Jolly Old Saint Nicholas

Can you believe Christmas has come and gone?! .......however, it is still legal and encouraged to soak the holidays for all it is worth by still listening to Christmas music and/or leave your decor up until New Years.

I do hope you and your kin had a most merry Christmas! Ours was simply wonderful......delicious food, unforgettable family conversations, Grayson's GIGANTIC mouth opened wide with excitement, and so much more. I truly got everything on my grown up Christmas list. 

disclaimer: We are the worst at remembering to take pictures of memorable events.

So, I apologize for these random pics but at least we tried, right?

TANGENT TIME------>

I must share a short anecdote & I promise I will make it quick......

Scott and I were at Target a few days before Christmas (not only do we not document our lives with pictures like we should, but we also procrastinate....like clinically so).  While we were checking out we noticed a sweet down syndrome boy in his late 20's make his way behind an empty checkout counter. He rustled the  plastic bags a few times & waved his hands in a way that looked as if he were an employee flagging down customers.  *Not even the employee of the month could be as eager to get to work as this young man was. It was adorable!* Within seconds, a woman with a cart full of items parked her cart in the lane and started unloading.  Again! This young man was a poster Target employee! Quickly and efficiently he scanned each item and bagged them with style.  Not until her entire cart was bagged, did she finally realize what happened.  It was THE best Target shopping experience I have ever had.  It probably was a lot more entertaining in actuality, but it really brightened my day.  Afterall, we should all be that happy and eager to help out, even if it means jumping behind a checkout counter.  : )  I love people. 

Back to Christmas pictures....

 

hit the rewind button & push play

After Grayson was born, a train hit me. Chugga chugga choo choo!

....and I looked like death.....and I waddled around.....and I watched Cosby Show with a baby attached to me 24/7 (nursing) .....and I ate many, many slices of pizza.

I was a little detached from the world around me.  Which reminds me of a story....

Date: April 1, 2010

Place: Pew Apartment

Time: mid-afternoon

I was nursing on the couch in the front room.  Happy was I, as I looked down at my beautiful baby boy.  I thought to myself how life couldn't get much more perfect than this.  *sigh* Suddenly, the front door swings open & Scott rushes in with a distraught face.  As prone to anxiety as I am, my heart rate was already dancing wildly in my chest.  Scott dashes into our bedroom and turns on the radio....static....nothing but static. I then hear him answer his phone and say things like....."we will pack our bags right now and come stay over there til things are safe"....."bomb threats"....."we aren't safe here."  I cuddled Grayson in my arms as I began to cry the kind of sob that makes your sight look as if you are looking out a window during a tropical storm.  Scott comes back into the room and announces that there were nuclear attacks on LA, Phoenix, NY, Las Vegas, and Washington D.C. and that we needed to go stay at his parent's house where the rest of the family was gathering, as well. By this time, I was practically drowning in my own hurricane of tears. After a few more minutes of Scott's impeccable drama, he mentioned mid-sentence that it was....APRIL FOOL'S DAY. 

Only a new mom who is very detached from the world around her would get fooled by such poppycock.

Soooooo.....I never got around to sharing with anyone the kodak moments of our little gift and personality packed son, Grayson Scott Pew.  Let the show begin!
Disclaimer: I am much too slow at this to post all tonight so come back for an afternoon delight!




Now you see why I waddled for so long.



Thanks to Sarah Garner, I have the sweetest pictures of my newborn.

Even his pee leaks love me.

I love watching his oversized lips bounce about as he nurses in his sleep.

Grayson discovering that he can control the movement of his hand.....well, almost.

"I must....get...this...fleshy pale thing....in my mouth at once."- said in the Stuey voice, of course.

precious.

Y.M.C.A.



At an all girls birthday party-- needless to say, Grayson was stoked!



Intermission. 

lowered my ears

I CUT MY HAIR today....dramatically so.

Back in the day when energy flowed through my stretchmark-less body, I was a hair cut/color change-aholic.  I had extremely thick hair that many people told me 'was bigger than my body.'  *not true, but it was really thick. *



This is not the greatest pic to use as an example, but I don't have any others on my computer....
plus.....I now see where my son gets his 'smile' from. : )


After a medication I was taking in 2006, I lost massive quantities of my gigantic mane.  I have never really been one to care much about appearance, but I became very self-conscious about the loss. I was prescribed many different topical medications without much success.  After four years or so of patience and ointments galore, my hair has finally come to a somewhat normal state.  It is far from what it used to be, but I am so grateful for those hair follicles that are now happily residing on the top of my head. 

  

NO VACANCY.  eat that Best Western!!



I am going to get all kraft macaroni and cheesy on ya'all, but I do want to express my love for the Lord and all He has done for me, particularly during this small yet difficult trial that I experienced.  I didn't understand  the atonement and what all it does for us.  I thought that something as un-eternal (my homemade word) as going bald and the emotional baggage that it brings was something that I alone had to 'get over' & conquer with my own sword.  Well, as tough as I thought my 5'2" frame was.....I lost.  It took a lot of humble prayer, scripture study, and some serious pondering (PRIMARY ANSWERS yes...but essential) to understand that the Lord can lift those pains from us as well and not just sin.   Like many of life's challenges, this one was taken to Jones's Dry Cleaning and tailored fit to me.  I am not the most confident person in the world, so strengthening my testimony of the Lord's love for me with or without hair was pertinent.  (In other words, redirecting my source of confidence to be from the Lord and not something superficial.) GET IT, GOT IT.....GOOD. 

moving on....

So, here I am on December....<crap...what is today??? I have to go Christmas shopping still!!!> ....20th 2010 with my new haircut, but most importantly my newfound appreciation for the atonement and the relief it provides us even from life's most simple trials.  It took me over four years to climb this mountain.....but looking down at the valley I crossed, I realize how beautiful of a journey I have experienced. 

I love the Lord.  He loves His children. 

Natural Remedy: Act fast!

Do you have a teething baby?

Forget those gels that end up numbing the back of your child's throat.....

Baby Orajel

Baby swings at your local park are result driven solutions for baby's most tender needs.  Whether it be the eruption of teeth, bowel struggles, or gas....

SWING THOSE PAINS AWAY!

(while supplies last)

**I am a huge believer in Tylenol and or gas drops as well, but they don't produce this giant smile that makes my day!

grab a HIGHLIGHTER!

Here are some highlights of our life the last few months.





How many grown men does it take to get a baby dressed?

 


Grayson's first time swimming!



Grayson was a bumblebee for Halloween!



We enrolled Grayson in baby yoga.

Anything left on the floor is now an obstacle course.

Thanksgiving. Grayson= Diddle Diddle Dumpling
(one shoe off and one shoe on)

Playing frisbee. A teething baby boy. Nuff said.

Carl's Jr. is so right.



We saw a pirate on the side of the road for the first time.  "Smile and wave boys. Smile and wave."

 Grayson's first haircut!! *wipe a tear*
 (and yes.....he is sitting in a PINK bumbo. )


Now a message from Shaila's stomach:


http://www.papajohns.com/


All you Barro's pizza fans are crazy. Big Papa J has the crust recipe in the bag!!!

new kid in town.

Heart palpitating, mouth drying, pits sweating.....I'm the new kid in the blogging world. Is it strange that I feel rather paranoid that my computer is watching me? Eeks! This is going to take a little while to get use to. Sooo.....what do you write about on a blog? I....ate......pasta for dinner??? It wasn't that great. It was one of those "my husband is at work til late" meals. Bla. Just as a precursor for things to come, my family and I L-O-V-E food. Not just my husband and I, but Grayson as well. (look at the kid!) Unfortunately, I grew up with Mi Amigos Tuesdays, In-n-out Wednesdays (before mutual, of course....don't fret), Hamburger Helper Thursdays, and Pizza Fridays. Monday, Saturday, and Sunday were usually filled with yummy processed goodness like toaster streudels and mac n' cheese. It is still a miracle to me how in the world we all turned out decently healthy individuals. Anyways.....I am soooo bad at tangents.....ah! I just made a tangent about making tangents. I give up.

...I think I can....I think I can.....

*cough, cough*

What I am TRYING to communicate (stop staring at me computer!), is that I don't have very much experience in the culinary world. After Scott & I got married, my love for food blew up into an obsession. Luckily, I married the right man. Scott loves bread+peanut butter+jelly. Shaila loves bread+peanut butter+jelly. Scott and Shaila have now produced a new mini food lover....GRAYSON! I should have named this blog "oink!" My brain is incapable of staying on one subject.

I suck at this. Night!