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.

THE POO SOARS AGAIN

So most of you know the story about Grayson shooting his number two across the room when he was less than a week old. Well our little man has managed to make his business fly high again. Tonight Justin was changing Grayson's diaper after dinner. Grayson regularly does his number 2 after eating. Justin unhooked the diaper and reached for a wipe. As he was in mid-reach our little busybody started to tug really hard on the front of his diaper. Well he didn't just tug; he pulled as hard as he could towards his head on the front of the diaper. As he did he lifted his little hind end just enough to pull the diaper right out from under it. Justin turned back just in time to see the big ball 'o poo flying into the air. It flew up in the air and quickly began a rapid descent back towards Grayson all sprawled out on the changing table. Grayson was completely oblivious to the fact that he was now a target as he was too busy victoriously waving his dirty diaper in the air. Fortunately, the poo fell just beside Grayson instead of on him and Justin was able to quickly grab it up before Grayson rolled into it. They both laughed hysterically, although I would bet Grayson was more tickled watching daddy laugh than he was at the actual event. He probably didn't even realize that he had just narrowly missed the big stinky splat that fell from above. This will be one to share with his prom date.

PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE

I know I just posted yesterday, but so much can happen in 24 hours. God is so good all the time and we are just singing those praises in our house this afternoon. Just a short time ago Justin was offered a job. If you read our blog regularly you will remember that he was laid off about 3 weeks ago, very unexpectedly. He interviewed with a company yesterday for a position that is very similar to what he was doing at Crenshaw. This afternoon they called and offered him a position and want him to start Monday. Needless to say we are super excited and feeling AMAZINGLY blessed. There are many people out of work right now and we entered this situation with no idea what the job market would be like for Justin.

I know that many of you, our family and friends, have been praying faithfully for our finances and for a job opportunity to come up for Justin. We can't thank you enough for standing by us and supporting us through this. We felt the power of your prayers every day, especially today.

Although Justin hasn't officially accepted the position we are 99% sure he will join the workforce again on Monday. Please continue to pray for us as we work through the financial ripple effect of having Justin out of work for several weeks and continue to pray for all of the many individuals that are still looking for work.

LITTLE RED KNEES

As Justin and I were getting Grayson ready for bed tonight I happened to notice how red his little knees are these days. Although he began scooting on the floor in early December, he has only been really crawling for two weeks and one day. He loves the new freedom to go where his little hands and knees will take him. His journeys have resulted in some pretty red little knees and serve as a reminder that he is doing so many new things these days.

I know that I often update on major things, but there are so many little things to share that are just as important. I thought I would take this opportunity to talk about all the cute little tricks Grayson has learned. Some of our favorites are his kisses for which his makes a lip smacking noise, the way he waves hi and bye always for mommy and daddy but likes to wait until anyone else is gone and then grants them a delayed wave, and the way he stands up in his crib after nap just waiting for someone to come get him.

Grayson is really enjoying meal time. Daddy and I are not enjoying the new way he likes to put his hands in his mouth after you give him a bite and smear what he has all over his face. He has gotten really good at signing "more", but we are still working on "eat", "milk", and "all done". Grayson also enjoys feeding himself much more than he likes to be fed. Right now that makes for a big mess, but I am sure we will appreciate it one day.

Grayson has also become very brave recently. He likes to pull up on everything, but he favorite spot to pull up and creep around is in the tub. As you all know, the tub is the most slippery place he can practice this new trick. Grayson doesn't seem to mind the danger and has even tried to let go and just stand without holding on. He is also trying to dive off of the changing table a few times and likes to roll over and get on his knees there. This makes for fun dressing and diapering times.

Grayson is making all kinds of sounds. At one point we really thought he was saying ball, but he hasn't done that trick again in a while. He does say "da da" a lot. Although I am not ready to give in and say that "da da" is his first word, he does seem to say it more when Justin is around. He will imitate me saying it to get daddy's attention and this morning he was clearly looking for Justin and was saying "da-da-da-da-da-da". We will give it a little more time before we declare it his first official word.

There are a few things that breaks Grayson's little heart. When he is sleepy or overdue for a nap, he does not like to be walked away from. This most often happens in the afternoon when he gets home from daycare. Since he is only there 3 days per week, he has never gotten used to napping there and doesn't nap well. He is really tired on the days he has been there. If you put him down at home and walk away he lets out the most pitiful, heartbroken cry I have ever heard. The same thing happens if he is really enjoying an item (napkins, paper, the remote) that he can't play with and you take it away from him. Poor Grayson!

Grayson got lots of toys for Christmas and has already learned just what to do to make all of them work. Even the little house thing he got. He can open the door, mailbox, and window. He knows how to make the radio, doorbell, and light work. We think he is very smart.

The reality is that all of these things simply mean that our little guy is growing more and learning new things every day. I am very excited about all of the amazing things he is doing, but it is a little bittersweet to look at him and be reminded that he was once just a tiny little bundle of baby.

TOO LONG

So it has been too long since I updated or shared anything about our little family. Things have been a real roller coaster with us and getting to the computer has been next to impossible.

To update, Grayson is now 9 months old! How crazy is that? I can't believe this year is going by so fast. I know that any day now I need to start thinking about how to celebrate his 1st birthday. For those of you who know me well enough, birthdays are a big deal in our house. Grayson has his 9 month check-up and as expected his is still considered "under weight". He is now completely off the growth chart at only 16 lbs, 14 ozs. We have to go back in 6 weeks to re-check weight. Other than that, things look great. He is developing well and the nurse and doctor both commented on how strong he is.

Grayson is now crawling all over and pulling up, especially in the bathtub where it is super slippery. He is eating all sorts of yummy finger foods and especially loves apples, carrots, green beans, and cheerios. He has become pretty attached to mommy and daddy. Justin and I had the opportunity to take a trip to Snowshoe a couple of weeks ago. Grayson spent 4 nights away from us (2 with Grammy and Pa-Pa and 2 with Granny and Granpa). He had a blast during his visit and got to spend lots of time with Aunt Bee and Peyton. I am sure he wasn't spoiled at all, but once we returned he was determined not to let us out of his sight. He has gotten over this a little bit at this point, but there are definately times when he doesn't want anyone by mommy. I can't lie, I don't mind those times. I have been blessed with a super snuggly little fella and I welcome every minute of cuddles I can get. Grayson is still loving all the toys he got for Christmas and has really figured out how to "work them" pretty well.

On the parent side of things, Justin was laid off a little over a week ago. This was very unexpected. We know that all things happen according to God's plan and we are praying daily that He will reveal our next step to us. We have been surrounded by the prayers and support of friends and family, which has only reminded us just how blessed we are. We are so loved by so many amazing people and that has made this recent life change a little less tough to swallow.

So I must end this update now. My little fella is in the tub and I must go take part in what is always the most fun part of our day. He does love his bath! We have a few more details to update on, but I will get to those soon enough. Stay Tuned!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Most people go into the new year hoping for some sort of change. Everyone makes resolutions to change something about themselves or their circumstances. We have moved into 2009 with tons of changes that we would have rather avoided. Grayson got lots of new things for Christmas which forced me to face something I had been putting off for a couple of months. It was time to reorganize his room and his things. It is now done and I made it through the sorting and packing away process with only a few tears. He is now big enough to pack away the infant tub and take a bath like a big boy, he no longer needs his baby swing or bouncing seat, and I packed away a ton of baby clothes that no longer fit. The reality is that he is growing a changing every day. He will be crawling soon and then walking and talking. Every new stage is a ton of fun and I welcome it, as long as it doesn't come too quickly.