Tummy Time

I've been horrible and haven't done any tummy time with Grayson until today.  However, since he was born, I've thought he had a lot of head control already.  Looks like Grayson's doing okay with the limited tummy time ...

Rylan had fun "playing" with Grayson for awhile on his playmat :)

Recent Pictures

These are some of my random recent pictures since Grayson was born ...

A couple of days after I got home from the hospital, Carter had pajama day at school.  His class got this reward for earning 25 clovers during their specials (such as PE and art).  Clovers are given for good behavior during the class.  It was also the first Friday of the month (which is spirit day) so I put Carter's school shirt over his pajamas.

It was warm enough for a few days when Grayson was about a week old to walk Carter to school.  After that we had a bunch of days we had to do the drop off line because it was so cold or wet.  It was the first time since school started that we had to do that though.

This is what happens when we are at home for too long - Brian sets up our rock climbing rope on the stairs so the boys can go "rock climbing".  They usually just pretend using Charlotte's old leashes and harnesses.

Grayson had his first bottle last weekend.  I haven't been pumping much (mornings are usually too hectic), but I finally fit it in.  It took Grayson a minute or two to figure it out but he finally did and drank almost the whole bottle.  Yay!  Rylan would NEVER take a bottle and it made it impossible for me to leave him for very long.

The big boys had all week off from school for Thanksgiving.  On Wednesday I took them all downtown for storytime since they never get to go anymore.  This was Grayson's first storytime, and he slept through the whole thing.

Since we were already downtown, we also went to the Adventure Science Center for a little bit.  Their new temporary exhibit was "RiverWorks Discovery", which is all about rivers.  We spent most of our time in this section.

Grayson slept the whole time, again.

He even slept through his first time in the Body Battles laser game.

It was really good to get out after being stuck in the house last week with strep and then not doing much early in the week.

Lane Motor Museum

With no plans for the day and it being too cold outside for Grayson, we decided to try out a new attraction in Nashville.  The Lane Motor Museum had free admission today in exchange for a toy for Toys for Tots.  So we used some toys from my birthday stash and got in free.

I'd never even heard of the museum but Brian came across it this morning when looking for something to do.  According to their website, the Lane Motor Museum features 150 unique cars and motorcycles and is home to the largest European collection in the U.S.  The vehicles date from the 1920s all the way up to modern day and feature a varied collection of microcars, amphibious vehicles, military vehicles, alternative fuel vehicles, prototypes, one-of-a-kind vehicles and motorcycles.

I was a little worried about the kids' level of interest but they did awesome.  There were a ton of unusual cars which we could talk about that kept the boys' attention.

Carter really wanted his picture taken in front of this ...

 Carter didn't like that he had to be the girl ...

Carter begged Brian and I to stand in this one and he took our picture.

We toured the main part of the museum for over an hour.  A couple of times a year (including today) they also open up the basement for tours.  There are more cars down there and we spent another 45 minutes doing that.  Rylan did fall asleep for a few minutes when Brian carried him for a bit.  And Grayson stayed asleep the entire time.

I'm not much into car museums but this one was a little better than most because of all the unique cars.  Plus it was free today and a great way to spend a few hours on a cold day!

Thanksgiving

It's unanimous.  Rylan, Carter, Brian, and I are thankful for this guy this year ...

We are spending a quiet Thanksgiving at home this year.  Just the five of us.

3 Weeks Old Update

Grayson was 3 weeks old on Monday.  He already seems so much bigger (and I think he really is - I got on the scale with and without him this weekend and I was getting that he weighed over 10 lbs already!).  He's starting to get the wide belly that Rylan had.  And while he's filled out and has some mini-rolls, they aren't like the ones Rylan had by now.

Grayson is not a super easy, laid-back guy (isn't #3 supposed to be that way?!?!?).  He's often fussy when he's awake and needs constant attention.  I can't just put him in his bouncer and he'll chill.  But luckily he usually sleeps enough during the day that I'm not going crazy.  He's definitely better when we are out and about.  His worse time is the evening.  From dinner until he goes to bed is usually filled with screaming and us walking around with him trying to calm him down.

Like Carter, Grayson spits up a lot.  A friend gave me some of the giant Aden + Anais bibs and those are the only thing that saves us from going through several outfits a day (I hate leaving Grayson in soaking wet clothes when it's cold).  Grayson doesn't seem overly bothered by the spitting up though so I don't think his crying is because of a hurting belly.

Grayson's belly button stump finally fell off on Monday.  It was holding on by a string for a few days.

Grayson is a pretty good night sleeper.  However, I'm horrible and have been letting his sleep on me or next to me in bed.  I have yet to use the portable crib.  But it's working.  I'm getting sleep.  I have 3 kids to take care of now and really need sleep to manage all our activities and life!

Grayson is keeping his dark hair so far.  However his eyebrows are light (more like Rylan's).  Rylan was born with dark hair that fell out and was replaced by the blonde.

Unlike the big boys, so far Grayson his regular eyelashes (short and thin).  Carter and (especially) Rylan have thick long lashes and I think they had them from birth.

I totally shouldn't post this because it'll change then, but Grayson is the first of the boys not to pee every time I take off his diaper!  He's only gotten me twice.  The other two were always peeing as soon as the dirty diaper was off.

Speaking of diapers, Grayson is in size 1 and isn't growing out of them quite yet but they are definitely not big.  I have another box and a half of size ones so hopefully he doesn't grow too quick!

Grayson is definitely out of newborn clothes.  I'm putting him in 3 month sized clothes but they are big right now.  He's growing too fast!!!

Grayson is a great eater.  I have had no trouble with nursing - he latched on immediately within an hour of being born.  Sometimes though he seems to want to eat a little too often.  But because he throws up so much, I've only been nursing him on one side during each feeding.  So I think he gets hungry a little quicker.  But I feel like I keep more in his belly if I don't let him eat as much.  I have no doubt he's getting enough though because he's putting on weight fast.

Grayson has instantly become a part of our family and I can't imagine not having him.  We love this little guy so much!!!

Christmas Decorating

The boys have the whole week off school.  Since we had a lot of visitors when Grayson was born and I don't think it's a good idea to drive 10+ hours with a 3 week old, we are spending Thanksgiving on our own this year.  That adds up to a very long week :)

So we are going to work on Christmas decorations all week.  Yesterday the boys and I did their tree that goes in the bonus room.  This is our "ugly" tree with lots of bright ornaments and all the ornaments the kids have made.

Grayson "helped" too (by sleeping for over an hour so we could get it done!).

Hopefully by spreading it out all week the boys will stay interested and want to help!

First Walk

We finally had a warm day yesterday (about 60F) so the big boys and I took Grayson for his first walk around the neighborhood!

First Snow

We had our first snow of the year on Monday (November 17th).  It wasn't much but we also got a little Tuesday morning.  We didn't get any significant snow last year.  I'm hoping for just one big snow this year because I know the big boys would love it!

Six-Year-Old Checkup

Carter had his six-year-old checkup on Tuesday.  Other than being diagnosed with strep throat, our pediatrician was happy with his development and growth.  We got the usual "lecture" about eating more vegetables, but that was it.  Plus, no shots or finger prick!

Here are Carter's current measurements:

Height: 3'-9.5" (51st percentile)
Weight: 44 lbs (40th percentile)
BMI: 14.94 (36th percentile)

And his 5-year-old measurements for comparison:

Height: 3'-7" (50-75th percentile)
Weight: 40.2 lbs (50-75th percentile)
BMI: 15.26 (25-50th percentile)

Strep Throat

All of us (except Grayson) have been battling colds for the last couple of weeks.  And we have been trying to hard not to pass anything to the baby.  We have gone through a ridiculous amount of hand sanitizer.  My hands are so dried out from all of it.

But then the older boys got strep this week (it's the first time either of them has had it).  Luckily it's nearly impossible for an infant to get it so Grayson is safe.  However, Carter and Rylan were pretty pitiful.

Carter started feeling bad around dinner time Monday night.  He developed a fever and then overnight he threw up a few times.  Since I have to feed Grayson through the night, Brian got up with him (I usually do night duty).  Carter already had his six-year-old checkup scheduled for Tuesday afternoon so he stayed home from school and saw the doctor then.  Carter never complained to me about a sore throat but he was pitiful when his Tylenol wore off during the day and the fever returned.  Luckily the doctor noticed Carter's red throat and was able to diagnose him pretty quickly.  After just one dose of the antibiotic, Carter started feeling much better.  He had to stay out of school on Wednesday though too since he was still contagious.

Then Wednesday night Rylan woke up with a fever.  Brian again got to deal with a sick child (luckily it was already 2 am though and we'd gone to bed early).  I kept Rylan home from preschool and took him to the pediatrician's office first thing Thursday morning. Rylan was diagnosed with strep as well.  He continued to be pitiful most of the day when his Tylenol wore off.  And then right before bed, I noticed bumps all over Rylan.  We were concerned he was having an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin so we called our pediatrician's office (one doctor is on call overnight and answers calls).  We were told to give Rylan Benadryl and bring him into the office in the morning.  Luckily we figured out this morning that Rylan's rash was caused by the strep, not the antibiotic.  Thankfully.  And Rylan is feeling great today.

Hopefully we don't catch anything else!  Including Grayson's two-week-old checkup on Monday, we were at the pediatrician's office 4 out of 5 days this week.

2 Week Checkup

Grayson had his 2 week checkup yesterday.  We didn't really have any concerns and the doctor was happy with his development so far.

Here are Grayson's measurements:

Weight: 9 lb, 2 oz (68th percentile)
Length: 20.75 in (61st percentile)
Head Circumference: 14.7 in (89th percentile)

Grayson put on over a pound in 10 days.  Dr. Huss wasn't overly concerned with that amount but did say that was on the high end.

Grayson's next checkup will be at 2 months.

Kissing

I got this email from Carter's teacher today ...

So apparently there was a little kissing incident in the cafeteria today with Carter and a girl in our class. Apparently in line they were trying to kiss each other and then did on the lips. I talked to them both and told them that kisses were for mommies and daddies only and that at school we can show we like each other by giving hugs and high fives. Just wanted to let you know and to ask if you would also reinforce what happened at home.

Oh, my!  I guess I knew this was coming when at a birthday party last night, Carter and a girl in his class had their arms around each other while in line and they looked at each other and I totally thought they were going to kiss.  They didn't but the little girl's mom and I commented that it was close.

When I asked Carter about her after the party, he said that she said she wanted to marry him.  When I asked him, Carter said he also wanted to marry her.

Apparently he already changed his mind though because the little girl at school today was a different girl in his class.  When I talked to Carter this afternoon, he was really shy and embarrassed talking to me.  He said the little girl was trying to kiss him first but who knows!

Hopefully Carter will stick to kissing this guy for a little while ...

13 Days Old

Everyone has been asking us who Grayson looks more like - Carter or Rylan.  So far, I think he has Rylan's features except for his eyes.  They look a lot like Carter's when he was a newborn.

Six Years Old

Happy Birthday, Carter!!!

3 Brothers

Basketball

We started a new sport on Tuesday - basketball!  We had a whole two days off from participating in any team sports (soccer ended for Carter last Saturday).

We signed Carter up to play in the East Williamson Athletics league because they have practices and games at Carter's elementary school and two other elementary schools that are only a few minutes away.  After signing him up, we got an email that Carter's division was severely lacking in coaches.  So, of course, Brian volunteered.  He's never played basketball on a team growing up but he knows how to coach this age group so I think he's going to do great.  I played a lot growing up so hopefully I can provide a little help too (when I'm not wrangling Rylan and Grayson).

The team has practices on Tuesdays and Saturdays.  Once games start, they will be on Saturdays and the team will continue to practice on Tuesday nights.  Luckily the practices ended up being at Carter's elementary school so they are literally one minute from our house.

I stopped by practice on Tuesday for a few minutes and it looked liked Brian was doing a great job with the kids (they have 5 boys and 1 girl on the team).  We know 2 of the boys on the team - one is Cade (our neighbor who has played soccer with Carter for 3 seasons) and the other is Fisher (another neighbor who was actually on Carter's soccer team the very first season he played and I coached).

I'm excited to see Carter play this winter.  Hopefully we haven't over-committed ourselves with coaching and a newborn!

Carter's Progress Report

Carter got his progress report for the second 9 weeks today.  Nothing was marked as "Needs Improvement" so it looks like he is still doing great!

One Week Old

First Date?

I took all the boys to a birthday party yesterday afternoon for our friends Reed and Mae at My Gym.  While all the big kids were partying, Grayson had his first "date" with Jessie.  All my friends that recently had babies have had girls so Grayson is going to have choice of ladies :)  Jessie is only 3 months old and she looked so tiny to me 2 weeks ago.  I forgot how tiny a newborn is!

Acorn Fun Run

Last Saturday we had the kids run another one of the fun runs for the Middle TN YMCA Race Series.  This one was the Acorn Fun Run and was part of the Harvest Half Marathon.  Brian did the half last year and the kids did the fun run.

It was COLD this year.  The kids race started at 10 am and it was only around 40, overcast, and super windy.

The race ended up being super short (only about 0.35 miles instead of a full mile) and unorganized but was still fun.  The kids had to do two small laps around part of the soccer fields.  Carter is in the center taking off first and Rylan is on the left in the photo.

Carter stayed in the front for a few seconds before getting overtaken by the older kids.

Here Carter comes around the 2nd corner - almost 1/4 of the way done.

Rylan was so close to Carter still that I almost missed him.

Carter finishing the first lap ...

And Rylan still pretty close behind!

Carter did a great job running the entire race.  He paced himself though and ran a little slower than normal for him.

Rylan only had one short walk break.

And then picked it up and ran the rest of the race.

Carter finishing with a time of 3 minutes, 10 seconds.

And Rylan with a time of 4 minutes, 10 seconds.

After the race we saw one of Carter's classmates who also ran the race.  Jett is a super sweet kid and crazy cute.

The boys got dog tag medals again for completing the race.  Apparently the Y is using up all their old left over medals from previous races because these are the same as the left over ones the boys got at their last race.  I added the name of the actual race to these as well.

After the race we picked up my mom from the airport and then returned to the Y for their Fall Fest.  It was so cold that it was almost empty this year.  This was our third year going to the festival and they had the same attractions as previous years with several inflatables, a hayride, a train ride, face painting, a DJ, and food, including pizza.  And best of all, it's 100% free (and you get a t-shirt).

It was hard to drag these kids away when it was time to go - they had so much fun!