9 month summary...

I haven't made a habit of doing monthly posts but this has been a very momentous 6 weeks!:-) I can't believe my Grady bug is 10 months old!

Okay, so I honestly thought the kid would never crawl! The only thing he seemed interested in was "assisted" walking...If you put him on his tummy, he would just grunt!:-) Well, after our trip home for Aunt Sasha's shower, he decided it was time! He's been pulling up & cruising around his musical table for awhile...so I thought maybe he'd just jump straight to walking!? I've been making a list of all the milestones the kid has hit recently for his baby book & thought I'd share some of them w/ you...

• March 16th - Grady started crawling...it wasn't pretty at first w/ lots of face plants into the carpet but he got the technique pretty quickly!:-)

• March 23rd - found Grady standing after his nap...he was screaming, of course b/c he had no idea how he got there or how to get back down; that same day he started saying Dada!!!

• March 26th - Grady drank out of a straw at McDonald's! He seemed so interested in my coke, so I figured I'd let him chew on the straw. Next thing we know, the coke is slowly rising to his mouth! I thought maybe it was a coincidence but he still does it every time! So, now I just order him a kid's water! What a stinker!

• April 6th - I realized that he could go from crawling to sitting!

• April 9th - GRADY TAKES HIS FIRST STEPS! Only 3 weeks after he finally started crawling!:-) My sister and nieces were in town and we were hangin' out in the play room. Grady pulled up on Kim, turned around and took 3-4 steps to me! We all got so excited but I assumed it was a one time thing. Aubrey got out the video camera and Grady proceeded to go back and forth from me to Kim about 50 times! It was so special to share that precious moment w/ Aubrey, Kim and the girls! He has continued to cruise the furniture and will let go and walk to the nearest thing...a toy, the table, my leg! We're glad that he now catches himself instead of face-planting...especially since he seems to have no fear or memory of bonking his head!:-)

• April 30th - Grady started clapping! And now he does it all the time! It is seriously the cutest thing and makes me smile every time!

Also, Grady just recently got 2 of his front teeth...no not the middle ones, the side ones!:-) He is one serious snaggle-tooth and matches his cousin, Hannah! I guess the little man decided that since he's going to be a big brother now, he needed to master some skills!:-) What a guy!

~jen

BABY DOS!!

That's right...baby number 2 is on the way!!! The picture above is the postcard that we sent out to let our family & close friends know. The main question we've gotten - "Was this planned?" The answer is no - but we are so very excited about the little life that is growing!!! What a gift! I am due on November 10th - so Grady and the little one will be about 16 1/2 months apart!:-) WOW!

Here's to maternity clothes and running shoes!:-)

~jen

"doctor DOCTOR, Mr. MD, DOCTOR!"

I love that old song! Aubrey & I both grew up on oldies music and could sing you every song on "oldies 96.3eeeee!" I never finished part 3 of my blog trilogy. So here ya go...just a week late!:-)

We had been home from Nashville for about a week & a half when it happened...our first real sickness!:-( Grady woke up on a Thursday morning (March 12th, to be exact :) with a fever and a nasty cough that had been coming on for a few days. We took him to the doc where she prescribed some breathing treatments for the little guy's wheezy cough! She also gave him a low dose antibiotic for what looked to be an ear infection comin' on! She told us that after a few treatments, he'd be fine and wouldn't fight us anymore. What she didn't tell us is that we needed a dang straight jacket for those first few!:-) Poor guy...we would strap him into the bouncy seat and each hold an arm and he screamed the whole time! It seriously broke my heart! But she was right...after that, he would just sit and watch one of his videos w/ the mask on - pitiful, I tell you!

What made it even worse was that he seemed to be getting worse instead of better! By Saturday morning, his temperature was still hangin' around and even higher...103! So, we took him to Acute Kids (such a great place, btw) where they put him on a stronger antibiotic b/c they said it looked to be bacterial after all. The doc said that though the breathing treatments were helpful, they weren't necessary...WHAT!? Don't tell me that this torture was for nothin'! He said that they had definitely helped open up his airways and w/ the healing process overall...SHEW! So glad he stuck that in!:-) By Monday the kid had no fever, less fussies!:), and just a lingering cough! HALLELUJAH! I'm sure glad Spring is headed our way here in TX!!!

~jen

part 2 - time w/ the fam in Nashville...

When we weren't doing shower stuff, we got to catch up & spend lots of time w/ family & friends!

Grady w/ his cousin Abbie...

w/ Abbie & Hannah Grady & Hannah
giving Trystin a high-five! w/ his cousins Trystin & Jace... me & my girlies!!!
hangin' w/ Uncle Mike!

Hannah, Grady, Everett & Ethan playing w/ Michael's tools...

Grady did so well on both plane rides! He flirted, explored everything, ate cheerios, slept, played...I was so proud! When we arrived back in Dallas, this is what we found...

What a sweet welcome home!!!

~jen

Part 1 - Sonya's Shower

Sorry for the lack of posts lately...we are finally coming up for air after a few weeks of unbelievable craziness! I plan on posting a tid-bit each day for the next few days to get you caught up on what's been goin' on w/ the McGowans!

The last weekend in February, Grady & I took a trip to Nashville for Aunt Sasha's shower! Despite the fact that it was 30 degrees and raining...the shower was a huge success! Everything was green and pink...even the chocolate!:-) It was a 'sweet shower' and I have seriously never seen so much yummy dessert in my life! Sonya got some of the cutest stuff...doesn't hurt that she has such great taste!:-)

Here are a few pics...

The bride-to-be & me!

filling her plate w/ sweets!

only half of the dessert table!!!

pink & green m&m's - party favors

the only boy allowed at the shower...he had a highchair on the front row!:-)

Grady & Nana

The Boyd ladies all in attendance...

Me & Kim w/ Ang

Grady & Gaga...

to be continued....

~jen

the cutest valentine...

I have been waiting to post this picture of my precious little valentine! I wanted to make sure that all of Grady's family & (girl)friends got it in the mail first!:-) It was a unanimous...YES! My friend Shannon took some pictures of Grady recently for her 'Share the Love' contest and she surprised me with these for letting her use Grady's picture...what a gal!!!

I had the best valentine's day yet! It started w/ this...

Grady was a little under the weather, so Jaci (our sweet sitter) came early and I got to go to church w/ Aubrey. Afterwards, we walked out to the parking lot to get the car...only it wasn't our car! It was a gorgeous, silver porsche! ...what a fun surprise! He took me to Pappasitto's (my FAVORITE!) and then we spent the rest of the evening riding around and talking. When we were almost home, Aubrey reached in the side pocket and pulled out a little purple box. He said "I wish I could do more"...WHAT!? I'm thinking "all I got you was a homemade card and some dark chocolate m&m's!" He spoiled me w/ not 1...not 2...but 3 massages!!! Seriously the best gift ever! Thanks to both of my gorgeous valentine's...I have to be the most blessed woman alive and I don't deserve it!

~jen

A Few of My Favorite Things - Baby Edition

As Grady has grown over the past seven months I stand amazed at how rapidly he moves through various stages. Let’s take his hands for example. At first baby hands are merely another thing attached to their tiny little body. Pretty soon though they turn into somewhat of a curious anomaly and he stares at them in wonder rotating them back and forth in slow concentrated motion. Then comes the jerky, “I… can’t… seem… to… get … this… in… my… mouth” stage which is soon followed by the emergence of the little fist eating monster inside of us all. Finally he begins to work on dexterity. This is the process by which he learns to grab and hold things in his surprisingly strong baby death grip as he moves them to a slobbery collision with his baby gums. Jen loves it when he applies this technique to her hair. Fortunately, mine just comes out when he pulls on it. :)
That having been said, I have come to the realization that there are things that, potentially, Grady will never grow out of; things that will go with him as he grows. One of these transcendent treasures is in fact one of my favorite things.

Dr. Seuss’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book

If you don’t know about the yawning yellow yak with Yolanda on his back and if you cannot explain how nine new neckties, nightshirt, nose fit in the same sentence, then you seriously need to run out and pick this up. I’m not sure what to think about Dr. Seuss sometimes. On some levels, he’s a kook and yet on others he is a complete creative genius. I mean, “Four fluffy feathers on a fifer feffer feff.” Holy Smokes! It’s crazy, but so much fun!
And finally, as if you needed more evidence, “Big Z little z. What begins with Z? A Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz as you can plainly see.”
~Big A little a