New Determination

Yes, it's been on my mind that I haven't done a blog posting in over a month. But after talking to Alison last night and hearing about her friend who re-did her blog, while being the mother to 8 young children, I have new determination to blog. If SHE can find time, surely I can too!

The month of December was definitely busy with getting ready for Grady's first Christmas and all the preparation and festivities that surround my favorite holiday of the year. Though he didn't really understand what was going on, he sure seemed to like watching Cooper opening gifts on Christmas morning. Cooper is the master of unwrapping like no dog I've ever seen. Laramie used to be that way but now she'd prefer for somebody (or some other dog) to do the dirty work. Just give her the goods inside after you've removed all packaging, thank you. It was nice to not have to travel this year but I missed my family a lot--probably more than usual now that we have the boy. Still, it was really awesome to spend our first Christmas as a real family. I know next year will only get better as Grady will be over 1.

We had several photo opportunities with Grady this month--what experiences! His first was on Santa's knee and he did awesome. He just hung out with Santa like he was chillin' with his new best friend. And he looked darn cute doing it! Next up was the 3-month old professional portraits requested by Grammy Carol. What a process that is--I never realized. But the photographer at the JCPenney studio did a great job and got my pretty laid-back son smiling for a few good photos. I think he gets cuter every day. Okay, maybe I'm a little bit biased.

It's been really fun to watch Grady's development over the last month or so. He's really starting to grab for things and hold on. He loves to look around at EVERYTHING! He seems to especially love to people watch at church. That is, until the sermon gets underway--then he usually falls asleep. At 14 lbs now, he's a load to hold for an hour for sure. We are celebrating his routine of sleeping 10 hrs each night! He's been on that schedule for a couple weeks now and it's been wonderful. I know he's not out of the SIDS risk yet but I really don't worry about him so much anymore, even when he sleeps for those long stretches. Now, lengthy naps during the day are another story! He's turning into a big-time catnapper--taking 4 or so short naps during the day. But hey, if he can sleep from 9:30 PM - 7:30 AM, I really don't care what he does during the day. He's a happy kid, very laid-back and we are immeasurably grateful.

So the next question begs...do we chance our good luck and have another one???