It's completely hard to believe that Christmas is almost here & also the year of 2010! That just means one more month and my sweet baby boy will be 1 years old!!!! Time has surely flown by with it's most precious memories that I will cherish always. Grayson has been such a true blessing to me. I thank God sooooooo much for my time with him!

Kernie received Silver Status at his work for the year. He will get a plaque, new special business cards that recognizes his status and a bonus. Even though the year has been slow, he has dedicated himself to his work & it payed off. I may not say it enough to him, but I am proud of him & am completely thankful for all that he does for me and the family.

The picture I posted is of me and my Papa during Christmas when I was younger. I miss him so much! He & I were pretty close. I remember being with him during the summers working in the garden side by side (on those hot days!), snapping snaps, having lunch, just looking at whatever we could see out in the fields on the porch, looking for arrow-heads, watching Hee-Haw, Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune & The Price Is Right. (LOL!) I hope I am still making him proud as I did back then. Something he use to always say to me before we seperated: "I'll look for you in the funny papers!" =)

What a week of moving! I never thought how much stuff we could accumulate in 2 years, oh my goodness! Storage is overpacked (even after dropping some stuff off to Goodwill). It is now our goal to get into that thing and weed wack through all of that mess. I'm embarrassed because it's literally that rediculous...

The drive is really not all that bad as I was thinking it would be. Some days I even drop Katie off at school by 7:30. My car definitely gets much better gas mileage traveling via the interstate all the time now too. So, maybe my worries were for nothing?

Our sitter for Grayson has become "wacko" in her thinking ways for the past few weeks, so I've decided to nip that in the bud and we are putting him into a Christian Preschool / Daycare Center. This woman wanted us to pay her for the week vacation she was going to be out (not watching him, of course) and us find another sitter for that week and pay that person too! Um...yea, right! Plus bring her snacks, hand sanitizer, tissues & etc. This lady has her own daycare and watches like 4 to 5 kids. I think that this is not a public school & we should not be responsible for that stuff. Like I said...Her "business"! I mean, what are we paying her for...? I'm super excited though, becuase this new place is AMAZING! I was there for almost 3 hours and had not realized how much time had passed. Kernie was orginally not impressed with the few extra minutes for traveling, but once we walked around & did our talking with them...he was truely impressed & was ready to sign up! They teach the A Beka curriculum and also have the "Teach your baby to read" program. One of the teachers started it with her 2 yr old and brought it in for the school to use because her child did so well with it. She is 3 now and can read words =) Miss Lisa said they will start it with Grayson when he turns 1. I think he is already smart (he can say Hi, Momma, Mom, Dada, Baba & has even said doggie!), but WOW, he could become a real Genius! HaHa. Momma only wants best for her son. Everyone is like family there, and they do not have a high turn over rate like all other daycare centers. All of the employees have been there 7 + years (they've been around for 15yrs).

ZooBoo tomorrow (thanks for the idea Lesley!). I was afraid Kernie would miss out on
Gray-mans first Halloween because he is working but then we saw that the Zoo will be doing a little fright night from 6pm-10pm. That works out great for us! I'm excited! Grayson is going to be a Dinosour, Kernie will be the Cat in the Hat and I will be a Kitty-Cat from downtown (promiscuous kitty with peircings, heehee!).

Last night to carve our pumpkin! (we been busy)

I'm starting to see bags under my eyes now when I take pictures....ugh!!! It definitely shows how I feel though =(

HAPPY 9 MONTHS, MY LIL' SWEETIE!! ♥



New Stats:

Weight: 23.10 lbs.
Height: 29 1/2"
Head Circumference: 46 1/2" (still big!) =)

**Has a mild ear infection**


Kernie & Charlie are going to come pick me up in about an hour from work to hang out for the day. I'm sad that he is leaving tomorrow morning and all we have been doing is working & not spending much time with him...We need another trip to NY, I want to go in the fall this time around!

What an enjoyable weekend! Pretty weather, spending time with my alumni of 1999! We went to the GBHS homecoming game on friday night & met up with Laura, Shaun, Laura & Nick and got saw some other classmates while we were there. Good times were had & GB actually won! Then we went to Hooters with them (Grayson's 1st trip to Hooters!! HaHaHa!!) & had a late night snack.

My 10yr reunion was Saturday night, but I decided not to go to that since I would get to see some people at the football game. Time just isn't right, right now money wise for us to purchase tickets, etc. It was good to see all that I saw though =) I do keep up with most on facebook...

Sunday, Kernie had to work. After church, I met up with Laura & Shaun and we took the kiddios to the Zoo. I live here & I've actually never been there. It was pretty nice. Grayson loved it. We got to see the baby tiger cubs, one of the giraffes were prego & was expecting at any time & even one of the sheep were prego. I guess they get busy up in that ice cream shop...LoL!
I really wish Laura & Shaun will move back here soon....I miss my besties =(

Monday night I had dinner with Anna-Banana. I have not seen her in like 8 months...it was a much needed time to see her. She is one busy lady with 3 jobs & being a counselor. We do have plans to go back out for Black Friday together again this year =) I am also in the process of trying to hook her up with a friend. So, far...I think things are looking good!

Charlie is in town! Yay, I love my bro-in-law!! I wish he could stay longer. I feel bad that we are all working and can't spend much time with him. If Kernie gets off at a decent time tonight, our plans are to try & go out to eat. I need to get some pictures taken too...

I am running on low energy....

Grayson wants to be just like daddy =)

She thinks..."One Day!"...but WE say "NOT!!!" (haha!)

I'm so not sure what is wrong with my lil' sweetie. He is still battling this congestion thing & it makes it hard for him to drink his milk & let alone take naps (which are highly important) or even sleep at night =( His temperature fluctuates too. I took him to the doctor about 2 weeks ago, and they couldn't do anything for him then, so I don't see how it would be any different if I took him again. I'm actually trying to hold out until next week for his scheduled 9-month checkup. Taking off work & two co-pays suck.

I hibernated with Katie & Grayson on Saturday since he was running a high fever again. Sunday, we slept in until 9:00 (Thank you Grayson!!), awoke & said "It's a beautiful day, we are all 4 together...Let's get out & drive." So, we decided to head out to do some walking at the Prime Outlets in Williamsburg. Grayson did very well (even though he fought his naps as usual). He became more cranky towards the end & it was pretty late. Kernie got 3 pairs of much needed dress pants for work. Suits are so expensive, he really needs more of those. But we figured pants will do for now & he can just interchange his jackets. Winter is coming though, I wish we could spend more money for him. I got two shirts & a pair of flats. I need some winter shoes that will actually fit my post-prego feet =) We gave Katie $20 to spend from the get-go & she ended up at Aeropostale. She is definitely getting into this clothing thing...middle school is next year, us two better 'Watch Out!'. (lol)

My fav, fav, fav brother-in-law is coming this weekend!! Kern & I want to ride up to DC on Sunday to attend an event with him before he comes this way, but I don't think our funds are going to allow it... BOO!!

Tired. Achey. SICK, again(!!)...I want a hoodie.

The AC finally got fixed on Saturday. And now we are moving! Yep, you heard right. We decided Friday that it would be in our best interest to go ahead and move to Suffolk and live with my brother. He has a house that he was looking to rent out to a roommate anyhow and said he'd rather rent to us instead of to some stranger. With that said, we will get the entire upstairs to ourselves. Plus usage of the living room, kitchen & garage...oh and Lucy will have a back yard again...YES!! The drive each way to work will be about 20 minutes. I'm not looking forward to that, but I would rather drive than have Kernie work two jobs and completely never be home with his family. All in all, this new living situation will help us save almost $600 a month. We definitely can't beat that. OH, and a free babysitter in some instances too. :)

"Thank you God for being their in our times of need! You are truly Amazing!"

Our AC has been out for a couple of days now. Luckily it's only been in the 70's but I believe it will be in the 80's this weekend. Hopefully it will be fixed by then. Sleeping with the windows open has been quite nice though. However, I was kept awake last night due to some cricket who decided to make his rounds to each wall in our bedroom and then into Grayson's. I could not see that sucker, but gosh I could sure hear him!

This whole traffic thing to the new babysitter bites. I won't have time to pick Katie up now. 20 - 30 minutes to even make it to Cedar Road is Redonkulous!! I guess Kern will have to figure something else out with Marcy. He'll probably have to get her on his way home. I feel like I'm going to be overwhelmed with so much now that school is back in session. Eight months & no vacation...only 4 more months to go until my 3 weeks in 2010 =) It will surely be well deserved. I'm in such a need of at least one 'mommy' day!

It's so hard to believe that KT will be in middle school next year. I have been with this girl since she was 4 years old! Last night was her 5th grade orientation. I have high hopes for her this year. I just pray that she will try to be more responsible with bringing all of her assignments home to complete for homework, to not socialize as much during class and to actually LISTEN...oh & not take HOURS doing homework. Geesh, it can only get better, right?

We had coupons for free hot dogs, so Uncle Al's was for dinner afterwards. We are thinking of going ahead and putting Grayson in his new bed. We have not been able to put him to sleep in his crib right away at night, for some reason he'll just throw a fit by kicking & not fall asleep. He always goes down in our bed first (out like a light) and then we switch him over to his. For some reason he has become so backwards lately. With that, and with waking up numerous times in the night. I guess it's Karma for him sleeping all the way through so early on. Haha!

Looking forward to the 3-day weekend. Not sure what's planned. I know we have a luncheon at church on Sunday and a cook-out at Moms Monday. I need to clean our bedroom.

Happy Labor Day Everyone!!

(Graysons' new racecar bed!!)


My hunt has come to an end. Last night I could pee my pants because I had finally found Graysons' toddler bed! I have originally been looking for a used Disney Cars Toddler Bed (the big plastic red racecar shaped one, which are outrageously expensive brand new) on Craigslist, but had no such luck. Although, last night at around 8:50 I had Kernie contact this lady who was selling a Little Tikes plastic blue racecar shaped bed for THIRTY-FIVE DOLLARS! I know right, what a steal!! This particular model is no longer available, but the twin size (new model with different look) is running $200 - $300 brand new. Kern raced to Acura to pick up a vehichle (before they closed at 9) and went & bought the bed. The lady said that four other people had called & were interested, but of course 'first come, first serve'. WE GOT IT!! =)


Unkle Anferney will be storing it in his garage until his 1st birthday...Yippeeeeee!

Sunday we finally had a relaxing day. After church we headed out to the Beach to watch the Patriotic / Military Air & Sea Show they had going on down at 6th street. Of course it was Grayson's first trip to the Beach, too! The weather turned out nice. It did call for isolated thunderstorms but they seemed to of held out for us. While Gray-man was in the stroller we just draped a towel over him so that his legs were not steadily in the sun. He is a white boy and all taking after his momma and I soooo did not want to see him burnt. We managed :)

His first touch of the mushy sand to his feet and in his toes intrigued him. But as soon as that wave came up to touch his feetsies, he let out a little squeal (the water is not warm enough yet) but after that, all was good. Kernie built a little swimming pool for him to sit on the side of and splash his feet in. I was very proud of him. The highest the water came to was to his knees and he loved every minute of it. After about 2 hours, he clonked out under the umbrella and took a 45 minute nap or so and woke up with huge smiles. His arms and legs were all spread eagle...I'm sure the sound of the ocean helped him feel at peace.

About 5 o'clock we headed back home to give him a quick bath and headed back out to have dinner over at Sarah's with her and Travis. We have to do that more often, it was quite fun!Kernie doesn't get much "guy time" anymore because he is always working. We had yummy steaks, green beans and baked potatos! Delicious!! Left there about 11:00 and came home to call it a night. It was a wonderful & absolute fun day, but I was completely exhausted! It's now Tuesday, and I'm just now catching up...haha!

Grayson went to his first movie theater event friday night. We went with Anferny & Irene to watch The Terminator but he slept right through it. Such a good boy :) Before that, we had dinner at Texas Roadhouse in Va.Beach. I LOVE there rolls and honey butter...mmm' good! Grayson sat in his booster seat for the first time. We purchased one so that he wouldn't have to sit in germ infested ones for whenever we go out. It makes me feel better. Haha! He did really well and enjoyed playing with his toy that was on the tray. That was also the first time we tried feeding him Banana Oatmeal. He squirmed and didn't take to it very well. We tried about five bites but was not going to force him...I just want him to go at his own pace.

Saturday was my cousins 21st birthday cookout. That was fun. I was completley wiped out for some odd reason. I got home about 7'ish and zonked out for the night. Sunday Mom and I went to get our hairs did. I am in love with my new cut! I got it more angled this time and I have side swooshing bangs. LOL! My hair stylist told me the news that her husband got his orders and are now moving back to Hawaii. I'm sad...I don't trust many with my hair and I found her through another friends' recommendation. By that time, it was almost time for the hubster to be off work. So I dropped mom off and then we drove out to Carters really fast before they closed (got there like 15 mins beforehand) and got our little boy some more bibs and a couple of really cute outfits. They have such better sales there than at BabiesRUs, I couldn't believe it! After that we went to Buffalo Wild Wing for dinner and I had the best salad in the world. Grayson peed on himself somehow. I think his diaper got loose towards the top and he peed upwards...weird.

We are somehow able to watch OnDemand in our bedroom. Not sure how since we don't have a box upstairs. But Kernie was browsing through the channels and the movie Role Models was playing. But, then it started fast forwarding, etc all by itself. So now, we can watch whatever "whoever" is watching on their TV. Kind of freaky if you ask me! But pretty cools since we don't have to pay for the movie!!!

I heard Julie Chen is prego and is still going to be the host this July for Big Brother! Im so happy, she is really good & I love that show...I can't wait for it to start!!!!

We tried just plain rice cereal with Grayson last night...and of course we got the same reactions. Maybe he is just not ready???


Grayson's new stats:

Weight = 16.80 lbs (50 percentile - average)
Leighth = 26" (90 percentile - way above average)
Head = let's just say this is why I had a hard time pushing him out (90 percentile - way above average!) LOL!!

Heather's baby shower was Saturday. She got tons of goodies :) Although, I think it was one of the quickest baby showers I have been to. The grandmother of the girl who threw the shower was very into Kingston & Grayson. I think I was the only one who could really understand her speaking since I'm use to Kern's mothers filipino accent. She was a sweetheart. She kept saying that she loves children. Apparently she use to watch them in the philipeans until they were about 6 or 7 yrs old. But she said one thing to me that I think will ALWAYS stand out to me..."Maybe when I die and go to heaven I can watch him too!" I immediately started tearing up because at first I wasn't sure how to take it. Right before she made that comment she was guessing Kingston and Grayson's ages dead on, so I thought she was kind of psycic. Then with her making this comment I wasn't sure if she was saying something might happen soon or that she will be one of his guardian angels. I'm pretty sure it's the guardian angel version :) It was awefully sweet!

My first OFFICIAL Mother's Day turned out to be a blast! The morning started out with Grayson being baptized. I am so proud of him. He stuck to his usual morning schedule. Ate about 7:00 and went back to sleep around 8:30 until it was time for us to go up to the alter. Then he was wide awake but not fussy :) He looked handsome in the outfit Grammie made for him. (The tag on the inside even said: "Made with love by Grandma") He made a very slight sound when the Holy water hit his head but I have no complaints at all. Oh, and of course I cried.

We went to moms house afterwards for a cookout. Not everyone showed up there and to the church but I guess that's a whole other story. I really hope Grayson doesn't grow up without his family surrounding him. I feel like that happened when I was growing up and it makes me want to have many more children so that he will have better support. In my opinion, I think it's really sad. Kernie hates that I think about it and says I shouldn't let things like that get to me...but some things are just important in my eyes and I feel like family should be there for those important times. (I think he is use to it himself) Anyhow, it all turned out nice. We gave mom a new camera, finally! She has been hinting around it for a while now. Kernie, Katie & Grayson surprised me with a new Camcorder. It's the Zi6 by Kodak. IT'S PINK and really cute!!! It's a very portable size too...not one of those gigantic ones where you need a big carrying case. I can't wait to get into using it. Grayson's future wife is going to see all of his actions as a baby and a young child =} Yep, I'm going to be one of those momma's...LOL!

I just finished cleaning the house from floor one to the second...Whewww! In record time too :)
Preparing for a little bit of company that is expected after Grayson's baptism on Sunday before we all head to Mom's for a cookout to celebrate Mother's Day & his baptism. Grammie finished his outfit today and took it to the hospital tonight to show it off because everyone wanted to see it. I can't wait for him to try it on tomorrow morning. I'm sure I'll tear up a little.

Tomorrow is Heather & Davids baby shower. I can't believe Cameron is going to be here in 2 months! I'm so stoked to have another little boy around. It's going to be fun =)

Katie is grounded again...so basicaly, so am I. Going on week three...is this ever going to end????

Well, to update you all...Our Anniversary was a BLAST! We should definitely never let an entire year pass by before it is just the two of us out on a real date again. I just think it is so important that we keep "our time" within our lives. With so much going on we sometimes forget to enjoy those moments we use to always share. Having a baby & extra curicular activities can put a strain on that at times, but we will now make it a point :~)

We dropped Grayson off at Grammies house the night before so that we could sleep in a little bit. Mom wanted to work on his baptism outfit, so we didn't take him over until his bed time (around 9pm). I put him to sleep when I got there and couldn't stop kissing him on the forehead. Secretly crying and trying to clear my eyes before walking back out into the living room. I didn't want anyone to joke me...lol! Kern and I got home and pretty much as soon as we walked in the door, I started balling my eyes out. I have never been away from my little man for an entire night :( Kernie just kept laughing at me, which made me laugh, eventually.

Slept in until about 9am and went and had breakfast at the Cracker Barrel. Then we just went out and spent the day together walking around. Found him some more Reef flip-flops and I got some Roxy's. Back to moms house at 3 to pick up Grayson. Got home, got changed real quick to head off to dinner while Anthony & Irene came over to watch lil' man while we went out to dinner.

Dinner was at The Melting Pot. It was YUM-O!!! It's a very intimate setting. We were all alone :) It's a hard tell about, you just have to eat there to experience it all...I promise you won't walk out dissapointed. A $120 4-course meal for two is WELL WORTH IT :)

Me (Grayson) - Steph (Liam) - Lesley (Kingston)

My Lil' Monkey!

Kingston (left) - Grayson (middle) - Liam (right)

1ST BUMBO CLUB MEETING :)

You must know the secret password to get in...

Today, I just feel "pooped!". I don't feel like I did that much, but I think I'm am just feeling drained by all the days adding up. I absolutely adore my little man, but sometimes I just need that 3 hour or so break...

It felt really good to be back at church today. I was sad that we missed Easter service (it is my favorite holiday, too) but with Grayson having been sick it wasn't a good idea to take him. We've missed pratically the entire month of April. I feel so bad that work and tiredness just takes up our time. I know God understands, but I still feel so guilty. Grayson attended his first nursery today. He made me proud! We were given our pager in case anything happened for us to come back, but it never went off :) I checked in on him after service before going up to Sunday School and he had already dozed off. I think I did okay with him being in there for the first time. I got a little teary eyed thinking about it on the way to church but I decided to keep one of his blankets with me so that I could feel his presence...

Mel's baby shower was today. I am stoked about another boy being added to the "bumbo club". LOL! Baby Noah will be a wonderful addition. It's going to be so exciting to see all these little men grow up together. We did some photos with the boys (Kingston, Liam & Grayson). It was quite hilarious watching them all interact with one another. Sometimes I just wish I knew what they were thinking!

I know it has been a super long while since I have blogged. It has been so dificult to find the time to do so with extra curicular activities and the family. Not to mention, dealing with a baby :) Hopefully I will get to do it much more often now, from my bed, the couch or from whereever...because my hubster & I got a Dell Laptop for our 1 year wedding anniversary gift to each other! Now whereever Grayson is, I can still be with him instead of always having to carry him upstairs to our room where the desktop is. I'm going to be much more mobile now!!

I'm actually sitting here in his rocker while he bounces in his seat. He is a little whiny but is also cooing here & there...every now & then I'll put the pacifier back in his mouth. I wish I could give him a bath. It normally calms him down. BUT, our dumb water heater sprang a leak last night and was coming through our bathroom ceiling upstairs. So, I'm stuck here while the plumber tries to find the parts and I'm missing sissy's soccer game vs. the parents :(

Oh, and Lucy "howeled" at the plumber & of course got Grayson into a crying frenzy! But now he just fell asleep....Zzzzzz's....

(We will miss you Turbo!!!)

Thursday was a sad day. We had to take Turbo (our cat) to the humane society so that he could find a new home :-[ Ever since we have brought Grayson home from the hospital, we found Turbo using the bathroom in his things (such as the playpen, bouncer, our couches & etc.). I never thought of a cat becoming territorial but I guess he did not like the new change in our house of a baby being there. Turbo was a gift to Katie and I from Kernie about 2 years ago...we will miss him! He definitely brought a lot of laughs to our household.

Lucy on the other hand has taken pretty well to the idea of Grayson. She will run to check on him if he is crying in his crib or even if he is in our arms she will come running to see what is happening and then try to give him millions of kisses :~) Lucy was also "my first" but I know she can feel the sadness knowing Grayson now gets first priority. I try my hardest to let her know she is still #1. It hurts sometimes, because she has been there for me through everything in my life for the past 6 years (even though she is a dog, I understand...but you know what I mean!). My BFF...and now I have a new little BFF.

Kern's birthday is next week. He is getting old. (LoL!) He will be the big 34! We decided not to do much for birthdays (mine is next month) since we are low on cash. I got the kids to do something a little special for him. I know he will enjoy it. Our 1 year wedding anniversary is coming up in April, so we decided to just save a little and do something special then. We are thinking about going to The Melting Pot. I hear good stories about it all the time. Even though it is quite expensive, I'm going to try to look past that and just have a good time. If you know me, you know I would find it way to rediculous to spend over $100 on a meal for two. I'm just going to let loose!!!

Grayson is shocking us each day. I think he is advanced for his age. Last night he was holding his head up for the LONGEST time all by himself (granted he has literally done it since the first night in the hospital) but now he is not even "wiggle wobbling". I have some cute pictures that I will have to post. He is starting to be a lot more alert with us and will just study our faces. He goes through so many expressions on his face it just makes you giggle. He is truely our little character!! It brings us so much joy to be able to watch him grow up every day.

Yesterday was my first full day away from my little boy. It was intense but I knew all along he was in good hands. I did cheat and got to see him during my lunch break :) Today was a little easier, but I still had a trillion things running through my head, like "what if?" or "did you remember to tell her?" and so on and so on. It should only get better though.

Work was what I expected after returning a month later. Sales reps can be the devil! I love what I do and I can actually say I like the people I work with (when we are out of work atmosphere) but they can just be "butts" most of the time. It's been almost nine years and I'm thinking it's about time to make a switch. With the economy the way it is, it definitely scares me to even think about making a move. With us paying daycare now, we hardly have enough money left over to feed our mouths or even to put gas in our cars. Times are getting tough, but I'm praying that they will get better for us.

Grayson has been doing really well the past couple of days. We started giving him some medicine to help him cope with his gas / fussiness. It seems to be working like a Pro. It hurts sometimes to not be able to make him feel comfortable in his own little body right now. When he feels it, he just screams & screams! Saturday I had my first melt down because I could not do anything to help him. Almost 1 1/2 hours passed and I just broke down crying calling Kernie to come home to the rescue. I felt ashamed because it made me feel like I was failing as a mother already. Realistically I know it's not my fault, but I still can't help but think it / feel it sometimes. I want to be that SUPER MOM! :~) Sunday, he stayed the afternoon with Grammie & PaPa Ray so that I could get some "me time" and also accomplish some tasks that had been neglected for like four weeks around the house. It's definitely good to have Grammie close by.

Well, the hubby is downstairs cooking dinner and it smells yummy! I will wrap it up for tonight and I will also hopefully try to post more often these days. Sorry for the delay everyone!

Have a good night!

Baby Grayson Kern Anderson is here! :)

Okay, so I know I am about 2 weeks behind on updating this since Grayson has been born. However, my excuse is that I have not been able to "sit" at the computer. We don't have a chair for our computer desk, it's an exercise ball. (LoL!) So, due to the stitches it kind of made things a little uncomfortable for me.

Anyhow, our sweet little boy is here! He joined our family on January 15th at 6:44 PM after about an 11 hour labor (includes about 2 hours of pushing). He weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces and was 20.9" long. We arrived at the hospital at 6:30 AM and about 8:00 Dr. Mathison broke my water and started me on the petocin. I soon became dialated at 7cm (I was so excited) and then it took me about 3 more hours to become 10cm. Whoo-Hoo, we were on our way!! I finally got the urge to push and so I began this vigorous fight with my sons big ol' head that just would not budge!! The whole time the top of his head could be seen, but apparently he had a big one and it just was not going to come out for me. Not only that, I had been pushing for so long that somehow he became entangled within the umbilical cord and it was making his heart rate drop every time I had a contraction. My doctor came at us with a choice of either having a c-section or her using the vaccum to help pull his head out. The only concern was that with the vaccum there could be bleeding to the brain as a complication to the procedure. However, it was like 1 in a Gazilllion chances. She had reassured me that the same procedure was used on her last child and he is now 2 and 100% healthy. So, with a little deliberation...my mom, Kernie and I thought it would be best to go ahead and move forward with the vaccum. And within seconds, the doctor was at work on pulling our son out. :)

I tell you, I will NEVER forget that first look at him. Even though I was in so much pain (I really don't think my epidural worked all that great) during it all, the greatest joy was holding onto my son watching his face & that silent cry like he was screaming his head off but with no sound piercing my ears and being able to pull his body out the rest of the way onto my chest. I was the first to hold him :)

It didn't last too long because they had to take him away to do their thing and to get him to start crying. He was only making this grunting noise and doing a cute little shiver with his bottom lip. Everything happened so fast. A few pictures got taken and then Kernie went off with Grayson to the nursery to make sure he was going to be alright with his breathing.

I didn't get to see Grayson again until about 11:00 PM that night when they brought him to our room to stay with us for the night. Instantly, that mommy feeling came over me and I wanted nothing more than to hold my baby for the rest of the time and never let him go...

We got to come home 2 days later and our real life began as new parents. Trying to get everything into routine was a little tough but we have managed. There have only been a couple of sleepless "entire" nights. But, the good totally outweighs the bad! :) Kernie was home with me for the first week and I have been by myself since this past Monday. I still have not been anywhere by myself with Grayson, except on a drive to and from Grammies house. We may attempt to do something tomorrow (I now need to shop for new jeans). I just don't want to be overwhelmed out in public and have nobody to turn to if I can't handle something that may happen. But, everyone tells me I will do fine and it will all be trial and error...

Grayson had his first week check-up last Thursday and was 8.4 pounds then. He has his 2nd week follow-up tomorrow. Hopefully he is not gaining too much!! The Pediatrician says he is one happy healthy growing little boy :) :) :)

God has room for everybody...

With our little son on the way, I figured that this would be a good way for family & friends to be able to keep up with how things are going with the four of us and to see current pictures. I will attempt to update at least once a week (maybe 2 or 3 times), but no guarantees :)

Baby Update:

We had a follow-up appointment today and found out that I am progressing along smoothly. I am about 4 1/2 to 5 centimeters dialated at this time (after being at a 3cm standstill for the past month). I still feel the contractions, mostly mild but I do get those unexpected quick tear jerskers a lot more lately. Maybe he will be here before the 15th?? Grayson is also so low at this point. My inner thighs just ache so much that I walk like I'm 80 years old. I am up to 191 lbs as of today. So I have gained 51 lbs. total. (hopefully this will be easy to lose!) I will also add a picture of my super-sized swollen feet for your laughs :)

Thursday is still our scheduled day to be induced if nothing happens before then. Dr. Mathison will first break my water to see if I dialate any more on my own. If not, then they will give me the petocin. Hopefully, that won't be the case. She honestly thinks that this will be a pretty quick delivery...I SURE HOPE SO! :D I definitely can't wait to hold our little monkey!!

In the beginning before I even became pregnant, I was totally terrified of the thought about giving birth and all of the pains. Surprisingly, I am very comfortable with the thought now. I have prayed and asked God many times to Bless us and I feel that he is really bringing the peace within me. For the past few weeks I have been compeletly pumped up with no worries whatsoever. I am so thankful he is forever by my side!

Speaking of God, Katie brought up stretch marks the other day. After her and I spoke about mine, she said a few minutes later "God doesn't get stretch marks...because he has room for everybody". She is soooo cute! I couldn't help but share a laugh / smile with her after that. She is getting excited too. Hopefully that excitement won't wear off when he tends to make a lot of noise / cry through the days. (haha!) I have no doubt that she will be a wonderful sister to her little brother.

I have the next two days off beforehand to especially "relax" but I also need to make sure I got everything I need for our trip to the hospital packed. I washed his blanky that Lola made for him tonight. I am also waiting for one from his Grammie as well as his little beanie. I can't wait to see him all bundled up with love from his grandparents!

Well, our next post probably won't be until after we are home from the hospital. Wish us Good Luck and please keep us in your prayers! Be prepared to be overwhelmed with pictures too!!! :)