Merry Christmas

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even more hilarious

hilarious

ha ha halloween

the ride home from halloween store

more halloween store

sleepy

halloween stores wit mommy and daddy are too much fun for the little one!

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halloween store

halloween store

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dr appt

Grady had 4 shots at the doctor today and he is 23 3/4 lbs and 32 inches. he's skinny and tall, still off of the chart for height in his age. poor little guy cried a lot today though. he got 2 shots in each arm. that's the first time he got them in the arm all his other shots were in the leg. he had a fun rest of the day though with mommy and daddy!

Happy first birthday Grady

Yesterday was Grady's first birthday, sunday was his birthday party but yesterday was his actual birthday. It has been the fastest year of my life by far! Grady has certainly changed my life in many ways and all of them have been better. Tonight Melissa was tickling Grady and i could not stop smiling and laughing. the only thing better than hearing Grady laugh is hearing him and his Mommy laugh together! i have been blessed with many things in my life but my family is definitely the biggest blessing.

Like i said, Grady is one year old and i can't believe how much he has grown and how much he has changed in one year. When Grady was born i had virtually no idea what to do with him, my experience with dogs told me that, for the most part, he would survive one way or another. Grady did require more attention than a puppy and i guess because he was my own son i was more comfortable with him than any other baby. Babies had always made me nervous but since Grady was my son i never felt nervous with him, on the contrary, i was actually extremely calm with my boy. i never thought that i would enjoy fatherhood so much but i have never enjoyed anything more in my life. i think its something that i am honestly good at.

Grady gives me more pride in my life than anything else. My big boy is walking now and he can say a few different words and raises both hands to signify "all gone" and everything he does and every minute we have together makes me happy. he is growing up so freaking fast i can't believe it. i look forward to him growing more and more and cherish all the time that we have together. i am so thankful that at this time he is able to stay home with his mommy and i can spend my days off with him on days she has to work and even though i have to work four long days each week the whole family gets to be together one full day every week. we might not be the richest people we know as far a s bank account but we make up for it in quality time. i know i can sacrifice and his mommy can sacrifice to make our current situation last as long as possible. we think its worth it for mommy to be home with Grady while daddy works and daddy to be home when mommy works.

thank you to everyone who attended Grady's birthday party in person and thank you to everyone who wishes they were there but couldn't attend in person. it warms my heart to know that so many people love Grady so much! i know that i never knew i could love someone so much until Grady was born. GRADY YOU HAVE CHANGED MY LIFE SO MUCH AND FOR THE BETTER IN EVERY WAY. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND CAN'T IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT YOU. MY FAMILY IS MY LIFE. I HAVE NEVER KNOWN SO MUCH LOVE!

SO PROUD

i have gotten straight A's in school, I have gotten promotions at work, i have graduated boot camp from Fort knox Kentucky but i have never been so proud...

Grady

i love this boy!

RIP JP

someone i know and worked with passed away unexpectedly today. he was a very good person and one of the nicest, funniest, most enjoyable people i have ever had the pleasure of working with. he taught me a lot about my current job and i'm not ashamed to say i try to emulate his style at work. he was succesful without screwing over other coworkers to reach his own goals.

this is a shocking loss and makes me reflect on how lucky i am to have what i have. ,my friend leaves behind 2 young daughters (one a few months younger than Grady) and a wife. i can not imagine what life would be like for the people in my family if i was suddenly taken from them or if one of them was suddenly taken from me. my thoughts and prayers are with the entire family at this time.

life is never perfect but it is always precious. today has reminded me of this and reminded me to not take a single day for granted. i have always placed a high value on family and the small things in life but something like this makes me realize even more how important normal everyday things can be. to anyone who reads this make it a point to appreciate every day you have with family. don't sweat the small stuff. work is work and when your done with work live your life to the fullest. i don't love my job but it lets me provide for my family, the family i love more than anything. if things are not going your way then keep a positive attitude and know that things will get better.

rest in peace JP. thank you for being my friend. i'll see you again when the time comes.

water works

Harry

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Give Grady a 10!

http://beautifulbabies.trb.com/wjw/babies_home_gallery,0,5306465,permalink.ugcphotogallery?u=thecatalinawinemixer

This site is up and running again so go ahead and vote fr Grady if you want to!

water works and nap time

1st father's day

Today was easily one of the best days of my life. We had Grady baptized and the mass service before the baptism was awesome. Sometimes at church i feel like the preacher is speaking directly to me. I mean its like i heard exactly what i needed to hear. The readings and homily were just so much more than i expected today. to be honest i was just focused on getting Grady baptized that the timeliness and message of the scriptures and homily caught me off guard and were a huge bonus for me.

Grady's baptism went really great also. I'm so happy that he is finally baptised! i only blame myself for it being more than 9 months after he is born but, better late than never, as the saying goes. I would like to thank everyone who attended the baptism since it was pretty short notice. if you didn't attend don't feel bad and i apologize that we didn't invite more people to share the special day with us. i was so filled with the spirit today during the mass and baptism i felt like i could do anything. it certainly was a great feeling. i think it has something to do with being happy for myself but being way more happy for Grady too.

After the ceremony we had family back to the house for a little cookout and everyone ate and had a good time and enjoyed the beautiful weather today and the great company of family. i know this is only my 1st father's day but i think this will be a hard one to ever top!

also, Grady started crawling today. he has been working on it for a few weeks but up until today had only been successful at pushing himself backwards and turning himself in circles. today, however he just started crawling ;ile a little pro. there is a possibility he only did it since there was a big crowd of people standing around watching him. seems to be a bit of a showman! at any rate, he crawled a foot or two and he did it a couple times. it was very exciting for all of us and we were so lucky that so many people got to see him crawl for the 1st time!

What a great day!

classic

9 months

Grady had his 9 months doctor appointment today. He is 20lbs 13 ounces and just under 31 inches. he was given a clean bill of health but the doctor did say he was a little slug since he doesn't crawl or pull himself up to a standing position. Guess we're gonna have to start so me physical training. ha ha. i actually am enjoying the last weeks of him not being mobile. i know once he gets moving he'll never stop! the doctor also pricked his little foot to draw blood to test for anemia and Grady didn't even notice. As a matter of fact he actually had to poke him twice since the 1st one didn't bleed enough and Grady didn't even look at him funny. i expected him to cry for that part. Next check up is at one year and they warned that he gets to have a lot of shots for his birthday!

Grady and Daddy

semi crappy self portrait of Grady and i outside at the fire tonight.  i think we have the same chin in this picture. ha ha

p.s. Grady wasnt out there very long and he was dressed warm

sunday 5/31/09

today was a very average day at work followed by a night with family.  the brief night with family was so much better that the day at work.  i cherish my time with family so much.  there seems to be a real shortage of time with loved ones.  

sleepy time (right now)

Mommy set Grady in the crib for a few minutes while she got her self ready for the day.  After a few minutes Grady fell asleep, sitting up leaning against the crib padding.  Needless to say Mommy had to lay him down and let him finish his nap before she could leave the house.  too cute and too funny.  Cant believe he fell asleep like that.

NOT learned from Daddy

stream of thought

on a day when things really aren't going my way i don't really know what to do with myself.  on one hand i am very disappointed today.  on the other hand, when i get low i unfailingly begin to look at the positive things in my life.  i find myself looking at the many blessings that i have.  i have always felt my positive mental attitude was one of my better qualities.  does this make me an optimist or a settler?  i'd like to think i'm an optimist (here i go again) but maybe i am a settler.  there is a distinct possibility that i fall short of things because i allow myself to fall short.  i am easily comforted by the things i have.  i can't decide if i'm content and that makes me accept failure or i cope with failure by by being content.  i know some people in life who think that 2nd place really is 1st loser and for whatever reason i have never held that mentality.  i can accept someone else being better than me.  does that make me weak?  probably.  should i feel guilty that i am content in my life?  

i feel like the only motivation i have is my family.  Everything i do is for them to have it better.  a better tomorrow, a better week, a better year, any little thing i can do to make it better for them i will do.  undoubtedly though if i fail to make things better i will fall back on counting the blessings.  i feel like there must be some balance between being content with what you have and striving to be better.  i think i am almost completely at the content end of the spectrum.  i need more strive in my life.  i don't really strive to do anything for myself, except my physical fitness i guess.  

is it possible for me to look around and be thankful for what i have and strive for more at the same time?  i've never done it in my life.  i have never looked around and said "this is great but it could be better if..."  maybe i would try harder if i found something i was good at?  does it count as striving if i am already good at it, or is that just more of being content?  i know i have to motivate myself someway because someone else telling me to do something generally has the opposite effect on me.   this is quite a question to ask myself tonight.  something needs to change because i want better for my family, i want them to be happy.  i want to be a better husband and dad.

(why don't i think i should be the best husband and dad? i mean really?  that's what comes to my mind.  i want to be better.  that's what i wrote and then i thought why don't i want to be the best?  i don't think i can be the best so i won't even make that my goal.  i've never been #1 at anything in my life so why would i expect to start being #1 at anything now.  i really can't think of one thing i've ever won.  i am a loser.  how can i think my life is great and think i'm a loser in the same breath)

i am a strange person.

now, i don't want anyone to get the wrong impression and think that i am sitting around feeling sorry for myself tonight.  that is certainly not the point.  i don't feel sorry for myself one bit.(i'm an optimist after all, or a settler)  i love my wife, my son and the rest of my family very much and that is what makes my life happy.  not jobs or possessions or winning.  if they are happy then i am happy.  

p.s. my apologies if that makes no sense at all but it was written more for my benefit than anything else.  after all, it is my blog.

God i love this guy

Thanks to Mommy for getting the pictures. Mommy sure can make her baby boy smile, and his daddy!

God i love this guy

God i love this guy

you can see his little tooth a little bit

little pool, big boy

Mommy got the big boy a little splash pool.  looks like he loves it!  Mommy takes such good care of her boy.  that little pool is so tiny i don't even think it holds 5 galons of water.  just big enough for him to cool off and splash around.

big boy

Grady has a visible tooth and another one trying to come out right next to it.  the one that is out is just barely through and you can see the white of it but not good enough for a picture yet.  he also got himself from his belly up to his hands and knees today with no help.  he was on his belly and his papaw bob showed him how to get up on his hands and knees and next thing you know, Grady just pushed himself up on his hands and knees.  it was too cool.

here i am grilling in the custom apron that Mom made for me years ago. i really use it all the time...

Mother's day at the natatorium with mommy and GML

Mother's day at the natatorium with Mommy and GML

then and now

getting bigger and bigger but he still likes his swing sometimes. probably wearing out the motor on that swing with his big butt but who cares. he's also getting his first tooth on the bottom. you can't see it yet but Melissa can feel it. (with her finger if anyone was thinking something else)

peace dude

more pics