Fall is here!

Well, it's almost here.  The cooler temperatures haven't exactly arrived (should be here Wednesday) but we did have a weekend full of fall festivities!  On Saturday morning Shane and I got up early and took Gray to breakfast and a pumpkin patch.  We were semi forced to leave our house early because we found out a few days prior that our neighborhood was along the route of a half marathon which happened to run down the street adjacent to our house.  We drove up to Flower Mound to a pumpkin patch I had heard about over the years from various people as being one of the better ones in the area.  As you can see, Gray is starting to stand and spent most of his pictures standing around the pumpkins.

Always smiles, even in a field of pumpkins!

We aren't sure why he is yelling at this pumpkin...

Me and my little "pumpkin"

Daddy and his baby boy

Later that evening we went on our first official date as mother and son to the Mother/Son Monster Mash.  It's an event that is put on by the Carrollton Police Officers Association to help raise funds for police and their families in the event an officer is injured or killed in the line of duty.  Obviously it is a group that is close to our hearts.  I actually helped get this event off the ground a few years ago and even helped them start the Daddy/Daughter dance 7 years ago that has over 750 attendees every year.  Never did I think I would actually get to attend one day with my own son.  :)  Gray and I went as pirates.  I saw a really cute pirate costume at Old Navy and still had a pirate costume for me that I wore when I took my nephew a few years ago to this same event.  My attempts to return it failed so it has been at the top of my closet waiting for another opportunity to wear it again.  I wasn't sure Gray would like his costume but he didn't seem to mind being dressed up.  Although he wasn't a fan of his hat (which was sooo cute).  We met my sister-in-law and nephews at the event along with my friend, Jill, and her son, Miles.  The night was filled with pictures, games, dancing, hanging out on the SWAT vehicle and fire trucks.  Gray seemed to have a really great time and passed out not to long after we headed home.  I know I'm going to look forward to this event for years to come and hope it turns into a night we can spend together as a regular little date starting with dinner at his favorite restaurant.  

Arg!  Lock up your booty and surrender to cuteness!

Our attempt to get a photo of him with the hat on.

He's a natural pirate.  

My sister-in-law and nephews were minions!  Such great costumes!

Uncle Jay Jay was a volunteer at the event.  

Chillin' in the back of the SWAT tactical vehicle.
Grandpa doesn't want him getting any ideas...

Front of the SWAT vehicle.

Someone liked being on the firetruck.

And trying on their bunker gear.

Me, Gray, Jill and Miles.
Miles was more interested in the bounce houses than
taking a picture with us.  Obviously Gray was, too.

Our next big milestone this weekend is that Gray is starting to stand for longer periods of time and has taken more consecutive steps!  We are so excited for him to be walking, although many people tell us that is part of the development process they dreaded because it meant a toddler running about the house.  Shane and I couldn't be happier and love watching him learn these new skills.

Standing like a boss!
And yes, that is a total of 4 schnoolies he has
in his possession.  

So proud of himself!

Our new favorite game is taking all the books off
our shelf.

He also learned how to stack his blocks.

And that he has a new best friend when it's dinner time.
Aspen loves that Gray feeds him.  

Here is a video of a few consecutive steps he took yesterday (he's been doing this for about a week but I finally caught it on camera).  

We had a great weekend together and are looking forward to taking Gray to the state fair for the first time later this week!  

11 Months

My baby boy is just one month shy of being a year old!  I am so excited for him to turn one but sad that he will no longer be my "baby".  I can already tell alot of the baby in him is wearing off and he's officially becoming a boy.  Here are some things we noticed about him this month:

• Grayson started walking last month with his activity walker but he really started getting around with it this month.  He finally learned how to control it so he can maneuver around the house really well and turn it as he walks.  It's so funny to see him get stuck in a corner and just fling it around and keep going.
• He learned how to throw a ball.  He's not ready for the major leagues (maybe the minors) but he will pick it up, pull his hand and arm back, then bring it forward and let it go.  It is so fun to sit on the floor and play catch with him now.
• Grayson loves to play with his little activity gym that plays music but over the last month or two we noticed he would dance and sway while the music played.  He will bounce and shake his head back and forth while the song plays then immediately hit the button to play the next song after it stops.  
• We took Grayson to the park for the first time to play on a playground.  Shane took him at the beginning of the summer but the extent of his play was sitting on a blanket.  This time we showed him the interactive stuff on the equipment and put him in a swing for the first time.  Like everything else, he thought it was the best thing in the world.  He laughed and smiled the entire time we pushed him.  The look on his face was so precious.  We may have to purchase a swing for our patio soon.
• Although Grayson may have said his first sound that could be a word a couple months ago, he officially said his first word the other day.  And that word was...."Ma Ma!"  He said it and Shane and I sort of looked at each other thinking it was just a sound he made.  Then later he crawled over to me, started to pull up and goes, "Ma Ma".  I can't even begin to tell you how full my heart felt at that moment.  Each time he says it now, I can't help but repeat it and give him hugs and kisses. 
• He is almost standing on his own.  Every now and then we catch him letting go of the couch or standing against the wall and pushing off.  He stands for a couple of seconds and grabs back on or slowly sits down.
• He's wearing size 3 diapers.
• He's wearing some 9 month old clothes but starting to wear mostly 12 months.
• Still just two teeth.  We are hoping the top teeth start to make an appearance soon.
• Weight: 23 lbs
• Height: 28 1/2 inches 

I know it has been a couple of weeks since I have posted pictures.  I meant to log-in and post some, but then I would not have any to add to his 11 month update so I just decided to hold off.  Here are a few from the last couple of weeks.

My cousin, Brooke, is playing soccer for McNeese State and they came to town to play UNT.  So we headed to Denton to watch her play and take Grayson to his first soccer game.  He had alot of fun and entertained my family, and most of the people in the stands, all night.

Loving his first soccer game!
One of my favorite pictures of him....he looks like a liittle boy!

Mom, will I get to play soon?!

One of his many faces.

I forgot my good lens so this was the best I could do.  Brooke is #10.

My cousin, Tara.  Gray loved playing with her.

Family picture after the game.
I remember when these girls were this small.

Going to the park

Playing music

First time on the slide.

First time swinging!  I think he loves it!

Coloring with mommy

Apparently the schnoolie he had wasn't as good as the one
attached to his car seat.

Social Media

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this blog are just that and not intended to offend anyone that may feel otherwise.

I'm in a predicament and debating the deactivation of my facebook account.  You're thinking, "why on earth would you want to deactivate your facebook account?  It's the portal to staying connected and in touch with all of your friends and family or any individual you met once in your life."  Simply stated, I hate facebook.  Maybe "hate" is a strong word.  "Dislike" is probably more appropriate.  I will begin with the back story as to why I even created an account and where my dislike began.

My whole reasoning for creating the account 6-7 years ago was because my cousin was headed to Afghanistan.  At the time, it was one of the only ways we could keep in touch with him and know his where-abouts.  I also thought, "Hey, maybe I will reconnect with some people and strengthen some friendships."  On the rare occasions I logged in, I found myself plagued with two issues.

Issue one: Ingenuine friendships. Friend requests from people began pouring in.  Normally one would be excited to see so many people deeming you worthy to be a facebook friend, but I quickly learned it wasn't about building a relationship.  It was about seeing who could have the most friends on their account, regardless of the fact that you had not spoke to this person, nor did you ever plan on speaking to this person.  You were merely a tally to be displayed on their timeline.  I also realized the people that were requesting my friendship were people that rarely, if ever, gave me the time of day when we were once in school together.  If I was not cool enough to be your friend then, why does the gap in time make me worthy enough at this point in time?  There are only a handful of people that I chose to keep in touch with after high school, one of which regularly reads this blog. We kept in touch because we  made it a point to do so and didn't need social media to do it.  It may be hard to believe, but social media didn't exist when we were in college so we had to keep in touch the old fashion way, through phone calls and emails.  Sometimes even regular mail using a stamp (pause for dramatic gasp).

Issue two: Jealousy.  This is a hard issue to admit, but I began to feel inadequate and jealous while reading status updates from the 150 or so people I followed (yes, my list of friends was quite small.  For further explanation on my minimal list, re-read "Issue one" above).  I know this is something that scientists and researchers have actually looked into, and also something I have spoke about with other close friends who felt the same way.  It was hard to log in and see so many people getting pregnant while I struggled to fill that void in my life for years.  Or see someone taking an amazing vacation and wishing I could get away to some exotic place, too. I admit I posted a few vacation photos to some exotic places and probably made someone feel this same pang of jealously.  For this, I apologize.  I would log-in and find myself reading status updates and "creeping" people's pages, not realizing an hour had passed only to be overcome with this feeling of inadequacy and depression.  I felt stupid for feeling this way and angry at myself for allowing myself to have such feelings so I tried to lengthen the gap between log-ins.

I know what you're asking yourself, "How is your blog any different?  You post updates regularly about how great your life is, how you have the cutest baby in the world and you couldn't be happier?"  What's different is I'm not throwing it in your face without your approval.  You physically and mentally chose to go to this blog and read my opinion.  You didn't just log into a page and have my status or photos thrown in your face like facebook does.  I follow a few blogs of friends of mine and I willingly do so.  I look forward to visiting their blog to see how they are doing, how much their kids have grown and what's going on in their lives.  These are my true friends and people I care greatly about.  They are the ones I keep in touch with regularly.  Yes, they also have facebook pages, but I feel like their blog really gives a sense of the important things going on in their lives.  Not that they checked in at some restaurant for the umpteenth time.  I guess I could just de-friend anyone whose status updates I did not want to read, but let's be honest, the temptation to jump over to their page and "creep" would always be there.  Then the flood gates of inadequacy and jealously would just be opened yet again. 

I'm also uneducated on the proper ways of using Facebook which may cause me to be a non believer. But I also know of too many instances that Facebook has negatively impacted people's lives. Marriages have been ruined and jobs have been lost because people reconnected or began affairs through Facebook or innocently posted pictures of their weekend antics unknowingly violating work policies and being caught because they were friends of co-workers.   I have heard universities and some employers actually look up potential candidates pages to see what sort of life they live. Makes you want to question whether that photo of you in college performing a keg stand makes you look cool or unhireable. 

In no way am I bashing those of you that love social media and regularly use it.  Shane has a twitter account but he primarily uses it for professional reasons or to follow a few personal interest individuals.  I also have an instagram account.  I originally used it to edit photos and didn't realize there were people actually following me or seeing what I posted (mostly Shane's students who are tech savvy and slightly stalkerish that decided to track me down and follow me on instagram and pinterest).  I'm a lover of photos so I guess instagram is a social media I will never deactivate.

So I guess I'm back to my original question of whether I should deactivate my page or not.  I have not posted a photo or status update in months, let alone log-in unless I was sent a private message with which I needed to respond.  Would people not be able to reach me if I pull the trigger?  Those that needed to reach me are probably good friends to begin with and they should have my phone number or email.  Who knows when, or if, I will deactivate the account.  I guess if you want to find out, check your friend list one day and see if the photo taken of my bright smiling face back in 2011 is still present.  Then quickly click over to my blog to see how the cutest boy in the world is doing and read how happy we are.

Little Discoveries

Ever since we knew we were having a boy, I began to think about what our life would be like with him running around our house.  I imagined there would be toys strewn all over the floor, food on the walls and a never ending discovery of things in interesting arrangements.  Last week my thoughts became reality when I discovered this:

We have a few toys on the floor in our bathroom to entertain Gray while we shower or get ready for work in the morning.  He had been quietly playing on the floor while I went about my business and finished getting dressed.  As I scrambled to pick him up and head out the door, I stopped to notice what he had done.  I couldn't help but laugh.  For weeks I have been trying to show him how to put the rings on the tube and put the shapes into this other toy.  Sometimes he would figure out how to stack the rings but never did I think he would put the two toys together.  It was definitely one of those moments that forced me to stop, slow down and take in what was happening.  His latest game is rearranging our furniture.

Last Friday my mom and I took Gray down to see my grandparents.  My grandfather will be 97 years old in two weeks.  He does not get around as well as he used to since he fell last August, but his health seems fine.  He loves to interact with Grayson and always smiles when he sees pictures of him or interacts with him.  He didn't seem as active on Friday but I did catch him waving at Gray from time to time and smiling at his constant babble.  

Gray making his way around the table

Bob waving and pointing at Gray

I grew up playing on these same floors.

Grayson with his Great Nana

Labor Day Weekend

I love Labor Day Weekend for a variety of reasons....it's the last weekend the pool is open and football season begins!  Soccer is my favorite sport to play but football is my favorite sport to watch.  I'm not sure when I fell in love with watching football but I think it began a few years ago.  I prefer NFL unless I'm watching my Fightin' Texas Aggies!  Whoop!

Friday night we watched Texas Tech v SMU.  One of the guys that works for me and his girlfriend (who also works for me) came over to watch the game with us.  Jason went to Tech and Laura loves Grayson so she will use any excuse to come see him.  I was nice and even dressed Grayson up in a Texas Tech outfit my cousin, Brandi, gave him earlier this summer.

Saturday morning we did a little art project with Gray.  We put him on a drop cloth and gave him some paper and finger paints.  He would spread it around on the paper and then pick it up, crumble it into a ball and immediately shove it in his mouth.  He looked so cute all covered in paint!  We figure we will hang on to some of his artwork for when he is famous one day.  Might be worth good money.  :)  Saturday afternoon we watched the Aggies take it to Rice!  Gray wore a Texas A&M jersey from my aunt, Mendi, and looked super cute.  I think maroon is definitely his color.  (I apologize if this blog seems one sided, but it is from my perspective so I can write whatever propaganda I choose.)  We did end up taking a nap during the game but at that point the Aggies were running up the score and the game was in the bag.

Sunday I spent the day guarding at the pool and then worked on Monday, the last and final day of the summer.  It rained all night Sunday, and most of Monday morning, so business was sort of slow to start but eventually picked up later in the day.  Shane and Gray came by the pool at lunch to bring Jessica and myself something to eat.  It's nice to have another season behind me.  I'm looking forward to spending more time at home at night and on the weekends with Gray.

An artist concentrating hard on his work

Daddy doing his best to teach Grayson "guns up"

Future Red Raider...nah!

Future Aggie...yeah!!

Mommy and her little Aggie
I want to make it a tradition for us to take a photo together
at the start of every season.  I have one of us
last year watching our first game together.  

This is his new thing, to raise his hand in the air and look at us.
I can only imagine it's his way of "waving" to us.

Grayson visiting mommy at work

My future lifeguard

I thought I would also give an update on Aspen.  As you may know if you have been following our blog, we have battled chronic ear infections with Aspen for years.  He had one so bad after we had Gray that he was so, so sick.  It broke my heart to see him in pain.  We continued to battle them and our vet recommended that we possibly see a dermatologist so he could perform a surgery where they puncture his ear drum and clean out the organism living in his ear.  The cost and possible side effects (head tilt and imbalance) had us debating if that was something we wanted to put him through.  She gave me another round of meds and a homemade recipe for a purple ear solution that she heard about before on the internet.  I passed off the purple ear solution since she told me it could dye his ear purple and crossed my fingers that the new rounds of meds would work.  They didn't.  Whatever was growing/living in his ear was too powerful.

After a couple of weeks, I jumped on my iPad and did some research one night on the purple ear solution.  I found a few articles with the same recipe and many swearing that it was the cure that helped their own animals avoid surgery.  It was at that moment I decided to give it a go.  I went to a small pharmacy to pick up the ingredients (alcohol, boric acid power and gentian violet solution) and over to Sally's Beauty Supply to grab a couple of dye administering bottles so I could easily administer the solution in his ear.  The gentian violet solution is known to dye things so it is recommended you do all treatments in areas that you do not care to get stained (I chose our back patio).  The treatment is administered twice a day for two weeks, then once a day for two weeks.  I was determined it would work and was going to make sure I kept up with this routine.  After just a week, I noticed a HUGE difference in his ears (and my fingers were starting to turn purple).  The nasty brown stuff we had been battling for months seemed to be disappearing.  After four weeks, his ear looked so much better so I decided to take him to the vet to see if there was any improvement internally.  I was completely shocked when the vet came in and said his ear looked amazing!  She said it was purple, but the brown stuff was gone!  They did an ear smear and all that showed up was a few brown flakes but mostly purple stuff.  How is it that a $20 homemade concoction could have been what we were looking for all these years?!  We are so relieved and plan to continue using this solution a couple of times a week to ward off anymore infections.  Aspen seems so much better!  Now we just have to figure out how to fix his allergies...

Sleepy boy with a purple, healthy (yeah!) ear.  

You can sort of see the purple dye on his ear.  It's not as bad
since he is only treated every other day right now.