4 Months

Grayson turned the official 4 months on June 2nd, so I'm a little late with these, but it's been a busy week... My last day of work was this past Friday, and I am officially now a stay-at-home mommy! I couldn't be more excited to spend each day with this little man...

Weddings, Reunions, and Jumping, Oh My!

It was a very big week in the life of Grayson Bridges! He took his first flight, attended his first wedding, and met many new relatives at my family reunion in Kansas. We learned a lot about traveling and hotel stays with a baby, but luckily, we'd braced ourselves for much more difficulty than we actually faced. In fact, we faced very little! He was a great traveler, despite some serious flight delays. The return has been a little bit tough on us all, what with the time difference and schedule changes, but Grayson remains his pleasant, playful self despite his wonky readjustment.

Today he turns the official 4 months old, too! Our little baby is growing so fast... While I lament this daily, there are two distinct advantages to this growing - getting big enough for some of his really cute outfits and the fun new toys he's ready for now! Brant sprung for a jumperoo this week, and boy does Grayson love it! He's been bouncing around in the 'rainforest' all morning, spinning the color wheel, talking to the smiling sunshine, and loving the fact that he's eye level with Sam, which Sam also seems to love. Behold the future of Grayson and Samwise: Partners in Crime! Just moments ago, I took Gray into his room for a nap, laid him down, and there's Sam - laying loyally beside the crib. Sam will be helping him eat his veggies in no time, I'm afraid, but my, oh my, will that boy and his dog be cute together...

A few photos from our flying adventures, the wedding of Timily (Tim + Emily), and reunion fun, plus a little jumperoo action and a few cute ones for good measure:

Airplane snuggles:

Airplane story time:

With Uncle Tim & Auntie Em, newly hitched:

Playing with his pinwheel at the reunion picnic:

Four generations together!

Jumperoo fun:

Rattle action in the Bumbo seat:

Watching Sesame Street and loving Telly:

Mothers Day and Stats

I'm so happy to have joined the mama ranks this year and to have celebrated my first Mothers Day! It was a wonderful day, and I'm just so proud of Grayson and our little family. We celebrated with a day trip to the Danish village of Solvang, CA, where we had a nice brunch and a stroll around town. Grayson did wonderfully! He's such a sweet baby - he even gave me a little present and laughed for the first time! He's been trying to chuckle for weeks now, but this was a real giggle! What a lovely first Mothers Day present from my boy. 

We also went to Grayson's latest doctor's appointment today! Kid's still packing it on and growing tall. We've jumped to the 50th percentile, too, up from the 25th where we've been sitting since his birth. He now weighs 14 lb, 5 oz, and is 25.25 inches long! That's my boy. 

Here are a few pictures of Mothers Day:

3 Months

It's really hard to believe that it's already been three months since Grayson was born! I look at the pictures from his birth and the first days in the hospital, and it just amazes me how far he's come. Where once he could barely open his eyes, he's rolling over and smiling (LOTS) and trying so hard to laugh! It's so much fun to watch him grow.

Things Grayson loves:
-The bouncer: the toy bar has a smiling lion and monkey, and he smiles when he sits in it and 'talks' to them! It's very cute.

-Whistling: Anytime he's fussing, he can be easily distracted with whistling. If he's happy, whistling makes him break out the big grins!

-Reading stories: Every afternoon, Gray and I read stories, and he loves it! He really looks at the pages, and the whole time his arms and legs are waving around while he 'talks' to the pages. He gets particularly excited when he sees Elmo. He fixates on other red things too, but not quite with the same excitement as that little Muppet. He's grown attached to a particular Elmo story called So BIG!

I love being his mommy!

Here's his latest round of pics...

10-Week Stats

We went to our 10 (almost 11) week doctor's appointment on Tuesday, and as we suspected by how quickly Grayson is growing too long for his clothes, he continues to sprout like a weed!

The stats:
23.25 inches
12 lb, 10.75 oz

 That's our boy! And here he is in pics...

We're rolling!

About six weeks ahead of the norm, Grayson is rolling over from his tummy to his back! We knew the kid was strong, but wow... Here's video of the first major feat in baby movement:


(excuse the dumb narration)

And here's a few new pics from the las week of his life... (Okay - maybe more than a few):

Two months old (a week ago...) and my return to work!

It's been a big week in the Bridges abode...

Grayson turned nine whole weeks yesterday, and we finally had a sunny morning this morning to flood the "photo studio" (our bedroom) with light for his 2-month photos (all the way below)! He's a very happy baby, and we get all kinds of smiles these days with very little solicitation. It's as though he recognizes us and is just happy to be in our arms... He gets more and more fun with each passing day!

Monday marked the end of my maternity leave with my first day back to work. My fellow teachers and principal were glad to have me back to help handle the student load, which I heard about a dozen times over the course of the day. Meanwhile, I worried about Grayson all day long (all week long, really) and got very little actual work done between that and catching up with everyone. It's been quite an adjustment going back, but with the help of my AMAZING* hubby to get Gray ready in the mornings, we've managed to make it through the week relatively unscathed. We've made the big decision that I will become a full-time mommy after the close of this school year, which I couldn't be more excited to do! Home with him is definitely where my heart is right now.

*I'm compelled to take a moment to say how really wonderful Brant is at being a daddy (and being the husband of a new mommy) - not just this week but the past nine weeks (and for eight weeks before that with my bed rest)! Even with the heavy load he carries at work with 10-11 hour days, he jumps right in with baby duty at our 5:45 wake-up call and shares the action after he gets home - and does all of it well and happily. It's just the best thing my heart could ever see to have my two beloved guys smiling at each other... I am one lucky lady.

Overall summation: Life is good and fixin' to get even better.

Now for the photo bomb...