New Parents' Guide to Babies

Tip Three: Even if you're not the emotional type, chances are you'll cry when you take your newborn in for his first vaccinations.

I started crying long before the imminent threat of shots was near - and that's not like me. I didn't cry when Josh proposed, when we got married, or when Grayson was born. I'm just not a crier. But put me in a room where my newfound love is unknowingly approaching a pain he's not yet felt, coupled with the fact that I'm the one enabling such a horrific experience, and my eyes turned into waterfalls. We got checked in yesterday, got Grayson weighed and measured, and sat waiting for the doctor to come in. My eyes started tearing up and the guilt I felt was almost overwhelming. I'm pretty sure my poor baby could tell something was wrong because he started fussing, making me even more emotional.

The pediatrician did his best to console me, but it wasn't until the nurse told me I had to 'be strong for Grayson' that I was able to pull it together and go through with it. Poor kid was just lying there, cooing at me while I held his arms down, when all of a sudden the nurse stuck a needle in his right thigh, his face registered shock then screwed up in pain, and he cried out. Actually, it was more of a wail, and he kept right on wailing through the second and the third shot. I felt terrible! Less than two minutes later he was totally fine, but I was still a wreck. Needless to say, he got an awful lot of attention from both Josh and I last night as we compensated for being such mean parents, and it seems Grayson has completely forgiven us. Thank goodness babies are so emotionally resilient. Too bad we don't stay that way.

Happy Easter!

For Grayson's first Easter, Don & Holly invited us to their house for Easter dinner and Easter Egg hunt with the Heaps. It was so much fun seeing them all and they were genuinely excited to finally meet Grayson. Even though he's too little to carry his Easter basket, Holly helped him find an egg just his size with three Cadbury mini-eggs inside! I couldn't believe they would band together and tease me like that! I'm so going to pay her back when she has another one.

Grayson's big find during the hunt!

My hilarious baby kept good watch over his Easter treasure. I think he knew I had my eye on the treats inside. It's easy to resist the big bags of eggs because they're not open, but if I could eat "just one" (or two or three), well, let's just say the temptation is almost too great to bear.

Uh, you're not taking my mini-eggs, lady. No way, no how.

Such a serious little guy

You know...

...you love your baby when you're willing to stop eating all things yummy, just to save his poor tummy the discomfort of insane amounts of gas.

And you know your husband loves you when he rolls his eyes just once upon finding your stockpile of Cadbury Mini-Eggs, just so you'll have the pleasure of indulging once your son's digestive system is mature enough to handle chocolate again.

I *heart* these eggs

Six weeks and smilin'!

Grayson smiles for us all the time now and has for the last two weeks or so - a huge reward for my sleep deprivation and insanely sore upper back. Seriously, I spend so much time bending over this kid, either feeding or changing him, that I feel like I look like those older ladies with osteoporosis that do ads warning young girls to up their calcium intake. Carrying around these unnaturally large breasts doesn't help, either.

Anyway, I've had a hard time capturing a pic of these smiles. I'll get him cooing and smiling at me, but as soon as I pull out the camera, he gets totally distracted and won't look at me anymore. Even if I hold the camera below my face so he can still see me, he won't stop staring at it instead of me. So today I tricked him into smiling for the camera by hiding it way back behind and above my head. It took a few tries for me to get the angle just right, but this is what I finally got:

The coy half-grin he freely gives Almost got it...
There it is!

Oh my, this baby is getting so big! Even though he was so little when he was born, I don't think God intended for him to stay that way. He eats at least every 2-3 hours during the day and every 3-4 hours throughout the night, and leaves me plenty of dirty diapers as a 'Thanks, Mom.' But I don't mind, except that it takes me forever to stay caught up on housework and homework, so the blog and email get neglected! He's started chunking out a bit in his face and thighs, but his arms are still super skinny. We're pretty sure he weighs over nine pounds now, based on our very simple method of weighing me and then weighing me plus a naked Grayson and subtracting my original weight. I can't wait to get official stats at his 2-month checkup next week. I think the doctor is going to be so happy with his growth. Yay!

Grayson's Big Debut

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Saddy-head Grayson because we didn't put him in green.

Today marked Grayson's first real encounter with the outside world. One of my dearest friends, Alina aka: The Princess, got married at Red Butte Garden this morning. Sure, we've taken Grayson over to family's house before, but nothing like this little adventure. So far from home. All dressed up for the occasion. Needing to be on his best behavior. The pressure was really on and our little baby handled it with class! Grayson cooed at all the right moments, didn't get hungry until after the ceremony was over, napped while we ate, and obediently let complete strangers occupy our time while they made silly faces at him and raved about how adorable he is.

I think Grayson inadvertently stole some of Alina's thunder, but she didn't seem to mind, other than her mom couldn't get enough of him. I think the pressure's on for her and Chris to start producing grandkids, and quickly!

The Princess and Sassy Paige

Our little familyRefusing to smile

Week in Review

Last Sunday, Lacie came over for dinner and we had a fabulous time catching up. I don't get to see her as often as I used to since Grayson was born. I owe her an awful lot of visits and lunches when I start taking him out of the house.

Paige, Lacie, Grayson

On March 12, Jed came all the way from New York to visit! He is such a natural with kids, so I shouldn't have been surprised when he lovingly held a sleepy Grayson for over an hour while we played Treasure Hunt with Lily and ate a grilled cheese sandwich and peach for lunch. It was so great seeing him again, but I'm disappointed I didn't get to meet Chris while he was here.

Jed, Lily, Grayson

On March 13, we all went over to IMC to welcome the newest member on Josh's side of the family. Gabriella was born on March 11, but we waited a few days to visit so that Grayson would be bigger than she is. Even though he's six weeks older, they're both about 8 1/2 pounds in this photo. But he definitely doesn't look like a newborn anymore. He's changing so much!

Grayson & Gabriella

Just relaxin' with Grandpa Keith

On March 16, Grayson attended his first sacrament meeting and Josh took him home afterward so I could teach my Primary class. Grayson really seemed to enjoy the song Jesus of Nazareth, Savior and King. He loves it when Josh sings to him, but prefers actual singing with words to just humming a tune, so we've begun memorizing the words so we can sing it to him at night when he's fussy. What a lucky baby!

Just some pics

Exactly four weeks old!Such a pimp in this sweaterTiny hands

Happy baby!

1 month!

Since he was born, Grayson...

• Gained about two pounds!
• Began studying everything with wide, open eyes
• Met everyone in the family except Bronwyn, Ted, and Nanell's family
  
• Took his first long-distance road trip
• Showed his Mom just how gassy one little baby can be
• Mastered the arts of eating (finally!), pooping, peeing, and sleeping