Swimming... swimming... in the swimming pool!

He was blowing bubbles... or drinking water... had his face flat in the water!

Mr Man in tow... 

Miss Aver cam to watch!

Me and Mr Grayson!

Learning how to escape the pool!

Swimming.... 

Floating on his back being "towed" around the pool!

The Mr and me!

He likes to splash!

Before the swim lesson! He rode into the pool in style of course!

I remember as a child ALWAYS being in my Mimi's swimming pool all summer long! We would spend the night over there... eat breakfast and head on out! We would spend half the day out there swimming then lunch and for an afternoon snack, frozen punch and chocolate covered peanut butter crackers! Yummy! I miss going over to Mimi's house for these great days and summer always seems to remind me more of great times spent with her cause we normally spent half our time there cause mom worked and it kept us active!

Well since I LOVE swimming I wanted to start Grayson off on a good note SO Grayson is taking swimming lessons at the YMCA! Yes they are parent and child and it is not as much swim lessons as lets get the parents and child more comfortable in the pool! It is SO much fun! Grayson thinks the water is so much fun! I know once he starts walking I am in trouble cause he has NO fear! Unlike the older kids in the class that won't stick their head in the water he dunks his face right in and drinks up half the pool! Ha ha! When I "tow" pull him around the pool he already kicks his legs and tries to move his arms! He is just a natural... ha ha! But he really is cute in the pool! He already has a new friend in class! He is a little boy named Evan that is a week younger than Grayson! It was so cute they were across the pool from one another just chatting away till we put them next to each other and then they gave each other a quick hand shake and splash! My friendly kid!

Well things are going well with Grayson! We are changing up his medication for the asthma and if all goes well we hopefully won't have to see the pediatrician till his 1 year visit! Wow in less than 2 months! I can't believe he is almost a year old! He is SO big! 

He has been taking a few steps here and there! Yesterday I had him in the living room and by the time I left my kitchen to look and see what the strange sound was on my stairs... yes just 2 minutes... he was at the top of my crazy stairs looking SO proud of himself! He has done SO well at staying off the stairs and never going up! He has gone up Serah's stairs but never mine... but now... oh I need gates at the house! I guess that is the next buy! I was hoping to wait till I had the contractors out to fix my upstairs BUT looks like I need them sooner than that since I never am gonna have the insurance company come fix things! Oh how I loathe Texas Windstorm! Please pray for NO MORe hurricanes!

Well above are the pictures mom took the first day of swim lessons! 

We missed a few classes due to my on the job injury... Oh I HATE being injured! And they changed my hours for work and due to the fact that I am not supposed to do many things and oh longs story... and this is not about me!

Well Grayson is taking a nap and I need to clean SOME... so enjoy the pics I know that I sure do!!!

Little Gym Class!

Playing with the balls!

Who is that handsome little guy?

Happy Boy!

This is a classic look for Gray can you tell?

Sitting on the parachute with the other kids! He had a good time!

Well today we decided to go to the introductory class at the Little Gym in Friendswood! I have been wanting to go to these classes since I first really heard about them, and I love Mommy and me classes! I think they are so much fun! Well I had planned on going with my Mommy Group, but it seems like Sundays are better days for us... and they are not open on Sundays SO we just went alone!

Well the class was fun! Very well organized and I would love to take Grayson back, But I don't know! I have a lot of other things on our list of to dos, but I have a lot of decisions to make!

Grayson had a blast! He was a little shy at first and I think once he is walking more it will be a lot more fun! He learned to do flips and donkey kicks (he loved these, and I will try to start doing these at home) and it was just a lot of fun! I also figured out my son really is a monkey! They have the uneven bars and whatnot and he LOVED to swing from them, and not with me holding him! I would put his hands up to the bar and he would hang there like a little monkey! It was so funny! He shocked a few people at how strong he was! I would have taken a pic of this but, I wanted to stay near to spot him so he didn't hurt himself!

Well pics are up! He is too cute with his spikey hair! I love my little man!

His ears are doing good! One is still draining nastyness, but I know that is what we want to happen so I don't mind too much! He is normal as normal can be, BUT I can tell his ears are still bothering him! He screams when he is up-side down, I think it causes the pressure to be too much! Giving him a bath is a harder job now! One cause he moves around SO much, but also because I am so nervous about getting water in his ears! Which in my thinking shouldn't be that big a deal now cause it drains better, but the doctor said that it was very important to keep them dry! I know that only time will tell! But we will see!

Yesterday we went back to the ENT to get our super cool swim ear plugs, which I will take a pic of once we use them! After cause we were right next door to St John's Hospital I went to visit my old friends! I love to see all of them and I really miss that place! I think it was the one job that I LOVED, and I never minded going to work! The people were all crazy, but it is one place that 80% of the people that are there are the same people that worked there 10 years ago when I first started there and they are still there going strong! At Hermann I think maybe 10% were the same people that I started with and the turnover was horrid! And at Clear Lake, well... before I got there they went through a big turnover and now a year and a half later we are about to go through another! I think only about 30% of the people have been there for over 4 years! Maybe! Oh how I miss St Johns maybe one day I will get to go back!

Well that is all that is going on!

Ear Tubes Mania!!!

This is the Christmas tree decorated in Spring stuff in the Recovery room! It was Great!

After Grayson had surgery! Yay for waking up!

My handsome monkey!

This was the great recovery room nurse! 

He thought he could escape!

In the middle of the night playing!

He figured out all the fun stuff was hidden UNDER the bed!

The singing porkipine! He is awesome, Grayson loved to dance with him!

Well today was a very LONG day to say the least! Yesterday I got the call from the pre-op nurse telling me what Grayson could and couldn't do before surgery! First he was not able to nurse after midnight (which was hard cause he normally eats 2-3 times after he goes to bed!) So he nursed at 11-12 which is a really long time for the speed eater I think he knew what was coming, and then at 230 when he woke up this morning I tried to let him cry himself back to sleep, then tried to rock him and he kept attacking me SO I decided that it was time to wake up! Since there was a good chance that with the anesthesia he would want to sleep all day today maybe it would not throw his schedule way off! So to begin I had a hard time sleeping had fallen asleep myself at 1030-11, then back to sleep at about 1230-215! Then at about 4 Grayson decided even though he could not eat he was TOO tired so he fell back to sleep till time to leave at 515! I on the other had just had the few hours! Well we got there to the out patient center at 530 to check in, we talked to the nurse and anesthesia, and the doctor was there by 630 about the time they were done with all the paper work! The GREAT nurses let us (Noonie and me) walk back with Grayson and hand him over at the sterile corridor and they gave him this cute little frog to hold on to! He was excited cause it was a group of women he could flirt with! He was taken back to the room at 645ish and the doctor came out and talked to us at 7! Grayson even though he was on antibiotics for the last 7 days for an ear infection when they went to put in the tubes the left side ( the biggest problem side where he has some loss) was green oozing and infected, but the right had clear fluid (fluid bad, but clear is ok) and so the left side is draining pretty good! I am a pretty strong woman, it takes a lot from a kid to make me sick, I know for a fact Grayson has pooped, peed, and thrown up all over me, and it has never fazed me, but this ear drainage, it is NASTY!!! It is like nose buggers in the ear (technically it is cause his nose is stuffy causing the back-up in the ears SO now that the ears drain ... it is GROSS! Once this infection is over with ALL should be fine and we will see the drainage when his nose and chest is congested, BUT it should not be as bad as it is currently!

Well like I said we were there at 530, back to pre-op at 6, Dr came in at 630, taken to OR at 645, Dr came out/ Grayson went to recovery 7, Called back to sit with him as he woke up/ feed the hungry baby boy 715, discharged 735, dropped off medication at CVS at 745, home at 8! Once we got home the recovery room and anesthesia nurse said there was a good chance that he would want to sleep all day, BUT instead he came home and played for about an hour then decided to eat again! He fell asleep at 915 slept till 12 woke in a great mood! No more pulling the ears or anything just playing! He has been in a GREAT mood, just all smiles and laughing! If I didnt know him better I would think nothing happened today! I am just hoping this is the beginning of the end of ear infections! I know the tubes are not a cure-all and he may get infections in the future, I just hope not as common!

So it looks like the next few days will be vacation, I think that the next few nights may be hard and long, but at least it looks like the hardest part is done with! Here  are some pics I took today!

Did I mention???

As anyone who would ever read my blog... I am a single momma of the most beautiful wonderful little man in the world! I would never trade Grayson for the world and never knew my heart could grow and love someone so small! Well, I dont think that I have ever explained how I became a single momma! So just sit right back and I have a story to tell!

When I became pregnant it was much to my suprise and shock! I was not expecting it and didn't know what to do! Casey, Grayson's father was well not really in the picture already cause I knew him from my previous employer and was already moving on! So, when I told Casey I hoped that he would be a real stand up guy and step up to the plate, but I was sadly suprised to find out he was just not ready! He never came out and told me and we would talk about everything BUT the baby, but I was in crazy world with all the pregnancy complications so I lived in my dream world and pretended that everything would work out! I thought that he would come around at some point and want to be a dad! Well, once Grayson was here he was not even there for his birth and took two days to come see him I knew I was on my own! I had a big decision to make at the beginning of the pregnancy and I did think about it and decided that adoption was not for me! I was given the gift of life cause I felt that I was strong enough to do it on my own, but once I found out I really was on my own and reality set in I did re-think about adoption and still I felt that I could do it on my own with the help from my great family! Thus I became the single momma to my little dude!

On to the subject at hand and what got me started on this blog! Well at the end of my pregnancy after being out of work for a month and a half already and still taking another 8 weeks off without pay, I was getting NO help from Casey and decided to start to file with the state for child support! Well to Casey's defense I never asked him for help but you would think hello I have no pay check and I have bills... but he was not that smart! Ok I started the process but never went to far with it till I was back at work so Grayson was about 3 months old once I really started the paperwork! Well once I started the process I also notified Casey cause I didn't have ANY of his important info that would have sped the process up so I was hoping he would have given me his info and I would be done! Nope not that lucky but we worked it out that he would send me what he says is his calculation of what the state says he is meant to pay me! Well he is being WAY secretive and always has about his life and it so upsets me, like he pays me the child support in cash through my sister at work! Silly! Well, I have become fed up with him over the months, like I know he doesn't really want to be a dad, but when he does see Grayson he lights up and it is like wow... maybe that lightbulb is going off of this is an awesome feeling that I could have all the time! Then it will be months before he sees him again and I dont want to punish him for that but at the same time I do! To explain more back info, Casey is from New York and always threatens to go back home and I am ok with that if that is what he wants, BUT I fear if he does do that he will not continue his support! I mean I have no rights till we get with the state! I want to have in writing if he wants visitation or not! I do not mind ever letting him see Gray, I have changed my plans and done things that I have not wanted just so that Gray can see him! I want to do everything I can to make him a part of his life because I believe it is VERY important for him to have his father in his life! Gray will have MANY male role models of that I am sure, but I want his dad to be one of them! Well lets see Gray has seen his dad lets count... when he was 2 days old,3 months old, 4 months old, 5 months old, 8 months old, 9 months old so a grand total of 6 times since birth! Wow I just couldn't imagine not seeing him daily! Heck I can't even leave him overnight! The longest I have left him is 12 hours just cause of work! Well, I have yelled I have screamed I have tried to be patient with him and I get nothing! I hate that my sister has to be the middle man cause she is being responsible for a large amount of cash at work where they do have robberies cause there are homeless in the med center... plus she should not have to be in the middle of this! SO last week I finally did what I know he didn't want me to, I re-filed with the state for child support! Don't get me wrong, he has not missed a payment yet since I asked for child support and when Grayson started daycare and it was more than what he was giving me and I asked him for more money he did give it to me, I am tired of beating around the bush! SO by the beginning of next month we should have a child support order in place hopefully through the state! I could be shooting myself in the foot cause he may be giving me more than he should, but I know that he is supposed to be responsible for half the medical on top of his 20 percent of his pay according to the state and right now he pays me the 20 percent and that covers daycare! That is it! NO MORE! I still have diapers, food, clothes, medication, doctors appointments, daily wear and tear! No he should not have to pay for everything for the baby, he is half my responsibility BUT I know my share is much more than half!!! SO right now we have a locator out on him and I am in the wait and see mode! I need to get all my paper work together so when they call I can get the back dated money, if any and I can say he did give me this much! NO I don't want anything extra! I will not lie and say he never gave me any money! That is one reason I decided to start Grayson's own account at the bank that I put all of Grayson's money and try to make payments from that, but it is hard cause when I am at the store I don't think to do two transactions so I just end up paying for everything myself EXCEPT for daycare! Oh well!

So, right now we are in the holding pattern! I hope that the locator does work quick and that I hear back from the state soon so that we are not having to keep going through my sister, but till then that is the way that we will be doing it unless he decides to not help anymore! 

This last week Grayson did see his dad when he brought over the money cause Serah didn't work this weekend! It was a nice visit! Grayson was showing off what a big boy he is! I finally got a picture of him and his dad! It is a bad picture! It was outside at noon... so bad lighting and Grayson LOVES to put both arms up like in the "I'm a big boy" so half of his dad is covered, but at least now if he never sees him again I can say this is your dad! Once again it was a nice visit! The whole time Casey was loving on Gray and Gray acted his normal cute self but unless Serah doesn't work or something we prob won't see Casey for 2-4 months! I am sad cause I know there is a good chance that even though I know my family would not say anything to him other than nice to meet you... Casey won't come to his 1st b-day party and won;t really have an excuse other than he is MIA!

So now that I have been up for an hour writing this when I should be asleep and I have to work today.... YUCK... I will end this now! 

So think good thoughts and PRAY that the state comes through and I am not shooting myself in the foot with going through them and I don't even get enough to cover his daycare! Pray that the process goes quickly! And that Casey will continue to be in Grayson's life!

This week!!!

This is the week! First we have had a VERY busy weekend! But that is no shock! We are ALWAYS busy! I can't stand to stay at home, I am just a busy body, plus little man hates to stay in one place to long! Ha ha! Well, yesterday was up early helping my family do the garage sale which of course I was NOT ready for so we are having another one in a month cause I have SO much baby clothes and toys he no longer uses! Then we rushed and packed up shop to go to my niece and nephew's last soccer games of the season, sad to see it is over but they played great! Or at least Aiden did he is really getting good! Avery was at least out on the field the whole game! Can you really ask for more from a 3 year old??? Then we went back to mom's to get Grayson to lay down for a nap... and of course once he fell asleep so did I! We got up way too early! Then off to try the new pizza place, no running the errands we wanted to go do... oh well! The pizza place was GREAT pizza was not greasy and they had more than just pizza! Then off to target for a few things then back to mom's to get the car to drive back home! We left the house yesterday at 7am and didn't get back home till 10pm... long day! Then today he slept in nice for mommy! We got up and started to play dress-up... yes I am that mom cause it is the only way I know is an outfit still fits! Ha ha, and we started to pack up clothes! Then it was lunch! Now it is nap time! Hopefully he takes a good nap and we go run our errands and off to play with our mommy group! I am sure I will have pictures up later! I lost my usb cord so I need to get a new one! Oh for mommy brain and a smart son that steals my techie stuff! Ha ha! 

Well Grayson is doing a lot better! He is still fighting me during the breathing treatments but they are going better! He is no longer wheezing and the cough is getting better so prob by mid week I will start to wean him from the medications! He goes this Wednesday to get his tubes in his ears! I am so nervous! I know they are what he needs BUT I fear something could happen while he is under but I pray that all goes well! So I hope that next month we will be starting with a clean slate! 

So I only have to work 2 days this week! YAY!!! I am so excited it will be a busy week, but I know that till everything is all over my nerves will be frayed!!!

Well I don't think I have any new pics to load! I will soon!

First Official Mother's Day!

One of my Favorite pics of him from his 9 month photos!

First time eating a waffle he loved it!

The cousins in the bath tub!

Well today is the first official mother's day as this is the first one that Grayson is actually here! Last year I did celebrate being a mom as Grayson was in my world EVERY day, BUT all he was doing is swimming around!

Grayson has amazed me EVERY day since July 15th and continues! He is a crawling machine that eats like a champ (now that I figured out he actually wanted to eat what I was eating!), he is so wanting to walk it is not even funny! He is into so much! A joy to be around, and the center of my world! I never knew that my heart could be this big and filled with joy as it is right now! 

Grayson has continued to have issues! Last Saturday he was diagnosed with asthma and put on steroids (Way to hipe a child) and an inhaler. After 6 days of him continuing to wheeze and cough and just YUCKY we went back to the doctor! I swear I should have done stock in that practice we are there SO much! Well we saw Dr R this time (not our normal pedi but we have seen he on our many trips) and I was correct he was not getting ANY better! So they changed his meds to a nebulizer (if you have never used one of these children HATE them it is a mask that steams air into the child's lungs and is horrible to sit with your child while he CRIES for 30 minutes for the treatment) so the meds are now an inhaled-neb steroid and a stronger broncho-dialator. We started this on Friday and no he is not BETTER, but I think these meds are working better for him and he is sounding a little less wheezy and the cough is MUCH better! If only his breathing pattern would get less rapid and he would have a less labored breathing I would be MUCH happier! Also while we were at the doctor's office I think that he picked up a bug of some sort cause he is running a fever and unable to keep anything down! Oh well I don't mind!  

Well even though I normally just talk about Grayson I would like to write a small letter so that I can keep a small moment for him!

Happy Mother's Day! 

Dear Grayson,

You are the love of my life and today is the day that is set aside for mother's and I want to celebrate you cause without you being in my life I would not be celebrating mother's day! When you decided to join the world early I was so scared and nervous because I was responsible for you and I could not blame anyone else if were to happen because it is just you and me! I am sorry for that but at the same time I am so happy that you are here with me! You have grown so much from that small little guy to a big boy so full of joy! You are moving and shaking and into EVERYTHING! I try every day to do my best of being your mom and it is not the easiest of things but I do not mind one bit!

I love you so much and I am so happy! I hope you grow to read this one day and can feel the love I have for you and how happy I am that you are in my life!

All my love,

Mommy

Grayson's New Diagnosis!

Well, as it has been 3 weeks to the day since the last illness it was about time we went back to our dear friend, the pediatrician! Yes, I LOVE Dr. T, he is the BEST pedi we have and I do enjoy showing off Grayson, BUT I really hate all the visits we have with them! At least every 2-3 weeks we are in there for something it seems! Well, he has been acting a little poopy lately and has been worrying me, but has not ran a fever! The ENT said there was a GOOD chance he will get more ear infection before the tubes so I just figured the fluid was infected so I took him in! His coughing has become more of a wet cough and he was starting to have a more labored wheezing cough so that was ALSO worrying me! Well, I have feared this diagnosis was coming because as a child I also suffered from it and I swear he has had it for a while but it has been undiagnosed! Well, we have now been diagnosed with ASTHMA! Not the end of the world but will prove the need for some changes! He is currently suffering Bronchial Spasms, and thus why he is coughing and wheezing. He is doing it essentially cause he can't breathe! That SCARES ME!!!! But I know that He WILL be ok! Grayson has now started his first and hopefully last for a while round of STERIODS and will be doing breathing treatments for the next 7 days and then we will reassess how he is doing and go from there! I hate that he is having to suffer through this and I really hope some of the side effects from the steroids will pass him, but he is a strong boy!

Well I just wanted to up-date yall!

It's May!!!

Hello, Well Grayson has been doing great! He is changing everyday and I am now in the wait and see when he takes his first steps! I know it is coming and even though I got to see his first time crawling on camera... I truly pray that I witness first hand him walking! He is getting close! He sure does try but I say we prob have close to a month before he is truly walking!

Well Grayson has NEVER been a big fan of baby food! I have felt horrible that he has lost weight and does not eat like the other kids! I have felt like such a failure with baby food cause he should be eating more, but other than force feeding there was NOTHING I could do to eat! Well he has been eating baby puffs (ie: baby crack) and other dissolvable baby foods and loves them but I have not felt like they were enough or nutritious for him! Well last week I went to lunch with Keely and Ty and he ate green beans like a champ! He has not eaten green bean baby food in months! Then he ate a banana and strawberries and cantalope during the mommy group play date! Well he has been doing better with the baby food and eating more, but well I have figured out the trick to my child! He thinks he is a big boy and needs to eat big boy food! At school this week he has eaten the same foods the big kids eat and LOVES it! Also, since he started school in January he has stopped taking bottles, I have feared what would happen and that he will starve! Well last week my mom figured out why he doesn't take the bottles, even though I have told them NUMEROUS times he must be held and the bottles need to be warmed that he is a BF baby and they must cuddle to eat! Well they have gone against my wishes and they put him in a chair and make him hold his bottle, well no wonder he doesn't eat, he gets bored and it is too much work so he would rather play! Well I talked to them again and he is now eating like a champ! Yay!

Next, my boy has figured out how to sleep! Thank the lord! I have been SO tired! The boy comes home and eats and goes to bed then sleeps till about 1am, then back to sleep till 6am, then back to sleep till 830-9am! That is a great nights sleep! Yes the trips up at night suck! But they are short and he goes back to sleep!

So that is what is going on with Grayson! He is standing, eating table food, oh and the cutest thing! Mom watches Grayson for me in the evenings before I get off of work, well he has figured out that when he hears the door open it is me! He can be crying and he the door open and he crawls off mom's lap down to the floor and takes off to the door to meet me! It makes me smile cause he is SO excited to see me!

I love my big boy!