Katelin Comes to Play

Katelin came over to play today. Caleb had a lot of fun with her. They did a lot of activities together including reading, playing with stuffed animals, rattles, blocks, ... Geoffrey even joined in the fun. Caleb helped him pretend color. As usual, Graysen relaxed while the activity was going on around him.

Date Night

Aunt Kim watched both boys yesterday so that Lee and I could go on a date. We had a great time, and both boys enjoyed staying at the Taylor's. Kim took this picture of Graysen. I thought that it was a cute picture of him. The report was that Caleb played with Chad's old matchbox cars the entire time, 5 hours!

Dunkin Donuts

One of the things that Lee and I missed the most about Gastonia was our weekly trip to Dunkin Donuts. We were happy to find out that a Dunkin Donuts opened in Spartanburg this month. We made our first trip yesterday and everyone enjoyed their breakfast. I has asked Lee to put socks on Graysen, forgetting that he would probably put Tennessee socks on him. We are still hopeful that a Dunkin Donuts will open in Boiling Spring in the next year. Dunkin Donuts just announced that they will be opening 10 in the Spartanburg area! Surely one will be in Boiling Springs...

After breakfast, we went for a walk with the boys. They both enjoy being in the stroller and looking around. It has been a good weekend.

It's Friday!

It is finally Friday! The boys and I have had a good day. We went to lunch in Gaffney, as usual, and then went to the Yellow Mall afterwards with Kaitlin and Alisha. Kaitlin has a lot of personality and enjoys Graysen a lot. Of course, we had to stop at the toy store and buy a new car for Caleb. He selected a convertible corvette from his choices of corvette, van, tractor, or forklift. I guess it was the coolest choice, even though the van was a Chevy van like his mom used to drive in college!

Graysen is developing a lot. He has started playing with rattles and I found him sitting up in his crib when I went in there this morning! I think it had something to do with his daddy standing there, but it was cute to see.

Another Quiet Day

Today is another quiet day. I am mainly spending the day doing laundry, which I enjoy more than most chores. I was happy when I woke up this morning and realized that Graysen slept through the night (11.5 hours). However, he has been fussier than usual today. I think that he wants mama to make up for the attention that he didn't receive in the middle of the night. I have found that he stays calm if I talk to him constantly. So, I am spending the day folding laundry and explaining the process to Graysen in detail.

Pretend Play

Caleb, Graysen, and I had a fun day in Gastonia today. We went to Terrific Toddler Tuesday at the Gaston County Museum with Lisa and Emily. Caleb made me a special Mother's Day card at the museum (although I had to help). We learned about the origins of Mother's Day. After the museum, we went to Lisa and Emily's house for lunch and play. Caleb and Emily enjoyed playing "house" with her pretend kitchen and food set.

Play Day

Today will be a nice play day at home. Both boys love to play. Graysen is now interested in toys and reaches for rattles. He studies them and I heard a lot of rattling this morning while he was in his chair. Caleb, as always, loves to play with cars and trucks. He also enjoys playing with "bead" toys like the one pictured above.

Artsphere

Today, Lee, Caleb, Graysen, and I went to Artsphere in Greenville. It was a nice festival and we enjoyed the day. Downtown Greenville is beautiful. They have a river running through it with a park. Caleb enjoyed the kid's area where he received a passport and got to make art from different countries. However, his passport was only stamped with one country, Mexico, because he is the slowest artist around. So, he only got to make a poncho, but I do not think that he noticed the other countries. He was very proud of himself because he was getting to do a craft at the big kid's table. Graysen was an angel and enjoyed watching all of the people. He is really a social little baby and loves to smile and interact.

Emily's Party

The four of us went to Emily's birthday party today. She turned two years old. The first picture is of Caleb getting dressed for the party. The party was a lot of fun and Caleb enjoyed his first birthday party for a friend. I think that Graysen enjoyed it also. He stayed awake for most of the party and watched everything that was going on around him. It was a fun day for all of us.

Caleb and Graysen

Caleb loves to play with Graysen. He is a very helpful and loving older brother. I think that he cannot wait until Graysen is old enough to understand how cool cars and trucks are so they can play together.

Afternoon at the Park

We had a fun afternoon at the park with Alisha and Katelin. Caleb loved being outdoors. He also loved eating the chocolate chip cookies that Alisha baked. It was a nice afternoon.

Graysen Is Developing

Graysen is developing just like a normal baby. He has learned how to suck his thumb. This is the second time that I have caught him doing it this week. I am not happy about it, but I also do not know what to do. Caleb never sucked his thumb nor did he take a pacifier. The hospital started Graysen on the pacifier and we continued it because we try not to let him cry. The cardiologist said that we need to be cautious with him. So, as a result, Graysen is a very pampered baby.

Feeling Better

I was not feeling well over the weekend. I went to the doctor yesterday and he said that I had a virus. He gave me medicine to help with the symptoms and I am doing better. Lee was a very big help. The apartment was a mess when he got home. He made dinner last night and cleaned up all of the dishes, along with ones scatter throughout the apartment. The good news is that Graysen does not show any signs of catching the virus. I am keeping a very close eye on him to make sure that we identify it early if he does catch it. So, I will be taking it easy the next couple of days until I feel back to normal.

Pictures

Here are some pictures from this weekend. It was not the greatest weekend. I have been sick for most of it. Lee spent yesterday taking care of me and the two boys. I am finally feeling better, but am not 100%. I am hoping that it is seasonal allergies and that it is not a cold or virus. I worry constantly about Graysen. So far he is not showing any signs of being sick.

Batman wants raisins

Here are some pictures of Caleb in his new Batman PJs. You can't see it, but there's even a cape. As is the case with most of his clothing, the pants are a little big and have a tendency to fall down. (Laura likes his clothing to last for as long as possible, so she buys them big. Really big.) I told Caleb he needed to tighten his utility belt.

Pediatric Cardiologist Visit

Graysen went to the doctor today for chest x-rays. His lungs look great and he is not retaining fluid. Overall, Graysen is doing really well and there aren't any concerns at this time. His next appointment with the cardiologist is in three weeks, so we have a little bit of break. I anticipate that we will be able to graduate to once per month visits since he is doing so well.

Caleb's Haircut

Lee gave Caleb a haircut tonight. Caleb is not very good for haircuts (which is why we let his hair grow long), but tonight we tried a different technique. He was bribed with jelly beans for the entire haircut. It helped and he stayed still enough for a little bit. I think that Lee did a great job. We are lucky that I didn't get inspired and try to do it myself. It would have been a mess.

Emily Comes to Play!

Emily and Lisa came over to play today. The two themes for the day were the potty and coloring. As you can see from the first picture, we are not making very much progress with Caleb on potty training. To help break up Wrestle-Mania time, we got out markers and let them color. This seemed to calm them down and they worked very nicely on their art work. Lisa demonstrated her art skills by drawing all of us. (Her work is the one in the bottom right hand corner.) We had a lot of fun with them, as always.