What We Have Been Up To

Cuddling

Practicing holding a rattle.

Bundling up for cold weather.

Thumb sucking.

Smiling (and wearing cute overalls)

We also visited my grandpa who is sick and in the hospital, ate dinner at my other grandparents' house, ate dinner with Evan's parents, and weighed/measured Graesen. Graesen is now 15lbs and about 25.5in long. That's the 89% for weight and the 95% for height. I have a big boy on my hands!

The Black and White Cat

The cat will not leave our house. We try to get it to go outside, but it refuses. It is bound and determined to live with us. We want to try and see if it has an owner, because we hate to think of some family out there missing their pet. In the mean time (or if we keep him) we need a name for the cat. We have been calling him Black and White Cat, but that is a bit long and weird :). Tell us what you like. Here are some of our ideas (we prefer weird/human names):
Cow (because he looks like one)
Bert
Melvin
Stewart
Moo (the whole cow thing)
Charles
Theodore
Leonard
Lewis
Thomas
Jackson
Albert
Cornelious
Oliver

Please feel free to give us some of your own ideas. We have had a hard time naming this one.

The Last Few Days

Friday: We go a lot of cleaning done. Graesen just slept and slept which was great for me to clean. He has started to like his bouncy seat, so when I know he is about ready for a nap, sometimes I'll set him in there. He will kick for a couple of minutes and the crash.

Saturday: We went with my parents to Grand Coulee for Phoebe's second birthday party. Her other grandparents live there and threw a very nice party with LOTS of food.

The cousins together. Phoebe pet Graesen's head and then stole his pacifier :) It was pretty funny.

Here is the super cute cake that Phoebe's grandma, Sheila, made:

Sunday: We went to church. I just had to get a picture of Graesen in this onesie :)

We took a very long nap cuddled up together on the couch (I have just been exhausted lately).
Then, after nap time I called up Shawna and asked if she would like to run with me at Manito Park. Evan went for a walk with Graesen there while Shawna and I ran for just under an hour. I just love that place. There are so many beautiful houses that I would love to live in.
Graesen looking all cute in his fall clothes right before we left the park:

Here are some other pictures I have taken of Graesen during the last few days:

I love the back of this sweater I found on clearance. It is way to big right now, but I just had to get a picture.

Oh, and here's a cat who has decided that he (I think it is a he) is going to live at our house. The other day Evan came home from work and as he opened the door this cat ran in. We let him back out, but he keeps begging to come in. We think he might have an owner, so we don't want to keep him if that's the case. It's cold tonight, though, so he is hanging out with us.

Look What Graesen Can Do!

My boy is rolling over!

A Cold and Thumb Sucking

Graesen still seems a bit out of sorts with his cold. There are still no sub jobs that I've been able to find (I check all day), so I've been able to stay home and cuddle with my boy. I went to our mom/baby support group yesterday so that I could weigh Graesen and see how well he was able to gain weight while sick. Remember how he gained over a pound last week? Well, this week he only gained 2 ounces! The leader was slightly concerned with that small of a gain since boys his age should gain around 7 to 8 ounces a week. If it only happens one week it is not a big deal, especially since he gained so much last week. However, if it continues for another week or two with very little gaining we will be paying a visit to the doctor or lactation specialist. I think that this small weight gain was just due to not feeling well and beginning to sleep through the night.-That's right, Graesen has begun to sleep anywhere from 7 to 9 hours straight!
Since Graesen has not been feeling well, we have been doing a lot of this:

And this:

I just had to turn him over to get a picture of his backside in these pants :)

Besides sleeping this week, Graesen has really developed his thumb-sucking abilities. However, it appears that thumb-sucking is a two hand job :)



We also made it out to Mother's Haven with my mom to get some new diaper covers. They are having a grandparent sale for the entire month of September. Grandparents who bring in a grandchild or a picture of their grandchild get 25% off everything. So, I had to borrow my mom for a day. Graesen doesn't get all that excited about the shopping, but he did have a great time checking out his feet in the car!

Laid Back Day

Graesen and I had a laid back day today. There were no sub jobs today, so I got to spend the day enjoying my little guy. Graesen is still rather stuffy, so we did a lot of cuddling, and sitting around reading, singing songs, and practicing sign language.

Here we are doing my favorite thing:

We also had some tummy time today. Graesen is getting super strong!

We went shopping this afternoon to spend some of my birthday money. Graesen thought trying on clothes was a bit boring :)

Big Weekend

We had a very busy weekend. Friday was my birthday and my first day subbing since having Graesen. I taught music for half a day. I had fun teaching, but I did miss Graesen and was super happy to see him when my aunt brought him back to me. That afternoon my sister, Rachae, and her daughter, Addison, came into town. We ate dinner at my parent's house. My sisters and I wanted to see a late movie, and since I didn't want to have to give Graesen his bath so late at night, I gave him a bath at my parent's house. Addison was very eager to join in. Phoebe, however, cried when we tried to put her in the tub too. I was super cute, though, to see the cousins all together. Here is a picture of Graesen wrapped all up after his bath.
My sisters and I (plus Graesen since I don't like to go anywhere with him) went to see "All About Steve," which was hilarious! Graesen slept through the whole thing.

Saturday I my sister, Shawna, and I took our babies to a cross country meet. We talked with our old coach and cheered on the runners. We are both hoping that our children will grow to love running. We won't force them to run, but we can hope! That evening, Shawna made dinner for our family for Phoebe's first birthday (which is next week).

Phoebe's super cute cake made by the same lady who did our wedding cake.

She ate A LOT of cake and ice cream:)

Phoebe in the super cute birthday sweater that my mom made her!

The sisters with our babies (or toddler in the case of Addison)

Phoebe entertained us all. After the party Rachae, Evan, Graesen, and I went to see "Julie and Julia." It was a great movie, although it was strange to go to two movies in one weekend.
Today we went to church then crashed. I have been exhausted and feel like I am getting a bit of a cold. Graesen seems to already have a cold. He is super stuffy and acting more lethargic than usual today. After resting up we went to dinner with Evan's mom.

Laying on the coach with me. I find a baby in overalls to be irresistable!

Tonight Graesen will move out of his basinet. He has grown too big for it. Since I am nowhere close to ready for Graesen to move out of our room, he will be sleeping in his playpen now. My boy is growing way too fast:(

Birthdays, cuteness, and being cute

Today we went out for some treats with Evan's parents to celebrate my birthday (a day early). I had a delicious rice crispy treat with chocolate and an italian soda. Nothing like a load of sugar! Graesen was dressed in one of my favorite outfits of his. Sadly, this was probably the last day he can get away with wearing that shirt, so I took a picture to share with everyone. (It was all ironed and not wrinkled at the beginning of the day. I guess I should have taken the picture then).
Graesen was SO sleepy today. I think it is because he is growing so fast. I weighed him yesterday, and he gained over a pound in a week! Today he slept like a log for hours. I hope this doesn't mean that I'll be up all night.
My dad's birthday was today, so we had dinner at my parent's house. Happy Birthday, Dad! I just have to say that my dad is awesome. Seriously. I feel so lucky to have a dad who gave himself so fully for the benefit of his family. When I think of my dad, I think of sacrifice, gentleness, dancing in the livingroom, long talks, support, and nights filled with play and laughter. He is THE BEST. I love you, Dad!
Graesen charmed everyone with his sleepy cuteness and had a lot of fun trying to eat his hand (see the video below).


Just a couple of cute ones I got today:

Mom/Baby group

Graesen and I went to our mom/baby support group today, and he had a lot of fun. He wanted to sit in my lap facing outwards so that he could study all the other babies. Today we talked about some pretty big topics. First of all, a mom who gave birth to her daughter at only 27 weeks came and told us her story. Her daughter is now 7 months old (4 months if she had been born on time) and thriving. The secret to this baby girl's success? Breast milk. The mom was adament that her baby would only get breast milk even while in the NICU (most NICU babies are given some formula). Breast milk with all its antibodies is the perfect food for (most) babies. I say "most," because I am fully aware that some babies cannot take breast milk due to health issues. Also, some babies need formula due to problems nursing or gaining weight. Anyways, this mom pumped and did everything she could to give her tiny baby breast milk, but was not able to continue producing milk. So, she started ordering milk from a milk bank. This cost her $1000 a week! Clearly, not a good long-term option. The mom then began looking around Spokane for mothers willing to donate their excess milk. Her daughter has still not had to switch to formula, but they are running very low. She asked if any of us moms would like to donate. I know this may seem weird, but in other countries it is very common to breastfeed each others' babies when a mother is unable. So, now I am thinking about whether or not I can help out. I have milk stockpiled in the freezer for when I start working again. If I find that I have more than I need and am able to keep up with Graesen's feeding demands, I will donate some of my milk. If you know anyone who would be able to donate milk to this family or another, let me know. I'll get you in contact with this mom. How cool would it be to help a baby thrive in this way?! If you live somewhere else, keep in mind that there are moms all over looking for breast milk.
Another thing we talked about today was the idea of letting a baby "cry it out." In the US mothers are often told to just let their babies cry so the learn to self-soothe. This seems crazy to me. They are babies! In one of my college courses we studied how cultures around the world raise their children. It just so happens that the US more than any other country pushes babies to become independent far before they are ready. Babies actually need to be answered when they cry so that they develop secure attachments with the people around them. This helps them to become happier adults. So, I have decided that I don't care how much people make fun of me for holding my son most of the day and not being ready for him to move out of my bedroom. I may seem like a paranoid mom, but I know I am helping my son grow into a happy, secure adult!
Finally, we talked about sids and what can decrease the risks for it. A recent study shows that having a fan on in the baby's room (not blowing at the baby and making them too cold), lowers the risk for sids by 72%. 72%! I think that I'll be pulling out the fan tonight!
Here are some cute, random pictures of the boy. Some are old, but I didn't start this blog until recently, so I figure it will be okay to share some of the early pictures!

Tough boy onesie from aunt Rachae!
I know it is blurry, but I just love this face!