6 month checkup...

Grayden had his 6 month checkup at 25 weeks which was a few days ago. He weighs 18 Lbs 8 oz and he's 28" long. He is in the 75th percentile for his weight and 95th percentile for his height. Gray is one TALL little boy. I have no idea where he gets his height from because I am a shorty and his dad isn't very tall either. Anyway more importantly he is growing like a weed and he is one healthy boy!!

We were extremely happy and relieved after this appointment because our doctor finally asked the immunization question, if Gray has had his 6 months shots? Right before Gray was born we were watching CNN and listening to the whole controversy about Vaccines. There were doctors saying you should and doctors saying you shouldn't and wether vaccines are linked to autism etc. etc. Well that was enough for us and we wanted to know more. Cody and I have spent the last 8 months educating ourselves on Vaccines and really praying about this. After all our research we decided together that we feared the Vaccines far more than the diseases them selves. Im not saying we will never vaccinate, but we are strongly against vaccines within the first two years of his life.

This is such a heated topic but we feel so strongly about this and we are so glad that we decided to educate ourselves and learn all the crap that is put into these things. Anyway I never brought it up to our doctor because I know that doctors are educated very well on diseases but they are taught very little about vaccines and most have no clue what really goes into them unless they study themselves. So I was really afraid of what she would have to say...After we explained our decision she was sooo supportive and said she understood why we have decided not to vaccinate right now, and that she has quite a few patients who feel the same way and don't vaccinate. You have no idea how happy that made us to hear her say that and to know that our doctor supported our decision. phewww !!!

I want to thank you mom and dad for all your support over this topic. I was extremely stressed about this in the beginning trying to make the right decision for our son and just thinking about everything got me so overwhelmed and in tears at times. Thanks so much for hearing me out night after night, and I know you have always been against vaccines but you never told me how you felt at first because you wanted us to make our own decision. That meant so much to us and Im really thankful for that.

Just wanted you to know :)


First time eating a rice cookie !!


My baby looks like a toddler here !!!


Starting to make funny faces at me :)


Getting so big !


Playing with bubbles


Grays new toy...

Grayden is 6 months old today!!!

How crazy is that!! It is almost impossible for me to realize that a half a year has come and gone, and that in another 6 months we will be celebrating his first birthday! Well this month daddy had a few weeks with us and then returned back to work (sigh) It was so nice having him around all the time but its nice to be back to our regular routine.

So I am convinced that I have the best baby on the planet!! He is seriously an angel child! He NEVER cries, he's never crabby, and he sleeps like his dad (all the time). We go to bed around 11-11:30 and he doesn't wake up for a feeding until 6am and then he's out for another 3 hours which brings us to 9am for another quick feeding and then he's back to bed for another 2-3 hours :) We don't wake up for the day until 11-11:30 sometimes noon !!! THIS KID LOVES HIS SLEEP just like his mommy and daddy :) We have never been morning people and obviously neither is Gray. Am I lucky or what !
Gray still naps 3-4 times a day. He has a morning nap about 2 hours after he wakes up for atleast 1hr and 1/2 and then again around just before supper for about a half hour and then again when daddy leaves for work around 8pm for an 1 and 1/2 sometimes 2. So he still naps quite a bit. Nursing hasn't changed this month. He still nurses about 7 times a day but they have become a lot shorter. I remember it used to take half hour to nurse him and now 5-10 minutes later and he's done.

Solids are going really well and he swallows like a champ. I've heard it usually takes a baby 10-20 tries for them to get the swallowing technique down but he's had that down since day one. So far we have tried rice cereal, bananas, and avacado's. We have been trying something new every 3-4 days and we'll be adding broccoli, peas and sweet potato to the menu next week. I am having alot of fun making his baby food but not so much fun shopping for it. I have read quite a few books lately about nutrition especially for babies and have decided to go ALL organic for his baby food. I've been trying to find a grocery store that sells a good variety of organic produce, and so far we haven't had much luck. Safeway is the only place I have found to have a decent amount of organic produce so if you know of any other place let me know :)

There are no teeth yet. But sleep, the first couple nights last week has been scarce and I cannot think of any other reason for all the commotion. He is sometimes getting up almost once every hour. Blah! For the most part, he is up 3 times a night. The last couple of nights have been better but Im sure a tooth will be making an appearance soon. Other than the teething Grayden usually sleeps pretty good.

Gray is the most ticklish little boy I know. LoL He definitely gets that from his daddy because Im not ticklish at all. His feet are the worst just like his dad. You cant touch his feet without him moving them away. Sometimes when I lay in bed with him at night trying to get him to sleep and were all cuddled close, He likes it when I rub his back but sometimes I like to use my nails and he curls his back and lets out these adorable little giggles and we just lay there and giggle together. Those are definitely those little moments with him I will cherish forever.

We are going to have to put up a gate at the top of the stairs this month because Grayden has become a rolling machine. He has not figured out the crawl yet, but he has figured out how to roll to get wherever he wants to go. He will also bring up his feet and scooch himself forward or turn himself around. Cr awling will happen soon but I think we have a few more weeks yet. There is a part of me that is so excited for him to start crawling and another part of me that is really going to miss the days of having a baby that stays where you put him. It's hard to believe I will be running after him in no time.

He is getting so much better sitting up all by himself. He can balance himself pretty good now and catches himself if he starts tilting to the left or right but if he has a toy in front of him and pushes it to far he tries to reach for it and if your not watching him he goes face first into the floor. That has happend once or twice :( (so sorry baby)

There isn't much more I can think of in Grayden's life. He fills my days with such joy and I am really convinced that I have one of the easiest babies that Heavenly Father could have given me. I am so thankful for him. This is such a fun stage right now, and I am so thankful I am able to stay home and spend all this time with him. We watched some video that we have of Grayden so far and we're on our 6th tape already. That sounds like a lot, yet when we finished I found myself thinking we missed so much. You cannot get enough pictures and video at this stage!!! I can't tell you enough how much I enjoy being a mother. It is everything I dreamed it would be and MORE! I love you Grayden with all of my heart, Happy 6 month Birthday !!

Graydens 6 month old pictures !






Family picture on Gray's 6 month Birthday !




Me and Mom !

Me and Dad !


On our nightly walk :)


Trying avocado :)


Graydens new bath !

BIG Giggles with Daddy

First solids

We tried solids...

So we tried solids yesterday for the first time at 5 and a half months old! Grayden had his first dinner! He didn't seem to mind it at all, made a couple faces near the end just letting me know that he was done. He didn't like me feeding him and kept grabbing for the spoon to do it him self so I let him take it a few times and he would put it right in his mouth, it was cute but VERY messy. Over all he did a good job for his first time. Most of it came back out but I know he had a few good swallows so thats good. It won't take him long before he gets the whole swallowing food concept.

Its hard for me to think that he will soon be eating all these foods and no longer fully dependant on my milk. Breastfeeding has been such a beautiful bonding time for us and as excited as I am for him to grow and try all these new things, I will miss this relationship we have where I am everything and all he needs. I plan to breast feed Grayden for a while still so we have plenty more of those bonding moments to come :)

Im so excited to make all these foods for him and I think we are going to try his first Vegetables next week.
Here is our little angel with his Momma's rice cereal. His first time tasting "my cooking" and he didn't complain!

Grayden's in his high chair!

Grayden is getting so big and he is starting to really move around to much in his bumbo. He will lean all the way back and it looks like he's about to fall over. He's just getting to big for his bumbo :( somtimes when we take him out the bumbo comes along with him. LoL ....not only is he getting to big but supper time is getting out of control with him sitting on the table grabbing at everything. So cody decided to set up his high chair. He looks so big in it.... I cant believe it!! It feels like yesterday that we first put him in his bumbo and now he's pretty well grown out of it.....

Heres a few pics of Grayden in his high chair for the first time


Look how big he looks

The musical mat

Splash...splash...splash

Grayden laughing at Kiara

5 Month Update!!

Grayden has grown and changed so much this month! He has become quite the little character and is starting to develping his own little personality. Daddy has spent this entire month with us which has been so nice for Grayden and I. We've kept ourselves pretty busy spending 2 weeks in Vancouver visiting Papa and Nana, we went to fairmont for a weekend and daddy's been developing our basement.

Some big milestones this month:

Grayden rolled over for the first time June 27 and just last week he sat up all on his own for the very fist time (July 17). He's definitely not there yet where I could ever leave him sitting on his own and walk away but he can sit there for a good 2 minutes or so without falling over. Grayden is now in CRUISERS !! thats right... size three diapers! ......What a big boy :)

Grayden LOVES to laugh! It is the most beautiful sound in the world and just makes my day! He thinks Kiara is hilarious! LoL every time she runs by him he just giggles and giggles! its the sweetest thing. Graydens favorite game is PEEK-A-BOO! He giggles so much...especially when you laugh with him. He usually waits until he hears you laugh first before he starts to laugh and he seems to copy the way we laugh. if we just let out a small little giggle so does he, but if we start really chuckling he starts really chuckling.....LoL its pretty funny. Grayden has a favorite toy and his name is LEAP! I think Papa and Nana gave it to him for his shower but he absolutely LOVES Leap. Hes a little frog that sings the alphabet. He has alot of toys but he will always grab leap first and whenever he needs a nap he likes to fight it a bit and whenever we give him LEAP he usually falls right to sleep to the alphabet. I bet his first words will be A-B-C.

Breast feeding has changed a lot this month, as he has become so active. He likes to eat a little, have a look around, eat some more, tell me a story, then eat a little more. He wants to know everything thats going on around him and It has gotten to the point where I can't even have a conversation without him stoping to look at me or the next thing I know he's got milk all over his face.

He seems to be reaching really well for anything that he is interested in. He always sits in his bumbo at the supper table and while we are eating he trys to reach for anything and everything!! He sticks both his arms out and grasps his intended object with both hands, and immediately brings it to his mouth or trys to knock it over. We've had a few cups and bowls that have ended up on the floor. He loves water bottles as well and always reaches for them, I think he just enjoys the sound it makes. I think Grayden is teething :( He has been putting everything in his mouth for weeks now but only in the last 3 has he been really biting on things hard. His cheeks get pretty rosey every now and then and he has been a little fussier than usual. It could still be months before he cuts a tooth but for the mean time he is really enjoying those frozen teethers in his mouth. He also loves this toy we got him that vibrates his gums whenever he bites down on it.

Grayden has been sleeping so well this month. Almost as soon a we got to Vancouver he started to pretty much sleep through the night. We dont have to change his bum in the middle of the night anymore which makes a BIG difference. We used to change his bum at least twice through the night so Im pretty happy about that. He still wakes up a couple times for a short 30 second feeding but falls right back to sleep. He naps about 3 times during the day for about 45mins-1 hr. Grayden loves his sleep. We go to bed around 11 and he doesn't wake up until about noon. I AM TRUELY BLESSED :)

Well thats about all thats new with Grayden this month. I think we are going to start solids here in the next few days. His doctor told me at his 4 month check up that they are starting to recommend solids at 4 months but EVERYTHING that I've read states other wise, that they DO NOT recommend starting any solids before 6 months. That is one thing that I have come to realize since becoming pregnant. To not trust my health to any doctor and that know one knows what's best for your child more than you. I know Grayden wasn't ready for solids at 4 MONTHS OLD.... but the last few days he has started to show all the signs that he is ready to start so we'll see. I plan to make all of his baby food which I am really excited about. I went out yesterday and bought some ORGANIC brown rice for his rice cereal so we'll see how it goes.

Happy 5 month birthday Grayden! There is nothing in this world that I enjoy more than watching you grow like this and learn all these new things . Mommy and daddy love you to pieces!!


5 Month old pictures


What a big boy sitting all by himself for pictures :)


Grayden sitting on his own for the very first time...


Playing in the jolly jumper with his new music mat


My little cowboy :)


The cutest cowboy ever !!

Grayden's first trip to Fairmont

Its a big tradition in Cody's family to go to fairmont every year. Graydens Grandma has been going there since she was a baby and has carried on that tradition by taking Cody since he was a baby. Well this year she was able to bring her first Grandson for his first fairmont experience. I think thats pretty cool !! It was also Graydens first time swimming! he absolutely LOVES the water!! It was pretty exciting for Cody to take Grayden this year but I dont think anyone was more excited than Grandma Beecher :)


Playing with Cousin Madison






Graydens First swim..


Family Picture

The Jolly Jumper..

Grayden got a new toy yesterday...THE JOLLY JUMPER!! He has a hoot in there! We put him in his cousins the other day to see if he would like it. I wasn't expecting him to do anything but stand there because I didnt think he would no what to do but as soon as he was all straped in he started bouncing away. LoL it was so funny and he just loves it. He could be in there for hours if we let him. Here's some pics and a video of Grayden in his jolly jumper!

Grayden's favorite new toy !!

Spitting...

Grayden in the Ocean

Back at home...

As much as I wish we were still back in Vancouver. its always nice to be home. We had such an awesome time and it was so nice to spend two weeks with my mom, dad and Kaden. Grayden finally met Uncle Kaden for the first time at 4 months old. Kaden had to go back the day before he was born so he was pretty excited to meet his first nephew. Before we came they went out and bought Grayden his swing and a bumbo to make him feel more at home. I can't believe how good he was. He usually doesn't like being away from home. I guess he doesn't mind going anywhere as long as he has his swing :) My parents couldn't believe how good of a baby he is. I never really realized how good he was until they pointed it out so much. He only cried 3-4 times the whole time we were down there and only because of the horn, bad dream, and getting scared. He hardly ever cries at home either so we are pretty blessed. I can't believe how much Grayden changed while we were down there. He had so many FIRSTS as well. To name a few.... he rolled over for the first time, started sucking his toes, started spitting, first boo boo (hit himself in the face with a toy which left a mark) and found new noises to make. He just grew so much!

Im glad we were able to stay for 2 weeks and share all those firsts with his Nana and Papa. Thank you so much for everything mom and dad. We miss you :)


White Rock, BC


Finally meeting Uncle Kaden


With PAPA


With NANA

Fairy Ride..

We went on Grayden's first fairy ride today to Victoria. It was pretty early on the way there so we stayed inside but we decided to go out for a bit to look at the ocean and all the Islands. About 2 mins later they announced they were going to sound the horn and I had no idea it was going to be that loud!! It was the loudest horn I've ever heard and it seemed like forever! Poor Grayden just FREAKED!!! Daddy tryed to cover his ears as much as he could but it just happened so fast. I looked at Grayden's face pressed against his daddys chest and he had the saddest look on his face and had his lip right out :( He has never cried like that before and he cried for about 15 minutes after. Other than the horn incident we had a great time. We went to this little pub in the middle of the woods that we LOVE. It reminds me of the little cottage in hansel and gredle. It's surronded by trees and beautiful flowers in the middle of no where, It was closed down because of some septic issues but we went and ordered some food else where and just brought it back their to eat by ourselves.

The fairy ride back to Vancouver was MUCH better, We were franticly waiting for when the horn was going to go off and made sure we were ready for it this time. After about 45 mintues they finally blew the horn and it was NOTHING compared to the other horn. Thank goodness!


Grayden slept most of the way so I took this incase he didn't wake up for his first fairy ride.....


He's awake....




On our way to the Hansel and Gredel house...


Pose for pictures