More of Grayson's Firsts...

Grayson's first trip to Wegman's- December 4, 2009

Grayson's first snow - December 6, 2009

Grayson's first trip to Outback - December 6, 2009

Picking out Grayson's first Christmas tree - December 6, 2009

Grayson and Gifts

Here are a few pictures of Grayson posing with some of the great gifts he has received from friends...

Grayson in his outfit from Auntie Tamara

Grayson in his hat from Auntie Kristin

Grayson playing on his playmat from Auntie Penelope

Grayson in his Christmas outfit from Auntie Theresa's mom, Darlene

Random Cute Christmas Pictures

Here are a few of the cute pictures we've taken (or had taken) of Grayson this Christmas season...

Merry Christmas

As 2009 comes to a close, we once again look back at the year and all that we’ve accomplished or wished we had accomplished. Even with some ups and downs over the year, I would definitely say that 2009 was a huge improvement over 2008 for us.

We didn’t have the exotic and busy travel schedule that we had in 2008, but we were able to make some fun trips during the year. I made a trip to Tampa in early January for work and then spent 3 weeks in Virginia Beach for work later in the month. I drove to Pigeon Forge, TN in late March for a girl’s weekend with Heather, which introduced me to what may be the greatest Christmas store I have ever experienced…it was almost overwhelming. I had another girl’s weekend with Penelope and Karian in Berkeley Springs, WV (known for their spas) in early May. Later in May, we spent Memorial Day weekend in the Outer Banks, NC. I had always wanted to go to the Outer Banks, so was very excited about this trip…and was not disappointed…well, except for our accommodations which we booked through RCI; Turns out that you have to make a special request if you prefer that your ceiling fan blades don’t fly off in the middle of the night nearly decapitating anyone nearby. On the upside of things we were able to make our friends Theresa and Joe, (who were also vacationing down there at the same resort) feel much better about their place. All of a sudden, their ocean view with a fireplace, loft, full kitchen, and lamp that didn’t work…didn’t seem so bad.

After the Outer Banks, I was a little skeptical about whether RCI was such a good deal given the accommodations, however, when we went to Florida in June our accommodations more than made up for the near-decapitation. We spent a partial week in St Augustine with Wil’s parents (which turned out to be perfect timing as we were conveniently there to get the news that Wil’s baby sister Danielle was engaged) and then we headed down to Orlando for a week at the theme parks. We stayed at Disney’s Old Key West Resort. It was amazing!! The condo was spacious and wonderful, the ability to use the bus service, the flexibility of hours…all amazing! Now…while RCI and Disney did us proud with the accommodations and flexibility, we didn’t plan so well. We planned for full days every day, including some special dinner reservations...however, this was late June…and instead of taking the advice of others and using logic…we slept in…got to the park about 10am or so and were so exhausted from the heat (well over 100 everyday) that we were done by 6pm or so. Friends had recommended going early, coming back to the hotel during the hottest part of the day, and then going back out in the evening. Great suggestions...which we will follow in the future.

We had a few other small trips that rounded out the rest of the year including: A surprise weekend getaway for my birthday to a wonderful Bed and Breakfast just outside of Charlottesville, VA; A quick trip back to Indiana for Labor Day; and Wil spent a week in Bahrain which is apparently the place to go to party in the Middle East.

Other than travel, there were academic and career successes during the year. Wil finished his Master’s degree at the US Marine Corps Command and Staff College in early June and also got the notification that he would “pin on” Commander in early July. This worked out well as Wil was able to have his promotion ceremony at his new Command, the Navy Air and Missile Defense Command (NAMDC) where he is the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, N2. This turned out to be extremely convenient as NAMDC is located on the same base that I work, so if either one of us would get on a consistent work schedule, we could actually carpool together.

Without a doubt, the biggest event of the year was discovering in late March that we were expecting a new addition to the family. In July we found out that what we were expecting was a son due December 9th. However, due to various medical concerns that date was bumped up with an induction scheduled for November 22nd. So, our little one who became affectionately known as “Bob” (which was an acronym for Blob of Baby because of the first ultrasound picture) was scheduled to arrive just in time for Thanksgiving. And arrive just before Thanksgiving he did. Grayson Paul Dean Pharis was delivered via emergency c-section on November 24, 2009 at 3:51am. He was 6lbs and 19 inches and just perfect. (Although, I guess I could be biased on that point.)

It’s hard to believe that this little person has made such a huge difference in our lives already…and I’m not just talking about sleep deprivation. We were fortunate that Wil was able to take the first 2 weeks off of work and spend with Gray and I. We were also lucky to have our parents visit and help us greet Grayson. And now that everyone has headed back to work or home, Gray and I are enjoying spending our days together.

But even as we look back on all the positives and happy events of the year, we remember the loved ones who are no longer with us or who have been sick or fallen on hard times. This year we lost my maternal grandmother in August, we also mourned with friends who lost loved ones (grandparents, parents, and children), and we memorialized another loss which is never far from our hearts and thoughts as we remembered Bailey on what would’ve been her first birthday. So, as we celebrate this happiest of holidays, we take a moment to reflect on those who made such a profound impact on our lives, but are no longer with us…whether they were here for 80 years or merely minutes, their impact Is lasting and they are never far from us.

We wish you all a very happy holiday and all the best in the new year!

We are Japanese if you please...

Ok,  so that's not quite how the song went, but last night was Grayson's first trip to the Japanese Steakhouse.  He really slept through the trip...but the rest of us were able to enjoy the show and the food...maybe in a year or two he'll be able to enjoy the show and the food.

Today was a big day for Gray for other reasons than just a visit to the Japanese Steakhouse. He turned 4 weeks old today and had his 1 month check-up.  We discovered that Gray has gained some more weight and is now 7lbs 5.5oz  and is 20 1/4 inches long. He also got his first shot today and a physical exam.  I handled the shot better than I handled the physical exam. It looked like the doctor was trying to squish him like a tube of toothpaste.  Poor Gray!

Speaking of toothpaste...Grayson reminded us a bit of squeezing a tube of toothpaste as he went to the bathroom repeatedly as Wil tried change him. It's not the first time that he's gone to the bathroom on Wil, but it was still quite funny.  We think he may have lost 3 ounces during that evolution.

Knee Deep...

It's not Grayson's first snow, but it was definitely a lot more snow than we had before and really a lot more than Grayson had experienced...ok, so more than all of this area had experienced since 1976 I believe. So, we decided to cuddle up inside the house and avoid getting out in all the snow...well, except for the boys who decided to go play in the snow.  Indy had an especially great time.

Fortunately, my parents who had planned to arrive for Christmas on Saturday, December 19th, left a day early and came out on Friday and got to the house just as the snow was starting.  On the down side, we weren't able to go out to celebrate Wil's birthday on Saturday.  He didn't seem to mind and we were able to celebrate at the house with some special meals, presents, and cake.

Watch Me Grow

We had a visit today from the nurse and found out that not only is Gray doing very well, but he is growing like a weed. YEAH! He's now 6lbs 14.5oz.  He's turning into quite the little chunky monkey.

We're not really surprised since earlier this week we thought he was going through a bit of a growth spurt.  He was pretty grumpy, hungry, and not sleeping well. But alas...I guess we've all had days like that and we don't have such a good excuse as a growth spurt.

Brave or Foolish

It was hard to decide which I was...I had a doctor's appointment and also needed to do some shopping, so I decided to venture out on my own with Grayson to get all of this accomplished.  We started the day at my doctor's appointment and then headed out to do some shopping.  It was getting close to lunchtime so I decided that I wanted to grab lunch.  Instead of going to fast food, I decided to go to Olive Garden so that Gray and I could relax and feed him in a comfortable environment and get some decent food. 

It didn't really hit me until we got our table that it could be awkward if Grayson had a meltdown in the restaurant...it would not be so easy to leave the restaurant as it would be if we went to fast food.  Now, this was not Grayson's first trip to a restaurant, but it was the first trip I took alone with him. Fortunately, there was no meltdown.  In fact, we had a wonderful lunch...So wonderful that the waiter actually said to me that I looked like the happiest woman in the world. A day out with Grayson...I just may have been.

3 Weeks Old

It's hard to believe that Gray is 3 weeks old today.  He's definitely growing and changing.  He's much more alert and is putting on some weight and starting to get those cute little baby chubby cheeks.  Everyday I'm more and more impressed with him.  It's hard to believe that this little guy has made such a huge difference in our lives in such a short time. I can't wait to see what new things he'll do as he grows.

I'm also surprised at how busy I have been everyday.  I admit that I have a new appreciation for stay-at-home moms...I never realized how busy you are.  We get up at about 7am (or sometimes earlier) and it seems like I'm on the go until 10 or 11pm everynight.  Between laundry and picking up things and feeding (and of course getting ready for Christmas right now), I rarely sit still. But I am enjoying it.  I'll have to go back to work at the end of my leave, just to get a break. :)

Rough Day

Yesterday was only our second "rough" day with Grayson.  The first was 2 days after we brought him home from the hospital.  On that day, he wouldn't eat and was fussy all day long.  Yesterday was the second rough day...and while he did eat, what seemed like all day, yesterday...he wasn't his normal laid back self.  Instead he was quite fussy between feedings and diaper changes.  It seemed like anytime something was off (he was hungry or wet) he was very upset about it, which is quite unlike him.

This has continued into the night...another unusual thing for Gray...and thus we are up aftter changing him an now trying to get him to eat something before we try to get some more sleep.  My thought is that this could be a growth spurt for him and he's just that hungry or irritable.  According to the book that the visiting nurse gave me, at 3 weeks there is usually a growth spurt which could explain why he was hungrier than normal yesterday.  The book says that it lasts a day or two, so we'll see if that's what it is and that our little Gray will go back to his normal happy-go-lucky self in a day or so.  After all, today Grayson is officially 3 weeks old.

Some Firsts...

Here are some random pictures of some of Grayson's firsts...

Grayson's 1st "Professional" Pictures

25 November 2009

Grayson's 1st Thanksgiving

26 November 2009

Grayson's 1st Nap in his crib

26 November 2009

Grayson's 1st Trip to Chic fil a

2 December 2009

Meeting Santa

After a morning of getting Grayson photographed by a popular (and expensive) Fredericksburg photographer, we decided to risk taking him to see Santa.  He was quite the trooper.  We weren't sure that Santa would be able to handle him since it looked like Santa was a Weight Watchers Success Story, but alas he was able to handle him.

Progress

Today was my turn to go to the doctor to see how I'm recovering.  Unfortunately, we seem to have a bit of an infection at the incision and a portion of the incision that didn't seal, so I'm now on antibiotics and have to go back next week for them to reseal part of the incision. 

The good thing is that little Grayson seems to be doing very well and even though I probably "over-did" it...I did get most of my holiday decorating done...so, a little injury is a small price to pay for a healthy baby and a holiday-decorated house. :)

Some day my feet will be as big as daddy's

Happy 1 Week Birthday Grayson

It really is hard to believe an entire week has gone by and yet, it's hard to imagine Grayson not having been here. He's so much an important part of our lives already.  Now, his introduction to the family does mean that I'm delayed in getting almost everything I have planned done...but he's a great excuse for that and one that I'm really ok with. And it's probably my fault as I could be getting things done while he's sleeping, but I prefer to just sit and hold him.

For the most part, he's been doing really well (except for the eating thing that I discussed in the previous post), but I think we're doing a lot better with the introduction of the formula and I'm optimistic that we can get this worked out and he'll be growing like a weed in no time. He's been doing great with sleep and I think we may have finally started to conquer his confusion over daytime and nighttime.  For the past 2 nights, he's slept 4 hours straight, which is great! Of course, his feeding issues forced me to wake him every 2ish (doctor said he could go 3 hours between feedings, but I'm aiming for 2ish) hours to eat...so that has interferred with his daytime sleep routine, which really benefits us at night. YEAH!

Happy 1 week birthday, Grayson! We love you!

We're still learning how to properly diaper a baby...this was obviously one of our failures