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
