Slacker City

I've been slacking real bad on keeping up with this blog.  Reallll bad.  But, for me, this blog is a medium that I use to keep in touch with friends and family that I don't get to see too often and luckily this year I've been able to FaceTime with more of my far-away family and friends (Thank you, iPhone!).  Plus, there has been quite a bit going on "behind the scenes" recently.  Here is the latest:

Grayson is now just over 13 months old and he is walking all over the place.  He is generally such a happy, easy going baby.  However, he has had several ear infections over his first year.  We finally got to the point in January where his pediatrician recommended that we take G to see an ENT specialist.  It was not great news, but we literally could not keep going on the way that we were.

We had both heard the stories about babies getting tubes and how it is supposed to be extremely helpful, but this is our baby.  Our pediatrician referred us to Dr. Wasylik.  After finding out where her office (one of her offices) was located, it luckily turns out that our friend Donna is a nurse in the Odessa office.  We were relieved to know that not only was the doctor highly recommended by Donna, but she would be there on the day we were visiting as well.

Grayson first had a hearing test and the audiologist noticed that he had fluid in both of his ears right away.  I sat in a sound proof room with him and listened to all the puppets, rain and waterfall sounds.  He barely heard the rain or the waterfall, but responded to the sound of the women's voice as well as the puppets who were banging on drums.  He did not fare too well on this test, but the woman wanted us to talk to Dr. Wasylik first before getting anxious.

I should mention that my sister also went with us to this appointment.  I asked her to come, because some times there are things that her nurse brain thinks of that we don't.  Also, some times I need things dumbed down from the way they are delivered from medical professionals (this happened a lot when I was pregnant).  We joked later that the entire office probably thought that Ben had sister wives or something because my new nephew, Micah, was at the appointment as well.  It was quite the sight to see.

When we finally got to meet Dr. Wasylik, she was everything Donna said she would be!  She was calm and reassuring, but also realistic with us about the procedures and what is going on with Grayson.  Basically, there is so much thick fluid in both ears, that it is a breeding ground for the ear infections.  Most likely, the ear infections have never really gone fully away.  The fluid is what they call "glue ear" and it is almost like boogers (this is what the medical doctor said - I can not make this stuff up!).

So, because this nonsense has been going on for so long, she suggested that we get moving sooner rather than later.  This sort of thing can lead to permanent hearing loss as well as delayed speech.  The doctor is going to drain the fluid in both ears, put in the tubes and possibly take out his adenoid as well.  The whole procedure, even if the adenoids are taken out, is about 20 minutes.  All in all, he will be there for about 3 hours this coming Wednesday.

Ben and I are both relieved that we finally know what is really going on with Grayson and hopefully that this solution will be long term.  With that being said, we are obviously also very nervous about the procedure because he will be going under anesthesia.  However, Donna has already claimed him and her patient on Wednesday so we are very happy that Grayson will see someone he knows (and likes!) when he wakes up.

So, keep G (and his concerned, tired parents) in your thoughts and prayers on Wednesday and we will keep you posted.  That is all for now - picture for cuteness (this is what you get when you let a toddler play with your Sweaty Bands...)

B&L&G

Months NINE and TEN!

It really has been way too long since I have posted an update on Grayson.  The holidays and busy season at work really sucked the life out of my motivation to document events on the blog.  It is hard to believe that the little guy is 11 months old today!  We are talking about his first birthday party already.  People always tell you how fast time goes by once you have a child, but you never fully understand the sentiment until it happens.

Grayson turned 9 months old on November 6th and we had our 9 month well visit shortly after on the 11th.  He weighed in a 20 pounds, 2 ounces and measured 28 3/4 inches long.  The doctor is really happy with his development, but he also had another ear (double) ear infection.  The pediatrician is not too concerned just yet, especially since he is in daycare.

Since the last posting, Grayson has celebrated several first holidays.  Here he is as a gnome on Halloween:

He was originally going to be a fox for Halloween (naturally), but the company that I ordered the costume from sent a notification that the fox costume was discontinued/back-ordered.  There wasn't a whole lot of time left, and we wanted a costume that would be unique and we couldn't resist how darn cute the gnome costume was!  Grayson did go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood with Ben and he did really well.  He was fascinated by all the kids.

Here is Grayson just hanging out (and making a mess) at the house: 

Grayson is now able to clap, wave, blow kisses, show his muscles, give a high five and fist pump (knuckles). Waving "hi" to all of his fans:

We all ran the Wiregrass Wobble on Thanksgiving Day.  It was a little chilly in the morning, but we all had a really good time.  The course took you through the Wiregrass Mall parking lot, to the Hospital, and then up the ramp of the parking garage.  (Going down the ramp was the hardest!).  It was pretty difficult to maneuver the stroller around all the people, but we actually were the second stroller to finish the race.

The rest of our Thanksgiving was delightfully uneventful.  :)

We also took Grayson to Ergle's Christmas Tree Farm so we could pick out our Christmas tree.  Grayson did an excellent job cutting down the tree, don't you think?!?

Here is a photo from the Safety Harbor Snow Fest event that all the babies got together for: (Left to right - Graham, Ronan, Hailey, G, and Liam)

Big boy that now drinks from a sippy cup:

Taking in the light show at the Shops at Wiregrass:

Checking all the Christmas lights to make sure they work:

First meeting with Santa!  We were at International Plaza to pick up my race packet for the Holiday Halfathon and saw the awesome Santa setup they had.  It was a whole Peanuts experience with fake snow and several staging stations.  We started with plastic snow, Christmas trees, Peanuts clips and then moved in to a dome with "snow" coming from the ceiling.  It was actually rice, which was great since G probably ate some of it...  But it was on the ground and in his hair, and he really liked it.  Until we had to leave and see Santa - which is what you see here:

We also had our first family photos taken.  We couldn't be more pleased with the results and Heather from Inspirefly Photography.  The location we decided on was awesome (Edward Medard Park in Plant City).  Here are some of my favorite photos:

As of December 17th, I was officially on Winter Break from work.  Grayson and I had a lot of fun together for two weeks, but it was also super exhausting!  I really think staying at home with him was WAY harder than working!  I did get a chance to catch up with some of my friends and G got to eat his first cupcake:

Here is Hailey, Ronan, G and Liam before the cakes:

Grayson's first Christmas was really a lot of fun but also exhausting.  He wasn't terribly interested in presents, but enjoyed ripping paper and opening boxes.  At the end of the day, he still wanted to play with the TV remote and water bottles... New Year's Eve was also pretty quiet.  We went over to a friend's house and Grayson fell asleep well before midnight.  

A few other updates - Grayson finally broke two teeth!  He is also VERY close to walking.  He stands on his own and will walk assisted, but has yet to master walking on his own.  He likes to bounce in place and take an adventure step as long as he has something to grab on to.

Also, when I brought him back to daycare this week, they asked me about moving G up to the 1 year old classroom.  At first, I was a little shocked because it seemed so early.  But his teachers said that he is getting really bored in the infant classroom and his buddy was going to be moving up at the same time.  Much to my surprise, on Tuesday (yesterday), he transitioned in to the new classroom.  I truly had a harder time that he did...

He did really well and even went to sleep on his own without being in a crib.  This was the first of many milestones that we will experience.  Ben and I have been talking recently about how different life is this year compared to last year.  We have both had our moments, but parenthood has been the most rewarding experience of my life thus far.

Until next time!

B*L*G