The Mr Man Page

Some up-date...

2010-06-26T21:54:00.002-05:00

Ok life has been SO crazy and I have NO clue what I last wrote... didn't even think to read before I started to type! But I'm gonna try to write a few things that I can think of that I would like to have written down of our life now! And if it is repeats... SORRY!!!

Ok... first I now work at Texas Childrens Hospital! I LOVE IT!!! It is just amazing! I have always loved working with kids... and when I was passed over at Hermann it was one reason I left... but I have not been as happy at my job with big people as I was when I worked with little peoples... So now that I am back where I belong I feel that the skills that I learned along the way brought me to where I need to be! I know that I wouldn't be where I was if I had stayed where I was at and I am so excited! It does mean eventually I will spend more time with my boy... but right now it does make the weeks long cause we get up early for work then come home for bed... but I KNOW it is SO worth it all!

Ok enough about me this is about my boy! But I wanted to add that cause it does mean that I will get to spend more time with him eventually!

Grayson had started to talk a lot more... he says more words... but still does not say "strings" of words... so he is still classified as speech delayed but as opposed to being about 12months delayed he is now about 6-8months delayed... which is a huge improvement in 6 months! Gray is starting to count some (1-3)... and does say a few things... and he does know when the difference between yes and no and says so! He is potty trained prob 85%... he knows when he needs to go... when he has gone... and when he is dirty... he doesn't quiet get the concept of telling... he still pees on himself... BUT he is getting better! But he does control his stream well!

His kisses... oh they make my day... he gives the most precious kisses... he will come kiss my knee... or shoulder... especially if he is trying to get my attention! He LOVES to jump... oh how the boy can jump... he loves it! Umm lets see what else... he knows I think all of his animal sounds... he knows most shapes... he is getting better on his colors... He loves Yo Gabba Gabba... The Fresh Beat Band... Team Umizoomi... The Upside Down Show...

We went and got his hearing rechecked last week at his 6month post tubes check-up and they are still in Praise the Lord... but they are starting to show signs of needing replacement for incorrect size so back we will be in 3 months as opposed to 4 months like we were hoping! His hearing test did not come back like I wanted... he does show signs of hearing loss it is still minimal... but it is not improving like the ENT said it should... he still believes that it will get better... but for now We will be aggressive! He is getting a re-evaluation with speech therapy since he does have minimal hearing loss and he has been symptomatic in the past from the hearing loss SO till it is all corrected and he no longer has symptoms we will continue to have 3 month follow-ups with the ENT to ensure correct fit of the tubes... and he doesn't have any issues like before! This makes me sad as I REALLY hoped that we would get a good report from the ENT of we could wait 6months for the next follow=up unless something came up... BUT now if he has ANY signs of ear infection I am to come straight to the ENT and there is a good chance we will be getting new tubes! Also his adnoids removed at the same time!

OK... well I know there is more but I'm tired... will be back later!

2010-05-31T20:57:00.003-05:00

Have you ever had one of THOSE days where you feel like the whole world is crashing around you... that anything that can go wrong ... will go wrong... that all you want to do is go hide under a rock and wait for another day? THEN you read something... or see a smile... and feel that little giggle from deep inside... that you now feel like you can make it over that HUMP... well I have been under that rock... the if it can it will go wrong rock... then I look at Gray and think... if he can smile and laugh why can't I!?! SO I am trying hard EVERY day to remember that... and when I feel the world is crashing... I think of something silly the boy has done... like yesterday he was sitting on the potty... I was in front of him holding him up... i'm so nervous he will fall in... silly I know... but he still has bad "aim" and peed all up the front of my shirt... had us both laughing... but I will keep that in the back of my head for one of those "rock" days when I need to smile!

Well off topic the above was... but what brought me to it was a friends blog... she is a photographer... that I met through my cousin... well it basically was saying why wait... why wait to have pics taken... till you loose those 5 lbs... or till your hair is done... or till you have a special occation... celebrate the daily life's celebrations... you woke up again... don't wait till the next birthday or special day... take a pic of the bbq outside... and don't hide behind the camera... get out of the studio images... they are more real life and will capture what your family is really like... and SO many photographers out there are SO awesome... I am lucky enough to know WAY too many! I just wish I could join them... I LOVE taking pics... I wish I could be brave enough to do it professionally! but for now Gray and family are my canvas... and I love it! BUT once again off topic... but reading Sabrina's blog reminded me of my maternity pics... when the photographer kept asking where daddy was... and then asked if I wanted the stretch marks removed... well yes I wish daddy had been in the pics... but well he was out of the picture and had been out of the picture for a while! But how do explain that when you are 7 months pregnant and big and fat... kinda hard to do! Then about the stretch marks that most people would LOVE to have hidden... I was proud of EVERY single one I got... it meant that my little man was getting bigger and was still in my tummy... plus proof that yes he was in my belly and that is what he did to me... yes I will be THAT mom that says I got ALL these stretch marks to carry YOU... AND I was in labor for 18 1/2 hrs with you... yes I am THAT mom... but no I would NEVER trade a single one! Then yes I would love to loose the 5... 10... 30 lbs... before having pics taken with Gray.... BUT I want to document that I was in the picture... and I was here... AND I love EVERY picture that I am in with him... NO I still don't like having pics taken of me... BUT I treasure EVERY pic that I have of us...

SO long story short... skip a few dinners out... forget those 5 lbs you want to loose... go get a photographer to take family pics... that everyone one in your family is in... and ENJOY every minute... even with that crooked smile... or closed eyes... or the pimple or whatever... capture the now in the pics... cause time passes SO quick!!!

2010-05-24T21:42:00.006-05:00

His 4-wheeler the Easter Bunny Brought!

His 50-billion-th hair cut... this boy has SO much hair!!!

My Sweet boy

Oh he is SO innocent RiGHt???

I LOVE this pic... he was being SUCH a ham... He knew I was taking pics so he would totally pose!

OK it has been forever since I have posted and this is short and sweet... here are a few pics... so much is going on and I really would love to post a GREAT summary of everything but that will have to wait till later this week... but here are some photos to hold some over!

Again...

2010-03-04T21:56:00.003-06:00

Aeros Hockey Game with the Family!

How we pass time at the doctor's office!

Grayson typically gets into EVERY cabinet and gets VERY bored waiting on the doctor... but now that we figured out this trick of crayons and the exam table paper... he is entertained and doesn't want to leave! Much easier!

Some of the kids from the Mommy Group getting SO big!!!

My handsome boy! Loves to Cheese it up!!!

Ahh I did it again... dropping the ball... it never fails... why is it when Gray was all of 6m old and I was working crazy long hours and doing the house and NO sleep cause well he didn't so why did I need to... why is it that at that time that I could seem to write in the blog ALL the time or at least once a week even when NOTHING was going on... yet now that he is older and can "play" at least a few minutes by himself... I can't seem to get over here and up-date! Is it that nothing is going on in our lives... and I don't want to admit it! Well nope that is not it... SO much is going on... and yes he can entertain himself... BUT there is still SO much going on... and just not enough hours in the day... and well this momma is liking her sleep now! OK so now that I am done saying sorry and making excuses Let me up-date a few things!

First Grayson is now 19 months old... growing like a weed... I just took out all the 18m shirts and put them in boxes as they are too short! Yes pants still fit... but we have now added his 3T clothes! Also we just moved up to size 7 shoes! Now does he need them... I don't know... he was complaining about his old shoes... so my guess is they were getting too small... but I plan on going to stride-rite or somewhere to size him up!

Gray has also made a LOT of progress! He has been seeing the ECI specialist for almost 2 months and what an improvement! Also he has seen the speech therapist 2 times! He now is pointing to all body parts when asked... makes the sound of animals when asked... or when you point the pictures!He of course LOVES dogs he barks, pants and says dog!

Oh and for words since we was at 1 just a mere 3 months ago... well he now says Mine, Momma, Dada, dog, bye, done, duck, hello... now the ECI (Ms.P) says that he has said a few kids names in class... I have never heard them but ya know... also a few other things! Now the teachers also say that he says things... that he doesn't say with me... SO we are waiting to see! I do not call it a new word he says unless he says it a few times and with meaning (he knows what he is saying) there are a few things that he says or does that it has taken a few times of listening to to figure out oh that is what he is saying... but we are getting there!

Now we will I think get re-evaluated in another 6months... I don't know if we get kicked out if he is doing better or what BUT I figure he is doing better and I am pretty sure a lot has to do with the fact that he can hear now... BUT I really think the therapy is helping also! Also I think I said it before but if not... Ms.P cannot praise the school enough then she talks about the teachers and how well they do with Gray and really listen to her suggestions for him and she sees them working with him! So yes I think I spend TOO much money for daycare BUT it is worth every penny knowing that he is safe AND he is learning!

Well a lot more has happened... but I need sleep! More tomorrow... or this weekend!!!

18m Well Baby and Pulmonology Appt!

2010-01-28T16:26:00.002-06:00

Well today was Gray's follow-up appointment with the Pulmonologist Dr F... the amazing doctor that I just LOVE... well we had a late start... got stuck in traffic and almost missed our appointment... but we made it! Grayson did great... lungs sound clear... so we will continue with the current meds... but we added a nasal spray for at night to hopefully help with his post nasal drip and clear up the night time cough... but we will see... also we will be using a nasal wash at bath time... we will see how that goes tonight... I am fearful of doing it... but I hope it will help and work!!! SO the plan is to do all this and see her again in June... once spring hits we will see how he does... and at that appointment we will reassess his condition and hopefully wean him off the steroid during the summer! Normally kids with asthma have issues during the winter but during the summer clear up SO the plan will be to take him off meds in the summer and then restart once the winter comes back... but we will have to wait and see! But at least I am hopeful!

After that appointment we RUSHED back to this side of town for his 18 month pediatrician appointment! In the last week my mom commented a few times about how he looks bigger... I knew his 2t pants were fitting better... BUT didn't really see him getting bigger... I still see my little man! Well his 12m stats were 31 in and 23 lbs... he is now 33 3/4 in so almost 34 in and 26.5 lbs... so he grew almost 3 in and 3.5 lbs in 6 months... I know in the first year they grow a lot... but still he is getting HUGE!!! I can hardly believe how big he is really! Also he was impressed with everything about Gray... still dissappointed about his lack of speech but we will overcome that also!

SO this is what has been going on! Will up-date with pics and more later!

7..9...18...27...29...

2010-01-25T20:19:00.002-06:00

Well first new tubes are in and working GREAT... he has NO side effects... he is doing awesome... only issue we had was the day of surgery he didn't like the anesthesia... and he was MR Grumpy pants... but after that... the next day he was back to normal!!! And last time Gray had LOTS of NASTY discharge... this time a little bloody discharge the next day... then NOTHING!!! Woohoo!!!

So now it is a wait and see on Feb 10th to see how his hearing is doing... lets hope better!!!

Well as I have said before we have been waiting for ECI to come an evaluate Gray... we started this process in December... and it has taken this long to get all the ducks in a row and working and have the speech pathologist come with the ECI person... and see if Gray qualifies... last time we met with them it seemed like he prob would not qualify... cause they have to be 6 months delayed... and they ECI person didn't seem to think that he was... SO I was nervous and excited and confused! Well as Grayson is now 18 months... he needed to be on the level in his language development of a 12 month old! Well today they did lots of little "tests" and asked lots of questions... and it was very interesting to see how he reacted and what he can do for others and it gave me LOTS of hope! No he didn't break out in full sentences... BUT he did make different sounds... and showed off his coloring skills and playing skills for the 2 women! Well as the eval was coming to an end the 2 women had decided that his main issue is speech... duh... but they feel it is more hearing... breathing related than an actual speech issue! Meaning... since he has the ear issues with some hearing issues it has delayed his verbal skills... and once prob after a year of clear ears is when we will see a true hearing improvement... my question is why can I ask him to do something.. YET the reason he has the speech delay is hearing... the SLP said that she feels that yes he can hear BUT he doesn't quiet get the language part of it.... I don't know... then with his breathing issues (asthma) the reasoning the SLP feels he doesn't really "link" babbles together is that he gets short of breath and thus he doesn't want to waste the breath to talk! SO after all this the way these women were talking it seemed like she felt that only after his hearing is better and we have his asthma better controlled then he will improve and that there was no need for ECI for him... I was a little upset... then she told me how he measured up on the tests...

the different areas they tested are to follow along with what age range he scored at!

for Gross/Fine Motor development - 29 months

for Social/Emotional development - 27 months

for Cognitive development - 18 months

for Receptive Language - 9 months

for Expressive Language - 7 months

So as I already knew he has awesome motor and social skills my active social butterfly... BUT he scored even less on his language than previously thought! :( A few things that the ECI people said... was they were SO impressed with what he could do... how advanced he was in other aspects of growth... they really think that the language will come! They feel that his receptive language is prob higher than 9 months but because he doesn't express himself using words... he scores low on the receptive scale! SO the plan... Ms. P (ECI lady) will be seeing Gray at KRK once a week doing play therapy using games and sounds to improve speech and once a month Gray will meet with the actual Speech Therapist for ST... then in 6 months (when he is 24 months) we will reevaluate him and see if he needs more or less... and if he is to continue we will start a new plan and start the talk of what the plan will be when he is 3!

I am SO excited to know... I really am not crazy or imagining the language delay... yes I have heard SO many times... boys talk later than girls... oh it is perfectly normal for him to still not talk... but today my issues were validated and confirmed... so I am happy that I was correct and that Gray will be getting the help he needs... BUT with that being said... I am VERY sad to know that he is delayed! I want Gray to have everything in life and want for nothing and I fear that I have done something to cause this delay! But so far it just seems like it is life for him! But at least we have a plan now!

Also the best part of today... is my homework for Grayson... how I can help my little man! I have been trying to do research on how to help him talk and I have listened to others advice but today I got VERY good advice that we have already started to use!

First... we were told to stop with trying to make him use words... to actually go back even further... and use syllables or sounds of letters or fun sounds and see if he can copy that... like ba ba ba ba... I know this may sound simple to most people but remember he is testing at the babbling stage... so we have to go back to this... yes we are still talking to him and I still tell him what we are doing and I talk to him and ask him questions... but we are also working on him trying to copy my sounds... next similar to the previous when we color... or slide or whatever... try to make a game of it and use syllables to describe what I'm doing... like a line drawn as I'm drawing I say "weeeee" and try to get him to copy the line along with the "wee" then lots of praise! Next instead of reading books to him (as Gray is not the fan of the whole story) we are going to read books that have themes... like a duck... and every page all we say is duck and point out the duck till Gray starts to point out the duck... then he will eventually start to say duck... at least that is the hope! Also with every day magazines like my Parents or Baby Talk magazine... use those for Gray and have him point out objects... so we are gonna try all these suggestions! Oh another one is since Gray LOVES outside... we are gonna start playing "Red light/Green Light"... we will start at one end of the yard... then I will say "Ready, Set, GO" and run till I say "Stop" eventually he will start to say "Go" and "stop" then all of it... at least that is the goal!

SO that is what is going on... 29... 27.. 18... 9... 7... the only valid number is the 18... which Gray's cognitive skills... so he understands things at the correct level... everything else he is WAY ahead or WAY behind!

I'm Getting better again...

2010-01-17T21:49:00.005-06:00

See 2 posts in the same number of days... ha ha!

Well today we woke up feeling better... Gray was a little stir crazy... and so was I... SO since I am trying NOT to spend as much money... and Gray LOVES it outside... I decided to go to the park in my neighborhood... I went before back before Grayson was walking when he was 11 months... and I looked at the playground thinking it was really nice... but HUGE as in... too big for Gray to play on till he is like 10 years old... ha... well I thought it would be nice to take him and let him run around... play on the swings... and play with his race car on the sidewalk... well we got there and Gray ran to the playset... no second guessing... up the stairs... and down the slide like we had just left a few hours before... yet we had never been before... I don't know where he learned how to do all that he did... but he sure had fun... and here are a few pics from our trip... oh and the last time we went it was only for the swings... this time... I don't know if Gray loved them or hated them... he was laughing SO hard he was crying... or was he crying so hard he was laughing... needless to say... he ran all around... went up and down the stairs... and down the slides having a blast... the swings... we will have to wait for another day to see!

18 Months old...WOW!

2010-01-16T21:45:00.006-06:00

WOW it has already been 18 months... how time flies... it seems like just last week we were coming home from the hospital! Heck it seems like I was just pregnant with him! But nope... I have a running... screaming... crazy... silly... dancing... kissing... loves to play... colors all the time... and overall... love of my life 18 month old toddler! This past week has been hard trying to continue to fight the insurance company for Grayson's speech therapy... finally figured out that there is not a single one in 30 miles... so they gave me another hospital... not the one that I requested that the doctor recommended cause they have a known excellent pediatric speech department... no they just recommended for me to go to this hospital... turns out they don't normally see kids... so back to next week having to call the doctor's office again and see if they will call the insurance company AGAIN and see if they will ok the waiver to go the the hospital they recommended to begin with a month ago... this is such a PAIN in the BUTT!!!! Then cause Grayson is getting new tubes this Wednesday I had to change his ECI appointment that I have already waited a month for... till next week... but God willing after their evaluation all this calling around will be for NOTHING cause he will qualify for the state program and thus I won't have to worry about outside speech therapy! I really am torn about weather I want him to qualify or not... it would be nice if he would cause then he will get therapy started through the state... and started in the program in case he needs continued therapy... and well I want this whole speech delay fixed! And yes I do know... it is normal for boys not to talk till after the age of 2... some not till 3... and if that was the only issue... well yes I would worry... BUT he did talk... he did say momma... he did say hi... he did say dog... now... all I get is the sign for "more" and he says "oh" for everything... yes I am trying my hardest to do what has been recommended... I really think that he is doing better in his new class at school (did I mention that he moved up to the next classroom... which is a bit of a shock... cause hello it is the 2 yr old classroom... and he just turned 18 months... and he still is not talking... BUT he is doing SO much better in there... except now he is back in the class with the kid that likes to bite... so we have been getting "boo-boo reports" weekly again... but he enjoys the class SO much! It is funny... it used to be that he would hang on me and scream and cry when I dropped him off and when I would come to get him from school if I didn't immediately pick him up and leave... oh it was the end of the world... now... I go to drop him off... and he runs to be with the other kids... then when I go to pick him up... he finishes cleaning up whatever toy they have out... and does his own "bye" to people... not quite sure how to explain it... he still really doesn't wave... he doesn't say bye... but he says bye to his friends... then he will leave... it is so refreshing... which is kinda funny cause this is the classroom that my niece HATED and decided that she did NOT like the daycare... but Grayson on the other hand LOVES this classroom... even with less teachers and more kids.... he is happy... and doing well... SO I guess I am not upset that he is moved up to the 2 year old class early cause I think it is a good move for him... it just makes me laugh a little...

So ok I got off track of what I was writing... the 18 month re-cap.... Grayson is...

weighs 26.5 lbs
32" tall(my guess we have not been measured)
wears 18m-2T pants and shirts
signs more
says "oh" and with a phone says "oh-o" also known to others as 'hello'
still has asthma and takes a steroid inhaler and singular chewable pill
is about to get a new set of ear tubes
is spoiled rotten
loves to dance
finally will watch tv... yes bad for him but awesome for me... he loves "The Upside Down Show" and "Yo Gabba Gabba" and will tolerate "The Wonder Pets" doesn't like MOST other shows or cartoons...
loves to "write" or "color" if he finds a pen he will hunt down paper lay on his belly and write... it is too cute
love outside gets very upset when he is not allowed outside
still loves his veggies... getting better with a variety of fruits... loves most of all HEB sauteed onions with peas in a garlic butter sauce... still not a meat eater
is lactose intollerant... no not a medical diagnosis... but when we started cow's milk he had tummy issues unlike anything else... now that we do lactose free milk... no issues... funny thing is that he can have yogurt and cheese without issue... just not milk... I think it is cause yogurt and cheese is so processed...
runs everywhere... and really doesn't like to be still
goes up and flies down the stairs that boy can boogey down the steps!
will shake his head "no" when asked if he wants something or to do something... even if he wants it
understands mosts requests and will follow simple commands
attempts to put on his own shoes (knows in order to go outside he needs shoes so if I say outside he finds his shoes to put on)
uses a plate (sometimes) fork/spoon (all the time except at the end of the meal he just wants to finish so it is easier to use his hands) and a straw cup (ECI recommended as it could help with speech) he not only feeds himself table food but also apple sauce, yogurt and baby food that I still give if he isn't eating very well!

I'm sure that more is going on... and more developements... but I'm at a loss right now... I'm so tired and I'm already a day late for this... so I'm sure I will right more later!

Grayson you are the love and joy of my life... I know at times a loose my temper like a bad mommy and I leave and go to work for way too long... but you are the reason that I am here... and I love you more than ANYTHING else in the world... you make me SO happy and a love every rotten minute that you are with me... I love our screaming snuggle time... the soggy animal crackers you give me cause you put them in your mouth first then give them to me... I love the smile that you give me when you see me walk in the room! I LOVE YOU!

Mommy

Now on to pictures... these are from last month... I still need to get Christmas pictures... but yup I forget to borrow mom's camera... so maybe this week!

Enjoy!

Grayson and Fireman Santa... and he is not crying... yay!
Gray playing on the fire truck!
Maggie the firedog... Gray LOVED this dog... we spent the whole night not playing on the truck like the other 2 kids did... we kept going back to play with this sweet dog
My happy boy...
He thinks he is such a big kid!
I love this picture... Grayson holding hands with Uncle Brian...
Classic Santa picture...
Me and Gray at the Dickinson Lights... Bad pic of me... it was FREEZING... but once again very nice... Gray loved the lights...

Sugar cookie... we all got cookies to decorate... Gray enjoyed his

Gray and his cookie

Gray and one of the Lights...

All the kids with the BayBrooke Santa... not too bad of a pic...

Waiting in line for Santa to come back from "feeding the reindeer" he was tired!

Avery and Grayson at a craft show... she was being a doll while we waited for Noonie and her momma... I pulled out my camera cause Gray looked so cute... and she was like oh let me do this and this will be cute too... she was such a big help and so sweet with Grayson!

This photo is thanks to Missy Avery... she said... now I take the picture of you and Gray... and not too bad of a pic...

This was the day it snowed... it was snowing when I took this pic... but it was not quite cold enough to stick... but he did enjoy it... he hated the cold of it but liked to play with it!

Grayson in the bath tub... his favorite time... he will stay in there till he prunes... too bad we have to limit the baths cause the cold weather kills his skin and drys him out... and makes his eczema break out on his back!

Bad Mommy!!!

2010-01-05T09:30:00.001-06:00

I know I keep saying that I will up-date more often... and its not like there is a lack of things to up-date about... SO much is really going on in our lives... thus why i have not had time to update!

Well Happy New Year... Merry Christmas... umm what else did we miss... I have no idea... so I will try to write in order of events... but it prob won't happen the way it should!

First as I have stated before I was worried about Grayson and his lack of talking... he has in the last month started to sign more again and says "oh" for everything... he gets his point across even if he doesn't talk... well I brought this point up to the pediatrician and he recommened we get him tested with the state (Early Childhood Intervention) and to see a Neurologist! Well we have started the ECI testing to see if he will qualify for that... and we saw the Neuro! At the appointment they did some testing in 4 categories.... Social(hold eye contact, smile) so he passed that... Gross Motor (standing, crawling, moving) so since he was running all around no probs there... Fine Motor (pincher grip, hold crayon) and since he is advanced and uses utensils to feed himself and hold a crayon correctly not in a fist he passed that... and last Speech (he should be saying 8-10 words be it sign or verbal, and pair up words -- ie hi momma) he is ranging about 5-6 months delay since he does sign/say 2 things... but he does not pair sounds when he babbles... does not say anything that he thinks he is talking but I just don't understand.... so he is having a pretty severe delay... at his age the Neuro normally wouldn't be concerned as he is still young... but since he used to say more (momma, dada, dog, milk, bye... I know there were more now I don't remember... short term memory) So... he is going to aggressive on his stance... we will be starting very aggressive speech therapy of twice a week for the next 6 months... we will be seeing the Neuro again in 3 months to see if he has had any progress BUT if he has not had any progress he will do more testing (MRI/CT) but for those he will have to be sedated and I would rather wait! Also, today we are going back to the ENT for another hearing test to verify that it is NOT a hearing issue!

Can I lie and say no I'm not worried it will all be ok... sure I can... but I really have NO idea... Do I want to find problems where there are none... not really I would rather have my happy go lucky baby without worries... but since as soon as I think all is good... it seems that we are thrown a curve ball... I think we will always have something... but we will see!!!

Christmas... it was good... Grayson got way too many toys... I have no idea where we will put everything... I need to be cleaning an organizing... but as always I am not!!!

New Years... lets hope that year goes better than last... I feel that this year will bring lots of change lets just hope that it is for the better!

I will add pictures later!

A few up-dates

2009-12-01T20:47:00.001-06:00

Well as always I am a bit behind… that is what happens being a single momma that works like crazy and in my free time I actually like to hang out with my little dude… and not just write about him… ha ha!

Well lets see…. Since it has been SO long since I last wrote… I really don’t remember what all I wrote! I know it has been a while… so I will just write and if I repeat… well oh well!

First, Grayson is still as always the love of my life and my pride and joy! He makes me smile when I REALLY need it as there has been a LOT of stress in my life as of recent… but that will come later! As always even when the kid is sick and is running a super high fever and throwing up he still smiles… so I am tryng to continue acting like him! It is an uphill battle that I am not winning right now… there has been on more than on occasion that I find myself in tears and I have no idea what I am doing… and at times it is even with Grayson…

I have never written about depression… or anything… and I don’t know if I would say that it is true depression that I fell is just being overwhelmed with emotion! As I have stated before I am single momma… I have an awesome supportive family that I would not be able to do anything without… but at times I feel like the black clouds are over and I have no idea what I am doing! Am I raising a child that will be well rounded? Was I wrong in doing this alone… am I wrong to think that I can handle this without a man? With the delay in Grayson’s communication skills I wonder if it is my fault… because it is just me an him at night at home am I not talking enough thus he doesn’t get enough verbal stimulation… he doesn’t know where anything is on his body except his eyes and I think that is just a lucky guess… he doesn’t know how to count… or his A,B,C’s… have I put the wrong things at the front burner… is it my fault… is it cause I get him up at the butt-crack of dawn to go to work… then once we are home it is a few minutes of play… then dinner… which am I feeding him too much… not enough… I don’t know… then it is bath time… and bed… am I a failure? Yes my child can walk, and crawl, and jump, and clap, and LOVES to dance! He is the happiest kid when his momma is around… but am I failing him that he is delayed?!? I know, you should not judge a kid based on what other kids his age is doing… and I really try not to… BUT when he is 16 months and STILL will not wave and a 7 month old is waving to him goodbye… there is something wrong with that! Yes he is the strong silent type, he is not a push monkey that you can FORCE him to do something… he will not do it… he is hard-headed just like his momma… and is that a bad thing?

Oh I know everything happens in time… you can’t force them to do what they don’t want to! BUT I wish he, and when he starts to back talk me I know I will be kicking myself for forcing and wishing he would hurry and talk… BUT it would be nice if he could communicate better so I knew what was going on… and what he was feeling…

Well I started to write this during my lunch break… and this afternoon I ended up taking Grayson to the doctor… so he could get his booster for the Swine Flu… and since I have to pay a co-pay if I just get the shot… or if the doctor checks him out… I went ahead and had the doctor do a once over and make sure all was well health wise AND to talk about my concerns about the speech delays… SO he is having asthma issues… which I knew would happen cause of the crazy weather… cold in the morning hot during the day and cold at night… it does even get to me… but his lungs are clear… so we are just gonna up his “rescue “ meds for a few days and get him over the worst of it… and hope that the weather makes up its mind… ha ha… we do live in Texas… he is having an eczema outbreak on his back… could be caused by anything… but I got some cream for it… his ears are clear… thank you Lord… and we got the flu booster! Also, I stated my concerns and he looked back at his and some of the other pediatricians in the groups notes from the last year… since it is a group and I have seen them all at different times and he agreed that it is cause for “some” concern, nothing that is an emergency BUT something worth looking into, BUT could be nothing… SO we are now waiting for the insurance company to give a referral for him to be have a developmental testing done… and a hearing test… the developmental testing is what I was hoping would be done JUST cause I am hoping to have my mind put at ease and for them to tell me all was good with him… or so that we can start getting the help that he needs… and the hearing test is just as a precaution, Dr R wanted to make sure that the reason that he stopped talking is not cause he is having hearing issues… since he has had ear issues… it is more of a precaution than something he really worries about!

I think the main reason I am concerned about Grayson and his speech is just the fact that I had speech issues, and still have some now! I was lucky that my elementary school had an excellent speech therapist… but I think if the state had the programs that they have now… I would have been better off… but oh well… so now I know about the different programs and I want to be ahead of the game… and so we are now getting Grayson tested just to be on the SaFe side of things! I just don’t want Grayson to have any disadvantages in life if I can help it!

Well as I said before Grayson is getting bigger… he is now in 18-24 month pants and 24m-2t shirts! He also finally has started to gain weight… thank God! He now weighs 25 lbs and 5oz… woohoo… I thought the boy had hollow legs… thankfully he finally he gaining weight… I know I don’t want him to be over weight… but when he dropped from the 75^th percentile to the 25^th percentile in 4 months made me a little worried… not the doctors… cause he is still on the charts and he is healthy… but I always worried if he was eating enough… drinking enough… whatever… yes I still worry… I think I will always… even when he is a teenager and eating me out of house and home… I want him to be happy and healthy! Is that too much to ask for?

Lets see what else… his new party trick is he climbs on anything and everything… he is into EVERYTHING he should not… he can finally drink out of a straw… he loves to color… my little artist… and play with legos… he also LOVES to dance… it is so funny we will be out shopping and if he hears a song that I sing and he enjoys… he will raise his hands up and start to dance… it is the cutest thing… sometimes we draw a crowd… but it is still REALLY cute!

Lets see what else… well… Im too tired… I will load some pics… so enjoy…

Crafty weekend...

2009-11-15T20:45:00.005-06:00

Ok... I have been trying to be crafty for a while... and even though these pics didn't turn out as well as I would have liked... I think they show enough...

I have been working on tutus and bows for a while for my niece... now I am gonna try to attempt to sell them... if I can find anyone that wants to buy them...

I wish I had a little girl... cause I love doing these little crafty things... I wish I had more time to do it... but eventually I will... please enjoy these pics!!!

I will up-load pics of the boy tomorrow and give a better update!!!

Life and Trials...

2009-11-05T16:45:00.002-06:00

Well so so many things to talk about... lets see if there will be enough time... I hope to post pics... but don't know if that will happen...

First life is more crazy by the minute... we have been going 100 miles an hour... with little end in site at times!!! First Grayson has had an on and off again cold the last few weeks... I know what's new on that... well nothing... it just calls for some long nights... and lots of snuggling!!!

Well as before... we are back on call for work... not as bad as last month when it was 9 days... this time it is only 5 days... but once again... Grayson is sick... I swear the kid doesn't want me to be on-call... every time he ends up sick I swear!!! I am hoping that tonight is gonna be a better night... so fingers crossed... momma is pretty pooped waking up at 130 and working all day... and then back on-call for the night... blah... but so far he has been able to keep everything down for the day... so here is to hoping!!!

Well after 15 months... and lots of heart ache... today was a big step for us... Grayson had his last bottle of breast milk... my freezer stash is officially gone!!! I am SO sad...I mean Grayson still nurses when we are at home... and at times I wonder how much longer... I just don't know if he is still getting enough from me... but he enjoys it so much and when I do tell him no... he gets very angry... so looks like we still have a while on breast feeding... but at school he gets 2 glasses of soy milk (thank you lactose intollerance)... and when he is home he nurses!!! I am sad that today was his last bottle... but also excited cause he is getting older and more independent!!! I am SO glad that we were able to make it this long... I knew it was something that I wanted desperately to do... and from the time that we started... I was nervous and scared that it wouldn't work... and I knew I wanted to make it a year... and when I went back to work it was VERY hard... and then when I was told I had to quit pumping after 3 months back at work it was the hardest task I have ever succeed at... that one I was able to keep my supply up enough to feed my child and was lucky enough to have a great start of a stash that when things started to get hard and I stopped pumping at 8 months... cause I just didn't have the time or energy... I knew that it was in God's control! I was lucky that my mom was very hard headed when the hurricane hit and I almost lost my huge freezer full of milk that she was willing to go and wait 2 hrs for a generator... just to save my milk!!! Now when we had a power outage and the freezer was tripped and I lost a good 500 oz of milk right after I had decided to quit pumping... I was heart broken... but decided that what was meant to be would be and I knew that I would continue to breast feed as long as possible and if needed I did still have my pump so I could always go back to pumping if needed to make it to the first year...but well as I said before... we made it 15 months... almost 16 months... so I think we have done well!!!

I know I have said before and I will say it over and over again... and sorry that I am SO off what I started this post for... but I will just be on this soap box a little while longer...

Breast feeding was something that everyone says come naturally... and is the best thing for a child... and for the mother!!! Well after seeing my sister struggle with both of her kids to try to breast feed... I knew it was something that I wanted to do... and I was going to do everything possible... but if it didn't work then I knew formula was always an option... and kids still grow big and strong and smart as can be on it!!! I went to every class possible to learn to breast feed... I met with the lactation consultant 3 times while in the hospital and Grayson in the NICU... I went to the local La Leche League meeting the following week and got a lot of really useful information from those ladies... and I ended up joining a new mommy group... that was women that had kids within 2 months or so of Grayson... and everyone was breastfeeding.... we got to do weight checks weekly... and met with the lactation consultant for free... and she helped so much... Lori is the beast Lactation Consultant... she helped me more than she could ever know by one listening to me when I was pregnant and scared of BF not working... she was also my sister's LC through all her trials... and then when she put this group of women together... they really helped me with everything!!! They are a group of women that are strong independent... but also very like minded... they listened and gave advice... they helped when needed... they gave me mommy friends... when I was alone with this new little guy that I had no idea what to do with really!!! I am so thankful that I BF because it gave me something to have in common with these women that were all married and had planned this pregnancy... unlike me... and it was nice cause I was able to give advice on things I learned and had tried!!!

Another reason that I LOVE BF is that it made Grayson and me SO close... as a person that never thought they could be a mom... I think that BF gave me the closeness that is needed to be a parent... and I hope that it will continue to keep us close even once we are done and he grows up!!! I love knowing that he depended on me and me alone... but it also was a burden when I just wanted to sleep... and I wanted someone else to feed him... I knew that in more than one way it was JUST ME... yes I was single mommy... but I was also food... me and me alone... ha ha!!!

Also... as an added benefit... as last month was was Breast Cancer Awareness Month... yup I am delayed... as an added benefit for me... BF lowers my risk of Breast Cancer... and since I am pre-disposed to breast cancer... yup my Bunny (Grandma on my momma's side) passed away from breast cancer... I will do what I can to prevent... and since it helps to breast feed... it all works out in the end!!!

OK off my soap box...

Well Grayson has been making VERY nervous... first... he has always been ahead of the game on gross motor skills... he has hit every milestone... before time... or right on time... but talking... especially with a momma that talks as much as I do... he doesn't talk... he used to... he would say prob about 7-8 words... now nothing... he does babble... and he knows how to get his point across... but no more momma... dada... dog... nothing... he hits enough of the milestone that the pedi is not stressed... but since he was such a social little boy... and I can tell he is going into a shell at times... it does make me nervous... no we have no history of issues... no family history of autisum BUT with all the talk out there... I just don't know what else to do!!! So... we are in a waiting game now... have to wait till he is 18 months!!!

Lets see what else... Grayson is growing bigger and bigger every day... he gets beat up... well bit at school at least once a week... I would hate for him to start biting back... but at the same time I wish he would cause then maybe the biting may stop I hate having boo-boo reports!!!

Well we just passed Halloween... Grayson was a cowboy!!! I knew that I didn't really want to waste the money on an actual costume... I knew that I just hated to waste 30-40 dollars for a one night dress up... yes as he gets older I am ok with it... I don't mind spending the money... I just hate wasting the money... SO since Grayson doesn't mind wearing hats... I got a cowboy hat... then I bought some cute boots that he can wear through the winter... and helped make the outfit... then he already had a cute western shirt and some Levi jeans... and you have a cowboy... well I did forget the red handkerchief... that really helped make the costume... oh and the stick horse... he was bigger than he was... but he enjoyed that silly stick horse... so cute!!! Well Halloween my mommy group had a little party so one we could all see each other... so hard to do now that we are all back at work... and two cause the kids are really too young to go trick or treating... it gave us a reason to get them dressed up... plus it was SO cute seeing all the kids walk together to the different houses and get candy... well the other kids got candy... Grayson didn't... I am just not ready to start that yet... I know silly mommy... I let him have cake and ice cream on occasion but NOPE no candy!!! Grayson had so much fun just walking with his friends... he didn't even know he was missing any thing... ha ha!!! Then after the party we came over to mom's house and sat in the cul de sac and had a little neighborhood party that all the kids ran around in circles!!! Way too much fun!!!

Well as most people are aware the H1N1 is out there and it is not a cool thing to get... yes people are doing better with it... but since I work in a hospital I hear all the horror stories of the flu... and well we had 4 patients not have happy endings from the H1N1 flu! It makes me very nervous... I know a lot is the news going above and beyond... BUT well it is scary!!! Yes Grayson was diagnosed with the flu back in August/September some time... I can't remember now... but I still don't believe that it was the flu... I think it was a fluke that he actually tested positive... he never had the flu symptoms... he just had the high fever... then he was diagnosed with Roseola... and I think that is what the fever was all about!!! Well where I was going with all of this... There is now a vaccine... and it has only been around well not that long... not very much research has been done on it yet... now for me to get the vaccine... well no brainer... I work in the health care field and I am more than likely to be exposed to it at some point during the day... so for me to get the vaccine... no prob... which arm would you like to put it in... ha ha!!! Well the Galveston County Health Department was giving away the vaccine over the Halloween weekend... so of course I was all there... well they were giving it to children also cause they are in the high risk group... and with Grayson's other health and pulmonary issues I knew it is best if he gets the shot... but with not enough research behind it... I was very nervous!!! Luckily the medical director was a doctor I used to work with many years ago at St.John's hospital... and he reassured me that Grayson should be fine... there is no guarantee... but then again there are no guarantees in life... so in the end Grayson did get the first of 2 shots... hopefully there will be shots available in a month for his second shot... but I know that he needed the shot... so I will leave it in God's hands and pray that he keep my boy safe... and not have any of the nasty side effects!!!

Well I am pooped... I want to up-load some pics as I have SO many REALLY cute ones of my man... BUT I need to go to sleep!!!

Maybe tomorrow!!!

Good night!!! Sorry I got off on so many soap boxes... and to ramble... that is what happens when you don't post but once every few weeks... and you have so much to say...

Long Time

2009-10-20T21:02:00.006-05:00

Well I have fallen down on my blogging duties... SO much has been going on... we have just been SO busy!!! To begin... Grayson had all of his testing at Texas Children's that tested for EVERYTHING lung related cause he was still having breathing issues... and everything came out great!!! He tested negative for a few different diseases that we really didn't think were possible but since he was not responding to the medication Dr F wanted to just check! He tested positive for a few different allergies... fingers are crossed that he will grow out of them... but only time will tell!!! Also they did immunity testing and he has a very STRONG immune system which is good... doesn't explain why he seems to get sick SO often... BUT also explain why when he gets sick he gets REALLY sick!!!

Well as I have stated before with my job I have to be on-call... it makes me very on edge cause I never know if I will get called in or not... and thus I have to stay at my mom's house! Well to this month I had to take 8 days of call and thus I tried to take them all at once which meant I was at mom's house for 10 days... I did get stuck at work last too many night... many more than I really wanted and I did get called in a few times... yet overall it was not that bad... but it did make me VERY cranky... and to top it off I was sick as a dog ALL week!!! But now my time is up so I am free for the rest of the month... then next month we only have to take 5 days... so that makes life a lot nicer... I will be done with call the first week... and then I am free for the rest of the month... so hopefully with me not being on call I will be able to update more often again!!!

Well back to the fun part about my life... Grayson...

As I said before we have been spending quite a bit of time at my mom's and with being on call it was hard to make it out to the pool cause I had to carry my silly pager so instead we spent many nights out in the back yard with the slip-n-slide and a splash pad that we bought Grayson at the end of summer sale at Target! Pics are at the bottom of the page! Grayson thought that was SO much fun he just loves playing in the water and has even more fun with the kids in the water... I liked this better than the pool cause I didn't have to put on my swim suit cause yes the water was deep enough technically to drown BUT we were right next to the pool and he was happy!!! So that is one way we spent a many of nights at mom's! Also mom bought a few months ago a blow up ball pit and of course cause it has just been taking up space I decided to get the air compressor out since I was doing a bunch of NOTHING at mom's other than wait for the silly pager I pulled out the ball pit... can we say so much fun!!! Grayson loved it cause hello there are balls in there and the kid is ALL about balls... well balls and cars! Avery loved it cause well she got to act a fool... and there were balls to throw at Aiden and all over the house... and of course Aiden loved it also! There are of course pics of the kids playing oh so well in the ball pit!

Next... a few weeks ago was the Pasadena Rodeo... this was the beginning of my call for work so I was nervous about going... plus of course a as it never fails the nasty weather came to town... but we decided to face the nasty weather and enjoy a few hours of the rodeo... it was cold and wet... but so much fun! It has been a while since I last went to the rodeo... I would say prob when I graduated high school umm 7 years ago... so it was nice going back! Plus we went to see the animals... it was Grayson's first real experience with cows and pigs and goats and what not... And the verdict... Grayson does not like smelly animals that make scary noises... so once again proves he is my kid... ha ha!!! He was ok as long as the animals were far far away... but when we got close to take some pics... the tears came and the screams started! Also as I said before it was rainy and cold and wet and gross weather... and as anyone from texas knows this mean... not a good thing for the allergies!!! So from Friday the 2nd of 8 days of call I lost my voice and got really sick! Oh the joys!!! But overall the rodeo was lots of fun... I can't wait for the Houston Rodeo... Gray will be older and I think he will enjoy it a lot more!!!

The following day was my nephew Ty's Birthday party... they had a moon walk... and the whole family was there! It has been since January at a family member's funeral that I last saw most of them so it was GREAT getting to see everyone! Grayson was of course on his best behavior into EVERYTHING... but really stayed away from the moon walk... he would try to get in a few times... but since most of the time there were older, rougher kids in there... when it would clear out I didn't want to put Gray in there for fear of not getting him to come out when the big kids would go back in! Well at any birthday party there was cake and of course Grayson enjoyed the cake... he loves him some cake! And at the end after a costume change... and most of the kids had left... I finally put Grayson in the moon walk... he liked it... but couldn't figure out what to do! So of course Mommy came to the rescue... and my big butt got in... and bounced with the silly kid... and of course Avery then had to come over and jump with us... and then another really cute little girl came over and jumped with us... so my big butt that is WAY out of shape... is trying to jump with 3 little kids in a moon walk! So much fun!

The next week of call went as above... we ran the streets played lots and spent family time together!

We have been SO busy... and Grayson is just getting more active by the day! He is into everything! Happy as can be... only is becoming more like his momma... and is so graceful... he falls or trips and has numerous bangs and bruises... he is just like his momma! Oh well it is getting late... there is more to talk about... and share... but it will have to wait... many more pics to come... and stories... just too tired tonight!

Grayson eating like a big boy!!!

2009-09-20T20:37:00.001-05:00

Well Grayson is getting SO big! We have been working on his eating skills and some days he does REALLY well other days he is a little on the LAZY side! Tonights dinner was beef ravioli, green beans, water mellon, and yogurt! I normally just dump all his food on his tray and let him go to town and when we are home it is not that big of a deal cause we are home and he has a tray to eat off of! Well when we go out to eat there is typically not a tray so I have to lay the food on the table... kinda gross if you ask me... do you know how dirty resturant tables are... yes they wipe them down... but it is with a towel that they put in a bucket that they fill with minimal cleaner at the beginning of the day! Ya so lots of germs... I have tried to do placemats... the thin plastic ones... he just pulls right up... I did get one that has a little catch tray that works pretty well... but when he gets bored or is done he starts to pull and try to make a HUGE mess!!! Well you ask... why no use a plate... cause like the tray... he does fine when he is eating but as soon as the boy is done or bored... he is not getting full attention... there goes the plate faster than you can react!!! SO we have been stuck to using the dirty nasty table that yes I typically wipe down prior to his food with a few baby wipes... but what is there to do! Well over the last few weeks I have been working on using a plate or bowl just to introduce it while we are home... and I can't be embarrased when he drops a whole bowl of mac and cheese or green beans on the ground cause well the dog normally eats it before I even have time to go get the broom and mop! We also have been working on our silverware skills! No he is not perfect at it and still uses his hands to eat... but it makes him feel like a big boy when he gets the food on the fork or spoon and then he actually gets it into his mouth! Well here are just a few pics from tonight! Him with his HUGE grin! He sees the camera... and can't help but grin at it! Such a little brat... but I do love him!!! I do have pics of him actually getting the food into his mouth but for some reason blogger really doesn't want to load those pics... oh well!!! The last pic is of him after he took a big bite and the face he makes is just priceless!!!

Also... I think we may be turning the page on Grayson doing things in public! For the kid that LOVES to show off and is just the cutest thing ever and love to smile and chat with people... he does NOT perform on command! It was said that he was delayed by his daycare cause he didn't know how to wave... and some other things... but well he will not do it on demand... he is not a push monkey! Well I was a little worried cause he was SO social and at the same time he was not! He never met someone he really didn't like and was always all smiles... so the reasoning behind social! Well up till a few months ago he really didn't say ANY words... he would babble and I would guess you could say that he somethings but I never could make out any! He slowly has started to say more words but still would not really say anything in public! But he is slowly working into more words in front of people! Well over the weeks that we started at his new school I have tried to get him to wave bye... and well he is just not interested! I mean I see babies younger than him at the store that you wave at them they wave back and and say hi... well not my kid! Well we have now been working at giving hi-fives as a good bye gesture! And it seems to be working! Well this weekend every time I said bye to someone he would wave and blow a kiss... how great is that... and the person that we were saying bye to actually saw this!!! Woo hoo!!! Also... my great kid... when he would do something good that you normally would give a hi-five for... in congrats... Grayson has been going and picking up my hand and then hi-fiving it! It is SO cute! The kids is SO smart! He also is signing so much! I can't believe that it is clicking and he can communicate so much better! Yes sometimes he is still in melt down mode... and I try to get him away from the problem and get him to tell me what he wants... or I try to speak and sign everything that we know so that hopefully he will start signing or telling me what is wrong before he is in melt down mode but it doesn't always work! But at least we are taking steps in the right direction!

My boy and sign language!!!

2009-09-15T14:07:00.002-05:00

Grayson is now 14 months old... such a big boy! I am just in awe of how much he has changed in the last 14 months it is truly amazing!!! He teaches me every day! First let me say I am now spending my days trying to act more like him... cause no matter what is going on... how he feels and how much he may or may not want to do something he is almost always happy... yes he has his meltdowns and temper tantrums but no matter how sick he may be he will smile the biggest smile that will just melt your heart! Well I have been having some rough times at work and really not liking where I was at and the people that I had to work with and was ready to hide in a hole! But after being off for 8 days and being able to spend a lot of quality time with my main little dude it reminded me that work is a means to an end I may not like it but the more miserable that I am the worse the day is and the longer it turns out to be! Well when I came back nothing had changed people where still rude and hard to work with but I decided I no longer wanted to be that person... I wanted to have a smile on my face work and do whatever was asked of me... and when the day is over I am done till the next day and just look forward to my days off that I can spend with the little guy! Well I can tell you I do not resent this place near as much, I am not coming out of here just steaming, and it is actually not the worst part of my day! No nothing changed in my work environment EXCEPT my attitude and I can say that coming in with a smile on my face and doing my job no matter how hard I have to work... I think my days are much smoother! So I am now coming to work with my head held high with a smile on my face making small talk with people I don't like too much and watching the clock on the wall till the end of the day! Lets see how long it can last!!! Ha ha!!!

Well on the Grayson front... this past weekend we spent the weekend at home doing a whole lot of nothing!!! We didn't leave the house till 4 pm on Sunday and that was only cause we were almost out of diapers and wipes!!! Well on Friday night he kept doing stuff with his hands and I just could not figure out what he was doing I thought he was just acting a fool! Then the smart kid brings me his bowl and the fruit puffs and does the hand gesture to me again... and the light bulb went off... duh he is saying more... so I do the sign of eat... and he does it back of eat more... it was hillarious! Well after I gave him the puffs I say thank you to him and what does he do back... thank you mom... what a smart kid I tell you! Well Saturday I watch him a little closer and what do you know he signs... please... thank you.. mom... done... eat... more... water... milk... no... yes... and night! How awesome is that! I have been working on this from the beginning and he started with milk at 6 months... and I let it slide a little after reading in a parents magazine that if you teach a kid to sign they may be delayed in their language skills... but a few months back I picked it up again cause they were working more on them at school... well I guess everything started to click so he is now signing a few things! No he can't have a conversation with anyone but it is a start! Also, he will give a high-five... the cutest thing ever! My kid is not an actor... he will not do ANYTHING on cue... if you want him to wave hi or bye... nope won't do it... if you want to show off how he can walk he will crawl... so we started this whole high-five thing last week... he was waving his hand.. I thought it would be fun to teach him how to give a high-five... so I did it over and over again... well yesterday at school was the first chance we had to show off... I figured him to do his normal of rebelling and not doing anything other than a huge grin... NOPE he actually gave a high-five to 2 different teachers... yay... he is finally doing something on command!!! I am SO proud!!!

The Flu

2009-09-04T15:59:00.002-05:00

Well Wednesday I picked Grayson up from school and he wasn't quite acting like himself, but he missed his normal afternoon nap so I just thought that is what was wrong! Well I had a farewell party for an old co-worker of mine and I was hosting it so I needed to be there! Once we were there he was pretty good a little on the clingy side and a fussy man but not too bad till my food came and he wanted me to hold him and was completely Mr Anti-Social! He would not chat with ANYONE at the party and was just a fussy boy! Well he started to feel warm but the resturant was a little hot so I didn't think much about it! Well then we were off to my best friends birthday dinner! He slept for about 30 minutes in the car so I figured he would be better behaved, well he was even fussier and I KNEW he was running a fever! SO we chatted for a little while with my girlfriend but then called it a night! That night he was up and down for most of the night running a temp! Well, I ended up calling into work to stay home with him and by lunch he was back to his normal self! He ate a good lunch and was a happy little boy that played and was SO much fun to spend the day with! Well after dinner he started to fuss a little but he ate really good and was happy to stay in his chair long enough that I could eat and clean up! Well when I picked him up he was HOT as a firecracker! SO up we went to a cold shower that he screamed all the way through! Well once he was out of the bath he was asleep before I could even get him dressed! SO back to bed he went! This was at 830pm! Well at 1030 he was due for more meds so I went to check on him and he was hot as hot can be! When I checked his temp he was running 104.5 F! Worried oh yes I was!!! So onto talking to a nurse that I am friends with to see if I needed to take him into the ER (he used to work in the ER) and another friend that is a pedi... got both of their opinions and decided to keep him drugged and if he continued with the fever by morning we would go to the hospital! Well by 430 am he was down to 101 F so I considered that good enough to wait till the pediatrician opened! Well once we got to see the doctor who is not one of our normal 3 docs... they did a CBC blood work-up and a Flu test! She was a little nervous of menigitis(however you spell is) cause ever since his super high fever his balance was ALL off and has been having trouble walking... or the flu! Well the test results take 20 minutes to come back... and we have a winner!!! He has a VERY weak positive flu test! Right now the popular flu strain everyone has is the Swine Flu! SO we are now on drugs, and resting! I am hoping not to get it myself! I don't have ANY idea what I will do with Grayson if I did! SO we are under house arrest! No visitors... no going out and seeing what is going on!!! Just catching up on my DVR and spending some good time with my main man!!!

Have a GREAT weekend!!!

My boy

2009-09-02T13:25:00.002-05:00

Well the last 5 days have been some of the longest we have had in a while... because of work and being on-call in case someone had a heart attack I have been staying at my mom's house which isn't all bad, the problem... me and Grayson don't sleep very well! We have been over there since last Friday and tonight is our first night home for 5 days till I go back on call! It was not all bad though... this weekend we actually really enjoyed ourselves! First we cooked all weekend which is always nice! Friday night sister and her whole crew came over to mom's house and we ate and played Wii! We love family Wii night! What is the best part... my 3 year old niece beat all of us in Mario Party! Saturday we went to a few garage sales... then came home to try to start going through ALL the toys at Noonie's house that the kids own! Let me tell you these kids have WAY too many toys! The WHOLE living room was full!!! We tried to finish this in a day, but it was a bit too much!!! That night my bro-n-law came over with my niece and nephew and we cooked again and pulled out the slip-n-slide along with the new little splash pool my mom bought Grayson at Target last week! We were a bit nervous it would only be good for this season and since summer is almost over... ha ha... we didn't know but all 3 kids from Grayson at 13 months all the way to Aiden at 8 had a blast in it! I will try to post pics later... I took them with my mom's camera and have not up-loaded to my camera! Sunday we finished the toys and the kids came back over and played in the slash zones! But overall all was quiet in STEMI (heart attack) Land!!! Well I stayed over there Monday cause it made more sense cause I was back on-call on Tuesday! Well like I said last night I was back on-call... all was well up until midnight or a little after... and beep beep beep... pager went off!!! Of course I had not planned this and I forgot to set up the baby monitor... pull out scrubs... or be ready in general! So when the pager went off I woke mom up... pulled out scrubs and got dressed and left! 2 hours later I was home... but of course Grayson can sense me leaving and had woken up shortly after I left so my mom had him in bed with her! I went in and picked him up fully expecting him to want to eat, but I out him down in bed and he slept till 8am this morning! And what a mood he woke up in... he woke up in a GREAT mood! He was talking to himself and in a sing song voice was saying "momma up" now isn't that a GREAT way to wake up on a day off! So no matter with having been rushed out of sleep and having a hard time going back to sleep after cause well... your adrenaline is RUSHING cause you are in such a rush... you can't help but to get WIDE awake!!!

All I can say is that EVERY day Grayson really does amaze me! I love him more and more! He finds new things to do daily and is always SO happy! Even when he doesn't feel good or is sleepy! So I can't help but LOVE and be AMAZED by the goofy kid!!!

Vent...

2009-08-28T14:23:00.003-05:00

BLAH!!!!!!! OK... what I am going to get into... I know is silly... but I just get SO frustrated!!! I have Grayson in a daycare that is nice... I pay a lot of good money to have him there and over all I am satisfied! They take GREAT care of Grayson the whole time they have him... EVERY teacher just LOVES Grayson! Every person that I see at the school tells me what a happy and smart child I have and that just reinforces the fact that I must be doing SOMETHING right! It makes me smile every time! Onto my vent! Well I switched him to a sister daycare (owned by the same people as his last daycare, but is under a different director and it is where my sister's kids have gone off and on) in July! I have been trying to be patient and things are working themself out! BUT Grayson is only 13 months and they have him only taking ONE nap a day! At home he will take two 3-4 hour naps a day and at school he will only take one at most 2 hour nap! He comes home and is sleepy, if he doesn't take a nap in the car then he WON'T eat dinner! Also, as I stated before I am still breastfeeding Grayson! I had not really planned on continuing past a year, but it works for us and since I still have a stash in the freezer I figure why not continue! Well every day I get his daily report of what he is doing AND it is only half filled out, and the teacher that I pick him up from doesn't know what the teacher prior did! I guess this comes from working in a health care field that you MUST give a handoff report before leaving and at daycare one teacher comes in and doesn't tell the next teacher what is going on with the kids! Well after almost 2 months I finally talked to the director, I tried to act normal and that it is not that big a deal and I know NO ONE can care for my child the way that I would and I won't be happy no matter what! My mom pointed out the fact that no matter what is given to me I am NEVER satisfied... which is somewhat true... but I have expectations and sometimes I don't feel they are met! Like the day I brought this to the attention of the director was after I spoke to his afternoon teacher for the 4th time of watching her throw out 5 oz of my breast milk that he didn't drink! Well I brought up the fact that I NEVER know how much he drinks and if I am sending too much or too little! Also, they had he drank a whole cup of juice, if he is not drinking his milk he doesn't need juice for one and 2 Grayson doesn't get juice! I know as he gets older he will drink juice it is just that right now I don't think he needs it! Well It turned out that since the teachers do not communicate the afternoon teacher didn't know that Grayson drake a WHOLE bottle at 145pm so at 3pm when they tried to give him his next "scheduled" bottle of course he didn't want it! And thus the afternoon teacher that I really do like threw it down the drain! Well I told the director I wanted them to talk so that they knew when Grayson was getting his bottles cause this seems to be a BIG issue! I also had requested that Grayson get baby food for the morning and afternoon snack instead of the silly carbohydrate enriched crap they give all the other kids! Well this happened a few times but they said that the class he is in they don't do that, either the kid gets the menu food or not! Well at his other school Grayson was in the mid-classroom, it was between babies and toddlers! This is like they throw the kids from babies to toddlers and I guess it is me that is NOT ready for Grayson to grow up! So when I have him I feed him his breakfast of yogurt, waffle or whatever and then with every meal I feed him then give him a jar or 2 of babyfood! this is my decision and I will continue this till he is eating a little more but since he stopped gaining weight a few months back when he get really sick I think this is what is best for us!

So this was my vent... I know that he is safe and happy and I REALLY hope they will change and start talking to each other in the classrooms!

This has been a busy week for Grayson medically, we went back to the pulmonary doctor on Thursday and they are starting him now on singular and starting the 5 days of oral steroids to hopefully knock this cough out! Grayson is also scheduled for a few tests in September, one is a sweat test that they wrap Grayson in plastic wrap and have him sweat for a few hours then test his sweat! This is to test Cystic Fibrosis, which is a lung disease! The doctor REALLY doesn't feel this is our issue BUT wants to rule it out! Also while we get this test he will have blood drawn and they will do some genetic tests AND test for allergies!

Today Grayson went and got his 12 month shots, he was a CHAMP! He got 6 or 7 shots... it was A LOT! I felt horrible!!!He cried and cried and was in SO much pain BUT I know that it is the best for him! Also, Grayson got his flu shot today! I hope it doesn't really effect him! The pulmonary doctor STRONGLY encouraged Gray getting the flu shot, but it was 2 separate shots... yuck! I REALLY hated it, but I know that it is what is best for him!

Well it is time for me to get my little man! We are off to spend the weekend at Noonie's house cause I'm on-call for work... please people don't have a heart attack in Clear Lake... I really don't want to be called into work! I am stressed enough!

Sorry no pics... we have not been that into the camera this week!

13 months... getting bigger and better by the day!

2009-08-26T17:15:00.010-05:00

This was me and Grayson when he was just 10 days old.. the first time with the monster trucks!!!

This was a race car that we saw on the side of the road in front of NTW... so of course we had to stop!!!

Me and Grayson... he was not THAT interested in pics!!!

Grayson in the Monster Truck... BigFoot's tire....

The show... that Big Foot did!!! It was pretty cool!!!

And the finished product... lots of smashed up cars!!!

Bow down to Prince Grayson!!!

Digging for gold!!!

Grayson picked a winner!!!

All 3 kids at the golf Game... Grayson helping Aiden out... ha ha ha!!!

Well the last post I wrote at work the other day... but couldn't get the pics to load so while Grayson takes his afternoon nap... kinda late... I am gonna try to update some and put up some random pics...

Well to begin two weekends ago Grayson's daycare had a small school carnival that we went to for a little while... Grayson played a little golf... the kid will SO be into sports... he held the club pretty good and made a hole in one... I was impressed... this game was in his classroom so we visited with his AWESOME teacher! I have to say my kid is such an awesome kid! Everywhere I have EVER taken him school wise he is always SO excellent! I always have the teachers telling me how friendly he is and how they wish all the kids would be like him! So we visited with his teacher for a little while then he ate 2 hotdogs... I know the kid is a PIG!!! Then we went to the lollipop tree and if you pulled out a sucker with a black dot on the end you won... both the cousins pulled out duds... but wouldn't you know my kid pulled 2 winners... no he didn't get to enjoy the suckers... but he did get to play... then he went and dug for gold... and we decided to go to the local Firestone auto place! As I was making our way over to Grayson's school I saw at the Firestone a monster truck and a race car... so as a treat Nonnie met me and the other family and we all went up to see the monster truck! We were amazed when we got there and Big Foot was doing a little show and smashing up cars... it was Great! What is even cooler is last summer Aiden's boy scout troop won monster trucks so when Grayson was 10 days old I have NUMEROUS pics of him with the monster trucks and the drivers which is so awesome... and then a year later we just happened upon another monster truck that was not at the one last year! I am amazed to compare how much bigger he is and what he can do... last year I had to hold him... this year he sat in the wheel... amazing!!!

Then we drove to the NTW and took a few pics with the race car and then we called it a day!

We have been SO busy lately it is nice... but also crazy! Grayson is SO active and I love it... it is SO nice that he walks... but also bad cause he throws temper tantrums all the time! and when I tell him no he will have a TT and scream and throw himself on the floor and not move! It is great! He is still eating like a champ... not as well or as much as he was prior... BUT I think a lot has to do with his new school! They have him in the step up class than what he was in at the old school and they only do one nap and they will not give baby food or yogurt! SO he is not eating as much as before... but he is still eating a lot!

On a side note... I just want to say... Grayson is 13 months and still breast feeding... I am SO proud! He is my little champ! We have dropped his feedings if we are out and about... he gets distracted way too easily... but morning and night... nap time and if we are home... a few times during the day! I am SO excited I was able to make it a year I think it is one of the things I am the most proud of! It can be VERY hard but at the same time Grayson and I are SO close and I know it is what is best for the little guy! I LOVE him SO much!

Also, I love to baby wear! For anyone that is nervous... they are crazy... it gives you 2 hands... can be done from the time they are born (if you do it right) and make you so much closer to your child! I started with a simple sling I borrowed from my sister that never fit really well and I made a fake moby wrap! Then a fellow mom from a group I joined had the baby hawk... it was SO cute! It was expensive but I got SO much use out of it... it became my quick favorite! I started wearing him in the baby hawk when I got it when he was about 4-5 weeks old... and I have worn him in it the most! I put it on the back burner a few month ago when Grayson started to ride in his push car or stroller more and I didn't really have to carry him much! Well this weekend it came in handy! We had to part a little away from the stadium for the baseball game and I put him on my back and put the hawk behind him for extra support so my hands were free my back didn't hurt and it was not too bad having to carry the big boy a distance! Then on the way out of the stadium I put him back on the front of me so he could snuggle and settle to go to sleep! I forgot how much I missed wearing him!!! Then on Sunday I didn't have my BH so I found my sling that I have not worn in a few months cause I thought he is just too big... even though I know kids can ride in the in different holds till they are 35 lbs... I go into denial at times! Well I went to Target and Grayson had just fallen asleep and I hated to wake him but I can't hold him without him waking up... well I put the sling on and put him in it... and wouldn't you know that Grayson slept for an hour and a half while I walked around there then into the shoe store next to Target! I forgot how much I missed Baby wearing... but now that I started again... I do still love it even with my big boy... and I think I may start it up again!!!

Well my boy is awake again... guess it is time to make dinner... and play so we can go to bed... off to the pulmonologist tomorrow to check the meds... then to the pedi on friday to get his 12 month shots... just a few weeks late... but we had to wait cause he was on steriods at 12 months... hopefully he won't be sick this weekend from the shots!!! But I figured I have 3 days off... I should take advantage of them and have his shots done!

1st Astros Game!

2009-08-26T17:01:00.004-05:00

After the Game was all over... Grayson was in the BabyHawk (the BEST carrier EVER) and this is me, Gray and my Uncle Paul!

Noonie and Grayson Talking about the Game... do you see him pointing at the players!!!

My Sweet boy!!!

Walking around at the game! Kinda dark I know... and the field in the background!

Grayson on my lap watching the game!

Noonie talking to Gray... he was sitting ALL by himself!!!

The Game!!! 4-2 Astros won against the Diamondbacks... Woohoo!!!

Far away pic of the field... we were in the nose bleed section... but great seats that we saw EVERYTHING!!!

Well last Saturday my Uncle Paul invited the whole family out to the Astros game that was supposed to have a car show with it and he was gonna show off his awesome car... but because of rain they cancelled the car show... but kept the game! Well I was VERY nervous about going to the game cause one we were out shopping all day so Grayson really didn't have a GOOD nap all day and then it started at 6pm... his normal bed time is 730... Well we got there and wow did my kid have a GREAT time! He was SO well behaved I was SO proud of my little man! When we first got there he wanted his own seat and lasted there till about the end of the 4th inning... well that is pretty good for my kid that wants to be everywhere and doesn't want to be held anymore cause he is a big boy that can walk! Well then he started to be passed between me and mom... and he enjoyed himself SO much! My mom kept explaining the game to him and pointing then he would start pointing at the people... and when we would strike out and everyone else would start to yelling at the players... well Grayson joined in on it! It was SO adorable! Well I was VERY nervous that he was just gonna start melting down at bed time... he was enjoying the game so much that he didn't even realize that it was bed time till we were leaving and he was a little cranky but that is to expected! Well I am proud to say that the Astros WON 4-2 against the D-Backs... woohoo!!! I was so excited that we won for Grayson's first game!

Well we have been really active recently... we are NEVER home... and I hope that we will get to soon! I love going and doing things... but at the same time Grayson is SO out of routine... he needs routine!!!

Well we went back out shopping on Sunday... can I say I love tax free shopping... the crazy amount of people out... the sales... I love it... it is almost as much fun as Black Friday... which I am happy to say that this year I am lucky to have off!!! Woohoo!!! It is such a rush to get in with all the crazy people!!! Well we we got a lot of new clothes.... more than we prob needed but they were so cute... and I love to shop!

Well this week... is a busy week... I am working all week... boooo... but I do have Friday off... woohoo... but then Saturday and Sunday I am chained to my beeper for work... BOOO... I hate being on call... I can't do anything for fear of being called into work... I have a hard time sleeping cause I never know if I will miss a page... and of course there is going to be major construction... the last time I was on call was when they blew up the Nasa Road One Bridge over the freeway... even though I HATE waking up so early in the morning to come to work... it is nice to only have to work 4 days a week... and not to have to depend on my family as much to watch Grayson... BUT then again... I hate being on call... it wouldn't be so bad if I could stay at home... but when I am on-call I have to stay at mom's house... which isn't too bad... but me and Grayson both sleep pretty poopy over there... SO I am ready for this weekend to be over! Hopefully it will end up being a good weekend! But ya never know!

Well I have pics that I have not up-loaded from when we saw the monster truck at a local tire place... and I will blog on that later... I guess I should get back to work before someone notices I am not working...he he

Moody Garden's Aquarium!!!

2009-08-10T06:57:00.005-05:00

In the car on the way to Moody Gardens... Grayson and Avery!

The whole family... no one looking at me but Grayson... in front of the North Seas Fish Tank...

You can't really see them in the back ground but there are Sea Lions that everyone was looking at...!

He escaped from the stroller a few times to walk around... here he is in front of the manitees

He was trying to reach up to touch the fishes...

Yes that is a paci in my mouth... I was afraid that Gray would drop it in the water... this was a touch tank... you could touch anything... thus Gray LOVED this cause he loves the water!!!

Aiden... Grayson... and Noonie... all watching the pretty fishes...

Grayson went on the attack while we waited for the sea lions to be fed!

Mr Man looking at me... how can you NOT love this face???

Yes this is me in all of my FAT glory... with Mr Man... in front to the surround fish tank... I LoVe the Aquarium!!!

The kids in the Shark Cage.... this is what you go down in to "swim" with the sharks...

Grayson thought it was AwEsOmE... he got VERY upset when I made him leave...

All around you could get stamps... since the other two kids kept getting stamps once I let Grayson loose... he ALSO wanted a stamp... pretty smart kid!!!

Grayson after FINALLY going to sleep... in front of the penguin tank... with little Miss Avery...

All three kids in front of the dinosaur... I left it to the bro-n-law and sister to take the picture... they got their kids looking... Grayson was just not interested in the cameras... he was sitting on sticks... so much cooler...!!!

Grayson walking around up and down the steps at the aquarium...

He woke up... and I REALLY wanted this picture... he wanted to hold me... oh well... all the kids were just about the heights of a penguin... pretty cool!!!

Well yesterday we spent the day with the family out at Moody Gardens in Galveston at the Aquarium! We had such a blast! Grayson decided not to take his typical cat naps in the car so was a bit of a Mr. Fussy Pants, but overall was an AWESOME kid! We really had a lot of fun! Grayson loved watching all the crazy fishes and was pointing out different ones! On the touch tank he thought that was fun cause he got to put his hands in the water... always a fun thing for him! He is my little water baby! I tried to take pics but wouldn't you know it... they keep the aquarium dark so I did the best I could... hope yall enjoy!!!

New meds...

2009-08-06T20:33:00.002-05:00

Well we went today to Texas Children's Pediatric Pulmonology Clinic and saw Dr F for the first time! Like I said before Grayson was diagnosed back in April-May with asthma and we have been just seeing our routine pediatrician whom I really do love and would not trade for anything, but I felt like I wanted a more definative diagnosis and medication program that I felt a specialist can only provide! I got the referal to Dr F from my co-worker and let me say I love the place! First I love TCH in general I love how clean and friendly EVERYONE always is! We got there a little early (how I don't know cause this morning was not going to plan)! We started to fill out the paperwork and the nurse came to get us from the waiting room... they weighed him and measured him (he is 23 lbs and 31 inches) very healthy and happy and they checked his blood pressure and pulse oximitry! The nurse was amazed at how well he did with all that, but what can I say I have a great kid! As it has been when he is off his meds (per MD do not give meds the morning of exam) his pulse ox was in the high 80's low 90's! Not too dangerous but shows that he does have some pulmonary issues! I spoke to the awesome nurse and told all the medical history! Then Dr F came in and we talked about Grayson... my favorite subject matter any day! She listened to his lungs and they were overall clear! YAY! She ordered a chest x-ray to get a baseline view and to make sure there was nothing else going on! After the chest x-ray the nurse came in and Dr F has changed his meds back to a puffer with a spacer and we are on a new stronger steroid 2 times daily and xopenex as needed! I was also told that now Millie is no longer allowed to be in rooms where Grayson plays OR sleeps so we are now moving Millie out of Grayson's playroom up-stairs AND as always is not allowed to go into his room! We don't go back till November, unless something comes up sooner! I feel so much better cause I know for a fact that YES Grayson does have asthma, before it has always been is it asthma or a constant viral cold or something else! But with the x-ray and everything else Dr F is very secure in stating that yes everything is asthma! But only time will tell is it the childhood form that he will grow out of in time OR will he ALWAYS have it! Now if Grayson has ANY chest issues instead of going to the pediatrician I will go see Dr F so that is a pain in the Butt but I think that is better cause they will be able to treat it a lot easier! So that is the plan for now!

Also, Grayson is now a walking fool! He is walking more and more every day! I am so excited! I am SO ready for him to be walking on his own for when we go into school or whatever but I know the time is coming!

But as it has been I am a bad mommy that has been falling down on the job of taking pictures! Why... I really have no excuse as he has become more dependent and doesn't need me as much but we are still so busy! With my work schedule changing, Gray in a new school, and everything else going on we still LOVE to stay at home playing and with the new toys we got at his b-day... we really have been enjoying things! But I promise I will get around to taking some pics and I am also taking pics with the rest of the family as his school has been requesting pics and when I looked at our pics... I have lots of him... none of the whole family with him since our family trip camping... hopefully this weekend we will go swimming and I will take some good pics!

Asthma... and Pediatric Pulmonologist!

2009-07-27T21:31:00.002-05:00

Well a few months back Grayson was diagnosed with broncholitis that turned out was a reactive airway issue from his asthma! WE started on a few different meds that he was supposed to wean off from over the past little bit! He has been on oral steroids 3 times... which are absolutely NO fun, and is on now 2 different Nebulizer medication one is a steroid (pulmicort) and the other is a broncho-dialator (albuterol/xopenex). The broncho-dialator was discontinued and was on straight steroid 2 times a day since the beginning of June and the albuterol was on an as needed basis! Well at the beginning of July we went back into the doctor cause he was wet sounding and the cough returned... and before I really started him back on all of his crazy meds ( I don't want to be "that" mom that doses him when he has a common cold) so I took him to the doctor! He ws of course having an asthma reaction so we went on the oral steroid, antibiotics and neb treatments every 4 hrs. I hate to have him on all these meds especially when he doesn't ever get "better" he just levels out! SO when we went for his 1 year check up I asked for a referal to a pediatric pulomonlogist! I didn't know it was SO hard to get into Texas Children's Hospital's Specialty Clinics! I waited a week which I guess isn't all that bad and we now go to see the Pedi Pulmonary dr Dr.F on August 6! I am SO excited cause a co-worker of mine has been taking her son to this dr for 5 years and this doctor she says is just awesome with asthma! I know Grayson has asthma... I had it as a child and still have a VERY VERY minor case of it so I know what it is like! BUT I still don't know if we are on the RIGHT mix of meds and I hope that once we start with her... we can wean him off these meds and onto a more stable medication to prevent the asthma... like I take advaire to prevent daily... I don't know if there is something like that for kids! I just don't want the same issues to come about like at the beginning of the month... being told that your child has fluid on the lungs is just not a happy day! SO I pray that when we see this doctor they can give us some more information... and really help my boy!

Well Grayson is now a real walker... he is walking up a storm! I mean everywhere... yes he still does crawl a lot... BUT I know he will be running soon!

Have a great week!

Turning 1... Done... Party... DONE!!!

2009-07-20T21:16:00.002-05:00

Grayson Oliver has gone from this ...

Day ONE.... July 15, 2008 @ 1011pm (give or take a few minutes but this is JUST after Grayson Oliver was born...To this handsome little man...
Grayson at his b-day party with one of his cute new outfits...

Crawling around...

Grayson playing with a few of his friends Ashby and Lilah!

Grayson and Lilah... who wants to get the kids faces... ha ha

Grayson 4th cake... This one was for his b-day party

Grayson getting his 3rd haircut before pics...

This was his 2nd cake... this was the one that I made for the family... can you tell he REALLY likes cake???

Grayson and one of his favorite teachers... Ms Ashley... we will miss you....!!! (Him celebrating his b-day with cupcakes at school)

Yummy cake!

Meltdown during pics!

My cake Warrior!

Happy Boy!

Cake anyone?

Beach time fun!

Grayson and his Word World Animals!

Big Boy is 1!

Grayson standing without assistance holding the giraffe!

Grayson and the Animal Train!

Another pic...

Well we are done... Grayson turned one and we survived the birthday and the party a few days later with only a few tears shed! I can't believe that he is already one! It seems like just the other day he was so small I was scared that I would break him in 2! Now, my lordy the kid is big! I am NOT complaining He is healthy for the most part for which I am thankful! I love my sweet boy! Well I am "that" mom as I have stated before! I want to make sure that Grayson has EVERYTHING that he could EVER need or want within reason and I am a firm believer of go BIG or GO HOME! With that Grayson went to school on his birthday just so that he could celebrate with his friends, so I took cupcakes for him and the teachers to enjoy... so that was cake #1 for his 1st birthday! That night we went out as a family and had Pappasitos for dinner, and I made a cake for the family to eat (so cake #2) which he REALLY enjoyed! On Thursday I took him for his 1 year pictures, and he had yet ANOTHER cake (#3 cake) and the pictures turned out GREAT! Then we had a small party of Family and Friends on Saturday and had his barn yard cupcake cake (#4 cake). Wal-mart was where I got all the cakes except the ONE that I made and every single on was SO fresh and enjoyable! They didn't have a small cake ready when I needed one for his pictures (me being the bad mommy forgot to order one in advance) and they quickly made a special cake for Grayson that was SO bright and looked GREAT in the pictures! THEN I wanted to the last minute even though I had ALREADY been to wal-mart like 10 times for other things in the week, I waited till late on Friday to order his cake, and of course they were out of the decorations, SO I went ahead and got the cake without decorations and they ended up calling me later in the afternoon and found the little people SO his barn cake was COMPLETE and turned out AWESOME!!! Well, Grayson is now walking up a storm! Yes his still crawls a lot of places and when he is sleepy he will not walk, but I say in the next few weeks he will be running! He also has been saying Mama... FINALLY!!! I am so tired of hearing Dada... OR Yaya! Then he started to say Dog (more like duh-g), but finally he says Mama! Its about time! But no he still is not talking really! But it will come!

Well we have switched his daycares this week! We are still with the same "daycare" but a different location, and it is the same location that the other two monsters go to SO hopefully my sister and bro-in-law will help mom out a little more with watching Gray for me when I am working! Plus, they are a little more established and I am really excited about how things are going BUT I finally had his other school trained SO I really hope things work out quickly as I really hate to NAG!!!

I know I have mentioned before but Grayson has been diagnosed with asthma... I had it pretty severe as a child and out grew it as an adult or now really have a very MINOR case of it! Well since being diagnosed he has been back and forth on different meds and I just don't know what needs to be done to make him better! Well 2 weeks ago I took him to the pediatrician and he had fluid building up on his lungs! So back to the heavy duty drugs! Well we are now going to go to a specialist (a pediatric pulmonary doctor) and hopefully be put on something a little more stable SO we can hopefully work him off the nebulizer and onto something easier! The doctor we are going to is HIGHLY recommended and I am SO excited to see what they have to say! But we go see that doctor on August 6th... so it is a wait and see!

Well the stats... Grayson is now a toddler at 1 year!

He is 32 inches (75-90%)

weighs 23 lbs (50-75%)

and still has a HUGE head (don't remember the inches but he is still in the 95-99%)

He eats anything and everything in site, plus some

He is still 100 % breast fed only (well breast milk sometimes from a bottle or sippy cup cause of work and daycare)

He is SO happy and I am truly BLESSED!!

1 Year ago....

2009-07-14T21:22:00.003-05:00

This time one year ago I was making lists... as I had been on bed rest for 5 LONG weeks I had convinced Dr M to induce on Wednesday and was given a day of Freedom on July 15th to go run the streets and get the hospital bag ready and everything else! I had started my list of names, I packed different bags and tried to see what was missing, and I think I watched some silly tv! I tossed and turned all night and really only had a few good hours of sleep! I was SO nervous, and had SO much to do to prepare for your arrival and was SO not prepared! Little did I know that YOU wanted to be born on July 15th... a DAY early!

So as you suprise me daily at what you are doing and how you are changing I remember poking my belly half the night to feel you move from one side to the other, some thing I still love to do... I love to give you love pokes!

So tomorrow you will be 1 Year old! You have changed So much from my little man

You were born on July 15th at 1011pm, 6 lb 6.6 oz, 19 1/2 in long and a head FULL of hair. Now a year later you are 23 lb, 31 in, and already on your 3rd hair cut! As opposed to when you were born and just laying there you have mastered most milestones, you rolled over, you smile, you babble, you crawl, and now.... you walk!

I was SO suprised yesterday when I got home from work to pick Grayson up from my mom I opened the door to the little man walking up to me! I mean over the weekend we worked SO hard to walk and you would take a step here and there, but now you will take numerous! You still would rather crawl everywhere, I think it makes you nervous, but I don't think it will take too long and you will be running!

Well tomorrow we be going for our one year appointment with the pediatrician to get his official numbers, and I will take new pics (have to find the camera), and I will post his one year pics that we take on thursday!

SO much is going on, how I miss my baby but this toddler that you are turning into is aweful cute to!

The terrible 1's have started!!!

2009-07-05T21:45:00.003-05:00

Well over the past few weeks as Grayson has become more mobile he has also heard the word "no" a LOT cause he is into EVERYTHING!!! Well now when he hears the word no he has a complete melt down temper tantrum! It is so horrible! I feel like such a bad mommy! He now has perfected his temper tantrum to fall face forward to the ground and kick and scream and cry! DO you see the problem for when I want to go out with him in public! Yes he does do this also out in public! I know people stare at me and wonder what is going on... but what am I to do? Well, I thought that it was terrible 2's not 1's... I don't think that Grayson got this memo! If this has anything to show what is to come I can definately thank my mother for all her I hope and pray you get a child just as emotional as you and as bad as you were growing up, cause Grayson does take after his mother! He wears his heart on his sleeve and that is not always a good thing! So as I try to make plans for his 1st birthday and still pick up some extra hours at work and not go crazy! I will leave it at that!

My child has figured out what a temper tantrum is and it is SO not cool! But sometimes when it happens I can't help but laugh cause he is so darn CUTE when he is throwing his hissy fit!

11 months... and growing

2009-06-28T11:55:00.003-05:00

Please excuse the Mess in the Playroom... Grayson likes to have EVERYTHING out! Ha!

Night time routine... play until too sleepy... then go get in bed with Millie!

Grayson and Mommy!

This is after after his second bath... he distroyed the room while attacking Millie... see next few pics!

This was what I saw next... after he was petting and loving his puppy!

This was after it was all over...

This is how it all started... He was petting Millie...

Bath time... his favorite time...

He no longer likes to sit in the bath... he wants to stand...

Me of course playing with his hair!

He really is a HAPPY baby boy!

Ok let me explain the pics... I have NO idea how to re-order them and even though I try to up-load them in the correct order... it doesn't help any! Most of these are in my bathroom and playroom! I try to keep it all clean I REALLY do... but my little man likes to pull EVERYTHING out as soon as he comes in the room! He is like my little tornato... at school they laugh cause they keep all the toys on shelves on the wall and as soon as he walks in he pulls EVERY toy down... well he likes to have everything at hand is what I have to say about it!

Well Grayson is now 11 months old and plans are now being made for Grayson's first b-day party! I have been trying to decide what to do for his party for a while... did I want to rent out a park... do an indoor place... do swimming... something in the back yard... what! Well I finally went out and bought the invitations yesterday and have decided to plan the party! I was planning on having a mix come see my house... and 1st b-day party BUT since my house will now be under construction I don't want to have a whole bunch of people walking through a mess... so we are now going to have it at my bro and sister's house! They have a Rainbow playset and we a small blow-up moonwalk... and then I have a ball pit and a swimming pool! It will be a little crazy but keep the kids active and have fun! Then we will do hot dogs and hamburgers or whatnot! I'm excited!

Well Grayson is a little ham he makes me laugh so often! He likes to be the center of attention! If he is not then he makes a mess and is the center of attention! It is cute but I should get onto him for doing this I know!

Well there are a few things that I know I should worry about somewhat but I am not! I will wait till the pedi says I should worry!

First Grayson is not talking! Yes he babbles and sings but he doesn't say words! I know he has plenty of time but since I had issues with speech I really worry about him!

Second he is not walking! He was the first to crawl in my play group... but walking he will do as long as he holds on but he will not stand on his own or walk and I know I should not worry he is still young but I don't want him to have any issues! Oh well I know it will all happen in time!

Well Grayson is napping and I am tired so I may try to take a short nap! Ha lets see if that works!

Well...

2009-06-12T22:21:00.002-05:00

This past week has been a VERY rough one for us! To begin the week Grayson was running a crazy fever that landed us in our friendly Pediatrician's office on Saturday morning right before they closed! He ended up with just a virus, but I have learned with him if I don't take him in then he stays sick even longer, and I needed to work! Then Serah and Brian went out of town for the week and I was nice enough to watch their dog! Oh how big a mistake that was! First one reason Serah no longer could watch the silly boy of mine was cause he never would sleep over there! I thought it was just cause he didn't want naps anymore, but this week I figured out it was in fact he didn't like their house! I do not know what it is, but he could be super sleepy OR already asleep and we walked through the front doors of the house and Bing his eyes would fling open and he would be up for the night! I think he was up ever hour or so at night, and would fuss and cry most of the time! I do not know what it is but he doesn't like to be away from home! Well by Wednesday he slept most of the day at school, of course cause he was so sleepy from not sleeping all night the 2 previous nights, so I knew even though I was pooped I would get no sleep! When I went to get the booger yesterday from school they said he took 2 really good 3 hour naps (I was only at work for 8.5 hours - so he slept 6 of those) so I figured even though last night we would be back at home I still would get not sleep, well thankfully I was wrong! My son just loves being back home, even after all his naps yesterday and being WIDE away at The Ingram's house we walked into our house and Wham! He was fighting to keep his eyes open! I had to force him to stay awake long enough for dinner, mind you it was barely 630 and I wanted him to sleep for the night so that was way too early to put him to bed! I was able to sleep off till 8 and then I put him in bed awake which the last few days at the Ingram House he has SCREAMED and cried till I pick him up and rock him all the way to sleep then would wake up after a few minutes of laying down! Well I put him in bed at 8 and he slept till 4am! Yay! He didn't really want to go back to bed after that BUT I did have the first GOOD nights sleep since Sunday SO today I was able to function a little better!

I have NO pics to post! I have been a bad mommy that has NO batteries in her camera SO I cannot post any pics! Sorry!

Well, we have a fun filled weekend ahead! We have meeting with contractors to hopefully fix our house! We are going to go look at flooring AND pic out birthday stuff for the little guy! Oh and to top it all off I think we may try to go swimming also. may even try our new community pool that I think we can go to, and may even go to the park next to it!

I really wish that Grayson would start taking real steps and walking! NO I am not trying to rush him, but it would make things so much more fun! Right now I hate taking him out in public cause I have to carry him or put him in his car cause the ground is nasty to crawl on!

Oh well it will happen when it happens!!!

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

2009-05-31T12:05:00.003-05:00

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!

2009-05-23T10:46:00.003-05:00

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!!!

2009-05-20T21:50:00.004-05:00

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???

2009-05-18T02:04:00.002-05:00

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!!!

2009-05-17T12:48:00.002-05:00

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!

2009-05-10T07:56:00.003-05:00

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!

2009-05-02T22:56:00.002-05:00

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!!!

2009-05-01T21:15:00.003-05:00

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!

9 month pics and ENT appointment!

2009-04-22T09:35:00.003-05:00

Well we went yesterday to the ENT and Grayson will be getting tubes in his ears on May 20th. I am very torn on this as it makes me so nervous cause he is so young, but it is also routine now a days! The main reason I am leaning more towards the tubes is Grayson still has fluid in his ears that is not currently infected, but he prob will get another infection prior to the tubes. Also, they did a hearing test while at the consult and he is already showing signs of hearing loss. It is very minimal and is only in the VERY low tones, but it can affect his hearing if it continues and right now it is reversible so I think that the tubes are our best option! The doctor is so nice and I feel VERY comfortable with him! Grayson will need earplugs to go swimming or be submerged in water SO we went ahead and ordered those cause they take about 2 weeks! They are super cool, I chose the colors, Grayson helped, by trying to eat the samples! It makes me laugh!

Ok we also got our 9 month pictures yesterday. I have been wanting naked pictures of him since he was born, but the picture place I normally go to wont take naked pictures. So this is the last month he is able to have them done! So here are the super cute 9 month pictures of my BIG boy! Oh how I do love him so! Even though right now he is climbing up my leg and into EVERYTHING, It brings a smile to my face!

New pics of the big man!

2009-04-15T19:29:00.003-05:00

Always the tricky one at bath time! He thinks he is sneaky filling the duck with water and drinking it! Ha ha!
This is the first time that he ate yogart... he was such a sick little boy and the doctor thought it may help his tummy feel better with the antibiotic!
This is the 2nd time he ate the yogart... he is such a happy little boy! My pride and joy!
This is Grayson with my cousin, his 2nd cousin Amanda that was home from college and we went to visit!
This is from Grayson's first Easter! He loved the eggs!

Up-dates... and what's going on!

2009-04-14T21:27:00.002-05:00

Hello... well I know that it has been a little while since I wrote what all was going in in Grayson's World but we have been so busy!

Well Grayson has been a VeRy sick little boy! Last Saturday before Easter we ended up back at the doctor's office once again... we have been going every 2-3 weeks now since January... and we were once again back there after he started to run a silly fever on Wednesday night... that would come and go till Friday he got really bad that if the doctor had not been opened we prob would have ended up in the ER cause he was a sick little boy! Well when we got to the doctor he had been breathing very rapidly and shallowly which was very concerning, he was running his normal high fever, throwing up, and in general just YUCKY! I just knew the ear infection did one of two things, since we just finished his last set of antibiotics on Monday and started to get sick again on Wednesday I just knew the ear infection was there! When Dr.H came in the room she is not our normal doctor, but she is awesome she started to talk to him and listen to his chest and see how labored his breathing was and she immediately was very concerned! She ended up checking his oxygen level which was a lot lower than it should have been, and drew some blood! We ended up doing a breathing treatment while the blood ran and she made her decision to send us up the the hospital for suspected pneumonia or if we could stay out of the hospital! Well after his breathing treatment was done, the blood work was not as bad as she first thought it would be, and his oxygen level was starting to come up so we instead of starting another set of antibiotics we started antibiotic shots! His ears were REALLY inflamed and infected and he has an infection of the bronchiols! So we were sent home on Saturday to come back on Monday for another shot if his ears were still gross and we started home breathing treatments! Well it took till Sunday for me to become more comfortable with his breathing and not be so worried about him, but he was still a sick kid! Well back to see Dr. H on Monday for her to come in and look at his ears... still infected... and his lungs were still wet and crackly sounding so we were told to come back Tuesday! And Grayson got yet ANOTHER antibiotic shot! One good thing did come out of the Monday visit I finally got my ENT consult for Grayson! I hated to start the ENT route... but I am so tired of him and these silly infections! So next tuesday we go see Dr. J which I am hoping he is going to say he will just grow out of these infections and he doesn't need tubes in his ears, BUT everyone that I have talked to about the tubes say they make a world of difference in the kids! So we will see what the decision will be after we talk next week!

Well... other than Grayson being sick lots has been going on!

First Grayson is officially crawling like a big boy now! He still gets lazy and will drop down and "Army man" crawl... just cause it is faster... but he is able to crawl on all 4! It is SO cute! He also is pulling himself up on EVERYTHING! He walks around stuff... and if you really help him he will attempt to walk... but I don't know if I am ready for that yet! He is getting just SO big! I am in awe! He is just SO active! I can't believe that he is moving so much!

He is still NOT talking which I am sad about... but at the same time he is VERY verbal in other ways! He gets his message across when he wants something at least to me! He is such a momma's boy! I can't wait till the first time that he says momma... BUT at the same time... I love my little boy and he will talk when he is good and ready! Ha ha!

Well.... I don't have my camera... but I will post new pics tomorrow! He is just getting so big! I can hardly believe it! He is becoming my big man!

Well tomorrow Grayson will be 9 months old! Only 3 more months and he will be a year!

The evil Ear Infection is Back!

2009-03-28T13:04:00.003-05:00

Well, on Thursday Grayson woke up at 2am with a fever so I took him to the doctor cause I figured he was back to the ear infection game even though he didn't have that high of a fever, but I wanted to nip it in the bud before it got bad! Well at the doctor I went a few days too early and all he had was an upper respiratory infection, and was given cough meds and No antibiotics! Well Thursday night I pick him up to find him with goopy gross eyes and just a sick little boy! Well he still just had a low grade fever! So I drugged him up and sent him back to school cause the doctor did say he was not contagious! Well yesterday my mom picked him up from school and he was pittiful! His eyes were goopy he wouldn't eat, his nose was raw, and his was just miserable! I went to pick him up and Grayson and mom were cuddled up in the rocking chair and he just looked so sad! But when he saw me when I perked up a little and got a big ol' grin on his face and as always gave me that warm fuzzy feeling that every time I see him I get! Well when we got home last night he indeed had a fever! It was 101 and was not feeling too good! He went to bed and slept pretty good till it was time for meds again then he was a sick boy! We woke up this morning to head out to the doctor and wouldn't you know it, he has a double ear infection! Big shock! I wish they would have just given me the meds on thursday but too late now! So we are back on Augmentin, antibiotic that he just finished a week ago! He has eye drops for his conjunctivitis (teer duct infection)! And he has my skin, and has a small case of eczema on his back so we have a cream for that!

So if all goes well we head back in two weeks for a re-check! At that time I am asking for an ENT consult to see if he can get tubes in his ears! If he continues with this grossness and still has a fever on Monday then back to the doctor we head!

So keep us in your thoughts! I am so tired of this sickness! I love the socialization that Grayson gets from daycare but I HATE this sickness he gets!

Well the new schedule has started!

2009-03-25T10:32:00.002-05:00

Well when I was first hired on at the Cath Lab I was hired for the 12pm-830pm shift! That was in September of 2007! Well it is now March of 2009 and I just started my correct schedule! When I was hired I was SO excited cause I figured I could stay up late and sleep in plus I didn't have to worry about being on-call OR any weekend work! Well once I found out about Grayson I was still excited about the schedule, but didn't know if it would ever work out and I would ever actually start my shift! Well, working the normal cath lab schedule was working out pretty well, but I hated to be on call! But I was not as dependent on my mom and sister watching Grayson cause I was out of work normally by 5 pm SO I was always able to get him! Well now with this new schedule it is working pretty well! That is we are able to play in the mornings and play catch up and then I drop him off at school and head off to work! Monday went pretty well, work was not too bad and then I went to pick up Grayson from mom and he was tired but not too bad! We got home and he ate then after about 30 mins of fighting sleep he went to bed! Well yesterday he woke up way earlier than I was ready, but we had a GREAT morning to get ready and play! I then took him to school and I went to work! Yesterday I don't think he had his late nap like he needed so he was REALLY sleepy and had issues when I went to pick him up, and it took him from 845 till 1030pm to finally go to sleep! But Yea he slept ALL night! So we will see if tonight goes just as well! I know it will be a big learning curve to really get things in order and have my mom and sister care for Grayson the way that I do! But I really feel that this shift is going to work out the best for us! We may not get to spend the evenings together so I may miss out on some stuff, but I think that till he is in school or into sports I am not going to look for another shift! But I am taking this all day by day! We shall see! As we start day 3 of the new schedule! Yea!

Ok I forgot to post a few new photos!

2009-03-21T22:48:00.003-05:00

Grayson in his car at the kids soccer game

Aiden is running with the soccer ball -- YEAH!

Pow-wow with the coach post game!

My handsome man in his hot red car!

Sleeping baby! He is SO relaxed!

Well I forgot that I wanted to put up a few pics from today! Some are from Aiden's first soccer game of the season! Avery also played his first game, but I went to Aiden's with mom! Aiden really is getting pretty good with the ball when he is not goofing off!

Also, as me being the good mom that I am I am always taking pics of my sleeping baby! I know I really should not, But he looks so sweet when he is asleep! I love the last pic!

Just got home

2009-03-21T22:33:00.002-05:00

Well I just got home from Mommy Night Out... and I had a BLAST! I am a dork I know, But since Grayson was born in July I have been out 2 times without him! Don't get me wrong... I LOVE my little man and would not trade a single second away from him cause I LOVE every second with him, BUT I also enjoy adult conversation that I am not battling an 8 month old little man over! I mean to be able to eat a meal without Grayson grabbing at my plate or deciding that he is hungry or tired and just enjoy the meal! It was just what the doctor ordered! So THANKS MOM for watching Grayson so I could go out with 3 awesome moms tonight! I know that it was rough on my mom after our week of vacation but I am so glad I went! I was very nervous going into tonight as I had only met 2 of the ladies once before, and well I still find it hard to meet new people! I am not like my sister that can be friends with anyone before I have even met them! I wish I didn't have the fear of people not liking me or believing that everyone hates me... yes I will just go eat worms... wow that brings up my childhood... can you believe I was a dork with no friends growing up... ha ha! But it is true... I have always been one with 2-3 friends at a time... but not true friends... so as I grow up I am trying to change that and grow up and make new friends.... people I am not afraid to talk to! But back to my original thought! I am so glad that I went to MNO because I was able to meet moms like me that have kids that are older than Grayson, but they have been in my shoes before and have really assured me that I am not ruining my child by letting him nurse when he wants, and letting him sleep in bed with me! And I can't wait to get to know these ladies even better over time! I know I can be a bit crazy and I am ok with that I am trying to grow and be a better person, and I am so glad that this group found me! They seem like really great ladies, and I can't wait to get to know all of them even more!

Hope everyone has a great night!

Back from Vacation

2009-03-20T11:27:00.004-05:00

The 3 Monsters....

Me and My HANDSOME man!

The boy in the flowers!

The first time in the pool!

The handsome man driving his car!

Well we are back! Camping was SO much fun... but we are SO happy to be home! Grayson was not too big of a fan of sleeping while there... so that meant mom got very little sleep! But we had so much fun... one day we spent at camp and went swimming for the first time! He didn't really know what to do... and ended up passing out in the pool! The next day we went to the Blue Bell Factory to try to take the tour, but the line was a few hours long SO we ended up just watching a video tour while eating ice cream! Blue Bell is the BEST ice cream EVER! Then we went to town and there was not much to do! The town of Brenham is pretty much closed on Wednesdays! So we had passed a few bluebonnet patches on the way so we wanted to get Grayson and the other 2 monsters matching outfits SO we went to the local outlet mall! Then we ended up not getting back to camp till late! The next day we were supposed to get an early start... and at 11 we were leaving the house to go back out and find bluebonnets again! Then Thursday was another lazy day at camp! We tried to go swimming again, BUT the water was TOO cold! So we went back to camp after Grayson pooped all over himself... and took a nap! While he napped I got some re-packing done as we had to head home last night cause there was a chance I had to go back to work today... YUCK to work! Well we stuck around camp and did stuff there and finally got all packed at 9 pm and headed home! We got back home last night at 1030 ish... and Grayson had his first good nights rest all week! Please enjoy the pics!

So Tired

2009-03-10T21:07:00.003-05:00

Well we ended up going to the doctor on Saturday after Grayson ran a fever of 103 for 3 days and his ear infection is back! We did not even make it a week without an ear infection! So we go back in 2 weeks for a re-check and if he still has the infection I am requesting a referal to an ENT to see if he can get tubes! I hate to do it cause he is SO young but he has had this silly ear infection since January at his 6 month appointment and he is about to be 8 months! That is 2 months and WAY too long! So I would like to be pro-active and get them before it gets any worse! Plus when he gets the ear infection he really goes ALL out! He runs the crazy high fever and even if I take him the day he starts running the fever his ears are SO inflammed! This last time the doctor said that his ear was so infected it was oozing! GROSS! My son really knows how to go 0-60 in no time!

Well it looks like we are also getting out 3rd tooth! It is not the one I thought it would be! It normally would be one of the top 2 front but it is on top it is just the one on the side! But it still has not fully broken through so we will see which one makes the appearance first!

Well on a side note daycare is going ok! I really like a few things, like being able to work my whole shift without feeling guilty cause my sister needs to do something! BUT there are some things that they just drive me CRAZY over! Like I am a good mom that always has the kid dressed super cute no matter what and he will always match! Well last week on picture day I sent the cutest outfit for them to change him into after breakfast, well what do they put him in... a onesie! No pants just the shirt! I NEVER Ever do that I ALWAYS put him in pants! Especially for pictures! Well the pictures turned out cute but I wish he would have worn what I sent him to be put in! And I have tried to talk to them and I feel like I am talking to a wall! Oh and after I threw my little hissy fit about the onesie this morning I sent 2 outfits in case he had an accident, one was a short and shirt set, the other was a romper, well what do they put him in the shorts and the romper... and they did not even match! Can you say my son looked like the BIGGEST Dork EVER! I mean a romper is an outfit in it self! Oh I just don't know what to do with them! They drive me nuts!

Well only 3 days till our vacation starts! Yea we are so ready!

Crawling around

2009-03-01T20:13:00.004-06:00

Well I finally got it on video of him on the move! I have been trying to do it for a while but every time I think about it my camera is dead or he stops moving! I hope yall enjoy! This was taken today at the Little Gym! It was so much fun! They had an open house to show the place off and I can't wait till he is a few months older so that we can try out a class on Saturdays! I wish I was a stay at home mom so I could do one now with him but that is not in the cards so I will wait till he is 10 months old and we will do the Saturday class! Grayson is getting so big I can't believe it!

First Hair Cut!

2009-02-28T20:47:00.003-06:00

Well I have been getting pretty fed up with Grayson's hair the last few weeks and the last time I went and got his pictures done it was pretty crazy so I decided not to wait till he was a year like I had planned and I went to get his hair cut! He was such a big boy! He sat in the little car and got his hair cut like a little boy! He looks great and like a little man! He no longer has his little professor comb over which is kinda nice, but he looks so much older now! The lady that cut his hair really didn't know what to do with his hair! He has a head full of cow-licks and they are pretty bad, but the worst part is the one that he has in the front of his head! Which is the main reason that he had the comb over! Well he now has the little boy spike hair-cut and looks so handsome!

He is changing daily and I LOVE IT!!! He is moving so much more now and is into everything! He is getting more of a personality and is showing his attitude! He is my spoiled rotten child but I made him that way and would NEVER CHANGE him!

Moving and Shaking!!!

2009-02-22T20:14:00.002-06:00

Well it looks like I have a mover and a shaker now! Over the past few weeks he has been working he way around in circles and trying to "army man" around the blanket, but I thought it would still be a little while before he would go a distance! Well Friday work was slow so I was being "Stalker Mommy" on Grayson's school's web-site to see what he was up to and to my shock my big boy was actually taking his first crawl across the mat! So even though I was not there, I was able to witness it via the internet! So even though I wanted to drop my work and cry and leave to go see him do it again, I was able to stay at work and wait till the end of the day and just watch he via the internet till the end of my VERY long day! Well yesterday he did not get much moving time and didn't really show his stuff, we were running errands and went to see a movie with Noonie so I thought maybe I had not really seen him crawl! Well today he showed his stuff! I was in the kitchen finally making his baby food while he played with his new penguin in the living room, and as I turn around I thought the puppy was under my feet and saw a little boy looking up at me and trying to climb up my leg! I was so shocked! I can't believe he is moving so much now! It is so funny to watch! He still doesn't do the classic crawl, it is still army like, but it is awesome and he can really boogie! Now he is not happy being still he wants to move!

I can't believe that only a few months ago he was so content watching people now he is the center of attention and moving so much!

Today Grayson Is 7 Months Old!!!

2009-02-15T18:35:00.003-06:00

Grayson Playing at Play Group!

Grayson passed out! This was after a VERY Rough night!

This is One of Grayson's Battle Wounds from school! This is where he got bit!

I Tried to take pictures of his 2 teeth! He really likes to stick his tongue out instead of showing them off! Makes it hard to take a picture!

Another picture of Grayson Passed out! He was borrowing my niece's pink blanket! He must have been thinking VeRY hard!

Well Grayson turned 7 months old today! Wow how time flies! I can't believe that he is 7 months already! It seems like just yesterday we were coming home from the hospital! He is getting so big and doing so much! SO many miles stones have been met and everyday I swear he does something new!

Grayson is now able to go from sitting to the crawling position! He is not quite into crawling yet... thankfully! But he has started to creep! He travels in circles! It is hilarious! I love it! He goes from sitting to flops forward, then he lunges forward to get his feet from under him and then he starts to make circles! It is great and so funny to watch! But he has really started to try to get around! He is pulling up on things which I really am not ready for! I miss my little I have to do everything for little man!

Well this week was also crazy in that it was his second week of day care! I am so glad I had it but with it being his second week of day care he came home with 2 "boo-boo" reports! It is when a child gets hurt at daycare! First at the beginning of the week before I even went into the class I had to sign that he got a bite on his arm! I was ok till I saw his arm and still 4 days later there is still a bruise from the teeth marks! Makes me feel so bad! But he was my big boy and took it like a man! Then friday when I went to go pick him up from daycare one of the teachers accidently pinched his skin with his paci clip! Made me feel horrible but he cried it out then he was all smiles as we were walking out! Such a big boy!

Well today we had a play date with my mommy group! We had a lot of fun! It is so nice to get together with a group of women that I can talk baby to and they are in the same boat as our babies are just a few weeks apart! And to see how big all the babies have got! Now they are all in a range of 2 months and all about the same size! Yea mine is the youngest but he is the same size as the 9 month old baby! Like I said he is my big boy!

Well all is well in mommy world! Work sucks but at least I have a job! Looks like my new hours begin after my vacation! Oh I am SO ready for vacation! Only another month! Then we are ALL going camping! Yea for family fun!

Well here are some new pics just to show what is going on with Grayson now! ENJOY!!!

Well

2009-02-09T13:33:00.003-06:00

Well I decided to bite the bullet and do my blog ready for St. Patty's Day which is March 17th... Remember to wear green!!! And I was going to do for Valentines Day but I knew I would forget after the event!

Well Grayson went back to the Dr today, which I was excited that he already had an appointment today cause last night we were up ALL night crying! It was horrible! I tried all the tricks then I just laid him in bed next to me put pillows around him and he would eventually cry himself to sleep only to wake up about 30 mins later and cry for another hour! I don't know if it is his top teeth or what! But it is driving me nuts! If we have another night like that tonight I won't be able to function at work tomorrow! Luckily today after his appointment I dropped him off at daycare and I got to take a nap! I am about to leave and go do grocery shopping and pick up his new meds then pick up the little man! I hated to drop him off at daycare but one he needs to get used to the crazy place and two I NEEDED a nap after last night!

Ok the doctor's appointment went well! Thankfully they are now back in their office, it was damaged during "IKE" and they just now have it all fixed up nice, and the office was is need before Ike... but now it looks like a new office! Well when we get there the weigh him in he is a whopping 20 lbs and was flirting with all the nurses and trying to steal the thermometer, he is all about all electronics now! We got into the room and I got to ask my hand full of questions... is this normal....ha ha ha! Well he was back there for a re-check on his ears from 2 weeks ago, his left one was looking good, but the right one was still red so he is back on antibiotics! Fun, fun! Dr. T thinks it is just from all the drainage but before it turns back into the gross infection he had last time he wanted to put him back on meds! The rash he broke out in a week ago is a viral or histamine rash that kids get after or during a cold and is just a way to let the infection out and was perfectly normal and it will heal on its own! And the crying all night long last night was just prob a mix of the drainage and his ear prob and lets hope it doesn't happen again!

Well during the appointment Gray decided to show off how much he loves to move and almost crawled off the side of the exam table! He really has impressed the Dr and me too! He is so active and his personality oh my goodness he is his mothers child! There is no denying that fact unless he is eating and he eats crazy stuff!

Well Food! We have really started solids now! He has had bananas (not that big of a fan) but will eat them pretty well, s quash likes it ok, peas ( HE LOVES) and sweet potatos (ate the whole jar before I could even really think about it! So he is well on his way to eating like a big boy! Also he LOVES apples! We went to Jason's Deli on Saturday with my mom for lunch while running the streets and they have apples on the salad bar, they are cold so I thought I would give him one to see what would happen he attacked it! It was GREAT! I wish I had my camera! But I left it at home!!! Well after he nawed on 3 and they feel to the ground I held one and ran it over his teeth and he thought that was the greatest thing ever! Me, my hands were covered in spit, but he enjoyed and that is all that matters!

I will try to post some new pics later! I lost the usb cable for my camera! But I am looking today while I try to clean! FUN FUN!!!

First Day Of Daycare!!!

2009-02-02T21:31:00.002-06:00

Well today was Gray's first day of daycare! And we both made it to the end of the day! I have to explain the day! I don't work on Mondays for now so to get him into the swing of class I went to drop him off for a few hours today! It went pretty smooth! One of the reasons I choose my daycare is because it has the camera system, so I was able to watch him and see when they put him down for a nap, but I also watched him cry and no one go to him! I know he will live even if he cries and it is good for him to cry some, but well I try my hardest to not let him cry! I know bad momma cause he needs to cry BUT Well he is my little man and I hate to have him cry! Well after 4 hours I went and picked him up and he was all in one piece and still all smiles same as always! Just to prove that he was happy there the whole time! The other nice part of the school is that one of my co-workers that had a little one 2 weeks before me her little girl is in the same class so we are able to lean on one another and watch out for the others babies when we drop off our little ones! SO that makes it a little nicer!

So after his first day of daycare he only took 3 naps all day that were all about 20 mins long and he really has not slept well all day so I am hoping he will be so tired that he will sleep great tonight! Especially since he had a rough night last night!

Oh how I miss sleep! Maybe when he is 20 and all grown up I will get to sleep again... prob not!

Oh well! I am getting used to very little sleep!

Just today

2009-01-29T20:06:00.003-06:00

Well I have to admit I LOVE being a mom! When I am having a hard and horrible day at work and ready to walk up to my boss and say "I QUIT!!!!" I am lucky to have pics of my beautiful baby to remind me why I am there every day even though I wish I wasn't! I have to say that before I was a mom I did not have this sanity person but Grayson is such an amazing kid even though he doesn't sleep all night and I am about to go crazy if I don't get at least 4 hours tonight I am still LOVE him! I mean when he cries I hate it! But then he gives this full on gummy smile that just melts my heart!

Well here are some new pics of Mr Man that I took tonight! He was being a silly boy like always! But looking so darn cute I had to snap a few pics!

The Week of Firsts!!!

2009-01-24T06:13:00.002-06:00

Well this has been a power packed week for me and Mr. Man! To begin our fun filled week we had our 6 month check-up and shots which are always fun and always make the little Mr run a fever and unhappy but he normally gets over it quickly! Well this week I worked a grand total of 6 hours on Friday after taking the rest of the week off to tend to him! And we had 3 Dr visits in 5 days! To begin after Gray's shots that afternoon he spiked a temp of 103 which was not fun and I didn't know if he was getting the cold the rest of the family had OR if it was from the shots. SO on Tuesday I decided to take off cause we were up off and on all night I was beginning not to feel so hot and if he did have the cold I didn't want him to pass it back to the kids since they were still sick! Well his fever never broke so on Thursday we end up going back to the Pedi and saw a new one since mine was not in and they said he had a virus but his ears and chest were clear, and to bring him back Saturday if he still had a fever, but they put him on some cold meds. Well, Thursday he was up SCREAMING ALL night long off and on every hour he would scream for prob 45 mins! So that was a fun night and since I was off all week I needed to go back to work! I still have not re-built my PTO bank from maternity leave... FUN... so I needed to work! Well Serah texts me at 12pm she lets me know that Gray had been crying and screaming since I left at 6am to go to work! SO I call the pedi cause I knew I was not meant to come back till Saturday but he had a new aliment SO back to the pedi we rush! Luckily my bosses were understandable OR they said so we shall see if I get a write up on Tuesday! But we get to the pedi go! So in 24hrs he is re-checked by the same pedi and now he has a raging double ear infection and an upper respiratory infection! The dr said ears can turn fast so we are now on antibiotics! Well as I wait for the antibiotics at the pharmacy Gray starts to chew on my fingers and what do I feel... A little tooth!

So this week he had his 6 month shots, ear infection with URI, And got his first tooth! Yay for things coming in 3's!!!! Ha ha!

6 Months Already

2009-01-19T14:55:00.003-06:00

Well Grayson is now 6 months old! I can't believe it! He is HUGE! It seems like he was just born and I miss those days, BUT he has such personalty now and is so much more fun I would not rewind time now! Well we went to the dr today and he had all those horrible shots, but we also had our weight check and length checks! So here are the stats! He is 29 inches long (had grown 10 inches since birth) so he is in the 95+ percentile, they don't believe in 100% at the doctors office so he is in the + category, Yay for my TALL son! His head is 46 1/2 cm which makes it in the 95+ percentile! SO with a big head I am hoping for a smart son! And he weighs in at 20 lbs in the 75-90th percentile not too bad! He is just big all over! Makes me SO proud! And he impressed the Dr with he has grown the 10 inches since birth and has over tripled his birth weight! Not to bad for a baby born 3 weeks early!

Well for milestones, He will roll tummy to back then get mad cause he loves his tummy so then he yells till momma rolls him back over! He can keep rollin BUT then he gets mad and he really has to want to go in order to do it! The day he turned 6 months old he decided he no longer needed the support to sit up! He is now able to balance and sit and play with his toys! YAY that is a big one! He knows his name and loves to hear it cause that means you are talking to him! Well he has started on oatmeal and rice cereals and next weekend we prob will start our veggies, I want to make sure he has no side effects from the shots before I start him on something new! I don't know he is just getting so big and is just the happiest baby! I am SO thankful that he is so happy but when he has been waking up at 2 am and is all smiles that does not make momma very happy!

Well, we have made it the 6 months and in another 6 he will be a year and how they grow! I just am not ready! I am loving being a mom, but there are still days I have no idea how I will make it another! I am so thankful that we have such awesome support from family even though I really try to do it on my own for the most part! I am just still thankful they are around!

Why or Why???

2009-01-11T19:58:00.002-06:00

Well this has been a very interesting week! First we started cereal last weekend which has been a lot of fun! I can't believe he is old enough to survive and need something more than the milk I provide! He is getting so big! Then he stopped sleeping! That has been fun! He used to sleep for at least 4 hour stretches, but this past week he has been up every hour to hour and a half wanting to eat! It has made for a very LONG week! Then we started at an at home daycare! I had interviewed this lady about a month ago and I thought she was great! Well he went 2 times and my sister had given the thumbs up and I thought yay I found a great babysitter that I felt Grayson was very safe at and was the perfect pricing and he was happy there, only to have her QUIT on me the second day! SO the hunt is back on for childcare! I still am not starting my new schedule yet at work and it looks like it may be delayed till March after my Spring Break Vacation... So I have time, but I am ready to have him somewhere that I don't feel rushed to leave work because I know that my sister has other things to do so I really need to get him! So this past week has been very trying!

I am just trying to decide if I want to put him in traditional daycare OR try to continue to find an at home care! I mean I know if I go the traditional route than they should not up and quit on me, BUT they are SO expensive! Plus everyone that I know their kids always are getting sick from daycares!

So, well I guess we are in the wait and see pattern to see what is going to go on!

Well also this is a big week for Grayson... on Thursday, January 15th Grayson will be 6 months old! He is getting SO big! I know many parents say it all the time but everyday I grow more in love with him and who he is truly growing to be! I remember when he was first born and how small he was and how fragile he was and how nervous I was in being a new mom and not knowing if I could handle him, now he is such a joy I could NEVER imagine my life without him! I don't know how I went 24 years without knowing him! He makes me the person that I am! Which is so now anything that I thought ever could be possible!

Grayson's First Food!

2009-01-04T22:04:00.003-06:00

Well tonight I did what I feared of most because it means that Grayson is growing up! Grayson ate cereal for the first time! I know you are supposed to start with a very small bowl but well I pulled out too much milk from the freezer so since it was going to be thrown out anyways I made 2 oz and 3 tbs of cereal to begin with... big bowl! And of course Gray wore half of it... but he ate most of it! HE LOVED IT! So my big man is growing up! At 5.5 months he is now eating food! I planned on waiting but since yesterday he stole a french fry and ate it... I figured he was ready to eat cereal! So here is a picture of the post cereal! Not too dirty! Ha ha!

This is my First!

2008-12-21T12:02:00.002-06:00

Well this is my first time to ever blog... or whatever! To begin I would like to say this is all about Mr.Man... Grayson Oliver Mathews! He is my world! He is the cutest little man that is just the happiest baby in the world! Even when he is so sleepy he can barely keep his eyes open if you talk to him he will smile! He is such a special little guy! Lets see... a little history! Grayson was born on July 15, 2008 at 10:11 pm weighing 6 lbs and 6.6 ozs and 19 iches long... he was my little devil child! He was born 3 weeks early and was in the NICU for observation for 5 days! Those were the longest 5 days in my life but luckily since my blood pressure was so out of control becuase of the pre-eclampsia I stayed in the hospital with him up till the day before he got discharged! So at least I was not that far from him! Well he was born small but he has grown into such a big man! He is now 5 months old and is 19 lbs... 27 1/2 inches... and wears 6-9 month and some 12 months clothes... he is really a BIG boy now! I mean the first month he was in new born clothes cause he was so small! I can't wait till we start solids to see how much bigger he will get, but we are just breastfeeding till 6 months then will slowly start food at 6 months. We are in no rush as I am enjoying having a baby!
Well, right now his likes are... jumperoo... his play mat... his mommy... and his paci! He doesn't really have any favorite toys even though the child wants for nothing... I think I have bought everything! But he is more interested in a blanket... I swear if I covered him with just a blanket he is entertained for a while but get him to play with a toy and he is bored after a few minutes!
He loves to take pictures! Or I love to take pictures of him... so I guess that counts! He loves when anyone talks to him doesn't matter what they are saying as long as they are paying attention to him!
He is not really rolling over yet but I am not worried! He can sit up un-assisted for a few minutes... and he will roll when he is ready! I think his fat rolls get in the way and he is such a happy baby... he loves to be on his tummy so why is he going to roll to his back... and he likes to be on his back cause he normally will look around at the fan or whatever... so he see no reason to roll! He does scoot by flinging his body back till he starts to move... he can move a pretty good distance!
Well that is all for now! Hope eveyone enjoys!