Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Our New Bedtime Routine

Dear Grayson,

Please stay in your bed. We mean it. Stay. In. Your. Bed.

We can hear you switching your light off and on. We can hear you crack open your bedroom door. We can hear your footie pajamas scurrying down the hall before you peak around the corner.

You know the drill. You know we're going to make you go straight back to bed, so let's just move past the games and stay in bed.

XOXO,
Your loving parents

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Monster Jam

I'm happy to report that Grayson's RSV has subsided and we were able to keep our plans with my dad, cousin Suzanne, her husband Jimmy and their son Luke to take in a Monster Jam show.

We just got back this afternoon and although Monster Trucks are not my typical scene, I have to admit it was entertaining. Of course, Grave Digger was the crowd favorite and didn't disappoint with things like this wheelie trick:


Despite ending up like this, he won the respect of the fans:


Meanwhile, I enjoyed some great people watching. I'm not sure if you can make this out, but the man below is wearing a rubber Grave Digger replica over a cowboy hat. To top off the look, his hunting orange t-shirt said, "Good 'Ol Boy" on the back. Isn't that kind of redundant? But I digress...


It was all worth it to see Luke and Grayson watch in amazement (and Pappa too!).


Luke also enjoyed a tub of popcorn bigger than his head. Isn't that half the fun?


Apparently, Gray was too cool to be seen with his parents. I have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot of this expression during the teen years.

Two peas in a pod

Here are a couple of videos of the boys playing with their mini-Monster Trucks and one of Grave Digger free styling over the large dirt ramp. You may want to turn your speakers down a bit since it was quite loud inside the arena.



While the huge trucks were pretty amazing, the show was stolen by some stunt drivers using a mix of BMX bikes, four wheelers, dirt bikes and motorcycles. They came out in individual groups first to show off their skills, but then took to the ramps all at the same time in a display of organized chaos.

We all sat speechless, but Suzanne and I couldn't help but wonder, "Where are their mothers?!" I can only imagine the worry they go through knowing this is the profession their children have chosen:

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Good News & Bad News

Grayson and I are back from the doctor's office and after a few tests they determined that he doesn't have the flu. Instead, he has RSV.

Luckily his "big boy" body is able to handle this respiratory virus better than a baby would, so we're loaded up on cough medicine, an inhaler and ibuprofen to help stay on top of the symptoms before they get worse. The pediatrician also recommended I give Gray a breathing treatment in the office to help break up some of the crud in his lungs and cut down on the wheezing.

He flipped out at the beginning of the treatment, despite my attempts to tell him the mask was "awesome" and it was just like Buzz Lightyear's mask. When that didn't work, I showed him the "cool clouds" (aka vapors) that were coming out of the mask. Still no dice.

Finally, after having to basically pin down his arms while holding his head (aka one of the worst mom feelings ever) I was able to get the mask somewhat close to his mouth. I began singing some of his bedtime songs which calmed him down enough to realize the mask didn't hurt and it was all going to be okay. I really, really hope we don't end up needing more breathing treatments. I'm sure getting him to use the inhaler will be difficult enough.

To add insult to injury, our weather is going to be gorgeous the next few days and all I want to do is play outside with Grayson. So much for that idea.

Okay, enough of my pity party. Thanks for letting me vent!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

My Skin Hurts

Grayson has come down with a fever and what I'm afraid may be the beginning stages of the flu. When I picked him up today he had 102 degree fever and immediately laid his head on my shoulder as I carried him out to the car. It was pitiful.

I asked him in the car if he wanted to go to the doctor and he said, "Yes, I'm sick." Then I asked what hurt and he said, "My skin hurts." So sad.

His school also told me that they've had a confirmed case of the flu today and several other kids were sent home with fevers. Great.

Luckily, we were able to get the last available appointment with our pediatrician tomorrow morning so I'm hopeful we can get him some medicine before this becomes the full-blown flu.

While I do enjoy the extra snuggle time, it's so hard to see him all lethargic and sad.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

These Boots Weren't Made For Walkin'

When we got home this evening Gray was very focused on trying on the boots I wore to work today. They come to just below my knee, but didn't quite hit him in the same place. After a short walk around the house, he said, "no like that" and quickly took them off.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Meet Mr. Walrus


This is Grayson's new friend Mr. Walrus, a hand puppet made out of a small paper bag. Gray is in full imagination mode these days and I often overhear him making up imaginary conversations between his toys, puppets, even Roxy.

So far, every conversation begins the same way, "What are doing day?" (aka "What are you doing today?")

The same day he brought home this walrus sack puppet he had also made a penguin art project. Apparently the two are chatty friends. I tried to capture his conversation on film, but he got a little distracted by the idea of the penguin riding his bike once I pulled out the camera.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Our Snowy Adventure

So we're still digging out of the snow, but tomorrow we head back to work and school after enjoying two unexpected days off.

It's hard to tell how much snow we received since it was blowing so hard, but I hear it was somewhere in the 8-12 inch range. Our backyard has drifts over two feet which isn't something we see very often in this part of the world.

Grayson was obsessed with the idea of touching the snow, but quickly changed his mind once we were outdoors in the 30+ mph winds and negative wind chill temperatures.

Here's a video of Gray glued to our back window watching the snow fall and sharing his deep thoughts about the situation:


Later in the afternoon, once the snow stopped falling, we bundled up to realize Grayson's dream of touching the snow. I'm pretty sure it took us longer to get dressed than the amount of time we actually spent outside.


Let's do this! 


He was pretty much done the minute the snow got into his rain boots (which was immediately considering how deep the drifts were)



And just like that, Gray was totally over being outside. 


And I got to deal with the wet clothes aftermath. Fun times for mom.

Pancakes & Airplanes

This past Sunday we discovered a fun new breakfast spot and are hoping to make it an after-church tradition. Ozzie's Diner is located inside the small Norman airport terminal and serves up an all-you-can-eat breakfast that's made-to-order.

The place isn't fancy, but the food is comforting and the view is practically on the airplane parking lot. We were lucky enough to get a front row seat by the window, so Grayson could watch the airplanes come and go on the runway.

Despite it being a very cold and windy day, we managed to see five airplanes take off and land during our meal. Grayson also ate his pancakes and hash browns in record time and even devoured a second plate, so I think we'll be going back.

Someone is excited to be here!

 You eyeballin' my bacon, boy?

 Checking out the planes

Daddy's pretty happy too

Looking into Ozzie's Diner from the terminal foyer

Off in the distance of this video there is a small plane taking off which seemed to impress Grayson:

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Hello Sunshine

You would never know it by the snow drifts that are currently outside our windows, but last weekend we enjoyed unseasonably warm weather.

We took advantage of the rare 77-degree January day by spending a lot of time outside. Michael took Gray down to the elementary school at the end of our street so he could ride his bike on their flat sidewalks and parking lot.

Grayson enjoyed riding for a few minutes, but then spotted the large playground around back and took off running for the slide.