All the Parties Are Over

Yes, I said parties. Grayson had a family party on the 19th with a lot of family members in attendance and then his playgroup party was supposed to be the next day. Unfortunately, a lot of moms and kids had to cancel due to a variety of reasons and only two were able to come. So, I decided to hold the "official" party the following Monday and still have the two kids come on the original date. Grayson, however, only got cake at the first two. Even that was bad enough!! If you want to take a look at some of the pictures, you can click here. In the meantime, here are a couple of Grayson enjoying some of his cake.

His First Taste of Cake

More Cake at His Friend Party

(Thanks, Amy, for the special cake just for Grayson!!)

One Year Ago Today

This time last year, Dominic and I were waking up in a hotel room in New Jersey after a fairly restless sleep. We were getting ready to meet with a Social Worker to talk about a little baby who had been born on November 17th who may become our son. It's amazing to think about how one phone call received just a few days earlier could change our lives forever.

We officially met Grayson on this day last year. I remember how Dominic and I were staring through the window of the NICU trying to figure out which little baby would soon become ours (we never did figure it out without being told). I remember when we finally did see him and hold him, how surreal it all was. I didn't feel like a Mom. It didn't seem possible after all we had been through, but there we were, being congratulated by Nurses, Doctors, our Social Worker, our family and friends. We were parents. This little baby was completely dependent on us. And it scared the crap out of me!!

We had a lot to be thankful for on Thanksgiving last year, that was the day Grayson was discharged from the hospital. The day his breathing problems suddenly disappeared. The day we ate hospital turkey while we waited for everything to be just right so we could take him with us.

And this year we have a lot to be thankful for. We've made it through the first year and it was a great one!! Thank you, Grayson, for making our lives so wonderful. We only hope we can bless you as much as you have blessed us.

Happy First Birthday, Grayson!

Wow, It's Been a While!!

I can't believe how long it's been since I posted an update. Things have been very crazy around here as I help our local adoption group plan a National Adoption Day Open House for November 18th and prepare for Grayson's first birthday party on the very next day. Also, Grayson has gotten very clingy lately which has made it rather difficult to get on the computer. So, here are a few updates...

Halloween was a major bust. Grayson looked adorable in his costume, he was a bat, but I couldn't get any good pictures of him in it because he wouldn't stop moving. My sister Linda, niece Heidi, and I took Grayson and his two cousins, Brooks and Tevyn, to the pumpkin patch on October 27th. Unfortunately it was a miserable day making us all very miserable as well. The ground was so wet from the rain that the place wasn't even doing hayrides to the pumpkin patch - something they neglected to tell us when we paid the $7 each to get in. Needless to say, we were rather disappointed, but the boys seemed to still have a good time. On Halloween itself, Linda, another niece, Brandi, and I gave out candy at my Aunt's house in Boonsboro. I thought this would be a perfect way for Grayson to be seen in his costume, but he wouldn't let go of me and barely anyone even noticed him, and when they did, they couldn't tell what his costume was supposed to be. Oh, well. Maybe next year. He did get to wear his costume two more times with his friends from playgroup, but even then I couldn't get really great pictures.

Last week I took Grayson to see the doctor because he had had a runny nose for about two weeks and then over the weekend he developed a cough. She listened to his chest and said he sounded like an asthmatic. She offered to give him a nebulizer or have me try antibiotics first. I went with the antibiotics. This is the same doctor who sent us to an orthopedic when she noticed Grayson's right foot turned out a little and the orthopedic had no idea why we were there. With that in mind, I would rather try the antibiotics before jumping to the worst case scenario. Today Grayson still has the runny nose, but is barely coughing. I'm hoping that means they are working. We have a follow-up appointment on Thursday.

There's most likely more to share, but I'm probably pushing it with Grayson right now as it is. He really doesn't take naps anymore, which is driving me a little crazy, so I don't get much downtime. C'est la vie!