11 Months - More Challenges

crappy pic from my phone. Sorry!

11 Months

*G's biggest accomplishment this month was taking his first steps! He's been impressing us everyday with his walking skillz. No joke! Crawling is still his most efficient way of getting around, but he's constantly pulling himself up and then walking to something (or someone) else. 

*Our bedtime routine has changed - He stays up until 8! This 1 hour makes a HUGE difference for me. 
Dan picks G up from Daycare at 5, brings him home, plays a little and starts giving G his dinner at around 6. When I walk through the door, Grayson is usually almost done with dinner. So I eat quickly, and then play with him until about 7:45 while Dan goes to workout. At 7:45 I start G's bedtime routine which is bath, bottle, book, bed. 
The past couple days we've been doing bath immediately after dinner because of the mess he creates while consuming his food. 


* He says a new word: UH-OH. Thanks Pepere - for teaching Grayson his favorite new saying:)
*He's started to really lunge for one of us, Dan or I, depending on his mood. 


random weekend pictures:

He doesn't like to be on the floor when I'm getting ready. This is actually easier then having him climb up my leg when I'm blow drying my hair. 

Saturday, we met up with Grandma and Pepere to visit the Lebanon Arts Festival....which took all of maybe a half hour to walk through. So afterwards, we headed to the region's largest high-end home show - Homearama! We toured 5 homes, while Dan backpacked G. 

He behaved very well, and was pretty tired afterwards. 

Loading up!

And if you didn't think he was going to be a climber.....here you go!

Ok, so we're done with the update - now to the challenge. Not my book challenge - (just finished book 2, woo hoo!) It's a blog challenge.

The past couple months, I've been trying to think of how I want to summarize our year with Grayson. Since there are many things I'd like to "go back to" now that it's been almost a year, I'm challenging myself to blogging EVERY DAY. 

That being said, I have full rights to just post a picture with a caption - every new picture brings you back to that moment, even for a second, and I'd like to remember some of those moments this month.   

So - wish me luck on another challenge, as I go back in time. I hope you enjoy it with me:)

Book 1 - Done

Updates on the weekend will come tomorrow - just wanted to update that I finished book 1. 
I started it Sunday and finished Saturday. 


I've already dug into book 2, so I'm making great progress. The first book was a very quick, easy, summer read and the current one I'm reading is pretty much the same. I'm about 70 pages into  "Something Borrowed" by Emily Griffin....looks like I may be hitting my goal sooner then I think. Fingers crossed. 


Honestly, the lack of internet/facebook-ing is really nice. I feel more peaceful and relaxed..yey for me! (blogging counts as reading. Duh!)


Anyway, I just wanted to brag on my success:)

First Steps and a Challenge

Grayson took his first steps Tuesday. Wow. 
I think we were all shocked right after he did it.


Every night we "practice" walking. You know, Dan and I would stand roughly 2 ft away from each other, we'd stand G up, and see if he'd actually take a step. Usually he just sits down after a minute or so...but this Tuesday was different. Dan was making this ridiculous face and noise - Grayson just got so excited he walked right to him! 


I was afraid that it was a once and done deal..but he's kept it up. Not that it's much, maybe a couple steps - but he keeps trying, which I LOVE. He stands on his own, takes a couple steps and falls...but if you pick him back up, he'll try it again and again. So proud of the little guy.


On a completely different note, I've given myself a challenge. A Book challenge. It's hard to believe I used to go through multiple books in a week, when recently,  I haven't picked up a book in a couple months (so embarrassed to admit that) I don't want to blame becoming a parent because that's a not so good excuse. I make time for other things, like being on Facebook, internet surfing, shopping, watching movies. I guess when I finally have down time, I don't want to THINK. Which is weird since reading really is one of the most relaxing activities out there!


I'm giving myself a goal of 5 books by Labor Day. After Labor Day hits, we'll see where I'm at and adjust for the next couple months. 


I want to make sure I'm setting a good example for G - we read to him every night, and it's an important part of our day- But he needs to see us setting the example. When I say "US", I mean ME. Dan's book appetite hasn't slowed down, so I just need to catch back up. 


Wish me luck. 


I'm going to try to post the book I'm currently reading in the side bar - if I'm able to make a list, I'll do that. That way, I can see my own progress.


So fun. 

Summer Loving

Happy Father's Day to the best guy I know:)

We had a wonderful Father's Day - and are about to pop in a movie/show to end our busy weekend. 

Because I uploaded the pics in the wrong order, your going to get our weekend...in the wrong order. Hey, it's nice to mix it up once in awhile, right?

We started our weekend off with a BBQ at John and Laura's - it was sooo nice to see all our friends. Everyone's been so busy, that it's been months since every family could make it.

I'll continue with Friday after I update Saturday, since that's where my pictures are at.

Dan's company picnic was held at King's Island this year. The weather forecast was a little gloomy, and when we first arrived, it was still sprinkling. Once lunch hit, the drizzles stopped and  we were able to walk around the park a bit and get Grayson on a ride or two. 

Unfortunately, he's still too young to go on almost everything. There were two rides that we WERE able to go on: The Merry-go-Round, and the train. So, we went on both!

Due to Grayson's love of being thrown, tossed, and flipped, we knew KI was going to be right up his alley, and he for sure loved the Merry-go-round. I'm only sad we couldn't take him on more. 

Below are some pics of his ride..

Dan's parents came with us, and told us to get on a ride of our own, while they showed off their grandson..so we did! We got to test out one of the newer rides, the Diamondback. Woah, my stomach was not pleased with me after that one! 


After the Adult ride Dan and I met back up with the parents and Grayson. 

He refused to look at the camera

Still not looking...

yep, stilll NOT looking...

It ended up being a lot of fun, even though we couldn't take G on much. He loves to just look around at everything, and there's definitely a lot to look at, at the park.

Ok, now back to Friday

John and Laura had everyone over their place for a BBQ. My it's so cute to see our little boys are growing up. 

Paul, the oldest of the boys, will turn two in July, Emerson is 18 months, Zach is 16 months, and Grayson is the youngest at 10.5 months. LOVE IT!

Paul, standing with blonde hair, Emerson with brown, and G sitting

Playing with Bubbles!

A happy momma and baby shot before the BBQ

Scout giving Grayson puppy kisses

So beside our busy weekend, we've been attempting to keep up with our very active child. 

He continues to amaze us with his energy. And this is coming from two pretty active adults!

Just this week, Grayson jumped out of his napper; he took a header into the hardwood, and put his two front teeth through his upper lip; he pulled down our entryway table; and he pulled himself up to the kitchen table and smacked stuff off the top of it (I literally caught the glass pyrex bowl in time). We actually didn't realize he could reach the top of the kitchen table when standing...now we know!

Speaking of standing...

This week G has been standing more and more on his own-but refuses to take a step. He'll stand for a whole minute, and then just sit down. A lot of times we'll catch him standing in his playroom. He'll go and pick a toy up, and slowly stand up with it.

This is it. And then he just sits back down, or kind of lunges/falls forward. 

I'm like "STEP", and I try to move his foot for him. ha. no luck. 

We'll see how long it takes for him to actually take his first steps. Wow, did I say FIRST STEPS. ughhh. 

Big Ouch! and Playing with Pepere:)

Oyyyy.

This weekend, Dan and I experienced a big first:

Let me say, that we have been skating on VERY thin ice allowing G (our 10 Month old) to occasionally nap in his Fischer Price Rock and Play. He sleeps perfectly fine in his crib, but sometimes we let him cheat and sleep in the napper during nap times. And yes, his feet do actually hang off the end. And yes, we most definitely still strap him in.

Anyway, this weekend, after I strapped him in, I went downstairs and mentioned to Dan that we had to probably retire our good friend the napper. All the while, reminiscing about how wonderful it's been to us. No more then 5 minutes later we hear a crash. 

Dan took about three lunges up the stairs to find Grayson on the floor.....

My child houdini'd himself OUT of his buckled napper, and jumped out. For a minute I was freaking out, thinking I had never actually strapped him in to the thing.  No worries, because when we looked inside the napper...the strap was still locked! He wiggled himself out and literally jumped out of the thing. Luckily, Grayson only cried for 10 seconds, we put him in his crib, and he finished his nap. Shame. Shame. 

The napper has been retired to the basement. 

Other then "The Big Jump", we've been enjoying the nice, hot weather here in the Cincy area. No joke, my car read 103 twice, and got up to 105. Good times. That meant we were in the pool three times this past week. It also meant that we needed to do some serious bathing suit shopping - if the summer is going to be that warm, we're going to be in the pool a lot!

Old Navy was the key to our bathing suit success!

I was very very pleased with the 3 suits I found. I went into Old Navy only looking for G, thinking they would definitely have reasonable priced suits for babes. Just on a whim, I wandered into the women's dept, and found a couple I thought were pretty cute. No more are my "string bikini" days. I wanted something that was a little more family friendly, and found two really cute One Piece suits, and one Two piece suit. 

Sunday, we got to visit with Pepere for a little bit! Below, he's teaching G how to throw a ball for Peanut.

First you throw the ball

Then you wait for her to find it...

And then she brings the ball back..YEY!

Z is for Zoo

I cannot believe that it's Wednesday night already...wow. 

Dan and I have been working on a project for the past couple nights, and it's taking up most of our(my) fun blogging/computer time. I like to post once a week, so I don't fall behind or miss anything that we've done -So I'm going to try to get this in quickly

This past weekend, Dan's good friend came from CT to visit. The boys went to a baseball game Saturday while G and I ran some errands (bought pool toys:) We plan on bringing Grayson to a ball game this summer, just to see how he does. We'll buy some cheap-o tickets and plan on staying for an hour or so. Hey, he may even last a whole game, who knows!

Sunday, we didn't really have anything planned, so decided to go to the Zoo! 

We've been wanting to visit for awhile, and the timing just never worked. Grayson did wonderfully! He didn't fuss ONE BIT. We were there for a couple hours, and completely forgot how big the Zoo was. We didn't end up making it through the whole park, and plan on getting a season pass next year so we can do it in spurts if we want.  

Here are a couple pictures of our adventures:

Someone started to get a little tired - he has the "grump" face on

We got to see a baby Giraffe!!

About 3 minutes after we got in the car.ha.

Our weekend in the CT

Memorial Day weekend – was so nice and relaxing. We stayed with Dan’s younger brother Alan and wife Michelle - who Grayson seriously ADORES. G has met Uncle Al and Auntie Meesh a handful of times, most recently right before Easter. He clearly recognizes both of them, and even throws his arms up to be held by them. I love it. I love that even though we live 700 miles away from our family, he is starting to develop a relationship with his Aunts and Uncles, and can definitely recognize them from strangers.

Grayson and Uncle Al

Al and Michelle were so good about having a teething (yep, we realized Monday afternoon that G had a cut a tooth!), whiny, drooly, 10 month old at their house. I am so grateful they were so laid back, and very cool about having us “mess” their house up a bit that weekend. We’ll be staying with them when we travel back to CT labor day weekend, so they now know what’s in store:)

We got into CT Friday afternoon and spent the remainder of the day at my mom’s house, where Grayson met his Uncle Gabe (my younger brother) for the first time. It was very sweet to see them together.

G and Uncle Gabie

That night, my mom (gram-cracker as my brother puts it) watched Grayson while I dined with my girlfriend Sarah, and SIL Michelle (Aunti Meesh!). Dan hung out with his brothers and some friends for the night – already a great start to the weekend!

Finally, Saturday morning rolled around and we were able to meet Grayson’s new cousin Felix. How sweet and adorable is he?!

We took a ton of pictures, of course!

I love how they are both looking in different directions!

Grayson: hmmm, what is this toy that poops and farts?

Poor Felix was not thrilled

Oh my, how you quickly forget the sweet “coos” and sounds of a newborn. Time truly flies, and all of a sudden your planning your babies 1st birthday. Gone are cuddles and in are the sounds of :::child throwing turtle out of crib for fun:::, :::child banging fists on wall:::, you know, toddler sounds. I could cuddle with a newborn all day. For real. 

I’m very excited to go back and visit Labor Day weekend- Felix will be a little bigger, and will probably be able to interact with G a bit more. For now, his parents will get to enjoy their little cuddlebug, and I will have to watch from far away:( 

After we spent a couple hours visiting Felix, we all took a drive to Aunt Donna’s house to meet up with more of Dan’s family. Grayson found a new friend in cousin Christopher, who I believe just turned 5 years old this April. He thoroughly enjoyed chasing Christopher (as much as a crawler can chase). I kind of wish Christopher lived a little closer, I could definitely use someone to keep G busy and tire him out somedays:) After a delicious dinner, we were all ready to go home for the night!

Sunday we woke up and got to visit my Dad and Grandparents

Oh, just chillen on Gramps

Giving Nonna Kisses <3 <3

These pictures are so priceless – I’m very lucky that G has been able to meet some of his “Great Grandparents”. They sure do love him. As Nonna repeatedly put “He smiles at me because he knows I love him” I die. again. 

That afternoon, we made it back to Al and Michelle’s for a BBQ with more friends and family. We had G meet his future wife, Lexi (aka Sexy Lexi) and they completely hit it off.

The two lovebirds

Lexi was born 5 days before Grayson, and they are obviously in LOVE. I could not get over their cuteness together. She is such a doll. Literally. She looks like a doll!

Hello, I'm the cutest Doll Ever!

Monday we relaxed for a bit in the morning, and then took a couple quick visits – to see my sisters, and then to meet some family friends. At our second visit, the McClintocks, we realized G was drooling kind of ridiculously. We are not strangers to the drool. G is a drooler – but this was different, he had soaked a shirt within a half hour! So I go in for a looksy, and what do you know – kid grew a tooth. One of his lower teeth had JUST broken through. So, as of right now, G has sprouted 3 of his 5 teeth in CT. Nice.

After our visit with the McClintock’s, we left CT. Drove straight through and got home a little after 2:00am. We got to enjoy a travel free Tuesday, which was very key after all the driving we had just done. The added bonus was that we got to visit Laura, John, and their new puppy Scout!

So that was our Memorial Day Weekend!

10 Months and a Sneak Peak

My Smiley Baby

May literally flew by, and I'm still trying to remember "what did he do this month?"

*seriously cruises around everywhere

*has let go a couple times and stood for 3-4 seconds on his own. 

*other then when we are away for the weekend, he is mostly on table food. We try to make it a point to make "softer" things, and if not, we usually have yogurt on hand. 

*favorite snacks are cheerios and veggie stix

*recently noticed a little bit of stranger anxiety

I don't feel like there's that much to update this month! At this point, unless he starts walking, he's mastered most of his milestones. Now it's up to us to keep up with him!

Now that G's 10Month's old, it's finally acceptable for me to start planning his 1st Birthday Party. wow. 

Here's a little sneak peek of G's Baseball themed B-day party:

Sorry! That's all I'm showing- I have most of the decorations ordered and am not so patiently waiting for their arrival. A couple more items need to be purchased this weekend (on Etsy of course) and we'll be all set. Since I showed a sneak peak of mine, I'd love to hear what everyone else is planning for their little people's birthdays!

Since I have another post I need to get up, I'm going to keep this one short. 

I leave you with another adorable picture of "you know who"

Quickie

Ahh, I so wish I could upload some of the pictures I took this weekend with all my friends and family..but unfortunately, it's going to have to wait. Forgetful me, left the the plug to the camera at work. 

I also have to wait on G's 10 Month update. No picture, No update.

All I can say, is that I had an awesome time back home. We definitely made the right decision to go back during the warmer weather. I heart BBQ's and relaxing outside, which is pretty much all we did this weekend. Oh, and I FINALLY got to meet my new nephew Felix, who you'll eventually get to see in pictures....that will be uploaded tomorrow! 

One picture I WAS able to upload, was the one below. Grandma B came back from her mini vacation in Gatlinburg with big boy pj's for Grayson. Umm. I die. I almost didn't want to put them on him, but they are seriously OH SO CUTE. My little monkey!

I love love love this little guy