ADOPTION DAY!!!!

Second best day ever.  

The BEST day ever can be found here.  

On Monday March 28th 2011 our adoption of Grayson was official.  There are really no words that could convey our joy on that day.  So I will just show you the pictures.

Our family of three

Our wonderful lawyer Mr. Nunnally

Artie's Stepdad

The women in Artie and Grayson's life

Artie with his parents

Me and my Momma- Daddy had to work :(

In the Judge's Chambers

With the sweet Judge

Isn't he cute? 

He kept giving him kisses! 

This photo is out of focus but it conveys the emotion of that day. 

 With our lawyer and the Judge

Grayson,
Even though this day made our family "official"-you have always been ours.  From the beginning of time, you were to be our son.  I am so glad God chose us to be your parents. We love you so much!
Love- Mom and Dad

8 Months Old!!!

Dear Grayson,

      You are 8 months old!  Mommy and Daddy can hardly believe it.  I say this every month but this age is so fun!!  You are almost crawling and it scares the living daylights out of me.  You are already a busy boy and now you will be a busy boy on the move eek!  The cutest part is that you can only go backwards right now haha.  You talk all the time.  Your favorite word is Dada and it is so sweet.  You can also say Mama, Baba, Gaga, Nini, Yaya, Pop pop-the list goes on and on. You love music and will dance anytime you hear it.  My new favorite thing is your temper...you are very strong willed.  (I am told you get his from your birth mom haha) Trying to get you dressed and in your car seat is a work out.  I am seriously sweating by the time we leave the house.  You arch your back and scream at the top of your lungs.  It really is adorable and I just laugh.  We love you so much!  Here is what you have been up to these days.

• You have 2 teeth! 
• I am not sure what you weigh but I imagine around 20 pounds
• You are still in a size 3
• You are wearing a 12 month pant and 6-9 month top - it seems you have thinned out the past few months
• You go to bed about 7pm and sleep through the night. 
• You are can somewhat feed yourself with a spoon
• You are becoming more aware of when I leave the room and do not like it. 
• You can almost hold your bottle and are doing great with a sippy cup. 
• You love fruit and vegis but are still not sure about meat. 
• You are now bathing in the big boy bath tub and not so sure about it. 
• You are not crawling but roll everywhere you go!  You get stuck under the coffee table 100 times a day.  
• You can *almost* pull up on your learn and grow table.  

You make this new noise that sounds like a car and it is absolutely hilarious!! 

(this is you making the noise ha!)

You give us this look when you are not sure about what we are doing haha.  

"You want me to do what?"

Sweet boy each day gets better and better.  I wish you were a tiny baby so we could do it all again.  You are just amazing.

Love,
Mommy

Bath Time

Gray had his first bath in the sink today.  He was not a fan at all!  I really thought he would love splashing around but he just sat there like "What am I suppose to do in this thing?".  He started splashing one time but it got in his eye and he was done.  We have not upgraded his bath tub from the infant one (he is finally too long for it now).  I have been in denial with how big he is ha!

I am so excited to get my hair cut tomorrow!  Once it gets hard to style, I know it is time for a cut.  Well it was hard to style a month ago!  Super excited that I get to see my colorist Kelly and my stylist Kara too!  They are so fun to catch up with.  I am really looking forward to it.

Ok.  Seriously.  Has anyone noticed how those Girl Scouts like to make you feel bad for eating their cookies?  Think about it.  A whole box of cookies only has like 12 total.  Then you go and eat a whole dang box...who doesn't feel bad about eating a whole box of cookies?  All the while these little Girl Scouts are laughing.  Laughing because they win.  What do I do when I feel bad about myself?  Eat cookies.  So I end up buying more...it is a vicious cycle! Does anyone else feel this way?  No?

Tons of good news going around the bloggy world recently!  It melts my heart!
I hope you are having a great week!

Videos

Here are some sweet videos of Grayson that I took with my phone.  I love watching how much he has changed in just few short weeks!


Soon after Grayson started saying "Dada", he switched the letters and started saying "Ada".  He said this for about 2 weeks and then stopped!  I am so glad I got it on video because it was completely adorable.  We try everyday to get him to say it but he won't!

This video is just cute of him laughing! 

I hope you had a great day!  

Long Week

Y'all.  I have never been so glad to see a Monday come.  Last week was rough- really rough.

*Warning- this post contains talk of my child's poo.

Gray and I were stuck at home all last week due to teething/diarrhea.  This soy formula momma is not used to soft stool! Soy tends to make very firm BMs.  So muddy diapers at our house are not so bad...until last week.  It has been terrible...I have felt so bad for the little guy.  He also has been pretty restless and naptime has gone out the window.  A grumpy, tired, 7 month old having diarrhea tends to scream.  A lot.  How many more teeth have to come in?

Can I just say now how hard being a mom is?  I feel so helpless sometimes. Some days I tell Ashley that I have no idea what I am doing.  I guess every mom feels that at some point.  Just when I get the hang of one stage, he grows out of it!  And when did he get so big...was I taking a nap?  A friend and I were talking on facebook last week and I was commenting on how big her son was.  He will be 3 this year and he was just born yesterday!  She said "Don't blink".  I said "I did!  And now he is 7 months old!"

{Gray laughing at Kasey before bedtime}

Then at the end of a week where I questioned if I was doing everything wrong, I receive this text message:

{This was sent from Grayson's birth family}

 "Just wanted to tell you- we are so thankful that God brought you and Artie into our lives. You are wonderful parents to Grayson and we can't imagine anyone else loving him like you two do. Thank You!"


Are you crying yet?  I was...I couldn't even respond right away because it made me so emotional.  There is not a day that does not go by that I do not think about their sacrifice.

We were able to spend some time with them recently and had a ball!  I love seeing them with him.  I love  being able to have photographs to show him.  I just love them in general!  We have such a special relationship and I would not have it any other way.

So far this week has started off much better than last.  Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday and I am excited to go eat some pancakes!!

I hope you have a great week!

7 months old!

Dear Grayson,

        You are are 7 months old!  I want to tell you how FUN you are!  You would probably win the award for happiest baby ever.  When you are at the shop with me- you make people buy stuff.  Not.Even.Kidding. You flash that (somewhat) toothless smile and they are smitten.  I must say that we are too.  Although- you do get a tad angry when we are not doing what you want.  Aunt BeBe said that you are our puppet master...and I would have to agree.  You just have to do that happy dance and you can have whatever you want.   Here is what you are up to these days!

• You almost weigh 20 pounds
• You wear a size 3 diaper
• You wear a 12 month pant and 6-9 month top!  You are very tall
• You have the cutest chubby feet that do not fit in shoes!
• You have a second tooth that poked through- but the first one is not all the way in yet.
• You can sit up on your own now
• You are trying really hard to crawl- but I am not encouraging it!  (just kidding)  (kinda)
• You eat more than any baby I know- Aya told me the baby she nannies for only eats every 4 hours WHAT?!?  You eat almost every 2-3 hours.  
• You go to bed about 7pm.
• YOU BITE!!!!  I hope this is just a product of the teething.  
• You still say Dada and Mama but also like to scream!
• You can now show us the sign for milk! You are so very smart.
• You love music.
• You think the dogs are the funniest things on the planet.  

You LOVE the ceiling fan

and looking at yourself in the mirror

and kicking your legs!

I could never imagine loving anyone as much as I love you. It makes me think about the love God has for me.  Mommy and Daddy can not wait to see what the next month will bring!

Love,

Mommy