Happy Birthday Grayson!

Wow! One year later and our tiny, helpless bundle of joy is now walking, talking, and wants to be involved in everything going on...:) It is flat out amazing to see how much he is learning right now and every day seems to bring a new advancement in his development. He is just so much fun to watch, whether we're at home winding down for the night, or sitting in the waiting room at the mechanic ...and while some of his antics hurt our ears or make us wince in empathetic pain, the moments of laughter and hilarity are overwhelming as he inches his way skyward.

We hosted much of Allyson's family in town to celebrate Gray's 1st Birthday over the Memorial Day weekend, and threw a big party in his honor as well. Thank you all for your gifts, cards and clothes as well! Playtime is as fun as ever as Grayson "has a brand new bag."

Aunties in full tickle mode...

We've got so many great pics that I don't really know where to start...

He looks like such a little boy in this picture instead of a baby...:)

Amazing Mom...

It was one of those phrases that was heard a million times growing up in the Gahan household with 4 boys running around:


"Someday you'll have kids of your own and then you'll understand!"


Since we've had Grayson I must have said to myself a thousand times..."How did my mom do it?" Gray isn't even able to talk back yet and he certainly doesn't have three brothers to add to the mix, so it makes the fact that my mom survived raising four kids even more incredible to me...

She covered all the basics with military-like efficiency...a GREAT cook with a diverse menu, a time-management extraordinaire that got every one of us to every practice, meet, match, recital, etc...did laundry for the whole family and still managed to keep our kitchen floor clean enough to actually eat on it...I could go on and on. Really...she did it all, and she did it all WELL.

Lucky for me (us), she had way more than the basics covered too though... Unlike some of my friends growing up, I had a great relationship with my mom. I was never afraid to confide in her, even during my adolescence, is which pretty rare I think. I remember crying my eyes out on her lap after I screwed up a relationship with my first love. She was there supporting me in every situation I can ever remember, and I credit her with teaching me that I need to be myself to be happy, and that other people's opinions don't matter as much as I thought they did. If something made me feel good (like singing in choir and dancing or whatever), then I should do it, regardless of how "uncool" it was...that is a lesson that I've been able to apply in life over and over again, and I am a better man for it today.

While I was able to keep that relationship strong for so long, it did start to wain as I moved on into college and even afterwards. I mostly believe that it had something to do with me wanting to assert some independence, so I would be short with her or became easily frustrated when she pushed to help with something. From what I can tell now, it was for me at least, another phase of maturity that I had to travel through. Having a son/daughter of your own tends to make you reflect about certain things, and finding the perspective of a parent has been a big deal for me. It is the perspective that my mom warned me about on so many times ;)

I regret that I stepped away from you for that period mom, and while the geographical distance remains to be greater than either of us desire, I look forward to being able to talk to you when Grayson (and maybe someday his brother/sister) causes me to think..."How did my mom ever do it?"...

Love you,

Happy Mother's Day!

Blue and Gold Game at Notre Dame!

Tickets to game...$12...South Bend Souvenirs...$100...plane tickets to Michigan...$200...watching your son break down in tears every time Papa enters the room...priceless!

Well, I had a great time in Michigan visiting my family with Gray! Watching him play with Kennedy was awesome, but the other cousins proved to be a bit bigger than little man was ready for...:) Something tells me he had a great time playing with all their toys though...;) Look who's starting to pose!

It was great that my mom got some time with him, and he seemed to be ok with Jackie too. Unfortunately my dad and brother Kevin didn't get the same treatment, as Grayson hid his head in my chest or broke down in tears whenever they got too close. I felt so bad! I know it probably doesn't make you feel any better Pop, but Ed Kearney doesn't fare too much better!

Grayson got his first opportunity to hang at a tailgate and then see the good guys in the Golden Helmets come running out of the tunnel. Although it was just an intersquad scrimmage you could see some significant changes in how this Fighting Irish squad will be run. Plays zip into the huddle and then are executed much more quickly than in years past and it was fun to see a fresh offense. Although there is alot of inexperience on this team in places you would rather have none, I couldn't help come away excited and impressed with what I saw.

Here is Gray in a car seat that he saw way too much of on this trip...

I wish I was better with my camera on this trip!

Trip to Florida!!

Finally! Most of you remember that we got stranded in Maryland after the February blizzard(s), so we were really looking forward to getting down there and seeing Sean, Steph, and Sarah for a few days and then driving down to Key West for a couple days as well. The trip could not have gone better! The weather was great and we got some awesome pictures of the kids. Gray and Sarah are only three months apart so it is fun to see them interact wth one another.

Thank you Sean and Steph for being such gracious hosts, cooking us meals, and letting us take your car down to Key West for the weekend. Steph, Allyson is still trying to put together the necklace that Grayson demolished, but I'm not sure it will ever hold the sentimental value that it did before...;). Without further adeiu, here are a few more pictures:

Swimming of a different kind...;)



The kids watching their favorite videos!

You think someone was worn out on a daily basis?

Spring is here!

Wow, I can't believe how long it has been since my last post...With Spring's arrival it seems that every weekend is planned a month in advance. Just finding time to get the little things done seems hard, let alone the bigger projects (like my yard/grass).

Just as the weather changes every week, Grayson is changing along with it. He's walking 10-12 feet at a time right now! I think going to Florida and seeing his cousin Sarah walking triggered something in him because it seems like he really turned the corner from standing in one place and walking unconciously to actually motoring around intentionally.

Here are a couple recent pictures and maybe this video of Gray will actually post on here (having trouble posting videos on this blog site)...

Gray is standing on his own!

Little man is strong! He's now standing up in one place unassisted...and you know what that means...steps are going to be coming soon!

We got him this cool little truck that he can push around the house and it acts as a walker for him at the same time (although he likes mom/dad to push him around on it too ;).

I'll try to post some video too now that we got ourselves a camera to catch him in action! Allyson got him his first toothbrush because he was always grabbing for hers in the morning as she got ready for work. So now he chews on his brush while she chews on hers ;)

BEP Baby!

So my Birthday present from Allyson was perfect...Black Eyed Peas last Tuesday night! What a show...We saw them a few years ago, but their production is amazing now...

Then she got me tickets to Notre Dame vs. Georgetown on Saturday (through work). What a week!