&So it begins..

Dear Grayson,  

    Today was quite bittersweet for this mama. You crawled for the very first time! It was incredible. I was walking upstairs to get some of your tiny baby clothes to sort and pack away, and your Dad yelled, "he just crawled!!" I had missed it, but you moved each arm and each leg forward, and had begun to crawl. I immediately ran downstairs and sat on the other side of the room from you and Daddy. "Come on Grayson! Come to Mommy! You can do it!" You looked at me with your proud little smile. Lower jaw slightly pushed out, almost, just barely biting your bottom lip. Then, you began to crawl towards me. Slowly but surely, you would bring one knee forward, one hand forward. Your other knee, your other hand. You crawled until you got just close enough to sort of dive towards me. You probably thought I was crazy because I had burst into tears, and was shouting that you did it! We were so very proud of you. Your Daddy was beaming from ear to ear. It truly was an amazing moment for us, as parents, to watch our baby boy learn such a monumental milestone. Afterwards, I tried to catch you on camera. Of course, you did not oblige and just wanted to play with Hurley.

    A little while after crawling, you just played with your little green bucket that you love so much as I continued to pack up your baby clothes. Your little brown pants, the first little onesie(a blue polo witha  crab on it) that we ever bought you, your tiny 3 month moose onesies that you wore constantly as a newborn... all packed away neatly not to be seen or adored again for many years to come. I cried again then, just a little bit. Not only had I watched you conquer that huge milestone earlier, but now I was packing away all these tiny clothes you once wore. It really felt quite symbolic to me, as if I was packing away those little pieces of our lives together to be kept safely as memories.

   Also, just a couple of days ago, you stood up on your own for the very first time! You had yourself in crawling position, with one hand on my leg and the other holding that bucket of yours. You then pushed your booty in the air, which got a giggle from your Mama! Out of nowhere, you pushed on my leg and stood up! It was amazing, and completely unexpected. You had your hands in the air, grasping your bucket. It was only a second before you fell on your booty, but that second made me burst into the happiest of tears. Sure, it is a little bitter in the fact that you are getting more independent and are no longer my newborn. But oh, it is so, so very sweet to watch you learn and grow. We love you so much!!

With Love,
Your Mama.

Laughs. Baby meme edition.

Grayson comforting his cousin, Wyatt, on Easter. Caption by Mama. ;)

Wordless Wednesday.

I looked away for not even a minute, and this dude had shimmied over from his toy to the coffee table. &Then pulled himself up! "You can't hide from me Mommy!!!!"

Grayson's cousin, Wyatt!

Hangin' with Dana & Ashleigh(left) &Playing with Kaitlin(right)

Have a great Wednesday, everyone!

Little Things.

I am definitely one of those people who gets super excited over the smallest and silliest of things. Some might argue that getting happy over "stupid" little stuff is ridiculous. To those people I say, "sorry about your life sucking." To me, life is made complete by all the little wins throughout my day. I thought it would be fun to document these little things that make me smile. Plus, this is another excuse for me to make a list every now and then. Who doesn't love a good list? I mean, really people. Which leads me to number one...

Yeah, so what if I have plans to make a list on my list?

1.) Crossing things off of a to-do list. Bonus: a COMPLETELY crossed off list. Sometimes, I'll add things I have already accomplished prior to creating that days list, just so I can cross it off. 

2.) Front row parking at Trader Joe's. Actually, front row parking anywhere. But today, it was Trader Joe's. &I walked out of that hippie-land with my Veggie & Flaxseed tortilla chips feeling like a total boss.

3.) Flipping up my visor after having it down too long. Okay, this might seem odd, but stay with me. You are driving for a good while during the day. The sun is all up in your grill, but your visor is doing it's job flipped down. Finally, the sun retreats behind the trees and you can flip that bad boy back up. &Suddenly, you can see again! The world is so large, and there is so much to take in! Next time this happens to you, try not to get made at your visor for blocking your view. Remember, it is just doing it's job and blocking that rude ass sun.

The beginning of what grew into a very large, first thing in the morning smile.

4.) When my baby wakes up with a smile on. Any parent knows that sometimes children wake up happy, and sometimes they do not. It completely makes my day when I get to see my son wake up, and that sleepy smile creeps onto his face. It's a more beautiful sight then any lame-o sunrise.

5.)  Lighting a brand new candle. I'm a candle junkie. I love them. Ones that smell of vanilla, baked goods, or hazelnut are my favorite. That first time you light a brand new candle, and it kind of takes a second because the wick is so new. Then, the wax coating drips away and it sparks just a bit. Another little win for the day.

I could go on and on, but I think I'll break this up into a weekly thing. Until then, enjoy the little things!!

With Love,

Brittany Danielle.

Wordless Wednesday.

(I've seen this on a few different blogs that I frequent. I thought this would be a great post to try out with all of the random pictures I take!)

Here are a few photos from Grayson's first beach trip. :)

8 months old.

Painting pictures for Granny and Gramley!

Dear Grayson,

    You are eight months old today. This has got to be one of my favorite ages so far. This is the age where your personality is really beginning to shine! & I mean REALLY! It is bursting at the seams!

    You are currently really into Yo Gabba Gabba. One video in particular, called "I Like To Dance." You will be throwing a fit, and I will put that video on the iPad. The second D.J. Lance pops up and says "Hello, friends!!", you get a giant smile on your face. He then proceeds to tell you that it is time to dance, so get up! You oblige, and stand yourself up(with Mommy's support, of course.) &Then the song that your Daddy is really beginning to hate kicks in "Go, go, go Muno! Go, go, go Muno!" and you go crazy!! You start bouncing up and down and stomping your foot. Little baby arms, and little baby hands begin flailing. All the while, you remain completely concentrated on the screen. You love to dance, and this is certainly your favorite song. Not only is it completely precious, but I really feel as though it's quite the milestone. You know what you like. You're beginning to have actual "interests", aside from just Mommy and Daddy or anything that lights up. Our once little baby is growing up.

Mama's boy.

    You have been a mama's boy since day one, but you are truly your Daddy's little dude too. For some reason, you just think he is HILARIOUS. Sure, your father makes some funny jokes. He makes me laugh quite often, and it is one of the reasons I married him. But with you, anything he does is just so funny! He can walk in the room, look at you, and all of a sudden you burst into one of those full belly baby laughs. If he does something out of the ordinary, you absolutely lose your mind. For instance, sometimes he will step up on the coffee table, make a silly face, and you just lose it! It's like you recognize, "hey wait.. Daddy isn't supposed to be on that table.. That table is not for standing. But he is.. He is standing on it.. OMG THIS IS TOO MUCH, I CAN NOT EVEN HANDLE THIS RIGHT NOW." For the record, said table is from Ikea. It is very cheap. I cannot wait for the day he climbs on it to make you laugh, and it falls to pieces underneath him. Then, I will lose my mind with laughter as well.

Also, Daddy's boy.

    There are so many things I wish I could just engrave into my memory forever. For example, you can now hold yourself up standing. You get SO proud of yourself! I wish I could bottle up the look on your face! That proud little smile, where you push your bottom jaw out a bit and look to us for reassurance. It is precious. Or, how when you are getting sleepy and having your evening bottle, you start to grab and tug at your ear. When you finish, I pat you on the back and as we cuddle, you moan and groan. You fight so hard to stay up, yet just melt into dreamland there in my arms. Sure, I will always have memories, photos, and videos. However, nothing compares to actually seeing, touching, and experiencing these moments with you.

"Oh ya know, just snapping a shirtless selfie."

    Happy 8 months, my sweet boy. Thank you for letting me be your mama and watch you grow. You are my everything.

With Love,

Your Mama

Icky stuff.

    Being a mother changes you in so many beautiful ways. I could go on and on about the positive changes in my life since we welcomed my sweet boy into this world. However, this post is a bit more about the less beautiful and magical things. This post is more about, well, the nasty things.

Grayson eating spinach for the first time. Messy boy!

    I am very easily grossed out by many, many things. When I was a child(and ever since), I was the only person in my family to remind everyone of what was and wasn't appropriate dinner conversation. The thought of drool or something secreting from the body while I was eating would easily make me lose my appetite, and sometimes, what I had already eaten. Actually, I once would have gagged over the word "secreting." Becoming a mother has changed that.

    At least every other day, I realize a spit-up stain on my clothes and don't really bat an eye at it. This is not to say I have completely let myself go, and am walking around all day covered in baby fluids... but I'm not saying I haven't gone a whole day in baby stained clothes either. A spit up stain would have once made me freak out, and immediately go home to get a change of clothes. But now, I will go almost the entire day without even noticing. When I do, my reaction is almost the opposite of a "freak out." I think to myself, "when did that get there?!" and reach into my desk for a wipe. Honestly, sometimes I just leave it! These little things are just no longer a big deal to me.

    I have no problem sitting on the floor, playing with my son, soaked with drool. Without a thought I will wipe his little waterfall of drool with my hand, and then wipe it off on my jeans. Whenever we are out with childless friends, people will constantly point out that he is drooling. They will offer a napkin, or get quite concerned when my shoulder is wet with drool. "Oh no! He drooled on your shoulder! Do you want my Tide pen?" While very sweet, I can't help but chuckle in my head whenever this happens!

    Now, if you are reading this before hitting the amazing stage of your life that is parenthood, you are probably thinking I am a disgusting person. One day, when you have children, you will understand. You will pick their nose. You will wipe their drool without a tissue. You will get thrown up and spit up on numerous, numerous times. You will find that the color and consistency of poop makes it way into everyday conversation. And yes, you will laugh at the things that once grossed you out back before you met the little stinker that made your life complete.

With Love,

Brittany Danielle

Six months old.

Dear Grayson,

      Last week, you, Daddy, and I were all sitting together on the bed. We were playing, chatting, and just taking it easy. Then something small, yet momentous happened. Your dad hit the bed with his hand. You stared, and then hit the bed in the same spot. He then hit it harder, twice. You hit it in that same spot yet again. Also, twice. You smiled, and looked at him for approval. You could tell you were just so pleased with yourself, and the fact that you had Mommy and Daddy beaming from ear to ear! This happened a couple more times. It may not seem like something huge, but oh, it really was. In this moment, I realized that you are no longer my itty bitty newborn boy. You are our growing infant, our baby. You are as smart as can be, and learning new things every single day. No longer do you see the world with new eyes. No longer do you stare at a toy with your hands in your lap, blinking those baby blues and looking side to side. You now look at toys with intent. You look at the rings hanging off a toy, and know that you want those in your mouth. So, you reach, grab, and bring them exactly where you want them. You look at the colorful and crinkly part and reach for it. As you grasp, you realize that you have just created that sound. You open and close your hands on the crinkly parts, and smile because you know what you have done.

      So, when you copied your Dad and hit the bed, I didn't only see a baby playing with his parents. I saw the wheels turning in your brain as you observed, thought it through, and replicated his actions. I saw you wanting your parent's approval. I watched you look at our smiles and know that you did something awesome. I watched you beam as happy as can be, because of your actions. It's hard to explain, but I hope that helps you to understand why something seemingly so small, was in reality so huge.

Comforting your cousin. "It's okay, bro!"

      You are such a playful little dude. Seriously, you can find fun in anything. I love that. It is truly magical how a baby can find such pure joy in anything, really. Sure, you love your light up toys and your bouncy and all your toys that sing all those repetitive songs that I always have stuck in my head. But, you also love to play with, a package of wipes or an empty water bottle. The television remote, the iPad, or our cellphones. Oh my goodness, how you love anything that we are holding! "If Mommy has it, I must have it!!" You could seriously spend hours grabbing at different parts of mine or your Dad's faces! Most of all, your favorite "toys" are your books. I just love that. You hit at the pictures, and turn the pages. You can be crying as hard as can be, but almost always a good book can calm you down. It's amazing, and I bet you grow up to be an avid reader.

You loved your Easter basket!

      You have gotten much more loving, as well. Cuddling with you has been one of our favorite things to do since day one, but you are figuring out how to show it even more. You grab and hang on, as if you are afraid that I will put you down. You know what you want!! If you want to be picked up, you will reach for us. Seeing your baby reach for you is one of the most amazing things for a parent. It's incredible to know that we are needed, and that you love us. Not only do you reach for us, but you have started giving hugs and kisses too!! I am not sure if it is intentional, but I'm going to pretend like it is anyway. Sometimes, if I am holding you facing away from me, you will reach up and put your hand on my neck/cheek. You'll arch your back and turn around and "kiss" my other cheek. It is amazing!! Since you were born, we have been telling you over and over how much we love you. All these little things you do now, feel like "I love you too"'s.

Those eyes, I melt.

      These 6 months have just gone by so very fast. Everyone tells you how much the time flies, but it isn't something you can truly comprehend until you are a parent yourself. It feels like you were just brought into our lives. Yet, at the same time.. I can't remember our lives without you. You are the absolute best thing that has ever happened to us. Being your mom and watching you grow, is such an honor. You are everything to me, and everything I do is for you. You have my entire heart, for all of eternity. I hope you never forget that! I love you so much, Grayson Ryan. Happy half birthday, my little sweet potato!

With love,

Your mama.