Christmas 08'

Our Christmas Pajamas!

Grandma & Grandpa Stahl


Oggie and Boppa

Take note of the super red cheeks! This is what set off my paranoia which I talked about in my previous post.


We spent Christmas morning at our house and opened presents under the tree. Then we played with all of our gifts before heading out to my parents house to celebrate with them. It's funny because the pets all know what Christmas is about and each of them look forward to their gifts. We really enjoy watching dante, diesel, maude, and claude all play with their new toys. Santa gave Grady two different fisher price rain forest toys. One is a soother for his crib and the other is an activity bouncer. I think they were a hit but next year he will be more aware of his gifts. My mom is starting a Christmas tradition of giving us all matching xmas pajamas which I love! I love PJ'S and everyone needs a pair of Christmas pajamas for their collection. It will be fun to all go to bed on Christmas eve in our Christmas pj's and then hang out in them on Christmas morning! To me a big part of Christmas is vegging out in your pajamas and enjoying quality time with your family :). We were excited this year to have Chris's parents Yola and Tom Stahl come join us in the afternoon on Christmas day. The pets really made out with a lot of gifts from the Stahls! Grady got a swimsuit and a sun tent for our trip to Florida in February,very exciting! I liked getting to spend seperate time with each of our families. I think having one big gift exchange with all of our families would have been too much. Getting the presents out of the way early made for a nice dinner. Christmas is not just about gifts it's also about spending time with family. We all went over to my Uncle Hanks for dinner and enjoyed the yummy meal he put together. Having both our parents there was so much fun. I really had a hard time getting into the holiday spirit this year but I must say once Christmas morning arrived I immediatley felt the warmth and joy that only Christmas can bring! It turned out to be a wonderful day!

REALLY GETTING PARANOID!

I know I do not have many readers on my blog but all mother's who are reading and especially those who have a son please help me calm down! Chris makes fun of me because I find all of these things on the internet to be paranoid about. However I need to share my feelings with mother's because I just don't think men get as concerned about things! Is anyone else as paranoid as me about vaccines and the food we feed our kids? There is suddenly all of these things to be worried about and I sure am worried! I really can't calm down. I have been set off by Grady's cheeks turning bright red after I fed him cereal. As with anything I googled it. Of course I come across this blog: http://whattofeedyourkids.blogspot.com/ and it is a mother blogging about her son and the reaction he has had to foods. He is allergic to practically everything! A symptom of course is bright red cheeks! I went on to read about celiac disease.

If you have celiac disease and eat foods with gluten, your immune system responds by damaging the small intestine. Gluten is a protein in wheat, rye and barley. It is found mainly in foods but may also be in other products like medicines, vitamins and even the glue on stamps and envelopes.

Celiac disease affects each person differently. Symptoms may occur in the digestive system, or in other parts of the body. One person might have diarrhea and abdominal pain, while another person may be irritable or depressed. Irritability is one of the most common symptoms in children. Some people have no symptoms.

Celiac disease is genetic. Blood tests can help your doctor diagnose the disease. Your doctor may also need to examine a small piece of tissue from your small intestine. Treatment is a diet free of gluten.

Then I went on to read about vaccines and not to give your kid Tyelnol especially after a vaccine. Great! I have been giving Grady a lot of Tylenol recently because he is teething and I think it helps. I also gave it to him after one of his shots. Your Dr. tells you to give them Tyelnol! Now I am reading that it can be the culprit! We are spreading Grady's shots out but now I want to make sure they are really spread out!

Then I go on to read about plastics and the dangers in plastics. Plastic baby bottles, food cans, shampoos, plastic toys, sports bottles, and hand lotions may contain chemicals that act in ways similar to hormones naturally found in our body. Children are developing faster than ever. Is there a connection?

I am so worked up right now and I just don't know how green to go. I am on the verge of getting rid of all chemicals and plastics in this house! AM I JUST BEING TOO PARANOID??!! Chris says yes! I am not saying Grady suddenly has everything I read about but I always have autisim and allergies on my mind and am constantly paying close attention to Grady! I just want to be a good mom and want to hear from you about any precautions you are taking either with vaccines or food. Has anyone else experienced red cheeks after feeding their child something? I know red cheeks can be nothing to worry about but it can also be a lot to worry about!

YES THIS IS HOW I AM SPENDING CHRISTMAS EVE.....Worrying!

Happy Holidays! Hope you are more sane then me right now :)

Grady's first visit with Santa!

It would not be the holidays if we didn't go through a lot to try and get this picture taken. There are two places for us to go and visit Santa. One is at the Fountain Square Macy's downtown and the other is in Kenwood at the mall. We decided that it would be less crowded downtown so we headed to Macy's. Upon getting there the parking lot was full so we ended up on the 9th level of the garage. At least we got a spot near the elevator. As we are making our way to Macy's we spot a sign for Santa photos which conveniently had the hours posted. We just assumed Santa would be in so we did not check the hours before leaving. Well of course the sign says he will not be in today! It was a bust so we decided to just go eat lunch some where while we were downtown. We tried to go to Palomino's but ended up walking in a circle so we went to Via Vite instead. They were only seating reservations and we did not have one. We then went to Rock Bottom Brewery since it was right there but they were slammed as well. On our way back to the garage we spotted a cafe but it was too crowded for the stroller. Downtown ended up being just a big mistake so we headed to Kenwood Mall. We drove around awhile trying to find a spot, finally Chris just dropped me and Grady at the front entrance. I was pleased to find that there was barely a line for Santa and Grady was actually alert and in a good mood! As a result we captured this picture! Great job Grady! I bet next year he totally freaks out. Getting the picture was totally worth all of trouble. I just kept reminding myself that it would not be the holidays if you were not tired, hungry, and waiting in line somewhere :).

Grady the Guinea Pig

I have come to grips that Grady has been our little guinea pig. Everything thing has been trial and error. By the time we have another baby I will know more what to do. Poor Grady hopefully he will turn out ok :). The thing I have struggled with the most is getting Grady on a routine. If and when we have another baby I will try and get him/her on a routine right away because babies thrive on it! We finally have a routine of eat,activity,sleep which I believe is going well so far. Some of you may recognize it as the E.A.S.Y method described in the baby whisperer. While this may not be the best method for all babies I agree on one thing, babies need routine! It has been a very hard concept for me to grasp since I myself lack a lot of structure. No two days are the same for me but I suppose behind it all I do have routine in there some where. I just did not understand how to put a newborn who basically eats and sleeps all day on a routine. I still think that will be hard. Hopefully it is one of those things where it is never too late to implement a routine. I guess we will find out as time goes on :) I have learned a lot so far and think that I believe it when people say, "it gets easier."

Grady's Christmas Photos

We had our friend Jen come over to take our picture for this year's Christmas card and we just could not resist taking some pictures of Grady in his Christmas outfit. He was being so good about it that we just loved it.

Starting our first Christmas tradition

Now that little Grady is in our life it is time to start family traditions. Wow it is so weird to think that we are creating traditions for Grady to grow up with! Hopefully they will create fond memories for him just as our traditions growing up have done for us. This is the first year we have started what will become our Christmas tradition! Usually I put up a fake tree for Christmas but not anymore. We located a tree farm and searched for just the right tree to take home. Then Chris cut it down for us to take home. We took Dante and Diesel with us which proved to be a distraction in our hunt for the perfect tree. We would get stopped every few steps because people would want to pet them. Then they would see Grady and coo at him. It's funny how Dante and Diesel still steal the show whenever we take them some where. Never mind the new baby, people just want to love our pets. HA. Anyway after going up a few aisles of trees we finally decided on our perfect tree. Funny how you always end up with the perfect tree. I mean I wonder if there will ever be a year when we have to settle for a less then perfect tree because all of the perfect ones are gone? I am sure our tree will always be perfect to us :). This year we just cut down our tree but as Grady gets older we can do some of the other fun things while we are there like take a hey ride, sip on hot chocolate, see the animals they have, and take fun pictures. I had visions of toddler Grady running up and down the tree aisles asking, "what about this one?" Hopefully it will be a fun day for him in the future :) I do find holidays to be stressful but it is all worth it when you realize all the memories you are making. Thank you mom and dad for giving me great traditions to grow up with! I will always look back on them with a smile :)

Grady's Mobile

Grady's favorite toy is his mobile above his changing station. It is a cheap little thing we picked up at Ikea, but he can't get enough of it. We like to pretend that he has conversations with the little stuffed dinosaurs. It is very amusing...for all of us.