End of Summer

Summer at the Grey house is coming to a close. Sibley is now 12 weeks old, which means I go back to work next week. Tear... :(

What a wonderful summer it has been! I have been so lucky to spend the past few months at home with this sweet girl, and while I'm sad our weekdays won't be spent side by side anymore, I am ready to return to the working world and get in some sort of normal routine.

Sibley will be going to the Privette School in Fondren, and we couldn't be happier. It's very close to home and work, and I just know her teachers will love her as much as we do. I'm excited for her to make some new friends!

In other news, I actually got a promotion a few weeks ago while still on maternity leave. My new position is Division Director of Emergency Preparedness Communications (a mouthful, I know). It's still in my same office (although I do get a bigger cube by the window - whoop!), and it's a lot of what I'm doing now with some grant management and a little travel thrown in.  I'm excited to start fresh and learn some new things! Hopefully my brain will readjust accordingly. ;)

That's really about all that's new with us. Now it's back to the real world... Let's do this.

Good Ole Lake Days

On Saturday Sibley stayed with Derek's dad (Pawpaw) and Miss Lynne while we spent the day and night at the lake hosting a couples' wedding shower for Derek's younger brother, Ryan, and his fiancé, Beth Ann.

The shower was hosted by all the Grey kids and a few other couples, and we had a great time!

It's been a loooong time since we've all been out there without the kiddos, and we certainly made the most of it with a fun day on the boat and even a night out at the Chotard Landing Resort! Watch out, world! 

It really was a fun like the good ole days, which clearly none of us can handle as often now in our older and wiser years. Fun in the sun with a lot of cold beer. :)

Congrats, Ryan and BA! Can't wait for the wedding.

Two Months

Sweet Sibley, you are almost 10 weeks old! I wanted to wait to write your two-month update until after your doctor's appointment last Friday. You are now 12 pounds, 8 ounces and have grown two whole inches since your one-month visit!

You're measuring in the 90th percentile for weight and the 30th for length. That big ole noggin of yours is in the 95th percentile, which Dr. Storey said means you have big brains. 

You did so well at the doctor and took your vaccinations like a big girl only crying for a few seconds. It was hard to watch, but I think you handled them better than I did!

You've changed so much in a month. You're really holding your head up pretty well now, you LOVE your activity mat, and after a few weeks of sleeping soundly in your Rock and Play (yay for no more sleeping on the love seat for mama!) you've graduated to your Pack and Play. That means your crib is next!

You have blessed us with a straight EIGHT hours of sleep every night for the past few weeks. We can't thank you enough. You're a great sleeper, and you are like clockwork with a 10:00 bedtime right now. You like it dark and quiet, and you'll snooze soundly til about 6 a.m. 

You've really developed a routine these past few weeks, and I'm amazed at how closely you stick to it every day. You still take your two big naps each day and are up to 5 ounces of formula every 2-3 hours. And again, like clockwork, you cluster feed about once each hour and a half from 6-9 p.m. before bedtime. I think it's your way of "carb-loading" before your big night of sleep. You're so smart! 

You smile at us now and are really cooing and making all sorts of funny noises. You're discovering your voice for sure.

One of our new favorite activity is a grocery trip to Kroger. We went twice last week, and you would have thought you were at Disney World. You LOVED looking at everything. 

You are growing SO much each week, and I'm enjoying watching it firsthand while I'm still at home. Three more weeks, and it's back to the real world. :(

What a great summer it has been with you! We love you so much, my little munch!

NOLA

Sibley turned 8 weeks on Friday, and Derek turned 31 on Saturday, so we felt like the time was right to leave her overnight with my parents and have a grown-up weekend away in New Orleans.

It was a record-breaking HOT weekend down there, but we really had a great time. Friday afternoon we wandered the Quarter and stopped in at one of our favorite bars, Tonique, for a Mint Julep slushee to beat the heat. 

After dinner Friday night, our friends Katherine and Paul went back to the condo while Derek and I wandered back out in the Quarter for a little date night. 

We first stopped in Jackson Square for sunset and did a little people-watching while listening to a little street band and catching a cool breeze. It was so nice!

We then decided to keep wandering and do a little "classy" bar-hopping like gown-ups do. ;)

We checked out Sylvain, the Carousel Bar at Hotel Monteleone, 801 Royal, then back to Tonique on the walk home. I had never been to most of these places before, and I really had a lot of fun!

Saturday was all about the food: breakfast at Ruby Slipper, po-boys for lunch at Katie's, then the big birthday dinner at Restaurant R'evolution.

Before I talk about dinner (which was fabulous), I wanted to mention that we stopped by The Columns Hotel Saturday afternoon for a drink while a little afternoon shower rolled in. We sat on the big front porch overlooking St. Charles and watched the streetcars. Very cool place where I also had never been!

The night started with cocktails before dinner at SoBou, then Derek's old friend Kevin and his wife, Sarah, met us at R'evolution for dinner. I had heard great things about this place, and it did not disappoint! The service was absolutely impeccable, and food just kept on coming. It was pretty amazing and a wonderful dining experience. Our reservations were at 8, and we didn't leave until almost 11.

After dinner Derek, Kevin, Sarah and I finished celebrating the big birthday at 801 Royal, the Gold Mine (don't ask - ha!), and Tonique before calling it a night.

It really was a wonderful weekend, and I didn't even realize how much we needed that little getaway. We hit the road early Sunday morning to get back to Hattiesburg to pick up the munchkin.

We missed her BIG time (I only cried twice), but she had fun visiting with BB and Popi. I would say our first weekend away was a success.

Happy Happy Birthday, Derek!

Catching Up

Sorry for my absence... Seems like we've had a lot going on and very little going on all at the same time, if that's even possible.

Since the last time I posted, Derek spent the weekend in Memphis for a friend's wedding and some catch-up time with his cousin, Wes.

I single-parented for the weekend, and it was fine! Sibley and I rode over to Vicksburg for Grady's second birthday party and a short visit with Aunt KK, Frances and Cash while Uncle Neil was also out of town. I've got the road trip with a baby thing down pat. Ha!

We've still been enjoying our weekly visits to Hattiesburg. One great thing about being on maternity leave this summer is that I've actually had plenty of opportunities to hang out with my bestie, Cassidy, while she's home from Japan for a few weeks. It's been wonderful! I miss this girl like crazy and really, really hope to replan our trip overseas to visit her in the spring.

Other goings-ons include Sibley's first 5K in support of our friends Claire and Jeremy's fundraising for A Climb for Hope. They're raising a LOT of money for Livestrong in hopes of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in the spring. It's a great cause, and Jeremy is a cancer survivor with a great story. (Check out their Facebook page if you get a minute.)

And in other baby news, Sibley started smiling! It's the sweetest thing I've ever seen. She is absolutely adorable, and I just can't even express my love for this little girl.

She'll be 8 weeks on Friday. Crazy!! I still have 4.5 weeks left of maternity leave, then it's back to the real world. 

I actually had my postpartum OB visit yesterday. My c-section had completely healed, and I'm thrilled to share that I am EIGHTEEN pounds down from my pre-preggo weight. I have big plans to join the Y this week and keep it up. Blog friends, hold me to it! :)

I suppose that's about it as far as what's been going on in our little world. We have big plans for Derek's birthday this weekend, so stay tuned for a non-baby post! Hehe

Road Trip!

Thursday Sibley and I set off on our first road trip adventure by ourselves. We decided while I am on maternity leave we'll try to make a weekly trip to Hattiesburg to visit my family and for my mom to watch her for the night so I can get out and about for a while with friends and enjoy a solid night of sleep. Trip number one was a success!

Sibley was able to visit with both great grandmothers and with her great aunts.

I met my friends Allison and Cassidy downtown for happy hour and dinner, and we had such a great time! It was wonderful to get out for a few hours, and Sibley was a perfect angel for her BB and Popi while I was gone. :)

Once the official weekend arrived we filled up the baby pool on the back deck and spent a lovely Saturday afternoon at the Grey Country Club. She loved the water then napped in the shade for an hour or two.

Then on Sunday we rode out to the country in Edwards to visit our old friends (and my old boss) Karen and Jimmy at their cabin. 

It was a great weekend! Sibley loves riding in the car, so we're taking advantage of it while it lasts! I definitely see more road trips in our future. She'll be one well-traveled little girl! :)

One Month

Sweet Sibley, you are now more than a month old! As of today you are 4 weeks, 4 days and growing more every day. It's been quite an eventful month for all of us, to say the least, but we wouldn't change a thing!

Based on our fancy system of weighing ourselves then weighing ourselves holding you, you're tipping the scales at a solid 10 pounds, almost 11. You're eating about 4 ounces every three hours, give or take, then 5 ounces at bedtime and in the middle of the night. If we wait too long to get your bottle ready you get really mad at us.

And speaking of mad, you make these little cough sounds when you get really frustrated. It usually coincides with the woodchuck. We have to be ready to jump quickly when you start to tell us you're hungry or we have an angry little girl on our hands!

You've been sleeping in your swing in the living room at night, which means mama spends most of her nights on the couch to be right next to you. It's just easier that way in the middle of the night rather than stumbling around in the dark in our room. You're not a big fan of your Rock and Play just yet, but I hope you'll grow into it. Same goes for your crib, although you don't mind doing a little tummy time in there.

Right now you usually wake up for a little while from 6ish to 8 in the mornings before taking a nice, long morning nap, then another nice nap in the afternoons. Your most alert time is from about 6 to 8 or so at night, which makes for perfect snuggle time while your dad and I catch up on our favorite shows.

You seem to love bathtime, just not the drying off part of it. We're bathing you every other night right now, but this will probably become a nightly routine pretty soon.

You can still wear newborn diapers and clothes, but we're transitioning into size 1 diapers and some of your smaller 3 month outfits.

You've been on a few outings this month, including your first July 4th at the lake. You loved it there and stayed awake almost all day long!

You are a sweet baby, and we continue to learn more about your cries and signals every day.

Happy 1 Month, baby girl! It's been a fun one!