We Survived!

Gray and I are here in sunny Florida for the week.  We arrived on Monday and stay for a whole week!  I was seriously super nervous for our flight.  I worried and asked for advice and researched online for ideas on flying with a small, active child.

Grayson is getting older and moving faster everyday!  I was worried he would not stand for sitting in a small space for 2 hours.  Luckily, 2 hours isn't too long as some flights go.  AND it was a non-stop, direct flight.  So that helped a ton!

With that said here is what I planned to help us make it! (my friend posted her tips on her blog, and it was really helpful for me, so I hope this will help someone else!)

1. Stroller in the airport!  My friend Rachel mentioned this one.  Seriously so great for when you're waiting for your flight.  Grayson loves his stroller and was happy to be pushed around as we waited in line to check in and through security to our gate.   Once we were at the gate I let him out and followed him around so he could walk and get some energy out.  Lucky for us, we were at a small airport and there were lots of empty gates where he could wander without bothering people.  And when I needed him too, he was back in the stroller happy as a clam. 
2. {some} New snacks!  I got pretzels which was something he'd only had once before from a friend at church.  So I knew he liked them but it wasn't something he had everyday.  In addition, I also had many of his tried and true snacks I knew he liked. 
3. New toys!  I bought a couple small toys and hid them from him until we on the plane.  I thought this was a great idea.  It didn't work out stellar for me, he didn't really play with too much.  But he still liked them.  It still provided a little bit of time taken up of those 2 hours.  So a plus in my book.  Maybe I just need to pick a better toy next time!
4. Movie/show!  Grayson really enjoys watching his movies- Baby Signing Time and Elmo.  Now we don't have a personal DVD player like a lot of our friends have and use for their kids on an airplane.  But we have an iPad.  I downloaded an episode of Sesame Street and Blue's Clues for him before our trip.  Sadly, this one didn't work out.  at. all.  The noise of the plane was too loud and we couldn't hear the iPad even at full volume.  Maybe when he's older and will wear headphones this will work.  There is no way in Hades he's keeping something in his ears at this age, lol. 
5. Check to see if the flight is full!  If not, make sure you get to sit by an empty seat.  Luckily our flight wasn't full and I just plopped Gray down by the window and I sat in the middle while everyone behind us finished boarding.  I held him in my lap during take off and landing.  But other than that he mostly sat on his own.  It gave us so much extra wiggle room and less chance to bother other passengers.  This turned out to be the MOST helpful thing!  Which was fortunate since the movie and toys weren't too successful.

The hardest part of the flight turned out to be as we were boarding.  I was walking down the aisle and heard someone say something about a bloody nose.  Sure enough, I look down and Grayson has blood all over his face and hands!  What the!  Of all the times for him to get one...  I quickly sat down and frantically got out some wipes.  He did not like me wiping his nose.  Thankfully it stopped after a few minutes.  And not too much blood got on our clothes.   After that it was pretty smooth sailing.  He was pretty wiggly and active, but we had room to move and lots of snacks. 

Success!

{Jayna (friend of Kyla), Mom, and my sister Kyla came to the airport to get us!}

 Grayson has been having lots of fun here! 

{We miss you Josh!  Love you bunches sweetie!  Gray and I can't wait to see you soon.}

Gray Baby

We tried to take some family pictures recently.  They didn't really turn out.  {Bad lighting + crappy point and shoot camera.  One day I'll get a dslr!} Here is the only one that turned out ok. 

Momma and her baby

I realized I haven't done an update on my lil' Gray in awhile.  So here we go!

Things our 15 month old (in a few days) is up to:

• He's getting lots of teeth lately!  There are 2-3 molars coming in.  
• Grayson is a champion at going to bed!  For reals.  Josh or I, usually Josh, does his bedtime routine every night- bath (most nights), books, songs, and prayer.  Then we put him in his crib.  He just smiles at us and lays right down all happy.  He snuggles with his blankie and puts his paci in (we've been only giving it to him in his crib or when we're out and I don't want him screaming at the store).  Then we close the door and he goes right to sleep.  No crying.  Just a happy boy who goes to bed like a dream.  I know.  Lucky us!  He sleeps from about 7:30 pm to 7:30 am.
  
• Grayson loves to watch movies!  He asks for them multiple times a day.  {And no, I don't always say yes.  Although I'd like to, it's so hard to say no to that sweet face!}  He loves Elmo and Baby Signing Time.

{helping Dad with his tools}

• He is saying lots of things and trying to say more all the time.  He can say Mama, Dada, cracker, car, bath (sounds like bap), paci (sounds like pap), hat, and that's all I can think of right now.  He also repeats a lot of what we say.  
• Gray is still signing too.  Not as much but I think that's because he's trying to talk more.  He signs please whenever he wants something and signs "signing" when he wants a movie.  That's because we'd always ask him if he wanted to watch Baby Signing Time.  So now he associates signing with a movie. 
• He loves to go outside.  He be out there all day if we let him.  Too bad it's getting cold. :(
• He gives high fives!

 

{playing Wii with Daddy}

• He is a pro at going up AND down stairs.  
• He is a pretty picky eater.  He will like something for a few days and then refuse to eat it.  Most recently that was bananas.  He will consistently eat crackers, cheerios, cheese, yogurt melts, and apples {usually}.  
• Grayson claps and says "yah!" really loud when he likes something or wants you to clap for him too.
• He will play music on his toys and then dance.  He moves his feet really fast or moves his hands up and down.
• When we're eating dinner he will almost always ask for a "bap, bap" while signing bath.  He loves his baths!

That's our lil' boy and we love him to pieces!

Signing with Your Baby

 Here is a guest post I did about a month ago on another blog.  I just realized I never re-posted it here.  So if you missed it before, here it is! :)


Thanks Jana for letting me guest post today!  I'm way excited to be here and talking with you all today. :)  My name is Jenna and I blog over at the The Mommy Diaries.  I'm a mom to an adorable little boy, Grayson, who just turned one.  I blog about my crafty adventures, my family, furniture makeovers, and anything else that strikes my fancy. 

I'm  going to share with you guys something that has helped me and my baby communicate even though he can't talk yet- sign language!  Yep.  My hubby and I started signing with him when was about 6-7 months.  We did it just a little bit here and there to start with.  As he got older we did it more and more.  

We started with some basic signs- eat, more, and all done.  Those signs are mostly helpful for meal times.  We would ask Grayson the question while signing at the same time.  "Do you want some more?"  "Are you all done?"  When he got a little older, probably around 9-10 months, we would help him do the signs so he could feel how to do them.  We did this so eventually he would be able to tell us what he wanted even before he could talk.  Each time we signed we also helped him sign the word.  Other signs we've done are- please, milk, cracker, water, juice, mom, dad, and a few others.  

{This video shows him signing "eat"}

 

Around 12 months Grayson started signing on his own.  It is so fun and exciting!  He can do more, all done, please, eat, and a few more.  And he's learning more all the time!  It's such a great feeling to know you can communicate with your baby and know what he wants.  I love it!

{This video shows him signing "eat" (on accident) and "more."}

Something else that has been a big help in teaching Grayson to sign {and us as well!} are the Baby Signing Time dvds.  I found them at a second hand children's clothing store for $10 for the set of 4 dvds.  That was a sweet deal!  I already knew about and had seen parts of the them before because my sister-in-law had some of them and used them with her kids.  So I knew that she really liked them and they had worked for her.  Grayson loves his Baby Signing Time movies and I'm starting to see that he is really learning from them too.  He recently started signing "shoes" and we hadn't done that sign with him before.  He'd only seen it on the movie.  Check out the website for more information.  There is also a video on their main page which show you a clip of one of the dvds.  {I'm not affiliated or anything with them, I just really love the dvds.}

{This video shows me helping him sign "please" and then him doing it on his own right after.}

Honestly though, if you want to teach your baby to sign, you don't need dvds or anything special.  You just need to take the time to learn some signs and then consistently do them with your baby.  Help him/her do them each time you sign.  And eventually they will be able to sign and tell you what they want.  It takes awhile before they start doing them on their own, so be patient.  But it's oh so worth it!  You will have less crying on their part and less frustration on yours because you will be able to communicate and know what your baby wants.  My hubby and I are so happy we've taken the time to teach our baby to sign.  He has just recently started signing back and is doing more and more everyday.  It is so exciting and fun and helpful! 


I'd love for to come visit me at The Mommy Diaries.  And if you have questions or anything about teaching your child to sign, please let me know.  I'd love to answer them and help you out! :)  



**Since I wrote this post, Grayson has learned tons more signs and is doing so well using them to tell us what he wants.  It's so fun and we love it!**

Lunch Bag {reuseable & washable!}

Happy Veterans Day and 11/11/11 people!  

What a fun date.  Also, I'm posting this at 11:11 am {EST} so double whammy! :)  Haha, I crack myself up.  Anyone else?    *crickets*   Grace? ;)

One night I suddenly decided I wanted to make my hubby a lunch bag.  That man is so frugal and doesn't like to spend money ever.  {Which is great, cause it helps balance me, ahem...}  So much to the fact that he reuses the brown paper lunch sacks.  You know the ones, the ones I would use once and then throw away like most people.  Josh uses one until it's unusable, completely wrinkly, and has a  big rip.  I figured if he's already going through the trouble of reusing his lunch bag I may as well make him a nice, sturdy one.  One that's meant to be reusable!

It was a simple and fast project.  Got in done in under an hour.

I can't for the life of me find the tutorial I used to make this. :(  But I did find one here, which is the exact same process as the tutorial I used.  Well, actually, the one I used didn't have a lining.  I added one myself.  This one does include the lining too.  Which is super nice I think.  Helps it be a little more sturdier and look nicer, in my opinion.  

I used a canvas fabric for the outside because I thought 2 cotton fabric would be a little flimsy.  SO glad I did.  It turned out great and stands up nicely. And it fits everything my hubby needs. :)  My favorite part probably is the fact that you can just throw it in the washing machine to clean it.  No wiping out daily like the plastic ones you buy at the store.  That just sounds like too much work and I know Josh wouldn't do it.  Or me.

I made Josh pose for pictures with his lunch bag in action, haha.  He was pretty thrilled about it.

 "Bye Daddy, have fun at school!"

linking to some of these parties