Appreciation

We had a stressful evening in our house last night.  B didn't get home from work until after 7pm, so Bullet was flipping-out-happy to see him after a full day.  Grey didn't get his medicine like normal so he was flipping-out-angry and needed held all afternoon.  I was exhausted from my second day back to work/holding Greyson/trying to keep our house together.  After B gave Bullet some attention, smacked a kiss on me and gave Grey a couple hugs- he was up working until 1am on paperwork.  I had cereal for dinner and B had some cheese and crackers.  Overall, nothing like what you dream marriage and new baby bliss will be like.

So this morning around 6:30am, after a long night of waking up every 2 hours to feed the baby while he is in a growth spurt- Greyson woke up screaming bloody murder for no reason.  I was literally like a zombie and on the brink of tears from exhaustion and frustration.  I looked at B and asked if he would please take him.  Brandon got up and changed his diap and took Grey out to the living room and apparently calmed him down.  I wouldn't know because it took about 30 seconds for me to pass out in bed.  I woke up an hour later, feeling infinitely better from the uninterrupted sleep, and found Brandon and Greyson spooning asleep on the couch in the living room.  I walked over to them, took Brandon's hand, and said a tiny thank you prayer that I am not in this alone.

You fantasize and dream about what life will be like after you're married.  Its all picnics and dates and slow dancing in the kitchen and spooning in your mind...and you think how amazing it will be to be a Mrs. to his Mr.  I can count the number of times we've been on a picnic in 2 years (1) and guess the number of times we both fell asleep on the couch watching TV instead of spooning in bed (about a million).  So, as you can guess, it isn't what you thought it would be.  But it is times like this morning- really knowing that I have someone that I can depend on in the hardest and most frustrating moments -that make me appreciate our marriage.  We love each other everyday...sometimes because we're slow dancing in the kitchen, sometimes because we laugh at the same jokes, and sometimes because we're just going through the motions of life...but this morning I was really thankful and appreciated  him.  Surprise, surprise; marriage is all its cracked up to be.
thank you & i love you, b.

Bully & Baby G

Even though we are holding our breath until Bullet makes it to the 2yr old mark (everyone keeps telling us that he'll settle by then), I am continually happy that Greyson has a buddy to grow up with in Bullet.  Greyson is about 9 months younger than Bullet, so they're both still puppies (hehhe)...but they are already great friends.

And here are the ways I can prove it:
a) Bullet predicted when Grey was going to be born ( see previous post! )
b) Greyson doesn't cry when Bullet barks
c) Anytime Bullet comes back into a room, he'll find Grey and give him a lick to make sure he's alright
d) If Bullet barks at something outside (neighbors, the garbage man, a bunny, etc); he'll run over to Greyson and I to make sure we are protected and safe
e) Even though Bullet's absolute favorite chewing items are binkies; he does not take a bink from Greyson...he only ever gets them when the binkie is sitting out.  Even if the bink has fallen out of Grey's mouth while he's in the swing and its sitting right there in front of Bullet's face; he will not take it off of Grey.
f) If Grey is crying and won't let up; we can sit him so he leans up against Bullet and he'll calm down

Even though Bullet drives us totally bonkers; I feel lucky we have a dog that loves our son as much as we do. Pets are the best:)

America's Next Best Dance Baby

Greyson loves loves loves music and dancing.  I love putting on different kinds of music, different rhythms and sounds/instruments and seeing his reactions to them.  We dance together all over the kitchen/living room, but he's been doing his own dancing as of late and it was too cute to not capture.  (Spoiler Alert!)  It's the entire song and he doesn't do any dancing that isn't 6 week age appropriate...so non-relatives might find this a little boring:)  hehhe



If you're interested in making a "Greyson Dances To This" playlist, include these songs; they're his current favorites:
Soul Sister - Train
Say Hey (I love you) - All Rebel Rockers
Single Ladies - Beyonce
Body Language - Jesse McCartney
A lot of Leavin' Left to Do - Dierks Bentley
Caraluna - Bacilos
Taylor - Jack Johnson
I Got a Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash
Chicken Fried - Zack Brown Band
Three Little Birds- Bob Marley
As I Lay Me Down- Sophie B Hawkins

Greyson Loving: Up close & far away

We have a difficult situation; living so far from most of our family and friends.  It has been made even more unfavorable with the addition to our family since everyone wants to have some Greyson loving-time.  So, when we are lucky enough- we have on-site visits, like we had this past weekend with Grammy & Pappy Studer.  They made the trip for just Saturday and Sunday to give Grey some kisses and hugs. 

Not only is it nice for Greyson to get some love, but the extra hands around the house are so appreciated from Brandon and I.  Extra hands means extra attention for Bullet (which makes him more calm) and extra help which helps are house stay cleaner and our yard more neat.  Brandon was finally able to burn down that pile of branches in the back yard with help from Rudy.  And our stove got a serious A-icking from Mare...thank goodness.

When we can't get face-time love, we use Skype for bonding with Grey.  We try to skype with our family at least once a week, if not more.  It is nice to hear the grandparents baby talk to him through cyber space...although he can't answer, he is listening because his little eyes get bigger and he goes still when he hears their voices. 

We've even been lucky enough to Skype with Aunt Uch- who has been in Scotland since Grey has been born.  Even though she hasn't met him in person yet, he'll already know her voice when they do finally meet at the end of the month.  We even got to join Tasha in her birthday celebration using Skype!  We had a cyber shot across the ocean for her 21st birthday (Grey couldn't join in on the fun, duh).

We are a big believer in socially promoting things we've found helpful...so- Skype is free; all you need is a webcam (and the internet, duh).  It has been an essential tool to help us stay connected with family since Greyson's birth.  If you join- friend us!  You can cyber meet Grey too!

Greyson and Sophia..up in a tree

We were so lucky to have Katie and Sophia come all the way from Altoona to make a visit with us earlier this month.  It was such a relief to talk to a grown up that wasn't my husband for a whole day and a half. (no offense, babe).  We spent the time laughing, holding babies, and cleaning up spit up...nothing too exciting but exactly what I needed after full on immersion in mommyland for the first time.  No one understands all the bizarre questions and feelings like a best friend who has just gone through the same thing.  It was exciting to see Sophia doing so many cool baby things (like playing with toys & sitting up!) - kind of like a little preview of what is to come for Grey!

Grey and Sophia got along famously, and by famously I mean Grey didn't even know another baby was at our house and Sophia stared in a confused way when Grey started crying....I'm guessing thats the sure signs of soul mates...no?  In any case, when put near each other, Sophia and Grey are like magnets...as you can clearly see in the following picture- Sophia just wanted to reach out and kiss him...hehhe.  

Bullet was totally overwhelmed by another baby in the house, and by overwhelmed I mean he wanted to lick Sophia's clothes off and ran all over the house like a total loon.  He is certainly looking forward to Grey getting bigger since he almost lost his mind over Sophia's baby food....and then most definitely jumped up on the counter and ATE her bottle nipple and a bag of formula?!!  

Dear Kate,

Thank you for driving almost 4 hours to visit us!!  Our babies will no doubt be friends for life and, if I have anything to do with it; at least attend one prom together (aaaahhh! the pictures!).  I apologize for my dog's consumption of your things; he is quite obviously lacking manners and any kind of decency.  I hope you still enjoyed your visit despite having to witness Bullet's town of madness.  Please know that it meant the world to me<3

love & akt,

tab

  

Happy, toothless kisses

Watch how he gives a big toothless grin after I kiss him.  I think he likes the kissy sound echoing in his mouth- hah!  That big smile could make my heart explode.  I apologize in advance for how boring this must be for some, but as his mother- this is just about as sweet as it gets.



Disclaimer:  I can not be judged for that rat's nest I am pretending is hair in this video.  Please ignore due to the fact that I run on about 4 hours of sleep, limited shower time, and have an unfair amount of run-ins with spitup.

The egg roll challenge

Sometimes all you can do is laugh, because otherwise you'd be screaming...this is our life almost daily when it comes to Bullet.  He's out of his mind...I'm not exaggerating- ask anyone who has been to our house and they will confirm that there is something wrong with our dog's brain.  So, just as an example of the madness that we deal with on a regular basis, here is last night's debacle.

First of all, it rained all day yesterday, which means Bullet doesn't really go outside for any length of time except for bathroom breaks.  So his pent-up energy was at the highest level possible when B got home from work.

When Brandon walks in the door from work last night around 6:30pm, Bullet loses his mind totally.  He jumps all over B and then puts his paws up on the counter and starts pulling anything he can reach to the ground (bills, pens, a baby toy, dusting rag).  So Brandon spends about 5 minutes mauling him right back.  Literally mauling; Brandon starts falling all over Bullet and hugging him and precedes to crack his own back in about 8 different places.  At this point we're laughing pretty good because Brandon is in a suit and tie rolling on the floor (with a freshly cracked back) while Bullet is practically licking his ear off, all the while talking in a hilarious voice, "Oh Bullet, you're insane, but we love you, even though you act like a maniac," and so on. 

For dinner, we put Bully in the crate and eat in peace without anyone begging.  Afterwards, Bullet prances out to his bowl where he'll find a little bit of our dinner in his bowl (left-over chinese today!).  All seems calm after he eats and I go to the basement to switch the laundry.  As expected, Bullet follows me down to torment the cats.  He plays back and forth with Lola for a few rounds (this consists of getting his head as close as possible to the cat door and then flying backwards when Lola tries to scratch his face.  To imagine it more accurately, include dog panting and cat hissing noises).  As I'm in the laundry room (aka cat room) switching the clothes- I can hear Bullet running back up the steps where Brandon and Greyson are contentedly sitting watching tv.  Then Brandon calls, "Tab!"  followed by, "Bullet, drop it" 

"Bullet, Drop it" also happens to be the mostly commonly used phrase in our house.  In today alone I have already used it four times and it is only 11:30am.  He's already had the following in his mouth:  a Destin squeeze bottle, a burp cloth, Brandon's hunting socks, and a book.  Sometimes he drops it after the first request...he only wanted our attention anyway.  Sometimes it needs traded out of his mouth...like a piece of table food for the item.  This is a fair trade for something more valuable like one of my necklaces or the baby's binkie.  Other times, where harm is possible, like aluminum foil or little bottles of couch cleaner, we have to chase him down -which includes tackling- and pry open the jaws of death and  dig it out of the back of his throat.  This is of course after we jokingly announce, "Go ahead and eat it-  I could use a break from your crap."

Laundry falls out of my hands and I go up the steps two at a time for fear that it is something valuable or dangerous that needs bribed from Bullet's mouth.  But alas, it is only the egg roll that Brandon asked me to save for him from my dinner.  B is seated on the couch with Grey in the same position that I left him in.  Bullet is perched on the foot stool with the egg roll, wrapped in plastic dangling from his slobbering mouth.  Brandon asks, "Is it closed entirely?  Cause I'll still eat it if there isn't slobber on it."  My response to this, "Why haven't  you moved from that spot?  I just almost broke my ankle jumping up the steps to help you and you're still sitting there."  Brandon gives me a 'come on babe, I just got home from work and I'm spending time with the baby which I know you think is adorable just get the damn egg roll out of his mouth for me please' look and I reluctantly attempt to do just that.

"Drop it" is obviously not working- so I move to the next step which is bribery.  But, Bullet already has human food in his mouth, so a trade with a dog treat doesn't work either.  Plus, with all of his pent-up energy from the day- he really is only out to play.  He leaps from the foot stool and runs along the other couch.  I try to pin him with my leg, but his slippery-like-an-otter coat allows him to slide right through while I'm left standing in a half lunge.  I chase him around the kitchen island twice; all the while Brandon is giggling and baby-talking to Greyson "Look at your crazy dog and mummy".  If you've ever chased a dog, you'll know what an idiot you look and feel like because its pretty much just running full speed while slightly leaned forward which makes you unbalanced so your just lurching all over the place.  And since you're only missing him by about an inch everytime there's enough hope and frustration to keep trying.  So there I am flying around the kitchen/living room like a madwoman half laughing-half screaming for Bullet to drop the egg roll that is miraclously still wrapped in plastic.

Bullet makes an escape down the basement steps and I look at B with a 'if you want me to keep trying I will because this is how much I love you, but seriously?' look and he lets out a laugh.  "It's alright babe, nice moves though."  At the bottom of the steps, where I am now headed back to finish changing the laundry, I catch a glimpse of Bullet happily eating the egg roll which has now been dislodged from the plastic.  He probably didn't even know it was food until it was finally exposed.  Once I get back upstairs, I shrug my shoulders and look at B, "sorry, he ate it."  The only thing left to do is give an exhausted laugh and shake our heads.  Another one bites the dust.

We figure that we either spend our days angry and frustrated for having such a crazy dog or we laugh at how hilarious our life is now that we have a dog with this much energy...it sure makes for a lot of opportunites to be a team and work together.  Team Brandon&Tab vs. Team Super Fast & Slippery Bullet   In any case, Bullet is helping us teach Greyson a very important lesson; You win some, you lose some.  Granted, generally Bullet wins, but its still a lesson learned :)

He does have his redeeming moments...like when he sleeps.  hah.

Guess who...

Can you tell the difference?
Two of them are my husband when he was a baby.
Two of them are my son.
...cheating by picture quality & clothing styles don't count:)

A.

B.

C.

D.

Happy Mother's Day!

I've acquired a new holiday!  Mother's day was fantastic.  I woke up to a Mother's day card from Bullet, Lulu, and Jinx (thanks for feeding them) and one from B (thanks for the beautiful son).  Then before we left for church, I got a card from Grey and his gift to me...diamond earrings!  Brandon swears that I planned Grey's birthday on purpose because of the fabulous birthstone...but I didn't- promise:)  After church, we went out to brunch and Grey was a perfect angel.  Dinner was homemade pizza from B and Blue Moon beer (my favorite meal!) It was a fantastic day and lots of pampering.  I have a great husband who makes pretend cards from our family members that can't write yet...or don't have thumbs:)

Mother's day is a big deal the first time around because I have a new appreciation for my own mother...and all the other mothers in my life.  You never know how hard, exhausting, worrisome, exciting, and filled with hope and love motherhood is until you do it.  Thank you Mom, Marianne, Lisa's Gram, Megan's Gram, and Grammer...and all the other mothers that have influenced my life.  After 26 years of watching great mothering, and 1 month of trying to be a great mother; I have realized that being a good mother comes down to one thing.

A good mother is someone who loves.
Guess I'm a great mother, because I really love him.

Happy mother's day to everyone's mother.

Visiting Love for baby Grey

Greyson was very lucky to have another busy weekend of love and visitors.   My parents (Abba and Poppa) came to visit this past weekend and got in as much Grey baby-loving as they could.  Bullet even made out on the visitors- my dad took him for a walk every morning.  And I had such major cleaning help from my mom (thank you!) It was so nice having them here all weekend :)

And as expected, Grey got a whole lot of cuddling in with his Poppa Chum and Abba while they were here.

Brandon and I even got to go out on our first post-baby date!  We went to dinner at Hibachi; a Japanese place nearby.  I put on make up for about the first time in 10 months and Brandon was pleased with the results.  I'm fairly certain he forgot what his former wife looked like...it was nice to get out just the two of us.

On Sunday, we had a very happy visit from Grey's great Grammar Studer and Aunt Pam.  They only stayed the afternoon, but we were so happy that Greyson finally got to meet his great Grammar.  Grey is her first grandson since Brandon!

 When Grammar got here, B went for a hug and she went straight for Greyson- it was priceless...Brandon "Kingboy" certainly lost the throne to his son.  He says its okay though since "Grey is pretty awesome."  hahha.

Music to my ears

He's so talented at only 1 month old! hhehhe.

thank you truck driver...

It has been a lonnnnnng 10 months.  Let's just be honest- by the time Greyson arrived, I was huge, like HUGE huge...okay, there it's said.  Brandon just said this weekend, "Okay, babe, seriously that was a little ridiculous."  And I was like, "a LITTLE ridiculous?  that was out of control"  Granted most of it was water rentention and I lost 30 lbs in the first week since Grey's birthday (!!!) but still, that was a whole lot of Tab going on.  And I have not been feeling great about myself for awhile...I know, I know...it doesnt' count when you're pregnant- but please I'm a woman...it counts all the time.

So I just wanted to send a thank you out into the cyber world to the truck driver that honked at me today.  I have not been honked at in (what feels like) a very long time...so thank you sir for giving a postpartum woman a self esteem boost today :)