Monday, March 29, 2010

Receiving Special Company

On Sunday, March 14, Grady and family went to church, and then we had a special visit from cousins Matt and Beth.

Beth and Grandma held and fed Grady while Laurie and Matt pulled a few weeds in Grandma and Grandpa's new garden. It was awesome to spend time together.





Uncle Jeff and Aunt Sue also came to visit on Saturday. They are new Grandparents to adorable Samantha Leigh, born on January 11, 2010. It's fun to share infant stories, and we can't wait for the babies to meet.


Taryl and Grady. We can't wait to be part of the Mom's and Babies' play group with our RF friends. Thanks for inviting us, Taryl.









Jean and Grady. Thanks for using your first day of Spring Break to come see us! It felt so great for mommy to have some girlfriend chatter, and Grady loved being held.








Mommy and Grady waiting for friends from River Falls to arrive. We were so excited that they were willing to make the trip to Zimmerman to meet Grady and hang out with Laurie. God has truly blessed us with amazing friends!



Bath time before lots of visitors on March 13. Thanks to Taryl for the adorable bathrobe. Grady loves to feel all snuggly in it.











Tummy Time and Rolling Over

Grady enjoys his tummy time mat. He's interested in the handsome guy in the mirror.

The rolling over sequence starts with the picture on the right and moves toward the left.
Grady first rolled over from his tummy to his back on March 10 - he was only 2 1/2 weeks. Wow! I checked this once I posted it, and it seems the sequence changed a bit.
I'm sure you can all figure it out.






Visiting Grandpa Wes

Grady still had one very important person to meet - Grandpa Wes! So on March 11, Daddy, Mommy and Grady drove to Plymouth, Minnesota, and met Grandpa at Perkins. Grady was mesmerized by Grandpa's big smile and loving eyes.

It was a joy for me to see my dad with Grady. I look forward to the day, maybe already this summer, when Grandpa, Grady and I head out on our first fishing adventure. My parents taught me to love the outdoors, and I can't wait to share that with Grady. John and I both missed dad while we were away. He stayed at our house with Chief for the week we were in Duluth.

Week Three

This was an exciting week for Grady. He slept on Grandma and Grandpa's bed every afternoon, and Grandma and mommy kept snapping pictures.







Grady sometimes does get a bit frustrated, and I couldn't help snapping this picture. We didn't want all of you to think that he's always perfectly content. But he is always our perfect little man!
Grady is so cute in his diaper! His muscles are already toned from all the baby calesthenics he does; his arms and legs are moving constantly. While mommy snapped away, Chief, our furry baby, laid on G & G's bedroom floor and cried. Can't imagine what's going through his mind.

























































































































































































































Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Visiting Grandpa Pat and Grandma Kay



On Monday, March 8, we went for another long car ride to Maplewood to see Grandpa Pat and Grandma Kay at MOHPA where Grandpa is having radiation treatment five days a week. Due to the treatment, Grandpa wasn't able to make the long ride to see us, so we decided to go to him. At this time, we still couldn't cross the state line from Minnesota to Wisconsin with Grady. Grandma and Grandpa were thrilled to see the newest "little toad."



What a blessing that we were able to spend some time together. John and I missed mom and dad tremendously. I think Grady was the only one with dry eyes that day.


After Grandpa's appointment, we all headed to Baker's Square for a bite to eat. Grady ate, too, and then he contently sat in Grandma's lap for the remainder of the visit.

Week Two


Week two found us hunkering down at Grandma and Grandpa's house. John continued to drive to Osceola everyday to teach and coach. I spent amazing time with my mom, Gerry and Grady. Mom and I had fun taking miscellaneous pictures of Grady laying on their bed. There's nothing like a baby to bring out the photographer in all of us!




This was Grady's Chieftain basketball fan outfit on Thursday, March 4 when the boys played New Richmond in the second round of the playoffs. Unfortunately, the boys lost, but Grady sure looked adorable.




After a sponge bath on Grandma's kitchen island. Grady was already starting to turn his head to see who was talking to him. He particularly likes when we make the "motorboat" sound.


I took Grady out for a few walks while we were at G and G's house. He seems to like his snugli and the sunshine.



Of course, our faithful companion Chief spent some quality time at Grandma's house, too. At night when Grady would cry, Chief would walk the floor with me, licking my leg as I sang to Grady. He is handling the new baby remarkably well.





Week One

We stayed in Duluth until Friday, Feb. 26. During this time, we visited with Rachel, Ubong, Grandmum Yvette, Grandpa Joe, Aunt Emily, Jana, and several other friends. John was extremely busy during this time as he continued to drive to Osceola to coach the varsity boys' basketball team. He spent many hours on the road and many hours holding Grady.



John, Laurie and Grady at St. Mary's hospital. Grady is approximately 8 hours old at this time. We left him in the nursery at 6:30 a.m., after seeing him have his first bubble bath, and headed home to sleep for 4 hours, as we'd been in the hospital since 11:00 a.m. on Monday. We couldn't wait to return to our precious son.
Friday, Feb. 26 was a big travel day for Grady. He rode with
his mommy in her car while daddy followed in his car, and we all
headed for Grandma Arlene and Grandpa Gerry's house. He was such a good baby; he slept the entire 2 1/2 hours! Of course, Grandma could not keep her hands and lips off of him once we arrived.






Sunday, Feb. 28 brought a visit from Aunt Julie, Aunt Kaylene, cousins Katie and Matthew, and cousin Becka. Grady loved all of the attention - not that he's ever missed out in that department - and the relatives loved Grandma Arlene's frosted, marshmellow brownies. John and I continued to feel the love, support and warmth from our family. We cannot express how much it meant to us to get "home" and share our emotions and our baby boy with everyone.































Looking Back


Grady Patrick had his one month well-baby check yesterday. Our little man is growing - he's now 10 lbs. 14.6 ounces! We have had an amazing adoption journey in the last month.

We arrived in Duluth on Friday, Feb. 19 and stayed at the Park Point Carriage House for the next week. The time we spent with Rachel was so precious to us. Grady entered the world at 3:10 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 23. He weighed 9 lbs and measured 22 1/4 inches long. He came out with a wonderful scream, but he quickly calmed down. The Lord blessed us by allowing us to be present at Grady's birth and hold him immediately.