Easter-Ness

Our Easter Weekend


Helping Daddy wash the car

Thought I'd throw in a pregnant pic...my friend Melissa is about two months ahead of me in this process

The "famous" tree at Pappasitos (story below)

Just a couple weekend stories from our little boy...

As I was getting ready for dinner Friday night, I was trying to decide between a couple pairs of shoes. I'm standing in front of the mirror when Grayson walked in and says, "Oh yes, Mommy, that looks cute, you look cute!" -- It's his new catch phrase which has also been used recently for his baby sister's sonogram pictures and fabric at Hobby Lobby. When I showed him a little dress that my Grandpa already purchased for his little sister, he said "Mommy, that's beautiful. That's a princess dress." (You think he spends enough time hanging out with little girls?)

We also spent time leading up to Easter trying to focus and teach Grayson the real meaning of Easter. We read the story of Jesus' death and resurrection over and over again in his children's Bible at his request. When we dropped him off in his class at church on Sunday, before we could even get out the door, he told his teacher, "Hey, Jesus died, he got dead (very matter of factly)." (Apparantly we fixated a little too much on Jesus' death on the cross and not enough on his resurrection. Maybe that part will click next year?)

And the best for last...we were at dinner Friday night with our good friends the Shearers. After dinner, we were hanging out on the outdoor patio of Pappasitos when we look over just in time to see Grayson pull down his pants and begin peeing on the tree planted in the middle of the restraunt's patio. (Granted, we have allowed him to go on a couple trees at the park when a bathroom wasn't accessible, but apparently in his mind, all trees are fair game.) Guard your plants!

Milestones

This post dates all the way back to February, about a month before Grayson turned three. In a matter of days, Grayson took two major steps towards becoming a “Big Boy.” He moved into a big boy bed and he began potty training.

The two steps came somewhat in preparation for baby #2, but primarily because he was nearing three and ready.

His big boy bed used to be the bunk beds (without the top bunk) that his Daddy and Uncle Blake used when they were little, and he loves them. Grayson and Brad like to hide in the trundle bed underneath, pretending to be worms.

The funny thing is, even though he’s no longer in a crib, he still doesn’t climb out of his bed. He stays there and yells for us to come get him in the mornings and after nap.



The second milestone has not been quite as easy of a transition, but not nearly as bad as I anticipated it being in my mind.

I’m hesitant to use the term “potty trained” just because until he’s big enough to go in the bathroom, turn on the light, get on the potty, use it, flush, wash his hands and leave all by himself, I don’t know if he’s fully there. But, with the exception of an occasional accident and random-three day periods where he forgets all he has learned, he’s doing pretty good.

I didn’t use any “method” per se, just a mix of advice from other moms and things I read online, and we figured out what worked best for Grayson. But here is the bulk of what we did!

We threw out our diapers altogether and went straight to either bare bottom of underwear (at home of course).

We stayed home for about 3/4 days straight (minus the park) so he could get the hang of it.

We used pull ups only for nap, night time and outings (until we were sure he had it down).

We got REALLY excited every time he went and gave him something special as a reward…a piece of candy or a small prize.

We used the toilet seat adapter instead of the little potty that sits on the floor (mainly because Mommy thinks those are disgusting).

We taught him to sing the ABCs while he washes his hands to make sure he washes for long enough and to make it fun.

We use flushable wipes because for some reason we found it too hard to get him completely clean with just toilet paper (TMI?).

We are currently sticking with pull-ups for night time and nap for now until we are sure he is ready to make it the whole night through (which our pediatrician agrees is a development issue, not a training issue).

The first four or so days were definitely the toughest, but with a tiny bit of noticeable progress each day, we pushed through, and the brunt of it was over within the week. Who knew I’d ever get so excited about bodily functions (Gross, I know!) or take so much pride in my child for learning something I once considered so basic? But, even AS he was peeing on my couch (thank the Lord for leather furniture and hard wood floors) on day two, yelling “Mommy, I have to go potty!” there was pride that at least he was getting it on some level, and I was encouraged to press on.

Since the start he has gone from holding it so long that he only goes twice a day to telling me every fifteen minutes that he has to go, because he’s ready to receive another prize.

Potty training is by far one of the most exhausting things I’ve ever done in my life, and all those people who say, “Oh, you’ll be so glad when you don’t have to mess with diapers any more”….Seriously, do they know how much more work potty training is in comparison to diapers? I definitely don’t regret waiting, and I’m glad I didn’t try and push it before he/I was ready, but I will definitely be thankful for all the progress when baby two arrives.




My two favorite potty training stories so far...

When my sister and David were here before his birthday and Grayson had a little accident, my sister said, “Uh, Brad, I think your son has little M&M’s coming out of his pants.” I then walked over and asked, “Grayson, did you have an accident?” and he replied, “It’s just M&M’s Mommy!” (Thanks for that Aunt Whitney!)

And then there was one day on the potty when he wrinkled up his “little boy part” and said, “Look, Mommy, it’s a flower!” (Oh my! What do you do with that?)

Majority Wins…

Baby Smith is a GIRL!!! 

Congrats to the 63% who voted girl (including Grayson and me).  And I think most everyone who admitted what they voted or told me what they thought picked girl.  And most people said they picked girl because Grayson did, which is pretty funny.  I guess our son really does have the gift of prophesy!

It’s funny, even though that’s what I voted and even though that’s how I felt my whole first trimester, I still expected to go in and hear boy.  For whatever reason, I’ve always had in my head that I would have all one gender or the other, either a house full of girls or a house full of boys.  I just never really considered the possibility of having both (what a crazy concept!).  And while I LOVE having a boy, I know there was always a tiny part of me hoping to have a girl at some point and scared that I might be the slightest bit disappointed if we found out we were having another boy (even though I hated to admit that I might feel that way and knew I would love to have another boy).  After all, we waited and prayed and begged for this pregnancy, so how could I possibly hope for anything but a healthy/on-time child.  So, when I heard the word “girl” today, I was shocked.  And I started crying before repeating at least ten times, “We’re having a girl?!”  Before the lab tech told us what she was, she asked me if I thought we were having a girl because I kept calling the baby a “she” (which I didn’t even realize I was doing).

When we told Grayson that he was having a little sister, he didn’t seem to shocked.  I guess he thought, “Duh, that’s what I’ve been telling you people!”  When we showed him the sonogram photos, he asked where the baby’s teeth were.

Needless to say we are rejoicing over this perfect, healthy little baby girl!  Let the planning begin!

Also, thank you to all of you who left comments, sent texts, called and prayed over the progesterone issue.  The FDA stepped in on Thursday of last week and ok’d pharmacies to make a cheaper version of the injections and I received my first of 16 today! (http://health.usnews.com/health-news/managing-your-healthcare/articles/2011/03/31/health-highlights-march-31-2011)

P.S.  They are by far the most painful shots I’ve ever had in my life!

Cast Your Votes

Monday is the big day!  Will Baby Smith be another boy or a girl?  Go to the left column of our blog and cast your vote, and leave us a comment telling us what you voted and why.

So far, I only voted for Grayson, who is the only one in our family who seems pretty confident in his guess for a girl.  Brad and I both initially thought girl when we first found out I was pregnant, but Brad’s feelings quickly went away and he has no idea one way or the other now.  I was pretty confident throughout my first trimester that we were having a girl, but in just the last 4 weeks, I’ve wondered if maybe it’s another boy.  And now as it gets closer, I have no idea.

With Grayson, from the beginning, both Brad and I thought boy.  I had about one week at the end of my first trimester that I thought, maybe it’s a girl?  But by the time we walked into our appointment, before the sonogram even began, Brad and I both informed the doctor that we knew it was a boy.  Not that knowing stopped me from crying my eyes out once I knew for sure (I had always planned on a house full of girls….and yes, I might just be a horrible mother for that.)  But now, I don’t think you’ll find anyone out there who loves having a little boy more than I do.  And even though he exhausts me to no end, I’d be happy to have three more just like him!

I know it’s the PC answer to say, “We don’t care,” but since when have we ever cared about being PC?  And we certainly weren’t concerned the first time around when we unapologetically answered, “Brad wants a boy and Haley wants a girl.”  But, this time, I think it’s safe and honest to say that we truly don’t care.  We want a healthy baby and we pray that baby is born on time, and that he or she gets to come home from the hospital when we do!

Monday is also the day that I am/was scheduled to begin progesterone injections (which are proven to reduce a repeat pre-mature birth from 55% to 37%).  However, due to KV Pharmaceuticals gaining exclusive rights to these injections (now renamed Makena), the price per dosage has risen from $10 to $1500, making the price per pregnancy go from $300 to $30,000.  While there is a chance of receiving financial assistance and insurance covering part of this cost, it could still easily cost $5,000 throughout a pregnancy even after insurance.  This issue is so new (this month actually!) that even doctors aren’t sure how to direct their patients, and alternative treatment really isn’t available from what I’ve read. 

http://blogs.forbes.com/davidwhelan/2011/03/11/is-kv-pharmaceutical-a-flat-out-evil-company/?partner=yahootix

(The answer to the title of this article is yes BTW!)

After stressing and crying over the issue the last few days, and with reminders from my always calm husband, we have come to the conclusion (even though we knew it all along) that we trust in the LORD and not in science or in medicine.  So, if I am to have these shots, he will make a way.  And if not, he still has this baby in his hands!  Even as Brad and I were praying about this last night, for the first time Brad felt the baby move (I THINK I have been feeling him/her for the last 2 or 3 weeks) and it was just another reminder of the miracle growing inside me, and that God is still in control!

Party Animals

Just a few pics from Gray’s Bday week

His Mommy, Daddy, Aunt Whitney and Uncle Day took him to the rodeo on his real Bday!

And we had his party on Saturday

Yummy cookies made special by Aunt Elaine

We didn’t get a good pic of Gray hitting the piñata, but I love Jon Michael’s face in this one (he was serious)

It was also our little neighbor Nick’s Bday so we sang to him too.  When we started singing, Grayson started singing Happy Birthday to himself! Smile

And he wanted to stop after each present to play with it before he opened another one (which made opening presents quite the process)

He got a motorized car for his Bday (I’m afraid we won’t have any more present ideas after this year…I think he got it all)

Monday, when my neighbor saw me (and my pregnant belly) driving the car back by myself from the park because Grayson refused to finish the trek, she told me she wanted to video it and put it on YouTube (currently I don’t break the weight limit, but I’m sure that will change in the next month).

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

My baby turned three today!

It’s hard to believe that our early arrival who didn’t even cry when he was born is now this rambunctious little boy who never stops!

We surprised him this morning with a swing set that his wonderful Daddy spent the past three days putting together! (You can tell he’s still half asleep.)

This is the first year that he is fully aware of exactly what is means for it to be his birthday. In fact, we have been talking about it all month. He kind of loves his birthday (like his Mommy)!

My phone has rang off the hook today with people calling to wish him a special day although so far he has refused to talk to any of them. When I accused him of being grumpy, he said, “I want to stay grumpy!” I started telling him if he didn’t start talking to people they weren’t going to come to his party or give him presents and he quickly got on the phone and said, “Please still give me presents!” (Little stinker!)

And he doesn’t quite know what to say back when I tell him Happy Birthday. He keeps responding with “Happy Birthday Mommy!”

Brad and I laid in bed this morning before our little angel woke up talking about that day three years ago. We were laying in bed early that Sunday morning (after returning to San Antonio from my sister’s wedding) when I woke up with what I thought was me peeing uncontrollably. As I sat on my hands and knees leisurely cleaning up water on the floor, Brad suggested that we call the doc (good call). We brushed our teeth and in no real hurry made our way to the hospital (still sure I was not in labor). We arrived approximately 45 minutes after my water broke. About that time, I went from feeling nothing to the worst pain I’d ever felt in my life, when a nurse decided to check me to see if I was dilated. She then informed me I was 8 cm. And I then yelled at the top of my lungs, “Are you kidding me?” While Brad finished our hospital paper work (cause who registers at 7 months?), they took me straight from the examining room to the delivery room, where I received a spinal in just enough time to push. And an hour and five minutes later, our little boy made his arrival into this world. We didn’t get to hold him and he didn’t make a sound, which was utterly terrifying at the time, but just before the NICU nurses rushed him out, they gave us a peek at his full head of hair (which later fell out) and beautiful blue eyes (which later changed to a beautiful brown). It was both the most terrifying and wonderful day of our lives and we will never forget it!

Happy third birthday Grayson Parker! You bring so much joy to our lives!

14 Weeks

Grayson is going to be a Big Brother! We are scheduled to welcome his little brother or sister into the world somewhere around Sept. 6, 2011!

He amazingly seems to understand exactly what is going on. As soon as we told him that there was a baby in my tummy, he responded, “the baby is still growing!” I guess we had had enough pregnant friends at that point that he had the concept down.

In the hundred of times we’ve asked him by now if he is having a little brother or a little sister, he always answers with a confident “a little sister!” (we promise no one brainwashed him.) We were wondering if maybe he had the gift of prophesy, but he’s also told me a couple times that there are “two babies in there” (which we know is not the case), so we’re not taking his prediction too seriously. He also keeps telling us that the baby is going to be a giant (because why else would it take so long to grow?)

Tonight Brad asked him what we should name the baby and he said, “Zacchaeus!” (who he learned about at church two weeks ago and has been asking us to sing the song every night at bedtime). We thought a little girl named Zacchaeus Smith would be pretty cute!

Pregnancy…

We found out Jan. 3 that we were expecting our second little miracle (which I found out later was ironically the same day my parents found out they were pregnant with me…which my Dad remembered crazily enough). It was an answer to prayer and a wonderful way to ring in the New Year and celebrate our 5th anniversary!

So, why wait until 14 weeks to finally blog about it? Well, for starters, because of a very scary pregnancy with Grayson and his early arrival, and then experiencing a very early on miscarriage trying to get pregnant this time around, we don’t take pregnancy lightly! Aside from our own experiences, we have precious friends and people we know who have experienced late miscarriages, still births, infertility and trials that are a constant reminder that life is fragile and we are not promised tomorrow!

After Grayson was born and we were assured by our doc that we had no reason to think that whatever happened to cause his pre-mature birth would happen again, we prayed that next time around, we would get to experience a no-scare, routine pregnancy, bringing a healthy baby home from the hospital with us. As crazy as it sounds to women who spend most of their pregnancy throwing up, I actually prayed for the nausea and all the text-book symptoms that go along with pregnancy (not matter how not fun they might be). I needed that confirmation, and I got it! (another reason for the scarce blogging these days) Even with our prayers, we didn’t know if bleeding during pregnancy was just my norm (because it is for 20-25% of women) but we’ve been thankful to find out this time around that it’s not. In fact, this pregnancy has been night and day different from my pregnancy with Grayson so far and we’ve been thankful.

And it has been an even stronger reminder of what a miracle he is!!! Because had it been up to my body, he would not be here! He is a constant reminder of God’s faithfulness and sovereignty!

And this baby is already a constant reminder of God’s perfect timing & plan for our lives!