Saying goodbye to the mullet

Some may be sad to see the mullet go and other's may think to themselves, "It's about time!" Poor Grady has just not been having much luck in the hair department so far. He still does not really have any hair however a sweet mullet has appeared over the past few months. I liked it and thought it gave him character but Daddy thought it looked ridiculous. I must admit, it did get a little out of control sometimes especially after Grady would wake up. We took Grady to the very same salon where I received my first haircut! Headlines has moved buildings but Jen and Sandy are still there. In fact I of course still go see Jen to get my hair done! Sandy, her mother is the one who gave me my first couple of cuts and then I switched to seeing her daughter Jen. I won't see anyone else! She does the best job but I'm slightly biased as they are practically family to me now. Chris also goes to see Jen for a haircut, it's our family salon :). My mother has kept some of the hair from my first haircut and so I will be keeping some of Grady's. I think it is really neat to have a sample of your baby hair because never again will your hair be that soft or have that color naturally. However I have been made fun of by friends saying that really it is just creepy. Well my mother started the creepy tradition because her mother probably did it. I don't care if people think it is creepy or weird, I think it is cute and it is just our thing! On that note I would like to take a moment and say goodbye to the mullet. Goodbye sweet sweet mullet I will miss the laughs you have provided, I will miss seeing you blow in the breeze, and I will miss giving you a wash. Thank you for the entertainment and good times...RIP. :)

Quick visit with the Bliss girls!

The Bliss family came into town briefly for Joe's twenty year high school reunion! Unfortunately I did not get to see Joe on this trip. However getting to spend some time at the swim club with the girls was so much fun! My little nieces are not so little anymore ! CeCe was a water bug swimming all around on her own. I watched Kaitlyn jump off the diving board and Abby got to watch Grady pass out. Grady was tired and got stuck under a chair and had a melt down. He cried and then did his trick off not taking a breath so he passed out. Luckily my sister was holding him so he just collapsed in her arms. Blowing in his face has not been working in terms of preventing the pass out. I try to get him to take a breath! He only passes out for a second and then he is lethargic for a minute or two. It looks and sounds really scary but I am used to it by now and know it is not cause for concern. I really hope he out grows it soon though because it is not a fun phase. I think we may have a little monster on our hands in just a few short years! It appears as though he may turn into a hot head. I see some serious tantrums heading our way. He also wants to climb on things, and is getting into everything! Did I mention that he is screaming a lot now. On the flip side he can also be very easy going and has days where he is all smiles and in a good mood. Spending the day at the club put me in a good mood. It was so nice to have family around, I miss the Bliss family and wish it were easier to see them more often.

Happy 1st birthday Oliver Gerwin!

Grady's buddy Oliver turned one on July 10th! It is hard to believe that a year has gone by already! Ollie is already taking his first couple of steps! The Gerwins had a big birthday celebration for him at their house on the 11th. He shares the nickname of Gator with his Dad. They had cupcakes put together to form an alligator and gator cookies! It was a really cute display. The yard was full of water fun; There was a couple of baby pools, a water table, and a sprinkler. Grady did not like when I put him directly in the baby pool but he had a great time sitting outside of it and splashing his hand in the water. He also loved the water table. I think it was just a little too cold for him to be all the way in. After splashing around Grady became hard to manage because he got in a really cranky mood. There was so much going on and he was already tired. He did enjoy pulling a string from the pinata but after that we pretty much had to leave because he was just screaming. All and all it was a really fun party! I am glad we got to be a part of it. Happy birthday Oliver you are SO big!

Farmer and the Dell

I thought these wagons were part of the event but it turns out they belonged to a family. They were pretty confused as to what I was doing when they came to use them....oops. Got a cute pic though.






This is when Grady freaked out

Grady and buddy Kellen

kisses from a goat


Wednesday our playgroup met at the Farmer in the Dell event held at Beech Acres Park. They had pony rides, a hay ride, tractors, and different farm animals for the kids to watch and pet. It was a neat little event and many people came out for it. Grady liked looking at the goats most. Well at least he enjoyed watching them until his fingers maybe got pinched a little in between the fence and animal. I did not really see what happened because I was taking pictures. Actually I may have captured the incident on film and it appears as though his fingers may have gotten squeezed. It was kind of funny because he was happy and having a good time and all of a sudden a burst of a freak out happened. Then he would not go near the goats again without being held. Unfortunately Grady and his buddies are still too young for a pony ride and we opted to not go on the hay ride. We went on the swings instead which is a fun activity for all of them at this point :).

Captain Serious

Judging from this picture you would think Grady was looking at a chalkboard with the world's most complicated math problem on it. Never would you think he was looking at cute and fury farm animals. Grady might be the most serious baby I have ever seen, he does not seem to take anything lightly. It makes me wonder what in the world at the ripe old age of 10 months could he possibly be contemplating?! I don't think people believe us when I say he does have a goofy side. He giggles and smiles but it does not come easy. He definitely makes you earn them! Sometimes in his highchair he will randomly get goofy and start laughing. I cherish these moments so much more when they happen because he so serious most of the time. Perhaps he knows this and is using his smiles as a secret weapon against me. He knows that a smile or giggle melts my heart and uses it to his advantage. Or maybe he really is solving all of life's problems! Who knows. All I know is that I love my little Captain Serious!

Happy Fourth of July 09'!

Here comes the parade!

Mimi and Oliver watching the Parade

very patriotic

Grady watching the parade with Daddy


Grady, Emily and Mimi

The girls with our boys

Grady and Mommy showing off red, white and blue flare

Oliver and Grady

We had a huge day celebrating the fourth yesterday! We started out the morning with the IH parade, spent the early afternoon with the Gerwins, and then went to the Blairs in the late afternoon to continue the celebration on into the evening! Of course all I took was photos from the morning parade because I can't locate our camera right now. I am also suddenly doing a really bad job at documenting things. I did have our video camera so I was able to take some pics with it. Grady had so much fun playing with his buddy Oliver, I love when they are able to get together! I think Grady enjoyed his first parade, especially since he has recently taken interest in trucks, dogs, and kids :). He loves playing with his toy trucks (typical boy I guess), and he has a great time chasing the dogs, and whenever kids are around he takes such an interest in them. The parade included all of his favorite things so I am guessing he had a blast! Wish I had continued taking pictures throughout the rest of our day....where is our camera? Ugh. Happy first Fourth of July Grady! I hope it becomes one of your favorite holidays! It was one of my favorites growing up :). Hope everyone reading this had a wonderful weekend and were able to celebrate the fourth with fun festivities!

A parent's worst fear!

Once your baby is mobile the bumps and bruises start appearing. For the most part it is all minor things here and there since the house is baby proofed to prevent the major accidents from happening. However even after you have done everything you possibly can to keep your baby safe, inevitably he/she is going to have his/her first serious accident! As soon as they are mobile it is game on! Our day came yesterday.

Chris had just received some not so great news about his father. His Dad will be going in for a triple bypass heart surgery next week. His Dad's blood pressure had gotten really high so he went to the Dr. thinking that they were going to put a stent in. However the Doc instead found blocked arteries.

The news of his father takes over Chris's thoughts. While he is on the phone telling other family members of the news he goes downstairs to get something. He thought he had closed the baby gate behind him which he may have except that it was not latched! Grady is at the stage of following us around everywhere and so of course he wanted to follow his Daddy down the stairs! It was awful! I was in the kitchen getting ready to make Grady's lunch when I heard the tumbling sound. I knew with in the second what had happened and screamed for Chris louder then I have in my whole life! Luckily our stairs our carpeted. Grady actually seemed ok but we took him to the Doctor right away to get checked out. The Doctor found nothing wrong with Grady other then the obvious markings on his face :(. Phew! The worst part is the little scrape he got on his nose. It is in a bad place so it keeps getting rubbed and the cut keeps reopening :(. What a tough litte guy! I was hoping I would not have to deal with a more serious incident until he was at least walking. UGH I am not sure I am equipped to handle these type of things...they are so scary! I am sure this is just one of many accidents that are bound to happen, especially with a little boy! Please Grady please don't be too wild and rough when you get a little older because I am not sure your mother will be able to handle it! I am hoping our next house will be a ranch. Stairs are awful I don't want them anymore :). Grady, Dante, and Diesel have now all fallen down the stairs!