Over the River and Through the Woods to Grandma and Grandpa's House we go...

My very first Christmas was all I hoped for...minus the cake Mom and Dad tell me we'll have in the future to celebrate Jesus' Birthday (no, I'm not bitter) -- Let me set the stage (and please sing in the tune of 12 days of Christmas..) --- On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me....18 hours of driving, 12 degrees outside, 11 meals a day, 10 kisses per hour, 9 new toys with music, 8 new outfits for stylin', 7 grown adults, 6 in the morning wake up calls....FIVE - DOGGIE -DOGS....4 times watching Christmas Vacation, 3 states of traveling, 2 grand kids for spoilin', and ONE HAPPY BOY!!! Well, after the blizzard of '09 and all 18 inches of goodness busted its way through Richmond, which by the way was nothing short of incredible...

Me, Mom, Dad, Daisy, 6 suitcases, 1 cooler, 2 brown paper bags, gifts for the giving, my pack n' play, Daisy's bed, and all the small necessities that come along with having a handsome devil like me were piled into Dad's Christmas gift to mom (thank you, Lord for providing a car with more room so Daisy and I didn't have to share a car seat) and we headed to Arkansas via Nashville. The original plan was to spend the day in Nashville as a family - the modified reality was to spend the night..literally just the night. We got a late start, Daisy whined to the tune of Come All ye Faithful the ENTIRE trip to Nashville, mom had a killer sore throat, I wanted entertainment and Daisy's singing didn't quite cut-it and I'm pretty sure Dad spent the entire trip to Nashville just praying for peace and quiet. We made it though safe and sound and the two folks we did interact with during our stay there (the bell boys) were just as southernly gentleman as we expected. My guess is they were up and coming country music stars...so I got their autograph. We (and by we I mean I) woke up early and was sure to make sure mom and dad knew that, we got our continental breakfast and before we knew it we were on the road again. The second half of the trip was much more relaxed. Daisy must have realized we had been driving too long to be going to her boyfriend's house so she just slept and I played and napped until we finally arrived.

Oh and arrive we did. It's been glory I tell ya..absolutely glory. Dad's cousin Thomas was here when we arrived and dad's brother, his girlfriend (& her two dogs), and my cousin Caity arrived on Wednesday afternoon and if you're doing the math with me that makes...seven adults, two kids, and yes...5 dogs. Nothing better than organized chaos and a chorus of woof woof, yap yap, and a few bow wow wows. I met my grandpa for the first time and that's been wonderful (although sometimes when I'm sitting and playing he sits in his chair and reaches out to me motioning me to come over to him...reminding me and all the others in the room of my lack of ability for mobility) -- along with the many kisses and hugs from my Grandma... playing with my cousin Caity...showing all my food and playing hide and go seek with my Uncle Thomas...and learning new signs from my uncle Aaron and his girlfriend Rayni...

Oh and people - I'm not sure what you woke up to this morning but right after mom and dad told me of the birthday party we were going to today for Jesus, apparently grandma and grandpa heard it wrong and thought it was MY birthday because gifts were EVERYWHERE. I could barely get the tape off one gift and two more were being tossed my direction!!! They were actually sweet enough to get presents for EVERYONE so here's Caity and I doing our thing...

I can't say enough how much fun I have had. I'm glad this trip isn't nearly over yet because there are MANY more family members to meet, food to be eaten, hugs to be received, and dare I say...presents to open??? How come Jesus' birthday gets to last so long??? Alls I know is you won't hear complaints from me!!!

I'm Happy and I know it...

Sorry for the dark video but my Monday/Wednesday babysitter, whom I LOVE, was wondering the other day if I was happy. Umm...CLEARLY I'm happy. See the post below this one for some more updates!!!

9 months and counting...

Wow - so, there's a few big things going on in my world right now. Let's talk about them. For starters, I celebrated the ole' 9 month mark. Thank you for all the emails I received. Secondly, I celebrated my first diaper rash experience. Maybe celebrate is a bad term there - at only 9 months my vocabulary is limited but I'm no diaper rash virgin anymore and to that I raise my 'butt paste' - that stuff works wonders. The rash was a result of a stomach virus that rocked me pretty much for the last week. I wasn't phased though. I don't understand what the big fuss people make over vomiting and loose stools. I'm pretty sure I remember mom curled into fetal position last time she was sick literally crying. However, in my opinion that just wastes minutes of the day that I could be playing. So, my theory is...play, play, play, vomit all over friend's rug, play, play, play, diaper explosion, play, play, play, full 8 oz bottle, vomit all over dad, play, play, play. Why waste time fussing over it when all that would do is warn mom and dad that I didn't feel well which would give them time to put me in some undisclosed location that would make it "easier for cleaning" after I get sick. B-O-R-I-N-G....all the fun in puking is when/where it's gonna happen - 9:00 pm after a full bottle sitting in the only expensive piece of furniture you got for the nursery (glider) on Dad with his freshly washed jeans on...A-B-S-O-L-U-T-E-L-Y.

(A comment about the picture below. Welcome to a 'day in the life of Gray' - SERIOUSLY, Mom and Dad?? This brings me back to the days of Robotic Mom when you basically would sit me in there and go on with life as you knew it. The ole' ring of toys - serves as entertainment and containment - you even open the book for me as if it's going to read itself to me..how sweet of you. And you take this photo from your cozy, comfy couch...I mean, why even get a babysitter for me on the days you have to work??? But aren't I so charming???)

Today I had my 9 month appointment with the doc. I love him b/c he calls me 'Chief' - I keep hoping mom and dad will catch on but they don't. So, the talk of the town lately has been my lack of ability to crawl. From what I can tell, mom is getting a little worried I'm behind the ball and dad has been a little pushy lately that I know where my nose is (ps. I don't know, I don't care, and please don't touch my nose again). A few things I want to say about this crawling business. Today, and this is no lie, mom was asking the doc about my lack of crawling. While he was examining me she was discussing my short-falls...awesome, thanks mom. He was asking some leading questions as to what I do when I'm on my belly, what do I do when I want something (uhhh..clearly i just point at it and tell mom and dad to go get it...who doesn't??), etc, etc. So, doc tells mom he's not too concerned about it but to get me dressed and meet him in his office. As mom walks in with me we see the doc looking at my chart and my recent height and weight measurements that were taken just a half hour earlier. Without prompting we hear, "OH MY GOSH...NO WONDER THE KID CAN'T CRAWL..HE'S A HORSE!!!" - Annnndd...thank you, Dr. Terry -- I am assuming you meant to say "HE'S A CHIEF" but I can understand how you would switch those two terms up. Let's just say that hearing phrases like, "off the chart" and "he's no lightweight" are becoming par for the course around here. BUT, doc said I looked like a million bucks...that my expressions were priceless; I am very social and have great eye-contact; and my muscle strength is right where it should be. No worries from him and so I'm hoping this will chill mom out for a little bit so I don't have to spend the entire day tomorrow on my belly.

--One other thing while I'm on the topic. Lest we forget people that I was born pre-maturely. I mean, if I can remember correctly my due date was March 14th. I was born March 13th and in the daytime at that. When I say that I'm 9 months and 4 days today..that's unadjusted --- ADJUSTED I'm 9 months and THREE days -- so, cut me some slack. Doc said I should be right on track with the rest of my unadjusted age group by the time I'm two. Looking forward to that so mom and dad can chill out a bit!

(Comment on the below picture...mom did a little photoshoot for a great friend of hers of her two boys who coincidentally are my best friends, William and Hudson. We did a few shots with me and another great friend Harper thrown in the mix and so I wanted to post to show you how my buddies are growing. Let it be known my love for dirt outweighs my love for looking at the camera and quite frankly, between you and me, I think Will is showing off to impress a girl we both like, Lucille, because he knows I can't crawl yet. This is me playing it cool.)

Alright well, I'm off to bed - I'm working on teeth #'s 5 and 6 and they aren't coming in without a fight. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna win but I wouldn't be surprised if this match goes a full 10 rounds. I love you all and I think the next time I update it will be from the living room of my Grandma and Grandpa's house in Arkansas. You can pray for us as we attempt an 18 hour drive over 2 days and we're bringing Daisy - departure is set for Monday at 2:00 a.m.

My cuz....

..so what if she's 5 months older than me and her head alone is 5 pounds lighter than mine. don't judge us.

hmmm...mine at home is keyless start..how do I get this thing going?

That's right, baby..they don't call it a love HANDLE for nothin'...just hold on tight..

wait a minute...you're my COUSIN..that's DISGUSTING - hand up on the shoulder please..geesh, I got way carried away there. I...I....I'm so sorry I called you 'baby'...I thought you were my girl Lucille for a minute.

And on that note I leave you with my well wishes for Thanksgiving. May everyone hang out in their undershirts and find turkey thighs that can compete with these.

Let it Snow, let it Snow, let it Snow...

Peeps -

Coming to you straight from Colorado..that's right, you heard me...Rocky Mountain HIGH, baby! Anyway, you'd never believe it if I told you but I'm going to tell you anyway..woke up this morning to all this white stuff falling from the sky! It was CA-RAZY...so naturally mom threw me in the most water ABSORBENT outfit she could find, my Pops (mom's Dad) grabbed a garbage bag to protect my booty, and dad found the perfect scene for my first experience in the snow! Also, as soon as I got out there I just kinda threw my hands in the air and yelled, "COME TO ME MY JUNGLE FRIENDS" and the deers and Dalmatians just came running. I have that effect on the wildlife. Call me if you have questions or concerns but I'm leaving you here with some pics to tell the rest of the story... luv.

Quack (sorry about the angle!)

A little ketchup...

I'm not sure if you guys knew this or not but...I'm a big boy. I don't mean just like, "oh hey, I'm growing up and getting bigger" - NO, I mean like, at my 6 month birthday I heard phrases like, "95th percentile" and "off the charts." Dad tells me all the time now that I'm the tallest boy in the world my age. Mom tries to correct him, "No honey, there are actually other children out there that are 'off the charts'" to which he always responds, "well then the charts are wrong." - that usually ends the conversation. Either way, I ain't no lightweight and if you plan to buy clothes for me for Christmas (or Columbus Day--no need to rule out Columbus Day) - I'd look in the 12 month sizes or above. You heard me..12 months OR above.

On a serious note about that. I don't say the above lightheartedly. Today I had the pleasure of spending the day with dad...yes, that's right..the WHOLE day with Dad as mom "HAD to go play in a golf tournament all day" and so it was Dad's day to dress me. He picked out his outfit of choice and after the fight to get it buttoned in the lower half and me wondering if this was supposed to be a 3/4 length sleeve shirt I'm pretty sure I heard dad say, "well Son, I know it's tight but it's on you now and I don't think I can even get it off if I tried" -- AWESOME. So within 10 minutes of my usual drool stream I was pretty much in a wetsuit for the day. First off..see the picture just above..you can't even see where my shirt neck ends b/c it's being pulled so low. Next, See Exhibit B below:

Umm..so moving forward past my chin(s) and yes, I too see the line in my chin in that picture above and no, I don't know if it really looks like that in real life and yes, I would like you to tell me if you notice it next time you see me as I would rather NOT look like the dad in Family Guy and if that's the direction I'm headed then yes, I may try to get surgery done sooner than later to correct this issue........I have been baptized. Yup, sprinkled with the water and declared a child of the Covenant. Praise Jesus!! NO, like seriously, PRAISE JESUS. What a big day for me and mom and dad and all the members of West End Pres. who stood up and said they would assist mom and dad in raising me in a Christian home and pointing me to the Lord. I overheard Mom and Dad saying the other day that they would specifically be excited for you guys to do that on Saturday evenings so if you feel so called to point me to the Lord during a Saturday evening shift (Mom and Dad promise to not stick around while you do this) - I can send out a sign-up sheet for the rest of October and the month of November. Just leave a comment and let me know :).

So, other big news is that I can rock a playground now. I own those swings and sometimes I have to hold my legs up to keep them from touching the ground. THAT is how tall I am.

I would like to tell you that I have two teeth. Both the bottom and it makes eating those kiddo cheese puffs SO much fun. I really enjoy when mom or dad feeds me so when I see one of those cheesy, puffy, curled pieces of goodness I just open my mouth and let them insert and then all you can hear is "crunch, crunch, crunch" as it goes in and dissolves away on my gums. With this whole feeding thing and mom and dad trying to get me to pick up food on my own and put it in my mouth..me and Daisy have become BFFs. Usually it looks like this -

Step 1: Mom puts cheesy puff goodness on my tray to keep me distracted while she prepares my meal.

Step 2: I drool all over my hands.

Step 3: I throw my hands down on the tray in a somewhat controlled manner and am able to get the oh so cheesy goodness stuck on my hand. Literally, stuck on my hand..I don't even need to clasp it with my fingers b/c like a magnet to a refrigerator, that bad boy is just stuck on my palm.

Step 4. Get real excited and flail my hands out to the side in Daisy's direction.

Step 5. Daisy eats ever so stuck cheesy goodness off my hand and I squeal with delight b/c it tickles.

Step 6. Mom looks over and sees aforementioned cheesy goodness is gone and assumes I have eaten and praises me with excitement.

Step 7: I get more cheesy goodness on my tray since I did such a good job and Daisy gives me a wink ;)

Step 8: Repeat steps above.

Okay, and since this has gotten too long let me just summarize other big happenings (or lack there of) - I still don't crawl but am rolling over with much more frequency. Diaper changing has become a sport for mom and dad as I do all I can to NOT stay on my back as they change o' so dirty diaper. I can go from sitting up to being on my stomach all by myself. I'm starting to get some hair (let's not get crazy on this though people - I'm short on the sides and longer on the top just like my Pops). Mom and Dad officially had to lower my crib since I learned how to turn on my mobile all by myself. That ruled. It was like TV in my bed since my mobile has a projection button that pretty much just turns on sports center with the touch of a button. My pop pop would be so proud to know that mom and dad have woken up numerous nights to "dah nah na..dah nah na!" --