The Bud

Dear Greyson,

The Bud, Buddy, Budders, Monster, Monster Mash, Greyson Monster, G-Man, G-Money, G, Kiddo, Stinkbug, lovebug, kiiiiiiiiiiiiiidapotamus. It's amazing that you even know your actual name considering we very rarely call you Gresyon. It's not that we don't love your name, we do and it fits you and your personality. We just really love your nicknames too! I'm not really sure how some of these names even came about, but they did and have stuck. Buddy and The Bud are probably the names that we use the most and other people use too.

We went over to Aunt Jenny's house tonight. We originally went over to swim, but we never quite made it out there! We played inside and just hung out. I think you were disappointed a little because Uncle Greg was out of town and you just love your Uncle Greg. You two are definitely buddies. Aunt Jenny spoils you rotten though, just like your other aunts do! KB, well, he'll come around! :) I have no doubt that in time you two will be great pals. Until then, we'll keep your helmet on whenever KB is around.

We brought you pasta pick-ups (a gerber meal) but you wanted none of it. So I grabbed one of KB's green beans packs and heated it up and you devoured it! This amazed me because normally you don't like green beans. I'm not sure what changed in you today, but you loved the green beans! Then you ate some blueberries and raspberries and mac-n-cheese. When we first got there I didn't think you were very hungry, but apparently I was just feeding you the wrong thing! Crazy boy!

I love you buddy, forever and longer!
Love, Mama

Uh-ohhh

Dear Greyson,

Your vocabulary is developing! You now know how to say ball (bah) and uh-oh (uh-uh). You started this one just yesterday! You drop something or fall over and you say, uh-uh. It is hysterical! The only thing that isn't so funny about uh-uh is when you deliberately throw stuff on the floor, like your sippy from your high chair and look at us and say "uh-uh". Mama doesn't mind so much, but it drives Dada crazy. Gramma and I also think you are starting to associate milk with 'ba-ba". You see a glass of milk or your bottle and you say "baba". You amaze me everyday! You are so smart buddy!

We went out for breakfast this morning in Wayne. We, you, me and Dada, met up with Gramma and Papa, Great-Grandma Bruns, Great Aunt Judy, Uncle Kevin, Aunt Emmy, and Cousin Cole. You were such a hungry buddy! You are 2 1/2 pancakes (they were small) and Gramma shared some of her ham with you. You could not get enough of Cousin Cole. You kept watching him roll his Monster Jam around the table. This made Aunt Emmy sad because she just loves you so much and she wanted all your attention for herself. You just kept looking right past her to see Cole. Don't worry though buddy, she still loves you. Just like everyone else that you meet, Emmy is so in love with you that she's ok with you not paying her any attention. Just like Mama, she just wants to see your smile and hear your giggle, even if it isn't intended for us.

You didn't nap again today very well. I'm not sure what is going on with that. I'm thinking today is because you woke up really late this morning. You slept in until 8:20 and then played in your crib until 9:20! An entire hour! Holy moly was that awesome for Mama. The only bad part about that was when I finally did go and get you, I realized very quickly that you had a major explosion. There was poop EVERYWHERE! Normally you hate to sit in poop, but apparently this morning it didn't bother you one bit. We had to take everything out of your crib and throw it in the washing machine, sheet, quilt, purple blankie, and stuffed animals. All your other toys had to be taken out and washed, too. G-R-O-S-S! Milk is doing some strange things to you, buddy! Hopefully it gets better soon!

I love you buddy, forever and longer!
Love, Mama

Best Gift Ever!

Dear Greyson,

This morning you gave me the best gift ever. Quite a few of them actually. You were playing around and all of a sudden walked over to where I was sitting, leaned over and planted a big wet kiss on my lips. You looked up at me, then Dada and then did it again! You did it probably 4-5 times. It totally made my day! When we were over at Aunt Libby and Uncle Jason's you did it to me one more time through the slats in the baby gate, you on one side and me on the other. I love your kisses! I don't get them very often but this morning you were full of them. I'll take them when I can get them!

The rest of the day you were very grumpy. I'm not sure if it's because of your teeth or if you aren't feeling good due to the milk, or what. But it made for a pretty long day. Your naps were pretty messed up, you got up early, and every thing made you upset. When it was bedtime, you pretty much passed out right away, which is why I had to take a picture of you! You are sleeping in that picture in the same position I laid you down. That never happens. Just goes to show you exhausted you were.

Last night we went for a walk. We walked from our house to the city park and around the loop. It was really nice out and you were so good! You sat in your stroller and just enjoyed the ride. Mama and Dada took turns pushing you and talked pretty much the entire time. I love our little family.

I was thinking today about how lucky you and I are to have Dada. He is the best. He is my best friend and I love being able to talk to him about everything. I hope that one day you are able to talk to his as openly and freely as I do. He is full of great advice and knows so much about lots of different things. He is always teaching me something new, whether I want to learn it or not. He is so helpful and I really don't know where he gets his energy from. We are so lucky to have him. He helps with diapers and feedings and never complains. He puts up with my double standards when it comes to what you can eat, ok, he complains about that but he does it anyways. And ever since you were born, he has taken turns with me getting up with you at night. Even though you sleep really well at night, we still switch sides in the bed, just in case. We are the definition of team when it comes to taking care of you. I don't know how in the world we got so lucky, but we did and I am so grateful for him. You are, too! I can tell by the way you look at him.

I love you buddy, forever and longer!

Love, Mama

You're so vain...

Dear Greyson,

You love to look at yourself in the mirror. You smack the mirror, laugh, and lots of times try and kiss your image. It's too funny! We were playing on the bed last night and you were in the silliest mood. You kept walking up to the mirror, well, bouncing is more like it, and screaming. I have to admit though, I can't really blame you for wanting to look at yourself. You are the cutest buddy and I cannot get enough of you!

When I got home from work tonight I once again got the amazing little smile that you give us. It makes my whole day! You walk right up to me with your arms raised up and I cannot resist. On the off chance that I don't pick you up, you plop your butt right down and start to cry. When you do that I can't help myself and I pick you up right away. Dada says I shouldn't do that because I'm creating a bad habit, but I think he's just as guilty as Mama.

We had BBQ ribs for dinner tonight. You probably ate more than Mama. As soon as I could put some on your plate you were grabbing it right up and shoveling it in. You were also slurping the BBQ sauce off of your hands. They were very yummy but your reaction was awesome. Gramma loved how much you enjoyed them and Papa laughed each time you'd slurp up your hands.

I love you buddy, forever and longer!

Love, Mama

30 Minutes

Dear Greyson,

30 minutes. That's it. That is the total amount of time I got to spend with you. Doesn't seem fair, does it? 30 very short minutes. I didn't get to play with you at all. My time with you today was getting you ready for the day and putting you to bed. No exaggeration. It breaks my heart to think of how much I missed today. I have gone in just to look at you so many times this evening. You were so tired this evening that you went down without a peep. Normally I would be jumping up and down about that. Today, not so much. You drank your bottle, Dada went and refilled it, finished that, I popped the bink in and you were out.

Aunt Jenny and Uncle Greg picked you up from Cindy's today. You went home with them and they fed you dinner, but Jenny said you didn't eat a lot. You haven't had a very big appetite the last few days, so that didn't surprise me very much. Then, you went to the swimming pool with Aunt Jenny, Uncle Greg and KB. They said you had so much fun. Unfortunately, with 2 little ones they weren't able to get any pictures of you. That bummed me out, but I'd much rather you be safe. I cannot wait to go to the pool with them another time. I will get so many pictures to make up for the first!

I love you buddy, forever and longer!

Love, Mama

Worry Wart

Dear Greyson,

So, I was a big worrier before you ever came around, but now that you are in my life I am so much worse! I worry about anything and everything you can imagine. I actually drive your Dada crazy with how much I worry about the two of you. After reading an article in the Washington Post this evening I am so grateful for how much I worry about you and how often you are on my mind. It was an article about people forgetting their children in their cars. I cannot imagine how heart-breaking that would be for a parent. What is worse, the parents in the article, were not bad people. They were loving, adoring parents, who made a mistake. Things like this make me crazy with worry! This is one of the reasons I always ask Dada to send me a picture of you when you wake up, or if I take you to Cindy's I call him after to tell him how it went. You have been sleeping through the night for a few months now, but I haven't actually slept an entire night since before you were born. I still get up and check on you throughout the night. I stand over your crib and watch you breathe. You are so amazing and full of life. You are my whole life, and I have a feeling that as I watch you grow, my worrying is only going to get worse.

I love you buddy, forever and longer!
Love, Mama

Happy Father's Day!

Dear Greyson,

Today was our very first time celebrating Father's Day. You, buddy, have the best Dadders in the entire world. He is the most loving, funnest, caring dadders. He can make you giggle just by looking at you. Sometimes I get a little jealous of the relationship you two have, but then I think to myself, how lucky are you? You have a Dada that cannot get enough of you. Your eyes light up as soon as you see him. It's the sweetest thing! The picture shows how much you love your Dada.

We spent this past weekend camping with Grandma and Papa, Aunt Emmy, Uncle Kevin, Sami and Cole. Aunt Jenny came up for the day on Saturday with KB and Evan. It was such a great weekend. Friday night was a little scary because of a windstorm/thunderstorm. You slept through me running across the campsite into Gramma and Papa's camper, thankfully. Saturday we went to Maumee Bay's beach. That was a lot of fun! You just loved splashing in the water. Sunday was Father's day, so we spent some time just the three of us before heading out to Jamie's grad party and then dinner with Grandpa Jon and Aunt Libby, Uncle Jason and baby Brenden. You just love getting to spend so much time with your big family! Dada and I do, too!

I love you buddy, forever and longer!

Love, Mama