Grayson and the Apple Tree

One night, after the funeral, my mom and I took Grayson outside to try and tire him out before bed, and to just get out of the very full house and enjoy the amazing weather before going back to the heat! In the farmhouse garden there are a couple of apple trees. I don't think the apples were quite ready yet, but Grayson found them and absolutely loved picking (and eating) them from the tree. :)

Playing peek-a-boo with Grandma. :)

Run, run, run! Tire this boy out!

Eating the apple while it is still in the tree. :)

Enjoying the beautiful sunset!

Minnesota Fun and Family

Grayson is a little bit more clingy than his sister ever was and definitely is not as friendly with strangers, So I was pretty surprised at how well he did with all of the new people in Minnesota. The last time he was around my dad's side of the family, he was only 2 months old, but he seemed to warm up to them pretty fast.

Eating snacks with Carmen.

He did so amazing during the viewing. We were at the church for like 6 hours and he did actually fall asleep for about 45 minutes. The rest of the time he played and snacked. :)

Checking out the frog that Sydney caught.

Peek-a-boo with cousin Nic.

Hanging out with Papa.

Isn't this church beautiful?

With Papa in front of the house that he grew up in.

He loves Uncle Jeff!

Piano time with Ross.

Checking out a tractor...

...and decided he really wasn't a big fan!

Snacks with Uncle Phil.

Playing Outside

It was so nice to be somewhere that we could actually be outside without melting! :) Grayson didn't know what to think of the grass at first, but it didn't take him long to be running in the front yard!

How amazing is my aunt's garden?! :)

This is the farmhouse that my dad (Grayson's Papa) grew up in.

I just love his cheesy smile right now. :)

Heading toward the corn field!

So much grass to run around in! :)

Travel Day with Grayson

My amazing Grandma (or Gigi to my kids) passed away earlier this month (more about her in a later post) so Grayson and I headed to Minnesota for her funeral. I knew it would be interesting to fly with Grayson by myself (because it really doesn't matter how short the trip is, traveling with a little one requires everything but the kitchen sink!), but with scheduling childcare at home while I would be gone, it just made more sense to take him with me! The flight itself was memorable (not for the best reasons) but it was really fun to get off the plane and have both my parents (we hadn't seen my dad in a couple of months as he is working in Australia right now) and my brother, Jeff, who had flown in from Hawaii earlier in the day.

This was right before we boarded the plane...and right before the epic meltdown he had while the "A" group was boarding. I am very grateful for the Grandma on my flight who had chatted with me in the terminal while we were waiting (and knew the reason I was going to Minnesota) and then watched the entire meltdown with very sympathetic looks in my direction. They were a welcome site a midst all the other glares from the rest of the passengers. As I was walking down the aisle of the plane, the sweet lady reached out and patted my arm while saying, "Just breathe Mama...it will all be ok!".

Playing with Mommy's phone on the plane. :)

It was about midnight by the time we finally arrived at the farm (where my dad grew up and my great grandparents built). I knew it would probably be a long night with Grayson, and he did not disappoint! :) He finally fell asleep in my lap while we were sitting in a recliner at about 4am. But to his credit, each night we were there he slept progressively better!