freaking!

We are all heading to JC's friend Chris' wedding tomorrow. In Vermont. 7 hours away by car Vermont. When faced with the choice of spending 7 hours in the car with an ADHD baby who barely tolerates his car seat or flying and possibly risking him getting sick and seriously pissing off an entire airplane of strangers, we chose option B. US Air here we come. Apologies in advance to anyone sitting in our row/anywhere near us/on the plane in general.

I am currently taking a break from packing because it is kicking my butt. JC told me the other day that he thought we should only bring one suitcase and the diaper bag. Ha. HA! HAHAHAHAHA! I am still laughing about that one. Currently the tally is at four bags plus one
stroller and I'm not even done packing..

As a matter of fact, I am strongly considering packing another bag just for straws and plastic bottles:

Oh, and golf balls:

We leave tomorrow morning at 10 am. Look for us on the news.

seriously

An open letter to the employees and patrons of the Columbia Heights, Super Giant grocery store:


Dear John Q . Public,

Thanks for all the kind words yesterday! Truly, your compliments did not go unheeded. I love that you love my baby! I agree, he is extremely handsome. I sincerely appreciate all the nice thoughts. However, I did want to mention just one thing: STOP TOUCHING MY BABY.


Specifically:

Guy who works in the seafood section and was probably covered head to toe in fish guts:

Thank you, kind, sir, for calling out my son as we walked by your department, "HEY! LOOK! WHAT A CUTE BABY!" "Thank you so much", I demurely replied, shooting you a shy smile as we strolled past your delectable display of crab legs and salmon filets. And had our encounter ended there, it would have been a perfect memory. But no. You had to come out from behind your glass counter, dirty apron and all, and maul my son. "Wait, don't, please-" I cried. But you weren't listening. You were too busy squeezing his cheeks with your dirty, oily, FISHY hands. Gross, gross, gross. He probably has barnacles growing on him now. And to you sir, I say: STOP TOUCHING MY BABY.

Swedish nanny type in the maxi dress and platform wedges in the produce dept:

You looked cute. You looked clean. You looked sane. But appearances can be deceiving. "Your baby has the most beautiful eyes!" you told me. "Thanks!" I replied, and tried to push my cart past you. But you were having none of it. You actually grabbed my son's foot, said "Look at his fat little toes!" and then put them in your mouth. You may think I am exaggerating. I am not. Maybe this sort of thing is acceptable in Sweden. But if you had turned around, you would have seen me scrubbing Gray's feet with any number of baby wipes. I know that what I said was "Ok, got to get going now!" But what I meant was "STOP TOUCHING MY BABY".

Female security guard as we were preparing for checkout:

Why, thank you for the compliments! Yes, his eyes ARE the color of the ocean. And I'm happy you think he looks just like me! Most people think he looks more like my husband. And wow, you have five of your own! That's so crazy, I don't know how you do it! But if you too have kids, then you know how easily their immune systems can be compromised by exposure to illness. And as such I would have maybe hesitated before letting a baby suck on your finger!!!! Yes, I realize he grabbed your hand and inititated the transaction. He was DYING to put your hand in his mouth. But he puts everything in his mouth! It doesn't mean you have to let him! With five kids, you should know that! He's a baby, he doesn't know any better! And when I slapped your hand down before he could get it in his mouth and smiled apologetically, I was REALLY thinking : STOP TOUCHING MY BABY!!!

Homeless lady outside the store:

You were mumbling something. I don't know what you were saying. Or if it was even about the baby. I appreciate the fact that you did not try to touch him. If you would only stop hitting me up for spare change it would be the perfect transaction. Thank you for not touching the baby.


Now listen, I am not a total germaphobe. Just this past week I have found the baby sucking on a milkbone, an old flip flop, and the dog leash. I am a big proponent of letting the baby get a little dirty, to build up his immune system. But there is a big difference between a little dirt and a person touching my baby who may or may not have a raging case of leprosy. It's possible. And so, general public, I just have one request:

STOP TOUCHING MY BABY!!



Although, not that I can really blame you. I mean, he is seriously adorable:

labor day weekend- yay TERPS

OK, we're back. Sorry it's been so long! Here's what we did this past weekend.

Saturday was Graydon's first Hokie football game- JC was super excited. Well, until the Hokies totally choked. Then he got surly. But the baby looked good in his VA Tech gear. However, we all know that he'll look much better next weekend in red, black, and gold-- TERP colors!!! HA! Sorry, JC- hope you took a good look this weekend- from now on, the baby is going to be wearing a WINNING team's colors (Maryland 14 , Delaware 7).



Thanks for this onesie, Butter!

Sunday we went to Baltimore to visit my friend Mindi and her son, Max, who just turned one.

We had a great time wandering around Baltimore and went out to lunch, where Max sat calmly in his high chair and ate, and Graydon grabbed everything he could reach and flung it to the ground. Our table was a war zone, as silverware, ice cubes, and pickles all went flying. Whoops.

Max and Grady seemed to get along well, and by the end of the trip were high fiving like old friends.

More to follow soon. Hope you all had a great holiday weekend.

hi and dry

See this perky gang I have pictured above? No, they're not friends. I don't personally know them. They're the (canadian?) stars of a TV show on the Discovery Kids channel, called "Hi-5". Basically, they have this totally goofy TV show where they wear silly outfits, dance around and sing songs, and Graydon loooooooooves them. Actually, he loves one very specific episode, the music episode, where they sing songs the whole time. I don't let him watch TV during the day, but come 4:30 when we are waiting for daddy to come home and he is borderline falling apart, I have found that replaying this one episode (comcast's On Demand) helps stave off the meltdown. It is really amazing, how much he is processing- when he hears the opening song, his head snaps up and swivels towards the TV, and he starts to smile and giggle. I try to only use this show as a last resort, for when I am really desperate. So basically, we have been watching it every day.

This afternoon, he was getting fussy, and I was trying to keep him up a little longer, and I went into our On Demand menu to play this particular episode, and it. was. gone. I am not even kidding you, I totally freaked out. They took it out of rotation! What, what, what am I going to do??? Aaaargh! I am thinking of calling Comcast. I'm sure they'll be accommodating, right? HA!

This is the look he gave me when I told him I couldn't find the episode.

I'm in trouble.

jc's turn

Now these had me rolling on the floor:

1990:



1988:



1984:



1982:

1980:

1978:

1976-the best:

1974:

1970:

1960:

1956:

1954:

Are you kidding me. Hilarious! www.yearbookyourself.com.

yearbook yourself

We are interrupting our regularly scheduled baby talk to bring you something a little different today. JC and I spent a good three hours last night on this website called "Yearbook yourself", where you upload a pic of yourself and then they pretty much photoshop you into different yearbook looks from the fifties, sixties, and seventies. Mine turned out ok, but JC's are flipping hysterical. Here are some examples:

1998:

1996:

1994:

1992:

1986:

1978: (this one's the best)

1976:

1968:

1966:

1964:

1958:

1952:

Ha! I guess this is what you do on a Friday night when you're old and married.Tonmorrow we'll do JC :)

And lest you think we forgot about this guy, he let us know he's keeping an eye on us, as well:

what's wrong with him now part one thousand and one

The little tyrant is not happy.

I'm not sure if it was the two days spent trying to get him to take the bottle while I was at work, or if he's a little under the weather, or possibly trying to work in a new set of teeth. But for some reason, for the last two days everytime I take him to his room to nurse he starts to scream. And by scream I mean, rattle the windows HOWL. What used to be a very serene part of our day has turned into a tension-filled battle royale. He will eat without fuss in other parts of the house, albeit distractedly. So it definitely has to with his room. Aaaargh. I'm hoping it was just the disruption in schedule and he'll get back to normal soon. Because the banshee like wails are going to drop kick me over the edge. We are giving him tylenol just in case it is teething or pain related.

Between our prizefighter rounds in his room, he is actually becoming quite a pleasant baby. Today we played peekaboo for, I don't know, TWO HOURS STRAIGHT. And the reason I was able to keep it up so long is because he was literally beside himself with laughter. And I will do whatever it takes to keep that little boy chock full of giggles.

Yesterday my friend Kim and her delicious baby Casey came over for a playdate. The two babies wrestled for a bit (at one point Gray looked like he was trying to kiss her but I knew better- he was trying to eat her) and then were seemingly happier playing by themselves. With the other baby's toys, of course.

Also, Casey was more interested in talking on the phone (what a girl!):

Today I was supposed to meet up with my friend Amy and baby Bobby but we got our wires crossed and never hooked up. So I went to the grocery store instead, where I made a delightful discovery- the baby is now able to sit upright in the cart! Which means no more Baby Bjorn or car seat in the grocery cart. Thanks to Linda Fringely for the awesome cart cover which protects the baby from the usual grocery store cooties. At any rate, he had a fabulous time sitting up and observing the supermarket from this new vantage point. And I had a fabulous time not breaking my freaking back by carrying him in the Bjorn.

Additionally, at the checkout aisle, they gave him a free balloon! How fabulous! He loved it! True, he did immediately try to bite it, maybe not the best idea with his sharp new teeth. But it entertained him for a good fifteen minutes- worth it!!!



Ok, off to bed. Grady has been sleeping through the night with increasing regularity but last night he totally veered off the rails and woke up twice and refused to be pacified. Even though we were bribing him with breast milk, whiskey, money, whatever! Rough night. Need sleep. Blog again soon.