Back to Reality

The Gregson's have taken a break from blogging..we have been celebrating birthdays & anniversaries, traveling, hitting the beach and the other fun things that go along with August!

Our vacation to Lake George was a good time. We got to spend a week with aunts, uncles, cousins etc and enjoyed every minute of it. I will be honest, although it was a "vacation", it was a lot of work. The house that we were in for the week was on the large side, so that meant it had lots of stairs. At this point, Jake is obsessed with stairs. We do let him climb on them, but he wants more more more and more stairs all the time. It's a bit scary right now, as we are trying to teach him to go down the stairs on his back side. Not as easy as it sounds! There was never a dull moment with him - he was on the go constantly, trying to climb stairs and exploring every part of this new place. He stayed up WAY past his bed time most nights and had a great time cruising the Lake George strip checking out girls.
One of the things Jake and I did daily was take a walk each morning with Papa Kevin. We hit the pavement early each morning and went a different route each day. By the last day we were hiking through the camp ground down the road and trekking up and down hills. It was a great way to see all of Lake George, and some nice down time with Papa. We really miss our morning walks with him!





The Lake was just across the street from the house and with the beautiful weather we had, we tried to hit the sand as much as possible. At first Jake was a bit hesitant to go in..but he warmed up to it rather quickly and had no fear walking to the waters edge and even further. He had a great time playing in the sand with his cousins.


One of the highlights of our trip was a day at the races! We packed up the cooler and hit Saratoga Race Track. Saratogo IS after all the August place to be! Papa got to introduce Jake to his favorite pastime - horse racing! We had a great time betting on them and checking out the horses and jockeys (some of the smallest butts on men I have ever seen!). We even had a celebrity sighting...Andy Rooney said "thank you" to Jake and I as we let him cut us in line when exiting the track. How
exciting!

The proudest Grandfather at the races! Jake's already choosing favorites!





We are now back in RI and looking forward to our up coming move! We have lots on our plate in the weeks to come but are extremely excited to get into the new home and make it our own.

I almost forgot..we are amazed at times home many times Jake takes a phone (or a brush, or a toy or just about anything really) and puts it to his ear and says "'ello'" while walking the house. This may be a bit more troublesome....











Everyone knows Mommy & Daddy drink Miller Lite...who drinks BUD LITE? Uncle Timmy?!

Happy Birthday Auntie Courtney!

Enjoy the beautiful sunny dad - We can't wait to celebrate WITH you next week on vacation!!

XOXO, Jake

Happy Birthday Daddy!

We are a few days late but Jake and I hope Daddy had a great birthday!! We got to celebrate a bit while Grammy watched Jake and we had dinner at Crazy Burger here in Narragansett. We are trying to soak up as much as Narragansett and it's surroundings before we move up north.
Also, Happy Belated Birthday to Mia Madison - 5 YEARS OLD!! Where did those five years go? We are looking forward to her carnival themed party this weekend!

The summer has been busy for us with birthdays,online classes, more birthdays and lot's of house hunting. Once we found "the one" we have been busy just trying to get everything in order. We plan to move mid-September and are looking forward to being closer to both families.

A big welcome to Jake's new friend - Lillian Jean Goodrich! He was patiently awaiting her arrival and is so happy she finally made her debut (only 13 days late!)! We look forward to visiting the new Goodrich family member very soon!

Jake is growing before our eyes and seems to be doing something new everyday! He loves to sing "Row, Row, Row, Row, Row (Your Boat) and still rocks out to The Wheels on the Bus. He is walking all over the place, getting into everything and anything he can get his hands on! Stairs are still a constant source of entertainment for him as well! He loves to shake his head NO whenever he is asked a question..but throws in a few Yes nods once in a while. Blowing kisses to the ladies and showing lot's of TLC make him the cuddliest little boy! We love every minute of his cuddlebugness!

Hope you are all ready for August!! Here it comes!!


Cheesing it up with Mommy!


Chillaxing with Daddy!



Happy Birthday MIA MADISON!!!

Busy bees

We have been super busy the past few weeks..but we promise to update really soon!

Hope you are all enjoying the summer!

3 G's

Bye Bye Hair

We have been asked a few times this past week "boy or girl?" in reference to our beautiful "ALL BOY" son. Another incident - OMG, SHE has the most BEAUTIFUL blue eyes. She is a boy, thank you. So.. we took Jake up to Daddy's barber shop and got his haircut. We have been saying for weeks if not months now that we were going to cut his hair. It's not that easy. In fact, it was very very very very hard. But, we did it. I have regrets, Alex does not. I look back at the pictures pre-cut and I miss his brown locks..I really do. I know this haircut will grow on me (please grow fast long lost hair) but it's just that I miss the little baby boy look he had. The baby look and the baby hair. It's gone.

Here are a few pre-cut, cut and post cut..










































































































Mommy got her hair cut today too..it doesn't matter..I miss Jake's hair more.

On a positive note..we had a great afternoon at the beach today with Grammy, Auntie 2, Dick & Auntie Kaylin...loved the sun sand, surf and great company!

Happy Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July! Today is Jake's first second holiday! Does that make sense? It's the first holiday he will celebrate for the second time...

Just 365 days ago he was this...







We hope you all enjoy the sunny weather and get to see lots of fireworks!

Walking! And lot's more.

First things first.. HAPPY (Belated) Birthday to Grampa Jack...Jake had a great time celebrating another birthday and eating more cake..



Jake had a great time feeding Auntie her cake..




And playing Hide and Seek with Auntie 2:



Last week we had Jake's one year appointment. One YEAR! Wow. It went very well and the Dr. said he is right on track for everything. She even had some changes for us. No more bottles or formula and no guilt over stopping the nursing. So, we have switched things up and Jake is now drinking milk or water from sippy cups only and eating big boy meals. So far, he has been great and loves to drink from any sippy cups and has some foody favorites: mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, kiwi, green beens, chicken and lots of other foods. He even had Sal's pizza last week, he will be well prepared when he goes to Merrimack.


Jake is walking, all on his own. On Sunday we cleared a ton of room for him in the living room and let him roam free. At first he was walking from person to person just a few feet, diving into us when he reached us. Then he started standing on his own while drinking from a sippy cup. He is now walking even more and standing more on his own. He is gaining confidence and will be running in no time. We are in for it! It's such a fun time though. He tends to laugh a lot when he is walking and has a great time doing it. Our little man is on the move!

I'm working very hard to get the video up of him walking..but it wont work. Try back!

We hope everyone has a safe and Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the amazing dads in our lives! We are fortunate to be surrounded by many - thank you for all that you do. To my own Dad - you have been my rock and biggest cheerleader no matter what path I have taken and I can't thank you enough for always being there for us. To my husband - you are the most amazing dad - Jake is SUCH a lucky boy! There really isn't a better Dad out there (sorry guys!).

Jake and Daddy got to hang out this morning for a short period of time as I had soccer tournament where we lost in just forty minutes. After that we headed to Gallilee and had a nice lunch on the deck. We then took Jake for a walk (after Alex pushed a Mini-Van out the sand they were stuck in ..I'm telling you - WHAT a guy!!) on the beach. We had a great time for a few minutes..walking hand in hand with Jake in the middle, up the beach. We thought it was so cute that Jake's little shoes were all sandy..and THEN he let go of our hands and fell face first into the sand. Thankfully, he got a little chuckle out of it..but we left the beach at that point. Needless to say, he had bath #2 of the day as soon as we got home.
The poor boy is getting a few teeth in and just wasn't himself this afternoon. We had to put him to bed at 6pm tonight..he was just so tired and worn out, and we think in a lot of pain. We are hoping the teeth finally pop through his gums soon and he is back to his cheery self!

I dropped the ball and had no camera on me today..so no new pictures from Father's Day but here was a cute one from Thursday. Jake adores his Daddy..and so do I!

Birthday Boy

Happy 1st Birthday Jake! Where did that year go? I know everyone says that they grow up so fast..but REALY..where did that year GO? It's hard to believe that it has been that long. A year ago right now, the three of us were just getting to know one another in a little room up in Providence! We have come a long way in 12 months..lots of diapers, wipes, tears, bottles and lots of love. I can't remember really what life was like before him and it's just as fine.

On Sunday we celebrated with a BBQ and had a great time with lots of family and friends. Judging by the room filled with toys - Jake is one loved little boy. It turned out to be a great day and we are so thankful to everyone who came over (and traveled near and far) to celebrate the little man's birthday.

Here are a few pictures of Sunday's party:



I dont have many pictures, but if anyone else out there does, please share! :)

Today, Jake's actual birthday was spent as Gregson family day! Our plans were to take Jake to the Roger Williams Zoo for a few hours but the rain cancelled those plans! Instead we drove up to Ikea and walked the store for hours, picking out houseware for a house we plan to own soon. We don't know where it is just yet..but when we do, we'll post it! :) After Ikea, we hit the Providence Place Mall where Daddy had to go to visit the Apple store. So..Jake did a whole lot of shopping on his first birthday!

While we had cake last Sunday to celebrate the little man's big day, we decided to have a little something for him tonight too - a Cookie Monster Cupcake. Jake LOVED it. I have never seen food bring out the color of his eyes like this cupcake did. We have blue all over the house..but it was well worth it.



Happpyy Birthday dear Jakkkke..


Is this REALLY all for ME?




Mmm.....









Again, thank you to everyone who made Jake's Birthday a VERY special one. XOXOXO

Totally Tubular

When I saw the Dad before me exit the OR in tears, my heart sank. I was delegated, not by choice, to hold Jake while the Anasteziologist gave him the gas. I'll have to admit, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. The little guy just dozed off to sleep and I left. Maybe it was the staff at the ENT, they were great. Every step of the process was explained and we were reassured it was going to be quick and easy. It was... Jake was great. He took it like the little man he is and didn't complain at all. The operation certainly didn't ruin his appetite, he was eating before he woke up! By the time we got home, it was situation normal climbing on Daddy and screaming at Zak. I was off to work, but Mommy assured me the Bambino was in typical form. When I saw him tonight, he was smiling and cuddling just like a guy who had a long day and was happy to be home. I rocked him to sleep and noticed how much better he was breathing already. All in all, the little man is going to be feeling much better from his hard work today...

Sunday Night Blues

Jake was so over tired and so bummed out that the weekend was pretty much over for him that he refused to go to sleep! The poor little man was extremely tired, but fought it for over an hour. I hate to brag about how well he sleeps at night for fear that it will all change..but I have to say - he is an excellent sleeper for the most part. We try to get him down anywhere between 6:15 and 7 each night and for the most part he is good about going down and will mostly fall asleep eating. He is usually pretty good for 12-13 hours each night.

Lately, we have had to wake him up at about 6:50 each morning to feed and get ready for school. I hope that tonight's anti-sleep mode is a one time thing! I feel for the parents of children his age who have cuties who like to wake up in the middle of the night or at the crack of dawn. I am not sure i could handle it! Let's face it - the Gregsons love sleep. I can say this because at the present moment my 11 month old is sleeping (it's 9pm) as is my husband..they both "went down" at the same time!

I think that Jake's sleep revolt tonight had a lot to do with the fact that we have been throwing him off schedule a lot this week. We have been out and about each night after work looking at houses..the Gregson's are looking to move to neighborbood near you! Or..Coventry/W. Warwick RI, if you happen to love there. We are ready to make the leap to home ownership and can't wait to find a house!

We have the big tube surgery on Tuesday..wish us luck. I am sure Jake will do just fine, it's Mommy & Daddy who may not be able to handle it. He will be having it at 7:50 AM on Tues, which means we have to be at the ENT Center at 6:50..and no food for Jake after 4:50 am. It may be a long morning..the boy likes to EAT when he wakes! Say a little prayer for us!

Have a great week!!

Good morning YaYa!

Just eating my cheerios...

Promise kept

Here are a few (or a lot) of pictures from a few of our outings. The long weekend (last week) was filled with a trip to the Narraganset Seawall and then the park..Jake had a blast on the swing. While he has been to a park before, this was our first time taking him ourselves..it was really cute.

Jake is still walking with the assist of a walker but getting better and better with it. He pulls himself up on everything and anything and will be walking unassisted in no time. He has taken one or two steps by himself but it's more of a dive to whatever he can grab on to. He LOVES to walk in his walker and chase Zak the fat cat. He is really starting to scream (in a happy way) and has found his voice. It sad, but we encourage him to chase after Zak and scream at him (in delight)..it's just too cute. I'm sure Zak secretly loves it too, it's attention at the very least.


Here you go Mom.. ;)










Jake's new food:


EGGcelent!

His new sleeping position:




Time to put his bumper on!

Jake was scheduled to have the tubes put in his ears on June 2nd but it has been rescheduled for June 9th. We aren't looking forward to the actual procedure, but are hopeful that it will rid him of the liquid in his ears and constant infections.

Looking forward to June - lot's of monkey business ahead! It

Lapse

To the two people who actually read this blog (you know who are) we are slacking! Lots going on with the Gregson's: work, school, work, school, new teeth cutting through for Jake, more walking with the walker (Jake, not us just yet) cruising along furniture..too much. I promise to update with pictures at the end of the weekend!

Happy Weekend!

Long Weekend Ahead!!

It's Wednesday..so where else would we visit but a Dr's office. Jake had a follow up with the ENT (Ear, Nose Throat DR) who confirmed that he will have tubes put in his ears on June 9th. Not only did he have another double ear infection last week but he also had fluid in both ears this visit. Not good. On one hand, I cannot wait for the tubes and for him to be able to hear the way he should and feel better. BUT, the thought of him being under anesthesia scares me. We do have the option of being with him when the administer the gas..but I am not sure I could handle seeing him doze off.

Before we went up to Providence for the Dr visit we headed to URI to celebrate our friend Abby's birthday. Abby's children - Molly, Myles & Hudson made signs for their Mom and surprised her with cupcakes during her work day..it was very sweet! Happy Birthday Ab!

We are gearing up for a great long weekend..Alex & I will be going to Boston on Saturday with many RI/MA friends for the 9th Annual Birthday Pub Crawl. We are very excited to celebrate our friend Abbie's (we have lots of Abb ie/y's born in May!) birthday and also the many MA friends whom celebrate each May with a Pub Crawl. Jake will be spending a night at Grammy's - he is looking forward to it! So are we! ;) If anyone is in the Boston area on Saturday, give us a ring and we can meet up for a drink at one of the 8 bars!

We wish Auntie Courtney, Uncle Tim and Auntie Shelley a fun and safe trip to St Louis this weekend... Uncle Timmy..PLEASE NO CARDINAL GEAR FOR ME! Thanks..XOXO Jake. ;)

Have a great long weekend everyone!

Hi YaYa!

Walk the Walker

Here it is....



He is soooo proud of himself..and we are very proud of our little walking man!

Just getting used to the whole video thing..sorry it's sideways!!

Have a great weekend!!

Happy Days!

Happy Mother's Day (a day late) to all the wonderful women out there. Whether you are a mother, soon to be mommy, aunt, grandmother, sister or just a fabulous woman - we hope you had a great day!

Jake woke up with a fever on Friday morning..causing a sick day for me and a day spent cuddling with him. Although the 103.7 fever wasn't so great, a day home with my little man cuddling on the couch was lovely. Who doesn't love an unexpected long weekend? He has since recovered from the fever but is still sporting a nasty cough. When will cold season end?

We enjoyed our Sunday at my soccer game in the morning and then spent some time with Grammy & family in the afternoon. In all, it was a wonderful day. It's great being Jake's mom - the best present in the whole world! I am truly blessed not only to be is mom, but to be surrounded by a fabulous group of women in my life.

We celebrated all week, as Jake and I headed to see Great Gramma and YaYa on Wednesday and had a good visit. Hopefully we get to see Auntie Courtney and Mia soon (hint, hint) to give Auntie her special mother's day gift. Lobstah?


Here are a few pictures of our Mother's Day celebrations and a visit from Uncle Jimmy who traveled from Boise, ID for a visit and made it an extra special Mother's Day week.



Soccer Moms




Happy Birthday to Auntie Shelley, who turns 3# today!! XOXOXO

Action Packed Weekend

We started our weekend celebrating Grammy Deb's birthday with a great meal cooked by Auntie Kaylin. Jake enjoyed the company so much that he just refused to go to bed at his normal 7:00 pm bedtime. Instead, he stayed up until almost 10pm! We figured he would sleep in on Saturday, so we really didn't mind much. He made his parents very happy by sleeping until 8:30am on Saturday morning..Daddy went in to go get him as he usually does on the weekends and couldn't believe his eyes. Jake was sitting up in his crib with his legs dangling out the side..holding onto the bars as if he were in prison. We think he may have been stuck as he was crying a bit and not too happy. Anyhow, it was very cute to see him sitting up, as he is normally just rolling around in the crib when we go in to get him. The camera was in the car..so unfortunatly, we have no shots of it.

Saturday we traveled to Massachusetts and celebrated another of Jake's granparents birthdays - Papa Kevin's. We have been celebrating a lot lately - as three of his grandparents were born within a four day span! Jake got to hang out with cousins Mia & Jasmine and got passed around all day, loving the attention. He showed them his army crawl technique and listened to Mia play "Happy Birthday" on an organ, sheet music and all. It was quite cute!

Wonder who he got his BLUE eyes from?



We then traveled over to see Chad & Deb's new little one - Sophia is as cute as a button as is her big brother Alex. It was very nice to be in Mommy's old stomping grounds as we got to visit Great Gramma Bettie and see YaYa Connie too. Gramma Bettie hasn't been feeling well lately but had a great time seeing Jake & Mia..they really brightened her day.

Jake was a great traveler and pretty much slept to and fro..and also slept in for us again this morning. I could hear him moving around in his crib but he was in the corner where you can't see him on the video monitor. I heard sounds like "uggh, aggggh", like he was working very hard to do something. Alex and I both darted to his door and walked in - to this:



So proud of himself!


He has learned to pull himself up and stand on his own! He was really proud and laughing as we walked in. Thankfully, we had the camera on hand and he was every so happy to smile for the camera. Daddy hung out with Jake for most of the day while I was gone and he created a little play area for him..but all Jake wanted to do was:




Stand on his own two feet!!

In all, it was a very exciting weekend..getting to spend quality time with a lot of our family and also watching Jake hit another milestone. He is very proud of himself standing and will most likely be walking in no time. Watch out!

Papa

Happy Birthday Papa! What a great day celebrating with you!



Pics to come... :)

Grammy

Happy Birthday Grammy!!!!! Jake can't wait to give you a BIG birthday hug & kiss