Crocodile Tears

Grayer + Photos = …well, you’ll just have a see below…

In the last seven days there have been some pretty important photos that we have tried to take either as a family or of Grayer solo that he has all but dug his feet into the sand and refused.

It all started several weeks ago when I booked a photography session with Dallas photographer, Jenny Leigh. I just couldn’t wait to finally get some family pictures taken with the three of us, since we haven’t had any professional pictures taken since Grayer’s newborn shoot when he was a wee 10 days old. I was giddy with excitement (well except for the “WHAT ON EARTH ARE WE ALL GOING TO WEAR!?!” drama) and knew exactly where I was going to put up the photos in our home. Well… Grayer had other ideas. On Sunday at dusk we loaded up in the car and drove to the a nature reserve in west Plano and began taking pictures…for about 3 minutes… and then came the water works. Grayer wanted absolutely nothing to do with getting his picture taken, and couldn’t be consoled by anyone other than his momma... literally… he wouldn’t let go of my neck. After a grueling (yes, I was sweating!!) 40 minutes of this, we finally called it a night and headed home. I am PRAYING that she got even one good family picture of us, but we haven’t gotten any proofs back yet…so we will see… I’m hoping that it’s a good sign that she hasn’t called us to reschedule another outing yet!

So it continues…

On Friday afternoon, we met up with our playgroup at the Arboretum for a picnic on the lawn and some pictures of our little ones in the pumpkin patch. Grayer had a great time playing with his friends and running around in the grass, and looking at the pretty flowers and pumpkins…but as soon as the cameras came out, he was a goner! To his credit, I think some of the frustration here could have been from the two on either side of him pulling at his shoes, but who’s to say? :)

Aren’t they all so cute though? He really loves his playgroup friends!

On Saturday, we attended a friend’s Halloween party and had a great time as well. Grayer was the *CUTEST* little frog that I’ve ever seen, and even left the head piece of this outfit on the whole time! He trotted around their house playing with all the new toys and ate goldfish and rice crispy treats for snacks, which of course he loved! All was well except for the 5 minutes of group picture taking that obviously was needed to record all of the adorable outfits, but my little guy, not so thrilled!

See: precious little froggy below :)

This week reminded me of our first Bluebonnet experience, ha! (April 2011- 6 ½ months)

Gray baby, even with all the whaling, I still think you’re the best toddler (tear!) in the whole wide world. Love you sweet boy!

A Walker on the Loose!

Yes, Grayer is officially walking!! He took his very first steps on Monday, September 26th (4 days after his 1st birthday) and we were overjoyed! He started walking more than crawling on Thursday, Oct 11th and pretty much hasn’t stopped since! He is so proud of himself and usually claps and walks at the same time. I think he picked this up since we were constantly saying “Yay Grayer!!!!” any time that he would take some steps J He is such a cutie and we are amazed at just how quickly our sweet baby is growing up! It has been such a joy to see him grow and start exploring the world on his own and we love sweet little Frankenstein walk :) I know soon he will be running, and that makes me so excited and sad at the same time. When I look back at pictures and videos of him as a baby, I can’t believe that he was so small just a few short months ago, but am amazed at how much he has grown and learned in his one year of life.

Grayer here is what you are up to at almost 13 Months:

You are doing a lot of babbling these days! You have FINALLY started saying “ma-ma” and it just melts my heart!!! I can’t get enough of it, and could listen to you talk all day and all night. We have lots of conversations, but I am not exactly sure what you are trying to convey most of the time, but it’s still so fun to listen to you babble :) You are starting to point and grunt at things that you want, which has been a nice development since I was having to try 3 or 4 different items before finding the one that you were actually wanting.

You have become a little bit of a picky eater, but usually still eat pretty well. You’ve moved from mostly cut up fruits and veggies to some bigger solids such as sandwich bites, french fries, ravioli, and rice and beans. I’ve found that you will pretty much eat anything as long as daddy or I are eating it too. If we need you to “relax” we can always count on snacks with you, because you are so content to eat anything we give you. Your favorites are goldfish, fruit puffs, and cheerios, but occasionally I will give you some animal crackers too, which you adore J You can go through an entire cupful of snacks on a car or stroller ride, but it hasn’t added to any weight gain yet, as you are still in the 20th percentile :) For now, you are a long and lean little boy.

We are in the middle of weaning from the bottle and are having a little bit of difficult time. You are OK going to bed with milk from a sippy cup, but have started waking up in the middle of the night and won’t settle without a bottle. Daddy and I have started doing some research and are trying some new techniques to help with this, but have only been somewhat successful. Everyone is a little tired in our household right now from these midnight waking, but we all know it’s just a phase and are hoping that is passes quickly. Wish us luck!

You are really starting to enjoy reading books together again, which I love! When you were really little before you could sit up and move around you would lay on your mat for a long time and let me read book after book after book to you, and just stare in awe…but once you could wiggle around, that no longer happened! Now that you can maneuver the books pages yourself you are more willing to sit and let me read to you. I am hoping that this will continue and that we will have many lazy afternoons and evenings reading books together, as it is such a joy for me and warms my heart.

Since you were itty bitty, you have LOVED watching Baby Einstein videos. Even before you could sit up, I would prop you up in your Bumbo seat on the coffee table and you would sit for a good 15 minutes watching the videos, just cooing and enjoying the music and sounds. NOW, you squeal and bounce up and down as soon as I get out the video case and don’t stop your bouncing and excitement until you see the little Baby Einstein caterpillar on the screen. Then you become absolutely entranced and will sit in your highchair for the entire 30 minute show, which has saved me many days as it allows me to get a few things done while you are completely entertained! I am looking forward to you getting a little bit older and wanting to watch some more advanced Disney movies that I grew up on like Lion King, Bambi and Pinocchio.

Now that the weather is starting to cool down, you get to wear my favorite thing… footy pajamas!! You look absolutely adorable tootling around in them, and it makes me so excited for the fall weather. We had an extremely hot summer this year, and it is so nice to be able to sleep with the windows open, enjoy a warm cup of coffee in the morning, and snuggle up with you in the evenings. I just know that you are going to love the fall and winter holidays this year as much as your mama! I am so looking forward to you being able to enjoy some of the yummy Thanksgiving foods this year, and for you to be able to “help” open some of your Christmas presents on Christmas morning! We are beyond blessed to have such a precious baby to share our lives with, and I wouldn’t trade a single moment of it! We love you so dearly little munchkin!

Loving the watertable that Mimi & Poppa got you for your 1st birthday!

After bathtime, wrapped in your monogrammed towel from Mrs. Murray!

Eating some lunch while watching the Texas Tech game! Go Tech!

Outside of Gracie's in Weston after dinner with Mimi, Nana, Papaw, Aunt Chrissa, Uncle Noah and Cousin Elle!

Birthday Boy!

Happy 1st Birthday to the sweetest little boy on earth!!!

One year already!?!

I knew from the beginning of blogging that I probably wouldn’t be great at it, but since I haven’t made a single post since Grayer was 5 months old, I am disappointed in myself that I have not been more diligent! Alas, reading back over a couple of posts have given me motivation again! I desperately want to remember IT ALL and this is one of the only ways to do it!

For this first post back, I will just give some basic stats: (Warning! I think I got carried away and there are at least half a dozen paragraphs below!)

Grayer is 2 days away from TURNING ONE!!! I can’t believe how quickly this year has flown by, and I get emotional just thinking about my sweet little baby turning a year old. We had your first birthday party on Saturday, September 17th, and it was so much fun! It was an “Under the Sea” theme, and I had a blast planning for it. You had lots of friends over, and our tiny house was filled to the brim with people! You were a little scared when everyone showed up, and there were a few tears, but you did warm up to everyone and had fun playing with all the beach balls and balloons on the floor! You were a fan of all the “junk” at your party, and ate loads of goldfish and cookies :) You got a little frightened while opening gifts and eating your cake, but I think it’s just because you are going through a shy phase and don’t like all the attention on you :)

Here is who attended:

Family: Mimi, Poppa, Aunt Chrissa, Uncle Noah, Cousin Elle, Nana & Papaw, Aunt Susan, and Uncle Steve, Cousin Ashley, Josh and Cousin Colton, Granna, Papa, Aunt Krystal, Maw-Maw, Grandma Davis, Grandpa Davis
Friends: Emily Paul, Katie and Robert DiCicco, Libby, Chris, and Lilly Friday, Lisa Marie, Myles and Cameron McCormack, Jodi, Zach and Cooper Faqua

Grayer, here is what you’re up to at ONE YEAR:

You have been crawling since 8 ½ months, and started pulling up on furniture shortly after. You get around great and can pretty much get anywhere you want (including under the dining room table- one of your favorite places to throw your balls and chase after them). We are still waiting on you to take your first steps, which I am certain will be soon. You tend to be a little bit on the cautious side, and are not a daredevil when it comes to taking risks (I think this is why we haven’t seen any steps yet!), but you get around so quickly crawling that sometimes I am convinced you just think crawling is certainly faster than walking could ever be! It will be one exciting day when you decide to take that first step though!

You are ALL boy, and all of our family and friends that are used to being around Elle or have a little girl of their own think the way you go goo-goo over any balls, bats or drums is so funny! You could throw and chase balls around the house all day long and be completely content. I still haven’t figured out why we buy any other toys since those are pretty much all you want to play with. You are pretty good at swinging your bats, and your daddy thinks you are either going to be a baseball player or a drummer :)

You have just recently starting going through separation anxiety, and always want to be held. Sometimes you don’t even like to be left in a room alone. Usually I don’t mind though, because I know this phase will not last forever, and for now it means I get lots of snuggle time with you. When you are feeling timid, or hear something that scares you, you make this super funny face! You purse your lips together and form an “O” that I think surely must mean “Oh no mommy! Please save me!!!” So funny and so cute! I will remember this face forever :)

Ever since you were little you have LOVED the water, and still get so excited every night when it is bath time. Even though you splash everything and soak the bathroom, this has become a calming nightly routine of ours, and I think I look forward to bath time as much as you do. We turn on soft baby music and spend some time catching up on the day together, which I just love! You babble and splash and I can usually can get through a book or two before you try and grab it from me and throw it in the water. (Pic below 8 mos.)

You are an A-mazing eater! You are not picky in the slightest and will pretty much eat anything that is put in your mouth. For now, most meals consist of fruits such as strawberries, bananas, kiwi, blueberries, and usually some beans or corn for your veggie (you even like lima beans!!), but you’ve tried cheese, yogurt, sliced chicken, avocados, tomatoes, and french fries (I know, I know!). When you get a little fussy while we are out, or in the car, all we have to do is give you something to munch on and you are perfectly content! Your first birthday is right around the corner and soon you will be off the bottle completely (I am more than worried about how we are going to give this up though…) and will get to try a much larger variety of foods. I am hoping that you will continue to be such a good eater, because I know it will make my life easier :)

You are usually very obedient, and listen well when you are told not to do something. You do have a very sensitive side though, and will sometimes burst into tears at the very mention of the word “no” (even if we weren’t talking to you!). When you are told not to do something you stick your little lip out and your eyes immediately well up with tears… it usually just breaks my heart and I scoop you up and give you kisses, even if you have just thrown a fist full of food on the floor. You are just too cute to stay mad at!

You babble all the time, and it seems as though you are obsessed with your daddy, because you pretty much only say different variances of the word “da-da”. You can say hi and yeah, but not on demand yet :) You do say something that sounds like “maaaa maaaa”, but this pretty much only comes out when you are upset. I have a feeling that “ball” will be one of your next words. I look forward to you talking more and more!

You have started waving hi and bye-bye and can also give high-fives, which is so cute! I can’t believe how big you are getting, and how much more you are able to do now than even a couple of months ago. You are obsessed with your blankies and love to put them over your head and crawl around the house. You sometimes put your blankies on the floor and lay your head down on them for about 4 seconds, before it pops up again and you are off on another adventure!

Sweet baby boy, your daddy and I love you more than words can say! You have brought so much happiness and joy into our lives, and I can’t imagine spending a day without you! You have such a sweet personality and are such a happy baby, and we are beyond blessed to call you ours! Happy 1st Birthday Grayer Knox!

5 Months!

Well it’s been quite a whirlwind since I blogged last time, so I will take a few minutes to update about what’s been going on with our little family.

Justin took the first level of the CFA test at the beginning of December and after waiting six long weeks, he found out that he passed! All of his long hours of studying finally paid off! We could not be more thrilled, and he is already neck deep in studying for level 2, which he will take in June. Everyone says that level 2 is the hardest of the three tests, so we appreciate the continued prayers!

I have been back at Fujitsu for 6 weeks now, and it’s nice that we all seem to be in more of a routine than when we first started. The first day back to work, Justin left the house without the bottles of milk for Grayer and I left for work without some needed parts for my pump. Needless to say, it wasn’t a great first day back, but it has gotten much better since then! I am enjoying being in the Sales Operations department, and don’t miss being a supervisor one bit. I am glad to be responsible for my work only :) I miss Grayer a lot during the day, but he is staying up a little bit later in the evenings (usually going down about 7-7:30) so we have family time when we all get home, which has been really nice. I know that he has lots and lots of fun playing with his Granna, but I hope that he misses me a least a little bit!

Justin and I booked a long weekend trip to San Francisco, and we couldn’t be more excited to see the city! We are going at the end of May and are really looking forward to spending some time together as a couple. We are planning to spend one full day in Napa & Sonoma and are excited to visit some of the wineries. I know we are going to miss Gray Bear so, so much, but we are so very thankful for our parents who are willing to watch Grayer that weekend and were willing to rearrange their schedules during the week as well. We are also very thankful for the free hotel nights we were given, the hotel looks so nice! THANK YOU Granna, Papa, Mimi & Pops!!

Grayer had his five month check up last Friday and he did great!
Here are his stats:
Weight- 16.2 pounds (55 percentile)
Length- 26.5 inches (78 percentile)
Head- Don’t remember the inches, but he was in the 9 percentile

He had to get 3 shots and one oral medication. He had a fever again for a couple hours on Saturday morning, but then did pretty well the rest of the weekend.

Well Baby Gray, here is what you are up to at 5 months!

On 2/23, you rolled over!! I couldn’t have been more proud! You were laying on the bed with me, doing some tummy time, when you decided that you were bored, and over you went! I got so excited that I scared you a little bit J You have since rolled over several more times from tummy to back, but haven’t rolled from back to tummy yet, although I think you’re getting pretty close. This was a bit of an emotional milestone for me, as I know that it means soon you will crawling, pulling up and walking… not sure I am ready to see my itty bitty baby do so many “big boy” things!

You are such a happy baby! You love to sit in your excersaucer and chew (and DROOL!) on your toys. Your legs are getting longer now and your little feet can finally touch the ground. You used to be most content laying on your play mat in the study, but now you like being in the middle of the living room in your excersaucer or your jumoper so you can see it all! You just bounce and chatter and are always so content.

As I mentioned above, you drool A LOT! You've been drooling for several weeks now, and I am not convinced that it's from teething, since I still think you are probably a couple months away from cutting any teeth. We are constantly wiping your mouth and chin, but you don't ever seem to mind :)

We have decided to hold off on giving you rice cereal until you are six months old, just to make sure we don’t attribute to any allergies you may have. I think you are really getting ready for food though, because you are always reaching for cups and spoons when we are eating. You get really excited any time you see your “ba-ba”. You are so funny right before we feed you, you open up your mouth really wide like a little baby bird and act like you are starving! So cute!

You are taking good naps during the day that usually range from 1-2.5 hours. I am no longer rocking you to sleep, since we are working on getting you to put yourself to sleep. This has been a little sad for me because one of my most favorite things is getting you all cuddled up with your lovey and paci and watching your little eyes slowly droop to sleep. Sometimes you still let me rock you during the day when we’re not trying to go to sleep, but I have a feeling this won’t last too much longer as you get more and more active.

You are sleeping OK at night, but still need to be fed 1-2 times during the night and need your paci put back in 1-2 times as well… which means your daddy and I are usually up every couple of hours. We are looking forward to the day that you can put your own paci back in during the night, as we are pretty certain this will help with the night wakings. Dr. McClard said you should be able to do this in the next couple of weeks, so we are hopeful!

You used to be such a pooper, but since you've gotten older, you've started pooping quite a bit less. We are down from 4-6 poopy diapers a day to 1-2 every couple of days. However, they are much, much stinkier! Mommy has actually gagged a couple times now, ha!

You are really starting to giggle a lot, and are all smiles when we come in to get you in the mornings or after a nap. You are so excited to get up and play and are just so darn cute! Usually at the first stirring after your naps I rush in to get you, because I so look forward to your sweet smile and happy demeanor.

You have just started to notice the fury beast that we affectiontely call Hogan! You are really starting to watch him and love touching him and letting him lick your hands and toys when you're in the exersaucer. You love smiling and talking to him, but I think he still wonders how you snuck in to being the baby in our lives. He is really sweet with you though, and I know you two are going to be best buds as soon as you can crawl around after him.
You got to see your first snow this winter! We bundled you up a couple of times and took you out to see the flakes, which you didn't really know what to make of. We got some cute photos of you though!

You are a very happy and friendly 5 month old, and your daddy and I love you so very much! We could not ever have imagined the joy that you would bring into our lives, and we can't imagine spending a day without you. You are the light of our lives, and the truest blessing we could have ever recevied. We love you sweet baby boy, always know this!

3 Months

It's three days before Christmas and our little bit is already three months old! Everyone tells you how fast they grow, but I really can't believe that we've already had him for 12 weeks. Time really does fly when you're having fun! I am really enjoying the 3 month stage, and just love to see his big grins when I walk into the room and hear him babbling to himself when he's playing with his toys. Although being a mother is a lot of hard work, he is worth ever minute of lost sleep and every moment of worry that my days are now filled with. I never knew I could love someone so much, so truly the worry for his well being never ends.

Grayer, here is what you are up to at three months:

You say it all with your eyes! You have the most beautiful, big, gray eyes and the longest eye lashes! When you are awake, you stare wide eyed in amazment at the world and try to take in everything around you. You truly have a twinkle in your eye, and I can't wait until you can verbalize your feelings. I know you will have something wonderful to say!

You smile all the time and it melts my heart. You now get a big grin on your face when I come into your room after a nap, and you smile often when your daddy gets home from work and comes to give you kisses.

You are the absolute c-u-t-e-s-t t-h-i-n-g EVER when I unwrap you from your swaddle first thing in the morning. You stretch and stretch and stretch and are so happy to be "free", ha! You are always so happy first thing in the morning and love to smile and talk to mommy. This is truly my most favorite part of the day when you and I are alone in the quiet of the house before the day begins. I will forever and always treasure these times.

You are very strong, and hold your head up completely on your own. Your legs are chunky, but they must have a lot of muscle too, because you love nothing more than to stand up, with some help from mommy and daddy.

You still like tummy time, but I have learned not to put you on your stomach within 30 minutes of a meal, because the added pressure often makes you spit up. We have turned the study into a little play room for you, and you love to lay on your back and play with your toys. You also have a bear mobile over your bed and get a wide grin every time someone whinds it up to play. They are your favorite "friends".

You are an excellent listener these days, and love to have mommy read you book after book. We lay on our backs and I hold them up so you can see all the pretty pictures. You are always very content and will let me read to you as long as my arms will allow (they often go to sleep after holding up 4 or 5 books in the air, ha!). You babble on and on while I read, and I know you are trying to tell me your version of the story, so sweet!

You are still not an excellent sleeper, and are only putting in a couple of 45 minute naps and usually one 2 hour nap during the day, and sleep in 3 hour stretches at night, but we are finally starting to get into a routine. After weeks of doing almost everything "on demand" I am able to read your signs much better, which has really helped. You go down for bed between 6-7 and awake almost to the minute, after sleeping for three hours all through the night. You are up at 10, 1, 4 and 7 and I hope that soon we can drop at least one of those feedings. I just hate to hear you cry, so we have not tried the "cry it out" approach that a lot of our playgroup did... for now we will just sleep in three hour stretches :)

You found your hands at 9 weeks and love to suck on your fingers. You have attempted to suck your thumb time after time, and mommy could not be more thrilled! I think there is nothing cuter than a baby that sucks his thumb. You also still have trouble keeping a pacifer in, so if you could soothe yourself with a thumb, that would be and added bonus!

You are obsessed with your green fuzzy blanket and we tote it around with us everywhere we go. If you are cranky or sad, you always want your blankie up by your face and a paci to suck on. You hold the blankie in your hands up to your chest and cheek and it is so sweet.

You have a love-hate relationship with your swaddle. You have to be swaddled for all your naps and at night in order to sleep more than 15 minutes, but you don't really care to be so restricted. Hopefully one of these days you will get more control over your crazy arms and won't require it to sleep. We shall see!

We are so thankful that you are a strong, healthy and chubby little boy! Mommy kisses your round cheeks a million times a day and you love it. You are the light in our lives and we love you to the moon and back!

Happy three months baby Gray!

Bath-a-palooza

Grayer just loves baths! For awhile there, I never thought I would be able to say that, but he really does enjoy them now. Since it took his umbilical cord an insane amount of time to finally fall off, we spent the first several weeks of his life giving him sponge baths by the sink, which he didn't take to. And even when we were able to finally move to his baby bath in the sink, he still didn't like them and would usually start screaming about 1-2 minutes in. But now that he is a little older, he just loves to sit in the warm water and splash around. He just coo's and coo's while in the tub now, and doesn't even mind getting his face and hair washed! I know, I am a bit biased, but I just think he little naked, chubby body is the cutest thing in the entire world! Love you so much neked boy :)

Grayer- 5 days old

Grayer- 5 weeks old

Grayer- 9 weeks old

Grayer- 11 weeks old

Grayer- 12 weeks old