Friday, November 26, 2010

Christmas three

Pine Cone Frame Christmas 5x7 folded card
Make a statement with Shutterfly Christmas photo cards.
View the entire collection of cards.

Fabulous Christmas Cards from Shutterfly!

11.26.2010

Wow this year is flying by! I can not believe it is time to order Christmas cards already! I love shopping for them and this year Shutterfly has the best Christmas cards! I just ordered Grayson’s birth announcements from Shutterfly. I ordered them on a Wednesday and I had them in hand by Friday…talk about great service! Great, quick service, along with the fabulous, stylish Christmas cards is why I will be ordering mine from Shutterfly again this year. They have hundreds of styles. Here are a few of my favorites:




Shutterfly has many options to choose from including cards with initials, which I love. You can also add tons of pictures to them, which is great because I have so many cute pictures of the boys! The website also makes editing pictures a breeze so that you can feel sure your Christmas card will be the best yet! Shutterfly also has so many great Christmas gifts (Christmas Gifts Link). The pewter ornament is my favorite (Pewter Ornament). For Father’s day, I ordered Jai a photo book from Shutterfly and he loved it! I think I am going to make a book every year!

I can not wait to order mine…be looking for your Christmas card from Shutterfly in the mail! If you would like to participate in the Shutterfly blog promotion, visit this website: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Stay tuned for an update on the boys!

Camille

Monday, November 1, 2010

Roll over, roll over!

11.1.10
Tonight Grayson rolled over for the first time! I am still shocked! We were doing tummy time and he was holding his head up so well, pushing with his elbows and lifting his chest. Then all of the sudden he pushed with his left hand and threw his left leg behind him and off he went! I was just in shock!!! So, of course I put him right back onto his belly to see if he would do it again and had Jai come and watch and he did! Then I cried!!! That is such a huge milestone for him! When I finished crying and giving him hugs and kisses, I got out the video camera and tried to catch it. I was waiting and waiting and he was just about to do it again when Jones came over to join in on the fun. He wanted to lay down on the floor with Grayson so I had to put the camera down, by the time i picked it up, I was only able to catch part of it...but he had done it again!!!

Since Grayson was 2 months early, he is only supposed to be doing what a 2 month old is able to do. It is called his Corrected Gestational Age. For ex, if a full term baby sits up at 6 months, Grayson is expected to be able to sit up by 8 months. If he can not by 8 months, then he is considered delayed developmentally. Babycenter.com says that by 4 months old a baby should be able to roll from tummy to back. Grayson is 4 months old so maybe this means that he is catching up with other 4 month old babies!! I am so proud of him!!!

Grayson and I both have a little cold. He was pitiful this morning with a runny nose, but otherwise he doesn't act like he is miserable. Hopefully this will pass soon.

As it turns out, we may end up stopping Grayson's caffeine earlier than we thought. I got his prescription filled on the 22nd and received a 30 day supply. The caffeine is in vials, 10 vials per box. I usually hang on to the caffeine box and just throw it all away when I get the new supply. Now I can not find the other two boxes anywhere and I think I threw them away thinking that they were the older boxes. I'm not quite sure what I am going to do and it has me in a really bad mood. Insurance will not let me refill the prescription until Nov 13th. Of course I could buy a months worth of medication without insurance for $1700...yeah that's not happening. The caffeine vials are 3mls, and he only needs 1.2ml/dose, however the manufacturer says that they are single use vials because they are preservative free. So, I don't know what to do. I will call Dr. Head tomorrow and see what she says. Yet again, I can't help but get really upset at the lady that erased an entire months worth of Grayson's apnea alarms because if I had that information, I might know if he really even still needed the caffeine. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

On a lighter note, Jones had a lot of fun on Halloween. He was the cutest Lil Count. I have the cutest picture of him and his friend Elaina walking hand in hand up the side walk in their costumes! It was so cute, how he reached out to hold her hand and walk up the side walk! He was very shy with trick or treating, but he loved answering the door bell and passing out candy at home. By the end of the night he was picking up our bowl of candy and giving each child one piece of candy! Then we all sat in the living room and ate TCBY! YUM!! It was a lot of fun!!

I will upload some pictures tomorrow. This cold is getting the best of me and it is time for a bubble bath! Nite nite!!

Monday, October 25, 2010

10.25.10

I thought this was so sweet. Jones just woke up from a nap and looked up at Jai...sooo sweet!

With a belly full of milk...happy, sleepy Grayson!

This picture makes me laugh because of Elmo's eyes!

One of Grayson's first smiles!

I LOVE THIS SIGN!!! It was given to me at the doctor's office where Grayson got his Synagis vaccine



Wow, I've finally found the time to update the blog!!! Now, where to start:

Grayson is growing like a little weed! At the last doctors visit, he weighed 12 pounds and 3.5 ounces! What a chubbie lil guy! He has filled out and really looks like a cute little baby now (he has always been cute, but turned into a baby from an infant, and yes, there is a difference!). He is now smiling and interacting more with us. Developmentally, he is right on track with a 2 month old which is perfect for him because his corrected gestational age is 2 months.

BCBS did approve the RSV vaccine, so he is getting that shot, Synagis, monthly through March which will really help through the winter RSV season.

Easter Seals has started to come see him. They will follow him until he is about 2, I believe. They plan on seeing him weekly and will do developmental assessments, play with him, etc, to track his development. The idea is "early intervention" so that if a developmental delay is identified, they intervene early with the appropriate therapy, but hopefully there won't be any delays.

Grayson has a pretty good schedule. He usually starts the morning in a good mood, naps around 8:30-9:15, eats, stays awake until about 10-10:15, then naps for a while. The rest of the afternoon follows the same routine, nap, eat, play, nap, eat, play until his witching hour around 7. He is usually just tired and wants to get in his swing and go to sleep! So he will fuss for a little while and fight sleep (I've never understood that) and then he is usually in dreamland by around 8:30 and if we are lucky, he stays asleep until around 1am, eats, and up again at 4am and thats when we snuggle in the bed (I LOVE that part!). This week, my plan is to get him to sleep in his crib (yes, the Munire crib that I just HAD to have has been a glorified laundry basket since he was born!), so his schedule may change a little.

He is going for his 4 month check up on Wednesday and then he has his first developmental assessment with Easter Seals on Thursday. I had planned on talking with Dr. Head on Wednesday about when to stop the caffeine that he is still taking, so I was being a proactive momma and called Long's Home Medical and had them come out to the house Friday to download his heart/apnea monitor. The plan was to download Friday and put a rush on the interpretation and have something to show Dr. Head on Wednesday. Well, everything was beginning to work out as planned, except when Long's came for the download, her computer died during the download and erased an entire MONTH worth of apnea alarms, readings, etc...so now because of that we are a month behind! GRRRRRRR!!! I am still really mad about that but oh well, it is out of my control and that does mean that I get to keep the monitor one more month, which is fine by me!

Now for our little Jones. I really think that this age, around 20 months, is my favorite so far. I just love interacting with him and hearing the little things that he says. He is now able to count to 10!!! Now granted, it isn't perfect and he only does it when he wants to, but he will count all the way to 10. He tries to use his little fingers but he only sticks out one, and then he will open up all five fingers, and he always ends with "YAY!" and claps. He also can name the following colors: purple, pink, blue, green, red, yellow, orange, brown, white, and black! I am so proud of my little guy!!!! Now we are working on the alphabet. He will sing his ABCs, it usually sounds like one big long letter, but he is doing it!

He calls Grayson "gay-gee" or just says, "the baby." He loves to rub Grayson's head, and he also helps me when Grayson begins to fuss, Jones will say, "Manie, baby crying" or "Uh oh, baby paci." So cute!

He is just the sweetest thing. He loves giving hugs and kisses. When he does give a kiss he says "mmwwaahhhhh" at the same time!!! He is mostly a good boy, but I have been told from the teachers at Windsor that Jones has become a bully. The other day he went to timeout 6 times before 9am!!! They say that he picks on one baby that is new to the toddler room and that he pushes him over and sometimes tries to sit on him! I really think he learned this from other kids in the class because I have seen them do that. But the new baby is only there on Wed and Thurs so those are the only two days that he is bad! So we are learning what things are "not nice" in Jones' terms.

It seems like every day he does something new. He is in love with Barney, whom he calls "Baa-gie." Every time the Barney theme song comes on, he gets up and stomps around the house like Barney does in the video. Jones also loves to sing. He is constantly singing random songs, like Barney's "Clean up" song, or "Hey, Hey, Hey, I learned something new today" which ever song that is. He loves music.

We have spent a lot of time "out-guide" lately since the weather has been so nice. He loves to play with our neighbors, Ashton (6) and Elaina (4) and balls are still his favorite, although he LOVES a vacuum!!! Actually anything that cleans, he loves, but especially a vacuum. He loves them so much that he thinks his corn popper is a vacuum and he actually turns it on and moves it around like a vacuum. It is hilarious! He also likes to use wet paper towels to "clean" the walls where he colored on them with crayon. He is a hoot. I tell ya, this is definitely my favorite age.

Jai and I have been interviewing nannies. I plan to go to work part time sometime in November and then return full time in January. I just hope that we can find someone that we really like.

Ok, I need to upload some pictures, do laundry, and plan on making a sour cream lemon pound cake all before Grayson wakes up...haha, yeah right. Hopefully it wont be another 6 weeks before I update the blog! I apologize to all that follow frequently (Karen Ann and Aunt Mary, especially!)....Love to all!

My two boys...Jones was rubbing Grayson's head

My big baby!!!

I was trying out his hair-do for halloween!

Putting on my deodorant

One of his first times on a swing


Flying down the slide a Monkey Joe's

Grayson looks worried!

My sweet little baby!!!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Ok, I PROMISE I will update the blog this week with pictures of the boys! I am sorry it has been so long! I hardly even have time for email these days! So, stay tuned..................

Friday, September 17, 2010

Busy week!




Finger painting while I make the cupcakes

Mmmmm...they were good!

Trying out Mommy's shoes


Finding Grayson's belly button




My big boy!!!

Tootsies!


9.16.10

Gosh, this has been a busy week. I have decided to keep Jones out of daycare until his collarbone is more healed, at least 3-4 weeks, so I started this week very apprehensive about how it would be having both Jones and Grayson home together with no help while Jai was at work. I prayed Monday night that God would give me the strength to handle the day and to enjoy the time with my boys and God sure came through. I have really enjoyed staying home with both of them. I have even managed to master going places with both of them without getting really stressed out! 

Tuesday we stayed at home, I can't even remember what happened on Tuesday! Oh yeah, yes we did stay at home. We watched "Bogie", aka Barney, ALL day long. I know it is horrible to keep a DVD on all day, but hey it was my first day alone with them, and one day won't hurt. We also took a walk around the neighborhood which was great. Anyway, then Tuesday night I went to a free Zumba class and I LOVED it! I am definitely signing up for classes that start in October. I was really impressed with myself that I was able to keep up with everyone too!

Wednesday, we ventured out to Wal-Mart! Jones behaved sooo well! He just stayed in the cart and every now and then he would tell me that Grayson's paci fell out. After Wal-Mart, it was nap time. Jones went down and then I fed Grayson and then Grayson and I took a long nap together. Once Jones woke up, we did finger painting in the kitchen and I made strawberry cupcakes...then Jones decorated one of them with icing and sprinkles and then he ate every last bite! He loved it!!! He also loved the little sprinkles; they were all over the place by the time we finished. 

Today, I had to take Grayson to the doctor for his eye that seemed infected. I was really nervous about how I would handle the two boys together at the doctor but once again Jones impressed me. He really has grown up so much! I got him out of the car and while I was holding the car seat with Grayson in the left hand, I held Jones' hand with my right hand and we walked through the parking lot and into the building together. Jones was a doll in the waiting room and in the exam room while waiting for the doctor. I think I was so worried about getting them there together that I forgot to pack Grayson an extra outfit....and you know the one time that you forget is the time you need it. Well, Grayson had a HUGE poop, the kind that comes out of the diaper and down the leg...yeah, that kind. So the poor little thing had to stay in just a diaper (a clean one) until we got home; I did keep him wrapped up in a blanket though. But I did get to weigh him...he was 10lbs and 3 ounces, but that is fully dressed with a full diaper, so I imagine that he is around 9 14 or so. When we got home I put Jones down, fed Grayson then cleaned the house for 2 hours...and managed to get a 1 hour nap! After Jones woke up, we played around and then I made smothered chicken for dinner. It was yet another really fun day with my boys. 


I could really get use to this stay-at-home-mom thing!!!


So Jones is just such a little sponge. Anything that we say or do, he is right behind us being a little copy cat. He has also found his nostrils and manages to bring me things that he discovers...ewwww gross, I know. So we have to work on that one this week. You would never guess that he has a broken collarbone by the way that he plays. He also tolerates his brace too.  This week, he has also started kissing me and saying "mwah" at the same time. It is adorable. Yesterday after Jai got him out of his crib and put him in our bed, Jones leaned over to me and gave me the biggest, wettest kiss on the lips and said "mmmwwwaaahhhh ma-nie" at the same time. It melted my heart!


Grayson is a typical little baby. He sleeps the majority of the day still, though he is awake for about 1 hour after each bottle. He seems to have a pretty good routine down. I do think he is a colicky (sp?) baby though. Every night between 6-9pm he is really fussy. All he will do is nurse and sometimes that is frustrating for him for whatever reason. He will eventually calm down and sleep and by then Jai and I are worn out!


Jai is going to a bachelor party this weekend (lucky right???) and mom is coming to stay with us for the weekend and I can not wait!!!!!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Good News!

We met with Dr. Mark Locke today. He was great. It took FOREVER to get back to see him...our appointment was at 2:50, we didn't even get called back until after 4! But it was so worth it. Dr. Locke said that Jones broke his collar bone in the best possible spot, missing the growth plate and he should heal just fine! He said that he will not have any permanent deformity, though he will have a bump there for about a year, and that it should grow straight. Jones does have to wear a "figure of eight" brace which helps to stabilize the shoulders and keeps them in correct alignment. Surprisingly, he tolerates the brace really well. It looks like bookbag straps in the front and he can use his right hand all he wants! I was really worried about rehab afterwards because he wasn't using his right hand at all and had learned to get along without it, but now that his hand is free, he is beginning to use it again.

So, I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. Although Jones is no where near healed, I feel like we received really good news today. We will go back in about 3 weeks for xrays to make sure that his bone is healing properly.

If anyone in the area needs a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Locke was excellent!