Kelly in NC

Last night must have been a fluke because tonight Grayson has woken back up and is insisting on crying until one of us gives in a picks him up. I am now up to 47 minutes of a modified Ferber Method and I think that he has finally given up the fight. Since we ferberize by letting him cry for 5 minutes and then checking on him-that means I have been in his room 8 times so far! That kid is persistent. I’ll give him that! And let’s be honest. It took a lot of self control to not just give in and love on that baby!
Opps, he’s back up and it’s time for me to check….

Grayson,
Your 17th month has been filled with both ups and downs. To be honest, I am glad that this month is over, so that we can be on to bigger and better things!
The month started with a cold which then turned into an ear infection plus raspy cough. You whined and cried, refused to eat much, woke upon frequently through out the night, and finally when you began to run a temperature, I took you to the doctor. The doctor confirmed the infection- but also gave us a bit of other news…you had 6 new teeth surfacing. One of which was covered in a purple, puffy bruise the size of a blueberry. YIKES! No wonder you were such a pill.
Since then, the cold has gone away and three of your teeth have made it all the way through your gums. Some of your molars are still in the process of surfacing- but I think the worst is behind us…that is if you do not count the nasty habit you have gotten into during the middle of the night. See when you had the cold, you had trouble breathing while lying down. You would cry out and then Daddy or I besought with pitty, would pick you up and rock you back to sleep. I guess that you found our middle of the night rockings to be a wonderful treat, because even though your cold is long gone, you are still trying to manipulate us into comforting you. It isn’t that we do not want to hold and rock and kiss you….just not at 2 am. In the past three weeks, I can think of only 3 nights when we did not have to trapse up the 13 stairs to your room and at the very least pat your back. Last night was one of those amazing nights. Perhaps you have again learned how to comfort yourself, since I did start back in on the “Ferberizing” two nights ago.
Now, so far I have touched on the low parts of this month. I want to remind you that I said that your 17th month was also filled with highs. The best part for me was that you have decided to start using your expressive language skills. You now say “Ma Ma” all the time in order to get my attention (you were doing this before- but very sparodicly). You say “up” when you want to be held. You can say “apple”, “no, no, no” (with a pointed, waving finger), “juice”, “bane” (for plane) and “Da Da”. You are also getting better with your sign language. You will sign: More, thank you, eat, and all done.
The best part is that even with your limited vocabulary, you are getting better at letting us know what you want with out resorting to crying. For instance, earlier this week you wanted more gold fish. You let me know, by going into the kitchen, calling my name “MaMa, MaMa” until I came to help, and then started signing more and pointing at the goldfish on the counter. What a relief it must be to finally be understood!!!
Also this month you have gotten much better at climbing. You now easily climb up our dining chairs and have even tried to climb on to the coffee table. (You know-the one your Daddy made and of which he is very protective!) You desire to be a “big” kid as evidenced by a situation from the other day. As per usual, I gave you your afternoon snack in a small bowl and your cup of juice. I sent you on your merry way into the living room to eat at the coffee table and watch you favorite cartoon “The Wonder Pets”. As I was cleaning up the kitchen, I heard you calling my name. When I turned around, I found you sitting at the kitchen table in a “big” chair, with your snack and cup set perfectly in front of you. You were so proud of yourself and was smiling from ear to ear, as if to say “Hey mom, look how cool I am sitting at the table without a high chair! I’m not baby!”
I guess you’re right. Grayson, you are not a baby anymore. You are officially a toddler. But please do not grow up to quickly. While I may not like rocking you in the middle of the night, there is still a secret part of me who treasures each and every moment of it. I might complain to others about the lack of sleep I am getting, but you and I both know that during those moments when it is just you and me sitting in the dark, with your warm, cuddly toddler body lying in my arms, I secretly memorize the sweet expression on your face… and the soft touch of your hand around my neck…and the feel of your gentle breath on my skin because I know that one day these moments really will come to an end and all I will have left are the memories I have tried to capture. So Grayson, even though this month may not have been your easiest, it did still have some very wonderful moments in it.
I love you each and every day!
Love,
Mommy

More photos can be viewed/purchased by clicking on the photo at the top of this post.

Sorry that lately all my posts seem to be centered around the house…BUT guess what? Right now my entire life is centered around the new house. So, if you’re not interested, then I suggest that you not bother to check in until the end of October!
We are now down to 1 month and 1 week. I have posted some pictures that I took this weekend, so click here if you wish to see them. Painting is complete (although they will come back in at the end for a final coat and touch ups). The granite counter tops were installed as well as most of the light fixtures. The schedule for this week includes- electrical final inspection, plumbers finishing the installation of their fixtures, and the installation of the septic system. In the next few weeks, we should see grading, driveway paving, hardwood floor finishing, carpet installation, and all of those other miscellaneous last minute details. Tim continues to be stressed out, but at least now the end is in sight. I told him if he didn’t want to be so stressed out, then he should try to get in finished in 4 weeks. He did not find my joke too funny.
Anyhow, as you might imagine, we have spent most of our week and weekend working on the house. I chose our appliances this past week and have plans to select the tile for the kitchen backsplash and for the fireplace surround tomorrow.
We did get a new offer on our current home. The guy needed alot of $ to help with the closing, so we have decided to not accept it. I figure 3 showing and one offer in the first 3 days with a sign in our yard isn’t too bad. We had another showing this morning which seemed promising. We are not in too big of a hurry to be rid of this house, so we have the time to wait for the right buyer to come along. No need to rush into anything!

The count down is on! Only 1.5 months until the new house “should” be finished. Tim, of course, is in panic mode and is trying to prepare me for the worse…it might not finish up on time. But, I have faith in him and am crossing my fingers. Not that there is any real rush. We still do not have a contract on our current house. Of course, we just put the FSBO sign up on Saturday. We have had one showing already, and one scheduled for tomorrow. Selling a house, building a new home, acting as a parent, and working full-time is hard work!
As for progress on the new home, as you can see from the photo above, the painters started last week. The photos above were taken over the weekend and since then, the rest of the trim has been painted white and all of the exterior painting is complete. They have painted all of the trim inside the house and have primed the walls. They should be finished with all the painting by Thursday. I cannot believe how many painters are working on our house. I lost track after about 15. With that much help, it is no wonder how quickly they are moving.
Also last week, we had the well drilled. They were able to find water at 250 ft- so that was a relief. After the first 200 feet, you begin getting charged extra! Tim of course has upgraded the system, with a bigger tank and more powerful pump.
Last week, I chose all of the light fixtures and today I selected the carpet. I also went to Home Depot today and picked out the three ceiling fans. There isn’t a whole lot left on my part, as far as selections and design concerns. The next 6 weeks will be very busy and packed with subcontractors. That means LOTS of STRESS for Tim. The electricians and plumbers are scheduled to be back in the house at the end of this week to install fixtures. (I cannot wait to see my jacuzzi tub!!!) By next week, the granite counter tops should be in and the septic system should begin installation.
It’s moving along now! I can’t wait until it finally finished!

~ Tim turned 31. We celebrated his birthday at his brother’s house with BBQ, watching the race, and of course birthday cake. You can see a few photos from the day by clicking on the picture above.
~Grayson has been sick most of the week with a cold. I finally took him to the doctor yesterday and found out that not only does he have a cold (that has now settled into his ears and chest) but he also has 6 teeth coming in at once. One of the back molars is even coved in a nasty, purple bruise. No wonder has has been so irritable. The dr. prescribed an antibiotic for the ears/ chest and also suggested using Tylenol Meltaways and Triamimic Thin Strips, since Grayson is now refusing to use the medicine suringe. I bought the two suggested products and LOVE them. I recommend them for anyone who might have a similar problem with forcing medicine down thier child’s throat. If only the antibiotic could be administed in this way.
~The contract on our current home fell through. The couple who were going to buy our home had to back out becuase they couldn’t get approved for a mortgage. The husband unexpectadly lost his job, and so now we are stuck trying to sell our house again. I am very disappointed since that means there will be more showings.
~Grayson has finally started saying “MaMa” and actually referring to me. Starting the middle of this week, he finally put it together. Now I get to hear him constantly saying my name as he tries to get my attention or show me something! It’s like music to my ears!
~Tim’s younger brother Joe and his wife Amy are expecting a baby in March! We can’t wait to meet the new addition to the family and are so excited for them. I am betting that it will be a girl! Congrats Joe and Amy!
~The kitchen and master cabinets are finally installed in the new house. You can see photos of those by clicking on the picture at the top of this post. I love the cabinets and can’t wait to see the granite countertops. The countertops were recently templated and should be installed sometime in the next two weeks. This week painting will begin and the well will be drilled. Only 52 more days and hopefully it will be finished!
~Last but not least, I think that I might have to give up drinking red wine. Two times in the last two weeks, I have somehow drank more than I realized and woke up with a terrible headache. Am I the only one that red wine effects this way? I guess I need to stick to the old faithful..beer! Wich by the way I have a new favorite: Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat. Delicious!

Yes, I “melted down”.
Grayson has been fighting a cold this week. There were no outward signs like green snot, but symptoms that only surfaced at night- with crying and refusing to sleep unless he was held upright. Since Grayson has slept through the night for the past 12 months, two nights of constantly waking up and rocking was a little rough for me. But that’s not why I melted down. I mean I am sure the lack of sleep contributed, but it was not the direct cause.
Grayson now refuses to take medicine. He screams the second he sees the medicine suringe. This is especially wierd, since we have never had this problem before. The last time he was sick, he actually liked the suringe. So what has changed??? Who knows. Anyhow, we have tried all techniques to get the medicine down his throat, from the medicine paci to blowing in his face. No matter the strategy, he spits it back at us. After a bit of creativity, we began mixing it with a little bit of orange juice and sneaking the goods to him that way. The only problem is that you can’t make him drink it. Somtimes he will and sometime he won’t Now, this aggrevating situation while I am sure it contributed to my moment of insanity, it also did not directly cause it.
So what did cause me- a self professed calm person, to melt down? It was while feeding Grauson dinner after 2 nights of next to no sleep and a frustrating bout of unsuccessfully forcing medicine into my child. Tim was late getting home and I was left to fend for myself on the task of taking care of the sick baby. Grayson was a whiny, crying mess and I decided that it must be because he was hungry. I put him in his high chair (he continued to cry) and loaded his tray with his favorite foods: ham and sweet potatoes (he continued to cry). I gave him his milk (he screamed). I took away the milk and replaced it with juice (he continued to cry). I gave him his favorite fork (he cried). I tried to coax him into eating the potatoes (he refused and cried). I tried feeding him the ham complete with train noises (he clamped his mouth shut and somehow continued to cry). I walkd away from the baby and took a deep breath (he started to scream). I sat down in front of him, looked him straight in the eye and begged him, with tears of my own, to please, please, please stop crying. I told him that I would do anything, I mean anything, to make him feel better, just please stop crying. He stops crying and looks at me like I must have lost my mind- which at this point I realize that I think that I might agree. I mean who cries to a 16 month old, begging the him to stop crying??? It really just doesn’t make sense.
Anyhow, that one perfect moment of no crying on Grayson’s part only lasted for a few seconds, at which point I wiped away my own tears, cleaned him up and then I rocked and loved that kid like there was no tomorrow. He stopped crying and was just on the verge of sleeping, when Tim walks in and makes some kind of comment about how it not fair how stress free I am when he is so stressed out with building the house.
Now the remainder of this story- which will remained unpublished- would probably be best titled as Confessions of a Wife on a Warpath. I am sure you can imagine how well his comment went over!

(Click on photo to see more.)
Well, the trim work on the new house is complete (except for a few spots where they ran out of material). It looks awesome. I know that it will be difficut to see in the photos, but once the interior is painted, I think you will all be impressed. Tim definitley went the extra mile on selecting great crown mould, doors, and really nice trim details for the windows and doors. I personally LOVE the bench for the mud room…and how about this genius idea: I had the electrician put 4 outlets at the top of the bench. Now we have plenty of room for plugging in cellphones! Smart!

The tile has been started, but it is taking a bit longer than expected. You will notice in the photos that the tile has not yet been grouted and there are a few areas that still need to be laid. The best thing about our tile is that it cost us less than $150 for materials. We were able to get a bunch of leftover tile from one of Tim’s subcontractors. THis was a relief since there have been many areas on our house budget that have gone over.

Cabinet installation will finally begin tomorrow…then I guess we’ll be ready for paint.