WE MOVED!

For any of you who read this blog. . .We have moved.

I never could figure out how to make Blogspot look cute. Despite Beth's efforts to help. So I have relocated. You can keep up with our family at

www.littlegraybear.aboutmybaby.com

We may venture back to this realm sometime in the future, but for now I will blog at aboutmybaby.

Hope to see you there!

LIL CREEPER

Our family had a more than blessed Christmas. Grayson got to spend time with grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and his cousin Peyton. Santa was really good to him and Justin and I enjoyed speding the first of many Christmas mornings watching Grayson's reaction to the idea of presents. All in all this holiday was a great reminder of all the things that God has blessed our family with and an opportunity to remember the greatest gift of all, Jesus.
Over the Christmas holiday Grayson did a lot of changing. I feel like over night we entered a whole new era. He is now eating Cheerios, which he loves. He scoots all over the place and is ready to crawl any day. He loves all of his toys and shows incredible interest and attention when playing. Yes, I said playing. He actually plays with things now instead of just bangs them. He has even played his first game of catch with daddy using his new NC State football. He plays peek-a-boo, claps, and dances. I can't believe how fast he is growing and changing. His first birthday is less than 4 months away!!!!!! Where did the time go? Does anyone know how to slow this down?

YAY BABY!

I know it has been ages since I posted an entry. We have been a sickly bunch in the Caldwell household.

Thanksgiving was great! We spent the holiday in Greensboro with Justin's family and had a great time. I got to do my Black Friday shopping with Auntie M and Aunt Luci while Grayson spent most of the day visiting with grandparents.

Since Thanksgiving we have been really busy getting ready for the holiday and trying to stay well. I was sick with a cold, then Grayson had a cold and really high fever (103.9) which scared us half to death, and then I got strep throat which took me out of commission for an entire week. We are all well now and getting super excited about the upcoming holiday.

There are some updates for Grayson. We went to the doctor for the weight follow-up on the 2nd. He had gained some weight but was still only in the 5th percentile. Dr. Murnane was satisfied that he is at least staying on the same curve. Then he was sick on the 5th with the high fever and when he went in he was back under 15 pounds. Justin and I have decided at this rate he can still play football but as a quarterback and if he continues to stay so tiny he may have to be a kicker.

He isn't crawling yet, but continues to enjoy scooting around on hands and knees in his crib. He says da-da and ba-ba all the time. Ma-ma every once in a while too. He is loving his oatmeal, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, bananas, and squash. I would say the squash is his favorite. I am still making all of his baby food, which I really enjoy. It tastes much better than the jar kind and saves us a lot of money.

Grayson's latest development is clapping. He just started this last night. Justin and I couldn't be more proud. For whatever reason he found more interest in "Ocean's Eleven" on the TV than in all the toys scattered in the floor before him. He got really excited and started clapping. When I said, "Yay, Grayson!" and clapped too he realized what he was doing. Justin and I spent the next half hour or so saying "Yay baby" and "Yay Grayson" with Grayson clapping in response. Yes, we do have this on video.

WHAT A GREAT DAY. . .

Grayson and I had a great day yesterday despite the rocky start. On Monday evening Aunt Brooke and little cousin Peyton arrived at our house for the big day we had planned on Tuesday. We had been planning for weeks to take the boys to have Christmas pictures made and then to see Santa.

Like I said, the morning got off to a rocky start. Monday evening I noticed some rash and swelling in Grayson's "diaper area". By Tuesday morning it was WAY worse. Once I called the doctor and described what things looked like (I will spare the details for those of you who are already embarrassed for Grayson and how he may feel about this blog in 15 years) she said that I needed to bring him in right away. By 10:30 we were on our way home, running late for pictures, and with our diagnosis of an inflamed yeast infection. Poor buddy had to get a special cream.
So I know the title of this entry indicated that I was going to share something about a great day. Yeah, I am getting there. So, we get home and Grayson goes down for a short nap while I get ready for the day ahead. By 12:10 we were on the road and running only a few minutes behind.
The rest of the day was AWESOME!!! Right as we arrived for pictures it started to snow. Grayson and Peyton got to feel their fist ever snow flakes as we were going into the picture place. They both did so awesome for their pictures. According to the photographer, Grayson looks like "a little meatball" when he sits on the floor. What does that even mean?!?!? Brooke and I were so proud by the time we finished. After pictures it was time for the moms to get a reward. Off to Olive Garden we went!!! While having an amazing lunch (both boys were gems during lunch) it started to snow again! We were right by the window and had such a good time chatting, eating, and watching the snowfall. For those of you who do not live here let me say, we don't have snow at all. It was like 70 a few days before so all of the snow that fell melted as soon as it hit the ground. Only in NC!!!!
After lunch we went back to pick up the pictures and then we were off to the mall. It was time for Grayson and Little P to meet the Big Man in Red. Let me share here that by the time we arrived at the mall it was going on 5:00, the wind had picked up to about 70 mph and the wind chill out had to be around 12 below. You should have seen the four of us trying to get out of the car with diaper bags, strollers, blankets, and cameras. Babies were crying and all Brooke and I could do was laugh so hard it was embarrassing on so many levels.
We finally made it into the mall and to Santa about two minutes before his scheduled dinner break. What an event! Obviously we bought pictures of that too. I so thought Grayson would try to eat the beard, but he didn't. He didn't even really seem like he noticed a strange man in a bright red suit was holding him.
After that it was time to head home and time for Brooke and Peyton to hit the road. We really did have such an awesome day. Most of you know that my sis is pretty much my BFF. We don't get to see each other enough now that we both have little babes. I can honestly say that I will never forget Grayson's first snow and first visit to Santa not because we have pictures to document all of it, but because I got to experience all of it with my sis and little nephew. We are so blessed!

SECRET AGENT MAN

Well the crib mattress has been lowered. Grayson isn't even crawling yet and he has already attempted to pull a fast one. On Friday Grayson was taking one of his ususal naps. I heard him wake up, but I was in the middle of some work. Since he wasn't fussing and it wasn't time for him to eat, I decided to let him play for a minute. I could hear him giggling and cooing to himself, which typically means he has rolled over to his back and is having a big time. I actually heard him pick up his monitor which sits on the side of his crib and used to be very much out of his reach. On my way up the stairs I hear the monitor turn off. By the time I got to his room he had pulled up to his knees on the side rail and his leaning back reaching for the boats on his mobile. The monitor is back in place, only sitting a little crooked. When he sees me, he give a little smirk like he knew he was up to no good. I have a feeling I will see that smirk more and more as he continues to figure out all the things he shouldn't do.

THE NEXT STEP

It has taken me days to process the results of the election and to gather my thoughts on the siutation. Nope, our guy didn't win. We are in the minority of our nation with our political views. I am not mad, just disappointed. I was reminded by my mother-in-law that only God can determine the rise and fall of nations. God is also greater than any political figure and will never abandon His children or give them anything they can't handle. Although I am afraid for our nation, I am a firm believer that as an American you have to support and pray for your government and it's leaders. I will move forward from this election year and enter the next four years prayerfully. I will being praying for our new president and his family, our military, our children (born and unborn), our safety and security, our religious freedoms, and our business owners (small and large).

It is so amazing to look into the eyes of my little guy and know that he has none of these worries as a child. He doesn't understand the election, which was evident by the look on his face when we woke him at 6 am to go vote. He is even far from the realization that we live in America and we are governed by elected leaders. It is comforting to know that he doesn't have to know or think about what is going on in the world. However, my fear is that he may never know the amazing America that his parents grew up in.

EEEEE LEC TION

Here we are on election evening, watching those results come in. Grayson went with Mommy and Daddy to vote this morning. His first election. We were so proud. He even go his own "I Voted" sticker. He did not get his own free cup of Starbucks.

Grayson has been pretty fussy today. We really can't figure out why. He has been eating peas since Sunday and seems to tolerate them fairly well. He is eating his oatmeal and everything else is the same. It could be that he is teething, but who really knows? The poor guy can't even tell us what is wrong. I guess he could be feeling the stress of the election.

All of you who know us well enough know that we are praying for the election and the results. At this point our Senate race has already been a huge let down. I guess we have to remember that even the fate of our government is in God's hands and all will go according to His perfect plan. It is only human of me to have to remind myself of that over and over again during times like this.