It snowed all day long...

I had already brushed her off a couple times before this one was taken today...

Man, what a storm...still going strong at 10PM and we have 18-20 inches on the ground...

Unfortunately, Grayson ran out of formula (yes, that was me making fun of people for panicking and going to the store for canned goods before the storm hit)...so I had been continually brushing off the Commander because I knew I would probably have to go at some point.

I have to say...the Jeep Commander is a beautiful machine. 800 lbs heavier than my old Grand Cherokee and four wheel drive! As long as you take it slow she will plow through anything, so on I went to the store. Even the busiest North-South main road nearby hadn't been plowed in an hour or two, so it was still an adventure...but a fun one!

After my ride to the store...

The blizzard of 09'

Well, it finally happened!! After 5 years of continually being wrong about predicting big snow storms, the meteorologists proved that even a blind squirrel can find a nut sometimes (or however that cliche goes)...

We woke up this morning to about a foot on the ground, and it is still going strong! I just got back from walking the dogs and it is simply awesome outside. On the flip side, we are going to be digging ourselves out of this one for days. We are just thankful we haven't lost power yet, because even trying to drive to a hotel would be hell. They are saying we could get almost 2 feet before it is over and I believe them with the way its coming down now.

I love the snow...I don't know why I never grew out of that notion, but I feel like a little kid all over again whenever I see it coming down. I would kill for Grayson to be able to enjoy this like he will in the future, because this one is a doozy. We could build the biggest snowman right now!

The day after Christmas Gray will be 7 months old. I can't believe how fast time is going right now. He's at such a fun age though. Everything is an adventure for him and watching his eyes light up when he recognizes someone or something is priceless. He's sitting up on his own like a big boy and he is so close to crawling. He's able to push himself up into plank position and go backwards already, but going forward is still a challenge.

I can't wait for him to be around his cousins over the holidays. Allyson and I will drive to Michigan on the 24th and stay until after New Years. We'll get some quality family time in and hopefully see some friends along the way too... Don't worry, I'll have plenty of pictures to share afterward!

Some cool Christmas pics that you will also see in the mail!

Watch Grayson bounce!

This kid is hilarious...this video was taken shortly after he figured out how to bounce...now he's bouncing like crazy and laughing at the same time...

More pictures to share...

Happy Thanksgiving!!

No...Linda is not feeding Grayson beer through a straw! :)

Only a week and a half late with this post! One aspect of having a baby that I severely underestimated was the lack of free time that comes with parenthood...:) Finding time for even little stuff is much more of a challenge than I ever suspected it would be, but I think we're starting to get the hang of it now. A new normal I suppose...

We had an awesome Thanksgiving when we hosted Ed and Linda (Ally's parents), and Megan (Ally's sister) for the long weekend. Our tradition is to have everyone fly in on Thanksgiving and just watch football and order out, and then do Turkey day on Saturday with Ed's side of the family coming to our house.

Ultimately, we ended up putting down a quality spread! Frying a turkey is one of the easiest things I've done for Thanksgiving and it was some of the best that I've ever tasted. But getting to spend the holiday with family and having Grayson with us as the clear center of attention was something I'll always be thankful for...Without further adieu...the pictures that you've been waiting for!

Random Pics and Good News...

Some good news to pass first...Grayson's right tear duct finally cleared up over the last couple weeks, so both eyes are officially free from gobble-dee gook! The little guy also started eating rice cereal over the last week and "Mikey likes it, he really, really likes it!" It seems you can't shovel it in there fast enough. Allyson has feeding him down pretty well, but me? Not so much.... I (we) tend to make quite the mess together...:)

Here are some random pics taken over the last couple weeks:

Happy Halloween!!!!

Trick or treat!! How do you like our pumpkins? Allyson on the left, Grayson in the middle, and Dad on the right (Gray had a little help from dad:)

We dressed Grayson like a monkey this year as it was all too appropriate. For whatever reason Allyson started calling him Monkey and the nick name seems to have stuck. I don't know if that means we'll call him Monk for the rest of his life, but I think I like the sound of Gray or Grayson better ;)

The other little tike in the pictures is Grayson's friend Felix. Felix is the son of Bea Sasser, our child care provider, and they get along swimmingly. See the adorable Monkey and Yoda...

Grayson growing up and getting loud!

So it turned out to be a very tough week for mom and I...After last weekend, we (Allyson) finally accepted that it may be time to let the little man "cry it out" for a change...:( He's had a few nights since he was born where he allowed us to get some sleep, but they were far too infrequent to catch up on any real sleep. Working full time and getting up 3 or 4 times a night is too much for two people working full time.

We heard that the process should only take 3 or 4 nights before he gets the hang of it and figures out how to pacify himself back to sleep, and thank GOD, that was indeed the case. The first two nights were brutal and we lost major ground in the sleep department as we lied in bed listening to him wail.

On the third night he started crying early (as soon as we crawled in bed), so we prepared ourselves for another long night...but then it quieted down and stopped altogether...next thing I know I'm getting up at 2AM to feed him, and then the alarm going off when it is supposed to!! He only got up once!! We thought it may be a fluke until the 4th and 5th nights roll by in the same manner...Man, what a relief!

Anyway, the title of the post Kyle, get to the point...We went out on Friday night and went for Sushi...It was a place we've never been too before, and it was nicer than we expected. In the past, Grayson has always been very good at chilling out in his car seat and letting mom and dad eat their food in comfort...Not the case anymore says Grayson...He's active now, and he wants to be up and looking around. He wants to drink out of our glasses and shriek like a pterodactyl. He wants to touch our plates and fling them on the floor...you get the picture...It appears that Applebees and Ruby Tuesdays just entered back into our concious from their past place on our "Do not" list... Oh well...Here are some pictures from that night:

A trip home and to College Football's Mecca

Too bad cell phone pictures don't turn out the same as on regular cameras! I had a great time in Michigan visiting the family for a quick weekend trip. I was up to see Notre Dame take on Boston College in what has been a very heated rivalry (unfortunately), and the best part was watching a game in South Bend with Troy and Pop. The victory was sweet, but the time (albeit short) I got to spend with my family was even sweeter.

I've got pictures of Kael playing the guitar we got him for his B-day, and Ian playing at the kitchen table. While Gray doesn't resemble the Gahan side overtly, I saw mannerisms and expressions that were all too familiar...:)