Just one month

Grady is a month old today. The time has flown by in a haze of feedings and diaper changes, and things are starting to settle down again. I go back for my last doctor visit on Friday, and after that I should be good to go. On Grady's end, he's starting to have more awake time during the day, and he's a little more engaging. I feel kind of sad that I'm not able to just snuggle him all day long, or sit and stare into his eyes. This new baby time is slipping through my fingers, and I don't know what I can do to hold on to it.

Evan is having a good summer so far. He got his very first real baseball glove this weekend, so we're all set now. He's having trouble catching with it, because it is a little big, but I think he loves it anyway. Since we made a "no balls in the house" rule, he's been playing pretend ball in the living room. He moves just like the big leaguers--diving for saves, scooping up grounders, and catching imaginary fly balls with complete grace and precision. I can't help but be impressed.

Ev's been working on some other new skills as well. He and I have started working on a writing program at home. I hope to have him writing his letters before school starts this fall. The system we're using was recommended by another mom I met at the hospital during therapy--it uses a more sensory approach to writing. Ev is going to learn to build the letters from wooden shapes before he ever puts a pencil to paper. I hope this works out, as he's really excited about spelling and letters.

The other big Ev news is that he was nearly potty trained this weekend. When we were at Mike's folks for the Fourth, our 2 year old nephew was working on his potty training as well. I think Ev did not want to be outdone (especially in the eyes of his Papa!), so within a few hours he was peeing and pooping in the potty with no trouble. Unfortuntately, he hasn't been as motivated since we've been home. He's been in regular underpants, but has had accidents, and we've had to resort to pull-ups when we go to therapy and bed. It looks like we're either going to have to invite my father-in-law to live with us or give this a serious try ourselves this coming weekend. Now that we know Ev's able to do it, I think a few days of focused potty time should get us where we need to go. I have high hopes that it's really going to work this time.