So Much to Talk About

Those of us who have adopted often talk about how we've been blessed with the most wonderful children in the world. Over these past few days, Grayson has definitely proven that to be true. We've kept the little guy so busy, ruining his regular schedule and dragging him all over the place, but through it all he's been such a good boy.

On Thursday, my sister and I went shopping in the Baltimore area. We left at around 9:00 in the morning and didn't get home until 9:00 that night. Grayson was with us the entire time and we couldn't have asked for better behavior. Of course there were times he got a little fussy, but overall he did very, very well. Not until the last 10 minutes of the trip did he really get upset and by this time it was an hour past his normal bedtime, so we certainly couldn't complain.

Grayson experienced his first parade on Saturday. The Memorial Day parade in Sharpsburg is a family tradition. We have lunch at my Aunt Dee Dee's house and then walk the entire parade route to sit atop the walls at the end of town so we can get a perfect view of the festivities. On the walk up, Grayson fell asleep in his stroller so he got a brief nap. He absolutely loved watching the parade, especially when the bands went by, and then on the walk back he fell asleep again.

But the best part of the weekend was our trip to Linganore Winery on Sunday for their first wine festival of the season. It had a Caribbean theme so it was perfect for Grayson as we listened to the steele drum bands and lounged most of the day. Grayson even wore an appropriate bib for the occasion, given to him by my wonderful friend Erica. He loved watching all the people, but did ultimately give in and fell asleep in the tent we had set up especially for him. Once again, he was on his best behavior and even tolerated Dominic and I having dinner at my sister's house - putting Grayson about an hour past his regular bedtime again. But that was it, and he let us know it. Once we got home he went straight to bed!

This weekend has been one of the best for me since we brought Grayson home. There have been times when I've suffered the baby blues (and I've felt really guilty about that considering how long and hard we worked to create our family), but I have to keep in mind that that's normal and when those days come again, which I'm sure they will, I just need to look back on times like this. I truly am blessed.

The Boy Just Keeps Growing

Grayson turned six months old on May 17th. The next day he had his doctor's appointment and he now weighs 19 pounds, 14 ounces (really, he's almost 20 pounds) and he's 27 inches long. He did really well with his four shots, only crying a little, and then smiling up a storm when he was all finished. I really am very, very lucky to have such a great little guy. We do need to take him to an Orthopedic Surgeon to have his right foot checked. When he stands his foot turns out and his Pediatrician showed me some exercises to help the muscle loosen up, but she wants the Orthopedic to take a look just to be safe.

Grayson also went to his first "kid" birthday this past weekend and seemed to enjoy himself. There were about 15 other children running around, ranging from Grayson's age to age seven and he loved to watch him. He couldn't eat any birthday cake obviously, but I certainly did!!

Speaking of sweet stuff, he is now eating fruit in the morning. As I mentioned before, I increased the amount of solids he gets throughout the day and I've now added a half container of fruit with his breakfast. He's enjoying it, but he's still digging his veggies.

Milestones

Today Grayson turns six months old. When Dominic and I started the adoption process last April, we hoped and prayed we would have our baby home by Mother's Day. In the world of adoption, they warn you to never set expectations based on dates and it was emotionally risky for us to do so, but it was also risky for us to switch from Guatemala adoption to domestic and I'm so glad we did. It is amazing to me to think that if we had stayed with Guatemala, we would most likely not have our baby home with us at this time. We wouldn't have Grayson, Dominic's Mom would never have met our baby, and we would not yet be a family of three. It's incredible how one key decision can change your lives forever. But enough about me and how I'm feeling right now, let's talk a little about our amazing little man - Grayson.

He's done pretty well for his first six months. He's been on a little vacation, he attended his first Super Bowl party, and he's won the hearts of many admirers. Just to be official, here are some formal milestones:

• First smile - December 23, 2005, I was rocking him and he looked up and grinned.
• First slept through the night - February 10, 2006, This was a very important milestone for me!! I finally got a decent night's sleep and have ever since.
• First laugh - April 11, 2006, Even though many people kept trying to convince me that his squealing was a laugh, I knew better and on this day he finally giggled.
• First rolled over from front to back - March 30, 2006, Of course he did it when I wasn't looking, but then he started doing it over and over again. Now he's also rolling over from back to front.

He's also practically sitting up by himself now. On Mother's Day we went to dinner and he was able to sit in the high chair without any problems. Our little guy is growing up!!

It's Finally Over!!

I was a little hesitant to post this at first, but it looks like Grayson is all better. That had to be one of the roughest weeks ever. Now I'm adjusting to his new schedule since he has decided to change his nap times, but I think the new times will work out just fine for me as well. Also, he's been rather cranky the last few days after getting better and based on his reaction to food, I believe he's hungry. So, I've increased the amount of solids he's getting. He's almost six months old, so I think it's safe to add more food to his diet.

Thank you to everyone for thinking of us as we dealt with our first baby illness. I really appreciate it!!

Poor Little Guy

This has been a very rough week for both Grayson and for me as we've been dealing with his first real illness. It started last Wednesday and appears to be a stomach flu. That day I was able to get the vomiting and fever under control, but I freaked out a bit when I saw the drastic change in his personality that afternoon. Since then I've just been changing one horrible diaper after another and giving him lots and lots of Pedialyte to keep him from getting dehydrated. He really has been such a trooper and is a very happy baby overall, but he's not taking very good naps and he's not sleeping very well through the night as I'm sure you can imagine.

We went to see his pediatrician on Monday and he's looking okay. I think things are finally getting a little better, but if it hasn't stopped by next Monday, we'll be calling the pediatrician again. To top it all off, we lost our satellite internet and are suffering through dial-up as we wait for a new modem so that means no uploaded pictures!!

Just a Picture to Share

Nothing really new to report. Grayson spent the weekend at various parties - including his first Tiki Party - and on Sunday we went out to buy a lawn mower. We've never really had a lawn before and it currently is a complete disaster, so Dominic will be mowing on Thursday. He seems to be looking forward to it, which is good since I have absolutely no ability or desire to do any type of yard work, including mowing the lawn. But back to Grayson...

Today we did a mini photo shoot in an outfit given to him as a gift from a wonderful friend. Unfortunately, since Grayson is huge, he won't be able to wear the clothes much longer so I wanted to be sure to have plenty of pictures of him in it. Especially since it has a fire truck on the front! The rest of the pictures from his fancy photo shoot will be in his album.

Sassy Boy!!