Dedicated to the Lord

Our grown up little man - Grady: a man of noble character and strength and

yes he is wearing pink!!!

The time had finally come where we as Grady's parents wanted to bring our little gift back to the arms of the One who gave him to us. On Sunday, Grady was dedicated to the Lord; we entered into a covenant as his parents to raise him under Christian principles, morals, and values. We committed to God and to our church that we would raise Grady in such a way so that when he is old enough, he would be able to choose for himself to follow and fall desperately in love with Jesus Christ. As we were standing in front of the church, I couldn't help but feel the weight of the responsibility that the Lord has entrusted us with. The longer I am a mother the more I realize what a ministry motherhood is. I am excited and trusting that the Lord will equip me for His purposes.
Grady looked so handsome in his "manly" pink shirt and rockin suit. I couldn't believe how old and mature he looked. We were blessed to have most all our family there to celebrate this special moment in our lives. It was so much fun seeing Grady interact with his cousins and I know the girls really love their little boy cousin. We had so much fun over the weekend playing in the parks, running around with Chicago, and spending time together as a family.

Grady was so blessed to have both sets of Grandparents there to celebrate his big day!

Here is Grady with his aunts...unfortunately Trish was unable to be here for the celebration but graciously her "dorky" brother filled in for her...(the napkin has the name Trish written on it)

Here are some other fun pictures from the weekend as well as just some great shots of our little guy...

Grady had so much fun with his cousins

Here Grady is getting his little head scrubbed with a toothbrush in order to scrub off his cradle cap that was driving his aunt Michelle crazy! He doesn't seem to mind Grandma Janelle's rough scrub!

Grady is having fun in his stroller enjoying one of the first days of spring; finally some nice weather after such a long winterGrady is already making his Daddy proud by sporting his Cubs gear.

Grady was introduced to his new favorite toy...his exersaucer! He absolutely loves stomping his feet and sucking on many of the toys

Grady driving his first tractor. Someday he will be old enough to go on the farm and try out a real John Deere, but this will do for now!

4 Months and Thriving!

Our little guy is growing up so fast; he just turned 4months old on March 7th. I just wanted to give a summary of Grady's last months accomplishments, adventures and habits. Grady has discovered that he does enjoy sleeping in his crib. He especially likes it when Mommy sings to him while he plays with my fingers. He is able to put himself to sleep initially; however we are still working on going back to sleep in the middle of the night. He is still waking 2 times a night to eat but I checked with his pediatrician and he said that is completely normal for his age and size. Oh well, I'm sure a full night of sleep will come eventually!

Grady is still eating like a champ both nursing and with his bottle. He has discovered how to hold his own bottle; he's so intelligent! We have decided to hold off on the solids for a while and just stick to the perfect food - breastmilk. Grady enjoys sticking everything in his mouth! We think he might be teething with all the drooling and more frequent dirty diapers. Nothing showing up yet, but I bet it will be soon. Grady is sure becoming a pro at sitting up. He enjoys sitting in his bumbo chair and he also likes doing mini-crunches where he holds our fingers and tries to pull himself up. He has not quite figured out the whole rolling over thing but he loves to lay on the floor and kick his legs.

This month Grady has found his fingers, reaches for toys, has expanded his baby babble, taken a liking to watching the pets play, and responds and imitates facial expressions. The doctor says he is right on track. He is currently 16lbs. 11oz. (90th %) and 26 1/4 in. long (80-85%). He is growing out of so many of his cute clothes; what a good excuse to go shopping!

Grady is going through his first experience with a double ear infection! Poor little man cried an entire night. Needless to say, mom and dad were pretty exhausted. He does not like his medicine very much but even though he does not feel the best, he will give us a smile now and then. To top things off for this first part of March, I also am sick. Poor Ben is such a trooper and is taking care of both me and Grady. I am so blessed to have such a selfless partner. Hopefully as Spring nears, the sickness will be over.

Here are just a few pictures of his 4 month at home photo shoot. Ben thinks this outfit looks like his gym teacher outfit...I think he looks "thuggin"!

Daddy can always make Grady smile and laugh. Thank goodness Daddy tolerates Mommy's fetish for pictures.
Here are a few more other pictures that are just so darn cute. Grady likes tummy time somewhat especially when daddy makes him do mini "push ups"

This was on a Sunday morning when he was waiting for Mommy and Daddy to get ready. He sometimes is such a sleepy bear!

Some of our funnest moments are on the changing table. He absolutely loves getting out of his dirty diapers. He also loves being silly with Mommy while the deed gets done!

Here is a video of Grady laughing hysterically at Mommy just after getting his diaper changed. We love playing the game "I get choo". His laugh is expanding so much. You cannot help but smile when you hear him. What a blessing our little man is to our household. Yes we may be tired and sick (literally); maybe our house is not super clean but we could not imagine our lives without this gift from God. Every time I look at him I think how blessed and humble I feel to see how Christ is willing to use me in Grady's little life. Taking care of Grady also reminds me of how I am to be with the Lord...completely dependent upon him for my every minute, just like Grady is to me and Ben. What an amazing realization given to me on a daily basis.

Grady's first (of many) photo shoots

It is just amazing how quickly our little man is growing. Just a few updates include: moving up to a size 3 diaper, reaching for Mama's hands, holding his bottle on his own, going to sleep on his own, learning how to suck his fingers, and he is making new friends at daycare. He is getting really big size wise as well. I was looking through his closet and found some 3-6month clothes that looked way too big, but then I tried them on him and they fit him perfect!! He is also getting so tall that he is growing out of all his pajamas which is completely ridiculous since he has such short parents.

We decided to get some professional pictures of Grady taken before he got too big, so we found a lady who is a stay at home mom and takes pictures on the side. We went to the Botanical Center downtown and got some really great shots. Wouldn't ya know, our little man would NOT give us one smile...but is bare bottom is so cute that he does not need to use his smile! Here are some of our favorites....

Handsome little man

Over the weekend, we decided to have some fun with the camera and video camera to try to catch hour HANDSOME man doing his thing. He continually changes it feels like everyday. Here he is showing everyone how he likes to stand on his feet with a little support... however it doesn't appear that daddy is very reliable as this video shows...makes me crack up every time!

There will be more videos to come but here are some pictures of just how handsome our son is. If you notice...his shirt says that good looks run in the family...of course!!! "I'm SOOO Big"

I just think he's got the cutest little face!"I love to laugh"

Sometimes I really love my teddy bear

Our little pickle!

This is one of my favorite pictures of my two boys. Grady so enjoys playing with his daddy!

Well it seems like Grady may be adjusting a little bit better to daycare these days. He has been able to start getting some good naps in during the morning time; however we are still trying to work on getting more than a cat nap in the afternoon. Although daycare is not the ideal situation, it is encouraging to see him smiling and laughing when we pick him up at the end of the day. Kim, our daycare provider, says Grady is a welcomed addition.

Grady is starting to enjoy playing with toys, or at least putting them in his mouth. Right now we are working on his ability to reach for our hands and his toys. Toys can be fun but he still prefers looking at mommy and daddy's faces.

Grady is such a little pickle...tonight while I was attempting to rock him to get him ready for bed he proceeded to start laughing and giggling at mommy. Of course Ben and I tried to resist laughing at him, but he's just so darn cute that it was hard not to. We may be partial, but we continue to be surprised at how enamored we are with our little gift. We feel so blessed everyday.

I can barely believe that our little "baby bear" is already 3 months old! It feels like it was just yesterday that we brought him home. It is so true what they say... a baby really does change your whole life. Our life now revolves around Grady's feeding schedule, nap times, and mood changes. Some of his 3 month milestones include: holding his head up unassisted, standing on his feet, finding his fingers, talking up a storm, and enjoying his new friends at daycare. He currently weighs in at 15lbs 6oz and is 25 1/4" tall. We are daily amazed at our growing little man.

I'm really starting to fill out!

Tummy time is not always fun but I am getting really good at holding my head up.

Mommy and Daddy really enjoy making me laugh and spending as much time with me as possible.

Pattycake

This is Grady laughing his little heart out playing pattycake. He is really starting to be not only fun but entertaining! He really has brought a new level of joy to our household.