Grey's Favorite Book

 Grevin is really getting into books lately. When we walk past his book shelf in his room, he starts doing the sign for "book" like crazy! If he sees a book in his reach, he will bring it over to me and crawl in my lap. He usually will only stay there for about a page for most books but at least he is actually letting me open them now. We used to sit down with a book and he would just want to open and close it. "I Love You Through and Through" is his absolute favorite book and will want to read it over and over. When we get to the point where it says we love his fingers, toes, eyes, nose, ears and hair, he likes to grab his toes and his ears. It is so cute.

Reading his favorite book

Here is his sign for book.  It looks a little like clapping but he definitely means book!

Signing

Grevin's signing vocabulary is EXPLODING. He reluctantly did "more" as his offical first sign and now will do "more food" anytime he sees anything he wants to eat. Luckily, it has gone beyond that. I think he is picking up about a word a day right now. Here is the list of words that he will sign:
eat
drink
more
all done
cat
dog
book
bird
ball
hat
fan
where?
brush teeth
again
milk
bath
cereal


He also understands the concept of signs and how a hand movement can communicate meaning. Unfortunately, he thinks he can communicate with me by just flapping his arms around! When he wakes up in the morning and I am changing his diaper, his hands go like crazy. I am not sure if he is cussing me out because he doesn't like it or if he is telling me how much he loves me.

I love signing with him, he gets the BIGGEST grin on his face when you understand what he is trying to communicate.  The problem is that most of the signs are done in front of your body with both hands with slight difference in how you move your hands and what you do with your fingers.  His dexterity just isn't there yet.  Luckily, he can grasp what he is trying to say by context. I guess it isn't that different though from learning to talk.  Like ba-ba could mean ball, bye, bottle depending on the context it is used. 

Here are a couple of signs that I got on video:

"DOG"



"CAT" (not the 'official' sign but his sign for it)

Grocery shopping by bike

A couple of weekends ago, we rode our bikes to the grocery store. We only had one backpack to carry our stuff back so I made a very short list of what we needed. Of course Zippy thought we also needed a 12 pack of beer. Of course when I said that it wouldn't all fit, Zippy saw that as a challenge. Of course Zippy was able to carry it all (how could I EVER doubt him??). Of course he was cursing me to hurry up and take this picture before he broke his back!!

Do you notice the bread strapped to the side of the bag?

 Seriously, what was he thinking? He grabbed the biggest bag of potatoes AND a 12 pack.

The Mommy Awards

Each afternoon when we get home from Grammy's, we head out to the backyard to throw the ball for Ado and make sure Luna doesn't escape. Well, it has recently been POURING down rain and a little chilly so I make sure to bundle Grevin up. Today, I put on his jacket and a hat as we headed out the door. We were out there for awhile before I felt something cold against my arm. It was his bare feet! I think I might be out of the running for the Best Mommy Award. Hopefully I will have better luck next year.

Great Weekend

Every weekend should be a 3 day weekend! I actually got a little longer than 3 days, Grammy was out of town so Zippy and I split the day and I headed home after lunch on Friday. Grey and I got to play and hang out together - I really wish I could spend more time with him every day. He is so much fun at this age.

Grammy came over to watch Grey Friday night while we went to dinner and a comedy show with the Wings. It was Michelle's last weekend as a 20-something so we helped her go out with a bang! (and we were still home by 10:30!)

The girls before the show

Our walk back to the car after the show-we were embarrassing Brian :)

We woke up early like always Saturday morning. We rode our bikes downtown to get coffee and people watch. Then we walked over to the Farmer's Market with Shelly and Ruby to get butternut squash for soup. Ruby stayed and played-with Grey showing her all his toys and how to go through the tunnel. They had lots of fun and Grey was worn out from playing. He finally fell asleep for his afternoon nap around 4, and at 5, I tried to wake him up with no luck. I woke him again at 7 to change his diaper and put his pjs on...and he went back to sleep until 5:30 am. He woke up long enough to eat and then went back to bed until 7:45 am!! YIKES!! He was such a tired guy.

On Sunday, we wanted to meet our newest friend, Anouk, Flether's little sister. Since Grevin seems to have a constant runny nose, we decided it was best not to have him come with us so he stayed with his first non-family babysitter...ANDREW!
Grevin had so much fun with Andrew, he is such a cool kid and the bestest of friends. They even let Michelle and Brian play with them too!

Anouk was such a sweetie, I forgot how little newborns are! She was born Monday, January 11th...or 011110 at 12:59 am. She loved to cuddle and sleep and I really don't remember Grey being that small. But I guess he wasn't ever that small...she was 7 lbs 10 oz...19 inches long while Grey was 9 lbs 13 oz, 23 inches long! Fletcher is such a great older brother, showering her with kisses and being delicate with all her little fingers and toes.

The sweet little family

On Monday, we hung out at the house, watching the rain come down. We stayed in our pjs all day long and enjoyed playing and goofing around. I can't wait until February 12th-when we have our next 4 day weekend!!

(majority of photos courtesy of Michelle Wing)

10 months

Dear Grevin,

The biggest changes this last month have been in communication. You are doing the signs for "more," "all done," and "drink." You understand simple commands like "get your ball", "feet first," "let's take a bath", "let's let the dogs out" and you are trying to communicate more each and every day. I am rethinking teaching you the "more" sign though because every time we walk into the kitchen or you see food, you start doing it and pointing at everything you want to eat! You get really upset if we have something we don't share with you...I have tried reasoning with you that almonds probably are not the best thing for you but you just won't listen! You really love your food...even though we have found one thing you won't eat, eggs!You tried some and as soon as you put it in your mouth, you stuck out your tongue and tried pulling it out with your hands. Hmmm, guess we will try that again later!

Daddy and I also decided that you should sleep in your own bed so you can get a better nights sleep. The first night was rough, your dad slept on the floor in your room so he could rub your back when you woke up all night long. But by the next night you were able to get yourself back to sleep in under 10 minutes. Some nights don't go as smoothly as others and I miss cuddling with you all night but I know it is better in the long run. I checked with a few colleges and they highly discourage bringing your mom with you to the dorms so I guess we better get used to not sleeping together anymore. On the 6th night of sleeping in your bed, you slept from 7 pm until 6 am without a peep!

The downfall of you sleeping through the night though is that you are not nursing all night long. My milk is decreasing and we are starting to have to supplement with formula during the day with Grammy. Luckily, though, Grammy says you LOVE it so I just need to get over the fact that you are growing up. Needless to say, it has made me very sad. I really enjoy nursing you and that special you and me time. Plus, it is just one of many first steps towards you being an independent little person. I am afraid that I will blink and you will be raising kids of your own!!

You have officially decided that Grandpa DeShazer is your favorite person in the whole wide world. If he walks into the room, you light up and will follow him, pulling yourself up on his legs until he picks you up. He was home from school during the holidays and Grammy said you would crawl down to his office to see if he was in there. You would sit outside his office until he said you could come in. If he walks by while anyone else is holding you, you lunge at him trying to get into his arms. It is just too cute!

You love to give kisses and we love to receive them! You also learned where our nose was so if we ask you where our nose is, you like to kiss it. And by kissing, I mean that you come at us with a wide open mouth like you are going to swallow us whole!!

You are trying to do more and more every day and sometimes you get really really frustrated when you can't do it. You plop back on your bottom, hang your head, and pout for a few seconds. Then you try again! It is really hard not to laugh when your little lip sticks out :)

I remember last year around this time I was looking forward to your arrival. It seemed like everything was downhill once the holidays were over and I knew I would be meeting you very soon. I wondered if you were a boy or a girl; what color your eyes would be; what your smile would look like; would you be outgoing, shy, reserved, active?; how was life going to change and how were we going to adjust to being a family of three? Now, I have a hard time imagining what life was like before you came!

I love you so much, Grey!!
XOXO,
Mommy

Sleeping with dad after I left for work

You love your play structure!! But you like to take your things up to the top with you and the soccer ball is too big for you to do by yourself, you get sooo mad!

Helping yourself to a little snack

I love that happy face!

Having a ball

Grevin is obsessed with his slide and throwing things down it. Here is a short clip of him bringing the ball back to the slide after he rolled it down and it continued down the hall. The kid has issues!

Steph's Visit

One of my BESTEST friends is teaching in Mexico City for the next two years. She left in August but was back for the holidays. Steph and I were college roommates and best friends from day one. She was one of the first friends I had when I moved out to California, we worked together, played together, and even backpacked through Europe together. Even though we have not been able to spend as much time together over the last couple of years since she was living in the East Bay and now Mexico City, we still have so much fun when we can get together. She came the day after Christmas and spent a couple nights with us. She wanted to enjoy all their is to enjoy in Sonoma County so we started our weekend with a trip to the Coast on Saturday. Our friend from Holland, Jay, was in town, too, with his son Jayash, so we had a fun little group. What would be a visit to the coast without the fantastic coastal food?? We went to our favorite little food joint, the Boathouse, out in Bodega Bay and enjoyed some yummy clam chowder, fish and chips, and calamari. Yum, yum! After filling our bellies with the yummy goodness, we headed out to Goatrock to check out the waves and walk to beach. We were out there maybe 10 minutes before it started raining but we still managed to have some fun...we just got a little wet!

DELICIOUS!

Zippy was teasing Jayash.  Jayash had mentioned that these rocks looked like a place a mouse would like to hide.  They decided to hunt for one and Zippy kept saying he saw one...before it ran away.

 The waves were huge, this picture doesn't do it justice

 

 Heading back to the car as the rain came pouring down

 

The next day, we headed up to Healdsburg to pick up wine from a few wineries where we were club members.  First, though, we stopped at the Bear Republic Brewery to have a great lunch.  Seriously, the food around Sonoma County is so yummy-we are so spoiled!  This was the first time I ordered an actuall meal for Grevin at a restaurant.  He had a grilled cheese, fries, and some veggies.  Little piggy ate it all!

Waiting outside for a table

 Grevin really wanted to try the brews!

 

After lunch, we headed out to Truett Hurst, one of my current favorite wineries.  The people are friendly, the wine is great, and they are very kid friendly.  They are also a biodynamic farm so they have a great garden and animals for Grevin to check out.  They also have access to Dry Creek where there were salmon jumping this time of year.  We went to check it out but didn't see any even though there were other people in the tasting room who did.  I think Grevin and Zippy scared them off throwing rocks in the water.  Geez, boys.

It was such a nice visit and I miss her so much already!  I am hoping I can sneak down to visit her while she is there....

Playing with Fletch

Grevin and Zippy always have so much fun when Fletcher comes over to play.

I want to ride my bicycle!

For Christmas, Zippy gave me a bike seat for Grevin just like they had in Holland where it attaches to the front of the bike.  After the holidays, we headed to the local bike store to get new bikes to put it on!  In Holland, we would each have two kids on the bikes with us-one in the front, one in the back...and then would have groceries in the saddlebags.  In an effort to get more exercise, be more active with Grevin, and save a little gas and parking money, we decided to try to adopt that lifestyle a little bit more here.  We are not walking distance to a grocery store but we are biking distance!  We already walk downtown but now we can get there faster for that cup of coffee or a pint of beer with friends.  Plus we have lots of friends that live close by so we can now ride on over to their houses!

Grevin loves to ride on the bike.  He wasn't a big fan of the helmet until we put him on the bike, then the helmet was completely forgotten.  My bike is still being built so I took a picture of Zippy and Grevin getting ready to ride the bike home from the bike store.  Grevin was smiling the whole way home!

Celebrating the New Year

We had a fantastic New Year's Eve and New Year's Day surrounded by friends and family. Michelle hosted the European New Year's Eve party where we rang in the New Year with London at 4 pm with the kids. Grevin thought the noise makers were funny and loved playing with all of the other kids. It was a great time like always! Grevin even made it up all the way until 9 pm to celebrate with New York but fell asleep soon after.

Grevin ringing in the New Year at 4

All the party goers!

New Year's Day we woke up to a little bit of rain but that did not stop us from going for a hike with Grammie and Grandpa. It rained on the way to Sugarloaf but stayed dry for our hike. It was alot of fun and Grandpa found lots of mushrooms, even one he hadn't seen in years!

Grevin discovered Zippy's ears this hike!

 (This picture cracks me up!  We took a self photo but Zippy did not realize that he needed to turn so we could see Grevin. I didn't notice until we got home that Grey is no where to be seen!)

After our hike, we headed back to the house to meet up with friends for a New Year's Day Brunch. About half the people didn't show up because they had a long night New Year's Eve but those who made it had lots of fun eating and playing! Grevin loved showing Andrew and Brewer all of his new Christmas toys!

Andrew loved showing the boys how to go down the slide

The big boys doing what they do best!

Jen*Grey*Michelle*Brewer*Michelle*Andrew

We are so lucky to have such good friends and family surrounding us!!

Wheee!

Grandma and Grandpa Oglesby got a climbing structure for Grevin for Christmas. One side is a slide, the other is a rainbow like climbing wall. We thought it would be awhile before he would actually play with it, other than us sliding him down the slide, but he surprised us! He loves to throw things down the slide so I have to watch him when we are at home or he will climb up it with random things to throw down it!