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February 28, 2013

4 Months


Baby Gray is growing so fast!  Almost too fast if you ask me.  Here are some things we have noticed about him this month:
  • Grayson discovered his tongue.  He sticks it in and out all the time and likes to make noises with it.
  • Just days after his 3 month birthday, he started to roll from his tummy to his back.  This was one of those moments that I knew would come; when the daycare played witness to his milestones before we did.  They said he was lying on his tummy and just all of a sudden flipped over.  One of the girls had turned her back and couldn't believe he had done it himself.  They put him back on his tummy and he did it again.  Of course it took us a couple of days to see it happen because someone did not want to "perform" for us.  
  • Within the past few days, he started rolling from his back to his tummy!  It was a slow process at first but now it is more fluid.  Shane has yet to see it because he always seems to do it when he looks away.  Last night Gray attempted to do it and Shane got super excited.  Right before he hit his tummy, he rolled back to his back.  I think this is all part of Gray's sense of humor because he knows how much it frustrates his daddy!
  • He reaches for things all the time now (toys, our hair, our face, etc).  You can definitely see a difference in how he plays.  He is always grabbing toys and tugging on them then immediately shoving them in his mouth.
  • He started belly laughing.  This is our favorite milestone so far.  He really gets going when we do superman or make certain noises.  He laughs so hard it usually gives him the hiccups.
  • When he sleeps, he rolls to his left side.  He is regularly sleeping 9 hours at night and taking pretty good naps during the day.
  • Aside from talking, he learned how to make this high pitch squeal we refer to as the "dolphin cry"  (video below).  I assume he picked this up at daycare, although he started it after staying home with my mom one day.  She denies any assistance in teaching him this noise.  :)
  • He is still very independent.  We can put him on his mat and let him play while we make dinner or put him in his crib when it's nap time and let him fall asleep on his own.  He just talks to himself or plays with any toys we leave for him.  
  • He continues to be the happiest baby in the world.  Almost any time you look at him, he throws you the biggest smile.  All of the people at daycare tell me everyday how happy he is all the time.  
  • He is eating 6 times a day but may be dropping to 5 times a day soon.  
  • He is wearing 6 month clothes and size 2 diapers but we may be making a trip to return all of the size 2 diapers we have left over and moving up to size 2-3 & size 3 diapers this weekend.  We even made a shopping trip this past weekend to Carters and Baby Gap to purchase a few 9 month outfits as I feel we are not far from a wardrobe change.  
I think we have finally found a good routine and rhythm each day.  It's weird how quickly you settle into this new lifestyle and wonder how on earth you filled your meaningless time pre-baby.  Grayson has easily fit into the rockstar lifestyle Shane and I had prior to his birth.  :)

As far as life goes for Shane and I, we are keeping fairly busy.  Shane recently began teaching some PSAT classes at school a few days a week.  The kids are really benefiting from it, too, as their scores seem to be going up on their practice tests.  Because this course seems to be so popular and beneficial, he plans to put his administrative search on hold for now and focus on teaching and seeing where this PSAT course will go.  *Shout out to any of Bybee's students reading the blog!  You need to take the PSAT class if you aren't signed up!  :)

Some of you know I recently applied for a position that opened up in our department.  It was a manager's position on the Leisure Services side that oversaw our two rec centers and senior center.  This is the one segment of our business I have little experience in but something I was interested in pursuing to gain more experience.  I was one of the lucky few to get an interview, but unfortunately I did not get selected.  They went with an external candidate from out of state.  By no means am I upset.  It was a "nothing to lose" situation for me.  If I got the job, I would have run with it 110%, but if I didn't get the job, I still get to go to work each day doing something that I love.  My director met with me and we had a great conversation about my role in our department and some potential opportunities for me in the future.  I will be taking the lead on a 5K we started last spring and also be involved in the development of a dog park!  I have been pushing for a dog park since I started with the city almost 10 years ago so I am super excited.  Needless to say, it looks like I'll be gearing up for another summer at the pool!  Only 3 months left until we open!

Grayson goes in for his 4 month check-up today so I may write a follow-up tomorrow.  We are going to a new pediatrician.  There was nothing wrong with our original pediatrician but we did have some issues with how the office was run.  The pediatrician was great (my family has known her for years), but the front office staff were not friendly, helpful, organized or on top of things from the day Grayson first saw them when he was just a few days old.  A couple of weeks ago we had a "pink eye" scare and daycare sent him home.  I called to get an appointment and they were not able to work us in until the next afternoon.  This would mean Gray would have to miss daycare for atleast 2 more days because he could not go back until 24 hours AFTER he started antibiotics.  Normally I would just take off work but I had my interview scheduled for the next day.  Thankfully my mom came up to help me out since I was in a bind.  We ended up taking him to an urgent care place for kids and confirmed he did not have pink eye, just some clogged tear ducts.  Mom was already in town so she decided to stay home with him anyway and get some one-on-one time with him.  My manager at work suggested we go to his pediatrician's office.  There are about 5 pediatricians in this office so we should always be able to get an appointment, same day.  We'll see how this first appointment goes!  They have it scheduled for the right day so they are already off to a better start than the other office.

Sorry I don't post as often anymore.  I try to take pictures pretty frequently but feel weird just posting a couple of random photos every few days.  I am regularly asked by Shane, "When are you going to update the blog?", so I will try to post more frequently.  Even if it is just a couple of pictures (that's all any of you want to see anyway, right?).  My phone recently started showing signs of potential demise so my loving husband took me to Sprint one night and bought me the new iPhone 5 (yes, I went to the darkside and am now one of the cult followers of Apple).  We have had an iPad for over a year, but I never saw myself as the owner of an iPhone.  Just felt so cliche.  I am slowly starting to love it.  The best part is, it has a great camera so I can take more pictures and videos of Grayson then load them directly up to my picasa and youtube accounts to be posted on the blog.  No promises, but I hope to post more frequently.

Ok, I have bored you with enough text...on to the photos!

On our way to school one morning.  For some reason I feel like he looks
so grown up in this photo.  What you can't see is the band-aid on his right
pointer finger...I accidentally snipped a small chunk of his finger off when
trimming his nails that morning.  Kid didn't cry so I was unaware of his injury
until I saw blood all over his car seat strap.  Tag this up as one
of my "awesome mom" moments. 
 
He loves daddy playtime!
Daddy caught us taking a nap one Sunday.
Meltdown on the way home from dinner one night.
See, he does have his moments.  And yes, we are the parents

that stop, take the photo, laugh at our child and then
comfort him when he's crying.
Lazy Sunday afternoon
Playing with our Soffe from Miss Jessica!
Grayson fell asleep in my arms one night with his lip tucked in.
Starting to roll over to our belly!
Painting activity at school!  While they do the activities,
they take pictures of the kids.  Love it!
Learning how to color at school.

Daycare has these mirrors and he loves them.  I bought
one for the house.
My two boys are becoming great friends!
Aspen gives Grayson "kisses" all the time now.
Grayson has been sitting in his Bumpo seat for a couple
of weeks!
I'm ready for my close up!
Watching our Tigger from Grammie dance and sing.
Going to school one morning.  He is always so happy in the morning!

Here is a preview of the "dolphin cry".  Warning: any animals in the current 
vicinity may immediately perk up upon hearing this sound.  

February 15, 2013

Payton Marie Betts

Grayson's future girlfriend finally made her arrival yesterday!  Miss Payton Marie Betts was born at 4:02pm in Miami, Florida.  She weighed 7 lbs, 5 oz and was 20 inches long.  Mom and baby are happy and healthy!

We are so happy for Nikki, Robert and big sister Rylee!  Nikki's birthday is also on Valentine's Day so she gets to share it with her precious baby girl each year!

Payton Marie Betts

Payton, Nikki & Rylee
I meant to share Grayson's first "gift" for me from his daycare yesterday.  The ladies in his room are always working on projects with the kids.  Obviously Grayson did not do much except for pose for the camera, but he did make sure to give them his best smile!



February 14, 2013

Happy Valentine's Day!

With Love from 
the many faces of Grayson!




Someone started to roll from their tummy to their back!  Grayson did this for the first time about 3 weeks ago but I was just now able to capture it on video this past weekend.  (Ignore the crazy lady talking in the background).  :)


February 8, 2013

Shane's Article

Shane had another article published and this time it was the highlighted article on the page.  I was not able to access the online version but we did get a copy of the actual article.  Sorry if it is hard to read.  I just thought it was neat that he was recognized in this way.

February 6, 2013

What a Difference a Year Makes!

On this day last year, my life was forever changed.  This was the day I went to my fertility doctor for our last and final procedure.  I'm sure I had positive thoughts that it would be the one that worked, but I also had those same thoughts during all of the other procedures.  I can't say things felt different that time or I had a feeling it would work, but I do remember telling myself that no matter what happened, my life would be just as God planned for it to be.  I love that this was the plan he had for us!

Not a day goes by that I do not thank God for bringing Grayson into our lives.  Grayson has made my life complete!  Shane and I would love to have more kids, but if Grayson is all that we are blessed with, I will live out the rest of my days extremely grateful for my family of 3.  Grayson has truly stolen my heart and made everyday better than the day before it.

My Amazing Family

Me and my little blessing
I can't get enough of his sweet smile!

Superbaby!

This was such a cute picture of Gray laughing at my mom
when we went to visit my grandparents.  

January 28, 2013

3 Months



My baby boy is already 3 months old!  Each month just gets better and better.  Here are some things we noticed about him this month:

  • He started to grab toys and rings and hold on to them more.
  • He is grabbing stuff then putting it in his mouth (especially his taggy puppy).  He'll grab both sides of its head, open his mouth real big and pull it in.  I sat him up close to Aspen's face one night and he opened his mouth and leaned forward.  I guess he needs to realize there is a difference between his puppy and Aspen!
  • Last month he started "talking" but this month he began making more/different sounds alot more frequently. We hear tons of "stories" every night after we get home from work, on our way to daycare and when we are changing him.  
  • He started daycare and really seems to enjoy it.  Come to find out, he is the favorite baby in the room!  He is pretty hard to resist.  The girls told me that whenever other staff comes in the room to help out, they always ask to hold or watch him.  :)  Apparently it's his smile they all seem to love.
  • He discovered the "magic box" (a.k.a. the t.v.).  Lately we have had the news, Seinfeld (of course) or football on in the background while we play with him.  He'll be playing with us and then his eye will catch the t.v. and be mesmerized.  When we pick him up to turn him around or leave the room, his head turns to the t.v. and he tries to stay focused on it as long as he can.  Now we either change his position or turn the t.v. off.
  • He gives kisses or what we assume are kisses.  If you go in for a kiss, he opens his mouth big and wide.  They are wet kisses but we love them anyway!
  • He is sleeping over 10 hours at night. This last week we started to feed him from a bottle before he goes to bed so we know he is getting a good 5-6 oz in him.  We put him to bed around 9pm and I have to usually go in at 6:45am and wake him up to feed him and go to daycare.  He falls asleep on his own when we put him in his crib, too.  Some nights he passes right out after we lie him down.   Others he lays there sucking/chewing on his hands and then falls asleep after about 5-10 minutes. 
  • He is down to eating 6 times a day.
  • He just moved into size 2 diapers.
  • He is still wearing 3 month clothes but moving on to 6 month clothes any day now.  Shane and I had to go buy a few more 6 month outfits for him this past week since we noticed a few of his 3 month outfits look alittle snug.  :)
Shane and I are so in love with this little boy!  Here are some more pictures from this past weekend.

He has started to "hold" his bottle when we feed him.

Superman with daddy!

Playing with daddy

This is him staring at the "magic box"

Playing with his activity gym.  It lights up and plays music.

Just a typical Saturday at our house.

Reading his book during tummy time.

He can hold his head up so well now!

Laughing while we took pictures

Gotta love a naked baby!


I love those blue eyes!

I caught him sucking his thumb

Here is a short video of him "talking" while he was lying under his activity gym.  



As you can see, there is a new look to the blog!  I decided it was a new year so I might give the blog a new look.  If you are viewing this on an iPad or phone, it may not look too fancy though.  It only shows up on a computer screen.

January 21, 2013

Photo Update

I know it has been awhile since I posted anything so I thought I would post some photos from the last couple of weeks.  Grayson is now 12 weeks old and still the happiest, healthiest baby in the world!  All he ever seems to do is smile and laugh!  He is also learning how to do so many great things (more on those will come in his 3 month post next week).  Ok, I'll stop writing and post what you really came to see....pictures!

Playing with his puppy from Crazy Aunt Shannon
Grayson pulls on his ears and brings him up to his mouth.
Aspen loves "snuggling" with Grayson on the couch
Grayson already knows mommy is the camera lady and
looks at me when I take his picture.  Good boy!
Napping with daddy
Frankenbaby!  He has been putting weight on his
legs for over a month now.
Sitting with daddy
The smile we love so much!
And the laugh that warms our hearts!
Stick'em up!
Watching The Lorax with mom and dad and learning how to operate the PS3.
Someone likes to sleep on their tummy and stick their butt in the air.
Just to prove he is not always perfect; there is record of him crying!  :)