Today We Remember All the Babies Lost

In March Rebecca and I started blogging to chronicle our adventures with Blueberry, and subsequently Grayson. Looking back on all of the blogs it makes me happy to think about all the things we fretted over that worked out - naming Grayson, work/life issues, pre term labor, etc..

In July we were introduced to Small Bird Studio by a mutual friend. Small Bird Studio is the at home blog design studio of Franchesca. Franchesca, like many others, is living with having lost a loving child too early in their life. Her daughter, Jenna, was born 11 weeks early, and has been the inspiration Small Bird Studio. Franchesca's work in her daughter's honor is making the blog world more beautiful a couple of designs at a time. And we are thankful.

October 15th is marked for all to remember the babies who were lost. It is for Jenna we light this candle.

Anyone interested in updating their blog design, please use Franchesca's Small Bird Studio. She donates the $15 deposit from each design to a monthly charity that helps families dealing with baby loss.

Day 4 - Your Favorite Book

Day 4 - Your Favorite Book - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

I haven't been looking forward to the Day 4 post of this challenge. Much like music it is very difficult for me to name a favorite out of books. My friend Erin suggested that I pick one of my favorite childhood books that I am excited about reading to Grayson. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs always made me happy as a child. Reading it would transport me to the land of Chewandswallow (I love it).

An unwieldy young scientist creates a machine that can be programmed to deliver from the sky any food a child might want.

Imagine with me, if you can....

Giant doughnuts rolling down the street

Hamburgers, Peas and Mashed Potatoes raining from the sky

A giant sandwich on the Eiffel Tower

I ask, what child wouldn't love this book? I sure did, and I hope Grayson does too!!

And in 2009 they made a Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs animated movie - which was also awesome!

There were a couple of close seconds to my favorite book list - The Twelfth Angel by Og Mandino (not exactly a child's book), most John Grisham novels, and a couple of Dr. Seuss books to appease the children.

What are your favorite books?

Day 5 - Your Favorite Quote

Day 3 - Your Favorite Television Show

Day 3 - Your Favorite Television Show

Have you ever found something so awesome, so spectacular, but you feel NO ONE ELSE knows about it? That's how I felt about Modern Family last year. It is such an amazing show that keeps me laughing from the beginning to end of every episode. There are three intertwined families within the show - an older dad with a younger wife and a hispanic stepson, a traditional family with three kids, and a gay marriage with an adopted daughter. The comedic tales between them all seem like they could happen to anyone's family.

My favorite character is Phil Dunphy, he is the dad in the traditional family. The stuff he does and says are SO funny. Most of the time he is clueless about what is going on, or even what he is saying. So funny. I imagine a lot of my life and similar stories could have happened to Phil as well!

Anyways, EVERYONE should check them out on ABC Wednesdays at 9pm. Do it, you will realize how much you can laugh!

See you all on Day 4 - Your Favorite Book

Sunday Quote: We took one look at you...

We took one look at you

and our hearts stood still.

Most of my time being awake is spent looking at Grayson. He does something new and cool every day. He has been with us for only 2 weeks and we already have over 400+ pictures, make that 500+ after his 2 week picture session. Grayson's Aunt Rachel gave Jane this wall quote - We took one look at you and our hearts stood still and it has landed in our living room and serves as the centerpiece to our wall of Grayson.

Without further ado....

Grayson LOVES his Mommy. 

Tummy time with Mommy. He has been holding his head up for a couple of seconds at a time. 

Awww......look at those eyes!

Grayson loves his Daddy.

Two Week Pictures...such a big boy. 

He LOVES to kick his feet in the air.

Awww....

Sleeping on his Thomas the Train blanket.

Being picture shy on his 2 Week Birthady...

Mommy, Grayson time.

"Daddy please pick me up!!"

"Ooohhh, who's that handsome fella."

His carnival of fun!

Rebecca using her new glider to get work done while Grayson is bouncing.

**************************************************************

Sunday Citar is a blog chain for sharing your favorite quotes and what they mean to you. Click below to check out other Sunday Citar blogs.

Day 2 - Your Favorite Movie

Day 2 - Your Favorite Movie

Drop Dead Fred - One of my FAVORITE movies as a kid was Drop Dead Fred. My Mom could not understand why I liked it so much, and refused to watch it with me. The main character, Fred, was just a funny, funny guy. The plot was that a grown woman moves back in with her mom after divorce and her imaginary friend, Drop Dead Fred, came back to life. Fred loved to cause trouble within the house, and ultimately it was all blamed on his friend. As a kid, HILARIOUS; as an adult, not really funny at all.

I thought about the movie a while back and went ON AND ON about how funny it was to Jane. She had never seen it, much like probably most of you, so she just took my word for it's hilarity. After finding and ordering it, we watched it together. A.W.F.U.L. 1) I cannot believe my parents let me watch this as a CHILD. 2) Though some parts were "funny", most of it was bad acting. 3) We didn't even finish it, I think we got 35 minutes in and turned it off. We have never opened the DVD box again.

You can see more clips at IMDb.

See you all on Day 3 - Your Favorite Television Show

Day 1 - Your Favorite Song

Day 1 - Your Favorite Song

Music has always been special to me. I can think of specific moments in my life, and come up with the music that helped me through that phase. With that in mind it is difficult for me to have a 'favorite' song. Here are some of those favorites in no certain order....

Come Away with Me by Norah Jones - Norah got me through college - plain and simple. Her music calmed my heart and mind when things got really tough or busy. I remember turning off all the lights and lying in the floor listening to Come Away with Me.

Move...Get Out the Way by Ludacris - Early in my career I worked for a boss who didn't communicate very well. She made life and my development very difficult because she was afraid to have honest communication - good or bad. Move...Get Out the Way, although not great, was a release for me when I needed it most. Thanks, Luda.

Mud on the Tires by Brad Paisley - This reminds me of the October I met Jane. You can read about it at A Tale to Begin All Tales. I love her and I love our story.

Leave It In the Valley by Mandisa - Mandisa was a contestant on American Idol that got decently far. After being voted off she made a couple of albums. Her first album was released when I transitioned from Barnes and Noble to Bath and Body Works. That was a significantly difficult time. I left everything I knew and appreciated for something I knew NOTHING about. Mandisa's makes music that is easy to think to.

Only Wanna Be With You by Hootie and the Blowfish - I found Hootie and the Blowfish late in their career, actually after disbanding. The summer that I worked at Old Navy in Greenwood I listened to the 'Cracked Rearview Mirror' E.V.E.R.Y. D.A.Y. It was great driving home with the windows down music. 'Let Her Cry' was a close second to a favorite. Darius Rucker by himself is decent to listen to as well.

Anything Like Me by Brad Paisley - Towards the end of Jane's pregnancy Anything Like Me by Brad Paisley started being played on the radio non-stop. It is a great Daddy/Son song. I used it as background as a video revel of my son's nursery, find it at Insider's Look at Grayson's Nursery.

What if I Stumble by DC Talk - When I was in high school I was addicted to Christian music. One of my favorite bands was DC Talk. I could listen to my DC Talk TAPE over and over...and over. What if I Stumble reappeared in my life a couple of months ago when I was struggling to find words for my emotions. When we found out Jane was pregnant I went through a period of "enlightenment" that helped me redefine my priorities and life goals. You can read about it at my A Change of Purpose blog entry. What if I Stumble helped me realize that any "mistakes" I made balancing my career and personal life would be ok, they were a part of my journey. Now every time I hear the song my heart goes heavy with thoughts of my enlightenment.

There are TOO many songs that remind me of my love, Jane. I'll just say that it is hard to listen to music and not think about where we heard it together, what it made me feel about her, or the minute significance it has had on our relationship.

See you all on Day 2 - My Favorite Movie

And feel free to join in on the 30 Day Blog Challenge!

App Review: Chronicle for iPad by Steven Romej

Chronicle for iPad by Steven Romej

A safe place to write, reflect, and remember.

....reviewed by Joe.

When I stood in line to buy the iPad at 4am I had a lot of BIG ideas of how I would use it. With the goals of making life simpler and hoping it would fulfill the unmet needs between my Macbook and my smartphone. My expectations were blown out of the water!

The iPad experience is exponentially enhanced by the applications built by people like Steven Romej. I have a number of his apps, but my most recent purchase of Chapters - Notebooks for Writing has truly revolutionized how I use the iPad.

Chapters, a note taking/journaling app, allows me to do more than I could have ever expected! I use it at work, home, school, EVERYWHERE.

Features I appreciate:

• Ability to export. This is unique to Chapters and allows me to email, save as PDF, or send to Google Docs everything I write. The process is so easy, and allows me to write anywhere I want.
• Multiple journals. With Chapters I have a journal for everything I do. For work I have a journal for notes and action plans. My school journal acts as a outline for papers, projects, and online posts. For personal use I have notes and reminders for my schedule and BIG IDEAS for things I want to accomplish.
• Password protection. I also appreciate and use the password protection option for some of my journals. People often want to "play" with my iPad, and Chapters allows me to protect my journal information from public view.

Chapters also does a great job of keeping it SIMPLE so that all iPad skill sets are comfortable using it. Those are just a few of the reasons I chose Chapters over other journalling apps.

Meckley 30 Day Blog Challenge

I came across The Meckley 30 Day Blog Challenge through random blog stalking. Many started it at the beginning of the month, but I'll start tomorrow. It can be as simple or difficult that you desire (or that you have time for!). While I am on leave to care for newborn Grayson I hope this will help me keep my wits about me. :)

Here is a breakdown of what I'll be posting over the next 30 days:

Day 1 – your favorite song

Day 2 – your favorite movie

Day 3 – your favorite television program

Day 4 – your favorite book

Day 5 – your favorite quote

Day 6 – 20 of my favorite things

Day 7 – a photo that makes you happy

Day 8 – a photo that makes you angry/sad

Day 9 – a photo you took

Day 10 – a photo taken over 10 years ago of you

Day 11 – a photo of you recently

Day 12 – something you are OCD about

Day 13 – a fictional book

Day 14 – a non-fictional book

Day 15 – your dream house

Day 16 – a song that makes you cry (or nearly)

Day 17 – an art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc)

Day 18 – my wedding/future wedding/past wedding

Day 19 – a talent of yours

Day 20 – a hobby of yours

Day 21 – a recipe

Day 22 – a website

Day 23 – a youtube video

Day 24 – where I live

Day 25 – your day, in great detail

Day 26 – your week, in great detail

Day 27 – my worst habit

Day 28 – whats in my handbag/purse

Day 29 – hopes,dreams and plans for the next 365 days

Day 30 – a dream for the future

I hope that some of you will take the challenge with me! Hopefully Jane will take part too!

Grayson picture/video taking has slowed, but I promise to pick it up again. Tomorrow we will celebrate TWO WEEKS of joy with Grayson, and our Nikon will be abuzz all day tomorrow.

Grayson Update

Everything is going as expected with our little man, Grayson. He is such a blessing to watch as he starts to discover the world around him. Jane and I worked very hard the nine months leading up to this to prepare ourselves, our homes, and our friends for him. It all has paid off many times over.

He is sleeping well most nights, probably around 4-5 hours at a time. Jane is only home a week more, then she'll return to school on a "part time" basis - but if you know her, ONLY doing "part time" will be a struggle. Any way it goes I'll be stepping up more to make sure Grayson's needs *and wants* are met.

Jane has been the best partner I could have ever asked for helping to raise Grayson. She does the things I don't remember to do, and does them while a smile and grateful heart. Grayson really does love her too. He lights up when she starts talking and when he gets close enough to see her face he enters a euphoric state.

We have a lot of family and friends coming into Augusta to see Grayson. It will be so much fun to show him off to people that mean so much to us. We already have felt immense support from those that live around us, now Grayson will feel the love from all around.

I'll leave you with some updated pictures too...

Getting a back massage on Daddy's lap

Grayson the golfer

Saturday we watched the TN/LSU game. Grayson was upset at the outcome.

Cute discovery

Grayson in his blueberry Halloween costume...more to come.

Oh, he just loved the pumpkins in the yard - can't you tell!

Until we meet again....