My Little Pumpkins

This morning we headed to the arboretum for Tiny Tot Tuesday and i was actually able to get some pictures of the boys in the pumpkins! yay!

 Grayson was actually awake!

Just chillin'

While I was snapping pictures of Grayson, Ryan had picked up a pumpkin and got himself settled into a spot for some pictures. He knows his mommy well!

This was the first attempt to get pictures together...but Ryan wasn't intersted. So I just got him.

My little G-bear

Ryan did this for a cookie...which I still owe him. 

Wish they would look at the camera...but this is progress

Peek-a-boo!

I ordered their adorable little shirts from Etsy and love them! I love dressing them alike so I gotta do it while I still can! lol!

Project 366 - week 40

Sunday, September 30th: Friend reunion at Hopdoddy Burger Bar

Monday, October 1st: Hanging with R at Tieze park

Tuesday, October 2nd: "brr, I cold" says Ryan

Wednesday, October 3rd: Grayson turns one month

Thursday, October 4th: Riding the carousel at the Zoo

Friday, October 5th: Playing with daddy 

Saturday, October 7th: Hook'em (in my cute outfit from Jessyca!)

State Fair of Texas

Yee-Haw!

Yesterday we took the boys to the fair and we had a blast! This was the first year that Ryan could actually enjoy it (we missed it last year and the year before he was too small to remember...like Grayson's age). 

I snapped this picture walking in...my little baby G all bundled up. He actually stayed up for quite a while. I think all the lights and sounds really interested him...perhaps a little overstimulation? I nursed him once and then he was passed out the rest of the time. Nothing like nursing a baby at the stat fair! lol!

 The weather wasn't all that great and Ryan had a major runny nose but overall it was a success. When we got there we stocked up on tickets and a game card. Ryan was unsure of all of the chaos and noise but he eventually eased into it all. There was a rubber duck game where you just pull a duck out of the pond with your hand and you win...but Ryan kinda freaked out and wouldn't do it. I think it was too soon...he still needed to scope things out.

There were lots of fun rides but he wasn't interested in going on them - he really just liked watching them. 

We did finally get him to go on one little train ride with Kevin and when it was over he cried.

I guess I probably should have gone with Ryan - Kevin's poor legs!

What's a visit to the fair without trying the food? Of course we had to get a corny dog and a turkey leg - you can't really go to the fair without doing that! The rest was just for fun :)

Ryan was a big fan of all the fair food. He loved the turkey leg and the corny dog.

The fried cheeseburger balls were pretty darn good! 

I also LOVED the fried Oreos - we got some vanilla ice cream to go along with it - per Ryan's request. 

Wow! Can you see why I haven't lost the rest of my baby weight? lol! Kevin and I felt pretty worthless after eating all that food but it only happens once a year - you gotta do it!

In between all of our food we played some more games. I thought Ryan would love this game since he plays it all the time at home. He did. And he won a prize which he absolutely LOVES. 

After some games we headed to the other side to check out the animals. It was pretty crowded - apparently one of the goats gave birth like 5 minutes before we got there and I guess it drew a pretty large crowd. Goodness. Ryan was a fan of the kangaroos. After the animals we were pretty tired so we decided to call it a day. Can't wait to take the boys next year - when Grayson can actually enjoy it!

Ryan and his prize piggy that he calls Blue. 

It hasn't left his side...he slept with it last night, ate breakfast with it and insisted on bringing it to school today. So cute!

Things just got REAL...

Ryan has officially been a big brother for a whole month now...and I think he is just now starting to realize that baby Grayson isn't going anywhere. I would love to say that Ryan is just loving being a big brother and is so helpful but that really couldn't be further from the truth. I know it's his age and he will grow out of it and one day they will be best friends....but for now Ryan isn't so sure about baby G. He was so great the first three weeks and then all of the sudden he decided to turn in to a little monster! 

The first time he "acted" out was at kindermusik. The three of us headed to music and Ryan was acting fine. Grayson usually sleeps in his car seat but about 20 minutes into class he woke up and wanted to be held so I grabbed him. Woah - Ryan was not happy. He kept trying to sit in my lap and would push himself back but since Grayson was in my arms it limited him. He was mad - saying no and then pointing to the car seat where he wanted me to put Grayson. The whole time I had Grayson out Ryan upset and super sensitive. He was throwing little fits and screaming. It is so not like him to do that....especially in music! He loves that class so much! When I finally put G back in his car seat Ryan ran over and said "Yes, Yes!!!". Oh dear. It has begun.

A similar situation occurred at the Zoo (but without the tantrums, thankfully). Basically I had to pull Grayson out of his car seat to nurse him and the whole time Ryan kept asking me to put him back. I didn't think carting Grayson around to Ryan's activities would be an issue but I think Ryan really needs some one on one mommy time. 

Ryan also noticed that Grayson is usually wrapped up in a blanket so he has started walking around saying  "I cold" "Brr" and wants to be wrapped up too. It's actually really cute and kinda funny so I don't mind it at all. Ryan does know which blankets are his and he doesn't really like to share them with his brother...but he does't mind if Grayson shares his. 

I try to include Ryan in things I do with Grayson. I ask him if he wants to help burp him, or hold him...which he always says "No". Ryan always thinks its funny when Grayson blows up his pants but he isn't super interested in helping (hmmm I guess I can't blame him). Ryan gets upset if we are playing with him and then have to tend to Grayson. For instance, Kevin always gets Ryan up in the morning and brings him downstairs. If Kevin then picks up Grayson Ryan will get mad at him. It doesn't last long...but he definitely notices when the attention goes from him to Grayson. 

At home Ryan has been extremely whiney tends to cry/scream more than he talks. He has always been a little more on the sensitive side but this is extreme. I swear if you look at him the wrong way he goes bananas. Like nuts. To the point where you doubt EVERYTHING you have done as a parent and wonder how you created this little monster? Seriously, we have breakdowns getting dressed in the morning...(since when did he start caring about what he wears???), eating food (you can't make him eat, he will scream if you start to come near him with a forkful), and trying to leave the house is a monumental task. Last week we missed music and playgroup because I didn't have the energy to deal with him! He is talking a lot more but still doesn't communicate that great so it's hard for us to understand what he wants...which I think is one of the issues. 

Oh dear...you know it's bad when your husband says (somewhat jokingly) "I like it better when he is asleep" and you know you kinda agree. 

I feel horrible that I just admitted that...again, does that make us bad parents?  I know part of this is just normal two year old behavior and a lot of it is a reaction to Grayson. I think he was ok for the first few weeks because we had so much family in town and he was still getting a lot of attention.  I also think Ryan has been a little under the weather...and he is working on his two-year molars. I am hoping that is the case at least! Our saving grace has been that Ryan has been taking marathon naps (3+ hours) and also sleeping in late.

Today has actually been a pretty good day so we are pretty thrilled. We had a great morning at the park and are taking the boys to the fair when Ryan gets up from his nap. He has refused to wear a jacket today...and it's kinda chilly outside, but whateves. We are just rolling with it. I should probably put Grayson in a jacket and I bet he will want one then...lol. 

As my Papu always says "This too shall pass" .. and I know it will. And I am sure we will have some fun stories to tell Ryan one day...and he will probably be embarrassed...but that's one of the perks of being a parent, right?

For now I will leave you with these adorable pictures of Ryan & Grayson....

He looks like he's pretty pumped to be a big brother...I think he is... he just hasn't realized it yet!

Grayson's Birth Story

Yes, it's a little late. I have been working on it for a while but kept getting sidetracked...story of my life right now. 

When 37 weeks past I knew baby M could arrive any day, however I didn't really seem to have anymore signs of labor so I was starting to think baby was going to take its sweet time. We had a busy labor day weekend and on that Sunday we headed to the Zoo (which I already posted about here). When we got home Ryan and I took a nap and I remember getting a text from my mom asking if I had any signs of labor. I texted back - no. I had no idea that in a few short hours that would all change.

It was about 5pm when I noticed the first contraction. I didn't say anything for a little bit because I wanted to make sure. I have no idea why I always start second guessing myself...clearly they were contractions.  Anyhow, when I told Kevin that I was having contractions we decided that we would get all our stuff ready but still go to the party - I mean we already had a sitter on the way and we didn't want to just sit at home and count contractions. We figured it would help pass time - and it did!

On the way out I had Kevin take one last picture....

So we headed over to the Sun's house and hung out with friends and ate some yummy hamburgers from the Hamburger Man - delicious! I even had myself a glass of wine but then started to get worried that they wouldn't give me an epidural if I had been drinking (even though I am pretty sure one glass probably wouldn't have hurt anyways). My sister-in-law bought up a good point when she said...Well they usually don't ask you if you have been drinking...ha! So true. Anyhow, I sat there on a comfy chair and timed my contractions.  Then about 10pm we decided we should probably head back home and make sure we had everything ready.

My sister-in-law took this picture as we were heading out...

As soon as we got to our car the pain increased 10-fold. Wowzers. I remember this...

So now I am having excruciating contractions and mad at myself for waiting this long to get to the hospital. It just happened so fast...they were manageable for so long then BOOM all of the sudden they were crazy!

We made it to the hospital around 10:35ish and it was EMPTY....just like last time. Checking in is such a pain when you are in SO MUCH PAIN!  They brought me right to the delivery room. I quickly stripped off my clothes and hoped in bed so we could get the show on the road.  I just wanted the epidural. I kept asking over and over. I was being really dramatic...I kinda felt like I was in a movie and I was surely playing it up but it was so painful I felt like I could act however I wanted. The nurse was trying to get my IV in but they couldn't find any veins. They couldn't order the epidural until the IV was in so I was getting so angry. FINALLY after three different pokes they got a vein in my hand and called for the epidural. When the anesthesiologist rolled in he was all calm and I feel like he was moving in slow motion. Goodness! Speed it up man. The nurses kept telling him that he needed to hurry...so he finally did.

Once that was in things were good. The nurse told me that I was actually 9cm when I checked in and if we hadn't gotten that epidural in I probably would be giving birth right then....and it would have been naturally. Oh dear! That's scary!  After a little chatting all I wanted to do was rest. All of those contractions had left me so exhausted and I wasn't ready to start pushing. Luckily since my water hadn't broken we were able to get some rest in.

Around 2:20ish the nurse came back in and I was worried that my epidural was starting to wear off so I wanted to go ahead and get baby out. So we did. I pushed four times and we had ourselves a little baby.

The doctor said and "It's a ...." and no one said anything....hello daddy! Finally Kevin realized they were waiting for him to make the announcement and he double-checked before saying BOY!!!

Kevin was able to cut the cord (for some reason they didn't let him with Ryan). Once the cord was cut they let me hold him right away. 

After some snuggling they took him away to get all his measurements and clean him up a tad. Once they were done they gave him back to me and we did some skin to skin.

Picture of the clock at time of birth - 2:51am

So much love for this little guy already!

Getting poked

I held the little man for a long time and even was able to nurse him. It's amazing how your heart grows for each child - love this little boy so much. 

I think we finally got moved to a room around 4:30am. On the way we had to stop at the nursery to drop   the little guy off so that he could get nice and cleaned up. They brought him back to us in the room about 30 minutes later.  So it was basically morning and with all the nurses coming in for different reasons we clearly didn't get any sleep. Luckily since he wasn't born until early in the morning we go a full extra day at the hospital which was amazing!

We spent the day loving our new little man!

 I was so excited for Big Brother Ryan to come and meet him!

First picture as a family of four!

Project 366 - week 39

Sunday, September 23rd: Cousin Lyla holding little Grayson

Monday, September 24th: First trip to the grocery store with Grayson - back to no space in the cart!

Tuesday, September 25th: Ryan and daddy playing

Wednesday, September 26th: Snuggling up for a nap

Thursday, September 27th: At the Zoo with R & G feeding birds

Friday, September 28th: Ryan dancing to Glee

Saturday, September 29th: The boys dressed up in western wear for a friends birthday party

Dear Grayson - One Month

(I am still working on my photoshop skills and will have to figure out how to touch up my background...but my time is limited now so I just wanted to go ahead and post this!)

Dear Grayson,

It has been a whirlwind of a month and you have adjusted to your new life so well. You are so easy going and happy! We love you so much and feel so blessed to have you in our lives.

In your first month of life you have done quite a bit including meeting lots of family and friends, surviving your first photo shoot (trust me, there will be many more),  moving houses, tagging a long with big brother Ryan to his activities, dining out at fun restaurants, running errands with mommy and hanging out with the family.

Our days are pretty hectic - not much sitting around, but every once in a while we do and it is so much fun to hang out with you and your big brother. I can't wait for you to start interacting more - I think Ryan will find that pretty cool as well. Right now you really like to look around, the fan is a big hit with you, and well, that's kinda it. You eat, you sleep, you poop...and you look around. :) What a life.

Anyhow, our days usually start around 7 or 8am. You wake up and eat. Sometimes you go back to sleep for a little while longer and some days you are ready to hang out and "look around".  We head downstairs to meet daddy and Ryan. I pump and then get you boys ready for the day. It takes quite a while...adjusting to getting two of you ready but also mommy is adjusting to living in a bigger space...with two stories. Up and down the stairs I go.

During the day you eat about every 2.5 hours. Sometimes you want to eat sooner and sometimes you try and go longer. The only times you go longer are if you are sleeping and I don't let you sleep more than three hours at a time during the day - I wake you up because if you are going to sleep that long I want it to be at night! It seems to have worked so far so we are sticking with that.

We eat, I change you and then try and keep you up for a little bit before you are ready to snooze again. Some days you sleep a lot more than others but I know it's just part of being a baby and growing.  I love it when you are awake and just looking around - checking out your little world. You are so cute!

In the evenings you like to cluster feed. Some nights it's a bit more aggressive than others...and I am totally ok with it. We just hang out on the couch and watch daddy and Ryan play. We have had so many people bring us meals that it hasn't been an issue with preparing dinner thus far...although I have been known to prepare some food while nursing these days.  By 8pm you are ready for bed....so I tuck you in your little sleeper by our bed and you are out. I am usually not too far behind you because I never know if you are going to be up a lot...or treat mommy to a long stretch of sleep. In general you have been awesome with sleeping and I haven't been too tired during the day.

Month One Notes:
- First restaurant, Mi Cocina Lakewood with my family (September 15) - 12 days old
- First activity, Kindermusik with Ryan
- First trip to the Zoo (September 20) - 17 days old!
- You wear 0-3 month clothes (we kinda skipped right over the newborn/premie stuff from your brother Ryan). The good news is that now your sizes align perfectly with the months so you should be able to wear all of his clothes.
- Newborn diapers
- Your eyes are still blue

Likes:
- Rock-n-play sleeper
- Puj tub & baths in general
- Warm wipes (we didn't use a wipe warmer with R but I think it's quite nice and you seem to agree)
- Being swaddled (we have just been using swaddle blankets and keeping your arms out. You seem happy)

Dislikes:
- Dirty diapers

I am so excited for the month of October. It is nice to be settled and be able to spend a little more time enjoying you instead of running around like a crazy woman. There are so many fun fall activities going on and we plan on taking you and your brother to the pumpkin patch, the State Fair of Texas, and a fall carnival. We will have our annual pumpkin carving party and you will get to celebrate your first Halloween!  We are also very excited that your grandparents are getting back in town - you still haven't meet you Grandpa (or Papa as Ryan has decided to call him).

We love you so much little man!

love, mommy