What I've been up to...

Office visit
I made the big trip back to the office yesterday to show off my kid. I mean I'm just being honest. Isn't that what the obligatory office visit during maternity leave is all about?! I'm kidding, really. I have to say that I was more excited to see everyone than I was for them to meet Grayson! I miss everyone SO much and it was great to see everybody. My co-workers all wanted to ask me questions about the baby and what I've been up to but all I wanted to talk about was what I've been missing up there! They have been crazy busy with Q3 (my mat. leave could NOT have come at a worse time) and I was eager to see the new campaign elements and hear about all the drama - it's better than primetime TV, I tell you. I have to admit, my team looks tired. I can see the long days/nights on their faces coupled with the difficulty of our client, no doubt. I really feel for them and hope they get a break soon! But honestly, this is the biggest campaign to date that started July 1 and extends through the end of September - yikes! I return Sept. 1st so I will be back in the storm in no time....

Lovely meals with the parents
Can you say Neighborhood Services?! That's right, my mom and I had a fun day of running around last week and once we picked up my Dad from the airport, we headed to this great restaurant! We have all heard SO much about it so we were thrilled to try it. I just loved being back in my old 'hood (i.e. Lovers/Inwood area) and it really made me miss the good old days when Beau and I lived on Clover Lane and our biggest concern was which restaurant we were going to try next and which friends we were seeing that weekend [sigh]...anway, I digress. Needless to say, Neighborhood Services lives up to all the hype and I can't wait to take Beau when he is in town. ;-) We also took my parents for their first Babe's experience. Mmm Mmm Good! They loved it. you can't beat family style fried chicken, mashed potatoes and those biscuits!

Doctor Appointment
I can't say it enough - my OB and his staff are AMAZING! I will really miss them and even told them that I am tempted to be pregnant again just so i can see them on a regular basis. ha! Don't tell Beau ;-) They all just gushed over Grayson AND my Mom! One of the nurses made the comment that Mama is so beautiful and classy. But you know this. ;-)

Other than this, just running errands (my to do list is long oddly enough), seeing movies, attending Birthday parties, cleaning house (oh, and raising a baby) and planning ahead to Nikki's Bachelorette party at the end of August! Pat Green plays in my head: TAKE ME DOWN TO THE RIVER.....can't wait!!

Between Sizes

This post could easily be about me since I'm not quite back to my original size and refuse to buy new clothes; thus, not a lot of options in the closet. However, in true new mom fashion, I have shamelessly turned this blog into "all about baby". It's just my life right now, so deal. ;-) I mentioned in my last post that Grayson is growing SO fast. And because of this, he is out of his newborn clothes (SO SAD!) but doesn't quite fit into his 0-3 month clothes. I can't figure out how they size this stuff. Anyway, here are some fun outfits that we have managed to squeeze him into. Whether they are a little too big or a little too small, I realize that this is the life of a new mom - spending way too much time in the nursery closet to make sure that I don't miss any outfits before he grows out of them...oh, the excitement (sigh)....

1 Month Ped Appointment

Grayson had his 1 month pediatrician appointment and overall, he still looks healthy and great. We had questions regarding our trouble with getting him back to sleep after each feeding in the middle of the night and all the grunting and distress afterward. We don't have any of these problems during the day. Beau and I have come to the conclusion that he has his days/nights confused and that it's not so much diet or digestive (ok maybe just a little).

I can't help but laugh that I put him in cute outfits to go to the doctor and of course they have me take off all his clothes as soon as we get back to the room. Oh well, at least we have pictures!

Here are his stats - he's growing like a weed!

Height: 22.5 inches; 82 percentile

Weight: 9 lbs 12.5 oz.; 48 percentile

Head circum.: 15; 46 percentile

His changes day by day are just amazing. He doesn't fit into outfits that he fit into at the beginning of this week. He is more alert than ever and is now holding his head up completely on his own for long periods of time. He held his bottle while my mom was feeding him yesterday (towards the end when it was lighter) and he FLIPPED OVER the other day when I wasn't looking. No video, no pictures, no certainty that I didn't dream it. But I'm positive that I set him down on his back and when I looked over a couple minutes later, he was on his stomach (and one arm). Crazy!

Oldies but goodies

I came across some "old" photos last week - I love them b/c a) they took me back to the weekend that we told my parents that I was pregnant, b) I got my "new" car and c) we have a photo with Felix - our late cat that I miss so, so much. 


This is Beau and I posing with the newborn onesie and socks that I wrapped up and gave to my parents as "just a little something" for being so generous and swapping cars with us. (Don't worry, we didn't give them a grandson in exchange for a Yukon. Purely coincidence and perfect timing :) ). I wish I had video of my mom opening this gift in the middle of the restaurant....a once in a lifetime experience and facial expression that I will cherish always!

I have said it before but this cat was GOR. GEOUS.

Visitors and Bath Time (not together)

First, Beau and I are just so touched by the number of visitors we have had both at the hospital and since we have been home. So many loving friends and family members have come by to meet Grayson and it feels so good to be surrounded by wonderful people. Of course I didn't take ANY pictures from all of our visits so I'm stealing from others....


My sister Andrea came to visit from Austin when Grayson was just 10 days old! I wasn't getting around too well yet so we really enjoyed hanging around our parents' house and ours so that she could be with him.

I lifted this one from Kristi's blog ;-) Grayson met their little Emmie when she was just 5 months old a couple of weeks ago. As Kristi said, it's crazy to see their difference in size when they will ultimately be in the same grade! Too cute...

Wish I had thought to take pictures of all our other visitors but regardless, thank you to all who have come to see us during this wonderful time!


Second, we didn't capture Grayson's first bath since we were completely overwhelmed with the fountain he contributed (i.e. he peed). But here is the second or third - what a cutie! With the first few baths, we kept a blanket with him to keep him warm, but we have also tried without and he's comfy and doesn't fuss so blanket be gone. Just more mess to clean up. I'll try to find the photo in his robe - SO cute!!

Newborn Photo Shoot (and Happy 1 Month!)

We received the disk of our newborn photo shoot today and I'm thrilled at how great they all turned out! Zoe D. is truly talented and has a great eye with everyone she shoots but particularly with the newborns! I love how she brought Grayson's ever-changing facial expressions to life and froze them in time for us to appreciate forever! Here are only a select few. The rest are on Facebook and one in particular will be on the announcement we are sending out in the near future, which I'm also very excited about :-) 

Happy 1 month today, baby Grayson! You have already grown so much and become so much more alert. My favorite part? Those fleeting smiles are lingering just a few more seconds longer than they used to - I look forward to those every day!

First videos

What is there to video of a newborn?? Nothing! Since they pretty much just lay there, these might seem a little boring to you but they mean the world to us and I just love his little facial expressions! I can already see the changes in him and while I don't want him to change a bit more, I'm looking forward to watching him grow up :-)

We are enjoying the new Flip video camera that Maw gave us for the shower. Here are just a few of the many videos Beau has captured and as he continues to travel during the week, it will be a great resource to help him feel close to us!

First Ped Appointment

Grayson had his first pediatrician appointment recently and I'm pleased to say everything looks great! I'm sure glad I planned a super cute outfit for him only for them request that I strip him naked as soon as we walked into the room. Ha! What was I really expecting? Of course she needed to scope him out - duh. I'm prepared for plenty more humbling experiences as we go through this journey for the first time!

Here are the percentages of his check-up - mainly for me since I know these don't mean that much to other people. The pediatrician told us that these #s don't mean much so early on since babies are born at different gestation periods and grow in different ways. Otherwise, it looks like Grayson may just have my lanky build and not Beau's (obviously the more desirable for a boy) - eek!! Only time will tell :-)

Height - 21 inches - 75th percentile
Weight - 7 lbs 10.5 ounces - 28th percentile
Head - 14.25 - 41st percentile

We are loving this boy so much and I'm getting really attached. I always wondered why people were so hesitant to leave their babies in the hands of capable babysitters. Turns out it has nothing to do with the abilities of the babysitter and has everything to do with the bond that forms between mama and baby!!


There is tons more to discuss - all the great company we have had, my sisters' visits and our newborn photo session. But I need to wait on pics of all of this before I blog about it ;-)

First "Mom" Swimsuit

Oh Lawd, here we go. It was bound to happen. There's something about this new phase where a 1-piece suit just makes sense. I mean, I'm the same girl woman I was last summer, right?! And I'm recovering well from pregnancy so why is my mind changing about getting back into that bikini?! Maybe because this silly little black line is NOT going away anytime soon! And here I thought it would be gone by the time I left the hospital...pssh!

I won't bore you with the inner dialogue that has taken over the past few days regarding 1-piece vs. 2-piece suits. So lets focus on the exciting, new post-baby swimsuit! My dear friend Nikki who is now a personal shopper for J. Crew in Destin has this on the way to me! I think it's a fabulous transition to Mom-hood. Fingers crossed it fits. I have never ordered a suit online so now with a new body, new size and things shifting, not sure why I thought it was a good time to experiment - ha!

Now, I'm fully aware that a strapless suit is not an option with a toddler who is clinging to you in the pool - it comes with a strap, which I will add next year when this applies :-) Until then, a strapless 1-piece it is (hopefully)! 

Oh, and a HUGE thanks to my sisters Andrea and Amanda for the Birthday gift cards to make this possible ;-)

2 Week Updates (and Happy 4th of July!)

Not to worry, I won't provide updates every week but I want to take advantage of the time I have to capture as many memories as possible b/c I've heard from everyone that it goes so fast and you forget a lot of it!

First, Shelby is adapting to a new person in the house quite well! Here are a couple of pics (again, from my terrible phone camera) that I've caught of her....

Boppy pillows aren't just for babies!

Shelby is also a great babysitter....when she's not trying to sit on his head.

We can't wait for Brinkley to meet Grayson as well. He is STILL in Mississippi doing the whole hunting training thing. Beau is toying with the idea of leaving him there through July for another month of advanced training. That would be THREE months away from home. It's killing me - I miss him. But I must admit, things are much easier around here without that ball of energy! :-)

We had a newborn photo session with an old friend from work. She does AMAZING work and since it's still her side job, she is very affordable! We have only seen one photo so far but will post the rest once we see/purchase them!! This was the best decision we have made so far and even though it took 5 hours (with feeding, changing, cleaning up messes, etc.), it was SO worth it!

The past week has been very busy with follow-up doctor/hospital appointments and my learning how to get me AND someone else ready to leave the house. I've done pretty well and I'm happy to say that I have mastered the stroller and the car seat! Many thanks to my mom for standing in 100 degree heat with me while I mess with those things! Next up, figuring out the car seat holders in restaurants. They all seem to be different and tricky....

I'm also still working on this swaddle thing. We do have one of those cheater Miracle Blankets but are really loving these Gerber light weight waffle blankets for the summer - and they are stretchy :) Beau is like McGyver with all things baby (well, with all things) and he kicks butt at swaddling! 

Beau's swaddle:

My swaddle (yikes)..

While Grayson has had some great nights of sleeping 3 to 4 hours at a time (yes, this is "great"), last night was a MESS! He was up every hour to 1 1/2 hours wanting to eat and pretty grunty. I say that b/c he's more of a grunter than a crier, which is better but still not fun when you know they are in distress. That said, we had a GREAT day yesterday eating lunch and shopping with my mom and grandmother. Our first long, big day out and he passed with flying colors! He's a great baby :-) Here's a pic of him and Beau when he FINALLY fell asleep this morning....he looks just like Beau :)

 We have a big 4th of July weekend planned with lots of family in town! My sister Amanda is flying in from Columbus, OH to meet Grayson and celebrate her and our Grandmother's Birthdays (both on the 5th). Hopefully, I will recap and have pictures next week! 

Happy 4th of July to all!