I think his hat is too big...

Can you see his pacifier sticking out just a little bit from under his hat?  He was sitting there so calmly, even with his hat completely covering his face!  :)

I guess he doesn't have as big of a head as we thought he did!  HA!

Wordless Wednesday

I am so in love with this little boy!



Here's the latest update, stolen from my brother:
I haven't posted any updates about Jarrett for awhile, so I guess it's way past time to update you on what has been going on with the little guy.


Jarrett's first week at home was largely uneventful, except for a nagging, somewhat frightening breathing problem that kept cropping up. After two doctors appointments early in the week after he came home, we thought he was getting better over the weekend.
Then, last Monday, he got a fever, and his breathing was quite labored. Because the doctor's office was closed, on advice of the on-call nurse, we took him to the Emergency Room at Le Bonheur. As it turned out, that was a good decision.

Jarrett has been diagnosed with bronchiolitis, which was causing the labored breathing. Unfortunately, that's a virus, which means antibiotics don't work. All the doctors can do is keep him comfortable and let his body work the virus out. Jarrett had to be admitted to the hospital, and as I type this, he's been in for a week. His days consist of sleeping and getting gunk sucked out of his nose and throat.
Tour his hospital room: http://www.twitvid.com/MGA78
This stay hasn't been easy for Jarrett. Through last week, things got progressively worse. They had to take him off bottle feedings because eating was wearing him out, and they started feeding him through a tube that went through his nose. That was still too much, so now he is on an IV. Unfortunately, our biggest battle at the end of his stay in the NICU was teaching him how to eat...now we're being told that, once he gets better, we'll likely have to start that all over again.
This stay also hasn't been easy for Becky or I. Without getting all "woe is me," it was quite a letdown to return to this hospital life after spending a short 10 days with Jarrett at home. From a practical standpoint, it's extremely draining to spend all day at work, and all night, overnight, at the hospital. But we don't want him to be alone at night. Becky and I, with the help of our wonderful family and friends, are doing the best we can juggling our lives and maintaining a presence at the hospital. Luckily, usually when I am filled with despair, she is there to build me up, and likewise I can build her up when she is feeling down. It's tough, but we'll make it.
Also, I'm really worried about him developmentally. He's going to have enough challenges without starting out behind because he was cooped up in a hospital bed for the first two months of his life.
I've rambled on enough for one night. Updates likely won't come daily, but I'll be posting more often to talk about what is happening with our dear boy. And hopefully, someday, my posts will be about happier things than sick children!

Eating veggies is fun!

....at least Grayson seems to think so!

Merry Christmas weekend!

We have had a super fun week/weekend!

Grayson returned to Mother's Day Out after being out for almost a week (thanks to the snow days).  It was obvious that he was glad to be back into his routine, and he had a great day at school!

Saturday was a super busy but also very fun day.  Grayson went to his first birthday party (well, not his first birthday party, but the first birthday party he ever attended).  :)  Our friend, Addison, turned 2 years old, and celebrated with all her friends at River City Gymnastics (a really cool gym here in Memphis).  Grayson had a GREAT time, and was absolutely exhausted by the time he got home!

While Grayson and Daddy were at Addison's party, Ally Bug and I were in Mississippi attending the birthday party of our dear friend, Mallie.  She turned 8 years old, and celebrated with all her friends at the Desoto Athletic Club!  It was a super fun time filled with swimming and ice cream...we were definitely exhausted by the time we got home!! :)

We woke up Sunday morning, excited to have all the family come over so we could celebrate Christmas with the Planks.  We wanted to wait until Jarrett was home from the hospital to have all of our family together, and Sunday was the day!  Ally had spent the night with us Saturday night, and she was a HUGE help getting things set up for everyone on Sunday.  We had soooooo much fun!  Grayson was completely spoiled by the family, and I know that he loved all the attention he got that day.  I absolutely loved being able to spend time with Jarrett.  Oh, and my favorite gift was definitely the Channel 5 Snuggie that Jason and Becky gave us.  :)

We didn't take any pictures during all the excitement (there was just too much going on!!), but we were able to grab a few shots of the three grandkids:

It was a great day!

One of the presents Grayson was most excited about getting was his bouncy seat.  David and I just knew that he would love it, and we were definitely not wrong!  :)  It took him a couple days to figure out what to do, but once he did, there was no stopping him!  Thanks, Grandma and PapPap!!!!
(Sorry for the blurry pictures...he was just going too fast!)

I will leave you with a request for some prayers: Jarrett is back in the hospital this week, and he (and his mommy and daddy) could definitely use some prayers.  He was unfortunate enough to catch a very unpleasant virus, and has come down with bronchilitis.  Jason and Becky took him to LeBonheur on Monday night because he was running a fever and was laboring to breath.  Thankfully, he has tested negative for RSV, but the doctors want to keep him for a few days to monitor him.  The poor little guy just has some bad luck right now, and I know that any good thoughts you could send up to the Big Man upstairs would be greatly appreciated!!

As always, thank you for checking in on us.  We love you!

Happy 5 months, Grayson!

I cannot believe that our little boy is already 5 months old.  Time is flying by too fast for my liking!  I can see him learning something new and changing with each day--some days I just want it to slow down so he can be my baby for a while longer!

Here's some info about our big boy:

• He weighs 20lbs, and is 27 inches long.  He wears 6-9 month clothes, and size 3 diapers.

• He eats 6oz bottles 5 times a day, and oatmeal 1-2 times a day.  He loves eating his oatmeal!  AND, we started feeding him baby food last night.   David hates eating vegetables, so we are starting Grayson with vegetables in hopes of him not hating them like his daddy.  First up: carrots. 

He wasn't sure what to think of them at first, but I think he liked them ok.    

• He sleeps about 12-13 hours each night.  He usually goes to bed around 7:30pm (sometimes earlier), and wakes up arond 7:30am. It's so fun to watch him on the monitor because he literally turns around in his sleep! I woke up one night this week to find him completely sideways in his crib!

• He started Parent's Day Out last week, and LOVES it.  He goes on Mondays and Fridays. He always has the biggest smile on his face when we walk into his classroom, and his teachers have already bragged about what I good boy he is!  He also went to the church nursery for the first time last week.  He bounced in the bouncy for the whole hour he was there!  The teachers said he just smiled and laughed the whole time.  :)

• He has a tooth, and another one is on the way!  As a result, he drools ALL THE TIME.  In fact, his new nickname is Drooley McDroolerson.

• He rolls over like crazy.  He won't stay on his belly for longer than 2 seconds because he thinks its so much fun to roll over!  He always has a huge smile on his face when he ends up on his back. He has almost mastered rolling from his back to stomach. He gets up on his side and then stops. I'm sure he will get it soon, though!

• He can sit up on his own! He really concentrates to balance himself, and his face is just adorable. It's obvious that he loves being more independent. 

• He would spend hours in his exersaucer and toy chair, just playing and playing, if we let him.  He plays and watches everything that goes on around him.  He loves to flip the parrot on his exersaucer, watch what the doggies are doing, and laugh at Daddy. :) 

• He also likes to have us read him books. He looks at all the pictures and touches every page.

• He loves to talk to Mommy and Daddy.  In fact, he has already started saying his first word!  He will look at us out of the blue and say, "Hey!" (But it's long and drawn out...more like "heeeeeeeeeeey!")  It's super cute.  He always says it with a big smile.  And, he will even say it when he is trying to get our attention.

• He also loves to talk to Bailey.  :)

• He still loves riding in Daddy's truck.  He can see out the window much better in Daddy's truck than Mommy's car, and he will just stare out the window at everything passing by.

• He has been fighting to take his naps most days, but he is getting back into his routine a little.  I think he is just so excited about everything that is going on around him that he doesn't want to miss out on anything!

• We think he will be on the move sooner than later.  He just wants to go, go, go all the time!  He can scoot on his belly a little bit, but he mostly loves to stand up.  He is so strong!

David and I are loving every minute of being parents, and Grayson is such an easy baby...which definitely makes things a lot easier.

Our little snowbaby

Grayson loved his first snow!
He watched Daddy having a snowball fight with the neighborhood kids this morning, and then he went outside to enjoy it himself his afternoon:

Can you see my tooth??

It was a fun day!  I have a feeling that Daddy and Grayson will be having their own snowball fight very soon!

Jarrett is home!!!

So, this post is a little delayed, but, I am so so so so happy to announce that

Jarrett is home!!!!!


Jarrett was released from the hospital on Friday afternoon, and has been enjoying his time with his Mommy, Daddy, and Big Sister.

David and I were able to go visit and love on him--which we have been waiting to do for soooo long!
(We were silly, though, and forgot to take any pictures....we were just so excited to see Jarrett!)

Here are some pictures I stole from Jason and Becky:

Thank you for all your prayers during the time that Jarrett was in LeBonheur.  Please keep praying for him and his family.

As always, we love you!