Kelly in NC

Grayson-
Happy five months old! That’s 152 days or 3648 hours old…but who’s counting? With the passing of another 30 days, comes a number of new experiences and tricks.
To start the month, Daddy decided that it was time to start you on baby food. It has taken you most of this month to figure out what to do when we put the spoon in your mouth. You started off pushing any food that made it between your lips right back out and onto your chin. But three weeks later, you mastered the swallow, leaving enough time between bites to “ooo” and “ahhh” for more! So far you have tried rice cereal, apple sauce, green peas, sweet potatoes, green beans, squash, bananas, and carrots. Your favorite seems to be the apple sauce and the sweet potatoes, although truth be told I am pretty sure you will eat most anything. The only one that has presented a problem was the squash. You enjoyed eating it, but couldn’t keep it down. I think that we will try that one again in a few months.
I have had to be creative in figuring out how to feed you without creating a complete disaster. It seems that while you are eating, you feel the need to insert your fingers into your mouth between each bite. This creates a problem, because as soon as you are ready for the next bite, you remove your hand and then place those sticky, slimy fingers all over your face, ears, and hair. The books say to allow you to do this…but I have found that those authors are not here to clean our house or wash your little body, so I have trashed their advice in this department. What I did discover was that I could trap your hands below the tray of you high chair and then feed you in “hand-less” bliss! What a miracle. I know that you will soon figure out how to get those hands above the tray. I am not sure what I will do then. Does duck tape seem too severe??
Another one of your new experiences this month included your first trip on a plane. Daddy, you and I flew to Ohio for Cousin Tony and Lisa’s wedding. I was nervous about taking you on your first flight and tried to avoid the not-so-friendly stares as we boarded the plane. I guess that a number of people have had bad plane-baby experiences, but not you! You were an angel and made me proud! You slept through most of your flights and surprised everyone sitting around you!
In the areas of tricks, I can finally verify with my own eyes that you know how to roll over from stomach to back. Yeah, I know, you teachers said you could do this last month, but for some reason you would never perform the feat at home. I caught you doing it in your crib a few weeks ago, pushing your feet underneath you “mountain-climber” style and then rotating your shoulders until you were over. I still can’t get you to do it consistently. You just seem to have a mind of your own.
You are still working on sitting up unassisted. You can do it for very short periods of time, but fall over when you get excited and arch your back. You are very good at doing push-ups and scooting yourself around in a circle to get the next toy. You reach for things constantly and have finally discovered Ozzy. You watch him all the time, and even call out for him, but Ozzy just does not seem ready to accept you yet. Don’t worry. I know that Ozzy will accept you in time, especially once you learn how to throw food on the floor. I am sure that you will be his best friend then!
The last piece of exciting news about this month is that you cut your first tooth. One of your bottom teeth has finally surfaced making the baby drool even worse. It doesn’t seem to bother you at all, but it did make me a little sad. I was again reminded that you are growing up quickly. You seem to get bigger and change every day.
Other highlights of this past month include a visit from your Aunt Jennifer and Mimi, meeting your Nagymama and cousin Riley for the first time in Ohio as well as seeing GB, Nagy, Uncle Joe and Aunt Amy again, making it through an entire night with only your Daddy taking care of you (and yes, you did survive!); finding your feet (you try to get them in your mouth, but have been unsuccessful so far); surviving another ear infection; and remembering how to sleep through the night again!
You have made the last thirty days a blast and Daddy and I are looking forward to watching your progress next month too! We leave for a mini vacation to the mountains this weekend and can’t wait to share with you our love for hiking and the outdoors.
Love-
Mommy

Last night as I was watching the Matth Hughes UFC fight, I mentioned that if I had to choose a UFC boyfriend, I would choose Matt Hughes. Then some movie promo came on for Matt Damon and I casually mentioned that I loved Matt D. and that he was my actor boyfriend. At that comment, my friend Carri says “Well, isn’t that funny, since they both kind of resemble Tim.” So what do you think? Does Tim look like my 2 Matt boyfriends or what? (Also, please do not tell the Matts but my other celebrity boyfriends include: Carl Edwards (NASCAR #99) and Matthew Machonahey.) Do any of you have celebrity boyfriends?? And what celebrity does your significant other resemble?

Yesterday, I took some photos of Grayson and his cousin Jack. Didn’t this one turn out great? I must admit that I was a bit disappointed in Grayson, as he wouldn’t smile while I was taking the photos. Usually he is such a ham!
I guess I’ll let him off the hook since he is fighting another ear infection. He started running a temp on Friday so I took him to the Dr. on Saturday. Sure enough, it is the left ear again. He has been kicking a cold for about a week and half and guess the cold won, making it to the ear. Drats! I think that he is feeling better now. Back to laughing and smiling. Gee I love to hear that kid laugh! Especially after a night like last night, up at 8:30, 12:30, 2:00, and 3:00. At 3:00 I finally put him in bed with me. Yeah, I know. I really shouldn’t do that. But I would really like to see you get up every hour. It just isn’t going to happen around here. I get very irritable when I start to lose my sleep. And Tim was no help! He had a few drinks while celebrating the Gators victory over Tenn. He was useless! Of course I let him know all about it this morning.
Speaking of useless…On Saturday morning at 2:15 am, Tim tried to help me out by running upstairs on paci patrol. He comes back to the room in a panic. “Grayson feels really warm.” Now mind you I had just taken his temp an hour before and the temp was down to 99. I tried to tell Tim that Grayson was fine, but he would not have any of it. Finally I say (while still half asleep) “If you are that concerned, take his temperature.” (Why he need my guidance to make this decision, I have no idea.) Anyhow, Tim proceeded to take his temperature (rectally), and in the process Grayson urinated all over himslef, his bed, and SID his snuggle bear. Of course this throws Tim into a hissy fit, yelling from upstairs “Kelly, Gray just peed all over his bed.” I, as you might imagine, pretended to still be sleeping. Tim does not allow this and continues yelling until I come to help. I guess that he is not capable to handling the mess on his own, which is what any mom would have been required to do. I digress…Anyhow, I was not a happy camper at that point. While Tim changed Grayson’s clothes, I stripped and remade the crib (this is not an easy process, mind you, with bumper tied on in 50 places, and all), shake my head at Tim and then try to go back to bed. Grayson was then wide awake and crying. AHHHH! I think to myself. I should have just done it myself. Anyone else out there ever feel like that? I will admit that Tim is the one who stayed up with him for over an hour until Grayson was finally ready to go back to sleep. Maybe last night was Tim’s payback to me for the night before?

Anyhow, Grayson was obviously feeling much better today. We went to the park with my neighbor and her nephew, and we weeded my tiny garden. That is until the miquitos finally found us. I am ready for a cold snap to come through here and kill off some of these bugs. I hate mosquitos, especailly when they keep me from enjoying the nice weather.

Well, tomorrow is Monday. It will be the first Monday that I have had at home by myself in 3 weeks and I am really looking forward to it.

As I mentioned a few days ago…here are a few photos from our trip to Ohio, compliments of Grayson who went to bed at 8:00 tonight.
Ohio Photos

Well, another week has passed…and finally I post. Maybe I should just be realistic and just aknowledge the fact that I will most likely only post once a week. At least then I won’t feel so guilty!
Since the last post, Grayson has decided that he likes the apple sauce more than the cereal. Now the only way you can convince him to eat the cereal is to mix it with the other food. We gave him peas for the first time tonight. He gave us a funny look with the first couple of bites, but then proceeded to devour all that we would give hime. Baby food has definitely changed the consistency of his bowel movements. He is also sick with a cold and taking meds, so I am not sure how much of a part the change in food makes or if it is the medicine. Let’s just say it is like guacamole! Enough about that….
This weekend we flew to Dayton, OH for cousin Tony’s wedding. It was Grayson’s first time on a plane and he did well. Slept for the begining of our flight there and slept the entire time on the way home. I was so thankful. I hated that thought of ruining some one else’s flight with a screaming baby…but what can you do. Babies seem to have a mind of thier own!
As for Dayton, we had a great time. Of course it was packed from the moment we got there until the moment we left. But hey, we only get up there once a year and I think that it is important to see EVERYONE…even if it does mean that we are more tired once we get home than when we left. Grayson was able to meet his great grandmother “Nagymama” for the first time, as well as a number of cousins, aunts, and uncles. I love being with Tim’s family. They always have so much fun! I’ll try to post photos from the trip soon… you know before next Monday!

Wow, so much to share, but I just do not seem to have the time these days! With my adaptation to this whole “working mom” thing, I am sad to admit that I just do not have the time I need to update this site more regularly. So I am sorry to those that I disappoint. But hey, let’s be honest…there only seem to be about 5 or 6 of you checking this thing out anyways…and most of you are too busy to update yours too!
Enough of that.,…so what’s been going on lately? Let’s start with Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Grayson began eating baby food. I had a hair appointment and Tim was in charge, so since we got the “go ahead” at Grayson’s last dr appointment, Tim decided that Wednesday should be the night he start eating at the table. Rice cereal was the food of choice…and Grayson did seem to enjoy the change. I think he spit out more than he swallowed, but hey! It was very entertaining to watch…and he has gotten alot better since. (FYI- We started apple sauce yesterday and he LOVES that too!)
Now for Thursday and Friday. On Thursday, I underwent laser-eye surgery to correct my near sightedness. I swear that LASIK is an absolute miracle. Within 10 minutes, the dr had corrected the vision in both of my eyes and my vision was 85% better. By the next day I was able to see 20/20 in one eye and 20/30 in the other. The best part was that I was given orders to go to bed as soon as I got home that afternoon. This put Tim in charge of Grayson for the WHOLE night. Ok…well, for most of the night! I did still get up to nurse him, as I absolutely HATE pumping and did not want to do that with my eyes closed! Friday, I worked from home and had my follow up appointment. My advice to anyone considering doing it: JUST DO IT! IT IS ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT!
Saturday: My mom and sister Jennifer came up from Florida to visit for the weekend. My mom hasn’t seem Grayson since he was born, so I was very excited for her to arrive.

He has changed so much in the past 4 months…I could go on and on about that, but just read my last blog entry and you’ll be all caught up! So on Saturday, mom and Jennifer finally made it. Renee’, Kellynn, and Ella came over for the afternoon. It was fun just hanging out with my sisters and mom.
On Sunday, Tim turned thirty. That’s right the big 3-0. Now, he hasn’t been very concerned about this big day, that is except for a few wrinkles he noticed around his eyes earlier this week (FYI-They have been there all along, he just hasn’t taken the time to notice them.) I had planned a fiesta to celebrate his birthday and so on Sunday afternoon we had a houseful of friends and family. It was awesome having everyone over…but alot of work too. I was exhausted when everyone finally left that night.
On Monday, I rested. My mom and Jennifer left. I cleaned dishes and then Grayson and I even took a 2 hour nap together in the recliner. The rest of the day was a blur, but the best part was that Grayson decided to sleep through the night again…FINALLY! It has been about 2 weeks, since he did this last, so I was most excited! Tonight he went to bed at 8:30 (which is why I have the time to write this post) and I am crossing my fingers that he sleeps through the night again. I love that baby to pieces…but I love him even more when I get uninterrupted sleep!
So there you have it. Lots to share….
I’ll try to not let it take a week to update next time!