October!

October! Jake is very excited for this month because he LOVES Halloween! He talks about it a lot and can't wait to dress up as an Astronaut this year. Yaya found the perfect costume for him and he is excited to wear it! Lately, that is what he wants to be when he grows up..an astronaut and a Daddy. Of course, he plans to marry Sidney still..and she seems to still be on board with this plan as well. After a wedding on Saturnday night she told her grandfather she was marrying Jake in just two days! Yowsa!

We are also excited for October because it brings the arrival of our new baby! Jake still calls the baby a girl and hopes for a sister..but we continue to tell him it could be a girl..or a boy! Either way, I am confident he is going to be a great big brother. I took him to a sibling class last month and he loved changing the baby dolls diaper and feeding the baby. He also held the doll by it's leg..but we can work on that. We saw the nursery and he loved the view from the hospital room.

He spent this past weekend at Papa's house and was spoiled rotten, as always. It's been tough getting him up for school each morning this week.. On Tuesday I said "Time to wake up Jake, it's morning".. he said "why does morning have to come so quickly?" My thoughts exactly buddy!

There is no baby news.. as of yesterday at one week to my due date there is nothing going on and the baby is very happy where he/she is. Next Wednesday, 10/17 my actual due date, they will do an Ultra Sound to see how big the baby is. This is exciting and also frightening for me! With Jake I never knew how big he was going to be, besides the nurses in Labor and Delivery telling me he was going to be huge. Thankfully, they were wrong..7 lbs was just enough baby!

In other news.. we have had an addition to the family this month. Jake had 10 good days at school and was rewarded with a pet. He chose a very cute Orange Gold fish he named "Netster" (no idea where that came from). Jake and Daddy have had a great time creating a little aquarium for him and Jake loves to feed the little guy. Of course, my idea of a great home was a square vase for the little guy.. Daddy promptly upgraded him to a suite that would improve his quality of life. Smart decision I suppose. Let's hope Netster doesn't end up at the farm with Zak any time soon.

Happy October!

Falling behind

Its almost fall. I have not blogged since early summer. In a nutshell.. Jake turned 4 and we had a dinosaur roar party. It was a great day filled with lots of family, friends, presents, slip and slide action and donut cake. We spent his actual birthday at the. Children's Musuem in Boston, great times. Alex and I went to Florida courtesy of my Dad as a graduation present. We highly recommend Lago Mar Resort in Ft Lauderdale! Beach time, naps daily, great food and great company made it a fabulous trip. There was a trip to Ogunquit, Maine to celebrate and walk for Christian, trips to the beach with Mimi and fun at spray park, the zoo and playgrounds. August brought out annual trip to Lake George with the Conlin family. Once again, it was a fabulous time spent with lots of family..I will blog that soon. At the moment we are getting the house ready- did I mention we remodeled the kitchen.. We are still finishing up the little things and will hopefully be ready by the time Jake's sibling arrives. Let's hope he/she is late like Jake was. Thats it in a nutshell... I will hopefully get pictures up in time.

Hot Hot Hot

The heat is on! July is in full swing and so are the AC's! It's been a trying month for the Gregson family as our kitchen is in the midst of a much needed and much anticipated remodel. We are dealing as best we can, but are truly sick of take out food!! We are hoping the floors are in by next week and that our home is more operational very soon.
What have we been doing all summer? We hit the beach on the weekends when we can (and to get out of the contractors hair), the spray park at the YMCA is a hit for Jake (and Daddy), we just purchased a Zoo pass and hope to use it on sub 90 degree days! We try to get out to the back yard to his water table and pool as much as possible too. This past week has just been unbearable with the heat and humidity. Alex and Jake have had a few days a week together and love hanging out. Jake can't get enough of his Daddy..it's really cute and awesome to see how much he adores his Daddy..and vice versa.
With the heat and the start of my third trimester this week (add the remodel) I can get a tad irritable. I am trying not to let it all get to me and am enjoying the pregnancy as much as possible. Which, I have to say is flying by! 27 weeks today and only 13 to go. I really thought Jake would be more antsy about it and the babies arrival but he never asks when it will be here. He did feel lots of movement today by placing his hand on my stomach and he lit up when he felt the kicks and movement. I wish I could have captured his smile on film, he was ecstatic! He is very excited to be a big brother! He still insists on a sister.. time will tell. Maybe if this is a boy we will have to try again for him? :)

My Dad

June.. the month of many special days but one of the most important to me this year is Father's Day. Growing up I always knew my Dad was a great father. There was never a special occasion, athletic event or any other day that my Dad wasn't readily available to us and there to support us. We may not have lived with him in the same home all those years but we knew he was only a phone call away or a short car ride over if we did need him. For example..the many times I forgot to set my TV to record Days of Our Lives..one phone call and my Dad was on his way to set my VCR plus recording. Or the countless times I forgot my glasses in high school and was forbidden in center field or up to bat if I wasn't wearing them..he came to the rescue with those ugly green glasses. He's the go to guy that you want on the other end of the phone. Always.there.

I had a day in February that I got excellent news, February 14th to be exact. I had learned that morning via email that I had passed my Master's comprehensive exam..the dreaded 3 day exam I had taken weeks before and needed to pass in order to finally graduate. I called my dad on my way in to work and shared the news..he was just as happy as I was. That day was just a fabulous day, not because it was Valentine's Day..but because things were just finally looking up for me and Alex.

That night the mood of the day shifted. While out for dinner, my Dad called. I walked outside of the restaurant to take his call and will forever remember it. He prefaced the conversation with "Listen. I have to tell you something and I don't want you to be upset. Ok? Don't get upset." Ugh. My mind raced. What could he be telling me right now, and how can I keep my emotions in check when I have no idea what he is about to lay out. He went on to tell me that he was at Lowell General Hospital and that they did a biopsy that morning on him..and they found cancer in his throat and tongue. "But don't get upset, everything will be fine."

Cancer. The god awful word you never want to be faced with. In true fashion, my Dad went on to tell me things in an effort to calm my fears.. chuckling: "I'm OK, I just ate a Quarter Pounder from McDonald's." "I feel fine." "Just don't worry and don't cry." "The Dr seems to think it's very curable." The crying was inevitable..it was just a blow to the gut that I wasn't expecting. But really, do we ever expect or want this type of news?

I let the news sink in and I'm not going to lie..it scared the daylights out of me. My Dad is my rock. Ironically, I had been talking to my Mom on the way in to work that morning and she was mentioning how much she missed her own mother and felt guilty about not mourning her father as badly as she did her mom. My exact words to her were: "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you mom..and I really can't even fathom losing Dad either". It's life.. I know it. I have since had the same talk with my Dad since February and he's laid it out there..there is nothing we can do about death..it happens and we will survive. It still doesn't make it any easier.

That night I went home and as word started to spread within our immediate family, it became more real. I'd like to say I took the news the way my Dad wanted me to and I didn't get upset or cry.. but I cried like a baby. As I sat alone in my bedroom it all came out especially when I thought about the worst case scenario of this ugly disease.

I talked to my dad a few more times that night and the conversation that I will never forget is what makes my Dad who he is. I started to cry and again, he told me not to cry because everything was going to be OK..my response was: "It's been a day with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows". As he always is..he remained upbeat at that moment and turned it on his daughter's accomplishment and said "I know, but I'm so proud of you for passing your exam"..it wasn't the exam that was the high.."I found out today..I'm pregnant, Dad." He could not have been happier..and I could hear how excited he was in his voice. He never agreed with me, which he could have and said "ya i know, cancer sucks and this sucks." Instead, he chose to focus on the positive things the day brought and not the diagnosis that just rocked his and our world.

Of the course of the next few months there were Dr appointments and a surgery and chemo and radiation. Again, he never bitched about it (outwardly anyhow)..his goal was to get the treatments done and put this behind him. Sure, he didn't like the feeding tube they put in just in case he stopped eating, or the fact that he lost his taste buds or the dreaded hose they put down his nose and he swatted out. His focus was getting better and getting to our family vacation in August. He has not let cancer get in the way of the things he enjoys most..time with his family, time at the race track or time shooting craps at Foxwoods. Just days after finishing his treatments he sat for hours at my graduation. He's one tough guy!

A friend texted me in April asking how he was doing and how treatments were going..and I was happy to write back that he was handling his treatments well, even doubling up radiation treatments to get done faster and while he lost weight he was still looking good..and he never did lose much of that full head of hair he has. While I wrote about his progress with a smile on my face it hit me when I finished the sentence.. "I'm proud of him". I truly am proud of the person that he is. Again, I have always thought of my Dad as a super dad..there is nothing that he wouldn't do for his kids and his family and for anyone else for that matter. Nothing. But, it's the way he handled his diagnosis and battled through the treatments, the way he worried about everyone else and how we reacted to the news that makes him the man that he is. He's one heck of a role model, not only for his own children but his grandchildren as well. I'm just so proud to call him Dad and I hope he knows on Father's Day and every other day he's the most amazing man I know.

May...

May brings lots of celebrations..Mother's Day..Mimi's birthday..Papa's birthday..lots of friends birthdays and it's graduation season! We all got together this past weekend to celebrate a certain someone's graduation. Finally.

Routine

Jake loves him some night time routine! Alex normally puts Jake to bed but on the off night that it is my turn, Jake isn't too happy. They have songs and books and stories..and I .. can read books..but I don't tell the stories that Alex does..nor do I know the song routine. I know it starts with Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and ends with the Wonder Pet's theme song.. but the order in between is where I fail. As Jake always says "Daddy doesn't ever ask 'whats next' like you do." Well exxxcccuuuuseee me!
What I do love to do is to listen to them upstairs going through the routine. Lately it has been tough to get Jake to buy into the fact that it is bedtime.. at 7:45 its still not dark.. he is hardly convinced that it is bedtime when it's light out.
What is this little guy up to these days.. well at 3.11 years old he has learned that he can climb the small tree in our backyard. Thankfully, it is not a tall tree, nor is the part that he climbs very high off the ground. It does reiterate the fact that he is ALL boy. Alex had to sign a copy of Jake's progress report at school.. and while he is not a genius his teacher did state he is "very smart". I chalk this up to his curiosity, his love of books and stories and using his imagination.. he is into numbers as well. He loves adding and loves when we quiz him on 2 plus 2, 3 plus 3..etc. He loves to learn, and we love teaching him.. left and right is what he is working on now. It's really cute that he loves to learn. His mother, on the other hand.. is fed up with learning.. I happily pass the torch on to him.
This morning I asked Jake if knew that it was Mothers day this weekend and if he was going to take me to lunch for Mothers day.. he flat out looked at me and said "No"..shocked at my sweet boys response I asked why not.. "I don't know how to drive, Mommy!" Good point..
Happy Mothers day to all the fabulous moms that we have in our lives..

Hey now..

Back in the blogging game! It's been a wacky two months since we have written anything. Those two months have been Cah-razy with a capitol C! I barely touch my laptop at night..well, unless its to write that damn research paper that has finally been submitted and I can finally stop complaining about..until about a week and a half from now when I have to "defend" it. Defend it I will.. I may just start with "I have been working on this G D degree since Fall of 2007 and if you don't pass me I will QUIT." Wahhhh Wahhh Wahh! The quest for this degree actually started in the Spring of 07 when they allowed me to take classes without being in the program to see if I would fit in (aka it had been almost 10 years since my BA, so i'm sure they wanted to see if I could hang with the young crowd again). Fall 07 I was officially in the program..gung ho and ready to conquer this College Student Personnel program..and then and awesome thing happened.. I got pregnant. The first semester felt like an eternity but it was completed and I took a year off to survive pregnancy and to begin to raise my baby. Well..I am happy to report that I ended my quest for that degree the same way in which i began it..pregnant! Yet another semester that feels like forever and I can honestly say that I will never ever take another class as long as I live. Never. Ever. Ironic as it is..being that my career is in Higher Education. I am very happy to sit back and help others take classes and help them figure out how to afford it and juggle all that comes along with it. I'll never enter the classroom as a student again. That's how over school I am.. way over it. So this semester has been busy..raising Jake..battling my paper.. battling nasseou..(you'd think i'd be able to spell that word by now..but i cannot!). It's been so long since I have blogged, the page looks different! I cannot even find spell check! Off on a trip to Savannah tomorrow..gonna miss my boys but the thought of a King sized bed and the remote to myself..wow. How will I ever stop myself from checking out what is on Disney and Nick Jr? I'm sure I'll find a way...

Soccer

Jake: I have never played soccer, but I want to.
Me: Ok, Jake maybe we can get you on a team?
Jake: Ok
Jake: Wait mommy, what does that mean?
Me: We can get you on a team and you can play soccer.
Jake: I would like to play on a team like Mommy.
Me: ok
Jake: Yes, I would like to play on a little kids team and a mommies team. I will bring my squishy soccer ball.

Sign him up!

For Auntie Kim..

Last night as we left the gym Jake looked out and said "look, the moon was fixed!". :)

Don't cry..

and I didn't.

Jake and I took a much needed little get away to Yaya's house this weekend. It was great to see my mom and to also get out of RI for a couple of days. Jake and I slept in the same bed for two nights..let me rephrase - he slept, I kept pulling him off of me and moving him over. The second night I smartened up and put a body pillow in the middle of us. We both slept much better. He did however, yell in the middle of the night "GOOOO Tom Brady" It was really cute! Also, the second night he yelled for me..only for me to pull the blanket off my head and reveil to him that I was, in fact, laying right next to him.


On Sunday as we were leaving I got a text from Alex that said "Don't cry" with a picture of a big boy bed in Jake's room. Yes, a bed. Yes my 3.7 year old has been sleeping in a crib this whole time. Let me tell you why..he has never complained about it, it keeps him contained, and it is the same mattress we would use for his bed. In other words: "if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it!" SO. We waited. I have to admit as well, I thought about upgrading him months ago but I was too worried what it would do to his sleep. This kid loves sleep as much as his parents, and I didn't want to ruin that for any of us! He also had told us that when he got his "big boy bed" he wanted it to go in Mommy and Daddy's room. You slept with us in a bassinet for 6 months kid, remember?

We came home Sunday and he was very excited to get into his bed and jump of it! He laid down, pretended to sleep and brought his Alvin, Simon & Theodore animals in bed with him. Did I cry? NO. I am proud of my little man..and while at times I am sad that he is growing up (5T pants already!) so fast, I am very proud of the little boy he is becoming. Yes, he does push our buttons at times and loves to get hungry at bedtime or have to pee the minute we walk about of his bedroom after putting him to sleep. But, he is also a sweet cuddle bug who loves to play games, tell us we are his "best friends in the whole world", kiss randomly, hugs often and is never afraid to say "I love you" at any given moment. I'm proud that he has 100% mastered the peeing on the potty thing..and I know he'll get the # 2 part real soon. Although, he did tell us last week that the reason why he was pooping in his pants was because "My poop doesn't like our toilet". Ok. That's not to say he isn't successful at it, he has been about 50% with it. Progress.

Progress. We are all making it. Im trying to look at Jake and look at all he has accomplished and not worrying about how old he is getting or getting sad at the fact that he is hitting these awesome milestones. There are only more milestones for him to hit and for all of us to rejoice in them.

The day came...

Jake has "girlfriends"..he has Sidney and he has Lilly and he has other older woman who just find him adorable too. I know that he expresses that Sid & Lil at various times are his girlfriends and I am ok with that. In fact, we encourage it! Its cute..they have all been friends from day one and of course we joke about who is going to pay for the weddings years (MANY) from now.
Today was a different day. I dropped Jake off at school and a cute little girl asked Jake about 3-4 times as I was getting his coat off to sit with her and color. She set both of them up with pages to color and put a seat right next to hers and patted it and said "sit here". She was aggressive in a cute 3 year old way. I really didn't think too much of this exchange until tonight..as I was kissing Jake good night before bed he said to me "Kayleigh asked me to kiss her". "ok..so what did you tell her bud?" Jake replied that he told her no and walked to the other side of the classroom. I thought this was a good idea in my oh so protective mom way and I asked him how come. " There is no kissing in school. Papa told me no kissing in school" The first part I like, the second part I do not buy! Papa? Kissing at school? In any case..he has an admirer! HOw can I say I am surprised? I am his mom, of course I think he's the cutest thing since Tom Brady..

2012

Half way through January already...yowsa! The new year started with a night of dinner..

Just had to put the computer down because Jake walked over and announced he wanted to cuddle with me while he watched his last TV show before bed. How could I resist? If there is one thing that has been consistent for him it's that he is still a cuddlebug...kisses and hugs are some of his favorite things to do too. He's one lovey boy.

Where was i? Ok..so New Years was spent low key with a dinner for the 3 of us at the 99 and then it was bed time for Jake and Alex and I watched the ball drop. Uneventful but just how we wanted it. Last weekend was spent up in Lowell celebrating my brother Tim and his 40th birthday. I couldn't tell Jake that we left him at Mimi & Grampy's to head to Uncle Timmy's birthday party..I didn't want to bum him out that he was not going to be in attendance. It was, after all, at a bar..Jake has so grown out of that stage. The night was fun but I am still a tad shocked that my big bro is 40.

January is action research month for me..research starts for the fabulous capstone of mine on Tuesday..I just want it over with! Comprehensive exam at the end of the month.. what a way to start 2012. Not going to let it get me down though..in 4 short months I should be done and graduated.

2012..what will it have in store for us all? Can't wait to find out!
Happpy New Year!

Wow! Christmas!

Turn your volume all the way up to hear him whisper..








In the photo below with Jake standing on a chair it had just started snowing for a minute or so when he said "This is the most wonderful Christmas"... yes..it was.

Christmas Pics..