Example: out of the blue, Bella will ask me if I'm OK. I always thought this was sweet of her, but kind of wondered why she'd be asking me that - until the other day. While I was upstairs brushing my teeth, Bella was downstairs playing. My way of checking on her was to call out, "Bella, are you OK?" I do this from time to time and, in that moment, I realized that she picked this up from me. This was all well and good until the other day when she said to me, "Oh crap! I forgot my sweater." Must have gotten that from me too.
Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Grady Boy! (That's what Bella calls him a lot). He's had a pretty good week - though I learned a valuable lesson. We CANNOT miss a dose of his meds. NEVER! Unless we want a screaming baby for a day and a half. I forgot Graydon's evening dose of his meds earlier in the week and we all paid dearly for it the next day. This also happened about two weeks ago and I didn't fully make the connection. Now we are all wiser. . . and Graydon is much happier. Isn't he cute in his little green outfit! And, there will probably continue to be lots of photos of Graydon in his bouncy seat. He loves that seat - especially when it's vibrating. The kid likes the motion - yet he hates his swing. Go figure.
Bella loves her bro. If you look closely in her mouth, you'll see a piece of bread. She's been in a bread kick this week. 
Snuggle time!
Guess who likes his baths now! I don't have any bath photos because. . . I only have two hands, which are both being used to clean this kid.
Happy Graydon!
and VERY happy Graydon!
Miss Bella - looking more and more grown up. 
I'm sure that Graydon was secretly thrilled with Bella's display of generosity.
We went bowling with our church group this afternoon. Bella was upset at first because she didn't want to wear the shoes; but eventually got over that. She enjoyed pushing the ball down the lane, but didn't always have the momentum to get it fully down the lane, which resulted in a few stranded bowling balls. 
A WORK IN PROGRESS 
For over a week now, I have had a dairy-free diet and it really seems to be helping Graydon. He seems so much happier. Less gassy. Sleeping better. Smiling more. He's like a whole new baby! Giving up dairy is not easy for me, but if it makes my little man feel better then it is so worth it. I pray that this continues because it's been wonderful.
This was her self portrait. Notice the long eyelashes. 
I'm very impressed with our girl!
Here's a sampling of some of her work. Pretty good!
My Moms Club had a V-Day party. Bella had a great time decorating her bag.
We got our little Valentine this sweet treat.
She loved it
Bella doing "this little piggy" with Graydon's toes! 
The little man.
They just adore each other.
I'm getting my hair cut this week -- I'm so excited for a little "me" time!!!
Graydon turned one month old yesterday! In some ways, the month went quickly and in other ways it was one of the longest months of my life! It definitely hasn't been one of the easiest months as we try to get Graydon's reflux under control. At the beginning of the week, we really thought that the meds were helping because he seemed so much better. I was feeling less overwhelmed and more capable as a mother. The end of the week, however, hasn't gone so well. The 'happy awake' times became fewer and shorter. The medicine he is on is weight sensitive and as he gains weight, we have to increase his dosage. We think that might be the problem so tomorrow we're going to take him back to the doctor to get weighed in order to find out what his new dose should be. I weighed myself on our digital scale and then weighed myself with Graydon and was 10 lbs. heavier (granted he had his clothes on) - that would make him almost a pound and a half heavier than he was when we first got the meds. I hope that we can get some relief to him - it's heartbreaking to see him so miserable. 
Reading a book before bedtime. We like to get him into bed between 8 and 9pm so that Andy and I can get some down time with no kids. This doesn't always happen, but we're getting there.
Very awake and very alert!
We woke up to some snow on Wednesday! Not a ton - maybe 3 inches, but it's the most we've seen all winter! 
Bella got this guitar from some girls at church and she loves to play it. She also likes to grab her microphone, stand on her toybox lid, and sing for us. What a performer!
I wanted to get some nice newborn photos of Graydon. I have a lot of work to do on posing infants. It's not easy! I'll try again at some point. . . but here's what I ended up with. 
Hanging out on his changing table. He doesn't seem to mind diaper changes as much anymore.
Sleepy boy! 
On Friday, Bella's class had a field trip to the Discovery Museum. I was a little nervous about being on my own with the two kids in such a busy, public place. Fortunately, Graydon slept the entire time we were there. Two kids are definitely more manageable when one of them is sleeping! I'm really glad that we went because Bella had such a fun time! She really loved this floating ball. . . air was blowing up, keeping the ball afloat. Pretty cool, in her opinion. 
Relaxing in a boat. 
Operation!!!
She also loved being on the news. There was a camera set up and she could watch herself on the monitor. 
Andy's parents are coming out at the end of the week. We told Bella today about their upcoming visit and the next thing I knew, she was at the window. I asked her what she was doing and she told me she was looking for Grandma and Grandpa's car! I first had to explain that they weren't coming today and then that they would be taking an airplane, not a car. She's definitely excited for their visit!
