Kelly in NC

Thanks to my friend Katie, I recently received this New Year’s Survey. For those of you who are looking for something fun to add to your New Year’s Eve blog, just copy and paste…of course adding your own responses!
Hope everyone has a happy and safe New Years!

1.) Where did you bring in 2006?
In my living room

2.) What was your status by Valentine’s Day?
Married and 7 months pregnant

3.) Were you in school (anytime this year)?
Does working in a school count?? If so, then yes. If not, then no-thank goodness! I can’t imagine going back to school.

4.) How did you earn your keep?
Working as a school counselor..of yeah and short term disability paid for a few months too!

5.) Did you ever have to go to the hospital?
Yes, thank goodness! Otherwise that baby would still be in there. Tim and I also went back to the hospital a few weeks ago for Grayson to have tubes put in his ears.

6.) Did you ever encountered the police?
Not to jink myself, but this year I have avoided any run-ins with the Po-Po!

7.) Where did you go on vacation?
Vacation??? Let’s see…Florida in January, a trip to the beach in June. Then to Savannah on my girls trip in October.

8.) What did you purchase that was over $500?
A baby (my hostipal bills was well over $550, Lasik Eye Surgery, a new mattress…would my mortgage, student loans, or day care count???

9.) Did you know anybody who got married?
My sister-in-law Jill and my new brother-in-law Chris

10.) Did you know anybody who passed away?
Luckily no.

11.) Have you run into anybody you graduated high school with?
Hmmmm, high school? No, not this year. I didn’t get to travel much.

12.) Did you move anywhere?
nope…btu we are STILL looking for a bigger house!

13.) What sporting events did you go to?
none this year, maybe next year

14.) What concerts did you go to?
none

15.) Are you registered to vote?
Of Course!

16.) If so, did you do your patriotic duty on Nov. 7?
yes

17.) Where do you live now?
North Carolina

18.) Describe your birthday.
TIm took me to an upscale restaurant I really wanted to visit. Then cake and ice cream with my family afterwards. I also went uptown Charlotte to celebrate with my friend Stephanie whose birthday is only a few days after mine. Of course, I was VERY pregnant, but I still had fun!

19.) What’s the one thing you thought you would never do but did in 2006?
Survive having a baby! Ohhh the pain!

20.) What is one thing you regretted this year?
Believe it or not, I do not think that I have any regrets….or do I?

21.) What’s something you learned about yourself?
That being a mom is hard work…but completely worth every moment of it!

22.) Any new additions to your family?
Grayson and my neice Ella and nephew Jack

23.) What was your best month?
That’s a hard one. April was great since Grayson finally made his appearance. May was pretty awesome…since I didn’t have to work. Althought the last of November and all of December was nice too. I love the holidays!

24.) How would you rate this year with a scale from 1 (shitty) to 10?
Easily a 9 or 10! I feel blessed to have had such a happy 2006

Grayson-
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year…almost. This month, your 8th, you had your first visit from Santa Clause and your first round of present overload from your family who loves you so much. Most of your family from Florida made it up here to celebrate the holidays with you and man, did they spoil you! Our house currently looks as if a toy tornado has hit it. You received so many gifts, that we have now filled the three toy crates your father made you (also a gift) and we are not sure what to do with the rest. As you know, our house is quite small and storage is a commodity that is very scarce around here. I guess it is already time to weed through and find those toys that you no longer enjoy and make a donation to Goodwill. We will make you into a compassionate little boy whether you like it or not!
This month has been filled with discovery of your world! You have finally learned how to crawl…although it is more of an army style move except for the occasional usage of your right foot. You have gotten much better as using your walker and thanks to Aunt Amy you are working on mastering the “pulling up” all on your own. With a bit of encouragement, you are able to do it, laughing at yourself the entire time. On Christmas Eve, you stood up all by yourself in your crib. Luckily, Daddy had already lowered your crib mattress and of course we were there to get a photo! You were so proud of yourself.
You have developed a new smile, a cute grin that proudly shows off your two bottom teeth. I think that it is adorable and I am curious as to how you figure out these new things each month. You are very smart…such as how you discovered that Daddy and I would not respond to crying in the middle of the night, but that we would respond to coughing… That took me three nights before I realized that you were conning us and then we broke that habit too, you little booger!
Speaking of booger, you have been given a number of silly nicknames, mostly by Daddy, since your birth. From Boogalicious to Gray-bow, he is always coming up with new things to call you and you seem to love it. Of course I was a bit worried that a) one of these nicknames might stick (I mean who wants to be called boogie in middle school) and b) that you might not learn your name. But my worry was unnecessary, as you have learned your name and usually will turn when it is called. To my knowledge, “Grayson” is the only word that you really recognize. I did start using sign language with you this month knowing that you will not really understand it for sometime as it will take numerous repetitions before you memorize the signs. Mama is the one I repeat the most in hopes that it will be the one you use first…and so still we wait to hear (or see) your first word!
This month you had your first surgery (or second if you count circumcision). After getting your fourth ear infection since birth, you were determined to be a candidate for tubes. That brings up a sweet story about your father:
On the day of the surgery, your Daddy and I were on our way up to the surgery room at the hospital when your dad says to me: “You’re not going to cry. Are you?” in his most condescending voice. You see I am a rather emotional person, known for shedding a few tears and this little trait really annoys your father. It aggravated me that he would even ask such a question and so a berated him with all the reasons why he should have never said those words, how if I want to cry then I should be able to, but that now he has already made me feel silly for even thinking about crying, yada, yada, yada. Well when the time finally came and the nurse took you out of my arms and carried you into the surgery room, your father put his hand on my shoulder and said “Let’s go to the waiting room.” I turned toward him (with dry eyes, mind you) and saw his eyes brimming with water. I couldn’t believe it! There he was making me feel guilty for the possibility of crying all because he knew he might get a bit emotional himself… I guess that is just another reason why I love your father.
Anyhow, the surgery went well, and we immediately saw a difference, especially with your hearing. After a bottle and a nap, you were feeling so much better that we even took you to see Santa Clause! And as mentioned above, he must have thought that you were a very good boy this year, hence the plethora of toys left by the tree this year. I have to agree, you have been a blessing the past eight months. And as always your Daddy and I thank God for giving you to us. We couldn’t have asked to anything more.
Love,
Mommy
P.S. For those family members who would like to order Grayson’s 8 month photos, just click on the picture at the top of this letter.

Well, it only took two nights to break Grayson of his “Up at 3am” pattern. He gave a half-hearted attempt last night. A couple of coughs with no response from the parents. Then two whines…then he gave up and went back to sleep all on his own!
Success!

I have got one smart booger on my hands! Since the time that he began sleeping in his crib upstairs, Tim and I have been very conscientious about making sure Grayson learns to sleep by himself. We would almost never let him in our bed unless it was a weekend…and then it had to be past 6 am-the time that he gets up on weekdays. But lately he has been sick.
Da, da, da, dum…
Yes, since the night after his ear surgery, when I couldn’t give him any cough syrup at bedtime, I have been getting up with him at around 3:30 am. He would cough, and cough, and cough until eventually I would go upstairs to check on him. He would be wide-awake and no amount of patting on the back (or yes, picking him up and rocking him) would get him to go back to sleep for good. He would fall back asleep, but then wake back up coughing and then crying with in 10 minutes. I did figure out that if I put him in bed with me, then he would easily go back to sleep for the rest of the night…and so that meant that I would get some more sleep too!
Well, one week later I realized that I had been conned! On Sunday night, we went through the routine mentioned above. Awake at 3:30 coughing and then after numerous attempts to get him to go back to sleep, I put him in the bed with me (at 4:00 am). As soon as he hit the bed next to me and he could snuggle his soft baby head into the crook of my neck he was out like a light and didn’t get up again until well after 7:30 am. There wasn’t another cough, snort, or sneeze. I was amazed! Somehow this 7 month old baby was able to find my weakness. Crying would obviously not get through to me (since I have let him “cry it out” for some time now) but the cough…now that was genius.
So last night when he decided to get up at 3:30, I was on to him. I went upstairs, put the paci in his mouth, and patted his back, and still he refused to go to sleep. I then began “ferberizing him”; letting him cough (and then eventually cry and scream once he realized the cough did not work anymore), checking on him and comforting him every 5 minutes until he finally fell asleep for good at 4:15.
I’ve tried to talk to him and make him realize that I am all about snuggling together…just not at 3 am. I guess that his language skills are not advanced enough to comprehend yet.
So now I wonder what tonight will have in store for me…and I wonder which of my other weakness he will exploit next!

I have so much to update everyone on, but have had difficulty finding the time. I guess that it must be the holidays! To begin with Grasyon had the surgery to insert tubes into his ears on last Wednesday. How cute does he look in a hospital gown?

Grayson had no anxiety about being at the hospital. He even went willingly and with a smile into the arms of a nurse. Watching your child as he leaves your arms to have surgery must be one of the hardest things I have ever done. I can’t explain the feeling of helplessness, of wishing there was a way that I could personally make things better for him. But alas, the surgery was very quick and went very well. The Dr. indicated that Grayson was probably in more pain before the surgery than afterwards. I guess that his left ear drum was bulging with ghoo. Tim and I were amazed at the difference the surgery made in him. Of course when we first saw him after surgery, he was agitated. We were told that it was the side effect of the anathesia. After eating and a two hour nap, he was back to his old self…and quite possibly better. He was smiling and leap-frogging around our living room. And to our surprise, his hearing was much better too! We had no idea how much he wasn’t hearing. After the surgery he stared at the stereo in amazement and turned for every little noise or creak. I am very thankful for this change, as I know how much hearing can impact speech & language development…
Anyhow, after Grayson’s nap, Tim & I decided that since we had the day off from work and since Grayson was feeling so well that we would go Christmas shopping…you know avoid the crowds and all. We had a great time, eating lunch, shopping for gifts, and of course taking the baby to see Santa for the first time:

Grayson had no problem sitting on Santa’s lap. For the first few moments, he didn’t even seem to realize whose hands he was in. Then after the excitement of the photo flash wore off, he finally stole a look at St. Nick and as expected reached right for his beard! What a cutie!
Last, but not least, Grayson finally found the Christmas tree! Using his walker, he found a way to get close enough to grab all of the sparkly ornaments and ribbons.

I had to improvise and strategicly placed the gifts under the tree as bumpers, making it impossible for him to snag the tree goodies! Now, if his crawl improves between now and Christmas, I may be in trouble.
I still have plenty of shopping left to do, but am excited to report that Friday was my final day at school for 2006. I have been really looking forward to the 2.5 weeks I have off for winter break. Lots of family are coming in town…and if Tim really quits his job this week, then we may get to travel to Florida for a few days. I guess we will have to wait and see about that.
Hope everyone else to having a wonderful holiday season too! I’m sending warm wishes out to all of you!
Merry Christmas!

So tonight as I was finishing my grocery shopping, the teeny-bopper cashier rang up my bottle of wine and then asked for my I.D. Upon viewing the date, she exclaims: “Wow!!! You sure look young for your age.”
Now, if I were a “glass-full” kind of person I would think: “Hey, she just paid me a compliment.”
If I wer a “glass-empty” kind of person I would think: “Man, I guess my age really is getting up there.”
Since I am caught somewhere in the middle of the half glass thing, I said: “Thankyou” and then immediately called my sister Renee to complain.
Aghhh!
I guess that I am a little sensitive about my upcoming 30th birthday.

After another fussy day, I took Grayson back to the pediatrician.  He continues to have an infection in his left ear.  That makes about 4 months of infections, and so a referral was made to an ENT.  Our appointment is set for Monday morning to determine if he is a candidate for tubes.  If the ENT has any cancelled appointments between now and Monday, then the appointment may be moved ahead.  If he is a candidate for tubes, it is an out patient surgery, requiring anesthesia.  I am not too worried since I have had numerous moms tell me how wonderful "tubes" are.  So hopefully it will be a good experience for us too. Other wise, it is life as normal.  Grayson does not appear to be in any pain.  He just isn’t as bubbly and rambunctious as he was only a few weeks ago.