One Last Nerve...

and Grady's on it. He has NOT been sleeping well the past three nights. He's been waking up at 2 am and staying up until 4 am! And last night, he stayed up until 5 am! I don't know what is happening. Normally, I would let him cry it out, but last night, I walked into his room after 30 minutes of crying, and this is what I saw-



He has never been able to pull up before! It's a new accomplishment. He was standing there, bouncing, and screaming at the top of his lungs! Boy, am I glad I went in there, because we have not yet lowered his crib mattress. So, being the paranoid mother that I am, I took him out because I feared he would flip himself over the railing and fall out. (I realize now that he would probably have to grow Hercules muscles overnight in order to hoist himself over the railing, but it was 3 am!) I tried to make him sleep with me, but all he did was crawl over to his daddy and try to play. I decided he most likely would not fall out of the crib, so I took him back into his room to try to get him back to sleep. At this point, he had been up for well over an hour and decided he wasn't in the mood to sleep. I finally just let him play for a while and then he went back to sleep at 5 am. I laid pillows all over the floor in case he stood up and fell out! So now, I have COMPLETELY back-tracked my "cry-it-out" techniques in every way! Now he's learned that if he cries loud enough and stands up in his crib, I will come get him and he can come in the big bed, play with Daddy, and then play wuth his toys! I am NOT looking forward to tonight!

And to top it all off, he would not go down for a nap this morning! I just got him to sleep and all I want to do is take a nap, but I feel too guilty with all the housework that needs to be done (so instead, I am blogging). :)

We fixed his mattress... much better!

Three Posts in One Day! Obviously Grady Took Good Naps Today!!!

He's already gettin' into the liquor cabinet!

Who says I'm high maintenance, Mama? Just gimme a cup and I'm good to go!

Good Friends, Good Memories, Good Bagels

This morning, Grady and I met a dear old friend, Kourtnee, and her sister (also a friend!), Tawnee at Bagelheads (SO GOOD!) for breakfast. I have known Kourtnee since high school. We graduated together 8 years ago and kept in touch for several years after that, but then she moved away to Salt Lake City, Utah about 3 years ago. So I had not seen her in three years and only talked to her a few times via email. It's funny (but sad) how people move, get married, have kids, etc, and we drift apart. It's like life goes on and is so hectic that we lose touch with important people. So anyway, she came back home for a week or so to help a friend (also from HS) who just had twin boys. I found out through Facebook (gotta love those social networking sites!) that she was visiting, so we arranged to get together. You don't realize how much you miss a person until you see them and share stories, memories,and update each other on your lives. She has two kids, Kaylee (8) and Hudson (4). I was lucky enough to see Kaylee frequently when she was a little baby, but Hudson I have only met once. She did get to meet Grady who hammed it up by squealing, smiling, bouncing, and banging his toys on the table. Have I ever mentioned how high maintenance he is?? :)

She was telling me some interesting things about Salt Lake City... as you know, it's predominatly Mormon, so a Christian church is few and far between. They have found a small Baptist church, but she said that being a Christian living in SLC makes you feel very isolated. In Kaylee's class of 26, she said there are only a couple non-Mormon children. Even though it's a public school, the students can elect to go to Mormon seminary during part of the school day. Now, can you IMAGINE what would happen if we tried to do that with a baptist seminary???? People would be infuriated! It's unfortunate. She said while the Mormon residents are kind to her, they haven't really befriended her because she is not Mormon.

She also said that the drinking laws are very strict and quite different from FL. In order to get a drink at a restaraunt, you have to order food first. You cannot order just a drink. Also, when you order a drink, the bartenders do not freely poor the alcohol into the glass. It is dispensed through a bottle that has some sort of a lock and only allows a certain pre-measured amount to be dispensed. Does that make sense? (It sounded less confusing when she described it!).

Kourtnee did say that it is beautiful there... not the same as FL, obviously, but there are beautiful mountains there and she said SLC is a VERY clean place to live. She misses home, but is thankful for the opportunity to see the country's beauty.

I vow to keep in touch with my sweet friend from now on!!! I won't let another few years go by. It was so refreshing to see her... so if any of you have been so busy with the day to day and have missed a friend from the past, I encourage you to give him/her a call. Chances are they are missing you, too!

Me, Grady, and Kourtnee


Me, Grady, and Tawnee

Yum!

Apparently, Grady LOVES cherries! Who knew?!

Beach Day Pics

Here are a few pics of Grady and Chloe at the beach on Friday... They loved touching each other. They were probably thinking, "Hey! You're my size!" Grady is a little bit rough. He likes to pull hair and pinch. (We are working on that.) :)






Tuckered out!

A Day at the Beach...

Let me just start by saying, I'm looking at the explanation below the title of our blog... "A Glimpse Into Our Grady-Obsessed Lives". I think I should re-word that. I think it should read "A Glimpse Into Our Grady-Rules-Our-Lives Because He is a Wild Man". We are not so much obsessed with him as we are overtaken by him. I am finally sitting down after a non-stop action packed day with a little one who is totally off the chain. I feel like I need an all night foot massage with a never ending margarita. Extra tequila.

We did, however, have a great time at the beach today. We went with my friend from work, Carol, and her daughter (also my friend), Tenisha, and her little baby, Chloe. Chloe is just five weeks younger than Grady and just beautiful. You may remember her from several months ago when Grady and her first met....

Anyway, the beach was packed out, and we looked like the cast of "Yes, Dear" walking out to the sand. (If you've never seen the intro to that show, it begins with a sexy couple cruising by in their convertible and then shows a group of four adults with three kids and a PILE of beach toys, floats, coolers, towels, strollers, etc, struggling to get to their spot on the beach). That was so us. I told Tenisha someone should invent a shuttle service like a golf cart that takes you to your destination on the sand. I would definitely pay for that! And, I mean, I only have one kid, who barely has any beach toys, so what the heck am I taking to the beach??? Who knows, but that reminds me it is all still in my car waiting to be emptied and shaken because we brought home half the beach sand with us.

So anyway, Grady absolutely loves the beach, 1- because it's outdoors, and 2- because there is water involved. And mommy loves the beach because Grady can scream as loud as he wants and no one cares because they can't hear him over their own crazy kids. That's his new thing. Screaming. Not crying screaming, more like squealing screaming because he's so excited about EVERYTHING (except of course naps). It's hysterical and exhausting (and constant) all at the same time. Hence why he is referred to as off the chain. Of course, like I said, it's ok because we were at the beach and not at Publix like we were yesterday.

So maybe it's just boys that are out of control, because Chloe was just as content as she could be... fell asleep on the blanket, played with the same stuffed animal the WHOLE time. My child? Oh no. My child has to have a million (to be exact) different types of toys displayed around him for his viewing pleasure so that he can throw one down at any given moment and reach for another. He also needs a sippy cup, crackers, and baby Mum Mums (his new edible treat). Oh, and of course he needs several other items that are not baby friendly to destroy (i.e. Mommy's cell phone and sunglasses). He wants to crawl, roll, and bounce up and down. And then when he's tired of all that (hard to imagine with all the choices he is given), he wants back in the water. Then back on the sand. Then back in the water. Then back on the sand. Then back in the water. And why haven't I lost the baby weight???

We pack up and somehow it seems that we have acquired even more items since arrival and I look like, again, like the cast of "Yes, Dear" except this time I am sunburned and the baby is half way down my leg as I am dragging all of our crap out of the 100 degree weather into the 150 degree car. And all the way home I get to listen to the joyful squealing.

Then as soon as we get home, it's dinner time, bath, bed. And here I am. Sitting and relaxing and praying he sleeps until noon tomorrow. (I'd even take 7 am). The joys of motherhood. I'm taking applications for a weekend nanny position. Pretty much just put your name on it and you're hired.

(Pics to come later... the camera is in the car and this mama ain't movin').