Graham Roman Guenther, born 10/22/09

Most of you know by now that we welcomed our latest miracle into our family on Thursday night.  Graham Roman Guenther was born at 11:29pm on Thursday, October 22nd.  7lbs, 6oz, 19 inches. After a month of high blood pressure, a week of contractions and 2 days of doctor-ordered bed rest, we were ready to meet him! I am not going to rehash the literal pains of my labor journey; I’ll say only that I’m grateful it was 5 hours start to finish and of that time, it took 3 minutes of pushing to get him out.  If you want the gory details, you’ve got my number and I’ve got time to chat.

I will eventually laugh about our Japanese post-partum nurse (“It baywee impotent you weed abou’ bwest feeding; wemme wook at you bottom”) but at 2 in the morning, for God’s sake, just let me lay down. Mike had zero patience for her and watching him make faces at her when her back was turned added levity to a very action-packed and tiresome night.

 

Greyson stayed with Sara for the night and was introduced to Graham on Friday morning. He didn’t stay long as the last day of “Pirates Camp” was calling his name.  At least he has his priorities straight!

*GREYisms*

Daddy: What do you think of your new little brother?

G: I think he’s pretty boring

Comics aside, we are thrilled to have rounded out our little family. Overjoyed at the sheer delight on Greyson’s face even though he initially thought he was pretty boring. In love with every movement, expression and sound that comes only from a newborn baby. He’s gorgeous and he’s ours and we’re soaking up every minute. We thank all of you for your well wishes, thoughts and prayers and can’t wait for you to meet him in person.

I was asked yesterday what the secret is to making beautiful boys. Here it is (shh, don’t tell anyone)…make them with someone you’re in love with. Beautiful children are guaranteed. As for the boy part…call me. I have some suggestions J.

*GREYisms*

(Preparing to bring Graham home on Saturday morning)

G: I’m not sure Graham likes me

Daddy: He loves you, Grey!

G: Well, if he doesn’t, then he can’t come in my car

 

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2 Blogs, 2 Days in a Row? What’s the Occasion?

The baby is coming, the baby is coming!  Contractions started this afternoon; 2 cm dilated and counting.  Check back soon for an update- I don’t plan to blog again until I can post a picture of our latest miracle.  The home stretch of this pregnancy is 180 degrees from my first so it might be a while!

I’ve got nothing more to say, but I’ll share a couple of maternity photos we recently had taken to etch in time those final cherished weeks that I blogged about yesterday.  Heather Quintans is a Seattle-based photographer with a flair for the artistic that reminded me a bit of Allie @ Proud to Introduce.  Not the same, to be sure, but I kept an open mind and am pleased with what she did.  Allie, I’ll be seeing you in December and I can’t wait!

The Home Stretch!

We’re ready for our baby boy to join the family.  As ready as we can be, I think.  OK, I don’t have a bag packed but I didn’t last time either and I got by just fine. 

So for the past week or so, I’ve been basking in the attention of Greyson & Mike and just burning memories with them that will make me smile as our new normal kicks in.  Last night, Grey & I took a bath in the “big tub” and we had a 5 minute conversation about body parts.  I so enjoy looking at him with a straight face and letting his little mind bring to his lips all the wonders of the world.  He had me eating out of his hand with “I love you mom”, “this sure is fun mom” and “are you going to stay with me the whole time, mom?”.  I nodded in the affirmative right up until “that’s your left boob and that’s your right boob”.  OK, I’m ready to get out now!

 

My other recent favorite?  Greyson’s first 15 minutes of the morning.  He pads into our bathroom with his eyes squinched shut to “keep the bright out”, lays down on the bathroom rug and waits for us to finish getting ready for work.

And last weekend?  He fell asleep watching a movie with Mike.  This isn’t common.  If he’s not in his bed, he’s awake, so to get to watch him sleep like this is a treat.

So nothing extraordinary is happening at the Guenther house but I’m certainly enjoying the little things with my 1st love and 1st born before another boy turns our lives topsy turvy. 

GREY*isms*

It’s official, Grey has chosen his Halloween costume.  As I mentioned, he’s been vacillating between a number of options and now that the search is over, the trick has been to get it off of him! 

(Preparing to watch Pirates of the Carribean)

Me:  Can I have a kiss before the movie starts?

G:  Pirates don’t give kisses!

Preschool Success?

So, I mentioned that Greyson’s transition to preschool hasn’t been all that smooth.  He cried, I cried.  Until I delegated the task to my nanny, I spent my Tuesday and Thursday mornings in his classroom sitting in pint-sized chairs with my belly between my legs trying to do some work via my iPhone and giving Grey the requisite wave when he needed it.  Credit to Sara for playing the tough-love card and gently but firmly telling him that ‘no’ she wasn’t going to stay and ‘yes’ she would definitely be back to pick him up.  He cried a little less each time and here we are today celebrating his first cry-free day.  He’s proud of himself (he should be) and I just want to squeeze him and…cry.

I wish I could say Parenting magazine contributed to the success.  I read this article in the OB’s office today.

1st bullet:  Explosive diarrhea…eww.  I sincerely promise never to send Grey to school if he’s puked in the morning or can poop through a screen door.

 

2nd bullet:  I must say a Nutella sandwich sounds pretty good but I’m happy to say there’s not a chance Greyson is having that for lunch with an Oreo cookie and chocolate milk.  He’s actually never had an Oreo cookie.  That’s shocking considering the fact that Mike loves them but it’s one of those “no way” foods for our pantry.  He gets his share of treats, but I do draw the line and Oreos don’t make the cut.  (Note to my loving family…I know you’re all going to make it a goal to be the one who gives him his first Oreo.  Just remember, I know where you live)

So, kudos to Sara for helping us get through the preschool transition.  I don’t give her enough credit so I thought I’d share some fun pics of the two of them and their play dates.  Greyson has more friends out here than I do.  The good news is that I really like the parents of his friends (so far).  I’m hoping to build stronger friendships, especially once this baby comes.

This is Greyson’s best friend, Kayla.  She lives a block away and her daddy plays for the Seattle Seahawks so Grey is now a fan and watches for him every Sunday.  Even though he’s met new friends at school, she’s still his favorite. 

The photos in the album were taken by Sara on their various adventures.  When Mike & I are at work we know he’s having fun!

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Swine Flu, Seriously?

Did I tell you that I had to terminate an employee 2 weeks ago who faked the swine flu?  Yeah…can you believe it?  She called in sick (she being a very young, 22 year old college grad) on a Sunday.  Who am I kidding?  No one calls in sick anymore.  She emailed in sick and mentioned in her email that she had something so terrible she thought it might be swine flu.  So I recommended that she see a doctor to get a definitive diagnosis.  People have died; it’s nothing to mess around with, right?  But, seriously, who calls in sick the day before they’re scheduled to work?  I had my doubts.  Her first mistake was telling me a couple of days later that the doctor positively diagnosed her with H1N1 so I told her she would need to get a note that stated she was clear to return to work.  Turns out she never went to the doctor.  She added another 4 or 5 lies on top of that one and at the end of the week, she was dishonorably discharged.  Good riddance.

So, last week, Grey gets sick.  A little fever, a little throw up and then a nasty cold.  He spent 3 nights in our bed which is miserable when I’m not pregnant and really horrible when I am.  But who can resist a stuffy-nosed 3-year old who just wants to cuddle with mom when he’s sick?  Lo and behold, now mom’s got it.  The good news is, it isn’t swine flu.  The bad news is, breathing is more labored, coughing keeps me up all night and I’ve got meetings every day this week. The good news is I’m on the tail end of it now and can go back to labored breathing due to an ever-expanding fetus and sleepless nights because I’m peeing every 2 hours! 

Mike wins daddy & husband of the year again for taking the best care of us including whipping up homemade chicken dumpling soup (YUM).

Greyson’s “self-portrait” (September 2009)

GREY*isms* 

G: Is that ketchup?

Dad: No, it’s barbecue sauce

G: Oh…my bad!

*********************************************************************************(While visiting the Museum of Flight and seeing a fighter jet with a shark painted on the side)

G: A SHARK PLANE? ARE YOU SERIOUS?

Like father, like son.  Packer jersey and a popsicle.  Pure bliss.

Yours, Mine & Ours

I walked into Greyson's dentist appointment a few minutes late on Thursday so he was already in the chair. When I opened the door to go in, I heard a child yelling and my first instinct was to assume it was Grey so I said "is that my kid"? Turns out it wasn't, but it got me to thinking about how I tag my child depending on the situation.  He's my kid when the situation is dicey and I might not want to admit it such as the aforementioned scenario. Or even better, "Hey Mike, your kid is drawing on the floor with crayon!". I might say my son when discussing him with a business acquaintance and he's just my sweet Greyson or Grey when Mike and I are chatting with each other or with family and friends who know him.

He's sweetie, pumpkin, sassafrass and munchkin and a litany of other affectionate monikers when I'm talking directly to him and I'm not going to lie, if he's got my last nerve and he's not in the room, I might call him a little sh*t or worse, little f-er. But we won't share that with any authority that might judge my parenting as a result of it, will we?

Saturday soccer class (shin guards required!)

Yesterday, Greyson was all "ours" with a little sweety and pumpkin thrown in. After soccer class, we took him to Remlinger Farms in Carnation, WA for the Fall Harvest Pumpkin Festival and he was in a state of euphoria for the entire afternoon (we purposely skipped his nap which can sometimes bring out my kid and often times little sh*t). Mike's planning to play hooky for an afternoon so they can go back again. There was some serious daddy/son bonding time after 2 rides on the mini roller coaster and an old-fashioned car ride through the country-side.  I gladly parked myself on the nearest bench for all of the non-pregnant friendly activities.  There may have been a bag of popcorn and caramel apple to keep me company, but I can’t say for sure as my teeth are stuck together.

Here’s a snapshot of memories from one of our final weekends as a family of 3:

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"GREY"isms

G: I can't taste the taste! (In reference to drinking some OJ with a really stuffy nose)