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

Sorry Sorry Sorry

I know that it's been awhile since we've posted anything-but Whew-having a baby takes up lots of time! I have my list of all I need to post-and I'm hoping to get to it this week. I promise!

Lots of fun stuff...

So it's been awhile since I've posted-so this is going to be a long one with lots of photos!
I know that in the previous post I mentioned Gray and his Bumbo seat-well I finally got some photos of him sitting in it. Sometimes he likes it-and sometimes he doesn't. But he likes to sit and chill while bobbing his head up and down...


We tried rice cereal the other day while he was sitting in his Bumbo-but it didn't work out too well--he was smiling too big to keep the cereal in his mouth-it just came spewing down the sides. It probably didn't help that I was laughing the entire time as well because he looked so freaking cute.


Over the last few weeks while the weather has been nice-Grayson and I have been going to Loose Park with my friend Rachael from work who is on maternity leave as well. So here's a picture of the boys before our walk. This is pretty much what they do the entire 2 hours that we are walking. Except for when we stop and have a little formula to keep the babies going.
Once a month all of the girls from high school we get together for a Sunday lunch at 54th Street. Grayson attended his first gossip session a few weeks ago. I got to sit next to Ethan-Steph's baby-and watch how he's eating like a big boy-and I even got to hold him for a few minutes-until he realized I wasn't mama.
One day while we were having our dance party in his room-I decided to put Grayson's summer time hat on him to see if it would fit his tiny head. It did! And it is so cute-I had to send out pictures of him in it to the fam-and they all said that they got big smiles on their faces when they saw them. Who wouldn't smile at this face???









This past Monday Lucy had her first t-ball game. If you've never seen 4 year olds play ball-I highly recommend it. It's very entertaining and a stress reliever. Their team is the Lil Crushers-how cute is that? All of their helmets were either pink or purple-and their bats were all pink and they said 'Girls Rule.' The helmet is a little big for Lucy's head.
Lucy and Aunt Sara

Grayson and Grandma Becky-she insisted that Gray put something on his head because it was a little windy-he did not like it.
We decided to try out Grayson's tummy time surfboard mat. He likes to lay on his tummy on the couch-so I wanted to see what it would be like to put him on something that he could play with while on his tummy.
We are supposed to put water in it to make the fish swim around-but neither Rob or I can figure it out
Grayson's new thing is that he likes to stand up. Which is crazy to me that at 11 weeks he is trying to pull himself up. So he grabs onto our thumbs and pulls up. It's the funniest thing because he can't stand without his mouth open-maybe it helps balance him? Who knows.

Rob and I put a for sale sign out in the yard this past weekend. We were looking at houses last Saturday and stopped to look at a house when the realtor asked if we wanted to look inside. We were telling him about our house-and he asked if he could show it in an hour. Umm...ok. You realize we have 2 dogs and a baby-so it might not be the cleanest...But the couple came and looked-said that they totally loved it-but are set on living in Prairie Village. All I have to say is-good luck trying to find a house with as much space as ours has in your price range over there. So we are doing For Sale by Owner right now-to see what we find. I made some nice fliers and everyday Rob counts to see how many have been taken. The number is high-but no one is calling-probably just nosey people wanting to see what we are priced at. After a month we are going to list it with Doug.

I go back to work next Tuesday-I can't believe that 13 weeks has already come and gone! I had so many things I wanted to get done while I was off--and you know how many I did...zero. I don't like to think about leaving Grayson all day and sending him to Missy's. But he likes it over there-and she likes him. There are 2 other little girls that are with the babies--Taylor and Elizabeth. Elizabeth was in awe of Grayson-and all she could say was 'Baby Baby'. I wish that I didn't have to go back to work-but I guess that's life-I have to let the little guy go on his way for a bit at least.

We are headed to Mulvane this weekend to see Aunt Carole, Mimi and Papa. So it's Grayson's first 3 hour car ride-so we will see how well it goes! Have a happy mother's day to all you mama's out there!

2 Month Check-Up

Just a quick post on how well the little stink did yesterday at his 2 month check-up. I was way nervous about him getting his shots-not due to the vaccines-but because I didn't want Grayson to be in pain-and I can't handle him crying for long periods of time. Anyways-he checked out great! He's 24 1/2 inches (90%) 12 lbs 2 oz (75%) and his head is in the 35% percentile. He's a big boy! He took his shots like a champ! Luckily-Rob was there so he was able to hold Grayson's arms down while I looked away and packed up all of our stuff-and then mommy swooped in to hold him after his shots. He only cried for a few seconds. We know he's getting to be a big boy because Dr. Nelson told us if we wanted to we could start feeding him some rice cereal...already?!?! Holy Cow-this kid's on a role!
So far he hasn't shown any problems with the shots-he's eating like a champ-and slept the whole night last night. This is becoming a regular thing in the Swindle household. We put him to bed about 9:45-and he falls asleep on his own-and then he wakes about 5:30 or 6. That's a total of about 8 hours-already! Hopefully it sticks.
Today we are going to the park with my friend Rachael and her new baby Parker. We were supposed to go earlier in the week-but I had a mishap and had to get my wedding rings cut-off...long story-but we were just a little too tired to go-so we are going today!
Gray started sitting in his Bumbo seat this week-I'll take some pictures this weekend of it and post them.
Enjoy the nice weather this weekend!

Fans/Dance/Parties/Playdate/Smiles/Family/Easter

Whew-you can tell by the title it's been awhile! Sit back-relax and enjoy all the photos that have to be updated!

A few weeks ago I read somewhere that babies need to listen to all different types of music-not just lullabies. So in Gray's room he has his own iPod-and one day I played the Cha Cha Slide-and Grayson laughed and smiled the whole time. It was way cute. He's a big fan of Bryan Adams-and also likes the old break dance songs that Rob used to dance to. So we have a dance party every day-mostly just with momma-but sometimes dad partakes too-and it's a major boogie session!

Here he is showing off some of his dance moves-did I mention he likes to be naked baby when we do it?

Another thing that I have come to realize is that I can lay Grayson on the couch-turn the fan on and do what I need to for at least 30 mins. This kid doesn't need any toys-all he needs is his iPod and a fan and he's good to go! Every room we enter-he looks at the ceiling to see if the fan is on-and if it's not-he'll start to fuss until it starts moving. Warning: My voice sounds really annoying in the video....and the cinematography isn't all that great.

Lucy was finally able to meet her baby cousin. He hasn't been able to meet baby Olivia yet-she was home sick with a cold. Lucy was a big help with Gray-she really enjoyed being around him-except when he would get fussy.

My friend Shelly from grad school had her baby Fletcher in the beginning of March. He was about 3 weeks early-but is growing like a champ! Grayson and I went and had lunch with Shelly and Fletcher a few weeks ago-Gray looks big to me compared to Fletcher.

They liked laying on the floor playing with each other

When I was getting Grayson all locked up and ready to go to the grocery store on a cold day-he gave me some cute smiles-and thought I would share

This past week we had Rob's family in town. We had Aunt Gail and Uncle John up from Florida-we had Donna, LeRoy, Carole and Chase from Colorado and Aunt Carole from Mulvane. It was great! While we were all together-we were able to celebrate Chase's 3rd birthday with a little party at a local park. It was Grayson's first birthday party-and he slept through the whole thing-he's such a party animal!
Here's Chase and Uncle Rob playing on the slides

Everyone eatingMimi feeding GraysonDonna, Rob and Carole on the alligatorBrother and sister on the teeter-totter. This was way fun to ride on--Rob and I did it for quite awhile!Sara and JenniferAnd now Jennifer, Sara and I on the alligator--it was THE picture spot!Grayson and his PaPa LeRoy snuggling in the rocking chairWe had a great time with everyone! Thanks so much for coming!

Grayson enjoyed his first Easter. I wasn't really able to get that great of a picture of Gray in his Easter outfit-but believe me-he was super cute. And in the pictures-it doesn't really show how cute his hair was-I styled it in a little Mohawk-it was too cute.
Here's his Easter basket from Grammy and Grandpa Joe. The blanket on the top is the blanket that me and Sara both came home from the hospital in.

Grammy had knee surgery on Friday-so she just wanted some baby snugs from baby Gray. As you can tell-he was really enjoying them
Aunt Sara and her favorite nephewAnd here's some photos of his outfit--he had on plaid pants-with a navy polo and cute blue shoes.On Monday morning-Tubs and Grayson were still so tired from the busy weekend and previous week-this is how they were taking a napAn update on Rob and I--Rob's been really busy this month doing lots of surgeries-which is great. I've started working with my personal trainer-so slowly but surely this left over baby weight is going to be coming off-plus the pre-baby weight I should have lost! I go back to work on May 12-so we are going to start taking Grayson to Missy (babysitter) for a few hours to get him acclimated to it-as well as us. We measured Gray the other day with a tape measure-and we think he's about 23 inches long-and a little over 11 lbs. We go to the doctor next Thursday for his shots.
Have a great rest of the week!