Whirlwind July

Hello All~

Well, July has been another busy month and it really seems like it flew by as I find myself preparing to head back to work (part time - thank God!) for the new school year. Here's what we have been up to. In early July Greyson and I returned from our fabulous trip to Chicago and spent a little over a week relaxing at home waiting for Kyle to finish training. Kyle then returned from Ft. Lewis, Washington, and we were all very happy to be back to a family of 3! Then the craziness began....literally 24 hours after Kyle returned we took a flight to Chicago and then drove up to Door County for a wonderful 5 day vacation. Door County is considered the "Cape Cod of the Midwest" and it holds a special place in our hearts. Kyle grew up visiting there and this was our 4th visit there together. Always a pleasure to visit a beautiful area where the pace of life is a bit slower. We enjoyed visiting with family friends - The Schultz's, attending a delicious fish boil, climbing the tower at Penninsula State Park, playing mini-golf at the Red Putter, and visiting Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant for breakfast. It was a fantastic first vacation with Greyson, and a wonderful way for us to bond back together as a family after Kyle had been gone for a little over a month. Since returning from our trip we've enjoyed some downtime together at home with Kyle on leave and my summer break. Soon enough we'll be starting our shared parenting schedule with Kyle back in grad school and me doing my afternoon technology teaching. We're both THRILLED to have Greyson with one of us all day and hopefully once we all adjust to the new schedule it will move along smoothly.

A couple updates about the G man - he's now a little over 5 months and entering some new stages in his life. The biggest change is Greyson is now a "big boy" and starting to eat food. He's having rice cereal twice a day - granted most of it goes into his mouth and comes directly back out, but it's so darn cute and he's learning more and more about how to eat each day. In the next couple of weeks we'll be introducing some basic baby foods so it should be fun to see his facial reactions with these new tastes. Greyson is become much more verbal also, always babbling away and screaming with glee is one of his favorite hobbies. Another little trick he's learned recently is he realized he has a tongue and likes to stick it out and then blow so he pretty much just gets spit everywhere, but soon enough he'll realize he can close his lips on his tongue and then blow to make his tongue vibrate which Mommy and Daddy do at him quite often.

A side note - Kyle and I both started Weight Watchers online and so far so good. We're a little over a week into it and I've lost 3.5 lbs and Kyle has lost 5 lbs. We're really happy with the plan and both are looking forward to getting ourselves back into the "best" shape we can be in. It's not like Kyle and I were obese, but we both recognized that we needed to make a concious effort to eat healthier and could use to drop a few pounds. Plus, we realized that we had to work toward this goal together or it just wouldn't work out - so far we've been a great team and I can't wait to continue to see us be successful in reaching our goals. Hopefully you'll notice a difference in us in the pictures I put up next month.

With Love,
Kyle, Lindsey, and Greyson

P.S. Check out the updated July pictures and enjoy the video of Mr. Messy Man enjoying a delicious meal of rice cereal - too cute!

Busy Month of June

Well, I do apologize that it's been quite awhile since the last website update, but the month of June was a busy one. Kyle left for his ROTC training in early June and then shortly after he left Greyson and I spent about 2 and half weeks in Chicago seeing family and friends. We had a GREAT time! Greyson got lots of love from his many grandparents and it was wonderful to introduce him to family members he hadn't gotten to meet yet. We also attended a few great events: Kyle's cousin Nick's wedding, my stepmom Robyne's doctorate graduation party, visiting my Grandpa Bell at the VA home, and spending a weekend at my Dad's lake house. We ended our visit in Chicago by celebrating my 26th birthday with my family (including a homemade cake by my lovely sister - thanks Lisa!) and then we arrived back in Clarksville a few days ago. Grey was an excellent traveler during both legs of the road trip and it was a WONDERFUL trip for both of us!

Kyle is doing well with his training. He's currently out on a 10 day field problem (playing war is what I call it) and he should be finished with that tomorrow and I'm looking forward to his next phone call. I think this might be the longest we've gone without talking including the year he spent in Iraq. Really miss getting a chance to chat with him, especially now with a baby - I always want to fill him on Grey's updates and accomplishments. I'll catch him up when we talk sometime this weekend. He then has a few last training events next week and he'll arrive home next weekend - Grey and I can't wait to have him back! I've gained a large appreciation for my friend's who are playing the role of single mom while their husbands are deployed. Taking care of Grey on my own is a pleasure, but it's a time consuming tough job for one and I've come to appreciate all the help Kyle offers. He's an amazing husband and dad and life just isn't the same without him. Plus, I came home to a house with Jack's beanstalk weeds growing in the front yard and ants in my kitchen - oh the joy of dealing with fixing problems with the house....again gave me more appreciation for all the odd jobs and work he does around the house that I typically don't do.

Greyson is now 4 and half months old and changing and growing everyday. Had his 4 month doctor appointment yesterday (a little bit late due to us being in Chicago) and here's his update. He now weighs 15 pounds 4 ounces (60%), he is 25.5 inches (75%) long, and his head measures 42 centimeters (50%) around. He handled his next round of shots quite well, and once I picked him up when they were done he quit crying and was even smiling at the nurse who gave him the shots. He's such a little flirt. Another proud moment occurred in early June when Greyson rolled over from his tummy to his back for the first time. Check out the video below to see him in action. Currently he's very into arching his back and pushing on his feet, so I'm guessing that rolling from back to front isn't far in his future. He's also a drooling machine as his teeth are starting to come in. It's looking like he'll be getting his canines first - so we'll have a little vampire baby :) When he hits the 5 month mark we'll be starting him on beginning solids so look for some messy pictures in the future. Overall, Greyson is continuing to be an AMAZING little boy, and everyone who I visited with at home just couldn't get over how good he is. My mother tells me I'm spoiled rotten with what a good baby he is, and I was nothing like him when I was a little one (thanks Mom!) He truly is such a joy to be with everyday and every time he gives me that gorgeous smile I know I've accomplished something amazing by bringing our little guy into the world. I'm such a proud momma!

Well, I better hit the hay. Happy 4th of July to all of you. Look for the next update toward the end of July. I'm going to start doing monthly updates instead of weekly - especially with heading back to work part-time in about a month. Hope you're all doing well.

Lots of Love,
Ky, Linds, and Grey

P.S. Don't forget to check out the updated pictures from weeks 16-19.

P.P.S. Check out our little man rolling over from front to back....so proud of him, but sad his daddy missed this moment. At least he can see it on video :)