Wow!  One of these days, I hope to blog more frequently, and not have to always have weekly "catch ups."  Unfortunately, this week isn't one of those weeks.  :)

• David and I have had soooooooooooo much fun hanging out with Jarrett at LeBonheur this week.  Obviously, we wish that he wasn't there again, but we have loved being able to go see him every day.  Jarrett has been especially happy to see Uncle David every day.  In fact, one day this week when David walked in, Jarrett got so excited that he ended up setting off all of his monitoring alarms!!  He has been smiling and talking to me whenever he sees me, and I love love love it. :)

It was a scary couple of days last weekend.  Jarrett had an "episode" where he had a lot of trouble breathing.  My brother said the he was not just laboring to breathe; he was struggling.  So, in the middle of the night on Saturday, he was moved to PICU.  Thankfully, he only spent about 36 hours there, and he was back on the 8th floor by Monday afternoon.  He is currently on oxygen, eating through a tube, and getting poked, prodded, and tested throughout the day, but he is such a trooper.  I mean, seriously, he is an amazing little boy.  He has made some wonderful progress this week, and the doctors have started to turn down the amount of oxygen that he receives.  We continue to pray every day that he gets stronger and stronger, and, hopefully, he will be able to go home very soon!  

• Remember a few posts ago when I told you that Ally and David had some excitement on the way to school last week?  Well, it turns out that they had an accident on the way to school!  Talk about a crazy morning!  As you know, Ally stayed with us last Wednesday and Thursday nights.  David was off during the week, so he took Ally to school each morning, while I took Grayson to daycare and headed to work.  On Friday morning, as I was packing my lunch, I called David to ask him a quick question.  (Thank goodness he has Bluetooth!!!)  Anyway, he and I were talking, and all the sudden I heard this loud bang.  David yelled, "Oh, s*#@! We just got hit!"  Oh, my goodness, I was terrified.  David and Ally were stopped at a stoplight when a guy in a Ford F-350 came up over the hill and couldn't stop in time.  He slammed into the back of them!  THANKFULLY, David drives a big truck, so it turned out that it was just a fender-bender, and no one was hurt...not even a scratch!    

It would have been much worse if we had been in the Rogue!  Anyway, I grabbed Grayson, and headed to where David and Ally were.  I took Ally to school, dropped Grayson off at daycare, ran home to check on David, and then headed to Jackson to see my client.  All in all, it was a VERY busy and crazy day.  BUT, like I said, no one was hurt, and we are sooooooo glad for that!  

• The weather has been absolutely BEAUTIFUL this week, so David and I have tried to take advantage of it by spending as much time outdoors as possible.  So, one day, we went to the park with Grayson!  

He loves spending time outside, just looking around. We also went on a walk around the block last weekend (so Mommy could get some exercise), and he had a great time!  I can't wait until this summer when we can take him swimming and spend even more time outside.  Now that he's mobile, he's going to love getting dirty!  :)

• I had to work all day yesterday, so Gammie came to stay with Grayson during the day.  We were soooooo thankful that she made the trip so that I could get some hours in!  :)  And, I don't think she minded too much coming to love on Grayson all day...and it looks like Grayson didn't miss Mommy too much:

• We had quite a time with Grayson this week.  He came home from school last Friday with some green gook in his eyes, which I immediately knew was due to pink eye.

I mean, seriously?!?  

So, I took him to the doctor first thing Saturday morning where Dr. Catherine confirmed that he did indeed have pink eye.  BUT, he also had thrush!!!!  Ugh.  He came home with an antibiotic and some eye ointment (which is NOT FUN to get into his eyes), and directions to keep him away from everyone for a few days....fun times!! :) And, he has also been teething this week, so because of everything, he has been a little more needy than normal.  He doesn't ever get too fussy when he's teething (which is awesome), but he wants to be held more....and you know I don't mind that!  Anyway, it looks like, this time, he is getting two teeth at once!  He has been working on trying to push a top tooth through for the past couple weeks, but, a few days ago, he surprised us when a third bottom tooth popped in!  

Even though he still sleeps through the night when he's teething (which just amazes me!), I think the hurting just wears him out at times.  As I type, this is my view of our little man:

Isn't it just so cute how his little feet stick out from under the covers?  :)  

I had put him in his swing for just a minute so I could run upstairs and grab his dirty clothes...when I came back, I found this.  What a sweet boy!  I definitely recognize how lucky we are that teething with Grayson isn't worse than it is--I have heard so many horror stories about babies that are up all night, cry constantly, and can't be soothed. I can't imagine how stressful that is on everyone!  I am so thankful every day for what a great little boy we have.  How in the world did we get so lucky??

• Weight Watchers is going GREAT!  David lost 6 pounds the first week, and I lost 5.6 pounds!  The weight loss has definitely slowed down this week, but we are still making progress.  The average amount we can expect to lose is 2 pounds each week, and I think we will be sticking pretty close to that.  (And, I have already had people mention that I look like I have lost weight!  Even though I don't notice it yet, it makes me feel encouraged that others notice.)  We have gotten into the routine of eating better, and we both have mentioned that we feel better, too.  Being on Weight Watchers has helped me get more into a routine, too!  I have been coming home, playing with Grayson, making dinner, getting Grayson ready for bed, and straightening up the house each night.  I must admit, this is not something that I did for the first several months of Grayson's life.  I think our schedules were just too chaotic, and I couldn't make sense of it all.  Stopping to grab dinner each night from whatever fast food restaurant was just easier!  But, now that we have committed to getting healthy, making dinner is more important than ever!  And, I can certainly say that I am MUCH happier now that I can take responsibility of the house things and not let it fall behind like it used to.  (I feel so much better as a wife, too!  I am not so cranky from constantly feeling like I can't keep up with everything...and I know I am much more pleasant to be around!) Isn't it amazing what one little life change can do?  :)
• I want to ask for a quick prayer request: David has had some tests done the past couple of weeks, and they have found some potentially not-so-good news.  SO, he will be going in to have a biospy of his liver and some further testing done in April to see if the doctors can pinpoint what the problem is.  On top of that (and partly thanks to what may be wrong), though, he has just been feeling pretty crappy.  Please pray that, not only he gets to feeling better, but that they also don't find anything severe.  Grayson and I need him healthy and here at home with us!  :)

It's another busy week this week (as always).  Grayson has his school pictures this week, I have about 5 meetings I have to either be at or call into (as well as my monthly paperwork due), David will be heading to spend more time with Jarrett (and I will get there when I can), and we are hoping to actually get to the gym one day.  We are just loving life right now, though!!  As always, thanks so much for checking in with us!!!  We love you all!

A quick update...

I will write more tomorrow when I have a chance to actually sit down and sort out my thoughts.  But now, I just want to leave you with some super special videos:





We love you all!

7 month pictures....finally!!

Happy 7 months, Grayson!

**I will post his 7 month sign pictures soon, I promise!**

Dear Grayson,
How is it that you are 7 months old? I feel like it was just yesterday that I saw you for the first time: you were snuggled up in your daddy's arms, just as peaceful as you could be. Now, 7 months later, you still love to snuggle in your daddy's arms, and you are the most precious gift we have ever been given.

You are an absolute joy, and so much fun!! Your daddy and I have been so blessed with what a great little boy you are. You don't get fussy, you rarely (if ever) cry, you smile ALL THE TIME, and you just love to play! In fact, the teachers at your school tell us every day that they wish they could clone you and keep you because you are the most well-behaved kid in your class! (And we know you love school because you are smiling when you get dropped off and smiling when you get picked up to go home!)

At 7 months old:

• You still eat 4-5 six ounce bottles a day. You also eat baby food and oatmeal 2-3 times a day. You love any fruit and any orange vegetable. You gag on any green vegetable...and also on mac and cheese. In fact, one day you gagged yourself so badly that you threw up. That was fun.
• You have rocket poop. I don't know.how you do it, but you will just be sitting there, it ends up getting all the way up your back to your neck! It has made Mommy not hate laundry so much...I have to do it everyday! You sit up like a champ, and you have learned to go from sitting to laying on your stomach, propped up on your arms. You are getting closer and closer to crawling but you aren't quite there yet. You are able to go where you want to, though...even getting out of your chair and onto the floor with no help! 
• You are in the process of changing schedules a bit, but that is perfectly fine with Mommy and Daddy. You usually get sleepy around 7:30pm, and wake up around 5:30am. Although that works fine with our schedule, we are going to work on you going to bed a little later so you can sleep a little later (and that also means Mommy gets to hang out with you longer after getting home from work.) :) 
• You have learned to clap your hands when you like something, when you're happy, or when Mommy and Daddy clap. You have also learned to give people high five! You can say "dada," "hey," and "mmmmm" (when you want something, you say "mmmmm" to ask for it). You love to squeal and yell and laugh constantly. You even combine words, saying "hey dada!" I am trying to teach you to say "mama," but you just love you daddy too much! 
• You love to watch Elmo (but only in the truck). You don't watch too much TV, but, when you do, you will only watch football, basketball, NASCAR, or Wheel of Fortune. :) 
• Your favorite toys are your doggie lovie, your Nuby, your blocks, your soccer ball, your octopus, and your lion shaker. You could live with or without your foo-foo...it really doesn't make a difference to you either way...and that is just fine with us! 
• You have 2 bottom teeth, and a top one on the way. Even with the aches and pains from teething, you sleep perfectly well, and you don't really ever show that you are hurting. 
• You are learning new things every day, and you have become so mischevious! You love to play with Cordi and Bailey, and you thinks its the funniest thing ever when Bailey licks your face. 

We cannot imagine our life without you in it. You have been a source of sunshine in the recent times of darkness. We didn't think it was possible to love you anymore that we already do, but our love for you only continues to grow with each day. You have a way of grabbing everyone's attention without making a sound, and anyone that meets you immediately falls in love with you and your smile. We love you so so so much, and I hope you always remember that. We can't wait to are what's next for you, Little G! 

Happy 7 months! 

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Jarrett

Our nephew, Jarrett, was re-admitted to the hospital this week.  :( 
He has been having a bit of a cough, and it was understandably worrisome to Jason and Becky.  They took him to the doctor on Wednesday afternoon to get it checked out.  Unfortunately, the doctor didn't at all like how he was breathing (he was laboring to breathe), and called the ambulance to transport Jarrett to LeBonheur. 

He was given some breathing treatments in the ER, given some oxygen, diagnosed with bronchilitis, and admitted into room.  Thankfully, a few hours later, he was feeling better....but, he will have to stay in the hospital until he can breathe well on his own. 

Now, isn't that the SWEETEST face you have ever seen???

Ally has spent the night with us the past two nights, and we have had so much fun!!!!  David and I just adore having her.  She is such a grown-up little girl, and we are so proud of her!  Each night, we fixed dinner, ate it and watched some TV, got ready for bed, and then hung out together for a little while.  David took her to school both mornings (which ended up in another adventure that I will write about in another post), while I took Grayson to daycare.  It's going to feel so empty at our house now that she's not there!  :)

My plan is to go to the hospital to love on Jarrett either tonight or tomorrow.  It has been over a month since I have seen my little man (thanks to Grayson, David, and I all being sick on and off), and I am soooooooooooooo ready to hold him and kiss him!!! 

Please keep Jarrett, Jason, Becky, and Ally in your prayers.  I know that they appreciate them so much during this time. Also, please pray that the doctors are able to find out why this keeps happening to Jarrett, and that they will be able to give Jason and Becky a solution for stopping it from happening again. 

As always, thanks for checking in! We love you all!

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Weight Watchers: Day 1

David and I have made a commitment to GET HEALTHY, and, as a result, have joined Weight Watchers. It took me a little bit of time to get used to the idea of us joining. After all, one of the things I remember most about my childhood is my grandmother talking about how she could only eat grapefruit and dry toast for breakfast, and complaining about having to go to “weigh in” every week. The way she described those weigh-ins were pretty much the same way prisoner would describe his time in solitary confinement---it just sounded horrible. But, after doing some research, David and I realized that WW has completely changed from years ago. In fact, we were able to sign up to complete everything online…it’s wonderful!


Basically, here is the way the program works:

1. Everything we eat has a point value. I’m not sure what the highest point value is (and I definitely don’t want to know), but things typically range from 0 to 20-something points.

2. We are given a daily point limit that we are supposed to stay under. Mine is 29. David’s is 49. We are also given a weekly point value that are “just-in-case” points. So, if we have a day where we just go completely overboard with our eating, it doesn’t ruin our whole week. (I really like this because, in previous diets, I have been in the mindset that everything is completely pointless if you have one bad day.)

3. We can earn points for the amount of activity that we do. In other words, we can earn food points when we exercise. The more we exercise, the more we can eat!

So, that’s about the plan. It’s very easy. We put what we eat (or what we plan to eat) into the computer, it automatically adds our points up, AND they even have recipes that we can make that we know will be low point values. (They have 0 point vegetable soup!) I also downloaded the points calculator on my phone, so when I am at work or out in the community with a client, I can still keep track of my points. (Today, I forgot my lunch at home, so I was able to look up the points for what I was eating from Subway, plug it into my tracker, and know that I was still under my points for the day. It was wonderful!)

As you can tell, I am loving the program so far…of course, check back in a few days, and I will probably be screaming about how hungry I am and how much I hate being on a diet. (That’s the thing I like the best, though. It doesn’t really feel like I am dieting—I mean, I still get to eat basically whatever I want…but, now I am accountable to myself in a way that I can actually see. If I choose to have pizza one night, then I know I have to make healthier choices for the rest of the day, or exercise more that day. I also like it because it is helping my portion control. I realized before that I was eating WAY TOO MUCH. Now, I eat less and still get full!)

I am planning on putting up weekly updates of our progress. I am not going to put our weights on here (that’s just a little too personal), but I will let you all know how much we have lost. I think that will definitely help with our accountability, too. I may also, if I get the courage, but progress pictures up here. I haven’t decided about that yet, though. :)

In other news, Grayson is becoming a very mischievous little boy. I can tell that he is more and more like his daddy every day! This morning, I was getting ready, and I heard that he was awake on the monitor. I checked on him (thanks to our wonderful video monitor), and the little stinker was yanking on the cord to the monitor. He pulled and pulled and smiled and smiled…he knew exactly what he was doing! HA! His third tooth has started coming in, and this time, it is a top tooth! That has made him a little more cranky than usual, but not too terrible….he’s always smiling—unless he’s sleeping! :) Anyway, this morning, he was pretty needy: he wanted to be held the whole time I was trying to do other things, and he cried when he fell over (which he doesn’t ever do). I gave him some Tylenol (because he was chewing on his fingers something fierce) and we headed off to school. He was fussy the whole way (when he typically talks the whole time), and even fussy when I walked him into school. Wouldn’t you know, though, that as soon as he saw his teacher, Ms. Mo, he got the BIGGEST smile on his face, and he didn’t stop smiling the whole time I was there! Again, little stinker! I guess I don’t have to worry about any separation anxiety with him any time soon! :)

I still can’t believe he is about to be 7 months old. Time is just flying by too fast…it feels like it was just yesterday that he was an itty-bitty baby. David and I have looked back through his baby book and at the pictures around our house, and we cannot believe how much he has changed since he was born! He doesn’t even look like the same kid. He was so little for the first month, and then, literally almost overnight, he just kind of blossomed into the little boy he is today! I have been thinking more and more about what a great big brother he is going to be…hopefully, sooner than later, we will be able to give him a little brother or sister. He is going to LOVE having someone to play with all the time…and I know they are going to get into so much trouble together!

Everything else is pretty much business as usual at the Bledsoe house. We are in the midst of some pretty major Spring Cleaning at our house. We are getting rid of all our clutter, and the “6 month rule” is in full effect: if we haven’t used it, seen it, or worn it in the last 6 months, it’s GONE. Oh, I love that rule. Right now, it all seems very overwhelming, but I know once we are through, it will feel soooooooo good to have a house that is exactly the way we want it…and ready to put on the market!

I don’t really have any new pictures of Grayson—we have been busy this week with living life, and I haven’t gotten the chance to take any! I will get some up here soon, though, I PROMISE! As always, thanks for checking in on us! We love you all!

Our Little Tennessee Fan

Yes, our son's head is so big that he can wear his daddy's visor.  

I love love love love this face.

My two big-headed boys.

Fun times at home with Grayson!

HAPPY boy!!!

Grayson got a new soccer ball (and a bunch of other stuff) at Target today!

 His new bib cracks me up!!!

Grayson goes back to daycare tomorrow after being off since Friday.  I know he's missed his friends, and I am sure they have missed him!!!