Dogone Crazy

Many of you may have wondered in the midst of all my pictures of Grant why there haven't been any of Riley and Grant together. Or you may have just not realized it until now... It's a given, you have a baby, you take lots of pictures. Pictures in cute outfits, pictures with family members, pictures of cute things you may have caught the baby doing and pictures with the family pet. Riley did not take Grant's arrival well AT ALL! In the beginning he was curious about this new creature that his Mommy held all the time, he would sniff Grant and try to lick his face, head. Of course, being new parents we were cautious of Riley being around Grant and in his face. Ron did not want Riley on the couch next to the baby or anywhere near the baby for that matter. As a result of no longer being able to get on the couch, we moved Riley's bed into the living room. Riley resorted to staying in his bed all day everyday and drifted into a deep dark depression after realizing this new creature was not going anywhere and that he no longer had his Mommy's undivided attention. Riley has been pretty much spoiled rotten for the last four years. Where I went, Riley followed. Riley was my baby. Riley was my companion. Riley had the run of the house. With Grant's arrival that all changed. The stress of the new baby slowly took their toll on my furchild. He began to pull out his hair. He no longer wanted to take walks. In fact, he no longer wanted to do anything but sleep and on top of all this he had the shakes. This of course worried me to no end. After much thought and concern, we came to the conclusion that Riley should go and live with my Mom and Dad for a little while instead of putting him on doggie prozac for the rest of his life. (How long is a little while, you might ask?) We're going to see how he progresses and recovers and consider trying to bring him home again when my parents visit for Thanksgiving. Now most of you know how much Riley loves my Mom. In fact when Riley is with my Mom to him, I don't exist. He's also crazy about their dog Tessa. So all in all I know that we've made the right decision for now, even if it's extremely hard on me. Even writing this brings me to tears. We packed up Riley's belongings on Sunday and sent him home with Ron's parents to deliver to my parents. I miss my furbaby so much and catch myself looking for him to see what he's up to throughout the day. Actually, the doorbell just rang and my first thought was, oh no, I've got to get Riley before he starts going balistic. He's not here. My mom now calls night and day to fill me in on how Riley's doing and tell me about the cute things he's gotten himself into. Wish me luck living life without my sweetbaby for now.

Riley with Tessa and my Mom at Topsail Beach

Soon after Grant's birth, Riley was desperate for attention. When I picked Grant up out of the boppy Riley was quick to jump into his place. Of course, this was when Dad wasn't looking.
Here's Riley in the thick of his post partum depression.

My poor baby couldn't handle the stress of it all. He pulled all of his hair out poor guy.

Here's a video of Riley in his prime. He loved getting on the phone with my Mom, he recognized her voice and was excited to talk to his Grandma! This video was taken in Auburn when all was well.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Well, the fall weather has finally arrived in LA. (Lower Alabama) that is and with it came Ron's parents for a quick trip to see their grandbaby! Jim and Jody flew into Pensacola, FL on Friday afternoon and Grant and I met them at the airport. Ron and I cherished every minute having Mimi and Poppy here. We enjoyed going out to dinner and visiting the local pumpkin patch with Grant for his first "pumpkin photoshoot" that all kids have to have this time of year! These weekends with family always go by way too quickly but we are so thankful that they made the long trip to see us!

Family group shot Friday night before dinner

Our little bundle of joy!

This was Grant's first experience in cold weather. We were sure to cover his ears, hands and feet. It was only about 60 degrees but it was very windy.
Happy as can be, our new family of three!

Our handsome little man.

I thank Jody for this perfect photo op, she was walking around with Grant and just happened upon this bucket with little pumpkins. Before I knew it she had Grant down on the ground and I began to snap snap snap away. This is my fave of all the photos.

"Mom, this is getting old!"

Proud Grandparents

We finally decided on two pumpkins to take home with us. What a fun day!

Fall Fun!

Last weekend Grant attended his first birthday party! Our friends Matt and Emily's little boy Brooks turned 1. We all had a fabulous time, it's hard to believe how much babies grow and change their first year of life.

Emily and Brooks, Grant and I, Kimmy and Savannah

The birthday boy, looking forward to devouring his birthday cake!
All the excitement was a little too much for baby Grant, he passed out before the party was over!

Family photo

On Sunay we helped Kimmy and Nathan celebrate Savannah's Baptism

The proud parents

Savannah wants to play with Grant so bad!

Natalie, Gina and I
Ron and I with our baby boy

Grant did so well during all the weekend's festivities. He's finally allowing Mommy and Daddy to get out and about some without having to worry if he's going to have a meltdown. We had a fun packed busy weekend, thanks to our friends for including us in your big days!

Bye Bye Baby Weight

Now that I've officially reached the six week post partum mark I've decided it's time to get motivated and EXERCISE, (yuck.) I took my first exercise class last week at the local YMCA in 11 months and it was much harder than I remembered and it was only pilates! I have 10 pounds to lose to reach my pre-pregnancy weight and I don't want to stop there. I had to buy a pair of transistional jeans last week because my maternity jeans aren't cutting it any longer and I'm not yet back into my pre-pregnancy pants. Wish me luck on my weight loss journey!

Grant meets his Aunt Bev!

Grant and I shared a fabulous week with my sister, Beverly. She flew into Mobile from Philladelphia last Sunday and met Grant for the first time. Beverly and I have had more quality time together this year than we ever have. She's finally reached a point in her career where things have calmed down a bit and she has more vacation time. We were able to spend a week together this summer in North Carolina and having her visit us this week in AL was a treat! It was love at first sight between Grant and his Auntie Bev! Beverly has a wonderful way with Grant. She was able to soothe him and make him smile in a way I'd never witnessed. It was great having the extra help around the house, not to mention her company! I was sad to see her go today and look forward to seeing her again at Christmas, Grant will be quite the character by then.

GFY at six weeks

Beverly loves her nephew! Check out Grant's receding hairline, poor thing! His hair is coming in blond on top. I wonder if he'll ever lose the hair around the sides and back?
On Wednesday, Beverly was able to accompany me to my six week post delivery doctor appointment. It was great to have her help with Grant because those visits are usually lengthy. I'm never there for less than two hours and Grant can become a little aggravated. Here's the two of them in the waiting room.

Grant with the wonderful doctor that brought him into this world, Max Rogers. Beverly is in her second year of OBGYN residency and enjoyed talking with him about their profession.

Dr. Rogers was a pilot in the Marine Corps before becoming an OBGYN. He and Ron had a lot in common and enjoyed chatting about their past experiences in the corps during our hospital stay. The patient room that we were in is actually decorated in his USMC memorbilia. The outfit Grant was wearing has airplanes on it, Dr. Max loved it!

I showed Beverly around Fairhope on Thursday and we did some serious damage shopping! Here's the best pic I could get of the two of us with me taking the picture.

The biggest smile I've seen yet! Grant loves his Auntie Bev!

Grant and I enjoying the beaufitul weather. I've never experienced temperatures in the nineties in October. Beverly especially loved southern Alabama's warm weather, she had already packed up her summer clothing before her visit and had to get it back out. The temps in Philly are averaging in the fifties each morning.

Can you believe how big Grant is already? I showed Beverly videos taken in the hospital when Grant was born last night and I can't get over how fast he is growing. He's going to be tall like his daddy!

If all the pictures weren't enough, here's a video of Beverly meeting Grant for the first time!

Five Week Shots

I tried this past week to get a decent photo of Grant for his birth announcements. After much deliberation I've decided to go with a picture that I took when he was two weeks old... so here are some of my faves from our mini photo shoot. Poor guy, he'll soon realize my camera's not going anywhere anytime soon!

It's my party and Grant will cry if he wants to!

My first birthday as a Mom was a great one! I enjoyed a fabulous lunch with my friends, Gina and Kim at California Dreamin, then shopped around for awhile. Later, Ron and I had plans to go to dinner and take little bit with us. It didn't work out so well. Grant had a different plan. Right after we ordered he became fussy and started crying. He was inconsolable and we ended up getting our dinner to go and leaving early. How life changes!

Grant had his one month check up on Wednesday. He weighed in at 9 pounds and 9 ounces and is 22.5 inches long. The doctor says he looks great and he received his second hepatitis shot. The doctor informed me of his second month milestones to be on the lookout for and Grant even flashed the doc his smile. He's a happy and active baby, I'm loving every minute!