Wisconsin recap!

The kids and I are back from our Wisconsin adventure. All things considered, both kids did remarkably well with the long road trip. On the way out, Graydon slept a lot and Bella entertained herself pretty well up until the last 2 hours. It ended up being a pretty late night as we didn't arrive at my parents' house until about 2am. Needless to say, we were all pretty tired the next day.

Here's a few photos of my mom and brother with Graydon. This was when we were still at our house.
That evening, we had another little birthday celebration for Andy. My mom felt bad that we were going to be gone for the big day. Fast forward - in Wisconsin now. The beginning of our first week there was beautiful. Weather in the 60s and 70s. We laid Graydon on a blanket outside. The slight wind bothered him a little, but overall he seemed to enjoy the fresh air. Bella got a good chance to use up some energy. . . . . . hug a tree. . . . . . and feed Grandma's squirrel statue.My mom bought this ball pit for Bella. Somehow I managed to not get a picture of her playing in it. She had so much fun - especially when Uncle Scott and Auntie Kristen made it into a "slide" for her. As you can see here, Graydon didn't mind it himself.Bella thought that Grandma's windows needed some decoration. Graydon hanging out in the blow-up duck (which was really for bathtime). He liked it either way. Graydon with Auntie JodiUncle Aaron and Auntie Jodi. In a couple of short months, it will be their baby between the two of them. Uncle Scott playing with Graydon. Both the kids really bonded with Uncle Scott during our stay.Auntie Mary loves her niece and nephew! The second half of our trip, we stayed at my sister's house. Bella still talks about her dogs - "Tori. . . she's a good girl!"
My little loves.Graydon enjoyed Grandma's bouncy seat. Here he is studying the toys. Bella being a silly girl with the princess crown she won at Chuck E. Cheese. All my sibs (with the addition of Bella, and minus Jeff).

The girls! That's it for our trip - we had a great time! I'm kicking myself that I forgot to get photos of Lori and my dad with Graydon. Must remember that for next time.

Lookie who is three months old!!!This photo just cracks me up. You can tell that Bella is only giving Graydon a kiss because Daddy asked her to. . . and you can totally see in Graydon's expression how thrilled he is with the whole idea. Some cute photos of our little guy. . . I'll leave you with a funny Bella story. Our little lady has been asking lots of random questions lately. When I don't know the answer to something, I just tell her that God made it that way. The other night, she went #2 in the toilet and it was green. Apparently, she listens to what I say as her explanation for the green poopie was that "God made it that way!"

Three year olds. . .

cannot keep a secret.

Bella, Graydon, and I are heading back to Wisconsin for two weeks and are going to miss Andy's birthday. :( We had an early birthday celebration for him yesterday. During the day, Bella and I were busy at work making him birthday cards. Just before we got started, I told Bella that the cards were a surprise. . . don't tell Daddy. You can only guess what the first thing out of her mouth was when Daddy came home for lunch. "Daddy, we make you cards!" Oh well.

Here's Andy "reading" her card.We went out to Chili's for a birthday dinner. Graydon did fantastic! An amazing thing happened this week - he sat in his carseat without crying. Before this, I couldn't put him in the seat until right before heading out the door as he'd cry hysterically. The only way he'd quiet down is if he fell asleep during the car ride. At dinner, he sat in his seat - awake - content as could be until he got tired. After a few minutes of jiggling the seat, he was asleep and we enjoyed the rest of our meal. It was a wonderful family night out.

Graydon also seems to be settling into somewhat of a routine. His naps stink. . . but I'm at least starting to crack the code that is Graydon. Nights are manageable, though we're nowhere near sleeping through. He goes down around 8pm and I can generally get a 4-6 hr. stretch out of him initially. After that, he's up every two hours until about 6:30/7:00am, when he's up for the day. I was just glancing back at Bella's sleep pattern at this age. She was already sleeping through the night! These two kids are definitely different. I know that he will eventually sleep through the night - though I still have a feeling it's pretty far off.Bella strikes again! Snuggling in Bella's room. Grady hanging out on the floor in his room. Does he look a little stunned?As I type, my mom, Jodi, and Scott are headed out this way. They'll arrive sometime tomorrow morning and then we're all heading back to Wisconsin. This will be Graydon's first road trip. I'm praying that it goes well!

In like a lion. . .

We got snow!!! Bella couldn't wait to get outside and play in it. I took her out while Graydon was asleep in Daddy's office. Wind blowing. . . snow falling. . . it was absolutely FREEZING! As soon as I stepped outside, I was ready to head back in. Bella, however, has no concept of cold as she could have stayed outside all day.I'm pretty sure that we have an identical photo from last winter.
We had Graydon's 2 month well visit this past Wednesday.
Weight: 12 lbs. 3 oz. (75th percentile)
Height: 24 and 3/4 inches (95th percentile)
Head circumference: 15 and 5/8 inches (50th percentile)

We have a big boy on our hands! I had to pack away his Newborn and some 0-3 month clothes this week - always a sad activity for me. He also got four shots at this visit. Admitedly, I am that mom who cries when her kids get shots. I can't help it. That piercing cry is heartbreaking. He did calm down relatively quickly though.Look who found his thumb. He doesn't discriminate against other fingers - they all get equal opportunity. This is a relatively new thing for Graydon. He doesn't take the paci that great so it's good that he is learning how to soothe himself. He's pretty loud when he does it too. While driving, I can always tell when he's found his fingers because I can hear him chomping. I turned around one afternoon to find this doll on Graydon. Another example of Bella sharing. I don't know why, but it always strikes my funny chord to see the different toys she randomly brings to him throughout the day. I didn't take a picture of it, but tonight it was a Barbie dress. Bella got into the foam hearts. . . . . . but didn't want Graydon to get left out of all the fun. So nice of her to include him. We got a taste of spring this weekend with weather in the 60s and 70s - quite the contrast from the snow storm at the beginning of the week. I'm definitely ready for some higher temperatures.

GRAYDON ANDREWOUR GROWING FAMILY

Two Months Old!

Look who's 2 months old already!!! We had to take Graydon to the dr. again this week for a weight check on his meds. His extreme fussiness was starting to surface again; so we knew that he probably needed to get his dose of meds increased. He did. The little man now weighs 11 lbs. 13 oz.! He's got the rolls to prove it!

Happily, I feel like I'm starting to get into a little groove with the kids. It helps that Graydon is starting to sleep for longer stretches at night. He usually sleeps from 8:30ish to 1:00/2:00am. On a few occasions, he has made it all the way to 3am! He goes back to sleep after each feeding now (we were having issues with this a few weeks back). I have also figured out when I can get a shower in each morning! This is big for me!!!

Check out this picture that Bella drew! Does it look like anyone? It's Daddy!!! I am so thrilled that Graydon is more and more content to just hang out on the floor.Miss Bella came into our room in tears one morning. She said, "the black sucker is icky." I had no idea what she was talking about. She continued to tell me about how she took it out of her mouth and tossed it away. This had to have been a dream because I have never seen her with a black sucker. For a child who looooves suckers, this dream must have been pretty upsetting.Getting Graydon all bundled up. A friend of mine gave me a double stroller that she was no longer using. That, coupled with some nice weather, inspired me to take the kids for a walk.We walked to the grocery store across the street. It sure felt nice to get some fresh air!Some photos of my boys. . .

Sound asleep.2008 in Review