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 :)

Family Time

Not too much new going on here with our little family. We actually enjoyed a laid back weekend of not doing much which was much appreciated after a very busy month of May. One exciting note is that we've found a great local babysitter and used her for the first time on Saturday and we went on a "date night" to our favorite restaurant in Nashville. We did very well leaving Greyson, and he was great for her, and Kyle and I definitely appreciated a little time to ourselves - especially with him leaving later this week. Definitely a little blue about Kyle's departure to Ft. Lewis (near Seattle) for a month, but I know Grey and I will keep each other busy. I'm looking forward to my sister, Lisa, coming to visit this weekend, and then next week Greyson and I will be heading up to Chicago for about 2 weeks. He'll get some quality grandparent time with both sides (Kyle's parents will be in Chicago for a wedding, so that worked out nicely) and get to meet many new family members on my side during our trip. Plus, I'll get to enjoy celebrating my birthday at the end of this month with my family - it's somehow become Army tradition that Kyle always misses my birthday :) Hope you all are doing well and looking forward to seeing many of you soon!!!

With Love,
Kyle, Lindsey, and Greyson

P.S. Enjoy his week 15 pictures and the video below - I think an appropriate title for it would be "Giggles and Drool".

Visit with Old Friends

This past Memorial Day weekend was a busy one, but a GREAT one! We were thrilled to have good friends of ours John, Diana, and their soon to be one year old son, Patrick, in town to visit. Diana and I taught together at Minglewood for 2 years and they now live in the Washington, D.C. area. It was a 4th grade teacher reunion weekend also having Nicole in town who is now in St. Louis. We had such a great time enjoying another fine time at Jazz on the Lawn (a picnic at our local winery with live music), a birthday celebration dinner in honor of Shannon, hanging out and playing games, and a nice Memorial Day brunch. Overall, we had a blast and it was so much fun to have Greyson and Patrick in the house - we definitely realized we have a lot of baby proofing in our future thanks to Patrick's walking around and being our little tester. So wonderful to have the "original teaching crew" back together - makes me realize how much I miss those girls and all the antics we would get into in and out of school.

Greyson is doing really well - getting pretty regular on his schedule and even shifted his bedtime up a bit to more like 8pm and it's nice to have some "Mom and Dad time" every evening. Kyle is preparing to head off to Ft. Lewis, Washington in early June for a month of ROTC camp training (I call it "playing war"), and I'm getting rather sad he'll be leaving us. I know Grey and I will be fine, and we're looking forward to a long visit at home in Chicago to visit with family, but it just won't be the same without Daddy. Granted I really shouldn't complain because so many people I know have their husbands deployed again and mine is only going to another state for a month - in perspective I think we can handle that. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend and as usual, enjoy the video clips and week 14 pictures!

With Love,
K, L, and G

A Week of Firsts

It's been a busy week of "firsts" in Greyson's life. We took him on his first trip to Purdue - our Alma Mater and the site where Kyle and I met and fell in love (ahhh!). We hold Purdue fondly in our hearts and thoroughly enjoyed the chance to head back, visit campus, and relive some wonderful memories. We headed up to Purdue to take Greyson to his first wedding - Kyle's college roommate Jeremy. He did great during the whole ceremony and was a hit with his cuteness and flirting ways at the reception. He even enjoyed his first dances - did a little slow dancing with Mom and Dad, participated in YMCA (check out the video below, sorry it's dark! - that one was for you Aunt Sue), and of course happily sang the Purdue fight song. Greyson also enjoyed his first hotel stay. We brought the Pack n' Play and he slept well and handled being away from home fabulously! The real exciting part of his first hotel stay was that he got to go swimming for the first time. Greyson is a BIG fan of bath time so we were excited to see how he would handle pool time. He got to wear his cool swim diaper and adorable Hawaiian print board shorts and off we went. He got a chance to hang out in the pool with both Mom and Dad and had a great time. Being a Pisces he truly is a water lover - just like his Daddy, and I think the pool will be one of his favorite places. Luckily I already got him a blow up baby pool for the backyard, so I think we'll get a lot of use out of that this summer. Overall, we had a great weekend and enjoyed Greyson's many "firsts". Hope you all are well and hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend - we're looking forward to a fun weekend with my teaching friends who moved away in town....can't wait! As usual, enjoy the video clip (again sorry it's dark) and don't forget to check out his week 13 pics.

Love,
Kyle, Lindsey, and Greyson

No Longer a Newborn

Today it's official, Greyson is 3 months old and therefore no longer in the "newborn" category. It's bittersweet....I'm thrilled to see him growing and learning so many new things all the time, but a little sad my baby boy is one day not going to be a baby anymore. He has to grow up sometime, and the truth is I'm just truly loving watching this amazing little person grow right before my eyes each day.

Some other exciting news is that I have taken a different teaching position for next school year. I was originally planning on going back next August and teaching 4th grade as I have for the past 3 years at my school, but a twist of fate stepped in. I found out there was an opening for a part-time technology teacher in my school. I interviewed for the position and got the call stating I was offered the job later that day. Therefore I will be going back to work in August as planned, but will be teaching technology (basically I'm the computer lab teacher) to all the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes once a week in the afternoon and I'll be working from 11:30-3:30. The REALLY great part of me working part-time is that I will be able to be with Greyson in the morning and Kyle is able to be with him in the afternoon with his grad school schedule, so Greyson will not need to be in daycare (something I wasn't too keen on to begin with). We're both thrilled and it just seemed like fate that this great job opportunity that will still allow me to use my teaching skills and feel the satisfaction in working (not to mention having adult interaction), but also allow me to feel I'm getting to be the kind of Mom I want to be all at the same time. What a blessing!

Speaking of blessings, both Greyson and I had our baptism this past Sunday. Everything went wonderfully and we had a great celebration at our home with many great friends and loving family there to celebrate. Thanks to all who were able to make it, and especially to our great families who came in town for the weekend. We had a GREAT time having you here and look forward to seeing you all again soon!!!

Enjoy the video down below - it's of a little goofy game called "Tank Commander" that Greyson and Kyle like to play together. Leave it to an Army man to take his child on an imaginary tank ride, but boy does Greyson seem to love it....I better watch out or he just might follow in his Daddy's solider footsteps.

Love,
K, L, and G

P.S. Check out his week 12 pics as well as 2 other links from other photos taken by family from this past weekend festivities.

Moving On Up

Well, it's official Greyson is sleeping in his crib in his nursery. Kyle and I decided now that he's consistently sleeping through the night that Greyson was ready to move into his crib, or as we call it his "big boy bed". He's done very well with the change and is sleeping wonderfully. Granted the bassinet is still setup and ready for it if he needs it in our room. We're enjoying having our bedroom back to ourselves, but miss seeing his sweet face right there - thankful he's just a click away on our video monitor, and trust me, we use it to check on him quite often.

This weekend is going to be a busy and exciting one. My mom (Joanne), step dad (Mike), sister (Lisa), Grandma Bell, and Kyle's parents will all be coming in town in honor of Mother's Day and the baptism of both Greyson and myself on Sunday. As many of you know, I was raised with a mixture of Christianity and Judiasm, and therefore wasn't baptized as a child. I'm excited to share in this experience and moment with my son, and know we'll look back on it as a special moment in both of our lives. Don't you fret my Jewish relatives - Greyson will be still be learning about his Jewish roots and I'm sure he'll enjoy the excellent matzah ball soup his Dad makes for me quite often. Should be a great time to spend time with the family and celebrate faith.

Hope you enjoy the video below - Greyson is really getting the hang of actually using his hands for things and shows that off with his trick in the video....check it out. Also posted his week 11 pictures were he is as cute as ever!

Love to you all,
Kyle, Lindsey, and Grey