Grayson is One!

Our sweet Grayson turned one on June 12, 2014, and this past year has gone by too fast.  He is a busy boy and is eagerly discovering the world around him.  Grayson still has such a happy demeanor and is laid back compared to the rest of us!  If he misses nap time, he just takes one later or in the car as needed.  If we are busy helping Logan, he just watches and waits.  If a toy gets taken away from him, he usually just goes to find a new one.  We are truly blessed to have such a sweet boy as part of our family!

Grayson at 11 months (5/12/14)

Grayson is on the move.  He is not quite walking yet, but he is cruising everywhere.  He has started letting go and standing alone for very short periods, and he can walk quickly and steadily when holding our hands.  So, I think those first steps will be coming very soon.

Grayson gives lots of kisses and knows what a kiss is!  They are a little wet, but they are oh so sweet. Grayson is also a very good communicator.  He already says several "words" including Mama, Dada, Hello (Ello), Bye-Bye, Ahh-Oh, and Ball (Ba).  He points and says "Dat?" regularly, and I think he means "What's that?"  If he does not like something, he lets us know immediately.  If he sees something he wants, he also lets us know immediately.  He is a smart boy!

Birthday morning donut

The birthday cake to share

Grayson's mini cake

Grayson's monthly pictures. It has been a fast year!

It's not hard to tell that Grayson is a big boy!  His 1 year check-up revealed that he is still off the charts for height (32 inches) and weight (28 lbs., 5 oz.) for his age.  He is wearing size 5 diapers, size 24 months clothes, and size 5 shoes.  Luckily, his growth has slowed somewhat, and he has been able to wear the same clothes for a couple of months.  He loves table food of all kinds and gets very upset if you do not share with him immediately.

Grayson didn't like the party hat...

But the cake was awesome!

Offering to share

Our sweet family

We celebrated Grayson's birthday with a small family gathering.  He loved his cake and getting to see all of the family members who love him so much!

Bess

Mimi & Papa

Mimi & PawPaw

Grandmother

Aunt Alice

Uncle Jason & Aunt Holly

Such a sweet boy!

Grayson, we have enjoyed this first year of your life so very much, and we cannot wait to see what God has in store for you.  You are the sweetest baby, and we love you more than words can say!

Easter 2014

Our Easter was pretty low key this year.  We did not even take Logan on an Easter egg hunt!  He did have one at school, but that was the only one he participated in this year.  We have been so busy lately that I did not want to take up another day with a scheduled activity.

We attended Highpoint's Good Friday Service (on Thursday night) and then went to church at Highpoint on Sunday morning.  We were excited that my Grandmother came to visit and stayed with us Friday night.  She stayed with Holly on Saturday night, and we all went to eat brunch with Aunt Alice on Sunday at the  University Club after church.  It was a fun weekend celebrating the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.

Logan is 3 years, 9 months & Grayson is 10 months.  

Such sweethearts!

 

My 3 favorite boys

I love being these boys' Mommy!

The best picture we could get of Logan, Grayson & Graham

Logan and Grandmother read lots of books.

Even though we did not hunt for eggs, we did manage to dye and decorate them like monsters

My big boy is growing up!

Some of the egg stickers wound up on Logan's face

And this is what happens when you have a big brother with leftover egg stickers

The Easter Bunny came to visit!

Checking out his goodies

What's the Easter Bunny?

He loved the {empty} eggs most of all.

The Easter Bunny did not consult with me on this addition!

Grayson- 10 months old

My sweet Grayson turned 10 months old on April 12, 2014, and I took some pictures of him in the back yard last weekend.  We are so happy to have spring weather, blooming Japanese maple trees, and green grass!

Grayson has hit several milestones this month, including crawling and pulling up!  I thought he might skip crawling all together because he was not very interested in it for a while.  He enjoyed sitting on the floor, but if I tried to put him on his tummy he was not happy.  Well, one day he decided he would get on his hands and knees to rock (about 9 1/2 months), and the next day he could crawl across the den.  About a week or so later, he started pulling up on some of the furniture.  We moved into our current house in September 2012 when Logan was over 2, and we are now realizing what areas in the house need to be more baby proof.

Now that Grayson is crawling, I have to really watch to make sure small toys or other small items are not left out throughout the house.  Grayson put absolutely everything in his mouth!  I don't remember Logan being as bad as Grayson, but he will see a piece of fuzz, lego, thread or anything across the room and take off toward it to put it in his mouth.  Logan has been very helpful and will let me know if Grayson is about to put something in his mouth if I don't see him first!  He even takes it away and brings it to me.  He is a very sweet, helpful big brother!   

Grayson is also saying a lot of sounds and is saying "Bye-Bye" and waving.  It is so precious!  Sometimes I will notice him looking at both hands and waving them at himself saying "Bye-Bye."  He also nods his head when you ask him a question and says "Yeah, Yeah."  Now that Grayson is crawling, he and Logan are sort of playing together sometimes.  Grayson thinks most everything Logan does is funny, even if Logan is taking away the toy he just found!  Grayson loves playing with balls, and he will crawl across the entire house if he knows there is a ball to grab and throw at the end of the journey.

Grayson continues to eat any table food we give him, and he has decided he no longer likes baby food.  In clothes Grayson is wearing mostly size 24 months, but he can still fit into some 18 month items.  I have moved him up to size 5 diapers, and he is wearing a size 5 wide in shoes.  Grayson went from having 2 teeth to 6 teeth in less than a week, so that made for some long days and nights,  But, he is still pretty happy most of the time.  He was such an easy baby, and he is still fairly easy but is becoming more opinionated.  If we are anywhere outside of our house, he wants me to hold him.  He does not settle for anyone else!  I don't complain though- I love to hold that sweet boy.

We love our sweet Grayson very much, and we are so proud he is ours!  

My Sweet Boys

I have not had any pictures taken of my sweet boys since Grayson was a newborn, so we decided to take some ourselves last weekend.  I bought a new lens for my camera, and I am trying to learn how to use it!  We headed to Oaklawn Garden in Germantown, and it was a great place to take pictures.  Grayson is 10 months old, and Logan is 3 years, 9 months.  They are growing up so fast!

This is my favorite picture of the day.  Logan is getting so big, but he still looks like a little boy here.

He's got some long legs!

My favorite picture of G-man.

I just love those chunky legs!

My favorite boys.  I am that Mom who buys coordinating outfits!

They love each other!

Grayson- 9 months old

9 months old- 3/12/14

Our sweet Grayson is 9 months old!  We went for his check-up yesterday, and he was off the growth charts again in height (30 1/4 inches) and weight (25 lbs., 12 oz.).  He is also off the charts in sweetness and cuteness if you ask us!  

Grayson has started eating table foods, and he has loved everything we have offered him so far.  He has had chicken, ham, green peas, purple hull peas, homemade biscuit, and cheese.  He also loves puffs, num-nums, and all baby food.  He only has two teeth but somehow he manages to eat whatever we give him!  His gums are currently swollen, so I feel like more teeth are on the way soon. 

Grayson's favorite sound to make is "Ga," and we think he is trying to say "Grayson!"  He makes a lot of other sounds too like Ma, Ba and Da.  He also loves to giggle, and it does not take much to get him going!  He continues to smiles all the time.

Grayson had his ear tube surgery on Monday, and we were so glad the day finally came.  He was on three oral antibiotics and received one antibiotic shot over the past month, yet his ears were still badly infected when he got his surgery.  We are hoping the tubes will help keep him out of the doctor's office and off antibiotics!

While Grayson is still not crawling, he can push up on his knees and rock back and forth.  He still prefers to stand up while holding your hands rather than practice his crawling.  He wants to grab everything in sight, and it is surprising just how far he can reach.

We are so in love with our sweet Grayson, and it is so much fun to watch him grow up.  It is also fun to watch Logan and Grayson play together and become friends.  We are so very blessed!

Grayson- 8 months old

8 months old (2/12/14)

7 months old (1/12/14)

My sweet Grayson turned 8 months old on Feb. 12, and he is growing up so fast!  I continue to say that Grayson is the happiest baby because it is true.  He is so sweet and smiles all the time.  He has started playing with a lot of toys, and he always wants everyone else is holding.  Grayson especially loves playing with Logan's toys, even though Logan is not always willing to share!

Grayson can sit very well unassisted for long periods of time, and he loves to hold onto your hands and stand up.  He is not very interested in crawling, and I have a feeling he may skip it all together.  His legs are getting really strong, and he tries to take steps when holding on to my hands.  He does dive onto his tummy to get toys, so there may be hope for crawling yet!  I personally am not in any hurry to have another mobile little person in the house, so I am glad he is taking his time.

Grayson makes lots of sounds, including his most recent sound of "Mama!"  It was just as exciting the 2nd time around.  His favorite sounds to make are "Ga,Ga or "Dada," and he is constantly making a sound like a coffee grinder.  His giggle is probably one of the sweetest things I have ever heard.

Sweet brothers at the Memphis Botanic Garden

Watching Logan and Grayson begin to play together is awesome.  Grayson gives his biggest smiles to Logan, and he loves receiving attention from him.  Logan often tries to pick him up and hold him, and Grayson just goes with the flow even while being squeezed and flopped around.  In the mornings after Grayson wakes up, Logan often wants to get in Grayson's bed and play with him.  I don't mind it at all- especially if Brian is out of town.  It gives me time to get ready, and they are both happy.  Logan is such a sweet big brother to Grayson, and I love seeing them interact.  I hope they are always close!

Grayson loves his Daddy, too!

Grayson has started having repeat ear infections, and we are having a hard time getting rid of this last one.  Luckily, we have surgery for tubes set in a couple of weeks, and I am so ready for it to be here.  Even with all of his ear problems, Grayson is a pretty good sleeper.  He regularly sleeps all night (4-5 nights per week) from about 7:30 p.m.-6:00 a.m.  The nights he wakes up, I usually feed him and he goes back to sleep.  I know he is too old to be fed at night, but sometimes it is just the easiest thing to do!

Swinging at the Botanic Garden

Grayson's first "snow" (if you can call it that)

Grayson is eating all stage 2 baby foods, and he just started eating puffs.  I have started adding a couple of ounces of formula to his bottles during the day if needed, but he still nurses the rest of the time.  He wears size 4 diapers and mostly size 18-24 month clothes.  From our frequent doctor's appointments for ear infections, I know that he weighs 25 pounds.  While that is still large for an 8-month old, his weight gain has slowed significantly.  He has only gained a little over 1 pound since his 6-month check up.

I can never find matching socks because he is constantly losing them!

We love our sweet Grayson very much!  I told Brian last night that we did not know how much we needed Grayson in our family until he got here.  Now of course we would not know what to do without our sweet, smiling baby!