Grady and his two Easters

family photo

playing with a plastic egg

Sorry Grady had to do it

Grady finds his Easter basket

We did not have big plans for Easter this year. Chris was originally going to be gone camping and my parents were out of town so I just did not think to plan much for Easter. I thought it would be no big deal since Grady really won't remember anyway and he is too young to enjoy the fun activities such as an egg hunt. Chris's camping trip got canceled so he went golfing Easter morning and then Grady and I met him and friends at the club for brunch after wards. We got invited over to my Uncle's house who was having friends over to celebrate Easter so we spent the rest of the afternoon watching the Masters and hanging out over there. I did not take a single picture or do any of the typical Easter celebration stuff. We had a good Easter but then I started to feel bad as I saw everyone and their cute Easter pictures! I thought to myself, "I am a horrible mother for not giving Grady a real Easter celebration!" Plus I am documenting everything for our family photo album and I had nothing to document for Easter since I did not take any pictures. The guilt was really setting in so I decided that yesterday on Sunday I had to recreate an Easter for Grady! I ran out and made him a little Easter basket. I got everything on sale so this was a good thing! The weather was not as nice as it was on Easter so I did not get Easter pics outdoors with pretty flowers. However giving him a basket and walking around and showing him a few hidden eggs was satisfying. I got a couple of Easter photos that I can now record in our family album. Our family stopped making a big deal about Easter once we grew up but now it is time to bring the holiday back! I promise to be more on top of things next year Grady!

Grady scares the babysitter!

Let me start by saying that apparently it is common for infants/kids to work themselves up so much that they don't breathe. Well Grady happens to be one of these infants! He has only done it a few times so I never think to tell a sitter, "Oh by the way he may cry really hard and temporarily stop breathing resulting in a blue/purple face!" You can guess where I am going with this. The poor sitter called us in a panic because Grady had shown her his magic trick of freaking out and turning his face blue. We went home immediately to assure her everything is ok. All you can do when he does his magic trick is gently blow in his face or just pick him up and calm him down. He just needs to take a breath! Some kids pass out and others even seizure after doing it. We are lucky in that so far we have been able to get Grady to calm down and take a breath when he freaks out. As scary as this all sounds it is not a cause for major concern unless it is happening frequently and of course if it results in a seizure! I think I will panic if he passes out but apparantley the passing out is not as big of a deal as it seems! They just wake up a little lethargic. The passing out actually gets them to take the breath they need. Hmmm I am sure I will probably FREAK if he passes out! We are now well aware that we need to tell sitters and anyone who will be watching him that it is unlikely but he may throw a fit and temporarily stop breathing. He has done it maybe four times now on different occaisions. The last time he did it was about 2 months ago. They are unpredictable so we never know when he might do it. I wouldn't be so calm about this but it is a behavior of many infants/kids so I know there is nothing wrong with him, it is just a phase he needs to grow out of. He could be doing it up to 3 years old! Hopefully he will stop before that because it is scary to watch him do it! The poor babysitter had no clue what was going on! I felt really bad!

Wednesdays

Grady, Ava, Shareef, and Kellen

Grady, Ava, Shareef, and Kellen

Cole, Grady, Ava, Shareef, and Kellen


Grady and Ava

Cole, Grady, Ava and Shareef


Wednesdays are so much fun now! I meet up with four other mommies and their little ones. We each take turns planning a play date. Usually the play date consists of going to lunch and then doing some sort of activity with the kids. Last week it was my turn to plan so we had lunch at Allyns and then I had them all over to our house to interact with one another. There are three other boys, Cole, Kellen, Shareef, and one lucky girl Ava :)! It was great to get to see them all interact for a little a bit. It was pretty commical as well because they were like dominoes. One would cry and the rest would follow, ha ha. It was a little chatoic but overall it went really well. Grady enjoyed the day with his new friends! I am looking forward to next Wednesday!

Grady stands with assistance!

Grady is now standing with the help of mommy/daddy or something stationary. Perhaps he will skip the crawling and go right to walking! He wants to crawl but gets frustrated when left too long on his stomach because he just can't figure it out. He pivots around in a circle on his tummy but just does not get how to make a forward motion. It is a little stressful to think that soon he will be moving all over the place because this house is not ready for it yet! We are having a gate put in on top of the stairs and we just bought outlet plugs. The coffee table needs corner pads or we are going to have to temporarily replace it. Think we will hold off on the annoying contraptions that make it difficult to open doors and drawers. I hate those things and am hoping that we can get by without them. However it might become necessary to install them, we shall see! Yikes!

Grady meets his new friend Brian!

I love the all out cry face of a newborn!

Grady checking out his new friend Brian


Look at how big Grady is next Brian!

It's Reese!! I finally got to meet Reese, the Ayvazians dog!

Grady likes to stand

A big congratulations goes out to friends Lauren and Vahe Ayvazian who brought Brian Matthew Ayvazian into this world on March 24th! He weighed in at 6 lbs 14 ozs and measured 19.5 inches long! The delivery was less then favorable for Lauren so I am proud of her for being such a warrior! Way to go Lauren you did great and look phenom! Brian is super cute and makes the best newborn noises! I had already forgotten just how small a newborn can be! Grady is huge in comparison! Brian seems to be very alert for a new little guy. I know he can't really see yet but those big eyes sure looked as if he was just absorbing his new surroundings. Grady was a little cranky on the visit because of course it was nap time. However I think the first meeting went well. Grady tried to grab the pacifier out of his mouth and Brian probably had no idea what was going on :). We are looking forward to future play dates! It will be so much fun to see the two of them get to know one another! OH and finally FINALLY after years of thinking Reese their dog was an imagineray pet I got living proof that he really does exist! I MET REESE!! I can't believe it! He is a little hyper and ok he may be a banana short of a fruit salad but I loved him! We were fast friends I think! In all of the excitement of meeting Brian I forgot to get a picture with my new friend Reese, darn it!! It might be another 3 years before I ever see him again!!! At least he was captured in one of the pics!!

I love the month of March!

Grady's first day at the park!

Grady celebrated with some green peas!

Kisses for Grady, the Irish baby :)

Hope everyone had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day! It was a beautiful day in Cincinnati! We went for a walk, then I went running later, and we decided to celebrate St. Patty's on the patio of a Mexican restaurant. Allyns Cafe is right down the street so we walked there and avoided all of the craziness that was going on around town. It was perfect and our new theory is to go to places that have the least to do with the holiday being celebrated. This means on Cinco De Mayo we will probably be headed to an Irish restaurant :). We had our green on and drank a couple of Irish beers, we did not need to be at an actual Irish venue. Really it is all American anyway right? It was a pleasant day and it reminded me just how much I love the month of March! The weather has been gorgeous here and I have been taking adavantage of it! I took Grady to Ault park yesterday which was so much fun! He would have sat in the swing all day I think! I met up with some other mother's and am now in a play group every Wednesday! I am very excited about the play group! I love March it's my happy month!

Swim Class

Emily with Grady, Sarah with Marilyn, and Mimi with Oliver

Grady loves this!

The girls with their boys and girl

the hokey pokey

We are enrolled with some other friends in an infant parent swim class on Sundays. We have a lot a fun! I think Grady really likes the water. The pool is bath water temperature which is really nice. We introduced Grady to the pool in Florida and then when we returned home the swim classes began. He gets to see his buddies, Oliver, Marilyn, and Drew. These are the kids of friends Mimi, Sarah and Betsy. We float them along on their belly and backs, lift them in the air, blow bubbles, kick their feet, and finish with a hokey pokey dance in the water. It is only a half hour class but that is all it really needs to be. It basically just gives them the chance to get used to the idea of swimming. I love the class and now look forward to Sundays! Perhaps Chris will get into the water this week :)!