Grayden's FIRST Halloween !!

Today was Grayden's First halloween!!! So exciting!!!! Cody and I love Halloween so it was fun to spend it with Grayden for the first time this year! Daddy took a scuba diving course this morning and then you had a super long nap in your crib (almost 3 hours) Then We finished carving our pumpkins. We waited until 8pm and then took you to Auntie Jenn and Uncle Chads for your first trick or treat experience. You were so cute today in your little monkey costume:) We had so many compliments on how cute you were today and it was so fun to show you off !!

Happy FIRST Halloween Grayden!!


Your FIRST costume

Cutest monkey ever!!

His cousin Madison the butterfly


One year ago INSIDE mommy.....


One year later WITH mommy



Your candy stash.....that you can't eat :)


Graydens first pumpkin


Where did daddy go?

8 month update !!

Grayden is 4 months away from being One years old. I cannot believe that. I was looking back at pictures again and can't believe how much he has changed and grown over the last 8 months. I see pictures of my tiny newborn and the Mommy who thought her baby would stay little forever. Just a few weeks ago I can remember looking at him sitting all by himself thinking how far he was from crawling and now 3 weeks later he wont stay still. I have been warned so many times by parents to cherish these moments because they go by so fast, but I had NO IDEA just HOW FAST !!

He is Mr. Mobile these days, crawling all over the place and he has gotten pretty fast! Going after electric cords is one of his favorite activities, as well as door stoppers..... boy does He LOVE door stoppers he gets so excited whenever he finds one !!! He is learning that mama's new favorite word is "no, no". Whenever I say it he looks at me with a big grin on his face......trouble already haha.Oh yah he has started to pull himself up on things. Mostly in his crib and he loves getting onto his knees. I love that when we are not around him he crawls to where ever we are and pulls on our pants letting us know he wants to be held. Its so sweet and makes us feel so special. I just think its the cutest thing, not finding him where I left him. I know the novelty of that will wear off soon enough so I am enjoying these times of thinking this is the greatest thing. I will soon be missing my non-moving baby. But it is truly a miracle watching him develop and grow like this.

Sleeping hasn't changed a whole lot. He goes to bed around 10pm and wakes up around 10am (wakes up about twice in the night to nurse) He still naps about 3-4 times during the day. This boy loves his sleep!! Grayden LOVES to laugh, it is the BEST sound in the world!!

I have pretty much given up on puree foods at this point. I have come to learn that he does NOT like to be fed by anyone but himself. For breakfast I feed him barley or rice cereal (the usual ONE bite) and thats it... with some kind of fruit. I put most of his food in those safe feeders and he likes to eat it that way. As long as he's feeding himself he's good. I'll take some tiny bits of avocado and banana or whatever and place them on his highchair and let him help himself. He does alright but most if it ends up in his lap and spends most of the time playing with the food rather than eating it. This boy really likes his broccoli :) He actually eats it rather than play with it. Im glad he likes his broccoli not only is it one of the best greens for him but we cook it at almost every meal so its nice and easy for me. I would have to say his favorite food Is cucumber. I give him those mini cucumbers but just cut off the ends and he loves sucking out the middle. Every time he sees me grab one from the fridge he starts getting antsy and waves his arms out until I give it to him.
By far his favorite meal is still his "mama's milk" He doesn't eat enough solids to make him full so we are still nursing every 3-4 hours and about twice in the night. Which is fine with me because it's such a bonding time for us. They are my favorite little moments with him to just lay there with him and stare at each other and to know I am giving him the best nourishment possible by doing so.

He has so much personality right now and is the true definition of a mama's boy! And of course I like it like that, daddy always tells me to enjoy it now because soon all he'll want to do is hang with dad and go on fishin trips etc etc ....we'll see about that! LoL just kidding :) ...Cody is SUCH a good dad and most of you know that Cody is such a kid at heart, so i know he will probably have more fun with dad when he gets older but I think he will always be a momma's boy :)

Grayden, I love going through this growing journey with you. I love waking up everyday thinking that I love you a million times more than I did yesterday. I love your smile and laugh that fills my heart with pure joy every time I hear and see it. To say you are the world to me wouldn't be enough. I know the time passes fast. So I cherish every minute that I am truly wrapped up in you and hold those dear to me. These have been the best 8 months of our lives so far and I know every day with you will just get better and better. You have brought so much meaning to our lives and make everything we do mean so much more. Watching you discover the world is the most amazing thing we've seen so far, we are so lucky to get to be your parents! We love you baby boy with all our heart!!! Muahhhh!
Happy 8 month birthday !
XOXOXOXO
Mom and Dad






first time in a shopping cart


Checking out the cool sky !!

CRAWLING !!

First Birthday as a Daddy :)

Cody had his first birthday as a daddy ! We went to Grandma and Grandpa Beechers house for the night to celebrate. He was spoiled with Abercrombie clothes by Grandma and me and Grayden made him a picture frame with his hand prints.
We hope you had a wonderful birthday :)

Happy Thanks giving !!

Today is Grayden's FIRST thanks giving. Well we actually celebrated thanks giving on Friday with Cody's family and Yesterday day we had another thanks giving dinner at Auntie Nene's. To be honest I have never thought much about thanks giving or pondered on what this day really meant. I just looked forward to all the good food and left overs or the long weekend like most of us do.

I think this is the first year I really understand what it means to be thankful. Grayden brings a joy to my life that I never knew could be possible. He has brought out a side of me that I never knew was there, and a love I didn't know existed. This year, I have so much to be thankful for. But most of all, I am thankful that I realize this. That I have the ability to see how blessed I am. That these are all gifts from our Heavenly Father and I don't let a day go by without thanking him.

This Thanksgiving was so meaningful and I have everything to be thankful for. My husband, who is my best friend. There is no one I would rather be on this journey with. For Grayden, of course.........for everything about him. For our wonderful families who are always there for us. For our HEALTH and to live in this Country that allows us to live free from so many of the misfortunes that people all over the world live with every day. We are all so blessed and I try to remind myself everyday of that, and to take nothing for granted.

Happy Thanks Giving :)

Grayden's First Thanks giving

I was getting Gray ready for his bath the other night in the loft. I had the water running while I was getting him undressed so he knew it was bath time. He was all squirmy trying to take off his diaper and as soon as I let him go he started to army crawl himself so fast towards the bathroom. He was so excited for his bath and just scooted himself right to the tub. It was soo cute. I didn't get the first time on video but I made sure I had it ready the next bath night, Sure enough he did the exact same thing.....LoL

ENJOY!!

Excited for his bath :)

Learning to crawl....AKA THE SCOOT !!

Look what Grayden found.....

Kiara playing with Grayden

PICTURES !!

Love this expression :)

SAYING MAMA !!

Grayden is starting to say MAMA !! His very first word :) I have been saying it to him for a while now and the other day I SWEAR he said it....alot of the times he pronounces BABA but there are a few times where he says MAMA. I was so excited !!!

Now we have to work on DADA :)

Happy Birthday :)

I celebrated my first birthday as a mom on the 24, and my first birthday without my twin sister. It was a good day and Cody went out of his way to make it extra special. I woke up to a red carpet, balloons EVERYWHERE and happy birthday signs all over the walls. It was fun to spend it with Cody and Grayden for the first time but It just wasn't the same without my sister there! I really missed her that day and I don't think a moment went by where I didn't think about her.

Thanks for making me feel so special Hun :)

Sitting up and learning to crawl !

New thing he learned

Playing with shoes

LOTS of giggles

Pictures !!

7 Months old !

I would have to say this month seems to have gone by the fastest. It feels like just last week I posted his 6 month update.

Not a whole lot has changed in Graydens life except for the fact that he has grown SO MUCH! He started to sit up really well all on his own shortly after 6 months. We don't have to worry about him falling over anymore because he sits so well and when he does fall he has learned to put his arms out or an elbow. On September 23 at almost exactly 7 months Grayden sat himself up all by himself at Grandma and Grandpa Beechers!! That was exciting!

He is not crawling yet, and he is rarely on all fours so Im not sure when he will decide to crawl. He has no problem getting to where he wants to go, and is quite funny to watch. He rolls on his belly and REACHES towards the direction he wants to go with one arm and then rolls to his other side and REACHES with his other arm while pushing with his feet. Its pretty cute!

Solids are not going so well these days. He opens his mouth for the first bite and if were lucky the second, but thats about it. He has learned to hide his lips by tucking them in his mouth and nothing is going in there. I try and try but I never force feed so he only gets those one or two bites. I sit there for about half and hour trying but like I said I won't force it. Im not too worried at this point because his main nutrition is from my milk and its really all he needs right now, I guess the main reason they start solids this early is to get them used to the technique of swallowing. Grayden has already figured that out and swallows the bites he does open for.
True to my word I have made ALL of Grayden's baby food. So far We've tried Rice Cereal, Oatmeal, Pears, Apples, Peaches, Bananas, Avocado, Green Beans, Sweet Potatoes and Peas. The first time I fed him apples mixed with rice cereal he ate the whole thing but he hasn't done that since with anything. I don't know why....... maybe he just loves his milk and isn't interested in anything else yet? I dunno, hopefully before long we will be eating more solids and nursing a little less. I am still nursing about every 3-4 hours. Don't get me wrong, my favorite bonding time with Grayden is when he is nursing and I love those moments, but he is breast fed exclusively and doesn't take bottles or anything . Which makes it tough when Cody and I want to go out because he needs me every 3 hours. I guess we'll see how this month goes.

Still no TEETH YET but I am expecting one any day. I think I have been saying that for two months now. It doesn't seem to bother him during the day at all, its at night where he is really hurting. There have been a few nights now where he will just wake up crying and it is so hard to see him like that when there's nothing you can do but hold him. Most of the time he just wakes up a few times in the middle of the night fussing or tossing and turning for a while. I really hope he gets one soon...Poor guy :(

Grayden loves to be outside and enjoys our nightly walks and weekend picnics. He's so funny when we step out of the house because he becomes totally shy and quiet. When we go for walks he just sits there and looks around quite as can be. Even at Grandma and Grandpa Beechers he acts like that. At home he loves to discover the ranges of his voice (he has recently discovered that he can scream) but as soon as we are somewhere else he becomes so calm and quiet! Too Cute Gray :)

Well thats about all I can think of to update on this month! Graydens First Halloween is coming up here next month and we're so excited. We have an idea what he's going to be but its going to be a surprise until halloween :)

Happy 7 Months baby boy :)

First trip to the Zoo

Cody and I have been going to the zoo every year since we've started dating so it was pretty cool to take our son there for the first time as a family. It was a perfect day to go, not to hot and not too cold. Grayden LOVED it. He loves being outside and in a different environment. Cody held him almost the entire time and it was so cute to watch them together. Cody is such a kid at heart and was so excited to show Gray all the different animals, it was very cute :) Gray loved it too, he would just stare at the animals for a few seconds and then look back at us and then stare again. It was a fun day and we got some great photos!!

Enjoy!!



Im having problems uploading pictures so I made a slide instead.

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...