The Climber

So my baby is truly becoming a toddler. I can’t continue to deny reality…. He’s growing up (stopping for a moment to cry). I’m not sure when he turned into a toddler but it feels like overnight. He’s doing big boy things all the time. He loves to play outside and climb everything. He’s been a climber for a long time but now he truly has the ability to use his skills. His favorite adventure is currently the chair. He will find a way to climb into every chair in sight… then sit up like a big boy and wait for the praise! Just last night I was cooking dinner and turned around for about 3 minutes to tend the stove and when I turned around he was sitting in his high chair, proud as a peacock. I immediately thought that my husband or Uncle Pete has placed him in the chair but no one was around. I innocently asked “how did you get in there?!” Grey smiled and appeared very pleased with my concerned expression. I quickly removed him from the chair and casually mentioned to Matthew that he got into the high chair by himself… he seemed as equally confused by the statement. However, this morning I was able to capture the act on video! My baby is half toddler half monkey… which I’m not okay with either!

Climbed into the chair on Gigi's porch



Climbed into the rocker at our new house



Video Footage Coming Soon...

A Small Saboteur

Someone who commits acts of sabotage earns the name saboteur.

Well friends and family, we have a saboteur among us! He deliberately weakens his parents through acts of disruption. He conceals his true intentions in the night by faking a pathetic cry. Once in the bed with his parents he starts his true disruptions. Head bombs is one of his new favs… standing and simply sitting on the heads of his sleeping parents. Circling kicks were in action last night. He rotates his body in a circular motion while providing kicks to both sets of parents. Singing songs in his exhausted parents ears… the lyrics consists of “no, no, no, no, no!” Unnecessary pillow sharing for Dad… try sleeping with a saboteur ½ inch from your face. And then there is the somewhat creepy laugh of the saboteur. Random acts of standing and walking around the bed while releasing a crazy giggle. This saboteur is surprisingly intuitive during his acts of disruption. One parent may arouse and say “please go to sleep!” And then attempt to roll away and hide from the saboteur. However, the saboteur will then crawl over their back and deliver a hug or cuddle with the tired parent… luring the parent back in with his sweet affection. Sometimes a parent may raise their voice and say something stern like "this isn’t going to happen again tomorrow night” and the saboteur will respond with a kiss. He’s clever and appropriately reactive.

Once the sabotage is committed and the work alarms sounds… the saboteur will sleep.

I caught a photo of him this morning- exhausted from this work... please beware

The Fohawk

The time is coming soon that I am going to have to take action against this fluffy mane. However, I just can't disrupt the sweet baby curls right now. So if you see me out and about in a few months and Greyson has a mullet of curls and fluff just know that I'm aware. I'm thinking he can handle a couple snips when he's 2.

Oh the ears...

So we had our follow up appointment on Wednesday with the audiologist and ENT doctor. Surprisingly, Greyson did better on this hearing test. I’m surprised because I had convinced myself that he definitely still had fluid in both his ears. As it turns out, he passed the hearing screen for his left ear and failed the right ear hearing screen. According to the ENT doctor @ VCH Grey still has some existing fluid and mucus in his right ear, which is most likely causing the hearing loss.

I explained to the ENT doctor that I was certain both ears probably contained middle ear fluid because Greyson is very wobbly at times. Seriously, he's a webble. Remember those toys “webbles wobble but they don’t fall down” However, this little webble does fall down! He’ll be running and quickly veer of track and end up bouncing off a wall or door. The doctor is convinced that this might not be due to his equilibrium being off but simply because our little guy is light on his feet. His current small frame and light weight isn’t giving him a solid grounding, especially when he’s zooming through the house.



I’m still concerned with Grey’s ears but I am relieved that he is hearing at a normal level in at least one ear. I reported to the doctor that he says at least 6 words ( Gigi, Momma, Dada, duck, Ball and the new favorite NO!) The doctor seemed very please that he says 6 words. The new “No!” is very entertaining. I do my best not to laugh but he says it with such conviction. Me: “Grey let’s put on your jam jams!” Grey: “no!” The way he says it is hysterical.

We have another appointment in almost 3 months and we will discuss surgery and tubes at that time if the fluid still exists.

For now Mr. Toot Toot is running the house! I wish every one of you could spend the day with him… he is just precious.

By the way- I've started Greyson on Pedisure in hopes of promoting some weight gain. He seems to really like the flavor and I'm excited to be adding extra calories.

The Conductor

So Greyson has been doing a lot of commanding lately… all with his little pointer finger. As soon as I get him out of the crib in the morning he is pointing and grunting. He usually points to a high shelf for some brief meddling – then he points for us to leave the room – then he directs us down the stairs and into the kitchen… all with his little finger. However, if you misinterpret the direction then there are consequences to pay… the consequences usually involve Grey and the floor. My favorite is the slow motion fit he throws on the floor – he gently lays himself on the floor and kicks around a bit. And then there is the more aggressive attack, which involves throwing himself against cabinetry and doors. I do my best to ignore these moments but sometimes a few laughs escape… I’m dying to capture this on video.

The Ears

Our appointment is on the 18th to check the fluid in Grey’s middle ears. I just know the fluid still exist. He is back to constantly rubbing his ears. And then he has those days when he just cannot maintain his balance. He walks at an angle these days and unintentionally runs into furniture. I’m anxious to get this appointment over and to move on with a solution, which will ultimately be surgery- tubes, placed in his ears for drainage. I order to avoid speech delays it is vital we correct this problem to restore proper hearing.

I’m not sure if we have any new words to share. His current favorites:

Gigi
No No “while shaking his head”

Busy

Wow! So life has been a little hectic lately. I went to a conference in California for a week and just got home this week. Talk about difficult. My heart was aching before I even boarded the plane. Sleeping at night seemed impossible- my mind was with Matthew and Greyson. However, we all made it through.

Matthew made an offer on a home while I was away. We are scheduled to close at the end of this month if all goes well... yay! Some parts of the home are unfinished, like upstairs flooring, so we have some work to do. Add it to our busy schedules.

Greyson continues to amaze us! He is so special to us. So special that it allows my mind to start thinking about having another Mr. Cute Cute. I don't intend on doing this anytime soon but I've allowed my mind to ponder the idea. Once you experience the love of baby it's hard to decrease the desire to have it again. However, I met up with an old friend the other day... I don't mean old literally... she was my friend in elementary school. She has 2 beautiful children. Her little girl is Greyson's age. She developed HELLP with both pregnancies. She personally has experienced lasting effects from the condition. She has seizures, lost feeling in one of her legs due to nerve damage and her vision was damaged. Through her journey she has met a mother who's now blind due to HELLP syndrome. I was shocked to hear this report. I knew there could be lasting effects but I hadn't met a mother to share her story.

Maybe I'll wait around for a few more years and hope the research for HELLP continues! I heard 40 was the new 30!

For now Greyson completely fills our hearts. There isn't a day that goes by that I am not grateful. His success is amazing to say the least. He has come far. July 11th was his corrected first birthday. We were told he wouldn't be walking by then... hopefully crawling. Well, he ran through the day.

GMS

Fun in the Kitchen!