Phewwww!

It's been a busy month around here! Between taking care of Grayson and juggling my photography, it's been a little overwhelming to say the least!

Grayson will be 6 months old on Wednesday! Where has the time gone? He is learning so much! He knows how to roll over (he's been doing that for awhile but he's not slow at it anymore). He even crawled to me once! He's learning how to copy our hand motions. He saw us slap our leg for the dogs to come to us and he started doing it! He even does it to TC and I lol. He saw me do this ocean wave motion with my hand and does that all the time. I even taught him how to sign "milk" with his hands. It's too funny! He doesn't quite know how to ASK for milk when he wants it, but he'll copy me when I nurse him lol. He can also sit up on his own with assistance with his boppy. He's such a smart baby! Can't believe he's 6 months old! :(

We took Grayson to the state fair and he LOVED it! Last year we went, I was pregnant with him! Daddy won him a minion. He's going to be a minion for Halloween (although the pictures below, he's a monkey. We just wanted to get a few shots of him in the monkey costume since he was too dang cute in it not to). Can't wait for his minion costume to be done so I can do some pictures in that :)

Here are some pictures from the last few months:

4 Months Old:

 

 Breastfeeding Session:

Just a little Halloween fun:

1st Halloween:

He LOVES those bananas!

 Eating green beans:

5 Months Old: 

 1st State Fair experience with Daddy:

Daddy won him a Minion

 He LOVES bath time!

 Riding the merry go round with Mommy:

Sick Baby :/

I swear Grayson cannot catch a break. First his milk protein intolerance, then him not passing his hearing test and thinking something wrong was his hearing and having to see an audiologist (thankfully he finally did), then his acid reflux, then his tummy problems and not being able to pass a normal bowel movement and having to see a gastroenterologist, then spending time in the ER for his tummy on his 3rd month birthday, then us moving and him being all confused and not being able to sleep well trying to get used to everything, and now he has an upper respiratory infection. Phew! One of these days, he'll catch a break and I'm bound and determined come the 23rd when he turns 5 months that NOTHING is going to go wrong. But at least he's still happy through it all. He's one tough cookie like his momma (if I do say so myself lol). Poor little thing will be sleeping and have a cough fit and wake up not able to go back to sleep. He's so sleepy! Just wish they could give him something but they can't with him being so young. He just has to fight it off as the days go by. Thank the Lord for breastmilk so he can fight it off quicker. My poor little poo-pa! :(

TC and I are doing alright. He quit his job due to management problems so he's trying to get a new and better job that will pay better so we can get our own place. We're living with my grandparents for right now until tax time hits. Hopefully we'll be out by then as long as we can get TC this job and save up money too. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE my grandparents and I love that they're able to give us a place to stay, although we're very cramped. I'm just independent and don't like to depend on people. TC's the same way. I'm just ready to live on my own again, have my own bedroom, my own kitchen and living room, and have a place Grayson can call a permanent home. But sometimes, you just have to suck up your pride and do what you have to do for your family. And that's what we're having to do. It is good to have someone to talk to when TC's not home where I'm not all by myself though because talking to a baby and getting crazy looks gets a little sad haha!

Business and been real slow which sucks! Hopefully when it starts getting cooler, I'll get business. Christmas is getting close and that's one of my busiest holidays along side Easter. So I'm pretty excited. And I'm even more excited for NEXT summer when I do my 4th of July stand mini sessions and my Lemonade Stand mini sessions. Even though I can't wait for cooler weather. Just dreading the winter. I have to be too hot and I hate to be too cold lol. Spring and Fall are this girl's seasons! Hopefully when we get our house, I'll have a room specifically for my studio. I really want to give my clients the option of indoor photos too. I just need to get the equipment and some back drops and some more photo props and I'm praying to God this works :)

Halloween is approaching I cannot wait! Pretty sure I'm more excited than a kid on Christmas morning! Grayson was going to be a sock monkey but NO ONE has the right sized costume in town and I refuse to pay $30 plus shipping to buy it online. So an awesome friend from college, Blair, is making Grayson a crocheted minion costume. Eeeeek! It's too cute! Can't wait to take him trick-or-treating. Just praying it's not too cold! I know it's probably lame that parents take their baby trick-or-treating when they can't eat food let alone candy, but I think he'll enjoy seeing what Halloween's all about (even if he doesn't understand it lol).

Okie doke. Gotta jump off of here. Grayson is crying and coughing like crazy!

Another Family Update

So much has been going on lately. First and foremost, TC, Grayson and I moved in with my grandparents due to land lord issues. The house we were living in got too unsafe for us to live in. It's been stressful. That's an understatement actually. It's just been so hectic trying to unpack, get Grayson back on a schedule, get everything organized, and have the time to balance work and mommy life. It's been crazy!

But anywho. Out big boy is 4 months old! He knows how to make funny noises with his mouth, roll over, eat mashed naners (as we call it), sit up in a big boy high chair, give kissies, pitch a fit (lol), and fully hold his head up (well he's been doing that but he does it so well!). His tummy time is increasing and he loves to raise up on his elbows. He even pushed off with his hands one time! He's getting so big! He's not a fan of oatmeal cereal though (we skipped the rice cereal due to it being known to cause constipation and he doesn't need help in that department lol). He's been having tummy troubles for about 2 months now and it breaks my heart. He has seen a gastroenterologist and was taken off of his acid reflux medicine and switched to a different one. THAT was a nightmare all on its own to get that! He's allergic to mint and that's the only flavor they have in that medicine. NO ONE had that medicine in stock besides Walmart but of course they only had mint flavor. So they had to order his medicine. He went a week without his medicine and you talk about fussy baby! His tummy is still bothering him and he isn't passing a bowel movement normally. I know breastfed babies can go 8-10 days without a bowel movement, but when he goes it's....well disgusting and looks like a bomb of poop exploded. But I won't go into detail about that lol. We had to take him to the Children's Hospital because he couldn't stop pooping last week and they gave him another kind of medicine that I have to put into a pumped bottle. Not sure how well THAT'S gonna work when he REFUSES a bottle since he's not used to one. Had to take him to his pediatrician a few days ago because I'm just so fed up with how he's in pain and it's breaking my heart. His pediatrician told me to give him the medicine the doctor at the Children's Hospital and if that doesn't work, he gave me a can of hypoallergenic formula (since he also has a milk protein intolerance) and I swear I'm gonna cry if I have to give him formula. I just want to breastfeed as long as I can. But if the medicine doesn't work and the formula does then I'm gonna do whatever it takes for him to get better. Poor little thing is just in so much pain from it all and I wish more than anything that I could just take it away from him and put it upon myself. So with that and his acid reflux and him being milk protein intolerant, it's been a roller coaster ride and this mommy is sleep deprived!

Aside from all of his problems, Grayson weighs 14.14 pounds and is 25 inches long! Growing like a weed!

My niece, Elizabeth, and him and just too cute together! She loves her cousin and Grayson is just so intrigued by her! They are just too precious! Elizabeth just turned 2 this past Friday. I've asked her for a month now what she wanted for her birthday and her answer is always french fries! Lol this kid is obsessed! I asked her if she wanted a baby for her birthday since she's obsessed with Grayson and she says so cutely, "noooooo!" and the look on her face is just priceless when she says it. Oh, I could just listen to her funny self 247. She's just too funny!

Grayson and TC act EXACTLY alike. Grayson loves his daddy so much! I swear if I didn't breastfeed him, he'd have nothing to do with me lol. TC was at drill this weekend and wanted to talk to Grayson before he went to bed. I had already laid him down for the night but he was being fussy. I put the phone against Grayson's ear and TC talked and you talk about that child's whole face lit up. But then he looked at the phone weird like, "woah da-da! how did you get in there?!?" Lol! Too cute! I walked out of the room to talk to TC again and once I got off, I went to go check on Grayson and he was out like a light. All he needed was to hear his daddy's voice. TC hasn't been away overnight since May so it was a little hard on TC.

Besides the move, we've been doing pretty good. Struggling a bit, but that's ok. This too shall pass! Goodnight folks! I'll add some pictures later :)

Family Update

Sorry I haven't updated lately. My internet has been down for a month and my laptop has been acting all kinds of crazy! Urghh!

Any way! Grayson is 3 months old (15 weeks to be exact). He's growing so fast! He weighs 12 pounds and 12 ounces now! Wow! He's been having a problem passing a bowel movement the past 2 weeks and is in some pain but still happy as can be. We have to take him to a gastroenterologist to see what's going on. My poor baby boy! If it's not one thing, it's another. But he's such a trooper through it all with a big smile on his face.

We have created a monster though. I put him in front of the TV ONCE to watch Toy Story 3 and he's hooked! So far, he LOVES Toy Story 3, Monster's Inc. (that's his favorite), Franklin, Blue Clues, and Dora the Explorer. And he LOVES watching his daddy play video games! He's so silly! He's now watching Shark Week with Uncle Koda. Lets hope this doesn't scar him lol

My dad came down for a week on July 23rd. He took us to Carowinds that Thursday and we had so much fun! It was Grayson's first summer trip and he LOVED it! The first ride we got on was the ride where you can view the whole park. He loved the lazy river until the sprinklers got in his face. It was cold and he didn't like it one bit! That and he hated the life jacket he had to have on. We got in the kiddie pool where he didn't need a life jacket and he loved it! It wasn't too cold and he was just a splashin and laughin! We then went around to the gift shops and Grayson loved the dinosaur shop with the big moveable dinosaurs. He was so intrigued. I rode Top Gun and lets just say I won't be getting on an roller coaster any time soon lol. We got a cartoon sketch of Grayson that I will add a picture of later. It was too cute!

Grayson got baptized on July 28th. Grandma Lollie (my mom), Pop-Pop (my dad), Grandma Sally (TC's mom), Nanie (my grandma), Aunt Amber (my sister), Uncle Jon (my brother-in-law), cousin Elizabeth (my niece), Aunt Gretchen (my best friend), and of course Mommy and Daddy were there. Aunt Gretchen became Grayson's God-Mommy. Such a wonderful day! :)

Here are some pictures over the past month:

Roller Coaster Ride

I swear I've been watching Lilo and Stitch too many times because I have that "Roller Coaster Ride" song stuck in my head! Lol! BUT it DOES describe my weak in a nutshell: roller coaster DOUBLE ride! Ha!

The 4th of July was alright. TC and I took Grayson to the Peach Festival. It was hot but then we got poured on by the rain. Luckily we brought Grayson's stroller that has a canopy where you over lap the car seat canopy to so he didn't get wet or sun burnt. We got my momma this cute, little crochet flamingo with a peace sign ribbon. Too cute! I'm gonna see if that lady can make me the sock monkey Woody from Toy Story. I saw it on Pinterest and fell in love with it because if yall know me, than you know that I LOVE sock monkeys and LOVE Woody from Toy Story :) We got some barbeque sandwiches and TC got some peach ice cream. Sad that I had to miss out on the peach ice cream and the peach floats but that's alright. Rather miss out on them for one day out of the year then to have Grayson be sick and hurting for days! We also walked around and saw all of the neat cars at the car show. My ex's dad, Randy, was out there with his hot rod. It was so good seeing him and Ms. Ruth. We had a lot of fun :)

TC bought me an engagement ring! Although we're already married, we haven't gotten a chance to get rings yet so he decided to buy me a ring. Now all I need is a wedding band and to get him his wedding band and we'll be good to go :)

Grayson has been worn out since yesterday festivities. We went out to TC's mom's house to shoot off fireworks. Grayson did alright with them. He didn't cry at all until we took breaks in between she loved the colors although they were really bright.

I forgot my camera at home when we went to the Peach Festival. I was SO mad! But I did remember to grab it for the fireworks :)

The Past Year

I've been thinking about the past year and how so much has changed and how much has been sacrificed. When I found out I was pregnant, I quit smoking. I was also on anxiety medicine and acid reflux medicine and I took myself off of them. I gave up a lot just to make sure my baby boy was healthy while he grew inside of me.

After a few weeks of Grayson being born, we found out he had a milk protein intolerance which pretty much means he's allergic to milk. I was never a big dairy person until I got pregnant. Dairy always made me sick. Once I found out I was pregnant, that's all I craved and still did after he was born. When we found out he was allergic to it, I had to cut ALL dairy products out of my diet. I thought to myself, "oh, this is gonna be a piece of cake! All I have to avoid is milk, cheese, ice cream, cakes, ranch, etc." Boy was I WRONG! I never knew just how many foods had dairy in them.

I could have easily just switched Grayson to special formula. But from the day I found out I was pregnant, I wanted to breastfeed him...and that's what I'm sticking with as long as it's what's best for Grayson. And right now, it is and I pray it stays that way until Grayson is ready to wean himself.

I have sacrificed my time away from my business, time away from my friends, time away from anything I want to do in my free time. I gave up smoking, dairy, my friends, being able to go out and get a drink, go out and see a movie, the list goes on and on. I've given up so much for this wonderfully, perfect accident that came into our lives. And honestly, I wouldn't trade it for the world! I'll always have time to spend on my business, my friends will eventually understand when they have kids of their own, and anything I want to do is unnecessary. Frankly, it's saving me money. I enjoy being a mother. I'm not complaining one bit. It's something I've wanted to be my whole life. Yes, it's hard. Yes, I want to pull my hair out when Grayson won't stop screaming. Yes, sometimes I just wanna throw in the towel. And YES, I have come to points where I don't think I'm cut out for this...but then I look into Grayson's eyes when he's staring up at me just a smiling and it's all worth it. Nothing can take that time away from me. The dishes, the laundry, the cleaning, the dusting, the sweeping and mopping...and even my business can simply be on the back burn. Grayson means the world to me! And if I have to sacrifice a body part for him, I would!

I've done a lot of sacrificing and have given up SO much just in the past 2 months that he's been born. But with the sacrificing, comes so much joy. With all the hardships, comes peace. And with all of the frustrations, comes laughter. Being a mother is the HARDEST thing I've EVER done in my whole life. It's the hardest thing I've gone through in my life and that says a lot. But at the end of the day when I see Grayson smiling and cooing, it makes motherhood so much easier.

I love you, Grayson Michael Wallace. More than anything in this world! Daddy's alright too :)

Here are some recent pictures of our sweet, little boy:

EXCITING NEWS!!! :D

Grayson went to the doctor today for his 2 month old check-up and shots. Although he screamed when they gave him the 3 shots, he took it like a champ afterwards. He squeezed my hand SO hard and once I got to pick him up, he was fine and fell right asleep once he got in his car seat. He's such a big boy!

The exciting news is that Grayson's levels for his milk protein intolerance have gone wayyyy down and he no longer has blood in his bowels. Me going dairy-free has worked and I couldn't be more ecstatic! I still have to go dairy-free until he reaches the point where he's outgrowing it as long as I'm still breastfeeding but this is a HUGE step! This means I can still breastfeed him and I couldn't be happier. I won't be having to put him on special formula after all. It's definitely the news I've been waiting on for weeks! Pheww! There's a HUGE weight off of my shoulders.

Grayson weighs 11 pounds and is 23 inches long. He's in the 50 percentile for weight and 80 percentile in height. He's gonna be long and skinny like his daddy! And to have hopes that he'd be a little short shit like me! Darn! Lol! He's growing so fast and I just want it slow down. It's definitely mind blowing that he's already 2 months old. I'm gonna cry! Lol! Before I know it, he'll be starting his first day of kindergarten. Then I'll REALLY be crying!

Grayson is asleep and TC and I are just relaxing until we have to go run some errands. So I'm gonna keep this short and sweet and jump off of here so I can get some work done. :)