Kelly in NC

Grayson-
In two more months you will be a year old. I can’t believe how big you are getting and how quickly the time has passed. With each passing month I celebrate the growth that you have made, but I also grieve for the moments that have already escaped and I will never see again. Last week I bought you this book: Let Me Hold You Longer. It has pointed out how many of your lasts I have not celebrated and how quickly they have passed. This month you grew another tooth; a top tooth to the right of your front teeth. You seem to be working on the matching tooth, but it has not surfaced yet. It’s a good thing that you are sprouting these extra teeth since in the last month, you have increased the amount of table food you consume. You now refuse most baby foods and have been known to devour up to three whole chicken fingers in one setting (chopped up into small pieces of course)! You ate your first birthday cake, complements of your cousin Kellynn who turned 5 this month. You continue to love to eat, but you are putting up a fight about the switch to the cup. Ms. Audrey and Ms. Victoria are trying diligently to convince you to drink out of your “Nubby”…but ultimately it is up to you and we have already covered your stubbornness in a previous letter.
You have gotten much better at cruising in the past 31 days. You move quickly around the coffee table, or down the sofa, and of course you cruise like a professional in your classroom at daycare. Now you have not quite mastered how to move between objects… although you are brave; acquiring at least one bruise a week on your attempt at such tasks. You tickle me most when you attempt to stand up all by your self, letting go of the table or my fingers. You are so proud of yourself that you begin to laugh and wave your hands and then next thing you know you lose your balance and hit the floor.
At the end of January, you were able to experience snow for the first time. After many minutes spent bundling you up, you took one sit in the snow and decided that you hated it, crying until Daddy picked you back up again. We did get a few cute pictures at least and we did learn our lesson. When we went to the mountains a week later, we didn’t bother torturing you with snow again. You seemed much more at ease observing from the window instead.
You have added a number of new sounds to your vocabulary now. You say a number of consonant sounds such as b, d, m, w, t as well as a number of sounds that are not recognizable in the English language. You wave and say “Bye, bye” but only at daycare and also when you hear me or Daddy get off the phone. I suppose that is your first word. It could have been worse. You could have said “Da Da” first. Thank goodness you saved me that pain.

Last but not least, Aunt Jill gave you your first hair cut last week. After the teasing about your mullet, I realized that I was only holding onto those baby locks for my own selfish reasons. Aunt Jill was kind enough to trim them up. You still have a little curl in the back, but at least it doesn’t look so unkempt. The funny part of that story is that the only way we could get you to sit still was for daddy to continuously snap your photo. As long as the flash was blinking, you would remain motionless and of course smile. 100+ photos later the cut was finished…and you were looking handsome as always!
So now we are off to another month; another month of fun and laughter; learning and bruises. I promise to look forward to all of these days of your development and to cherish each day that has already passed. I will forever hold in my heart and memory the smell of your hair as you lay in my arms at night drinking you last bottle of the day; the feel of you breath on my skin as you snuggle next to me in the morning, catching a few more moments of sleep; and of course the feel of those chubby little fingers reaching around my neck. You are the meaning of life for both your daddy and me. You have made us happier than you will ever be able to understand. At least until you have a child of your own.
Always,
Mommy

As always, you can view/purchase 10 month photos by clicking on the picture at the top of this post.

Another meme from my friend Katie…but here goes…

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Drive Thru cashier at KFC
2. Lunch meat and cheese stock girl at Publix
3. Guest Hostess on Splash Mountain at Disney World
4. School Counselor

Four movies I would see over and over

1. When Harry met Sally
2. Shawshank Redemption
3. Braveheart
4. Pretty Woman

Four of my favorite foods:

1. Does chocolate count? and if so then Dark Chocolate!
2. Cheescake
3. Steak covered in blue cheese
4. ummm chocolate?

Four places I’d rather be right now:

1. In bed asleep…I am exhausted from staying up watching Lost last night. (FYI-I hate the new time!)
2. At a spa
3. On vacation ANYWHERE!
4. At my Maw-Maw’s house just catching up

Who will complete this survey for themselves?
1. Renee’
2. Mandy
3. ???
4. ???

Click on the photo above to view my pictures from this past weekend. We just returned from spending the weekend with my sister’s family and my brother-in-law’s family up at Beech Mountain in NC. We rented a house right on the mountain and took turns skiing and baby sitting. It was so much fun, just hanging out with nowhere to go and nothing that we had to do. Next year I think that we will go out west. I bored quickly with the short runs at Ski Beech. But for only 3 hours away from my house…I really can’t complain. We missed my neice Ella, who couldn’t make it due to a virus. Maybe next year she will make it.

Grayson,
If you had bothered to be on time at birth, then by now-you would have officially been outside the womb longer than your were inside. But the very first lesson you decided to teach your father and me was that you have a mind of you own and that you will decide when and how you want to do things. This has become even more apparent this past month!
The more you age, the more that little personality of yours blossoms! This month you have learned what the word “no” means, although you choose when to follow the command. Daddy and I most often use it when you make a bee-line for either the TV cabinet or Ozzy’s water bowl. When we tell you “No” you turn and look at us and then either 1) move away from the forbidden object with tears in your eyes or 2) give us that new grin from last month and dare us to stop you! I am certain that God is repaying your father for his mischievous, younger days….but why do I have to suffer through this too??
Another example of your stubbornness was at daycare this month. At the beginning of the month, you were moved to the 6-12 month room. You must have decided that you did not appreciate this change because for the first week and half you decided to shun bottles. You refused to drink any bottles no matter how hard Ms. Audrey or Ms. Victoria tried. Ultimately, you gave them a chance and realized that they were pretty nice ladies! Different from your last teachers, but lots of fun too! And so the bottle boycott ended. Thankfully, as I was beginning to worry!
You have become very proficient with your crawl and pulling up in the last 30 days. You move all over the house and use every possible item to support your body weight as you heave yourself upward. You are experimenting with letting go although you seem a bit apprehensive with these experiments. On a few occasions I have watched you let go of the coffee table or recliner with both hands, teeter for a couple of seconds, and then quickly catch your balance by holding on again. You have learned how to walk by pushing your walker or grabbing onto either my or your father’s fingers. If we move to another room, you try your best to keep up, crawling as fast as possible, often tripping over a knee or hand… or sometimes you will cry…not stopping until we return to the room.
Truthfully I love that you are now able to recognize who we are and know when we are not around. You have yet to meet a stranger and you never cry when we leave you at daycare or with a babysitter. You love anyone and everyone who will hold you and tickle your chubby neck. But the best part is when we return, your beautiful eyes light up, your smile widens, and you let out one of your baby grunts (which I think is your way of saying “Mama”!). Seeing your excitement upon our return is worth every moment of being away from you…ok well not every moment, but it does make our time apart a little better.
At 9 months, you now weigh 21 pounds 12¾ ounces (64%), still measure 28.5″ tall(50%), and now have four teeth…you finally cut the top two that had been bothering you for sometime. The drool has significantly decreased (thank goodness) and just recently you learned how to grind all those teeth together, making the most God-awful sound. At first I tried to get you to stop, but under the advice of Ms. Audrey I have quit calling attention to it and instead give you something to chew on. After all, we do not want to make a game out of it…maybe I should try this tactic with the dog’s dish??? Oh I do not know! Let’s be honest, as our first child you truly are an “experiment”. And what a magnificent experiment you are! So happy 9 months! It’s hard to believe that you already ¾ of a year old.
Love,
Mommy
P.S. You can view more of Grayson’s 9 month photos by clicking on the picture at the top of this post.

I was so excited this morning at 5:35 a.m. when I got the call from school announcing a snow day! I am so appreciative, that I plan to give my headmaster a thank you card upon my return! Also, Tim did not have to go to work…as there are no subcontractors on his sites to manage. So today was declared a family day!
Tim and I decided to take Grayson outside to see the snow before it all began to melt. Yes, it took a considerable amount of time to get him all bundled up…but it was worth it. Well, sort of. Grayson didn’t mind the cold and snow while he was in our arms, but as soon as we set him on the ground to get a few photos, he sat there is shock…and then began to cry. I did get a few photos before the tears started. So enjoy!



Also, yes. I know that it is time for Grayson’s 9 month update. We have a dr. appointment on Monday and I am waiting on all of his measurments before posting. So check back then!