Warning: the pictures are frightening!

The picture above was taken at 36 weeks...

This was taken today-6 weeks, 5 days after delivery...

Needless to say, I'm feeling a ton better! I officially started running again on Monday. I started with the fifth week of couch to 5k so that I don't completely kill myself. I've missed running and so has Hayes. We are both determined to lose our baby weight!

Mommy's Little Helper...

Grady at 6 weeks

Updates:

Grady is now smiling and giggling. Giggles are still usually when he's sleeping, but we can occasionally get him to smile at us making funny faces or noises at him, or shaking toys that make fun noises. I'm sure this will become more frequent over the next few weeks.

He's growing like a weed, nearing 10 lbs and 23 inches long.

He's been sleeping very well at night, usually about 6 hours from 9:30p.m. to 3:30 a.m., eat then back to sleep till about 7:30, eat then, back down immediately till about 10:30 a.m. I'm pretty pumped about this trend toward sleeping through the night. Of course last night he ate ever 3 hours...may be going into a growth spurt.

He's following our hands and other toys from one side to the other.

We completely adore him in every way! There's not one aspect that I don't like about being his momma. This has been the biggest 6 week lesson in servanthood that I could ever have imagined. Jon and I are here to meet his ever need. I love to see his needs met and him totally satisfied. It is by far the most exhausting and demanding, but also the most rewarding and joy-filled experience of my life. I just need a couple of little Grady smiles a day to keep me going. That's all the reward I need!

Enjoy the cute little pic! I'm off to cuddle with my son.

Erin

6 weeks down...

I had my 6 week checkup today and I'm officially released to exercise. On this weekend's to-do list: buy new running shoes along with other running necessities! I'm soooo excited to start literally running my rear end off.

Yawns...

Baby Yawns....

and....

Puppy Yawns...

Grady turns 1 month!!

Grady turned 1 month old on Monday. He's getting sooooo big!

I went to a baby store today in Lexington that had baby scales. So I weighed our little man. He's weighing in at a whopping 9 lbs. 5.8 oz. with clothes and diaper. That's up 1 lb. 2.5 oz from his doctor's visit 3 weeks ago. He's gaining over .75 oz per day. I love knowing that he's growing and maturing the way he should be.

Here are some recent pics.

Grady at 4 weeks!

Jon Pulls a Butt

Jon decided that he wanted to learn to smoke meat. With advice from some of the best bbq cooks in this part of the country he started with a Boston Butt.

It. Was. Awesome. Perfectly seasoned. Perfectly done. Bravo B!

My next request is a ham. Growing up, my Papaw always smoked a ham for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I could have made a meal on that ham for weeks on end without getting tired of eating the same thing. It was definitely my favorite food at holidays.

I'm super proud of Jon for trying this...and having a great success! I feel like this is a win-win situation. Jon's experimenting with something new, which he loves to do (win for Jon). And I get to eat some really good food as a result (win for me).

We've documented this experience with the pictures below.

Just getting started...around 11pm

The victim...

Almost done...notice the sun is up now...

Finally done... 7 a.m.

Jon pulling the meat.

Wish you were here to share a meal with us!

Tummy Time

Getting started with tummy time...

Trying to eat his hand instead of doing tummy time...

Nearing the end of tummy time...getting annoyed...

Fieldtrip to Lowe's

Daddy is so proud! We took Grady to Lowe's for the first time tonight. Jon is looking forward to the days when he can teach Grady everything he knows about tools, grills, and basically everything manly. Of course Grady didn't learn much on this trip since he slept the entire time. His carseat is like his little hibernation cave.

Over the River and Through the Woods...

...to Noni and Pops' house we go.

We took our first road trip with Grady yesterday. We headed to Owensboro to see Jon's parents and his "Nannie." Nannie hadn't met Grady yet so that was super fun. Grady enjoyed his time at Nannie's house, hearing all her good stories. There's nothing like story time and Nannie's... Nannie is the first great-grandparent that Grady has been able to meet so far.

Nannie and Grady 4/6/10

We spent the rest of the day at Noni and Pops' house. Shannon's friend Dana came by to meet Grady, we ate dinner, hung out on their back patio. It's perfect weather right now in Kentucky. Getting to almost 80 every day. We've been able to get outside and enjoy the weather. This has been really good for me! We had a wonderful day with everyone in Owensboro. Next visit hopefully Uncle Robin and Aunt Becky will be able to meet the little dude. We are blessed with fabulous family on both sides. I can't wait to be able to show him off to every one of them!

Noni, Pops and Grady - 4/6/10

Grady's First Easter...

Grady's first Easter was a success! The Easter Bunny just brought him a card and some milk...no big Easter baskets. We went to church and he looked adorable. Lauren sent him some super cute outfits and I attempted to put him in one of them for Easter morning. I had him all dressed and looking dashing, took a few pics and then he decided to have a blow out before we left the house. I changed his diaper only to find that it was very difficult to get him back into the outfit. I decided that if I was going to have to change his diaper at church it needed to be a bit simpler. So alas, he did get his picture made in it, but wore something completely different.

Here he is...

Sunday afternoon Jeff and Julie invited us out to their house for dinner. We spent the whole time on their new back porch. It was a beautiful day and I wouldn't have spent it any other way. Grady pretty much ate and slept the entire time. Jeff "Papa G" held him for at least two hours just like this...Grady was on the king size bed.

A Walk in the Park

Since I've been cleared to start walking, Grady and I decided to go for a walk in the park today. He loved it (slept the entire time)! We've had beautiful weather this week and have been outside enjoying it as much as possible. We actually stayed out for over an hour today.

The great people I work with gave me a baby shower in February. Among many wonderful gifts, one group of people went together and bought me one of my favorite baby toys...Grady's BOB jogging stroller. We've used it twice now on our walks and it has shown itself worthy of all the hype. I love it!!! I can't wait until I'm cleared to run so I can really try it out.

Here's a picture of Grady in the BOB.

Never Wake a Sleeping Baby...

...unless you're nursing him and he's been asleep for 5 hours!!!!!!

Yep, that's right! Grady slept from 12:50 a.m. to 6 a.m.! And yes, I did get up and go check on him at 5:30 to make sure he was breathing. Last night we decided to let him sleep in his nursery instead of in our room. We weren't getting sleep because of all his little noises. He's been taking most of his naps in his big boy crib so we decided to experiment overnight. And it went fabulously! I know it's early, but I think we're all going to be better for him being in his own room.

Here are a few things we've learned about our little guy:

1. He has two distinct cries: the first one is more of a whimper and is just a little pitiful, like he just wants to be cuddled, and the other sounds like a shrieking pterodactyl, and means he's either dirty, hungry or both.

2. He is completely unaffected by Hayes' barks, without so much as a flinch. I however am completely annoyed by his constant barking at neighbors and birds.

3. His most awake time during the 24 hours is still from about 12 to 1 in the morning.

4. He doesn't mind being in his car seat as long as he is in motion (either me carrying him or the car or stroller moving)

5. We've decided that he looks a little like each of us, but looks perfectly like Grady Daniel Bailes, meaning we've pretty much given up on trying to figure out which of us he looks more like.

6. He has the cutest little grin in the entire world. It's big and open-mouthed and reminds me so much of Jon every time.

7. When he sleeps, he sometimes has little dreams and grins and laughs during them. Also, the most adorable thing ever.

8. When it's time to eat, he's ready to eat! He sometimes gets so excited that his arms and legs fly around, like he's doing side crunches and then he starts snorting. This cracks me up every single time. He's a little spastic, but we love him through it!

9. He loves his swing, bouncie seat, music, and his mobile.

10. He most definitely recognizes Daddy and Momma's voices, and turns his head to look for us when he hears us talking to him.

We're enjoying getting to know him more and more everyday, as his little personality continues to develop. Finally, here are some recent pictures...