Week # 2!!!

We made it through 2 full weeks! Wow-they have been exhausting at times but we are loving it!! My mom was here for a week to help out while Chad went back to work. I am so thankful for her willingness to come and clean, do laundry, and cook ---she was such a blessing!!

This is my first week all by myself! So far, so good. We're getting on a 3 hour feeding routine, which has helped tremendously as far as him going down for naps. He's doing okay at night, it's a little unpredictable at this point. Unfortunately we haven't a long stretch of sleep again in a few days. Last night he woke up every 3 hours to eat and I put him right back down--so we got reasonable sleep. If we can keep that up, I'd be happy.

Here are some pics from his second week. We can't believe how much he has changed already and even outgrown some of his clothes!!!

We had lots of visitors this week! He got to meet Emily and Lydda Grace, Uncle William, Aunt Bonnie, and Uncle Andrew!!

Grayson's First Week

Yay!! We made it through the first week!! We had quite a few bumps in the road. Poor little Grayson lost 1 pound in the first few days. He was not getting enough milk, which created a very fussy baby!!! Chad and I had no sleep the first few nights. So I had to supplement with formula for a few days. We noticed an immediate difference and were so happy to have a content baby that would sleep 5 hours at night!!! He is now completely off of supplements and nursing wonderfully!!! God was so faithful to get us through those hard times!! I'm so thankful for Chad--he was such a big help and encouragement to me!!!

We are loving having little Grayson home and getting to know him more and more each day. He's changing so much!! Chad was so sad to go back to work this week. My mom is in town now to help out. I've been working hard to get Grayson on a schedule and he's doing great!!! He is consistently sleeping 6-7 hours at night already!!! We are thrilled!! I'm just hoping it doesn't wear off!! Here are some pics of Grayson's first week:

Grayson's first walk


Meeting great-grandparents

Meeting Uncle Sean

Napping with daddy

Baby Grayson is here!!

Grayson Paul Hayes

March 15, 2009 at 6:30 pm

8 lbs. 5 oz.

20 inches long

Grayson was born Sunday night after 1 sleepless night and 2 trips to the hospital!

Mollie's contractions started Sat. night around 9pm and steadily progressed throughout the night. We went to the hospital at 5:30 am and were sent home with pain meds. Mollie was only dilated 1cm and they thought it was probably false labor. Well...3 hours later (and lots of pain!)we were back to the hospital to discover that she had dilated to 5 cm!!! "Let's go have a baby!!" was the doctor's response. They immediately admitted her and got her epidural started. Mollie was extremely tired all day Sunday from not sleeping at all the night before so the doctor wanted her to get lots of rest so she'd be ready for the pushing. The epidural was great!! After waiting and waiting...she was ready to push at 5:45pm. Grayson was born at 6:30pm!!! We were so happy that everything went so well for the delivery and our healthy baby boy was born!!

We have enjoyed every single second just holding him and staring at him!!! It truly is amazing!

We will have more pictures and updates posted soon!!

And the tree came down....

We have this massive oak tree in our front yard that has some decay in it. We've been worried about it for a few years now since there are some major limbs that hang over the house. We had some arborists come look at it and they suggested to have it down.

It was bittersweet because we really hate to see a beautiful oak tree go, but we do feel more relieved now.

It was very entertaining watching the men work--pretty amazing!

Can you imagine having this job?!? Yikes!! I think he's taking a break!

Last limb!! We couldn't believe that they had the whole tree down and the stump was ground in one day!!

Here's the house with no tree!! Pretty sad. We have lots of sunlight, though. This is a big change for us and one we'll have to get used to! We have a big landscaping job ahead of us this spring!! I know Chad's mind is spinning with ideas!! Unfortunately, we didn't finish all the work on the outside of the house that we had planned to do before Grayson got here. We still need to hang new shutters and hardware soon. That will help! We'll keep you updated on the progress of the yard.

Baby Grayson update

Sorry, no picture this time. I just wanted to update everyone on what is happening with little Grayson these days. My due date is 4 weeks away, however, the doctor said Friday he thinks Grayson may be a few weeks early!! So... this means he could come anytime!!! For those of you who are interested and who understand the language (which I don't even think I do half the time): I am 80% effaced and the baby is in position. I am not dilated yet at all, so that's good.
I would like for Grayson to stay in as long as possible --just for him to get a little bigger. The doctors also think he may be on the small side, so hopefully he'll have some time to gain some more weight.
However, the Lord is in control and we are so thankful for that!!!
We'll keep you updated on any new happenings!!!

Prego Friends

There are 4 girls on my kindergarten team that are pregnant! So here we all are! I'm due in March, Tricia's due in April, Heather's due in July, and Meghan is due in August!! Crazy!

New closets!!

This past weekend we finished up Grayson's closet and my laundry room closet.

Some of you may be a little confused as to why I am so excited about this, but until you live in an old house, you don't appreciate the idea of storage!!

The closet in Grayson's room has always been there, but had no practical storage--basically it was just an open space with one wood board and a bar. So, we ripped out what was there, refinished and repainted it, and added our own storage system. So...ta da!! He now has a closet. It's a little empty now but I'm sure it will fill up fast once he's here!

Notice the white "dress" hanging--it's the outfit I came home from the hospital in. My mom gave it to us as a suggestion that maybe Grayson can come home in it. However, I don't think Chad will be able to handle Grayson wearing a dress with lace--he will definately have to have something a little more manly. Sorry mom!

Now for the laundry closet. I can hardly call it a "laundry room" because I'm just not lucky enough to have a whole room specifically designed to do the laundry. But..we're thankful for what we do have. And now, thanks to my handy husband, it is a very efficient, practical space to store my cleaning supplies and do the laundry. I even have my very own utility sink which will come in very handy when I start washing stinky diapers!!

I wish I had a "before" picture, but the space was really so nasty I just never thought of taking a picture. However, I am so appreciative for this new space!!!