A LITTLE SPROUT

I can't even believe that Grayson is only one month away from being one!!! This year has gone by so fast. I am really excited about the birthday party we are planning for him on April 18th, but I am not excited about the fact that my little guy is about to be walking, talking, and entering the toddler stages. Although with two more on the way, I guess I should be thankful that he is going to be doing some of those things soon. I don't have the arms to carry three babies.

I do realize that I have not officially announced it on Grayson's Website, but I am confident that I have be in touch with most everyone who reads these posts with our news. Yes, Grayson is going to be a big brother at the end of August to two new babies. He gets to be a double big brother. He doesn't at all realize what all of this means yet, so August may just bring a rude awakening for him. I think he is going to make a great big brother.

As usual things in the world of Grayson are changing every day. He has developed a new affection for Barney. We don't watch a lot of tv with him during the day. One because we don't want him to be a tv junkie and also because he has never really shown any interest. In the afternoons when he is home with me, we turn on Sprout after lunch for some background noise until Grayson goes down for his afternoon nap. He never watches it. It is always just kind of there. Well, last week out of nowhere he became completely captivated with Barney and Friends. Now every time Barney is on the tv he watches intently. I guess he likes the big purple dinosaur. Oh what fun for us parents!!!

Grayson is also getting around really well these days, even with the cast. He pulls up and creeps along the furniture just as he did pre-cast. He gets into everything, but fortunately he responds well to "no-no" and hasn't gotten into too much trouble. He has more funny expressions than ever. He has a curious, confused, happy, mad, silly, flirty, and a need a hug look. They are all adorable. He likes to dance and is getting pretty good at it. Wonder which parent he gets that from? He has also started to play well alongside other kids. Rin came over to play over the weekend and, according to her mommy and daddy, she and Grayson had a blast. He gets to see Peyton a lot and really enjoyed playing at his house this past weekend. Grayson even seems to enjoy baby school (daycare) these days. His favorite thing is the mini ball pit. He is the only kid in the class that can get in and out of the ball pit independently. He is the oldest. Grayson gets in the ball pit every day to throw the balls out one by one, which makes a huge mess. We told the teacher that we were fine with her not letting him do that, but she says it is fine since he likes it so much. So, that is what he does every day that he is there. It is a sight to see. All the other babies crawl over and wait for him to start throwing out the balls like he is passing out the most prized toy in the whole center. Looks like we have a Mr. Popularity on our hands.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!

Today, March 13th, is the birthday of the world's greatest dad (tied with my own, Justin. Grayson could not be more blessed and I could not be more blessed to have such an amazing husband. Every day Justin does more than his part in our family to take care of us, be a provider and a leader, and make Grayson and I both feel extra special. This is the 9th birthday I have spent with Justin and every year it gets better. God has blessed us in so many amazing ways over the last several years. I hope that, even though he has to work all day and the weather is yucky, Justin has the most amazing birthday. He deserves it!

Grayson, Justin, and I would also like to wish happy birthdays to Granny (Sue), Aunt "M" (Meg), and our friend Anne Britt who all have birthdays this week.

A BEAUTIFUL WEEKEND

I don't know about everyone else, but this weekend has officially given me Spring Fever. We spent most of the weekend outside. Grayson took three trips to the park! Since he can't get around the house as well as he would like, this weekend was just what the doctor ordered.

On Friday we met Darcie and Lisa at Pullen for some fun. Darcie brought balls and Grayson really like sitting in the grass and trying to roll the ball. He also loved the swings and ducks.

On Saturday Justin and I took Grayson back to the same park. He played on the swings again, watched the ducks again, and took a long stroll with mommy and daddy.

Sunday was the greatest day!!! We left right after church and met Grammie, Pa-Pa, Aunt Ret, Aunt "B", and Peyton at Pullen for an awesome afternoon. We found a nice spot in the picnic area with a table, lots of grass, and shade for the babies. We had an amazing picnic lunch. This was no "run of the mill" picnic thanks to Grammie's and Aunt Ret's culinary abilities. After lunch we spent some time lounging and playing with the boys in the grass. Then we were off to explore the park. We checked out the ducks. We tried to feed them, but they weren't very hungry. Then we went over to the swings. Peyton had not been in a swing before and that was a funny, funny sight. He was very nervous at first, but eventually he warmed up and loved every minute of swinging alongside his big cuz. After swinging, the babies and everyone else were exhausted. We decided to pack up and call it a day. Grayson is still napping right now and mommy could use a nap too. What a wonderful day and a great weekend!!! Thank you God for a little taste of Spring!

A BIG BOO BOO

Grayson has had his first major injury. I have heard all day that this will be the first of many, after all he is a boy. Grayson didn't ease into this getting hurt thing. Oh no, he started out with an injury serious enough to require a full day at various doctors, lots of X-rays, and a cast. Yes, you read that right. Little Gray Bear has his first cast. Maybe I should start from the beginning.

You all have read about how well Grayson is getting around these days. For this reason we have tried to be extra careful about keeping an eye on him. Last night we failed at that. Justin put Grayson on his changing table to get the bath water ready. I was in the room, but was under the impression that Justin was going to get him undressed. Justin went to fill the tub, thinking that I was going to come over and undress him. I had my back turned and when I turned around Grayson had flipped over to his stomach, twisted his legs around and over the side of the changing table, and was hanging there holding himself up by his arms. Well, that alone scared the daylights out of me and I yelled out, "Grayson!" When I yelled he got scared and let go. I ran over and scooped him up just before he hit the floor. He was crying, shaking, and scared. Hey, so was I!!! I was also thinking about how lucky we were that he didn't actually hit the ground. He was upset, but seemed fine. WRONG!!!

Fast forward to this morning. After a night of listening to Grayson fuss on and off in his sleep, which is something he never does, we began our day the normal way just really tired. While Grayson was nursing, Justin came over to tell Grayson bye and tickled his foot. Grayson cried. Justin touched his leg. Grayson cried out again. Then we tried to get Grayson to stand up on his leg, which is something he loves. He would not put weight on the leg and cried louder. I can't tell you how sick I felt sitting there thinking, Oh my gosh, he is really hurt! My first thought was, how did he hurt his leg? I mean the obvious train of thought went to the evening before when he tried to sail off of his changing table, but I caught him. He never hit the floor! At this point the how was not the issue, we needed to know what was wrong. I called the doctor as soon as they opened and we were on our way.

After a full day of a couple of visits to the pediatrician, four x-rays, and a visit to an orthopedic specialist Grayson arrived home with a sticker and a full leg cast. Yes, my baby fractured his tibia. He has a lovely red cast from the top of his thigh to his toes. We are still not sure exactly how he did it. All we can figure is that he either knocked his leg on one of the changing table knobs when he flipped his legs around or as he was falling. He was fussy most of the day, but once they got the cast on and he could no longer feel the pain from bumping or moving his leg he was a happy camper. He even did well with the casting. We were so proud of him.

The cast slowed Grayson down a bit, but by bedtime he was crawling around and just kind of dragging the casted leg a little behind. He has yet to figure out how to pull up with it, but I am sure it will not take him long.

We are very thankful that Grayson's injury wasn't more serious and after about 4 weeks he will be back to getting around cast-free. Until then we will allow Louis to call him "crip-crip". Even though he mommy doesn't like the term. Also, see the picture we included of Grayson getting his cast. Stay tuned for more.

SNOW BEAR

After a busy weekend with Granny and Granpa, Grayson came home to some snowy weather. It was great for me to be able to spend the day at home with Grayson after being away from him all weekend. I had a great weekend with my Boone Girls in Asheville, but I did miss my little guy.

This was not Grayson's first snow. His first snow day was about a month ago and he did not enjoy it. I tried to take him out to play in it then and he cried. Today was a different story. Grayson had a great time in the snow. We built a snowman and he played for a bit in the snow. I think he favorite part was sitting in his big wagon watching mommy put the snowman together. He laughed and talked the entire time. I have also added some pictures to this website so you all can see all the fun he had.