Play date

This past week Mary asked me if she could borrow Grayson for a play date. How cute is that? Terry (Whitney's MIL) has been watching Dominic during the month of January because Whitney went back to work. Anyhow, they wanted to arrange a little play date to get the boys together.

Tuesday ended up working out perfectly for everyone. Ryan was starting gymnastics at ASI so I brought Grayson over to Mary's and then the two of us headed to the gym. When we were done we got back to Gigi's and hung out with everyone for a little while.

Dominic and Gray are still adorable. The grandma's measured them - Grayson is 1/2inch taller and 15oz heavier...which doesn't seem like much but I think you can really tell!  Grayson is quite the chunk. Dominic loves to lay on his back and play with his feet - he is super flexible! Grayson hasn't quite discovered his feet yet - he won't stay on his back long enough!

Look at Dom with those feet!

And the rollover...

Happy babies!

Building Vandy - Updates

So over the past month they have been making progress on our house - but not the exciting visual kind. Our house basically has looked the same for about two months now. They have been working on plumbing and electrical....you know, the actual important stuff. Kevin also met the guys from Starlight over at the house to discuss our wants for tv and audio (which all needs to be wired at this time). We are also interested in doing the lighting system and surveillance system, so they took care of that as well. While all this has been going on we have been working on finalizing our lighting, tile and countertop selections.

It was right around the holidays when Kevin and I started looking at tile. Luckily we have similar taste and selecting the tile we relatively easy. Kevin actually stopped by Daltile one Friday afternoon on his way home from a work trip and picked up some samples. The next Monday I went back and met with our builder and an associate to pick everything out.  I think the master bathroom was the only area that we knew what we wanted from the start and haven't changed out selection at all. For the upstairs guest and kids bathrooms we are doing subway tiles with mosaic accents in the showers. Originally we had selected octagon and dot flooring but in the end changed it because it was a little too traditional for our taste. We ended up doing gray 12x24 tile in the boys and a shimmery white in the guest. I am pretty excited about it and can't wait to see it all!  The last space we needed to make selections for is the downstairs guest bath which also doubles as the powder room...so basically the one bathroom that everyone will see. Because of that we wanted to do something fun and different.

Our original inspiration was this bathroom that I found on Houzz:

Contemporary Bathroom design by New York General Contractor Prestige Custom Building & Construction, Inc.

After we had made selections I kept second guessing our decisions on this room. I was worried about how it would turn out and if the gray and brown might be too dull.  Originally I had thought that the stone would provide some warmth to the room, but the more I thought about it I worried the overall feeling was a little too cold/sterile for our taste. At the last minute we decided to change it up a little bit and I am super excited about our new selections. My new inspiration is from this picture (from Houzz)  that my mom sent me:

Modern Bathroom design by Austin Design-build Triton Austin-Construction Professionals

I would LOVE to do an entire wall with mosaic tiles but it would cost about $2k with the mosaic that we selected! Yowsers! So we will just be doing accents.

I am so happy to finally have all the bathrooms finalized (for the most part). It is a sense of relief/accomplishment! I can't wait to see it all come together.

Earlier this week we met with our builder to go over all of the built-ins. It's so great to go room by room and design the cabinets/drawers exactly the way you want them! I cannot wait to move in and get everything organized! We made some adjustments to the original sketches from the cabinet company -- now they will make tweaks and send over the final costs associated with it. From there we make any additional changes and then they are finalized....and will come to life!

This week they will start the dry wall! Yay for walls!

Houston

Last week Kevin was traveling for work and for a bachelor party so I packed up the boys and we headed south to Houston! My mom is awesome and she flew to Dallas so that she could drive with us to Houston - isn't she the best? I would not have been able to do it without her - it's just too hard with two kiddos! (Really, its the young one that makes it difficult because we have to stop and eat.) We are lucky to have a Yiayia that loves us and wants to see us that much! The trip down wasn't bad. I sat in the back between the two of them and they actually each took a two hour nap. When Ryan woke up he played with the iPad and I entertained Grayson until we had to stop so I could feed him. He was definitely ready to be out of his car seat by the end... but we made it so we were happy :)

The weather in Houston was yuck - although I am not sure it was much better back in Dallas. It rained nonstop the first two days we were there so we had a lot of snuggle lounge time (which was made better by having Yiayia and Uncle Steve around).  The first morning we were there I took the boys over to a friends house for a little play date. 

I didn't get a picture of Ryan and his friend Holt (they are only four days apart) but I got these little dudes - Grayson  and Jett (they are two weeks apart). Shea and I went to the same high school but never actually hung out until now - our moms have been friends forever though! I love having play dates and talking with mommies - and her two kiddos are adorable and so sweet. 

Ryan loved hanging out in Houston. He loved it when Uncle Steve came home from work and would follow him around for the rest of the evening. Every night he was so excited to feed Macy! He would also fill Bobs dish up, even though it usually didn't need it. 

Another big change was that Ryan slept on a "Big Boy" bed...kinda. I thought I bought a toddler size air mattress but it was actually a twin - so a little larger than I planned. I got him Mickey mouse bedding so he would be excited - and he was. He loved the idea of being in the big boy bed which was pretty exciting. THe first night he got up about 10 times and opened the door.  I just stood outside of it and every time he peeked out I told him to go back and he did. Finally he gave up and went to bed. The next night he only got up three times, and then after that he just went straight to bed. The only downfall was that he did fall off the bed in the middle of the night and would cry. Not because it hurt, but I think because he was scared. Anyhow, it ended up kinda being a pain for me because I was up with Grayson and then in between those times Ryan would wake me up. Goodness. I ended up borrowing Mks pack n' play so that Ryan could just sleep in that...which worked perfectly. We plan to move him to his big boy bed in our new house so hopefully by that time Grayson will be sleeping though the night!

When the weather finally cleared up on Thursday we took the boys out for a morning jog and we also stopped at the park. Ryan had so much fun running around chasing Yiayia at the park. They played hide and seek and he giggled his little heart out. 

On Friday, MK took me to her Spin class that she is obsessed with. Then later we had a big ol gathering at her house and I got to see more of my Houston friends. I finally got to meet Pierson! He is adorable!

Swinging on the Aston's new swing set! It fits everyone!

Little miss Parker holding Grayson

Tiff feeding Jacqueline her first food - prunes! She was loving them!

Pierson and Ryan in their matching PJs that Ashley got them! So cute!

Playing with Shadi!

Reading Don't Wake the Bear before bedtime! Thompson was very worried about waking the bear - it was so cute!

On Saturday morning we headed back to Katy...we made it to Lupes before it got rainy and cold. Since the weather wasn't great we kind of had the place to ourselves - which Ryan LOVED! We got a table right next to the sandbox and Ryan played the entire time we were there.  I really wasn't sure how he would like, or how long he would last in it, it but it was the most independent and adventurous I have ever seen him!

He was so proud of himself and loved that he could do this all on his own! It was so cute to watch. I had no doubt he would get the cart to the top but I was shocked that he loved riding it! And I was even more shocked when he fell in love with the even larger one! (If you know Ryan, you know he doesn't do slides...and this is kind of like one - that's why I was pretty shocked!)

Sand is always messy, but wet sand is even more messy - I had to strip him down in the parking lot. Luckily he didn't mind.  He had such a great time playing and was ready for a nice long nap when we got home. Can't wait to go back when the weather is nicer!

In other news, Grayson had his first "real" food - I started him with butternut squash. At his four month check up his pediatrician gave us the go ahead - so we went ahead :) It is just as messy as I remember!

We made it back to Dallas yesterday - its an all day event. I basically spent the entire morning packing up. Then we left around 1pm...luckily both boys slept for about two hours. We had about 30 minutes of full on screaming from Grayson before we made it to Corcinana where we stopped at Chilis to grab an early dinner and nurse the G man.  After that it was a quick 50 minutes home and we were so happy to see Kevin! We had such a great time in Houston - it was a nice break of our routine and can't think my mom enough for willingly road tripping with us! We might attempt this again come Spring Break but will have to see how it all works out.

Dear Grayson (4 months)

This past month has been my favorite so far (I am sure I will say that each month)! You are such a happy little chunker and your smiles are so much fun to wake up to.

You are increasingly more aware and love love love just looking around. We went to the aquarium the other day and you LOVED it! I had you in the bjorn and you checked everything out...your favorite part was walking through the water tunnels and seeing the fish overhead.

You are so easy to get a smile out of. I just ask for one and you give it to me. So easy. You still LOVE standing and sitting up. I can't wait for you to be able to sit on your own and I know that won't happen for another couple of months but I think you will be so happy once that happens. You are so close to rolling over - I think it will be any day now. When we lay you down you rotate on to your side and try so hard to get over - it's that darn arm that you can't seem to figure out how to move to get over it. Tummy time is fun for you and you enjoy seeing the world from that view. Standing up is still your favorite but you tend to bob your head and almost start shaking so I am not a huge fan of it.

I think this might be the age were we have the most baby stuff out. We have your rocker, swing, bouncer, playmats, bumbo, and just got out the exasaucer. Goodness. Along with your brothers stuff I feel like we live in a Babies R Us. Although you seem to love all these items I will be ready to put some of them away soon :)

Eating
I swear you would eat real food if you could. Every time we sit down for dinner you are just staring and drooling. You still spit up a TON...like after you eat and even hours after you eat. The amount of laundry that I do has increased dramatically since you were born - we basically have to wash everything every single time we wear it because it ends up with spit/throw up somehow. I am not sure when that will stop and how "normal" it is but clearly you are still gaining weight so the doctors aren't really concerned. We did start you on acid reflux medicine this month and it hasn't really helped with the spit up BUT the day you started the medicine is they day sleeping better at night....I don't know if that is related or if it's just a coincidence...but I prefer to keep you on it for now :)

Sleeping
So we have made great strides over this past month in this department. I am quite happy with your progress. In the beginning of the month you were still waking up at 11pm, 2am, 4am, 6am ect...seriously?  The only way I could get you to sleep for a longer period of time was if I gave you a bottle - which meant that I needed to pump at the same time. ugh. So Kevin would give you a bottle at 11pm (while I slept) and then I would give you one when you woke around 3ish (and pump at the same time). It was a bit of a pain. But you would actually sleep until 7am so we were happy.

I don't remember how it all happened but one night I just knew there was no way you were actually hungry at 11pm so I just rubbed your back and popped your paci in AND it worked (I had tried this before a few times and it would only work for 20 min or so). ANyhow, the next night you slept right on through that...so I think it was just habbit. Now I was ready to find out how many of your feedings were just habit.

And then I found out that you prefer to sleep on your belly. And that my friend has been a game changer. Now I can put you down around 7:30-8pm and you will sleep until at least 4am. Then I can just nurse you and you will sleep until 7:30am. You actually still wake up around 11pm & 2am but it takes about 2 seconds to go in and get you back to sleep. Oh how it will be nice when you just go back to sleep on your own but I am not sure when that will happen.

Anyhow, much more sleep is being had and that makes us happy. You still have nothing on your big brother but here's to hoping :)

Routine:
Since Ryan's activities and school ended mid December we spent a lot more time at home - which I think helped you get more into a routine. As I mentioned you are up around 7:30/8am and you eat. After you eat I pump and usually get another 4-5oz. Around 9am you seem to get a tired again and go down for a 30-45 min nap (in your crib, otherwise Ryan is too loud). When you wake up I feed you again and then we basically have our window of opportunity (11am-12pm) to get out and do something - it's small but I try and take advantage of it.

Back home to feed Ryan for lunch and put him down for a nap and then we have our snuggle/play time. We typically hang out on the ground and play with toys until you are hungry and want to eat again. I feed you and then you are tired and want to nap. Sometimes you take a nice 2 hour nap (which is AWESOME) but it doesn't happen every day, so I don't depend on it.

I feed you again around 3 or 4pm and then one last time at 5:30pm. You lay on the ground and play on your play mat, or hang out in the bouncer or swing while I attempt to make dinner. Around dinner time is when you are ready to be held...so one of us holds you while we eat. Sometimes you take a mini 20 min snooze and sometimes you don't. At 7 we head upstairs for bathtime and at 7:30 I give you a 6-7oz bottle of breast milk. I hold you upright for at least 15-20 min afterwards to help so you down throw it up and then you are swaddled and put in bed. I lay you on your side and sometimes you flop right to your belly, sometimes you hang on your side.

Sizes:
Weight: 14lbs 15 oz (25%)
Height: 25in (49%)
Head: 42cm (50%)
Diapers: size 3 (you can technically still fit in size 2 but I feel like they give you a muffin top and that's never comfortable)
Clothing: 6-9 months
Shoes: n/a

What have we been up to:
- Your first visit with santa
- North Pole Express
- Christmas with the family

- Aquarium visit

Things you like:
- bath time
- The baby bjorn
- Watching your brother Ryan do anything
- Bjorn Free pacis (they don't make them anymore, and I only have two...amazingly we still have both)
- You always try and find the TV... oddly attracted to it (maybe it's not that odd?) I always turn you away from it and then I see your little head drifting to find it again...

Things you don't like:
- Car seat - sometimes you hate being in here and sometimes you don't mind...never know whats going to happen.
- Being held like a baby. You only like being held straight up - I am thinking that probably has something to do with the acid reflux/throw up thing you have going on

Love you bunches! Can't wait to see what next month has in store for us!

R & G

The boys are about 2 weeks apart in the pictures below...

And they have on the same hat

Someone fills it out a little more than the other :)

Building Vandy - HVAC

the HVAC (Heating, ventilation, and air condition) issue.

Unplanned event #2

So when building a house you have to be a tad flexible...or you might go a little nuts. It was about a month ago when our builder came to us and said that there was an issue with our HVAC placement. Our house needs two units and he had planned to have them installed in the attic.  Lines are run throughout the house to deliver air, however since our house is so long they felt that the run to the front room (the office/craft room) would be too long and result in poor air flow. SO we had to move one of the units downstairs...and we had to find a place for it. Such a bummer when you plan your entire house and have plans for every square foot of it! (Is this something that could have been caught earlier? yes. Is this a huge deal? no.) Anyhow, we worked with our builder to find the best option. 

Option #1: Under the stairs

Pros: Space was bonus space as we hadn't really planned on having it

Cons: Inspector wouldn't allow it because of fire code

Option #2: In mudroom hallway

Pros: The most inconspicuous place (that worked within fire code)

Cons: Move doorways & rearrange mud room 

Option #3: In the garage on the ceiling

Pros: 1. Doesn't take away from sq footage of house 2. Up and out of the way (somewhat)

Cons: It would hang down 4ft in the middle of our two cars and just look odd

Option #4: In the garage corner, near the entrance to the house

Pros: 1. Again,  doesn't take away from sq footage of house

Cons: Would have to move doorway from garage to house which would make it awkward getting around cars in the garage

Anyhow, we went with option #2 which made the most sense...but still kinda sucked. Here is our floor plan before:

I had planned on using the area highlighted in blue to store our mail and keys - it was perfect because it was right by the garage and also front door AND it was out of the way! I hate having mail laying around and I hate losing my keys in the house! Such a small little space with such a small little purpose but like I said...when create your floor plan from scratch you have a function for every space!

So here is what happened:

Anyhow, we moved the HVAC unit to the area in red above. In doing so we had to move the doorways to the entry to the mudroom and to the mudroom itself to the right. In the original plans the doorways were in the middle so we were able to have built-ins on both sides. Now, since the doorway is all the way to the right we can't really put built-ins on that side. I am sure it won't be an issue and that our builder will ensure our mudroom will function as we need it to. 

I know. Small potatoes. 

And in reality no one would have ever known that this wasn't the original plan.

 I am just documenting our process and this was part of it :) 

You gotta roll with it...

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

We weren't really sure if we were going to do anything for NYE since we didn't have a babysitter AND I really didn't have the desire to stay up late since the G man still doesn't sleep through the night yet. Anyhow, the Botterman's were throwing a party again and told us to bring the kiddos and come early - we would have dinner and then could head out in time to get the kiddos to bed. So we did. 

But we actually ended up staying a wee bit later than we planned. 

 Ryan actually stayed up the entire time. I thought he would be tired and pass out - he has never stayed up that late! He did well and wasn't in a horrible mood. After a bit of running around I just set him up in the guest room with Mickey Mouse on the iPad and he was happy. 

We attempted to put Grayson down in Blake's crib but he liked being out in the party - he liked all the noise. After being passed around for a little bit he was out and he just slept on the couch. 

 Hanging with the girls

 Hanging with the boys

We watched the ball drop in New York then headed home.

Happy New Year everyone!