Dear Grayson (12 months)

Goodness, here we are again. I feel like the first six months felt like, well, felt like SIX months....but then the last six months passed in lightning speed (and I know that won't stop anytime soon...)

It is amazing and so much fun to watch you grow and develop your own little personality. It really is crazy how different you not only look, but also act from your brother - I know, you are each your own little people, but it's so hard for me not to compare.

You have ALOT of energy. You are my little mover and shaker, busy busy, climber active boy! You love being thrown up in the air and squeal with delight. It's adorable. You also love being swung upside-down...and you will throw your head back so that I will dip you. Being upside-down is something you totally dig.

You crawl amazingly fast. I always thought you would be walking by your first birthday but since you have perfected your crawl you aren't as interested in walking. You get where you need to be and fast.

You always want something in your hand...or your mouth. Now when I ask what's in your mouth you open it up and show me...you are so use to me grabbing whatever it is out. 

Here you are bear-crwaling...not a huge fan of the grass! I agree though - it's a bit itchy!

Stats:

wt: 21lbs 12oz (30%)

ht: 31in (85%)

hc: 46.4cm (45%)

Yes, 85% - it's a first! I mean, it's not a huge surprise since both Kevin and I are on the tall side but we have never seen a stat above the 50% - wohoo! lol. I know...they don't really mean anything but hey, I like to get them.

Daily Routine:
- Rise and shine around 7:30am - you wake up pretty hungry so we make our way down to the kitchen pretty fast to get your breakfast. Usually sausage and pancakes...yum yum. After you eat yours you often try and steal some of Ryan's sausage.
- Around 8:30 we usually go on a walk to the park. We don't stay too long because your first nap is around 9:30. Your nap typically lasts for about 1.5-2hrs.
- When you wake we play and then it's usually time for lunch. You don't skip a meal. :)
- Your second nap is around 2:30
- Dinner time is 6pm
- Bath at 7pm and bed by 8pm.

*I did stop nursing you on my birthday (about a week before your turned one). I slowly weaned you throughout the month of August so by then you were completely fine with it. You were actually so much more interested in real food at this point that it wasn't really an issue at all. 

Milestones:
- No new teeth
- Waving
- Clapping
- You have stood by yourself but once you realize you are doing it you quickly bend down.
- Words: Mom, Bob, More
- Point - you love to point at things.

Love you bunches little man!!!
xoxo, mommy

Mouth Trauma - Mater Tooth

We had a wee bit of an accident while we were up in Montana.  It was a Friday night around 8pm - I swear medical issues only happen during after hours. Anyhow, my little man was pretty hyped up and was stepping out of the tub...preparing for his nightly naked dance...when he slipped and busted his mouth. (His hands were wrapped up tight in a towel so he didn't have them to break his fall.) Kevin was in the bathroom with him so I didn't see what happened - I only heard the scream that went along with it.  I think with any three year old, you never really know if their cry is warranted, but when I saw all the blood I knew the poor little guy hurt himself.  We were so grateful to have extra hands because I don't like dealing with trauma. I am sure we could have handled it but it was nice to have Sarah and Michael to help (Gigi and Papa were not there.) Considering how much Ryan does tend to cry, he was incredibly strong and calm once the initial shock wore off. Michael took him and talked to him and checked out his teeth.

This picture doesn't look horrible but his teeth were pushed back pretty far - when he bit down his teeth went behind his bottom teeth. There was also bruising and he tore the little frenulum thingy.

Since both teeth were still there....there wasn't much we could do. I called our pediatric dentist after-hours line and spoke with someone who basically said there really isn't anything you can do. Give him tylenol and as long as the tooth isn't in any danger of falling out (choking hazard) you just keep them medicated to deal with the pain.  We stayed up extra late watching Dora and i got some good cuddle time with him.  When he did go to bed I gave him the monitor and told him to call for me on it if he needed me. He woke up twice but went right back to bed. When he woke up in the morning he was sore but overall fine. Anyhow, Kevin spoke with a pediatric dentist in Montana and he also assured us that there wasn't anything we could/should do. So we carried on. I made an appointment with our PD for the day after we returned.

It's kinda nice to have an excuse to eat ice cream :)

When we returned we headed to the dentist and the first stop was x-rays. 

I hate x-rays - those darn things they stick in your mouth are so awkward and always seem to jab you...anyhow, he rocked it. No complaints from him!

So I don't have the x-ray but basically we were looking at a dead tooth. In the x-ray you could see how the left tooth (Ryan's right) was no longer connected to the roots. It's the tooth that hangs down a little lower. Once the circulation stops getting to the tooth, it won't get the nutrients it needs and it will die. Since everyone is different you don't know if the tooth will fade a little or a lot...but it's basically just cosmetic at this point. However, if the dead tooth get infected then we would need to make a decision on if we wanted to pull it or get a root canal. We are hoping this doesn't happen and the dr said that in most cases it doesn't. We are hoping that we fall within the "most cases" category.

For now we are just dealing with a goofy tooth- his "Mater" tooth (that's a Disney Cars reference for those of you who aren't familiar). Anyhow, he is still pretty darn cute and happy as a clam so we are happy too!

I really hate dealing with ouchies....but I know there will be many more to come....I better prep myself!

Grayson's first day at MDO

Wednesday, September 4th was the boys first day at Wilshire ECLC. It was Grayson's first day at Mother's Day Out - he seemed so little but Ryan was also around the same age. Grayson is pretty familiar with Wilshire because of MOPs last year and from dropping/picking up Ryan all last year. I think he was pretty excited to go with his big brother!

It was so hard to keep Grayson still....and get them both smiling. They were both in really good moods but can only handle so much of my picture taking!

Silly boys! Grayson is attending MDO and even has one of the same teachers as Ryan did. Ryan is attending prek-3 and their rooms are basically right next to each other, which is great for me :)

So back at Grayson's 9 month appointment I made his one-year appointment...and I made it for September 4th at 9:30 - which is the exact time MDO starts. Since I am no super mom and can't be in the same place at the same time I was grateful to have my mom in town. (I tried to change G's appt but they didn't have anything for like a month, and I like to have my stats! lol) . Oops! Soooo instead of taking them both to school, I took Ryan and my mom headed to the doctor with G. 

Ryan was excited and when we got to his classroom he found his name on an apple and brought it into the classroom. He was basically like c-ya! It's a little bittersweet. 

So then I high-tailed it over to the pediatricians office just in time for the doctor. My mom did a good job answering all the nurses questions!

Grayson was perfect (as expected). And then the poor little man had to get his shots. :( He actually didn't cry when they pricked his toe to get blood, but the four shots didn't go over as well. My sweet little boy was so upset and also very tired. By the time we made it to the car he was ready to sleep!

And so he did. Sooooo I really felt bad bringing him to MDO right after his shots but I had talked to his teachers and they said it was fine. I felt a little guilty but Ryan was so excited that Grayson would also be there, and G is so easy going that I knew he would be ok. #secondchild

When we arrived the class was headed to the multipurpose room to play. Grayson was in a bit of a daze but did not protest at all. The little boy next to him was upset and Grayson just kinda looked at him like, what are you crying about? Did you just get shots too? 

And since I was right there...I peeked into Ryan's classroom. They were out on the playground so I peeked out the window to see him. There he is (in the green) and at that exact moment he was telling his teacher that he needed to go to the potty. yay! 

At 2:30 I headed back to pick up  my boys! I was so excited to hear how little G did. They posted what they did outside the classroom door.

Grayson only took a 30 minute nap...and he looked like this:

So tired, right? I thought this little man would totally fall asleep when he got home. I mean...basically a 10 min nap in the car from pediatrician to MDO, and a 30 min nap at school??? But guess what? He didn't. He actually was in a great mood for the rest of the day. We did head to bed a little early but I think overall it was a successful day. 

And then we went to get Ryan and they were reading a story. He ran to me and gave me a hug! Love that little bug!

Fun first day for my little boys!

Ryan's first day of PreK-3

Ryan's first day of preschool for three year olds! He was so excited - which is awesome. It always breaks your heart if your little one screams when you leave (which happened almost all of last year), but this year he was ready and excited! yay!

It took us a while to get our schedules figured out...this year Ryan will go to school three days a week. He will go to his new school on Tuesday's and Thursdays, and then he will go to his old school on Wednesdays (Grayson will also go!). 

And of course I took more than one picture...He is just so darn cute!

After our photos we packed it up and drove to school (seriously its like 3 blocks away....but it's SOOO hot outside and we were running a wee bit late...you know, photos). 

Out of the car and carrying his OWN stuff! This is big boy stuff - he never did this before!

In the hallway outside of his classroom - we found his cubby and put his stuff in it. 

And then he was off....

And when I went to pick him up afterwards he ran up to me and gave me a huge hug! So sweet! He said he had so much fun and he was excited to go back on Thursday. Such a sweetie!

Walking is FUN(ny)

Happy Birthday Juicy!!!

Today my little blue-eyed baby turned ONE! 

We celebrated with a big party over the weekend so today was pretty low-key.  Since it was Ryan's first day of pre-k 3, I had the whole day with my little birthday boy! We didn't really do that much - it was too hot to get outside but we did go to his first day of Little Gym AND he loved it! Other than that we played up a storm, ate a yummy dinner and celebrated with cupcakes for desert. Of course we all sang to him again - which he totally loves. It's adorable. 

Tomorrow we have his one year appointment and his FIRST day of MDO. goodness! 

Until then...here are some more pictures from his one year photo shoot with Chelle Cates!

Love you bunches!

xoxo, mommy

Birthday Questions - Ryan, Age 3

So I started this post back in July...like when Ryan actually turned three. It took me a few days to get through all the questions with him. Seriously. The attention span of a three year old is very short. Anyhow, then I planned to add a cute picture but I never got around to it. So...now that it is September I realized I better go ahead and post this or it might not happen!

Of course I had a ton of cute pictures to select from..

20 Questions - Answered by Ryan

1. What is your favorite color? Green
2. What is your favorite toy? Mr. Potato Head & Dump trucks
3. What is your favorite fruit? Raspberries
4. What is you favorite tv show? Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? PB&J
6. What is your favorite outfit? (He had no answer for this)
7. What is your favorite game? Rocket with Ethan. He holds my hand and I jump and the rocket goes all the way up the mountain!
8. What is your favorite snack? Fruit Snacks
9. What is your favorite animal? A Teddy Bear from Montana
10. What is your favorite song? Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
11. What is your favorite book? Construction Book
12. Who is your best friend? Audrey
13. What is your favorite cereal? Daddy's Cereal
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Kickball, play ball with bob, play with the soccer ball
15. What is you favorite drink? Water & Milk (I swear these are his words)
16. What is your favorite holiday? Santa!
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? no answer. He doesn't really take anything with him consistently. 
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pancakes
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? PB&J (I swear I feed him other things...)
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Doctor (it was between Firefighter and Doctor)