Letter to Gran and Pop

For the most part, the Bailey household has run smoothly this week.  Wriston is now 21 weeks old and set to officially turn FIVE months on Friday!  Even more exciting?  His harness can be burned... to ashes... never to return again... as yesterday was his last day in the darn thing.  We're excited to see him have the freedom to now sleep as he wants although now it worries me at night as he prefers sleeping on the belly.  We'll go back for an x-ray at his 6 month check up in mid-August.   The Ortho Dr is expecting to see great results and never worry about surgery or further "therapies" if we want to call it that.  We pray he is correct!

This past weekend, we went to visit Gran and Pop Bailey (Stephen's paternal grandparents) who celebrate their SEVENTIETH wedding anniversary next month.  We hoped by throwing the party earlier, we'd get more out of town guests and avoid it clashing with our schedules.  SEVENTY years of marriage - can you imagine?  Stephen and I married when I was almost 23 and he was almost 26.... at our 70th anniversary we'd be in our early to mid-90s!!  Wow.  We're hitting our seven year mark in a little over a month, but that is still far FAR away from 70!   For their anniversary, they did not want gifts.  So, we bought them two frames and filled them with pictures of Wriston and us.  Stephen and I also wrote Gran and Pop a letter to explain how much they mean to us (we wrote separate letters). While a little personal, I wanted to share my letter with all of you... and really, with all 3 of you who read this blog, it's not like it's going global :)  Here's my letter (excuse all errors as I'm no editor)

Dearest Gran and Pop,

            Happy Anniversary to two of the most wonderful people I know and love.

            It seems so long ago that you two came into my life or me into yours.  I came with Stephen to visit you almost eleven years ago Labor Day weekend 2000.  Meeting you two made me very anxious as I hoped you could see just how much I loved your grandson.   You both immediately accepted me into your home, your lives and your hearts and I am forever thankful. 

            I never knew my grandfathers as both passed away before I came into the world.  I grew up with two grandmothers, one of which passed away at two, so memories of her are very faded.  My other grandmother lived until I was in the seventh or eighth grade and passed away from pancreatic cancer.  Prior to her being diagnosed, we saw her very often.  She moved into our house every summer and took care of us while Mom and Dad worked.  She and I got along very well – we watched tv, had pretend tea parties, went down to the lake and I swam while she watched, read books together and were roomies all summer.  Even though her death ended up being somewhat expected, it was hard to go so many years without having any grandparents in my life.  I envied others who were blessed to have them. 

            Meeting Stephen and having him love me has been the best thing for me (now, this ties with having Wriston in our world).  By him bringing me into his life, he gave me another grandmother (Granny Shepherd) and the two of you.  Even though Granny passed away so unexpectedly, she is in my heart forever.  We shared a lot of memories and she will be forever missed.

            Having the two of you in my life has meant the world to me.  It is hard to explain just how much the two of you mean to me, but I want to give it a shot because I think, at times, we all need a reminder of how blessed we are to be with the ones we love. 

            Gran and Pop, there are no words to describe just how much I love and adore you.  And no words can ever describe how thankful I am that you took me in, right away and started treating me like a granddaughter.  The first day we met, you wanted to be called Gran and Pop; it is the best feeling in the world and such an honor to be able to do so, even now.  You both are so proud of your children, grandchildren and great-grands, but I wonder if you realize that they are the way they are because of you.  I really should thank you for Stephen.  He is the most gentle, loving, family-oriented, caring, God-loving man and a lot has to do with the influences of the both of you, Gene and Nancy and Granny and PawPaw Shepherd.  He is the most wonderful person who would do anything for anyone and it really has a lot to do with the two of you. 

            The two of you are the perfect couple and I can only hope we end up being the example you two are in our children and grandchildren’s lives.  You have set such an example for your family and you should be proud.  I love how we can just do nothing but sit and spend time with each other.  I love how we gather around the table to play dominos or sit and watch the girls dance and play.  I love how we can reminisce about old photos and family memories.  I love how we can go out to town and eat ice cream or visit local shops.  I will always remember when you came and spent Christmas with us a few years ago.  I love how we are still able to see each other and spend special times in our lives with one another.  I just love having the two of you to love.

            Gran and Pop, you two have always been there for us.  Even without knowing, you taught us more about love, life and the importance of family.  I realize Stephen and I took you both for granted.  We are truly blessed. 

            We are so blessed to now be parents of our own.   Having Wriston in our lives has taught us a lot more about love, understanding and again, the importance of family.  I wonder if he will ever realize how lucky he is to have such wonderful great-grandparents in his life.  At our last visit, Pop said we had a “fine” young man.  We only hope he turns out to be as fine of a man as Pop and grow up to be as strong as you, Gran.   We hope to instill him with Christian values, a love for himself and others, a sense of security and a knowing that he is always a part of something greater than himself.  Thank you for loving him as much as we do. 

            I want you both to know that I love you more than I can even begin to express.  I love having grandparents after losing the ones on my side of the family.  I wish you many more years of love and happiness.  Again, thank you for always being there, always being supportive and always loving us.  We love you and always will.

                                                                                                Mandy

So, there's my letter to them.  While maybe not written the best, it comes from the heart.  I (and the rest of the Bailey's and everyone who knows them) am blessed to have them in my life.

Below are a few pics from the weekend festivities.  Thanks to everyone for reading the blog and enjoying our journey - 21 weeks down and a lifetime to go!

TWENTY - yes, TWENTY weeks old.

I honestly cannot believe how quickly Wriston is growing.  He's TWENTY weeks old today!!  I am really trying to take advantage of all the time we spend together because I know, at some point (though hard to believe), he will not want his mommy to rock him or cuddle with him.  As of now - I consider him quite the mommy's boy - I think even Stephen would agree.  He loves his daddy bunches though. 

Wriston is a good eater.  He seems to like all the food so far except for carrots.  The Dr said it takes 15 tries at a food before knowing if a baby really dis/likes something so we will keep trying.  He likes to chew on his tongue and touch faces (which means possible hair tugging and face scratching).  He likes tummy time, but only on his terms.  He likes to sit in the tub and splash a little now.  AND, while I am hesitant to write it in his baby book, Stephen and I both believe he said "hey" the other day.  I snuck up behind Stephen and Wriston said hey!  We'll see if he can repeat it first before writing it down. 

We've had a lot going on lately, but the one constant is Wriston's ability to make everything seem better and without him even knowing.  He's just perfect.  He can do nothing and yet do everything to make a person's day better.  What power a smiling baby has on a person!!  Who knew?

It seems a lot of my friends are having babies now and what a blessing for sure.  Every birth I hear about just brings a smile to my face!  What a miracle!  I am blessed to be a mom and even more so, Wriston's mom.  And we are all lucky to have each of you take part in his life!!  Love to all!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy! Love, Wriston

Happy First Father's Day to my darling husband Stephen!  One of the best parts about being a parent is seeing your husband as a daddy.  It cannot be beat.  Stephen is a great husband - he's so laid back, easy going, non-confrontational... basically, my opposite.  As a father, he's just the same, but the best sides of him come out - the loving, caring, can't-wait-to-get-home-to-see-my-baby side!  Who knew we would race upstairs to see who Wriston smiles at first after his nap OR even who would Wriston want to rock him when he's ready for bed.  Being a father is a great role for Stephen - it fits him like a glove.  I think when we first met, I knew he was a great family man so it made sense for us to want a family.  Wriston is lucky to have him as a daddy and I cannot wait for him to say so himself.

Our weekend was a little crazy.  While Stephen was away on a fishing trip, Wriston and I decided to do some shoppping on Saturday! With his harness officially coming off in ONE WHOLE WEEK (you may recall, he's still wearing it for night/naps), I decided it was time for him to get new pajamas with feet in them.  He's been in PJs that do not have feet as the harness does not work otherwise.  We bought the 9 mth pjs and I think he'll fit into them fine.   He's a big boy! 

This morning, Father's Day started off at 6:45 am.  Wriston was talking to himself in the crib and playing with his blanket - now THAT is something wonderful to wake up to in the morning.  We fed him and put him down for a nap.  We then went to a NEW church to visit and really seemed to like it.  We visited a church about 2 weeks ago but the congregation was too small and were an older bunch.  We are really looking for a church with a decent younger adult bunch so we can meet more people our age and have Wriston around others his age.  The church today is a Presbyterian USA (that's our preference anyway) and I really liked the sermon about having hope.  Sometimes, it takes a sermon for things to just "click" in your own life.  I think we may go back there on Sunday. After church, we picked up a few items for dinner.  For dinner, we fixed some chicken kabobs, rice, baked beans and rolls.  Yum.  We cooked at mom and dad's house so Dad could enjoy a Father's Day dinner too! 

While it has been a great Father's Day for us, I cannot help but think of those who are not close to their father or have lost their father.  I think of my parents and wonder if they miss their parents.  I dread the day I face it, but hope to make many more memories with the ones I love so when the time comes, we can look back on the positive times in our lives together.  I wish everyone a peaceful day today.  We prayed for you today in church and we will do so again.  We are thinking of you all.

Ah, daycare...

I've said it before - I don't know if I could be a 24/7 stay at home mom, BUT, I do KNOW that I am SO over Wriston being sick twice in a 3 week time period and only after being there for about 5 weeks!!  BOO.  Wriston got over his HFMV, I got over my throat, bronchitus, gunk virus and NOW Wriston is dealing with a cold.  I am convinced that one of the girls in daycare got him sick.  I've made comments for the past 2-3 weeks about how one girl in particular sounded HORRIBLE when she coughed and was told "Oh, she's been to the Dr and they say she's fine..."  Sounds like she needed a different Dr.  I know we can't always medicate our children, but don't send your kid to daycare sick (if it can be avoided) AND if you're child has a horrible cough for more than a week, GO TO A DIFFERENT DR or just GO to the Dr.  I was told that his cough should last no longer than 7-10 days.  Luckily, he seems to be getting better. 

Now off that rant...

Wriston is loving to roll.  I'm glad we have him in a a harness at night to avoid him rolling completely over.  It helps me feel better to know he can't be face down in the crib.  He does love it and just grins when he rolls to the belly and looks around.  He seems to love it more after eating ... I think so he can purposely spit up on everything, but that's life.  He's still the cutest.

Our weekend festivities included seeing friends from Charleston on Friday night and Saturday for breakfast.  Wriston was in a great mood and loved the visit.  On Saturday night, we took him to a cookout for a bit and he seemed to really enjoy himself.  Now, it's about time for dinner!

Cancelled Trip!

So, right now, I should be in Charleston with the girls... getting ready to hit the beach... umbrellas and drinks in hand.  Instead, I am home and sick... life of a mom I suppose.  I've tried to kick this sickness for days now and I thought I was feeling better but then woke up yesterday to a horrible sore throat.  Therefore, the girls trip is postponed for a few more weeks.  A look at the brightside?  Spending more time with W and Stephen.  Wriston stayed out of daycare yesterday and we played!  (Note: Dr said I am no longer contagious) 

Stephen and I took Wriston to his 4 month check up on the 1st.  FOUR MONTHS!  Wow.  Turns out, Wriston weighs 15 lbs (50th percentile) and is 26 3/4 inches long (95th percentile).  He is a BIG baby!  To put this into perspective, according to Stephen's baby book, at 4 months, Stephen weighed 15 lbs, 4 oz.  His length is missing.  However, at 5 months, they wrote down Stephen was 27 1/4 in long. 

The Dr said there is a test you can do to figure out how tall your baby will be, but the accuracy varies between 6 inches - although the test is then about 90% correct.  He said the baby normally ends up in a height between the parents height.  So, Wriston can be anywhere from 5'4" to 6'6".  Let's face it - he's going to be much taller than his mommy.

Dr. B said he looks great and explained how we could start him on food.  I already explained to him a week ago (whenever we went for W's sick visit) that I started him on rice cereal at 16 wks.  Since then, Wriston ate bananas, green beans and squash (he LOVES it).  We're supposed to introduce 1 food for 3-4 days to check for any allergic reactions.  We're off to a great start.

How can you not love this 4 month, 15 lbs, 26 3/4 in boy?!!  He is AMAZING.