A Little After Thanksgiving

Yes, Mommy realizes that it's been almost 2 weeks since Thanksgiving, but she wanted to share all of the great photos of my first family holiday!

The day before Thanksgiving, Mommy's best friend Courtney flew into town from Minnesota - brrr!  So Courtney, her fiance Tom, her brother Eric, her sister in law Mary, and mom Deko all came over to visit.  Mommy was a little slow with the camera and the boys were a bit hesitant around me so here's a photo of me with Courtney:

On the actual day, Mommy and Daddy took me to Grandma Sue and Grandpa Dan's house for some football watching and a traditional turkey dinner.  I of course took a nap - for 3 hours - right up until the turkey came out of the oven and then Mommy had to feed me before she got to eat.  But I behaved for the most part and even sat in my car seat at the table while the adults finished eating!
The day after Thanksgiving, Mommy and Daddy drove with me up to Ventura to visit the rest of the extended family including my Great Grandparents, Great Aunt & Uncle, and Mommy's cousins.  We spent the night there and came home on Saturday.

My great-uncle Greg holding me while I look cute.

Me smiling on my great-grandma Virginia's lap.

Me hanging out with great-grandpa Marvin.

Post-Halloween Update

Here's a cute photo of me in my first Halloween costume.  I started off as a ghost:

Then I became a screaming banshee:

Mommy has had her hands full with me.  I don't like my crib, and I'm not sure about my swing, nor even Mommy & Daddy's bed unless Mommy lies down with me and continually puts my paci back in - even swaddled, I manage to wake myself up.  So she either has to hold me and glide or stick me in that funny wrap thing to get me to sleep.  And for those of you who are curious, I'm still only sleeping 3-4 hours at my longest stretches during the night.  My latest trick is to only take 20-30 minute naps...

One Month Plus

I turned one month old last Friday! Of course Mommy had her hands full with me...
Mommy did get a Moby Wrap although we're still learning to use it.


Here is what is going on in our world:

• Weight - 9 lbs, 2 oz
• Height - 21.5"
• Milestone - when Mommy lays me on my tummy I can pick up my head and turn it to the other side all by myself!
• Other (good) stuff - I let Mommy shower most days by hanging out in my bouncer and we are slowly settling into a routine where I only wake up 2x a night (but this means I like wake up between 4-5am for the day) and go promptly back to sleep.
• Other (not so good) stuff - Sissy Keegan had to have her appendix removed (stupid useless organ).
• Mommy is preparing to tackle the girls' varsity head coach position at her old high school!

Check out these recent photos of us too:

My first trip to Dave & Busters - look at all the tickets I won!

Mommy and me napping on the couch.

Hanging out on my play gym blanket. The gym part is still a bit overwhelming.

Mommy Sucks at Blogging

But that's because I won't let her put me down to type - I'd rather sleep, eat, poop, and do all the other wonderful things that I do while she's holding me...ALL DAY LONG. So while her belly is still smushy, her upper back is getting ridiculously strong! Mommy is hoping this won't last too much longer since it's usually that darn Moro reflex (think super spastic field goal signal) that ruins nap time.

For such a small thing...

...I sure do keep Mommy's hands full!  I definitely sleep best when someone is holding me - usually Mommy, but thankfully Grandpa John and Oma Sondra come over to help her out.  She is hoping to get a sling or wrap carrier.  Here are some pictures of me sleeping through my big sister's soccer game last weekend.  Check out the moose on my onesie.

Mommy now knows that a 4 hour nap, a feeding, followed by another 3 hour nap does not make for a good night's sleep!

We also had a nurse from Children's Hospital come do a home visit last week and I was a 1/2 ounce shy of 8 lbs - meaning I have essentially grown out of my newborn clothes.  The nice lady is coming back next week to check my vitals and weight again and give Mommy more reassurance that I am great and she is doing a fantastic job.

Adjusting

I've now been home a little over a week and am slowly adjusting to my new life in the great big world.   Mostly I eat, sleep, and poop.  Of course I never sleep when Mommy wants me to...

However, I have gotten to do some pretty cool things.  I went to my first soccer game on Saturday to cheer on my big brother.  This of course meant that other people held me until I needed to eat and then I slept through most of the game.  At least that meant Mommy and Daddy got to watch.  Daddy took a completely unflattering picture of Mommy wearing her "nursing bib" (a cloth diaper to catch dribbles and leaks since I can be a messy eater) that she refuses to share.

Also, Grandma Sue came down on Sunday to help out with me for a little while.  My favorite part, once they figured out the whole direction of the sun issue, was going for a walk in my stroller.  The best part is that my car seat sits right into the stroller frame!  And I love my car seat as long as it is in something moving.  Daddy has yet to get a picture of me in my tricked out ride.  We will try to post one later.

Some mornings Grandpa John comes over to help out as well.  Mostly he holds me so Mommy can get some breakfast or go to the bathroom.  He's funny, and sometimes loud, but I like him.

Home from the Hospital

So the little guy and I arrived home from the hospital on Saturday afternoon.  Although I'll spare you the details, we had an extended stay due to complications and fetal distress during labor.  Dalton's heart rate plummeted and his delivery required an emergency c-section.  As such, we got to spend a wonderful 72 hours in a "semi-private" recovery suite.  Needless to say, there are no cute post-delivery photos with me looking all refreshed and invigorated - rather, I am drugged and completely out of it.  Here are some of us (he is the cute one that looks like a little peanut):

Anyhow we are both adjusting to life at home and trying to figure this whole thing out.  We are both still extremely worn out.  Thank you to everyone who has sent kind emails, other messages, or gifts - I appreciate all of the well wishes but please be patient in expecting a response. 

Introducing...

Dalton Wyatt Gray

Details of his birth:

September 17th (our 4th anniversary!)

7:02 am

6 pounds, 5 ounces

18.5" long

Delivered via emergency c-section

More to come once mom and baby arrive home from the hospital.

40+ Weeks & Counting...

Yes, I am horrible at updating this thing.  Yes, he is now officially past his due date (both of them).  Yes, I am tired, irritable, and cranky about the whole situation at this point.

That being said, here are a couple of photos of his "nursery" area in our room...

And because David is so proud of this gardening/landscaping accomplishment, here is a photo of the first Bird of Paradise flower to bloom along our front walkway.  

The 1st Blog

Welcome to Baby Gray's official blog.  For all of our family and friends both near and far, this will be the primary method of showing off our new little bundle of joy (once he arrives of course)!  I've been told that my days of comprehensive diatribe to all in my address book are numbered...

That being said, I have approximately 2 weeks until my due date with not a single recognizable sign of impending labor!  No contractions (real or false), no nesting (who wants to clean when its in the 90s with 70% humidity), I still have my innie belly button, and the little guy has not dropped (i.e. he's remains a pain the ribs).  

Here are a couple of photos of me for pure entertainment value and I'll try to get some up of his "nursery" corner once I get it a bit more presentable.

Da Belly