stokers

Grace Jane Pictures

Little Grace

Naptime with Grandpa

Happy with her new quilt from Great Grandma Jan

Always sleeping

Aunt Morgan, back from Thailand

Mommy!

Daddy!

Not Happy

First Pictures

Beginning the Blog

This is our first attempt at a blog of any sort. We were inspired to do this because about a week ago we Jane gave birth to our fist baby, little Grace. We are so excited to have her here and are very excited to show her off. Also, we have a lot of proud Grandparents and Great-Grandparents that can't get enough of the new arrival. Grace was born early in the morning on Friday, she weighed 8lbs 1oz. She is doing very well and Mom is also recovering quickly. She has been home for about a week, and yes, everyone was right...we are very tired. She actually sleeps pretty well but getting up every two-three hours does get tiring.

We were very blessed to have some great support from our two Grandmas. Grandma Noorda has been making sure that we have everything we need here and is very willing to provide us with a nice meal at anytime. Grandma Stoker was able to also spend some days with us this last week and was so helpful in doing laundry, meals and staying up late with us. Grace has a good family. Also, she has so many generous family and friends that have provided her with some beautiful blankets, keepsakes and cute clothes.

As for her parents, Jane has been able to take this semester off of school after completing her first semester of graduate school. Chris is taking a couple of classes (Chemistry and Biology) and is working. Well, that's a good start to the blog. We will try and update often and provide lots of pictures for everyone. Also, thank you to everyone that has been so helpful these past nine months. We really do have wonderful family and friends. Talk to you later