Greyson Matthew

Greyson Matthew Crawford

Arrived December 9th, 2011

11:20pm

This month has been SO busy & eventful! Greyson made his arrival 2 days after my due date. Labor started friday morning at 6:30am & I held off all morning until I decided to call the doctor at 1:30pm. I wanted to make sure it was the real deal since we live 45 min from the hospital (more or less) sometimes it can take up to an hour to get there. They only keep you at 4 cm so I was determined to make sure when we made the trip we weren't sent home. 

The doctor said to go on in to labor & delivery so I called Matt at work. He made it home a little while later, but had to get cleaned up & finish up a few things, so we didn't actually leave for the hospital until 3:15! During that time I all of a sudden started cleaning like crazy during contractions! They were about 5 minutes apart & I was running around making sure everything was taken care of since we would be in the hospital a few days. My parents were coming Monday from PA so I finished up their room & grabbed some last minute things. We made it to the hospital (safely) but somehow in great time & I was in a room, hooked up to the monitors by 4pm.

I was only 3cm but because I was late & having regular contractions I was allowed to stay. They moved me to a labor room & I progressed to 6cm so Dr. DuBois came in & got things started! I got an epidural & around 8pm I was ready to have the baby!

After the epidural & very excited!

Labor was tolerable because of the pain medicine but after 2 whole hours of pushing, the Dr. decided it was time for a C-section. Little bean was being stubborn & had his head "up" instead of tucked so he wouldn't come out! 

Matt ready to go into he OR 

His mom & brother Ben & my friend Emily were all there for the birth. It was a late night! 

The C-section was SO fast & I because of an IV leak I was in conversation with the nurses fixing it & didn't even realize the surgery was already pretty much over. I all of a sudden heard Dr. DuBois tell me I would feel pressure then I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of me & I could breathe!! 

It was then I heard baby Greyson's cry...the sweetest sound ever!!!

They showed him to me briefly then whisked him off to the nursery with Matt.

Greyson was 7 pounds 9 ounces & 20 inches long.

Greyson getting his footprints made

I was in recovery for about 45 minutes before I got to hold him, but it was a great night. We got to sleep about 2am.

Very proud grandparents came to visit the next day..GeeGee & Gpa!

Great-Grandparents G-mama & G-daddy

2 of my friends Emily & Skye (& Emily's little guy, Jace)

He sucked on everything! even in the ultrasounds, he had his hands in his mouth, so the hospital gave him a pacifier. It was huge for his little face!

First family photo!

Uncle Matt & Aunt Mindy sent this bear & balloon! They will get to meet him in March.

We got to go home on Monday...Matts mom came to help with Greyson while I got ready & Matt packed.

My family made it to the hospital a little while before we left...Mom rode home with us. We took a few pictures in the lobby of the hospital because I just loved the huge tree & decorations.

My family!

My mom got to stay for 3 weeks!! she was great at multi-tasking & did so much for me while I recovered & got into the mom role! 

GeeGee got him this shirt so this was what he wore on Christmas day =)

We also were asked to be in the Christmas program at church (last minute) We hadn't taken Greyson to church yet, so we made the brief appearance then left during the closing remarks. It was fun to have Greyson be baby Jesus during such a special time of year.

The greatest Christmas gift EVER! God is so good =)

3 weeks later Greyson now weighs 9 pounds 6 ounces & has grown 1.5 inches. He smiles a lot & is a very pleasant baby. He has only had a couple really rough nights & I found out those were growth spurts! He eats all the time it seems but I'm so glad he is perfect, healthy & a total blessing. 

I have loved being a mom! My own mom left just yesterday to go back home to PA. It was wonderful having my family here for the majority of the time, but now we are "on our own". Matt is a great hands on dad & takes a lot of the load off. We have learned to juggle our regular lives with our little blessing & couldn't be happier!!

I have so much more to post about including Greyson's dedication, Christmas & some more exciting news, but for now, I want to wish everyone a Happy New YEAR! 

God blessed us so much in 2011, I can't wait to see what is in store for 2012!!

Never Forget...

December 7th, 1941

We've all heard the stories, & possibly even watched the movie & TV segments on Pearl Harbor. 

A day in History that should never be forgotten. 

I think about the men & women who encountered that day & what they must have faced. My grandparents remember that day, people in my own family who fought in those wars (not exactly at Pearl Harbor) but overseas & all around...they fought for a much different country than we are living in today. 

I want to specifically draw attention to this day because of the impact it had on our nation & to celebrate the men & women who were there & are still living. They are true hero's!

~God Bless America~

A few months ago, when Matt & I were in Atlanta, a gentleman we were passing smiled at me & asked me when the baby was due! 

December 7th

Right away his face got serious & he immediately pointed out the significance of the day & explained to us how important it would be for us to teach our son about his "expected" birthday. Just the way he talked made me realize just how passionate he was about making sure we knew the true value of what those men & women faced. I wish I could say that Greyson would be arriving today...or that he really could share his Birthday with such a historical day, but it really doesn't look like that will happen...

Even though it may still be a few more days until we get to meet our little guy, I STILL want to make sure that he knows about certain days in History, why we are privileged to live in America & that God has blessed us more than we could ever know! I want him to know that our grandparents & family members  stood up for what they believed in, for a cause that they fought for & that whatever happens in the future, he can have the same drive & appreciation for all our men & women in service!

Christmas Decorations!

I LOVE CHRISTMAS! 

It is my favorite time of year & I love decorating for it. 

This year, because of the much anticipated arrival of baby bean, we decided to decorate WAY early. Like October early! I skipped Fall this year & went straight to Christmas. 

It just made sense to start early since I knew I would not be up to decorating that much right before my due date (which is in 2 days by the way)

So, here are just a few shots of our Christmas decorations for 2011

This is the hutch in our den

Because of the wood paneling, we go a little more rustic in this room. We got a much smaller tree for this room this year since we will need all the seating we can get. We usually take out one of the recliners, but with us celebrating Christmas at my house this year, we didn't want to lose another chair!

We put all our childhood ornaments & fun colored lights on this tree.

 This is part of the hallway...not much going on there, but Matt's Granny always displayed that white Christmas tree at her house & now it is ours to remember her by.

I love this idea I found on Pinterest.com I would have liked the greenery to be a little fuller, but I got them on sale & just made it work. It's just something nice & different.

Our living room is much more open this year since we arranged the seating 

 We tried putting our BIG tree in here at first, but it was just TOO big! So we found another small tree to use for the formal living room. It doesn't have very many ornaments on it, but I just love having a "pretty" tree in there

I do something different over the fireplace each year...last year was vintage decorations & this year I wanted to emphasize that JESUS really IS the reason for the season.

I love shopping on Etsy.com too & found these cute stockings that had all kinds of different fabrics. I thought it would be a perfect way to start our family stockings so that when we have more kids, we can add whatever color fabric we want & it doesn't necessarily have to match. 

Matt picked "Auburn" colors for his stocking & I already have presents in it so it is laying nice, but mine & Greysons are still a bit floppy...waiting for Matt to put something in them I guess! 

We usually put the formal tree where the pack-n-play is, but of course, having a baby changes everything! We had to move some furniture around, but I wanted a place downstairs for Greyson to enjoy & also keep a diaper changing station here so we wouldn't have to run the stairs every time.

 And here is what the room looks like with the lights on. I love the beautiful glow it casts around the room & whats better is that the lights are all connected to the light switch! so no unplugging or plugging in! Matt thought that was pretty clever...haha

 & here's just a small part of the dining room. I don't have much in there & this room is getting curtains soon so I hope to finish that up before Christmas.

This is the entry way to our house...the plate has a scene of a little girl decorating a tree & I just happened to find a votive candle holder with the same scene on it that was Matt's Granny's before she passed away. I am glad I can have a few momentos of Matt's Granny around our house this year. 

So that's just a little bit of the house this year...I am glad I got so much of it done early. These last couple weeks have been pretty rough! I am looking forward to this baby getting here soon & being able to enjoy a nice Christmas at our house with family. It will be the first time my parents get to be here for this Holiday! I also can't wait to share the true meaning of Christmas with our kids someday & celebrate Jesus' birthday. Until then, I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas season! The countdown is on!