Seven and Eight Month Update

     I'm a little behind on our monthly updates!  The last few months, we've had quite a bit going on.  Grayson is now almost 8.5 months old!  He's almost been out of me as long as he was in me, I can't believe it!  He is (at least) 20 lbs, wearing 9-12 month clothes, and eating solids now! He has liked everything he as tried so far, except rice cereal.  He doesn't have any teeth yet, so he's mostly getting baby food.  If I'm eating something soft like mashed potatoes, he'll get some of those too and if he's lucky, his Uncle Brandon will try to feed him all the sweets possible.

     In March, my cousin Ropa and his wife Bre came to Vegas for a rugby tournament.  We hadn't seen them since Christmas and Bre said he's like a different baby because he's so big and has changed so much!  A few days later, we also got to see my Uncle Kevin and Aunt Lis, who were in town for a few days!  It's so much fun having visitors. 

     The following weekend my parents and some good family friends all came to town to go to a concert, so we crashed the party and hung out with them all day!  After that weekend, Grayson and I drove back to Redding with my parents where he met his great grandparents, and lots of my friends from high school.  We were very spoiled while we were there, and spent lots of time shopping with Grandma Cyndi, but don't tell Grandpa. 😉 My grandma Fiti had been fighting cancer for the past year, and my granddad isn't getting any younger so I was really glad he was able to meet them.  They are some of the best people in my life.  Grayson turned seven months while we were there, and that's where he started getting on his hands and knees like he wanted to crawl! 

     Two days after we got back from Redding, Grayson had to have a minor surgery.  I was so nervous, but he did great and had a great recovery.  That weekend, Robyn, Troy, and Saylor were passing through town so we got to spend a few hours with them.  I love seeing Grayson with his cousins.

     The past month, Bryant, Grayson, and I went to Hoover Dam for the first time.  It was pretty cool, but it even cost money just to go in the visitors center (which we didn't want to spend) so we just walked around. 

     At the beginning of April we went down to Chino Hills for General Conference weekend.  Luckily he didn't get sick this time!  It's always a good time whenever we go down there.

     Grayson also rode in the seat of a shopping cart instead of just being in his car seat.  He loved it!  He also started officially crawling!!  He is now all over the place.  He can open the cover to our fireplace, and has discovered the light sockets, computer cords, and door stoppers.  He is one busy boy!! 

     Bryant and I had hour four year anniversary on April 13th and took G on a hike at Lake Mead that day.  We've been trying to get outside and do some hiking and other things before it gets too hot to.  This last month was also Grayson's first Easter.  The Easter Bunny didn't come to our house, but luckily the Grandma Bunny did. 

     I can't believe we are closer to Grayson being one than him being a newborn!  He's the best.  Until next month...

Can never have too many pictures of them sleeping. 😍

 Saying bye to Grandma at the airport.

 Repping the Dodgers for Grandpa Jeffy.

 His hat from when we was a newborn. 😭😭😭

Cousins showing him how to crawl!

 Grayson and Penny on Easter.

Waiting for his surgery.

     

Six Months

     How do I have a six month old?! I cannot believe it.  I have now been blessed to be Grayson's mom for half a year and it has been the best six months ever.  I still can't believe I'm his mom, he makes me the happiest!

     This last month, however, was probably the hardest yet. We didn't do much, but we did make a trip down to Southern California.  It was a fun trip seeing family and taking G to the beach for the first time.  Unfortunately, he threw up for the first time while we were down there.  He had been fine all day and I had just finished feeding him and laying him down for bed when he threw up ALL OVER me, himself, and the bed.  He seemed totally fine though and didn't even cry when he did it and then when he did it again two other times.  I was so sad and I realized it was my fault he got sick.  In the haze of the early morning and being tired, I fed him old milk the night before.  I felt so bad, but luckily it (throwing up) didn't seem to faze him.                                                                                                     

     That next week after we got back from Bryant's parents house, Grayson got his first real cold.  It was awful.  He was sleeping worse than when he was a newborn, we were tired!  It took him about a week to fully get over it, and then I got sick. It was a rough, long, tiring few weeks.

    I also suspect Grayson is starting to teeth.  He's been chewing on everything and SO drooly for a few months now, but he's starting to get a little more whiny throughout the day, which he usually never is.  Maybe he's going through a growth spurt too.  I've never had a kid before though, so what do I know?! Haha.  We'll see if he gets any teeth this next month.

     Aside from those few rough weeks, G is still the best, happiest baby.  He'll have his six month well check next week, but I do know he's about 16.5 lbs and 26" long.  He's still an awesome sleeper (except when sick), is so drooly I swear I can wring out his shirt at the end of the day ("Julie, don't swear!"), and a wiggly little boy.  He can kind of sit up now, but doesn't have strong enough back or ab muscles that he kind of just folds in half.  I don't sit him up or have him do tummy time as often as I should, so I probably should start doing that some more.  Today I gave him rice cereal for the first time and he did not like it at all.  I tried again a second time, and he still was gagging and spitting it out.  Sounds like someone else I know, when they have to try something new. 😂  I'll keep trying for a few more days and then move on to veggies if he's not going to eat the cereal.

     That's about it for this month.  Next month we are going to Grandma and Grandpa Jones' house in Redding for the first time...I'm so excited!!

Oh, when Grayson is being stubborn and fighting sleep he makes these cutest noises.  I never want to forget them. 

Five Months

     Grayson is five months old now!  This has been one of my favorite months so far, I think he's grown the most in this one.  He's still an awesome sleeper, loves to chew on his hands or anything else he can get in his mouth, and is a happy boy!

     During this last month Grayson discovered his toes, which he also loves to chew on.  He started rolling over from his back to his stomach.  He's gone from his stomach to his back a few times, but not consistently, like he can the other way.  One time I woke up and he was on his stomach. 😱  As if I wasn't paranoid already, I am even more now haha.  He also started to hold his bottle when I'm feeding him.  He's paying more attention to what we're eating and reaching for things to put in his mouth.  I'm thinking about starting him on some solids within the next few weeks.

     Grayson took his first trip to Utah for Christmas.  He did awesome traveling in the six hour car ride, and then got to take his first airplane ride on the way home.  

     Utah was so much fun and I loved watching Saylor with G.  She was so cute with him.  We saw some family and friends, did a little shopping, and went to BYU.
     It was a great month!

                     

Saylor giving him kisses hahaha                He loves this toy he got for Christmas!

One Year

     A year ago yesterday, January 4, 2016, I found out I was pregnant.  I decided to write down a few thoughts and things about my pregnancy, just so I remember.

     During my pregnancy I wasn't sick or anything.  Those first few weeks of being pregnant, I only had one symptom (missed period.) It was the first day back at school after Christmas break and I randomly decided to take a pregnancy test.  I didn't even tell Bryant I was taking it.  I got out of the bath that night and took one and it was positive!  I walked out of the bathroom and said "Bryant..." and he replied, "Did you take a pregnancy test!?"  I was so excited, and Bryant was too, but he was a little skeptical and went to the store the next day to buy a different brand of tests, just to be sure.  I took three total tests, and sure enough they were all positive!

     

     That following weekend we traveled to Lousiana for Bryant's younger brother's wedding.  Like I said before, I never was sick, but the one and only time I felt nauseous during my pregnancy was around 5:00 in the morning at the airport in New Orleans.  There were a few comments made by Bryant that weekend + running back and forth to the bathroom thinking I was going to throw up, I for sure thought someone would realize I was pregnant. 

     My first appointment with my doctor was a few weeks later.  I did blood work and all that good stuff to be sure that I was pregnant.  They gave me a due date of August 15 and I would come back in a few weeks, when I was 12 weeks along, for my first ultrasound and genetic testing.

     The first time we saw our baby was on February 3rd.  It was so amazing to see and hear his little heart, and his little body moving around.

     In order to do the genetic testing, the baby had to be between 12-14 weeks.  Based on his measurements, I wasn't as far along as they had originally thought, and was only 9 weeks along.  They pushed my due date back to September 3rd.  I was so bummed to have to wait longer to meet our baby, but I got to have another ultra sound three weeks later to actually do the genetic testing then.

     After our first ultrasound, we told our families.  Our oldest nephew, Reggie, was getting baptized that weekend so we told all of Bryant's family then.  We FaceTimed my sisters and parents individually to tell them.  Court thought I was FaceTiming her on accident because we never FaceTime, but her reaction was one of my favorite.  I don't think I could even finish telling her I was pregnant before she started crying!  It was so sweet.

2nd ultrasound at 12 weeks

     I had a great pregnancy so far.  I told my class when I was around 16 weeks and it was so fun to see their reactions.  One kid even said he was going to cry! Haha.

     Around this time Bryant and I also started talking about names for the baby.  We were watching this show, "Chrisley Knows Best," and his son's name is Grayson.  One night I said, "Hmmm, that's kind of cute." A few days later Bryant said he liked that name too and ever since then (even before we knew if we were having a boy or girl), our baby was Grayson or Gray.

     We went in for the gender ultrasound on April 6, when I was 18 weeks.  Most of our families thought I was having a boy and Bryant wanted a boy SO bad. I thought everyone would jinx it, and we'd be having a girl, but sure enough, he was a boy!  Bryant literally cheered out loud when the ultrasound tech told us.  I would have been excited either way, but was glad to have the first baby boy on my side of the family :)

Our baby boy!

     I first felt Grayson move when I was was exactly 20 weeks along.  It was a Saturday morning and I had just woken up and was still in bed.  At first I thought it was Bryant poking me in the stomach because it came out of now where and happened really fast.  A little while later it happened again and I realized that it was the baby!  I was so excited and couldn't stop smiling the rest of the day.  After that, I didn't feel him too often.  I think Bryant only felt him move like twice.  I would get so paranoid and there would be nights where I would just pray and pray to feel him so I knew that something hadn't happened to him. 

     The rest of my pregnancy was smooth sailing until the last month.  I was so hot all the time, getting swollen, and gaining weight FAST.  I was miserable and ended up being induced two and a half weeks early because of my high blood pressure.  We met our perfect baby boy on August 18, which ended up being closer to the first due date they gave me than to my actual due date!  It was a wild and crazy labor, and nothing how I imagined, but Grayson and I were both healthy, which I was glad for.  Life is so much better with him here, I can't believe I've known him for a whole year now!

     

   

DIY Handprint Ornament

     I knew that I wanted to make a Christmas ornament this year with Grayson's handprint on it.  I wanted something a little cuter than the typical homemade salt dough or clay ones.  This is what I came up with:

    

It didn't turn out as cute as I had envisioned in my mind, but I'm still happy with it.  Below are the directions for how I made it.

Materials Needed

Wood Coaster

Black Acrylic Paint
Foam Paint Brush
Permanent Markers
Ribbon
Gorilla Glue

1.  Paint child's hand so it's completely covered in paint.
2. Stick hand on wood and press down firmly.
3.  Pull up hand.  Be careful to pull directly up, so you don't smear the paint!
4.  Let dry and then write name, year, and design.
5.  Put a dot of glue on the back and add ribbon so you can hang it on a tree!

     Pretty easy!  Unless your not artistic and have a wiggly baby (like me.)  Haha.  If I could do it over I would wait until Grayson was asleep or Bryant was home to help me before I painted his hand.  He just wanted to hold onto the paint brush the entire time!
     I would also get a paint pen to use or practice more before writing his name and doing the design before I did it.
     I also wanted to put a bow at the top of the wood and hang the ribbon up there but his handprint was too close to the edge of it. Oh well.
     Like I said, I'm happy with how it turned out and his grandma's loved theirs! What kind of homemade ornaments have you made?

Four Months

     My baby is four months old!  It's been a great month!  His four month well-check is tomorrow so we'll find out how much he weighs then.  He's still my sweet, small, baby boy but I can definitely tell he's gotten bigger.   Especially when he's next to his new born (second) cousin, Chloe...she makes him seem HUGE! Haha.

 He's wearing 3-6 month clothes and in size 2 diapers now.  He loves chewing on his fingers and is so drooly.  He hasn't rolled over or anything yet, but he is a wiggly little guy.  It's not uncommon for me to wake up and have him be in a completely different position in his bed than how I put him to bed.  He always wakes up smiling and is finding his voice.  He always holds onto my fingers when I'm feeding him, it's my favorite.
                                        

     This past month he got to meet the rest of his aunts, uncles, and cousins during Thanksgiving.  All of Bryant's family came here for Thanksgiving so we had a big crowd!  It was so much fun and I love seeing how much our little boy is loved.

 

   I am looking forward to celebrating Christmas with him. Last Christmas I was pregnant and didn't even know it yet. It's crazy that I have a four month old this year! Having a baby makes everything better!  Until next month...

Three Months

     Grayson is three months old today!  I feel like he's grown a lot in this past month.  He had a doctor's appointment last Friday and was up to 11 lbs, 6 oz and I'm sure this week he's gained a few more ounces.  He is still becoming stronger and more aware every day.  I love watching him discover the world around him.  He is still sleeping awesome for the most part (only had one bad night in the last month, he wouldn't sleep unless I was holding him).  He typically will sleep from 8:30/9 - 7:00/8, only waking up once around 4:00 to eat.  He is awesome!!

     He is most smiley for me but becomes very concerned whenever I try to take a picture.

              

     He is getting to be so talkative! Mostly in the morning.

     And dressed up as a shark for Halloween.

     

     I'm just obsessed with him!  He's looking forward to next week and meeting the last of his aunts, uncles, and cousins!  I'm looking for to it too and to celebrating the holiday's with him.  I just love my little man!