Finally!

**I wrote this post last week--I have just been waiting for Blogger to be up and running to allow me to upload the photos--so some of it is a little old**

Finally here are some pictures of our little guy! Whew! It's been awhile-so I won't be writing all that much about the pictures. Halloween was quite awhile ago-so no need to go into that again. This bath time was also awhile ago-and then he saw Santa just last weekend. But you all will be able to decipher between them all. And there are also some photos of Gray's first Thanksgiving. He LOVED all of the food-just like his momma!

Grayson's Mimi came in town last week and his Great Aunt Carole came in town as well. They took him to the dr. on Friday for his 9 month check-up. It's a little over due since the original date that we had scheduled Gray was sick. This past week he got thrush from the antibiotics from his ear infection. This poor kid can never catch a break! He checked out just fine at his appointment-just a little bit underweight. They aren't too concerned about it yet-we'll just see what happens at his next appointment. I swear this kid eats ALL the time-and he's holding steady at 19 pounds.

We are finally moved-and it finally is starting to feel like it's our house. We went yesterday and bought a TV-it had been over 10 days since we had TV-which is pathetic-we were so excited to get it. What did people do before TV? We also have ordered furniture from some different stores-and it will all be delivered in the next few weeks. Sara came over today and we all decorated the house for Christmas while Gray was taking a nap. There wasn't that much to decorate since we don't really have any tables or anything-so it went pretty fast.

Another change that's happening is that I'm starting a new job on December 17. I'll be working for a local domestic violence shelter at the local SRS office. I'll be doing some safety planning and some teaching and outreach in regards to dv. I'm excited about the new change-but scared all at the same time. I have been at my current position for over 2 1/2 years. Making a huge change is always scary and exciting at the same time.

I think that's about it that's been going on with the Swindle family. Lots of changes coming about-but so far so good. Hope all is well with all of you-and you're enjoying your holidays!

Still on Hold...

Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm still on hold for the pictures. I finally got my computer back today-and they were able to save everything! Yahoo! But now the key board isn't working-so I can't really update the blog with pictures.

Plus-we are moving next week into our new house-which we are both really stoked about-but packing boxes is becoming really annoying. We have movers coming on Wednesday (day before Turkey Day) to move the furniture-and then Rob got a moving truck for Friday-and we are going to move all of the boxes. So since I'm anal-I'm missing the KU/MU game at Arrowhead on Saturday so that I can unpack boxes while Rob enjoys it with all his friends. I can't wait to get all moved in-get back into a normal routine-and go from there. I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

Gray turned 9 months this past Monday. Time has seriously flown by. He is the sweetest kid in the entire world. He is babbling and has about 3 1/2 teeth now--3 on the bottom-and 1 on the top which is just starting to poke through. This past week he was really pretty sick. Temp was up to almost 104. The dr. said that he had the start of an ear infection-which bless his heart-his temp had never gone up that high. So after about 3 days of a temp over 101-he was able to go back to Missy's on Thursday. We switched him to his big boy carseat this weekend. We'll see how much he likes it. I guess he'll just have to stare at the back of the seat until he can face forward.

Have I already talked about Halloween? I don't think I have-but if I have-I apologize. Gray was a monkey. He was super cute. We went to Doug and Michele's and did a combined my birthday dinner and Halloween. In their neighborhood, everyone sets up shop on their driveways and hands out candy from there. So Doug had the set-up with outdoor heaters, adult beverages and S'Mores! Gray had a great time trick or treating with Lucy and Livy.

I still want to post some pics from our Napa trip back in September-and of course all the pics of Gray.

Ok-enough procrastinating. I need to continue to pack boxes. Everyone have a fabulous Turkey Day!

Sorry for the Delay....

...but my computer is fried. I'm hoping that I can get all of my pictures off of there that I have downloaded. I haven't copied and saved them to a flash drive for over year...Oops. So this is everyone's reminder--copy your items on a regular basis! Once it gets back up and running I'll be able to post photos and funny stories about our favorite little man.
Enjoy your Wednesday!

CT Results

Sorry I wanted until Monday to post about Friday-but we were exhausted.
So Thursday night-Gray could only have formula until 4 AM and then clear liquids from 4 AM-8 AM on Friday morning. I woke up with a fever around 2:00 AM-and then Rob woke Gray up around 3:15 AM to give him a bottle. We were hoping that he would fall right back to sleep after the bottle-and that sure didn't happen. Since I was already up-not feeling well-I brought Gray into the family room around 4 AM to play and watch cartoons-thinking that might work. Uhh...no. Around 5:30 AM he started rubbing his eyes-so we slept for about 30 mins. Not being able to eat didn't seem to really bother him-which was a good thing. So we were up from about 2 AM-3:30 PM. We were exhausted!

We left for Children's Mercy around 9:15 for his 10:00 appointment. Right when we walked into CMH-my eyes started to fill up with tears. It is a fantastic hospital-but just being there made me nervous. We went to the radiology department where Gray got his hospital bracelet on his little ankle-and we waited. They called us back right at 10. We had Nurse Bobbi-who was fabulous. We went into the sedation room-where there were 3 beds and that was about it. Bobbi was able to explain how Gray was going to be getting 3 different meds-and how the scan was going to go, etc. He wouldn't have needed to be put under if he didn't need to have dye ran through an IV-but he did-so he had to be a big boy. All the nurses came by and held him and played with him talking about how cute he was, etc.

So it was IV time-and I of course-had to stand outside. There were 3 nurses and Rob holding onto Gray to put the IV in his little baby foot. I was balling outside-and another nurse walked by and said "I bet your baby is getting an IV"-ok-so good-I wasn't the first mom to make a fool of herself. I could hear Gray screaming behind the door-and I didn't know where to go. If I walked 2 feet one way-I would walk into the ER Dept-and I for sure didn't want to see what was in there-and then 2 feet the other way-another baby was screaming her head off-so I locked myself in the bathroom for about 10 mins-and then was told they were done. I went in and snuggled my baby. And then it was go time.

Nurse Bobbi showed us where the CT Scan was going to take place-and she had his binkie and blankie with her and promised she would stay with him the entire time. The scan only took about 3 mins-but then we had to wait an hour for him to wake up. So Rob and I waited in the waiting room-talking with other parents. Around 12:15-Rob called the nurses to check on our guy. They came and got us-and we went back into the sedation room. And there was Gray-laying on his side-sound asleep. And then he all of a sudden woke up-and was super happy! Nurse Bobbi gave him some diluted apple juice-which of course he thought was fabulous. Bobbi said that he would be groggy all day and want to sleep ALL day and night-so we were really excited about taking a LONG nap when we got home. Right when we were getting ready to leave-Gray started talking and laughing and squirming around. He was acting like he was drunk-and we think he was having the total opposite reaction then what he was supposed to!

We went to Children's Mercy South to meet with Dr. Jiang-and the entire way Gray was laughing, singing, definitely NOT sleeping. We checked in-and the nurses even said that he was acting totally opposite of what other kids do after sedation. Our kids special! So here comes Dr. Jiang-and he pulls up Gray's scan. And the results are...it's a normal cyst!! Yahoo!! So that means a normal surgery-since it's not inter-cranial! Yay!!! Rob and I were so overwhelmed with joy-we didn't know what to say! But the pictures were pretty cute-you could see his binkie in his mouth-and all of his teeth that will eventually come in.

We are scheduled for surgery on February 4, 2010. We don't know if we will have to stay over night or not-it just depends on how he does with the sedation. And as Dr. Jiang said-it seems as if he handled the sedation just fine--so hopefully we'll get to come home.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers for our little guy. It was rough on Rob and I-but we realize that this probably won't be the last time that we will be worried about Gray-and we know it won't get easier-but we can handle it.

Dermoid Cyst

Rob and I took Grayson to a plastic surgeon at Children's Mercy last Thursday to have the bump on his face looked at. Dr. Jiang confirmed that it is a dermoid cyst-and will need to have a CT Scan done to find out anymore information.
We are going this Friday for the scan-and then will find out the results that afternoon. They are checking to see if the cyst has grown into the brain-which we hope that it hasn't-because that means we have an entire different situation on our hands which would include a neurosurgeon.
But if it hasn't grown into the brain-it will be a simple 45 minute procedure that will leave him with a black eye for a bit-but he's a tough guy-he can handle it.

So hopefully all goes well on Friday--momma is preparing herself for having Grayson be put under and have an IV put in him-this is the part of parenting that we aren't too excited about. I'll post when I know more!

A few more firsts

Once again it's been quite awhile since I've written anything-imagine that. So here's some new photos of the little guy from the past few weeks...

Grayson had his first trip to the zoo a few weeks ago when the weather was fabulous. Let's just say-he was more interested in what was going on on the ground then what the animals were doing.

All set and ready to go in and see the animals

Daddy and Gray at the zoo

This is what happens when you spend the whole day with the animals...

Gray also went to his first KU game a few weeks ago. He enjoyed himself--now momma on the other hand-was a little bit hot. Wearing an extra 19 pounds isn't the most coolest thing in the world. But Grayson had a wonderful time watching all of the people, the players, the tailgates, etc.

Daddy and Grayson with Campanile in the back

Family KU pic-this was supposed to be a Christmas card picture-but as you can see-we weren't looking anywhere in the same direction-not to mention that I look like a dill weed

One day when Rob was upstairs cleaning the room-he put Gray on the bed with Tubs-and decided to take some pictures

Rob and I are finally heading to Napa on Tuesday. It's been a trip in the making since October 27, 2007. We are going to celebrate our 2 year anniversary, my first Mother's Day, and whatever else we want to celebrate. It will be the first time that we will be leaving Gray for

more than a night-so I'm hoping that I'm going to be ok-but I'm sure there'll be a few tears (on my part)-but Mimi and Papa LeRoy came in town to watch him until Friday-and then Mom and Joe will take him for the weekend portion of our trip. I'll post pictures when we get back. Have a fantastic week!

6 Month Pictures

Brandon and Melissa have out done themselves again--look at the cute pictures they got of the little guy a few weeks ago

http://www.bassettphotography.com/shop/gallery.php?dir=family55&name=Family

I'll attach some more pictures and stories later on during this weekend. Enjoy the cute pics!

Getting to be SO Big!

Well-baby Grayson is now 6 months old! Wow-how time flies! I just packed away his little 4 oz baby bottles, a majority of his clothes, his baby bathtub, and we are almost ready for another carseat! Holy cow-this kid is growing like a weed! So anyways-on to the more important stuff...

So dad bought us this new camera that has this fabulous feature on it--it's a smile indicator. You put it on this setting and then when the person smiles-the camera takes the photo. So who would have thought?!?! Here's a photo from this setting...I had about a billion-but I tried to pick the best one

We started Gray on fruits and veggies not too long ago-once again-this fabulous camera took a great picture of the little guy while he was eating peas, green beans, or something else that was green. Look at how cute he looks-and his blue eyes! He didn't get those from his mommaSince he is getting so big-he's out growing some of his cute bath towels-so here he is in his new one that we bought. GRRR...Papa put Gray on his Harley while we were over there one day. Gray was a big fan-but of course mommy wasn't! He has to wait a few more years until he can go for a ride.

Last weekend we went back to Mulvane for Old Settlers. And once again-it was a fabulous time! Mimi came in town so we were able to see Mimi and Aunt Carole-which was great. Grayson enjoyed his first parade-it was raining the morning of the parade-but stopped right before show time. But by the end of it-he had fallen asleep--he had had too much excitement-or it could have been the fact that he was up from 1:30-4:30 the night before.He enjoyed crawling around at Aunt Carole's-and decided he wanted to play peek-a-boo on Carole's couch. We were also able to go and see the Bollinger's-and they couldn't believe how much Grayson had grown-and how much he looked like his daddy. Mimi brought some old letters that she had written to her cousins about Carole and Rob when they were younger-and let's just say-I hope Gray doesn't take after his father in regards to climbing the windows, smearing meat all over the floor, dumping cat food all over the floor, etc.The next new milestone that we have hit is sitting up all by ourselves! He had been sitting like a tri-pod-with his hand down between his legs holding him up-but while we were in Mulvane-he took the plunge and tried to sit all by himself-with no support-and now we are a crazy sitting fool!He also has started crawling-for real! One leg-arm-leg-arm. No more scooting around on his tummy! And he's fast. So we have to baby proof the house-but how can you put away all the decor that he can reach while the house is on the market? We still want it to look good.

I took this picture this morning after church. Notice his hair-style-I call it the church look.

Welcome to Floyd-the newest addition to our family! We bought this new family car on Tuesday. It's a 2008 Ford Expedition-with TONS of room-and lots of fun stuff for when Gray is bigger. So it's not 100% a mom car-like the mini-van that Rob wanted-so I still think I'm a little coolGrayson had his 6 month check-up this past Friday. Everything looks good-his antibiotics are working for his ear infection-he's still teething-but no teeth have popped out yet. He's in the 45% for weight (17 lbs) and 75% for height (27 1/4 in). So he's long and lean. I asked about a bump that Rob had found on his face-in between his eyes and it turns out he has a dermoid cyst. Dr. Nelson is pretty sure that it's benign-but that he wants it to be removed. And it has to be done surgically-so that means he'll be totally under. I was freaking out-but when I came home I did some research on it-and it isn't anything too major. Apparently they are very common in children-and people don't usually find them until they are older. They form in utero-and need to mostly be removed just for cosmetic reasons. So Grandma Becky is checking out some surgeons at Children's Mercy-and checking on some pediatric plastic surgeons for us since it's on his face. We don't know how long it will take for us to get into a surgeon, etc. or if we'll have to wait for the surgery, etc-but it's nerve-racking of course. But other than that-Dr. Nelson said that he is a happy-go-lucky little boy-who is loved very much!

This week we are taking the little guy to get his 6-month pictures taken-and he is wearing a pretty cute outfit. So you know I'll post the link when I get it! Have a great week!

We've Got a Big Boy on Our Hands

So before I get too far into it-I apologize that I don't have any pictures for this post. Dad bought us a new camera a few weeks ago-and I still have yet to download the software, etc. But I'll get around to it soon!

Anyways-so Baby Gray is turning into such a big boy! Let's see...he's able to crawl now-well kind of crawl. He kind of goes like a frog-puts his butt in the air and then jumps a little. But he can get going no matter how he does it! The pillows across the fireplace don't even stop him-so we have to have our eyes on him at all times. He still isn't too sure yet about the wood floors-so at least that keeps him in the family room-but he is becoming braver.

He's just mastered the art of sitting up by himself. He actually sits like a tri-pod. One arm on the side-and then one hand between his legs-it's pretty stinking cute.

He apparently is also starting to try and pull himself up. I haven't seen this-but Missy told me this the other day when I picked him up after daycare. He's totally digging his big boy food-the green veggies, orange veggies-and his favorite is squash. Grammy fed him his first taste of meat yesterday. Now if you've never seen this stuff-or smelled it-all I can say is Yuck. It looks like cat food. He's not too sure yet about the turkey-but he'll eat it when I mix it with the veggies. Our next step is onto the fruits-now those look really tasty.

I took him to the doctor today because I was afraid that he had another ear infection-but luckily the Dr. said that it was just a summertime cold and that it will leave in 7-10 days. Hopefully it leaves quickly because around 12:45 every night he wakes up screaming and crying because he can't breath-so then he basically sleeps sitting up in Rob's arms for a few hours until Rob wakes up again and puts him back in his Pack N Play. Yes-I have an almost 6 month old-and he's still sleeping next to the bed. Starting this week I was going to start putting him across the room in a little nook where it fits perfectly-but since he's sick-I didn't want to do it yet--maybe next week???

This weekend we are heading to Mulvane for Old Settlers again. I posted about it last August-and had pictures-so I'm sure this time I'll be posting almost the same pictures-but this time Grayson will be out of my belly! Mimi is flying in from Colorado to Wichita-and we are all staying with Aunt Carole. So yummy tasty Old Settlers food, cheesy crafts and fun people watching here I come! Have an excellent week-and look for pictures sometime in the next week or so!

Baptism, Shots, Chatting

About a month ago Grayson was baptized at Southminster. It was great. He was able to wear the christening gown from his Papa-that had been in his family for quite some time. He was excellent through the entire service. He slept through the first part of it-even when the water was put on his head. We had the family over after for some lunch.
Yummy-cookie cake
Aunt Carole, Dee and Mimi all made it in to town for the baptism. Mimi was able to stay with us for a few days-which was great. During that time-Gray had his 4-month check up and shots. Rob had to work that day-so Donna went with us. I'm still not able to go get shots by myself with him. I'm sure that these have changed a bit but-he was 14.4 lbs (50%) 26 in (80%)-so he's growing! The shots this time got to him a little bit. Fever, achy, cranky, etc. Luckily Donna was here and was able to stay with him for a day-and then Rob and I split time between work and home for a day.
They also told us that we can start solid foods with him. I was very surprised about this. So as of now we have moved through rice and oatmeal-and are now onto barley--which he totally loves.
Getting ready for the first bite!

Hmm...you make the call on what he thinks...
So he's eating it all for breakfast and dinner. Only a few more plain grains to start and then onto vegetables. Yummy! I can't believe it-this has all totally flown by.

About 2 weeks ago-we got together with some old family friends over at Dad and Becky's. Here is a picture of Grayson surrounded by the ladies (Cousin Olivia on left and New Friend Kiera on the right). Kiera was born about a week and a half earlier than Gray-so it was fun to see where they all were.

And here's Lucy playing dress-up
Rob and I took Grayson to his first Royals game on the 4th of July. It was the also the first time that we had been to the K since all of the changes-and it looked great! I can't wait until Grayson is old enough to go play on all the fun things.
Of course he looked away right as the picture took
Here is the view of the field that Grayson had
This is him cheering for the Royals-(they actually won!)
It was really sweet-there was an older man sitting behind us and asked if it was Gray's first game-and I said yes. So at the end of the game he gave me the scorecard that he had filled out during the game and told me to put it into his baby book for him. He also met Sluggerrrr--but Rob didn't get my text in enough time to bring me the camera. Gray did great with him. He grabbed onto his face and tried to eat his nose--it was very sweet. Maybe next time.

Grayson has been growing right before our eyes! He talks ALL the time-rolls around-pulls up on all fours, etc. I'm pretty sure he's starting to teeth. He's trying to get moving-he'll put himself on all fours-and will then try and rock back and forth. He can get the legs going-just not the arms. He's been working on this for about a week-so pretty soon-we'll have a crawler!
I got him talking the other day and recorded it so you all could hear how cute it sounds. I apologize-it's a little long-but it will make you smile--I promise!

On June 27-Dad and Becky's dog Cassie passed away unexpectedly. Luckily-I went over to the house and saw her and spent time with her that morning. Dad and Becky had to take her to the ER Vet Saturday afternoon and the vet found a massive tumor around her heart that was basically suffocating her-and not allowing enough oxygen to get to her body. When they went in to drain the blood from the tumor-she went into cardiac arrest. It was very hard for Rob and I to hear-she was an awesome pup. Everyone loved her very much. Here's some pics of the pretty girl

We are headed to the Lake this weekend to go to the old lake house. The people that bought it are allowing us to rent it for the weekend. So the whole family is going down-should be interesting being in a place that we all know so well with all of our old stuff-and it not be ours.
Have a great rest of the week.

Daycare, First Vaca, Sick, Boat

Ok Grayson fans-here is what you've been waiting for...

My maternity leave ended on May 12 and I had to return to work. Grayson started with Missy-his daycare provider that day. He had been a few times prior to starting the full day so that he could get used to it and so that I could get used to him being there. So far so good. He LOVES it there-and Missy loves having him. She puts up with me checking on him at least twice a day-but I can tell that they really love each other. Work is good. Working is overrated-and I think that everyone should be independently wealthy so we can all stay home with our little ones! Let's work on that...

Gray is doing lots of new stuff now. He's getting to be so big! He likes to lay on his back and bring his toes into his mouth and rollover on his side. He looks like a rolly polly. He's started to like being in his jumperoo and will watch the lights and the sound for quite some time.

We took Grayson on his first vacation a few weeks ago. We all went to Arizona for Memorial Day weekend. He did fabulous on the airplane. Gray and I flew out with Sara, Jennifer, Doug, Michele, Lucy and Olivia. Dad and Becky were already there and Rob was in New Orleans for work-he was coming later. I was nervous to bring him on the plane-and was afraid that it might upset him-but my little guy doesn't let anything phase him! And the one thing that I had been looking forward to for so long-getting to board the flight first because I had a baby-doesn't happen anymore! Ugh. Oh well-we all sat in the back of the plane-all together.
Here he is with Aunt Sara stretching out before his 3 hour flight

Here's Lucy showing off her new Hannah Montana outfit for the flight
Here's Gray when we first get on the plane while I was wiping down the arm rest, tray, window and everything in the area with wipes and sanitizer-Rob's request.

When we got to Phoenix it was 7:00 PM AZ time-which is 9:00 KC time-which is Grayson's bed time. We get off the plane-it's about 95 degrees-and we have to wait for all our luggage, etc. It took us almost 2 hours to get our things-and get to the hotel. And he was doing awesome during the whole thing. He loved staying in a hotel. I wasn't sure if he would like their crib-but he didn't have a problem with it. Plus when he would wake at 4:00 AM to eat I would put him in the king size bed with me to go back to sleep. Which was a real treat since it was just Gray and Mommy--no daddy or puppies.
Here he is while getting his sunscreen on to get ready to go into the pool

Introducing the newest swimsuit model-Grayson John Swindle! Sporting some sweet board shorts and a new SPF hat.

Here's Gray and his cousin Olivia. She was born on December 30. Gray is long and thin-and Livy is short and a little round. But she is pretty stinking cute

He really wasn't a big fan of the swimming pool. The water was a little chilly. I put him in with his feet first-and he started crying. So we didn't go in anymore. Maybe in a few more months he'll be more willing to try it.
While we were there-Gray got to meet his GG-or Nana as we like to call her. She thought that he was fabulous-and vice versa. This picture was taken by Lucy-which actually isn't that bad

We also spent lots of time sitting out on the patio having cocktails and just spending time with all the babies. Here's Aunt Sara and Baby GrayFor Becky's birthday we went out to Little Bite of Italy and sat outside. They had a Wayne Newton impersonator that was singing some tunes. Are you digging his eyeliner??? He's like that guy from American Idol.

It was really hot-and of course I was freaking out because he wasn't drinking-which he probably wasn't hungry-but he was also sweating so I was afraid he was going to be dehydrated. Which in reality-I'm sure he wouldn't have. But I took his shirt off for himThe Swindle clan ended up leaving early that night because I was worried. So we got our food boxed up and went back to our hotel and had a quiet family dinner in the A/C.

Here's Gray and Livy on the last day relaxing in their poolside bed. They had it made laying in the shade with all the fans on them-they loved it! You can tell by the look on Livy's face

Well-we have our first sickness with the little guy. He had been congested and snotty before we left for Phoenix-but was better when we got there. Then when we came back it came back. So after I spoke with Missy-since she's been around babies for quite sometime-she suggested that I take him into the doctor. I took him this past Friday-and low and behold--a double ear infection and a throat infection. We got him the bubble gum medicine and have been given it to him twice a day. You couldn't even tell that the little guy is sick-he's been taking it all like a champ. Right now it seems that the antibiotics are working-we have to continue them until Monday-so hopefully by then it will be done.

This past weekend Aunt Gail came to visit. She was in Topeka for work. She was super excited to see Grayson-and I guess Rob and I too-but mostly Gray-and who could blame her??? By having her here it allowed Rob and I to get some things done around the house since it's on the market now.
We all went out on the boat on Sunday-Grayson's first. He had quite a time. He napped on the back-and with Aunt Gail.Here he is right when we got home from the lake-you could tell he had a good timeAlso this past weekend Aunt Sara moved 4 blocks away from us-so we are really excited about having a built in babysitter and dog watcher right around the corner!
All in all we have been pretty busy here-just trying to get into the swing of things and getting a routine down with drop off and pick-ups. So far so good!
And finally-another bunny towel photo-who knew JP that your present would make such cute photos? Have a great week-we are going on Friday to have more pics taken with Gray-so I'll be posting the link