Fleeting Moments

Tomorrow is August. My summer is almost over. Griffin is almost four. Grayson is getting bigger by the moment. My heart aches.

I cuddle as often as possible because I know one day they won't want to.
I tell them how special they are to me, even though words don't do that justice.
I explain how proud I am to be their mommy because the two of them, along with their dad, make my life complete.
I give kisses and hugs because I want them to feel how much I love them.
I wrestle because I love to hear the giggles that ensue.
I let them jump because I know their hearts long to fly.
I take pictures so that I will always remember.
I pray because I want them to become Godly men.
I try to take away all of their pain, but I fail because I know only Jesus can do that.
I cry because I know that these precious moments are fleeting.

Our Life In Pictures

7th Anniversary

Today, Brandon and I celebrated our 7th Wedding Anniversary by watching our wedding video with Griffin and then heading to the Melting Pot at night. Nick and Becca were kind enough to watch our kiddos for the evening, so we were able to celebrate just the two of us!

Learning About Babies

So, on our way to P and T's house yesterday, Griffin asked if they had any kids. I said that they didn't, but that T had a baby in her belly. This prompted Griffin to ask, "Mommy, how do babies get in mommies' bellies?"

Well, uh...I wanted to say, "Ask your father," but instead chose these words: "Well Griffin, sometimes when mommies and daddies love each other very much, God creates a baby in the mommy's belly."

Thankfully that cured his curiosity. For the time being anyway:)

I don't want to forget...

that in the last two weeks:

• Grayson consistently calls Brandon "Dada." (especially after he wakes up!)
• Griffin has totally fallen in love with swimming, fishing, and bike riding.
  
• Grayson finally calls me "Mama," but only if he thinks I am leaving him.
• Griffin officially gave up napping. Well, we actually took it away because he was having a hard time falling asleep at night. We do "quiet time" and "cuddle time" instead.
• Grayson will say "all done" when he finishes eating.
• Reverse psychology seems to work quite well on Griffin.
  
• Grayson goes crazy with excitement every time he sees or hears an airplane. He LOVES them!
• Griffin adores having Brandon read to him. They are currently reading Fantastic Mr. Fox.
  
• The speech therapist got Grayson to say "ish" for fish, and "ease" for please.
• Grayson still wears nine month onesies.
  
• Griffin can consistently write the first three letters of his name...and they are legible:)
• Grayson now gives kisses on command.
  

Eagle's Nest and Bike Riding

Loving Summer with My Boys!

Grandma Laurie's Wedding

Love that SMILE!

Loving Life!

Kisses From Clifford:)

"Mom, take a picture of my mean face!"

SCORE!

Loving on Baby Maren:)

Grayson's "Owie"

Yep, it's official. I won the "Worst Mother of the Year" award last week. Here's why...

About five minutes after the four of us woke up on Thursday morning, Griffin, Grayson, and I went downstairs to eat breakfast. One of Grayson's new favorite activities is playing with the toilet paper in the bathroom, so obviously the minute we got downstairs he made a beeline for the bathroom. I picked him up and put him into the kitchen and closed the bathroom door. Well, I didn't realize that Grayson had put his hands in the door by the hinges, so when I closed the door, his middle finger got stuck. So stuck that he couldn't even get his finger out until I reopened the door. The minute I opened the door, I knew we would be making a trip to the doctor. Thankfully Brandon was still home, so the four of us rushed to the ER.

Sedation and three stitches later, he acts like it never happened. And better yet, he doesn't hate me:)

Speech Therapy for Oral Aversion

Okay, this post is long overdue and will probably be long:)

Grayson has struggled with acid reflux since the end of last summer. It wasn't diagnosed until November, but that is when we started noticing symptoms. Since then, it has been a roller coaster ride trying to keep him comfortable enough to get him to eat. As a result, he is a bit on the small side. Around his birthday, however, things were going quite well. He was eating new foods and drinking out of a sippy cup. Because most babies outgrow acid reflux at a year, we decided to see if he could be weaned off one dose of his medicine. (He was getting two doses a day.) BAD. IDEA.

Because the weaning created pain for him again, he basically stopped eating all solid foods. He drank regularly for the most part, but he wasn't getting all of the nutrients he needed. We took him back to the GI specialist. Because he was back on his medicine, there was nothing medically wrong with him. We met with a nutritionist to beef up his diet. He started drinking whole milk with formula, essentially creating our own version of pediasure. Upon visiting his GI doctor again a few weeks later, it was determined that he had "oral aversion," which is basically a fear of food. Because Grayson was still not gaining enough weight, we were referred to a speech therapist who works with this issue.

For the most part, we have learned that we have to make eating as fun as possible. Essentially, eating has become a game, but in a positive way. Lots of oohs, ahhs, and cheering for touching new foods, and a round of applause if any food actually makes it into his mouth. The hardest part is allowing him to play with his food, but whatever the doctor says, we do:) It is also important for us to limit choices and keep track of different textures. Never in a million years did I expect to do this.

Two weeks into this process, we have already seen an improvement. Before, pretty much anything we put on his plate was thrown or pushed onto the floor. He had about four foods he would eat regularly, and even that was hit or miss. While we offered a bajillion (yep, that's a word in my opinion) different food options, he would never even put the food near his mouth. In two weeks, we have gotten him to eat or at least try 10 new foods. The therapist was very pleased when we saw her today. Two weeks ago he was barely on the growth charts at his well-baby check up weighing 20lbs. 10oz. I am hoping to see a big improvement come fall!

So, there you have it. More posts to follow this week. Pictures included.