Christmas 2008

Well after celebrating three Christmas's (each one equally amazing), we are home and trying to get back to our everyday routines. We had our 2nd Christmas as a family on the 23rd, then we were off to Mimi and Pappi's for two days, and finally to Nana and Pawpaw's for three. We came home Sunday and just exhaled. All Done. I seriously don't think I got off the couch more than twice and that was just to pee! Kevin served me lunch and dinner so I didn't have to move. So sweet!

Christmas #1:

Daddy brought home a gingerbread house for us to eat, er...I mean make.

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Someone saw the candy and started bouncing off the walls. I think the sugar must have entered his veins through osmosis!

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Hmmmmm....we must have a little mouse that likes to eat gingerbread houses.

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We had yummy Pei Wei for dinner and then it was time to open presents!
Mommy got a new watch and pots and pans!
Thanks Daddy!

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Daddy got a new DVD player and a Wii!!
Grayson wasn't interested in opening his presents, he just wanted to cook for Mommy and Daddy.
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It was an amazing night to celebrate with my two boys!

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Grayson must have been envisioning sugar plums pretty hard because he woke up like this!
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We packed up and headed west for Christmas #2.
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Little Cousin Caleb was in the Christmas spirit when we walked through the door. He was ready to celebrate his 1st Christmas!
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Look at me Mom! I'm SO big!

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Grayson and Caleb sharing snacks:

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Mommy getting some love:
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Thanks Mimi and Pappi!

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We had stuffed baked potatoes and spinach salad and enough sweets to put us all in a sugar coma. We played "42" till midnight
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing and slept soundly till Christmas morning. When we woke up, we had yummy breakfast casserole and stockings to empty! Grayson made out like a bandit! Aunt Emily was missed terribly this year....we hope you had a Merry Christmas in Cali!

We had an amazing time with The Richards' and we were now off to The Moody's for Christmas #3!

We arrived Christmas night and Grayson had a surprise gift to open....a teaser, if you will.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing He would have to wait until the next night to open Santa gifts.
He was a pooped little elf so he crawled up in Pawpaw's lap to rest.
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The next day was filled with excitement! We woke up to an amazing brunch and then the whole family came over. Cousins, aunts, uncles, grannies...you name it!
We spent the whole day playing games, but not the kind you're probably thinking! We had a Christmas scavenger hunt where we had to drive all over the town acting out our list while being videotaped. We played dress up.
These two were REALLY good sports!!
Oh Christmas Tree......

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And Frosty
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We played some tennis and bowling
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Then it was time to eat!

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Nana outdid herself this year! We had fried turkey, ham, dressing, sweet potato casserole, corn casserole, and so much more! We were all lined up and ready for a feast.
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After stuffing our guts, it was naptime and then birthday party time. My brother's birthday was the 23rd, so we had more celebrating to do.
I can now check red velvet cupcakes off of Grayson's "I haven't tried" list.
Thanks Uncle Scott!
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We played some outside games after dark with our flashlights and then SANTA CAME!!!
HO HO HO!!!
Grayson went into some sort of trance with all the excitement going on.....he just wanted to see what everyone else got first.
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He opened some gifts with Daddy's help and then ran out to the front porch with the other kids to see what Santa had left him.............
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo PrintingA big boy tool bench!! It was just his size and had gloves and real tools and a tool box! He told Pawpaw that Frosty needed to be fixed so he used his new screwdriver on him.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo PrintingHe ran around the yard "fixing stuff".
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We played with toys and got ready for bed
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo PrintingBut not before eating some sugary snacks (Uh oh...busted again, Pawpaw!)
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Overall, I am just one happy Momma with one amazing family! I am blessed beyond words and am so incredibly thankful to our Heavenly Father for all that He has given!
From our family to yours,

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Merry, Merry Christmas to you all and have a very Happy New Year!

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

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Tempature's Rising

Grayson has had a fever since Tuesday. Nothing serious, or so I thought, just teething issues. He always runs a fever when cutting teeth and he usually has poop issues and grumpiness. He has had no other symptoms this week besides the fever and that wasn't even very high.

Until yesterday.

He woke up around 8:45 yesterday morning and could barely keep his eyes open at 10:30.....so I put him down for an early nap figuring he would sleep for an hour or so. At 1:30 he was still snoozing!!! Finally, around 2:30, he woke up grumpy and warmer than usual. He hadn't eaten breakfast so I knew he must be starving! I gave him a lunchable to snack on and he picked his way through it until he had eaten the last bite. He then had some raisins and fruit snacks and lots of juice, so I thought he must be getting better.

Wrong.

I put him back down at 4:45 and had to wake him at 6pm. He didn't eat ANY dinner so Kevin and I checked his temp and gave him a bath.

101.8.

He had no other symptoms besides the fever, no appetite, and lethargy. It had to be his teeth! The nurse said earlier that day that they don't see patients unless it's a 103 or higher.....okay, whatever. I gave him some Motrin.

I made a quick trip to Walmart and came home to watch a movie with the hubs and around 11:00, Grayson woke up screaming. I ran to his room, picked him up and knew something was immediately wrong! It felt as if he had a severe sunburn...he was SO hot! We checked his temp and it was a 103.9!

We packed a quick bag, took his socks and shirt off, and took him to the E.R.

When they checked his temp the first time, it was 104.2.

When we got to the room, they checked again after giving him Motrin AND Tylenol and it was a 105.3!!

They made us strip him and put cold wash cloths all over his body. Poor baby, he was so upset, he just clung to my neck. The Doctor came in and said they needed to take his blood, run an IV, and catheterize him to check his urine.

They brought in a baby straight jacket that was attached to a board and strapped him in so they could find a vein. Grayson was just beside himself! I kept shushing him and singing and kissing his sweet, little face telling him he was SO brave.
Kev had to leave the room because he couldn't stand to watch them catheterize our little man.

After all the chaos, Grayson fell asleep on my chest, while I layed on the gurney. We slept for an hour and a half waiting for the test results.

Everything came back normal. His urine. His blood. Even his white blood count. ALL NORMAL! They checked his temp again and it was 102.1.

Whew! It was going down. We were discharged and ready to go home by 2:45.

Grayson woke up today at 11am and is now asleep at 2pm. His fever is gone, but still no appetite. I'm waiting to hear back from his Doctor to see if they want to check him.

It was a very scary night for us, but we are so very thankful it was nothing serious. Perhaps just fighting off a virus that was trying to attack.
I stayed up till 3:30, just talking to God. Thanking Him for putting His majestic hands on my little angel. Thanking Him for answering my prayers and healing our baby. Praising His name for calming me in the ER so that I could calm my son. He is SO mighty and powerful and I am just in awe of His AMAZING GRACE!

Please ask God to continue to watch over him, we are so incredibly lucky that he is better. In the back of my mind, I can't help but to keep wondering why this happened. Why such a high fever and no other symptoms???

He does have all of his teeth now, except for his two year molars. WOO HOO!

Not So Sweet 16

Grayson turned 16 (months) and the very next day turned angry. Who knew he would suddenly grow a little temper with little horns and a tail? A red tail. Hot to the touch with a giant spade smashing around, knocking everything over.

Okay okay, so it isn't that bad. He's no spawn of Satan, just an angel turned the wrong way. Upside down and backwards.

Our little tantrum-war goes something like this:

ROUND ONE:

Mom
VS Grayson


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Mom: "Time to change your diaper!"

Grayson: Legs start kicking, arms start flailing!

Mom: "Come on, dude! You have a stinky butt and I have to change it because I'm your Mom and that's what I do!"

Grayson: (a little annoyed) Lays down but still kicks legs violently.

Mom: "Okay, fine. Be still for just one more.....NO GRAYSON!!!! We don't grab our diaper and try to throw it at Mommy's face! That's SO not nice!"

Grayson: (standing and jumping .5 seconds later, naked from the waist down) AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!

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Mom: "Do you need a nap, Mister? I think someone still has his cranky pants on and needs to go night night"(gentley lays him down in the crib and sneaks away through hysterical crying)

Five minutes later after pacing and holding my hands over my ears and almost crying from the guilt of leaving my screaming child alone in his crib...

Grayson: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHBLOODYMURDERAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Mom: (crying) I can't bear another minute of this!!!!

Grayson: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHCOMEGETMEYOUCRAZYLADY!AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Mom: (running to his bedroom so his head doesn't fall off from crying) "I'm coming, Bubby! I'm right (busts door open) here."

Grayson: (Stops crying and smiles, laughs and holds arms up) "Mim!"*

Mom: "You are such a fake! I don't even see tears. No Mims! Psh, whateva, I'm outta here. Sleep tight." (walks out)

REPEAT X 5 until...

Grayson: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHI'LLTEACHYOUTOLEAVEMEHEREALONE! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Mom: "You win. You SO win." (giving him an M&M and laying him back down)

Grayson: Zzzzzzzzzzz (Out like a light)

Grayson: 1
Mom: 0

ROUND TWO:

Mom
VS Grayson



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Mom: Goooooodnight nappy-face!

Grayson: Dibbadibbadooooooooo Dibbbb Dibbb Duppdiibbbbba Dooooo.

Mom: Love you too! (creeps out of room)

Grayson: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH x infinity

Mom: (goes into my room with a magazine and reads about whatever new diet is happening in VOGUE. Cries because I cannot afford to wear head to toe Chanel around the house all day. Walks back in the kitchen greeted by light-whimpers. Thinks, "yes. I can handle light-whimpers." Handles light-whimpers until SILENCE...)

...tip-toes into Grayson's room to find him dead asleep like this:

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Hunched over like a drunk during naptime and I had won. BY GOD I HAD WON! I gave myself a high-five and whispered very quietly...


"...Woo Hoo!"

Current Score:
Grayson: 1
Mom: 1

* Mim = m&m (I'm not sure how to make this obsession stop. He knows where the m&ms are hidden and will walk to the cabinet and point saying, "Mim, Miiiiim" untill he gets one.
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(to be continued)

Happy "Birthday" Baby

Grayson Michael,

Sixteen months. You are sixteen months old today.
Can you believe it? You have accomplished so much in your little life!

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You are obsessed with parts and pieces, rather than whole toys. You love to climb inside things, on things, around things and down things. You love to squeal at puppies and birds and airplanes and hollar at me and Daddy. You are a wild man at bath time, bed time, play time, any time. You give the sloppiest kisses, the biggest hugs and are the best cuddle bug.

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I love that you can sit on the couch and watch an entire episode of Wheel of Fortune and scarf down half a box of Cheez Its with me. My little dude. You are happiest with a bowl of Cheerios in the morning and you eat it with a spoon now, just like a big boy!

You're OBSESSED with the kitchen cabinets and drawers, the fridge, dishwasher, clothes dryer, and the shower (especially when I’m in it!) but my personal fav has to be the toilet. Ugh. Why the fascination? I mean I get it, there’s a lid, it bangs (loudly!) when you lift it and let gravity plunk it down, there’s water, there’s a lever thing that makes the best noise ever when you yank it, and there’s a random black hole, but. Come. On. It's a race to see who can get to the seat first … Mommy who has to pee (really, really badly) or Grayson who wants to play. Well, at least I burn a calorie or two in the Great Potty Race of 2008.

Hmm, the next amazing Olympic sport?

Since you have arrived, our lives have never been more chaotic, more crazed, more full of messes and stenches and stashes of stuff. But it has also never been more blessed, more full, more perfect, more pure. And Daddy and I thank God everyday for our precious little madman who makes us laugh like no other, makes me cry like no other, makes us love like no other, makes us live like no other.

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Happy, happy "birthday," baby. You are our light, our love, our life.