Checking In

Anyone else find it kind of funny that the last time I posted I said something along the lines of "now that I'm semi-back to blogging..." - and that it was well over a month ago? Obviously the being back to blogging thing didn't really work out for me. I don't know what it is, honestly. I just can't find my mojo or something. I've always got a million things going on that I want to do and need to do and have to do, and blogging just kind of gets pushed to the side somehow.

I've though about quitting altogether, I've thought about making the blog private for awhile. But I really think I'll just kind of let it sit here quietly, updating whenever I find the time.

I really wish I had more motivation and time, because I would absolutely love to be documenting all of the hilarious and awesome things that are going on with Grayson these days. He'll be 15 months on Thursday, and he just gets cuter and funnier and sweeter and smarter and more defiant and independent every single day. He's just the best thing in the whole entire world, and I want to capture every single moment because they're all just too good.

I think really that's what it is. I'm so busy soaking up the time with him and the husband and Addie Jane that I don't want to take the time to slow down and write about it. I'm afraid that someday I'll regret it though, because all of these little things that he does right now that are so funny and adorable and memorable will someday be just a memory - and I have an awful memory. I already have a hard time remembering what it was like when he was a baby, and that was just a few months ago. I'm scared I won't remember all these tiny precious details.

So at the moment, here are some of the things I never, ever want to forget.

The way he gives kisses to anyone who asks - right on the lips with a big "mmmmwah". Today he seriously gave me about 15 kisses in a row, grabbing my face and smooshing his little lips on mine over and over again.
The way he says "Addie! Addie! Addie! Aaaadddiiiieee!!!" while running toward her. He is seriously obsessed with that dog, and she literally couldn't care less about him. This past weekend he woke up and she wasn't in here, and the very first thing he did was sit up and say "Addie? Addie?". It's precious. And sad because it's so one-sided.
The way he says mama. FINALLY. He didn't start saying it regularly until maybe a month ago. My mom says it's sweet because he says it with such love, and he really does say it in the gentlest little voice.
The way he "winks" at us, which is really just batting his long lashes and blinking those big brown eyes.
The way he giggles like crazy whenever the hubby kisses his neck or tickles him. I love seeing them roll around on the floor together.
The way he says "moh! moh! moooooohhhhhh!" Whenever he wants more of something. (Usually food. He's obsessed.)

The way he gets so excited and grasps his hands together and bends over and grins so big whenever he's really excited about something.
The way he runs and giggles and squeals when someone is chasing him.
The way he splashes water in his face in the pool and thinks it's so funny.
The way he rolls around in the floor, flopping his arms to the side and laughing.
The way he'll grab a blanket from the basket and go lay down on it when he's sleepy.
The way he plays with my hair when he's falling asleep.
The way he'll cuddle so good when it's nap time.

There are a million more things, but it's late and I need to sleep so I can get up and jog tomorrow morning - yet another thing I've decided I should be doing in my life ;) I hope everyone is wonderful, and I hope some of you will still stop by and check in with me every now and then. I assume I'll be back "for real" someday, but at the moment I have no idea when that would be. Until next time!

A Trip to the Dallas Zoo - Grayson's First Zoo Experience

Now that I'm semi-back to blogging, I'm basically just going through my photos from the last few months and easing myself back in by doing posts on that stuff. Should be super exciting. You're welcome.

So today let's chat about Grayson's first trip to the zoo. Since we live approximately 30 minutes-ish north of Dallas, we could really either hit up the Dallas zoo which is like a 45 minute drive, or head over to the Fort Worth zoo, which is supposedly quite amazing (we've never been) but would take a little over an hour. Not a big difference, but we feel like "Dallas" people, so we went with that.

The husband took off work one Friday in April so we could have a whole day of fun. First we had lunch at Mia's Tex-Mex in Dallas (a Mexican place, imagine that) and then we were off to the zoo. For some reason, I'm guessing because the weather was absolutely gorgeous, the zoo was PACKED. Like, we had to park in overflow parking and walk a mile to get to the gates. Once we got in it actually didn't seem too crazy crowded, so I'm not sure where all the people belonging to the cars were hiding.

We weren't totally sure how Grayson would react. He's a huge fan of Addie, obviously, and he had started paying attention to the bunnies in our yard and the ducks at the pond in our neighborhood, but we thought he might still be a little young. But he actually really seemed to love it! I think in a few months he would "get" it a little more, but for the most part he seemed to have a lot of fun.

I won't lie, I think the most exciting part of the trip for him was the fact that he got to try his first little bit of ice cream. He couldn't get enough!

Overall it was a super fun day for all of us. All of these experiences are so much more fun when you're seeing things through your kid's eyes. A and I took his nephews to the same zoo a couple of years ago and I remember being incredibly hot and sweaty and having a little fun but mostly wondering what all the fuss was about the zoo. But this time I swear it was like my first time at the zoo ever, I had such a blast. Your own child just seems to make everything so much more exciting...

So now, feast your eyes on one billion zoo photos. Again, you're welcome ;)

 

Easter 2014 - Grayson's First Easter

I know what you're thinking: Easter? Really? Come on, it's JUNE for cryin' out loud!  

Yeah,yeah, I know...but somehow I haven't blogged about anything important...or really, anything at all, since like February. So when I was browsing through my photos and saw these I thought, now or never. 

So it's now.

Easter this year was not the greatest. The day started out just fine. It was beautiful and sunny, and we went to the Armenian church to attend their Easter festivities. We saw the husband's family, Grayson got to meet a zillion people, we hung out for a bit and chatted, then we headed home to meet up with my dad. 

Oh man, these pictures of G and all his cousins crack me up! 

Quite possibly the only smile of the day....look at those poor eyes. How did I not know something was up??

We went out to grab a bite to eat, and Grayson was just so fussy the entire time. Earlier that day I had told A (remember, husband is now going by "A" on the blog...when I remember, that is) that he felt hot and I was a little worried. He told me it was probably just from being out in the sun and he was fine. Well, I noticed again that he was a little warm when we were on our way to lunch, but he always gets hot when he's been in his carseat, so I kind of brushed it off as that being the reason. 

After we got home from our lunch with Papaw, I kept trying to make it a fun Easter - but it just wasn't really working. As the day went on I couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't ok. He was dragging around and not playing like normal. He obviously wasn't himself. He was so not into his new Easter toys and was super duper clingy to me. After a bit I kind of decided to just give up on the fun and start in with the cuddling, which seemed to be much needed.

Our sad attempt at a family photo...

After my dad left a couple hours later I finally took his temperature and it was so high! I can't remember what it was now, but it was over 100...I'm thinking around 101 something the first time I took it. My child had never been sick (aside from a tummy virus) at this point, so I kind of started freaking out. Plus, I felt AWFUL that I basically ignored the signs all day. Ugh, talk about mommy guilt. 

His temperature kept climbing as the night went on, and I really started panicking. It got up to 103 and I decided it was time to call the after hours doc. She assured me that fevers in babies aren't near as worrisome as they are in adults and to just give him tyelenol or motrin, maybe do a cool rag on his arms and hands, and watch him. I felt a teensy bit better, but not much.

All in all it took the poor guy around three or four days to kick whatever it was that he had. We ended up going into the doctor and she said it was just some type of virus, but there wasn't a way to really tell exactly what it was. It was so, so sad to see my baby in that condition. Totally broke my heart!

Oh, and I forgot to mention that his birthday was the Thursday following Easter. So we made it 11 months and three weeks with not a bit of sickness, then he just felt absolutely terrible leading up to the big day. Fortunately he started feeling better Wednesday and was basically back to his normal self when he woke up on his birthday. 

So, needless to say Grayson's first Easter wasn't exactly what I imagined it would be. We didn't hunt Easter eggs, he didn't care too much about anything in his Easter basket, and he was a big old grump all day long - for good reason! Even though it wasn't picture perfect, it sure did make me appreciative for that sweet baby's health!