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

Another Wednesday

Time passes too quickly and we don't get to write as often as we'd like! This past weekend was beautiful and Jake got to get outside to enjoy it..from family pictures down at the beach to Wilson Park for Mommy's soccer game, we enjoyed being outdoors for a majority of the weekend.
It's amazing how times have changed. At Wilson Park on Sunday our women's soccer team was playing as the Dad's and male friends sat in the shade caring for the babies and cheering the women on. I don't ever remember as a child going to any sporting events and watching my mom play, it was always the Dads! I am proud to be a soccer Mom, but not the average kind who sits and watches!

Today would have been Jake's Grandpa John's 60th birthday..we wish him a Happy Birthday as he watches over us every day and will celebrate as he would have - with a nice big bowl of ice cream!

Wednesday!

Back to having a Wednesday off..we had a great day, despite the yucky weather. Jake and I hit up East Greenwich and "Mother Goose" story time at the library. True to it's website description it was a 20-30 minute story time for children 3 months to 2 years. It was a great interaction with other kids, lots of singing, reading and free play as well. While he was the youngest there, he was definitely one of the most well behaved. Some of you know, Jake had a minor incident at school last week..he "bit" another child. Apparently, the teacher thought he was leaning in to kiss another child but he chomped down instead. No blood, no skin even broken! So, we are now careful with how we "play"...I will no longer play bite his chubby cheeks! Well, at story time he was kicked! HA! A sweet little girl was a bit jealous of Jake and his hogging of "Spot" the stuffed dog. It was a soft, love tap I believe. BUT, it did make me feel a WHOLE lot better about Jake's recent actions! Kids will be kids!

We are looking forward to sunny weather this weekend and hope to get out to the Sea Wall and walk on Saturday morning. Bring on the weekend and it's sunshine!!

Go Sox!

A real baseball game??


We had a wonderful weekend full of Sox action! Saturday we took Jake to McCoy stadium in Pawtucket, RI for his very first Pawtucket Red Sox Game. He was decked out in Sox attire and had a wonderful time! We finally got to get out with the Bjorn. In Jake's younger months, Daddy would walk the house with him in the Bjorn..we finally got to get out of the house with it!


He had a smile on his face the whole walk to the park!




The stadium wasn't too crowded so it was very easy to have the little guy there with us. We met up with many friends there who passed him around like the World Series Trophy the whole game. He loves to play with hats, so this was a great setting for him.




A few friends..





Sunday, Alex and I got to head to Fenway for the Sox-Orioles game. Sorry to disappoint, but there are no pictures of the two of us at the game. If Jake's not with us, neither is the camera. Thank you to Auntie Kaylin, Grammy and Grampa for taking care of the little guy while we got to enjoy a day at the ballpark. A date at Fenway was just what we needed. Samantha and Courtney met us at the game, a nice surprise as they got tickets this morning and let us steal them for a bit.

I must pass the computer over to Daddy who has a PAPER to write! Wish Alex luck as he finishes up his semester!!

Oh..Happy Greek Easter!!!

Short but Sweet

Hope the Easter Bunny was good to everyone. Jake and fam enjoyed a great weekend filled with lots of candy (the only time we wont feel guilty eating the little man's candy), food, and wonderful people. We have had YaYa Connie visiting for the weekend and loved every minute of it. Jake loves having house guests!

The weekend wiped us out..but we will post some cute pics (did Jake don a TIE for Easter?) and more info on our actin packed weekend soon.

K, A & J

Happy Wednesday

Our Wednesday started wonderfully with Jake sleeping in until 8:30, which allowed me to sleep in as well. That's always a good start to any day! We hit up the Dr's again for Jake's 9 month appt. He weighed in at 21 lbs 10 ounces (60th percentile) and is 29 1/4 inches long (72nd percentile). Overall, the Dr thinks he is very well nourished and right on track. Again, he had fluid in his ears but this is most likely due to the congestion he still has. As long as it doesn't turn into an ear infection, we wont have to visit an ENT doctor anytime soon. He doesn't go back to the Dr for another three months when he turns a year old (already??).

Speaking of a year old..we are starting to get questioned on when the next lil' Gregson will be joining our family. I was out shopping today and a cashier at a store asked me when Jake was going to become a big brother. I just laughed it off and listened to this woman telling me how far apart in age her kids were and her own siblings and that I shouldn't wait too long. Thanks, very nice cashier. We know Jake wont be be an only child..but we are in no rush to make him a big bro anytime soon. I just want to enjoy the little man for the time being and not worry at this point how close in age his siblings will be. Alex and I have siblings ranging from 1 minute to 11 years apart..we have an idea of what both spectrums are! We love our siblings, regardless of the age difference and we think we are pretty close to them as well.


Jake and I got to catch some of the Red Sox Opening Day action and are excited for upcoming season! We are toying with the idea of taking him to a Paw Sox game next weekend..


"
GO SOX!

Jake wants to wish his big cousin Mia good luck this weekend..Mia is playing in her very first soccer game!


Go # 3!


How cute is she???



We will be very busy this weekend and hope you all have a wonderful Easter weekend! XO

Fun in the Sun

The Gregsons hit Newport on Sunday and had a great day! First off was Mommy's soccer game right on the water at Ft. Adams. The weather was wonderfully sunny but also very windy. With all the rain lately the field conditions were not the greatest but FCFC prevailed 1-0 despite the wind and mud! A big welcome back to Sidney's mommy - Marissa who just 7.5 months from delivering Sidney, played in her first outdoor game! She kicked butt and scored the games only goal - a true soccer mom!

While Marissa and I and the rest of the FC's played, Alex and Sid's daddy Brian took care of the babies. They did a great job entertaining the little people and had as much fun as we did, I am sure!

Preparing for the game:



They too battled the win and muddy conditions like true soccer Dads and even put both babies to sleep in the process.



After the game, we hit up an Irish pub in Newport for lunch and both babies were just adorable sitting in their high chairs making googly eyes at each other and holding hands at times. I'm sure this wont be the last time they sit in a bar laughing at each other..

We have a busy week ahead with a Dr. appt on Wednesday (what else would we do on a Wednesday?) and then a visit to MA on Saturday. YaYa Connie will be visiting RI this weekend too..we are excited for a weekend of family fun!

Update

Another Wednesday and another trip to the Dr! Jake has a pretty bad cough (croup like and sounds like it hurts!) and we were a bit worried that the ear infections may be back. He refused bottles yesterday at Daycare...something he does with infections. Thankfully, his ears looked great. They did put him on in inhaler for the cough though. It is extremely difficult to give him the inhaler treatment but we are hoping that with time it gets better. Today I let him play with the mask afterwards, I'm hoping he sees it as more of a toy than an inhaler. Time will tell. We will go back yet again next week for his scheduled 9 month appt (why the couldn't just combine it with the visits we had last week or this week is beyond me..they are making bank off of his co-pays I guess!).

Jake weighed in at a healthy 21 lbs 11 ounces again today, no change from last week. I can't wait until next weeks appt to find out what percentile he is in..I am assuming 90th still.

April fools day has arrived for the Gregson family but we didn't find it too funny..yet another on of our cars ( a borrowed one, at that) is on the fritz. We are on the search for a used Nissan Pathfinder..if anyone out there sees one at a decent price, please let us know! I highly suggest that if you have a car that is in perfect working order, do NOT allow Alex or I to drive it..we break cars apparently! I'm thinking we need to move to a major city where transportation is offered at a daily rate.

Celebrate Good Times

Another weekend has come and gone..why do they pass so quickly? Jake enjoyed a weekend full of birthday celebrations. Saturday he went to a birthday party for his cousin Hannah and enjoyed spending time with his family - grandparents, cousins and Aunts. On Sunday, we traveled up to MA to visit his Great Gramma Bettie for her ##th birthday. She hasn't seen Jake too much since he was born, so it was great to get up there and visit her and our uncles as well. Jake got to spend time with Ya Ya, Auntie Courtney and cousin Mia again, who just loves playing with him.

Mia loves having "baby Jake" around but inquired about getting her crib back from him because she would like to have baby of her own soon. I told her I'd talk to the Easter Bunny about getting her a baby doll for Easter..let's hope that keeps her happy!



With the weather going from cold to Spring-like and back again Jake's cold has stuck around. We hope the warm weather comes and stays for good soon and all the germs go away! He is battling a cough right now but hopefully it gets better. The good news is, he continues to take a bottle at Daycare, so we are thinking this is a sign that his ears are not infected again.

Just a few pics of him and his favorite ladies YaYa & Grammy..

Genes

First off.. Happy Greek Independence Day! Jake sported baby blue today in honor of this Greek holiday. Yes, he is Greek (there's A LOT to love about Jake..Greek, Irish, French, English etc...you name it!). His Greek heritage can be traced back to his Great Grandfather, James "Jake" Serfes, for whom he was named after.

Here he is showing his Greek pride and promoting the importance of taking your daily vitamins :



And..not only did he get his Greek genes from Great Grampa Jake - the full head of hair gene as well:




We spent the early part of our Wednesday at the Dr's office getting Jake's ears checked. Since he had a few ear infections they wanted to follow up to make sure they were gone. While the ear infections were indeed gone, there was still fluid in his right ear. He has had a cold this week with a runny nose so she thought maybe that's where the fluid was coming from. We will go back again in 2 weeks to make sure the fluid is gone. If he does continue to get more ear infections we will be directed to an "Ear, Nose & Throat" Dr and go over options then. Hopefully, there are no more infections! Genetics are not on his side, however. I had constant ear infections growing up and asked the Dr if this had any effect (or is it affect?) on Jake..she said it is hereditary because they are caused by your bone structure and how the fluid drains..what a lucky boy! Let's just hope this gene is not passed on!

Jake was a huge help around the house this afternoon, vacuuming the dining room for me. I walked by him as I was vacuuming and he latched right on to it. He had such a grip on the vacuum and was literally pushing it! He is so strong and was having such a great time, it was hard for me to get the vacuum back from him!



We better check RI's Child Labor Laws..


How do I get this thing into my bedroom?



After looking at today's pictures I have to say - it was a BAD hair day! Indoor and outdoors, I made him wear his hat today..blame it on Mommy!

Welcome Spring!

Hope everyone enjoyed their first Spring Weekend! Jake and I spent some time outdoors on Saturday at the St Patrick's 5K race and parade in Providence. Jake got to hang out with Sarah and her nephew Ben while Mommy and a few friends ran the race. In all, it was a fun day- getting to spend some time outdoors and having lunch after the race with friends was a great way to kickoff Spring.

Jake is just starting to go to restaurants more and more lately and does such a great job in a high chair keeping himself entertained. We keep him busy by feeding him solids or puffs..but for a majority of the time he will play with toys or survey the scene. He is such a busy body and likes to take everything in! I was a bit nervous after the race on Saturday, taking him out to lunch with the little energy I had after running the race..but thankfully he was such good little man!

Saturday night, Alex and I got to go to dinner with April & Greg and friends for April's upcoming birthday. I highly recommend Union Station Brewery in Providence - great beer & food! The little man got to spend some time at Grammy and Grampa's house and even got to sleep over. Amazingly, he is getting as big as the crib over there!



He is now sitting up in his tub as of a few days ago and now loves "tubby time" even more. It's cute to watch him splash like crazy and stop for a second as he gets water in his eyes..then he does it all over again. Here's a picture from tonight's bath time:




A shoutout to Jen Williams who finished her first ever race this weekend and did an awesome job!






The Gregsons welcome Spring and can't wait to spend more weekends outdoors!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy (belated) St Patrick's Day to you all! Jake enjoyed his first Green Holiday in style. He saved the Notre Dame jersey from Uncle Timmy for this very special day and wore it with great pride. After a long day at school he took his Mom and Dad to The Willows for some Corn Beef and a few drinks.

He was a hit at The Willows, smiling at anyone and everyone - sharing his cute Irish grin with the whole restaurant. He really loved all the action - the place was packed and he couldn't get enough of all the green and all the people. He especially had a grip on a few bottles..which made Mommy a little nervous.

** WARNING - There was no consumption of alcohol by anyone under the age of 9 months in the making of these pictures.


What are you drinking Mommy?



20 more years, really?




In other news....Jake's new favorite trick is clapping! If you say "YEAHHH" he will smile and clap for you. It is so cute to see. Today he was clapping a ton and also talking up a storm.. Dadda & Mamma being his favorite words, of course. We enjoyed our Wednesday together and got out for an hour for a walk down at the ocean with one of his favorite people, Dana and her polar bear dog. He loved the dog, and wants one for his 1st birthday. Please, do not buy him a dog. He also had a date with a few ladies tonight..one of them being Miss Sidney St Louis..they shared laughs over toys and had a great time!

Hope you all had a fun & safe St Patrick's Day!