Sweet Baby GRAY 9-10 months

My baby has changed more this last month than any other.


On New Years Eve day he decided that he would crawl. No practicing or hiccups at all. It was strange to see him act like it was no big deal. McKay didn't believe it when I called to tell him, but I clearly had the proof after he came home. It totally freaked Dax out at first. It was so funny to watch Dax walk backwards while Grayson was happily crawled towards him, as if he knew he was picking on him. Dax would just yell, "Baby! No! BOP(stop)! MOM!!!" We thought he'd never crawl since he was pretty dang good and rolling to his destinations.

Luckily he has not had any interest in climbing the stairs... yet. He can hold off on this for a while though. When I go upstairs he'll sit at the bottom and babble away to me and eventually the babbling turns into some ticked off yells. I get the hint Gray :)

He loves to point and wave. He waves in two different ways. First, the typical opens and closes his fingers into a fist and the other way is pretty much throwing is arm up and down and letting his hand flop around. I much prefer the floppy wave.

Gray loves to fill up and empty his small toys into containers or put toys on and off shelves.

Enjoys looking outside like this pic below.


He can say- Go, Ba(ball) Ma Ma, Da Dad, Yeah, Anana (banana) cakah (cracker) and lots of other noises. He always tries to mimic us and even uses the correct pitch.

If you ask him if he is strong, he'll clench his fists and grunt with all his might. Sometimes a little toot comes with his masculine growl. LOL!

He is the best sleeper! We tried to do the same sleep training with him that we did with Dax. (Cry it out method) It was very successful. He was sleeping 12 hrs straight by the 3rd night and the first 2 nights were pretty much cake. I wish we would have done it sooner. I'm a lucky Mom right here.

He is very sensitive and takes some time to warm up to certain people, but he always does and becomes their BFF.

Favorite place to play is under the table

Bright eyes and dark lashes. Look out ladies!

Likes to follow Dax everywhere!

When you ask him "How big is Grayson?" he'll quickly smile, throw his hands in the air, touch his head and slowly bring his hands back down over his face. Funny boy.

Loves to touch facial hair. Just ask McKay, my brothers, papa or Nick Chadwick LOL! It keeps him very entertained!

He has got a quick temper that comes on fast, but it's always short lived. Basically, he can get mad really fast and scream REALLY loud. Thank goodness its mostly all an act and he'll stop fast.

This kid can eat! He has always been in the 30%-50% in height and weight, but he sure eats like he should be in the 100th. He has turned down one food item so far, peas. Can ya blame him? His favorites are- cinnamon oatmeal/cream of wheat, beef stroganoff, chocolate chip pancakes (like his big bro) pears, mashed potatoes, cupcakes(like his mama) and toast with sticky strawberry jam.
We sure love our little G. Full of personality, but the sweetest thing you'll ever lay eyes on!

Where did Janurary go?

Well, it was spent either sleeping, Doc appointments, cleaning up a lot of pretty nasty stuff and unfortunately for Dax, 2 trips to the ER and Primary Children's Hospital. McKay and I had it as well and it was one of the worst bugs we both have ever had. Imagining a 2year old dealing with it was heartbreaking.

Grayson dodged the flu and just had a mild cold. Thank Goodness!!!

Dax was always cat napping. He obviously didn't feel well and was so tired all the time, so caught I him zonked out in random places.

I don't think I did his hair(or mine) for 3 weeks ;0

 Dax was fairly sick for about 4 days and only seemed to be getting worse, so Friday after tracking his input/output, it was very clear he was not getting the fluids he needed. I also had a suspicion that the antibiotic he was on, was not helping his empty-less tummy. We called my parents to come up to help with Grayson and made an appointment with Dax's pediatrician, they got us in quick thankfully. She looked at his weight lose, the information we provided, his extremely crabby behavior and sent us straight to the ER for fluids, antibiotics and pain meds for his ear infection.  This is one moment I wish I could erase from my memory. I’m sure you can imagine a 28 month old getting an IV started, along with strange people wanting to take all of his vitals and examine him was no treat. Dax finally fell asleep, finished the IV fluid process , woke up and left still pretty sick and upset.
  Poor McKay was right in the middle of the worst part of his illness, so he was going back and forth to the bathroom dealing with his own problems while at the ER. I actually kept thinking we should pay another co-pay and hook McKay up too :0

ER. Thank goodness for the ipad

Pretty sleepy after the fight of getting the IV started

Primary Children's Hospital

The next day was actually pretty good most of the morning, so we sent my parents home thinking that everything was just going to get better, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Dax that evening got really upset and his diarrhea got ridiculously bad. We had been giving him 10ml syringes of pedialite to keep him somewhat hydrated, but realized it was going straight through him.(a symptom of severe  dehydration is diarrhea and its hard to hydrate on your own, especially a child)  He got really emotional and could hardly lift his head up or stand, so I took him straight back to the ER, they took one look at him and sent us to Primary Children’s for severe dehydration and extremely low blood sugar. They said they wouldn't let him leave til he was better. I was pretty upset, called McKay to tell him what was going on, so he had my mother come back up and watch Gray. I have not been away from Grayson for more than 3 hrs at a time which threw another level of emotion to my situation.

This time around with starting the IV was a bit easier, since Dax was pretty lethargic and didn't really want to put up a fight. I could tell the IV team and his RN didn't like his lack of energy one bit.

That night was by far the hardest night. Lots of throwing up, sore bum diaper changes, vitals being taken every few hrs, changing the bags of fluids, finger pricks, nose swab to check for respiratory problems etc…(can ya blame him for being ticked off?)

That morning they stopped the IV, disconnected it and left the IV in his hand. His Dr. wanted to see how he would do on his own with wanting to eat, drink and just basically see how he acted. The problem is, how do you think a hungry, sleep deprived 2 year old is going to act being in a strange place with an IV in his right hand wrapped up so he can’t use it?  Yeah, he was no peach! He always tries to be an independent kid doing most things on his own. Watching him try to eat a popsicle and jello with his left hand was pretty messy and pathetic, I would be frustrated too. I told the Dr. my concern with needing a happy hungry kid to be discharged, how I dont see that in the near future.  He agreed with a chuckle and smile. He said that this is typical and to start out slow with fluids then bland foods. If Dax seemed interested in food/fluids and could keep even a little bit down they would discharge us. Hallelujah!  Taking care of your kid at home is much easier.

A few hrs later Dax acted a bit happier and ended up letting us help him with eating pancakes, pudding, crackers and juice. He ended up asking for pickles too :) He played with the toys and bubbles that the hospital entertainment team provided. The nurses and Dr. all got to witness that Dax really is a hilarious sweet kid and is actually fun to be around. This made me happy to see the mood change with everyone.

They released us that afternoon and things slowly got better at home. He still had lots of vomiting and diarrhea for a couple days, but we could see that he was voluntarily eating, drinking and keeping most of it down.

I am so grateful for modern medicine and the kind words and prayers from everyone. Its so nice to have my sweet and crazy kid back!

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We all had a VERY LONG night, so we slept anytime Dax did.

It was so hard for Dax to get comfy with all these tubes and ID tags wrapped around his hands and ankles

After 5 days of refusing food and liquid he finally ate voluntarily. Pancakes, popsicles, pickles and pudding. Notice a trend?

Finally we are seeing some smiles and energy

LOVED the bubbles!

Stomping on the bubbles!

Twas the Night before Christmas......and Christmas Day!

Christmas Eve Eve Party

My parents always have a party at Christmas time for all their grandkids and some how talk Santa into coming to their home every year. They must be pretty good all year long. We ate lots of yummy food, made gingerbread houses and opened Christmas pj's. Everyone gathered around the lit tree to talk about the true meaning of christmas, what we were grateful for and so much more. 

This good lookin couple sure knows how to throw a party!

As always Grayson is pretty much the attention magnent.

Dylan was not feeling very good, so Dax got up on the couch and laid with him for a brief moment.

Dax was not very happy to sit with Santa, but did what he had to do to get a present. 

Grayson just wanted to look at him. He looks kinda scared in the picture, but he really didn't mind too much as long as I stayed close.

Jammies!!!

Loves from Gracie

This is how Grayson communicates now.  He points when he wants or likes something. 

Opening the gift from Jacksen

A Thomas toy from Gracie Jo.
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Christmas Morning

We woke up to Dax running in our room with excitement, but this is just like every morning since he still doesn't understand the concept of Santa. Mckay woke up Grayson and we checked out our Christmas stockings in our bed. Dax found a Thomas the Train in his stocking and instantly became overwhelmed with excitement! We then headed down stairs to see what we could find in the family room and there just happened to be a perfectly put together wooden track set!!! The rest of the day was a bit fuzzy for Dax only to remember trains, tracks, bridges and tunnels. Gray got a puppy and a blanket, Mckay got a new coat and tie organizer. As for me, I got new beautiful kitchen utensils from the kids, measuring cups, and Mckay got me a huge minky couture blanket. 

Checking out the gifts.

This is what most of Christmas day looked like.

As you can see by the pictures Grayson was beyond excited to receive his puppy. 

Now does this face express the happiness he was feeling or what???? It was so cute and I'm glad we got it on video. I honestly dont think I have ever seen him smile this BIG before.

Opening his scooter from the Parry Family!

I love watching him be ever so carful as he puts the trains on the track in which order he chooses and slowly pushes them around it. (most of the time with his toys he's crazy and well, a boy)

Warm blanket for the bebe!

We headed to Nana and Papa's home later that morning to see most of my side of the family, enjoy some yummy food and just relax. 

Most of my day looked like this :) Grayson isn't much of a snuggler, but he must of known just what I wanted from him for Christmas. Papa tickled his face as he relaxed in my arms. 

Books!!!

More Thomas stuff!

Dylan is showing Dax his skills on the harmonica.

Grayson loves papa's beard.

We hope you all ended up having a Happy Holiday as we did and here's to the upcoming year 2013!!!