September 11- 10 years later

I remember exactly where I was when the planes hit the World Trade Center Towers. I worked at a fast food restaurant and I was there doing the opening prep. We were listening to Rick D in the morning when the broadcast was interrupted for a newsflash that a plane had hit the North Tower.
At that point, they weren't sure if it was an accident, or what had happened. I remember clear as day a voice in my head "This is an attack. This is terrorism."

That day, the TV in the back area of the restaurant remained on, as did the radio in the front area of the restaurant. It was pretty slow that day, and those who came in understood why the radio was on. Customers would tell us how people were responding. One gal worked at a bank nearby and before they closed early for the day she said she had more than a dozen customers, many who were elderly, pulling all of the money out of their accounts.

America had never been in this position before. The closest thing we had experienced was Pearl Harbor, and many like myself, were not alive, or had no memory of that event.

We saw the worst from mankind that day.

More important to me, we saw the best from mankind. Those who selflessly stayed behind to save others. Those who responded with no regard to their own safety. From those who knew it was better to take control of a situation, giving their own lives, and come down in a field, then to let the intended target be hit. From those who volunteered for months afterwards. From the soldiers who fought so this would not happen again, and ultimately gave all. From the way the country came together, united.

Update

Sorry I have been gone for so long. We were super busy, and then, my power cord to my laptop started smoking one day while I was working on some pictures....YIKES! Luckily we got it unplugged before anything happened to my laptop, but I had to wait for a new power cord to come....and that took 2 weeks thanks in part to the holiday, and also to my package not being put on the Fedex truck when it was already in Boise.....

On to business....

First- Grayson had his 15 month check up! He weighed in at 19 lbs 2 oz (not even on the charts) and was 27 5/8 inches tall (also not on the charts). He is completely proportinate and meeting or exceeding all milestones, and is on track to be a whole whopping 5'4" just like Mike and I, so the doctor is not at all worried.

Here are some things that Grayson is doing now:
Climbing on EVERYTHING
Running
Marching- as in high knees and all
Trying to put on shoes
Putting blocks together and taking them apart
He knows how to pick up toys when you tell him to
He likes to brush his own teeth and comb his own hair (of course I follow up on it)
Grayson has some major dance moves- from the bouncing up and down, to moving his arms like he is a salsa dancer, to swaying his hips....he is very talented
He knows to fold his arms for prayer- especially knows to do it when placed in his high chair
He likes to color
He loves cars and now makes a vrrrrrmmmm sound
Loves to have me read him books, we read about 10-12 a day.

His favorite foods are:
bananas
grapes
chicken
pasta
cucumber
cheese
toast
and sadly- icecream- but it is a RARE treat

Grayson can say:
Hi
Bye
Mama
Daddy
Read (as he brings me a book and climbs in my lap)
Up
Out
Nose
In
Eat
All Done
Cheese
Door
Nigh Nigh
Uh-Oh
No No
Knee
OW

He can sign:
Milk
All Done
Eat
More

He has 8 teeth (4 middle on top, 4 middle on bottom) which he has had for quite a while. HOWEVER, he has 6-8 teeth coming in VERY SLOWLY right now. 4 of which have finally started poking through the gums (2 molars and his top 2 canines). He has been very cranky this last week and I am sure that is part of it.

He has started showing a little interest in the bathroom. He is not ready to potty train yet- as he hates to sit still, but we are thinking in a few months we will get a potty chair and start putting him on it after diaper changes- just to get him used to it.

Grayson loves to run and play and is very social. He is loving having his buddy Bryn over 2 times a week (while her mom babysits him) while I am at school.


On Grayson's 15 month "birthday" we were up at Stanley Lake for a Family Reunion. Here are some pictures from that.

Other than that, I have been busy with school and photography. Mike is busy with school and work. We like our new ward, but it is small compared to our old one...takes some getting used to. Church is also right when Grayson normally naps so we are having some issues there. He is super cranky and upset during Sacrament, and we have left after Sacrament the few weeks we have been home and attended. Even when we get him to nap before going, it isn't a good enough/long enough one to get him through. If any other been-there-done-that parents have any tips, please, feel free to share. So far the general response I get is "do the best you can and if you have to go home, the Lord understands- it is only for a short time" BUT I still feel like I should be there the entire 3 hours, and want to be there the entire 3 hours. He won't stay quiet for RS and Sunday School is the same. He is supposed to start nursery end of November, but if it is like our old ward- they will want him to wait until January (but our old ward had A LOT of babies born the same time as Grayson so I believe that was why it was mentioned).

Now that I went clear off track from an update, I thank those who stuck with me. I will try and be better about updating the blog.

Summer is Coming to an End

I can hardly believe that Mike and I start school on Monday!

I am a bit nervous as this will be the first time I have left Grayson with someone other than Mike for something that was not medically necessary (at least for more than an hour). My friend Toni will be coming over with her 2 year old to watch him while I am at school, but I am still nervous. It could possibly be the fact that he still does not call me Mama on a regular basis, and I worry he will start calling Toni Mama since he will hear her daughter doing so. It could be I just will miss him. I love being a stay at home mom, but I know that I needed to go back to school.

I have been busy doing photos this month. I have had a whopping 8 sessions so far, and I have 3-4 more before the end of the month. It has been a lot of fun and my client base is expanding which is nice.

My aunt and uncle brought my Grandma over last Saturday so we took the opportunity to snap a 4 generation picture.

Here are some other random photos from the last few weeks.

Grayson is such a good eater. The other night we made one of his favorites- Spaghetti! We have learned to make sure his shirt is removed before letting him eat. Yeah- we are a little slow.... :)

Tomorrow we are heading up the mountain for a family reunion. I am excited for Grayson to go to Stanley Lake for the first time.

Still Keeping Busy!

Things have not slowed down for us much this summer! Between travel, visitors, moving, and work it has been pretty busy!

On the 9th Amanda had a Harry Potter Party for her Birthday. We dressed Grayson up as the baby/toddler Harry Potter and headed up the mountain for some Harry Potter fun!

They went all out for decorations!

Young Harry and Grown Harry

Amanda made all these yummy candies- well, except the jelly beans- but she made the containers.

Joyce making wands. It was really cool all the crafts they had set up to do.

Some partially done wands

Potions for the potions class they held. Those potions were pretty nasty tasting!

Making death eater masks

They had signs to point you to different places. They had letterboxing and also clues to find the deathly hollows

Grayson...I mean Harry....enjoying some lunch.

Some of the costumes. Do you know who they all are?

It was a total blast!

After Amanda's party, Sienna (Mike's niece who was with us for 5 weeks), Grayson and I packed up and headed to COLORADO!!! To see the Bolanders who just moved there from Texas. We stayed there a week and had a lot of fun! I was AWFUL at taking pictures, but it was a blast to just hang out with them.

We took Sienna home the day after we got back from Colorado. We spent some time with Mike's family while up in Lewiston and we got this picture of the 4 generations.

We let Grayson play outside, but when he found something he shouldn't have and we took it away, we snapped this picture.

But I guess he got over it quick enough.

Since we have been home we have not been doing as much. It has been REALLY hot and so I am trying to keep Grayson inside.
We did attend a birthday party at Settler's Park on Saturday and while playing in the water a bigger toddler plowed over Grayson and he has a very good sized knot on his forehead. POOR BABY!
We have about a month left before Mike and I start school for the fall. I am nervous about leaving Grayson with someone while I attend classes 2 times a week. However, it is my friend that I spend a lot of time with walking, going to the zoo, and stuff, so he is used to her and her toddler. He is just in his separation anxiety phase (screaming if I even step out of the room) so I am wondering how well it will go.

More Fun in the Sun

I am really slacking in the blogging department and I apologize for that. It is just we have been having SO MUCH FUN!!!

We went to Utah with Mike's mom, niece, and nephew. We rented a vehicle and we drove down. We went to Gardner Village and the Hogle Zoo and met up with some of Mike's family that lives down there. We also spent some time in the pool and even got to see my friend Sarah.

We came home and spent a week just having fun doing random things. Unfortunately the time came to take Mike's nephew Kaleb home. But the good news was Sienna decided she wanted to stay longer so she is here until July 17th.

OK- enough of the boring updates by text only....let's get to the fun stuff- PICTURES!

My friend Toni and I met up and took the 5 kids to the Nature Center. We saw Deer and their babies and we also saw lots of other cool things and had a good walk. After we went to the park nearby. Grayson enjoyed the bark and sticks more than the slides.

Thinking Stick

He got his first kiss! Summer Loving!!!!

Grayson is enjoying the new house and loves to explore.

He is also getting really into feeding himself (including with a spoon) and he loves to make faces and pose while eating. He sits right next to a window while eating and loves to people watch as well.

Check out those eyes!

 4th of July weekend we started out by going up to my sisters Carma and Amanda's house Sunday for dinner and some family time. Grayson loved playing in their lawn with what else......STICKS

Inside he found another kind of sticks he loved playing with-

And not to sound like the mom who thinks her child is a genius- but I think he had some natural rhythm.

Playing Cousin Ryder's drums

 Grayson has really started liking the idea of talking on a phone- though when it actually comes time to do so, he doesn't do it. I guess an actual voice coming out of the phone surprises him. This is his toy phone. I love how he holds it backwards.

"Talking" to Terrie.

 We went to my parents house on the actual 4th of July to set off some fireworks. Grayson found his cousin Dallan's toy ATV and got on it. After Mike helped power it around, Grayson actually figured out how to make it go on his own.

I was really worried that Grayson would be scared of the fireworks. HE LOVED them!!!! Even more though- he loved the glow sticks and toys I purchased. He was mesmerized by them.

It was a great 4th! I am so grateful to live in this country that God prepared! Had it not been for the US gaining its independence, the Gospel never could have been restored. I am grateful for all those who sacrifice to protect our freedoms. God bless the USA!

Summer Adventures

We have been quite busy (as I mentioned in my previous post). Mike's niece and nephew are visiting us and we have been busy with outtings and travel.

We have visited Settlers Park, the zoo, Hogle Zoo, and much more. Here are a few pictures from our adventures so far this summer.

The Cousins with Great Grandma Hayward

Monkey Face at the zoo- Having a snack

Zoo Boise- Sitting in the nest with cousins and friends

Butterflies in Bloom was TONS of fun

Funny Face- walking at the zoo

Summer has also brought HEAT!!!! Tonight we are having an amazing thunderstorm! We are really enjoying our summer and hope to keep busy for the next few months!

Settling In

I have been a bad blogger and a bad mommy.....OOPS!

I have not taken many pictures until this last week and I have not posted in almost 3 weeks! We moved the first weekend in June. The following weekend we went and picked up Mike's niece and nephew for a visit. Then we took them down to Salt Lake the following weekend (this last one) and we are going to take them home Saturday. We still have not completely unpacked and I feel like my house is a mess- even though what is unpacked is put away and organized.

On top of that our dryer has seen it's final days so I am washing my clothes here and I was running them down to my moms to dry but I have finally caught up so I may line dry them using the extra bathroom and a fan....not sure. The gas to go back and forth between my parents and here is not worth it. In a few weeks we hope to purchase a new (to us) dryer.

So that is what has been going on here. I hope to post some new pictures soon.

June Is Busting Out All Over!

I can hardly believe it is already June! Where has the time gone?

We enjoyed a visit from my friend Sarah over Memorial Day Weekend.

We took a walk at Kathryne Albertson Park. Grayson LOVED walking by himself where we would let him. I took some pictures of him and they were all so cute I couldn't choose which ones to post- so you get to see them all.

We also spent a good amount of time this last week packing and cleaning. We get to move this weekend in to our new apartment! HOORAY!!!!! We are going to miss ouir current ward, and the surrounding area, but it is time to move to a new, bigger, home.

Other than that we have been fighting off colds and allergies.

Birthday Party Pics and 1 Year Stats

We had a "small" birthday party for Grayson on Saturday. I use quotes around small because everyone's interpretation of this word is different. Small to us was 6 of my 7 siblings, some of their spouses and some of my nieces and nephews and a great-niece and great-nephew, plus a couple of friends and their kids that see Grayson often. We had the party at Settlers Park and mainly just did lunch and cake.
Here are a few pictures from the day.

With Aunt Carma

MMMMM...PIZZA

Walking with Cousin Dallan

CAKE SMASH!!

It was simple and fun.

Grayson also had his 1 year check up today. He was still mighty small, but he was a pound heavier than the dr was hoping after him getting so sick last month. He weighed in at 17 lbs 8 oz and was 27 1/4" long. Both were 3% or under. Weight was not even on the chart- but as I stated in the previous post- these are not test scores.
Grayson exceeded all milestones by walking, knowing 4 signs (milk, all done, more and eat), and 7 words (Nigh Nigh, Banana, Up, All Done, Mama, DAAAADDD, uh-oh). Once he warmed up to the ped he was super social with him. Grayson babbled some stories- and they were funny ones I guess because after he waited a minute and then laughed. He showed the ped his cracker he was eating and offered him some too. He also got his 1 year shots and only cried for a moment.
My lil boy is perfect according to the ped- something I already knew.

A Year Has Passed!

I can't believe it has already been a year! My handsome lil man is no longer a baby- but a TODDLER! I have thought a lot about my journey to motherhood. I struggled with infertility for 8 long years, but the journey to motherhood did not end with that positive pregnancy test- it didn't even end the day Grayson was born.... No, I am still on my journey to motherhood.

I remember being in this stupor after Grayson was born. The events that had transpired seemed almost as if I had just read them from a book....for surely, I was not a mother. I held this little baby in my arms, yet it all seemed so surreal to me.

This is the only picture of me and Grayson in the hospital- taken on my phone the day AFTER his birthday.

I couldn't believe that I had carried this child inside of me, and now he was finally here. He looked up at us, very alert for a newborn, and I remember thinking that I must be dreaming.

On his birthday!

 For months after Grayson was born, we would at times, find ourselves forgetting that we really had a child. Not forgetting, more like, thinking we had woken up from a dream, while he slept quietly in another room, or was asleep in the backseat of the car. We would sit there, look at each other and say- "Is this real? Do we really have this gorgeous baby boy?"

Now, reality has set in- but we still find ourselves in awe of our little boy every day!

May 2011

While I love capturing moments of Grayson, I still have to learn to be on the other side of the lens. I have gotten better, and make sure to have pictures snapped of us together.

When Grayson was born, Mike was definitely the proud daddy!



Mike and Grayson on Grayson's Birth Day

And he still is! In fact, he is constantly bragging about Grayson and showing him off. He is one of those "annoying" parents that thinks their child is the center of EVERYONE's universe!

When Grayson was first born, and those first few weeks, I worried a lot about his size, where he was on the charts, and felt that if he wasn't moving high up in the percentiles, it meant he wasn't progressing. He was a tiny lil guy after all.

Going home from the hospital- Even NEWBORN clothes were WAY to big on him

But I learned that those charts are not like test grades, and being in the 1-2% does not mean my child is failing. While he grew slowly, he grew, and his body was proportionate. Height did not grow faster than weight. While it took him a year to get to size 3-6 month clothes, he still grew, and not just on the charts, he was mobile at an early age. By four months he would mysteriously be clear across the room from where I had left him laying while running to the restroom. By 6 months he was an army crawling pro, and by 7 months he walked along furniture. He surprised us even more, by waiting 3 more months to venture away from furniture at all, and another month after that before he started fully walking on his own. Even now, he prefers to hold our hands when out in public.

Grayson has changed in so many ways, back then we marveled at his multi-colored hair- the blonde tips that teenage boys would pay hundreds of dollars for-

With his Aunt Amanda- Check out the hair!

His hair continued to amaze us as it grew like none other, very little fell out, and it refused to lay flat and continued to go in a mohawk.
I learned to cut a baby's hair long before I had planned. With each hair cut, his hair changed color, going from dark brown with blonde tips, to red, to blonde, to almost white.

Grayson can boast that he has had 7 haircuts before the age of one year.

He can also boast that he is an experienced traveler.

He has been to 10 states besides Idaho, has taken a 10 day road trip, flown to Texas and back, survived overnight drives to California, seen Disneyland, fallen off a hotel bed, and visited an emergency room while on vacation.  He has even survived driving to Lewiston and home in one day- twice!!!!

Grayson cracked us up with his attentiveness and his faces the first few days and weeks of his life-

And of course- he still does.His laugh is contagious and HUGE!

Indeed, Grayson has changed a lot, and so have I. I find myself just starting to realize that I really am a mother. I think being a mother is in a sense, something that happens overnight, but also, something that you grow into and changes as your little one does.

I feel so blessed to have this handsome young man in my life. He is such a great gift and has taught me so much already. This year has passed so fast. I am sad that Grayson is no longer my baby, but look forward to the toddler years and the years after that. I hope to savor every moment, laugh at every silly thing he does, hold him when he needs comforting, and always be able to call him my lil baby.

Thank you to Reflections Photography by Sue Anderson for Grayson's one year pictures and our family portraits.