All These Big Boy Things

I guess it's official, Grayson is no longer a baby. We purchased his walking shoes yesterday and he really looks like a toddler now. I don't think the women at Stride Rite believed me at first when I told them he had been walking for a month because they seemed reluctant to sell me the shoes, but once they saw him walk in them, they were convinced. He got two new pairs - some Nikes and some Eccos, which are his dress shoes. It was A LOT of money to spend on shoes he may wear for about two months, but I want to make sure his feet get the right support (especially if he's going to be our little athlete!).

His new toy chest arrived yesterday as well. I ordered it back in June and it has taken forever to arrive, but it's beautiful and exactly what I wanted. I'm hoping it will be a nice keepsake throughout the years.

Ten Months Old

Grayson turned ten months old on Sunday, September 17th and I've tried a few times to get on-line to update the blog, but it's been a pretty hectic week which included going to the Baltimore Aquarium with one of Grayson's playgroups, meeting with our potential home designer, going to an AFF meeting, and celebrating my birthday. The week was jam packed!

Playing with New Bath Toys from the Aquarium

So here's a full update...

Grayson is really on the move! He is now walking everywhere and doesn't crawl much at all. This is also making it much more difficult to take pictures. We went to Stride Rite to buy him some nice snazzy walking shoes, but they didn't have his size (4 Extra Wide, by the way) in any of the shoes I wanted. I guess I'm going to check them out on-line or try the store again next week.

He's also really starting to say some words. Of course he's been saying Mama and Dada for a while now, but he said his first real word while we were in Colorado - Dog. It's really no surprise that is his first word considering we have four of them. It comes out with a funny accent, but it's definitely dog. He's also saying "bye bye," "uh-oh," and "no no."

Finally, he's working on some new teeth. He's been teething all week which means he's also been really cranky (my Mom saw the worst of it on Thursday when she was visiting). It looks like he has one coming in on the bottom and one on the top. I feel so bad for him but he's doing well overall. He also got a haircut yesterday. It was his fourth one, but he still hated it. He screamed most of the time but luckily the barber wasn't phased.

We're Home!

We made it back from Colorado Wednesday night in one piece. It was a wonderful trip overall. The plane rides were a little rough (as I mentioned in the previous post), but the rest of the vacation was terrific!! Grayson was a trooper the entire time, like he usually is. He adjusted well to the time change, which also made life much easier for us.

Breckenridge was the first place we stayed. Our friend's wedding was Saturday night and it was gorgeous. The weather had been horrible during our entire visit. And when I say horrible I mean it was very, very cold, it snowed Friday night and sleeted and/or rained most of the day on Saturday. But during the wedding it was beautiful. The ceremony took place on the deck overlooking the mountains and I really can't explain how breathtaking it was.

A Family Portrait Before the Wedding

Speaking of the mountains, did you know that Breckenridge is 11,460 feet high? Just for comparison sake, the tallest mountain in Maryland is Backbone Mountain which is 3,360 feet high. This is a BIG difference. I didn't really believe in the whole "mountain sickness" thing until I felt it. It was almost impossible to breathe and I started to feel a little down and miserable by Sunday. We could even notice the impact on Grayson as he started to breathe a little heavier. When Monday hit, we were all ready to leave and go to Ft. Collins and we could tell the difference in the altitude almost immediately.

A few friends joined us as we headed toward Ft. Collins and we tried some Colorado wine in Georgetown from the Canyon Wind Cellars. (We also bought a few bottles.) We then decided to tour a tunnel which serviced a large number of gold mines in the early part of the 20th century. Grayson even got to walk into an old mine. Of course it rained on us as we were "searching for gold," but we found a few pieces in the little baggies they provided us. That evening we spent with the newlyweds who were kind enough to share their home with us for the rest of our stay. It was so nice to actually hang out with them for a few days.

On Tuesday we visited the Anheuser-Busch Brewery in Ft. Collins. That was definitely a lot of fun. After that we took a hike at Poudre Canyon and saw some great Colorado scenery. This was our last full day in Colorado and we finally had some beautiful weather. We were so glad we could take advantage of it!! Grayson spent the entire hike on Dominic's back and really seemed to enjoy himself.

On Wednesday, we visited Anne, a childhood friend of mine who now lives in Denver. Anne and I went through elementary, middle, and high school together and haven't seen each other since our 10 year reunion a few years ago, so I'm glad she was able to take a break from work so we could catch up and also see her house. Grayson wasn't on his best behavior when we were visiting, but we all survived.

Hiking at Poudre Canyon

I think it was just a precursor to the rest of the trip home - once again our plane ride was a nightmare. He wouldn't fall asleep and he just wanted to run around and play. Oh, and talk very, very loudly with an occasional squeal thrown in. Once he was tired, he cried. And cried some more. He slept for the last hour, first in Dominic's arms, then in mine. He luckily slept through the landing as well. When we arrived at the airport, they couldn't find our luggage. Not just ours, but the luggage for the entire flight. We waited for an hour and 20 minutes. Luckily Grayson slept in my arms while we waited, otherwise it could have been much worse.

Grayson Watching our Plane Arrive in Denver

All in all it was a wonderful vacation!!

So How Was Your Flight?

Well, we're here in Colorado and that's probably the most popular question from everyone and the answer would be...it started out great, turned into a nightmare in the middle, and then ended just fine. Our flight originally wasn't delayed, so we got on the airplane and Grayson fell right to sleep. We then sat there. For about 45 minutes while they added more passengers onto our flight from another one that had been grounded. Grayson slept through take-off and then for about another hour, but then he was up for the rest of the flight. Two and a half hours. And we were miserable. He didn't want to sit in his seat. He didn't want to play with his toys. He just screamed. We were "those people." You know, the ones with the screaming kid on a tiny airplane. I walked with him up and down the aisle and he was happiest at the back of the plane, so I stayed there for as long as the Flight Attendants would allow me. I can't even tell you how happy I was to land!! Here's a picture of him when he was sleeping peacefully.

As for Colorado, it's gorgeous. It snowed last night so the mountain tops around us are capped with snow. Our hotel is beautiful and the wedding is tonight. Unfortunately, the weather is a little damp, but it's supposed to clear up tomorrow and we're looking forward to getting out and about.

It's Been a Busy Weekend, As Usual

We've been pretty busy this weekend. On Saturday we all went down to Anne Arundel County to hang out with Dominic's family. We celebrated Grayson's cousin Paul's second birthday that night. Grayson and Paul had a blast running around together. Now that Grayson is mobile, he loves to push things around and Paul accomodated by riding on the little car and helping Grayson move it.

Yesterday was spent visiting with Auntie Shannon and Auntie Mina. Unfortunately, none of the pictures I took from the visit really turned out well so I'll have to do better next time.

Today Grayson is spending the day with Britnee while I head to Virginia to visit with a friend who just brought home her son!! My other friend Erica will be there as well. I can't wait to have a little "alone with friends" time and I'm sure Grayson will love hanging out with Britnee.

This week we head out for our first official family vacation. We're traveling to Colorado on Thursday to go to a friend's wedding and we've turned the trip into a vacation. Dominic has never been to Colorado and I'm already thinking of the great photo opportunities for Grayson. We've been planning this trip for well over a year (our first real vacation since our pre-IVF days) and I can't wait!!