This morning we had to put Buckley down. :( It was a really tough decision that Shane had to make, but it was probably for the best. Buckley was going through kidney failure and we could tell he was not feeling well the last few days. Shane spent the night with him last night saying his goodbyes, knowing it was possibly his last night with him. I took him to the vet this morning so they could evaluate him. I thought it could be the last time I saw him, but didn't want to believe it. The vet recommended we put him on an IV and antibiotics for a few days but it could only prolong his life for possibly 6 months. Shane called and made the decision to have him put down so he didn't have to suffer anymore. We were given the option to bring him home for one more night but I think it would have made it a much more difficult decision to make.
It's so sad to think he is gone and his goofy little face won't be there to greet us when we come home everyday. I hope Aspen handles his absence well. They have become the best of friends over the years.
One of the best reasons to live in Texas is we have the prettiest flowers in the spring time! They make for some amazing photos. Of course, the subject of those photos can make any photo great! :)
Shannon (a.k.a. Aunt Cra Cra) and I took Grayson out to the JCP headquarters today to get some pictures in the bluebonnets and wildflowers. Shannon works there so we were able to use her i.d. to get us in the gates and around to a pretty secluded area. It was overcast today which is perfect weather for taking photos, especially for babies who aren't too fond of smiling into the sun. I'm so excited that we got to take these photos of him! He looks so good in blue!
Gotta love a good outtake. The basket was pretty deep and he seemed to disappear in it towards the end of the photo shoot.
I have always loved Easter. When I was little, I loved getting dressed up for church in a special dress and going to my grandparents for an Easter egg hunt with my cousins. Looking for the eggs was my favorite form of entertainment so I can't wait for Grayson to get to enjoy it, too. I bet he'll be ready to join in on the fun next year.
On Saturday we spent the day at my brother's house with my parents and Kristin's mom from Arizona. We had lunch and hid eggs for the boys in their backyard. My dad and Kristin's mom took Grayson, Aaron and Andrew for a walk while the rest of us hid the eggs. We lead a path of eggs from the front yard to the backyard for them to follow. Aaron is always so shocked each year when we tell him he just missed the Easter bunny. I tried to get creative this year and take a picture on my camera of some Easter bunny ears just barely in the frame, as if the Easter bunny was too quick for me to snap a photo of him. It seemed to work, but Aaron was slightly skeptical and felt the ears had a strong resemblance to those of the stuffed bunny Grayson was given by his Aunt Kissy. :) Next year we may have to get Uncle Nay Nay (a.k.a. Shane) to throw on a bunny costume!
I had a cute little button up onesie and some khaki pants for Grayson to wear. He was looking super cute on Saturday!
GQ will be calling soon!
Aaron loves his baby cousin
My new favorite photo of Gray with his daddy!
Momma and her cute little man
First Easter as a family
Mom and her "babies"
We were trying to get a photo of all the cousins but Andrew was not happy that he didn't get to hold Grayson. I thought his pouting was hilarious!
Buckets and gifts from the Easter bunny
Eggs galore
My attempt at tricking Aaron
And their off....
Grayson did have a yellow egg but Aaron snatched it out of his hand. If you ever wanted to see a protective mother in action, you should have seen me snap at Aaron when he took the egg from Gray. Momma bear had to protect her cub. :)
Uncle Jay Jay showing Gray how to dance
Grayson and his loot! The Easter bunny was very generous.
Part of my Easter gift to the boys were some I-Spy bags that I made (thanks to an idea from Pinterest). I spent a couple of weeks collecting some little trinkets (buttons, toys, odds and ends from around the house) and made these bags that are filled with the trinkets and pellets. Then I made some cards for each of the bags with a list and photo of the items so they can search for them. They were surprisingly easy to make and turned out pretty cute. Andrew was already playing with his Saturday afternoon while we sat on the patio.
Front view and back view (there is a pocket on the back for the card)
Typed up list of items
Photo list of items
On a completely different tangent, our really good friend, Bobby (a.k.a. Uncle Bobby), was named "East Texas Girls Basketball Coach of the Year"! Bobby has been a friend of Shane's for some time now and become an honorary member of my family over the years. He's even joining our family in Galveston this summer! We couldn't be happier for him! Here is a link to the article.
Here are a few things we have noticed about Grayson this month:
He learned how to burp on his own. I still try to burp him after he eats but now he can freely burp while playing and not cry for help when an air bubble is stuck. He must be loving this new skill because the kid burps frequently.
He can roll to both his right and his left now.
A couple of weeks ago he started moving his mouth like he was talking but no sounds were coming out. We figured it was his way of trying to figure out how to put the two together but it was pretty funny watching him make these "fish" faces.
He figured out his schnoolie (a.k.a. pacifier). We'll put it in his mouth and he will take it out, hold it in his hands, then pop it back in. We can even set it on his chest and he'll pop it in his mouth or play around with it.
Grayson got his exersaucer and began playing in it. He really seems to love touching all of the toys and hearing the sounds. His feet barely touch the ground but he can stand on his tippy toes. It is really helpful to have something we can let him play in while we make/eat dinner.
He finally discovered his feet! Every now and then I catch him grabbing at his toes or playing with his feet when he's sitting up in the boppy or getting his diaper changed.
I believe teething is officially underway. Grayson has been much fussier than usual the last couple of days which is very uncharacteristic of him. This past weekend he had a fever which I can only assume was teething related because a trip to Acute Kids on Sunday proved he was not suffering from any other ailments.
He loves bath time. This kid seems to get energized when I put him in the bath now (video below).
He is in size 2 diapers but we are about to move to size 3.
He is still in 6 month clothes but close to wearing 9 months.
He is eating 5 times a day and sleeping about 9-10 hours at night. We are starting to introduce him to formula since he's never had any. I'm mixing it with my breastmilk when I send it to daycare so he can slowly get used to the taste. The weaning process has began since work is starting to get busy for me and I don't have as much time to pump anymore. I have a few hundred ounces of breastmilk frozen so he should get it in his system until he's almost 7 months old. My goal was to get him to 6 months so I can't complain!
Here are a couple of other photos from his 5 month photo shoot:
I think he has a sly smile in this photo.
Look at those chunky thighs!
Here is a video of Gray in the bath tub last night. I think he's going to love swimming so I can't wait to get him to the pool this summer! And yes, there is water all over the floor in our bathroom.
One thing I didn't post about a couple of weeks ago was a spontaneous trip Shane and I took to the tattoo parlor when he was on spring break. If you know me, you know I love my tattoos! Throughout the pregnancy, and after Gray was born, we both decided we would get a tattoo in honor of Grayson. I had decided after he was born that I wanted the date tattooed on my wrist below my other tattoo I have in honor of my Aunt Donna. Since he was born on her birthday, I had 10.28 tattooed in roman numerals.
Shane loves the book "Guess How Much I Love You" and wanted to get Gray's footprints with a quote from the book "...right up to the moon - and back" tattooed on his left chest.
Shane's tattoo turned out really great! Those were Grayson's footprints from the hospital the day he was born and the tattoo artist, Josh, captured them perfectly.
We're looking forward to Gray's first Easter this weekend! I ordered him a cute little basket off Etsy (my second obsession next to Pinterest). My family is going to my brother's house for lunch and having an Easter egg hunt for the boys. I'll be sure to post pictures from all the festivities!
No, this post is not about one of the most talked about tournaments in college sports. It's about life in the Bybee house during the month of March. Instead of giving some boring drab about how busy work is getting for me and Shane's school is close to winding down, I'll just do a photo montage of the last couple of weeks. 5 months is just around the corner!
St Patty's Day 2013
This boy is starting to move around...not long before he's mobile!
Mommy and her lucky charm!
Aunt Cra Cra came over one night to spend time with her favorite boy
Grayson loves to play with his ducky during bath time.
Selfie with mom
A boy and his dog. Aspen loves to sit or be near Gray.
Someone got a new toy! Now that he is 4 months he can be in an exersaucer at school. We waited to see if he liked the ones at daycare before we purchased ours. He loves it! I actually told him to "smile" here and this was the face he gave me.
Checking out all of the neat toys and sounds.
Playing on the patio on a nice spring day while daddy grilled hamburgers.
Hanging out on the couch
Our new favorite face. What you can't hear is the high pitched noise he is making that is hilarious.
