Westfall Web

Today Greyson’s “aunt” Brenda and her husband stopped by for a short visit.  It was nice to see them and allow them to see how much Greyson has grown and changed.  The last time Brenda saw Greyson he was still in the NICU.  He’s changed a lot since then! 

It was really hot today and Greyson kept asking (in his special way only a mom or dad can interpret) why we can’t get air like the car has in our house.  We did take him to a restaraunt for lunch and to the  mall tonight to help him stay cool.  Once home we kept a little fan on him and actually I just had to put a blanket on him because he was feeling pretty cool.  He didn’t nap much today (Stacy took a nap this afternoon and Greyson was supposed to but instead he just played with me, told me whopper stories with happy little yells, and played with his toys).  I think the lack of naps took it’s toll on him as he has been sleeping harder than a rock since we got home from the mall.  Stacy took some great pictures today but I’ll wait and post them tomorrow after I find the ones she edited.  So there is something to look forward to!

While he’s still not at the “jumper” level, Greyson is getting better at being in his Johnny jumper.  He is beginning to push himself with his legs and loves when we bounce him.  Tonight he was loving it as we played with him. 

So here is a little reminder as to why you should always keep your guard up and not take situations for granted.  I came home from work tonight and played with Greyson while Stacy was feeding him.  Alot of times when I am trying to make him laugh I bite his belly.  Tonight I got a whiff of something oderous and decided he needed a diaper change.  Stacy was done feeding him and told me to have at it.  I thought it was no big deal because it wasn’t a large deposit and we were on our bed so I had easy access.  I pulled him over to the side of the bed and was making quick work of the diaper change.  Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I was thinking to myself, “you know I’m pretty good at this whole diaper thing”.  Well I was just about to fasten the new diaper when I realized that somehow I had got a little on me, and in my efficient effort to change him had spread it on the bed spread (which is brand new and pure white), his blanket, and the new diaper.  So much for being the master diaper changer. 

Yesterday the Lane family came up for a visit.  These are friends from Kalama where we lived before moving to Bremerton.  It was great to see them and get caught up (their kids are all grown up and out of high school now!)  Greyson loved having new faces smile at him.  We managed to get the whole family in this picture, although Ashley is a bit hard to see (she’s sitting in the car as she wasn’t feeling very well at the time the picture was taken). 

My prediction about being bad parents is beginning to come true already.  What I mean by this is that for the longest time we encouraged Greyson to grab anything and everything.  We praised him for trying to grab things.  Well now we are not praising him and are telling him he needs to STOP grabbing things like his trach, his feeding tubing, suction catheters (which are supposed to remain sterile) the gauze around his g-tube, hair (on heads or chest, ouch!), toys, pillows, basically anything that comes in range.  Again we are happy about most of these, but there are a few that we wish he would leave alone (trach, g-tube, catheters, feeding tubing).  All the while he sits and smiles happily as we scold him and tell him to stop it.  I’m quite certain this is our own fault for not specifying early on what he shouldn’t grab.  Currently he is sleeping soundly next to Stacy. 

Well it’s crazy but we are already through another day.  I feel like we need them to slow down so we can enjoy more time with our little guy.  Today we put him in his Johnny Jumper and left him for quite awhile and he seemed to be starting to get the idea that he can push with his feet.  He turned himself completely around from facing the hall to facing into our room when I came out of the bathroom and called to him. 

We thought he looked pretty good in this new outfit.  It was big boy clothes though and the shirt tended to ride up a lot without those snaps to hold it down. 

Greyson still has some growing to do to completely fit into this hat, but we enjoy watching him in it.  Today was a decent day, after a pretty rough night.  Greyson decided that since we didn’t have a nurse he should keep us up all night with alarms and thrashing around and whatnot.  It was fun.  Today he had a good day and went to church with us tonight.  After church we got invited over to our Pastors house for a party which is always fun.  Greyson was held by Susan the whole time and loved it so much he drifted off into a pretty deep sleep.  Then he came home and watched the Olympics for a little bit before the nurse showed up and we put him to bed. 

OK so Greyson didn’t eat any rasberries but he did go out and pick them with us.  He was talking the whole time.  I think he wanted to go back in the car as it was a bit windy and trying to rain.  It was fun though and we got some good tasting berries!

So how about those Olympics?  We have decided Greyson deserves a Gold medal.  In what event you ask?  Well growing teeth of course!  We have felt a tooth for a couple days now but as of yesterday one on the top had broken through the surface and is now very visible (well if you can get Greyson to let you lift his top lip up long enough to get a look at it!).  Then today we noticed that one of his teeth on the bottom is breaking through.  You can’t see it well, but you can really feel it now that it is poking through a little.  We are also pretty certain that tomorrow he will have another one on the top as you can see it is about ready to come through.  People have said that teething is an awful time, and Greyson has been acting a little uncomfortable the last couple days, but he seems to be doing alright with it all.  Mom and Dad on the other hand are realizing that teeth add a whole new level of fun when he goes to chew on your finger, watch out!

Yesterday Greyson got to visit with another child who is basically the same age he is (chronologically, he decided to wait until right around his due date rather than suprize the world by coming early).  Greyson had just woke up from a nap and wasn’t sure how he felt about having another kid around, but he warmed up after awhile and Stacy tells me they were just looking at each other. 

I think Greyson is really working on talking these days.  He will lay on his back and yell out things and loves it when you repeat his sounds back to him (which according to the speech therapist is a great way to help them understand the sounds they are making and help them learn to talk).  I don’t think I’ve mentioned (although I said we were working towards it) that Greyson is now off the ventilator the entire time he is awake (and a little bit when he naps).  We are supposed to put it back on him if he naps more than a half hour but sometimes he is sleeping so good and breathing so well that we just leave it off.  This is because he is doing so well and because it can wake him up when we put him back on the ventilator.  During these times we watch him extra close to make sure he is not struggling.  OK I got to get to work.  Have a great day!