Ummmm.....

Conversation from last night.

Zippy decided that he was going to go away for the weekend (earlier in the week, he didn't think he would be able to go). He came home last night and said he was going to go ahead and leave in a couple of hours. It didn't bother me that he was going, I just wished that I would have know ahead of time so I could figure out what I was going to do with Grevin. Here is our conversation:

Zippy: I am leaving for tahoe after the soccer game tonight.

Me (sarcastically): Ok. How is Grevin going to get to Grammy's in the morning? Did you just assume I was able to do it?

Zippy: Ummmmmm....

Grevin cracks up laughing....sort of like a " dad, I sooo want to see you get yourself out of this one!"

We both started cracking up. The rest of the night, anytime anyone asked a question, the other would respond with umm...and Grevin would do the great big belly laugh. Then he started doing ummm...to make us laugh.

I love that kid.

A few cute videos

Grevin wanted to show off all of his new tricks!

Watch out ladies, he has his dad's moves!

His first official word. If you ask him to say anything else, this is what he will say if he doesn't know the sign for it!

Tongue, ears, and nose

Lookin' Good!

Tahoe

I love the drive up to Tahoe when the roads are clear after a huge storm. I love seeing the snow piled up on the sides of the road, higher than the cars!

And I like a sleeping baby, too!

What a great weekend! We went to Tahoe with Grammy, Uncle Tyler, Rory, and Auntie Zephy. We rented a condo in Northstar, just a short distance from the village. When Zippy was little, his family used to do this every year for a week and we decided we needed to renew this tradition, even if it was just for a long weekend. The weeks leading up to our trip were full of storms that dumped 8 feet of snow. Luckily, the sun was shining and warm while we were there but there was plenty of snow to play in!

We had so much fun people watching by the firepits, skiing, playing in the snow, sledding, and enjoying playing games together and just hanging out.

The Condo

Grevin loved playing in the snow.

The Wings' condo was just up the pathway from our rented one so they decided to come up to Tahoe to play, too! Even Jared decided to make an appearance for a preview of what girls' weekend will be like this year in Tahoe (plus another two mobile babies!).

The boys are getting so big!

The boys with their daddies!

The big kids even got to play for awhile. Michelle, Brian, Zippy, and I got to go skiing while Grevin and Andrew watched Auntie Zephy and Grammy for us.

We even got to meet Dan Gordon from Gordon Biersch. He stopped Zippy and Brian because they were drinking Marzen.

Now, I am sure Grevin will hate me forever because I made wear tights. I kept telling him I would do it if we wouldn't keep his socks on but he just won't listen! Everyone teased him and I am sure he is scarred for life....but at least his toes stayed warm! It could have been worse, they could have pink butterflies on them!

It was such a great trip. I can't wait to do it again! Zippy says that next year, Grevin will be skiing with him :-)

A little video of Grevin laughing at Zippy.

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!