The Dray Family

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T01:20:00.002-04:00

I don't remember Halloween being a week long event when I was a kid, but Wyatt took advantage of every opportunity to put on his costume. Although he had fun trick-or-treating on Halloween night, that wasn't nearly as exciting as handing out candy (once he came to grips with the fact that yes, we were going to give away that huge bowl of candy). For the first few batches of kids, he would frantically stuff fistfuls of candy in every bag and bucket as quickly as he could while shouting "What's up, Halloweenies".

He became more thoughtful about the process as the night went on, though, peering into each kid's collection and dropping one piece in at a time. He was sure to pause every time he handed out a Tootsie Roll, explaining to the recipient "This is chocolate", as if to emphasize the value of the gift.

Picture Dump

2011-05-21T14:44:00.001-04:00

Since we've been neglecting the blog lately, the least I can do is share some pictures of Wyatt. More below the jump...

Happy 2nd Birthday, Wyatt!

2011-02-13T01:01:00.000-05:00

Lately Wyatt has been obsessed with rocket ships. He loves anything having to do with rockets and outer space, so it only seemed natural that his birthday party should be a rocket ship theme. I proposed the idea to Wyatt who enthusiastically said "yeah!". He was so excited. I tried to keep him involved throughout the planning process. It's so much fun to see his excitement and his little opinions about everything.

Here we are doing our first ever paper mache project. I wanted to make planets to hang from the ceiling for his party. This was super messy, but he didn't seem to mind at all. Note to self: next time do this outside.

He actually got really good at dipping the strips of newspaper in. I had to help him smooth them out on the balloon.

Once the paper mache was dry, I painted a white base coat on all the balloons, then Wyatt got to help me paint them to look like planets. he's quite the little artist. He loved squirting the paint on the balloon then rubbing it in with his brush. Again, next time I would do this outside but it was freezing this week, so it was a good way to keep busy.

A little more here.

Inspecting his work.

Here they are hanging at the party. I hung some stars from the ceiling, too. It looked really awesome. Wyatt already wants to hang them up in his room.

For the party, all the decorations were red and blue. We made cosmic sandwiches.

We also had some blue chips with red salsa. Some blue limeade. Notice the goody bags in the background. I custom designed the rocket ship logos to go on them. I wish now that I had taken a close up picture. They turned out really cute. Wyatt helped pick out the items to go inside and we put them together. He loved helping me use the stapler.

Wyatt also helped me make the cake (I decorated it) It turned out really cute. I was so nervous. Notice the candles coming out the bottom like rocket ship flares. So cute!

And it tastes delicious, too.

Wyatt picked out rainbow chip cake when we were at the store. He is so funny and so particular about some things. It cracks me up.

Mmmmm....frosting.

I think he liked it.

Playtime. I got these foam swords from the dollar bin at Target. Best purchase ever! Wyatt loves them. Here he is fighting his buddy Matthew. He goes for the leg chop.

Matthews reaction. lol. He was totally hamming it up. Don't worry, the swords don't hurt at all.

Wyatt showing Zane around.

Here Wyatt is showing all his friends how the kitchen works. He has a little oven mitt on and is showing Logan the proper way to remove a hot item from the microwave. Funny kid. He loves to cook just like his grandpa. He is a big "help" in the real kitchen, too.

Wyatt got some great presents. Here he is checking out his new play-doh puppy from his friend, Logan.

And his rocket ship from Zane. He loves this toy!

We also had a giant playhouse rocket ship for the kids to play in. Thanks, Mom. We played freeze dance. We played meteor shower where the kids had to try to keep all the balloons off the ground. That was fun! Then we read some rocket ship books. I think Wyatt was the only one totally into it. I'm telling you, this kid loves rocket ships. We had so much fun hanging out with friends and celebrating Wyatt's special day. Happy Birthday Wyatt!

Almost 2

2011-01-29T01:01:00.002-05:00

Birthday Card 2011-01-28 from Clark Dray on Vimeo.

Sewing up a storm

2010-11-11T00:11:00.002-05:00

So...I have been developing my sewing skills a lot lately making shirts for Wyatt. He is a very opinionated little guy and likes certain things. I have a problem with paying crazy prices for adorable kids clothes, so I have been making my own...well, embellishing my own. They keep getting cuter and cuter. I just have to show them off. P.S. Isn't the model adorable.

So my friend Ellen made me a set of wall decorations that spelled out BOY, with an Octopus for the "O". I loved it so much, I decided to make an Octopus shirt. Thanks, Ellen, for the inspiration. It took many sketches to get the legs right. Boy is it hard to fit 8 twisty twirly legs in a small space. I love the result though and Wyatt thought it was cool. He says "Ewwww" every time he sees it & especially likes the button eyes.

I made this one because I thought it would be cute for both Halloween and was kind of Rock 'n Rollish. I totally love the Mohawk Wyatt is rockin'. He loves getting his hair done.

Sometimes I get ideas in my head and they just won't go away. This was one of them and I LOVE the way it turned out. He looks so cute as a little Santa. I think this is what I am going to take his pics in Christmas morning.

This pic was taken in November. It was still gorgeous out. 1 week later(yesterday) it snowed.


I made this for a custom order on my etsy shop and decided to list it. I got so many people who ordered this costume or at least the shirt for Halloween. It was kind of crazy.

If you want to buy some of my handmade shirts( I also sell onesies, burp cloths, blankets, etc) check out my etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/jackandchloe

I do lots of custom stuff, too and friends and family get 10% off.

P.P.S. I have no idea why the photos are showing up sideways. They appear right side up in every other program, but here. I need blogger advice! I tried rotating and saving them in picasa and they were fine until I put them back in the blog. So weird. I hope I don't give anyone TNS(lol. bonus points if you have any idea what I'm talking about).

Happy Halloween, Partner!

2010-10-31T23:39:00.003-04:00

So a lot has happened since the last post. Sorry about that. I have been so super busy and haven't had much free time. I intended to sew Wyatt's Halloween costume this year( I got about 1/2 way done), but it was one more thing on my super long to-do-list and when my Mother-in-law came into town a couple of weeks ago, she bought this adorable cowboy costume for Wyatt. Hey, less stress for me and he still looks super adorable: Problem solved! Although I did have to adjust the chaps A LOT. The costume was size 2T but they were 5 inches too long and the waist was way too big. I also love the 5 o'clock shadow. lol. I dressed as a lion for our ward Halloween party and when Wyatt saw me painting my face, he just had to have his face painted, too. He is so opinionated these days and will tell us exactly what he wants. He is adding new words nearly every day and starting to string words together into 2-3 word sentences. Amazing! We just love our little cowboy. Enjoy the pics!

More after the break

I was surprised we got so many good pics of Wyatt(sorry about the red eye). He doesn't normally stay still for more than 5 seconds. The trick? Stand behind Clark and pretend to be shot every time he shoots his gun. He was giggling so hard between each shot.

White Ranch Park

2010-08-18T00:51:00.001-04:00

Saturday, August 14th we took the fam to White Ranch Park for an adventure-filled morning of hiking, sightseeing, and nature exploration. It was so much fun. The trip was inspired by this Kelty carrier that I found at a garage sale for $10. We were so excited to use it. It worked great, but let me tell you that boy is HEAVY. Read more>>

Wyatt was so cute. He actually insisted on doing a lot of hiking and climbing himself. No complaints here. He loves anything outdoors. I can't wait to take him camping.

The boys. I love the Colorado Mountains and trees. It's so pretty everywhere you go. I love how Wyatt smiles for the camera now. He does this cheesy little grin. too cute!

King of the Mountain! Wyatt climbed up this rock and wanted to show everyone how big he was. I love that his tum tum is totally sticking out.

Rattlesnake from Clark Dray on Vimeo.
So, we're hiking the trail and we hear this loud rattling noise. We look over and there is a RATTLESNAKE literally right next to us. So scary! Luckily Wyatt was in the carrier at the time. Well we had to have proof, so Clark busted out the video camera and started taking video of it. We wound up chasing it away from the trail by tossing rocks (did you know it's generally illegal to kill rattlesnakes in CO?), but it was a wake up call. From here on out, if Wyatt is loose during a hike, he's going to be behind one of us and not side by side or running ahead.

Wyatt's problem...

2010-06-07T21:31:00.004-04:00

...Too photogenic (unlike his dad). Because there's no such thing as being too awesome.Many more pictures after the jump.

Also more photogenic than his mom. lol. He was having a blast while I pushed him on his trike.

Handsome little man.

I LOVE this picture. He looks like a cute old man.

He loves trees and squeals every time he gets poked by pine needles.

Cinco de Mayo party at the Bennett's. He was so excited that we were letting him hit something with a stick.

Wyatt with his Pop pop, Grandpa Dray.

Mother's Day: Wyatt loves putting on Daddy's shoes. We just had to get a picture.

3...2...1...

Blastoff. Wyatt loves him when we throw him on the bed.

Wyatt loves ripping his diaper off. He also loves staring out the window. Best of both worlds.

Forget all the delicious food on his highchair tray. He ALWAYS wants whatever we are eating.

Easter!, Part II

2010-04-05T12:57:00.000-04:00

The video shows Wyatt checking out Mrs. Easter Bunny, our local Easter Egg Scramble, Wyatt opening his Easter basket, and our little family's Easter egg hunt. Watch at a much higher quality by going to full-screen mode and changing the resolution.

Easter!

2010-04-04T23:22:00.008-04:00

Our family went to the city's annual Easter Egg Hunt held at a local park. We got there early to walk around and meet some Easter friends. Wyatt thought the inflatable bunny & egg was pretty cool:

More after the jump...

He wasn't too thrilled meeting the real Easter bunny, though. This was the only shot Clark got before he freaked out and wanted his Momma:

Once we were a safe distance away, Wyatt was very intrigued and could not stop staring at the giant rabbit. Every time Mr. or Mrs. Easter Bunny would look at him, though, he would either turn and run or cling to me. It was really funny.

After the Easter egg hunt, we made our way back to the car to beat traffic. I let Wyatt carry his basket, and he grabbed a sucker out and had it in his mouth before I could stop him. Here he is enjoying his candy in the car:

It's amazing how quickly children learn what candy is and what it looks like. I put some suckers in his Easter basket and he knew exactly what they were. I have since put them out of sight, but when he saw them on top of the fridge he got so excited for them. We had a beautiful Easter weekend with our little guy. It was so fun to start this fun family tradition. This age is so fun! Happy Easter everyone!

Quasimodo Baby

2010-04-02T22:23:00.000-04:00

No, Wyatt did not lose his first street fight or a battle with mommy over the last bit of pudding. He had his first and likely his last encounter with peanut butter. He's just about back to normal now. Silver lining: I now have a legitimate excuse for not sharing my Snickers with him. More sadness after the jump...

Duck Duck Goose

2010-03-08T16:25:00.002-05:00

So I took Wyatt to the zoo the other day with my friend, Katie and her son, Logan. The weather was gorgeous and we had so much fun seeing the different animals, but Wyatt's favorite by far were the geese. There was one in particular that he kept chasing and he thought it was hilarious every time the goose would honk. Check it out:

Here is where he spotted the goose and decided to go for it.

Which one should I chase? Hmm...that one has a weird green thing on its neck. Bonus.

It's so close!

Run! Run! Run!

Almost! Eventually the goose got smart and flew away.

He liked the geese at the zoo so much that we decided to feed the ducks and geese at the park that weekend:

Are you sure about this, Dad?

Which one should I feed next?

Mmmm...this bread is pretty good.

I am just loving this age. Wyatt has such a cute little personality and cracks me up every day.

Rice Box

2010-02-26T14:12:00.002-05:00

I am always trying to find fun and inexpensive ways to keep Wyatt entertained throughout the day without spending a lot of money. This is one of his favorites so I thought I would share.

What you will need: a large plastic bin with a lid; a large bag of uncooked rice; tools for dumping, digging, scooping, etc.(We used a funnel, a plastic spoon, a pasta server, a wiffle ball, a measuring cup, and a whisk)
What to do: fill the plastic bin with your bag of rice, set tools inside and watch your toddler go to town. It is especially fun to hide objects in the rice for them to find.

Wyatt loves the feel of the rice in his hands. Here he is using a measuring cup to scoop some rice up and pour it back out.

Here he is peeking through the hole in the funnel at the rice.

When I showed him how the funnel worked, he loved it! He was trying to catch all the rice as it fell.

He likes climbing in and out of the box. Here he is sitting in the box(I recommend a large bin if you think your child might like to do the same). The wiffle ball was really neat to watch, because the rice comes out of several holes at once.

Grabbing his whisk to stir the rice. Notice all the rice that made its way onto our floor. It is best to do this in an area where you can easily vacuum or sweep up the mess once done.

We also put the lid on the box and put some rice on top then played the "drum". The rice bounces and dances around every time you hit the lid.

This activity is great to do for a couple of days then put it away for awhile. It would be perfect to make one for a group of friends and rotate it around. I would love to hear your thoughts, suggestions. Have fun!

One Year Old

2010-02-18T23:41:00.002-05:00

So Wyatt is finally 1! It has gone by so fast and he has changed so much. It is hard to believe that he was a newborn just a few months ago.

At our most recent checkup, Wyatt weighed 24 lbs (75th percentile) and measured 32 in. long(95th percentile), making him tall and skinny. I wonder where he gets that from?

We had a quiet little birthday celebration with Clark's parents who flew into Denver for a visit. I was so excited to give him his first taste of cake and ice cream & well this is what happened:

He saw the candle and wanted to touch it, despite me trying to tell him to blow it out.

He realized that frosting feels really cool and squishy and started finger painting.

After giving him the first slice he took a big bite...

decided it wasn't that delicious and decided to poke and prod it instead. This is as messy as he got.

With that said, some of Wyatt's favorite hobbies include making messes. It seems that just as I am cleaning one thing up he will find something else that he can get into or destroy. I just love this guilty look on his face when I asked him, " Wyatt, what are you doing?" Don't get me wrong. He loves cleaning, too.

Here he is helping me unload the dishwasher. How sweet! He learned how to open the door, climb up on it, pull the drawer out, then empty everything in sight. My favorite is when he finds a sippy cup, puts a lid on it, then tries to take a drink, like it's suddenly full of milk or something. He is such a crackup. I just love our little guy and look forward to the upcoming year with him, messes and all.

Tricks

2010-01-28T11:28:00.000-05:00

It has recently come to my attention that, while I'm at work, Kristin entertains herself by teaching Wyatt tricks and, presumably, making him perform them for snacks.

Tricks for Noodles from Clark Dray on Vimeo.

Thanksgiving & Christmas Recap

2010-01-27T17:33:00.001-05:00

So I have been so behind on blogging lately, but with the holidays behind us things have finally slowed down. We had such a fun Thanksgiving and Christmas, though, that I had to share before it's too late. Maybe it already is, but oh well.

For Thanksgiving Wyatt and I flew to Cali to hang out with my family for a week and a half. We had so much fun! Wyatt just loves being around other kids and he thought his Aunt Kayla and Uncle Logan were the coolest ever. Clark flew in for Thanksgiving and drove down with his parents and brother, Mark. We had a delicious dinner with my family and his. Wyatt loved all the yummy food, especially mashed potatoes. Grandpa Dray brought along his brand new electric wheelchair and Wyatt was in heaven sitting on Grandpa's lap and going for rides. We even got to feed the neighbors' horses some carrots. I think the horses just looked like scary monsters to W, though, because he didn't want to give them a carrot.
We spent Christmas in CANCUN with Clark's family. It was awesome! The weather was gorgeous (anything beats below freezing, but this was perfect!) Wyatt loved the beach, eating sand, digging, splashing in the water, and eating at buffets every night. That kid loves food! We also got to see some shows, meet a monkey, and most importantly hang out with family. Wyatt got his first picture with Santa taken in Mexico. Apparently a Mexican Santa is just as scary as an American Santa.

l to r: Kristin, Wyatt, Clark, Marilyn, Mark Edward, Mark Henry, Brian, and Maria

Is this talking?

2009-11-15T02:11:00.000-05:00

Kristin swears that Wyatt is saying "Mama", and that he said it more clearly before the camera was rolling. I'm not so sure, so I've posted the video for you to decide for yourself. I will say, however, that what he's been doing lately is significantly different that his past vocalizations, which have consisted exclusively of grunts which lack the multisyllabic consonant sounds we're hearing here. I think Wyatt's lip-smacking is a nice touch too, giving the video the appearance of a badly dubbed Godzilla movie.

Talking? on Vimeo.

Wyatt : King of all Wild Things & Mommy's Little Pumpkin

2009-11-08T18:42:00.001-05:00

I know this post is a little out of order, but better late than never, right? Here are some pics of Wyatt in his Wild Thing costume that I made. I didn't have a pattern for it, so I had to make it up. It took me about a month and a half to get it right. The first headpiece that I made I ended up selling in my etsy shop: www.jackandchloe.etsy.com The body of the costume was adapted from a pattern for 2T and it is huge! He fits in 12-18 mo clothing no problem, so I figured if I cut the pattern down a bit it would fit him just right. Well I ended up cutting like 6 inches off on all sides and the inseams and he was still swimming in it. Hopefully it will still fit him next year.

These are some pics of us at Anderson Farms back in October. We got to see lots of fun farm animals, go on a hay ride, feed some cows and a buffalo and pick out a little pumpkin for Wyatt. He still loves playing with it. His favorite thing is picking it up and chewing on the stem. I traded one of the blankets that I make for the adorable knitted pumpkin hat that he is wearing at a craft fair that I did. I just love the pics of him in his pumpkin hat sitting with all the other pumpkins.

9 Months old

2009-11-07T10:50:00.000-05:00

Wyatt had his 9 month check up this past week. His growth has finally slowed up a bit but he is still ahead of the curve for both height and weight, weighing in at 23 lbs 8 oz. and measuring 29.5 in long. We noticed his belly button has been popping out a little bit lately and when I asked the doc about it he said it was a herniated umbilical cord. It is fairly common and should go away on its own. Everything else looks good. He got both the seasonal and the H1N1 flu vaccine that day. He is doing great physically since he is walking so early, but needs to start talking soon.
I am trying to teach him baby signs and he did the sign for milk the other day. Yay! He also started waving and clapping. So cute!

We just love our little guy!

Walking

2009-11-01T01:37:00.003-04:00

Ever since I could feel Wyatt kick inside of me I knew that I would have my hands full. I never thought that he would start walking at 8 months!!! Crazy!!! Wyatt has been pulling himself up on everything for awhile and using random household objects like laundry baskets and diaper boxes like walkers. One of his favorite things is when Clark or I hold his little hands and he can walk all over the house like a big boy. Lately, he has only been needing one of our fingers and today he took 5,6,& 7 consecutive steps all by himself. We got a few of his first steps on video, but of course he took the most steps when no cameras were rolling(who knew he was camera shy).

Now if only he would say, "Mama!"

First Steps on Vimeo.

Troublemaker

2009-11-01T01:15:00.002-04:00

Getting ready to walk

2009-10-20T04:32:00.000-04:00

While we're in any rush to have him start walking (although the sooner he does, the sooner he starts doing chores, right?)Wyatt has been getting ready to give up crawling. He gets bonus points for using an ordinary household item and not requiring a fancy toy to do this trick:

Training to Walk on Vimeo.

Etsy Shop

2009-10-15T00:06:00.001-04:00

Everyone who knows me knows how much I love to make things. Well I decided to do a craft fair this past weekend and spent 2 weeks sewing up a storm to try to have enough stuff to sell. Well, the weekend of the craft fair there was a huge snowstorm so nobody came. haha. I did have 2 vendors buy some things and a bunch of others who wanted to trade me. Anyways, I have posted the remaining items in my new Etsy shop. Check it out! I would love your feedback. Purchases are ok, too. :)

Bumpy ride

2009-10-08T00:25:00.001-04:00

Wyatt has always preferred his stroller rides to be bumpy, but this is the roughest ride he's ever had. He spent most of the time kicking his feet and grinning, especially when we were going down parts of the path so steep that I was essentially running and sliding to keep my balance behind the stroller. The video below shows how he spent the rest of his bumpy ride.

Boulder Mountain Park on Vimeo.

Hey - when it's naptime, it's naptime.

Boulder Mountain Park

2009-10-07T23:28:00.000-04:00

We made the short drive up to Boulder today to see the mountains before it gets too cold. In the first pair of pictures, we are overlooking the city and the range facing East.

These were hiking trails, and at times they were too much even for Wyatt's fancy stroller. As if trying to hike with an 8 month old while out of shape in thin air wasn't enough.

Notwithstanding the rough trails, we made it through and were able to enjoy some really nice views.

Wyatt has always enjoyed being outdoors - it doesn't matter how hard he's crying, taking him out always calms him down - so he was loving it today. Of course, he didn't have to take a turn pushing the stroller up a mountain...

Bouncer

2009-09-15T23:09:00.000-04:00

It took him a few days, but Wyatt finally got the hang of this.

Bouncer on Vimeo.

Wyatt's Hair: Changes

2009-09-12T04:10:00.000-04:00

Some hair

Lots of hair

Baby pattern baldness

Current

Formatting fix

2009-09-10T18:31:00.000-04:00

Faithful readers may have noticed that, in the past, every post said "Read More" down at the bottom, regardless of whether there was more to be read or not. Thanks to a change in the Blogger editing software, this is no longer the case - from here on out, if it says read more, there's more good stuff, and if not, then you'll just have to wait for the next post. If other Blogger users want to try this out, you can read about the new easy way for add jump breaks here. If you have a customized template, you may have to mess with the html a little, but nothing major.

Standing

2009-09-10T02:22:00.004-04:00

Once Wyatt mastered crawling, he quickly moved on to standing. He's now in the process of figuring out how to get back down again without thumping his little melon on the floor.
More below the fold.

Tongue

2009-09-10T02:09:00.006-04:00

Wyatt's new constant expression. Maybe he's giving us a hint as to his future athletic capabilities...

Helpful Tips on Parenting from the Babyblog: #1 - Medicine

2009-09-04T04:31:00.003-04:00

When administering liquid medicine, avoid pouring it right to the back of the throat in an attempt to get him to swallow it rather than spitting it out.

Your kid will puke all over you.

2009-08-27T16:56:00.002-04:00

So Clark and I are officially Coloradans. We have the driver's licenses to prove it. The weather has been gorgeous here & the mountains are so pretty to look at. There is so much to do. We are loving it! Wyatt is crawling like crazy and already pulling himself up to standing! That boy just won't slow down. I think he gets bored of the house, too. Yesterday I took him to a Free trial Mommy & Me class at the Little Gym. He had so much fun. We did baby exercises & had a crawling obstacle course, grape scented bubbles, music, and about 15 balls that Wyatt had a blast chasing around on the cushioned mats. There were 3 other little boys there that were all about his age. They all had a blast together. Today we had some friends and their kids over to play in the pool at our apartment complex. The older kids totally splashed Wyatt as they were jumping in, but Wyatt didn't mind at all. That kid loves the water! We also started giving him baths in the big tub this week(no more baby tub- he was just getting too big). He gets so excited during bath time that he can't decide what to do first. It's so funny to watch. He will splash and kick, then grab the washcloth to suck on, then go chasing after one of his toys, then notice the drain cover and start playing with that... He is too cute! Well, that's all for now. I should post some more photos soon.

Who knew they're at the beach, too?

2009-08-18T22:33:00.003-04:00

Click here to see the image.

Make your own here

6 Month Checkup

2009-08-18T21:51:00.006-04:00

Wyatt went in for his 6 mo doctor appointment today. He's still pretty big, with the stats as follows and charts below the fold. As you can see, head size is a little behind everything else, which is probably a factor in his early mobility as he doesn't have to support the weight of a huge melon as he's trying to crawl around.

Weight: 22 lbs .4 oz -- 95+ Percentile
Height: 29" -- 95+ Percentile
Head circ: 45cm -- 75th Percentile

Is this Crawling?

2009-08-18T08:40:00.000-04:00

Crawling on Vimeo.

Prodigy

2009-08-17T22:06:00.001-04:00

Piano on Vimeo.

Chompers

2009-08-14T02:15:00.003-04:00

Alternate post titles:
Om nom nom nom, or
The better to chew you with..., or
Get your dang fingers out of my mouth, dad! What in the heck is wrong with you, crazy person? Please tell me I'm adopted. or
Cavity Search!

Now you try. In the comments.

Funny Faces

2009-08-13T16:36:00.002-04:00

Wyatt has been making some funny faces lately - kind of a bitter beer face/bulldog impression. It looks like he's chewing something, but it's just his tongue that he's rolling around in his mouth. And no, he's not in the process of destroying another diaper. I thought the same thing.

Funny Faces on Vimeo.

Our trip to Cali

2009-08-05T23:17:00.003-04:00

Grandpa Moore got a bubble machine & Wyatt LOVED it!

We went to the aquarium. Wyatt loved looking at all the fish. He even got to touch a sea cucumber.
We saw the ocean for the 1st time. Wyatt is definitely a beach bum. He loved watching the waves, the people and the dogs and playing in the sand and water.
Here is Wyatt in his 4th of July onesie that grandpa Dray bought him. He loved the fireworks until it was bedtime then they weren't so fun anymore. haha.

We had so much fun hanging out with family, swimming, going to the beach, & visiting the aquarium but it is good to be "home". We are still settling in to our new apartment here in the Denver area. Wyatt got his 1st 2 teeth and is busy trying all sorts of yummy solid foods. His favorites so far seem to be applesauce and peas. Mmmm.

Six Months Old!

2009-08-05T03:47:00.006-04:00

Sorry about the sporadic posting. No internet in the new place yet. Below are some pictures from today's trip to the Childrens' Museum. Wyatt's favorite part was watching the big kids play basketball. Here he is by the fire truck, with some other bonus pictures below. Lucky you.

First Plane Trip

2009-07-06T03:18:00.006-04:00

Here is Wyatt right before take off. I just love that big grin of his.

As always, make sure you click below where it says "Read more!" to see the rest of the post.

Here we are are busting out the new toy we bought to entertain him for the flight. Clark wants me to let you all know that it is a dragonfly and not a butterfly.
He liked it when we made it fly around his head saying "Bzzzzzzzzzzzz" and then tickled him with it. Wyatt was a pretty good flyer! I think he liked having Mom & Dad's undivided attention for the entire flight.

Saucer

2009-07-06T02:58:00.007-04:00

No joke, this whisk is Wyatt's favorite "toy"
Look how grown up he looks in this picture. So cute! We got this saucer from our good friends, the Snyders, before they moved to Alaska. Wyatt absolutely loves it...for about 10 minutes. haha.
Chub! I just love these chubby little thighs. MMmmmmm!

Hypnotist

2009-07-06T02:44:00.007-04:00

Look deep into my eyes.

You are now in a trance and will do as I command.
You will bring me milk. Go now and do my bidding.

Caption Contest

2009-06-12T17:37:00.004-04:00

I want to PUMP YOU UP!

A Trip to the Farm

2009-06-12T14:15:00.005-04:00

This past Wednesday, Wyatt & I went to The Slate Run Historical Farm with our good friends Ellen & Amelia. We had quite the adventure getting there (the directions told us to turn onto a street that did not exist) but when we finally made it, we had a good time. Wyatt got to see lots of different animals & even pet a baby cow named Magnolia. It was sprinkling, but he didn't seem to mind. His favorite thing was watching the geese run away from us and he laughed when they all started honking. haha. I love his little sense of humor. Thanks Ellen for driving! It was fun getting lost with you. Check out the pictures under the fold!

Raspberries

2009-06-09T23:48:00.000-04:00

Raspberries on Vimeo.

Check-up

2009-06-09T22:33:00.007-04:00

Wyatt went in for his routine appointment with the doctor today, having just turned 4 months old. He was cleared to start having solid foods, rice cereal specifically. Here is his first experience, with more details on the appointment below the fold.

Rice Cereal! on Vimeo.

Wyatt is 19 pounds 6 ounces, which as you can see on the chart below, is big for his age. Jumbo baby. I forget the rest of the details, but if everyone harasses Kristin, maybe she'll add some more info like length and head circumference.

Vote in the poll!

2009-06-04T18:36:00.002-04:00

It's in the sidebar on the main page, for those of you who subscribe to the feed.

Some relevant information for those of you who want to get all Mendelian and make your 6th grade science teachers proud: Wyatt's mom and dad have brown eyes. Among his biological grandparents, only 1 has non- brown eyes.

Additionally: "Caucasian babies are often born with steel gray or dark blue eyes; they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time they're 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they won't get "lighter" or more blue."

More Pictures

2009-06-04T13:26:00.004-04:00

Just Pictures

2009-06-04T13:18:00.003-04:00

Photo Op

2009-04-14T16:49:00.014-04:00

Our neighborhood friend, Candace, offered to take some baby photos of Wyatt. They turned out really well. Here are some of our favorites:

Hey, What is that think you're pointing at me?

Seriously, What is it?
I can't believe Mommy made me wear this.
Oh, Dad.
I worked hard to get this double chin.
I know I'm adorable.
Must...keep...fists...closed.
Sweet little piggies!
Awww, come on Mom. I don't want to snuggle right now.
Okay. I'll smile for just this one picture.
Are you done yet?
I see you, Mom. That reminds me...more milk, please!
Deer in headlights. Haha. He was so mesmerized by the camera.

Couch Potato - Updated

2009-04-13T22:29:00.003-04:00

Tummy Time

2009-04-13T18:09:00.004-04:00

Laughing

2009-03-30T01:03:00.002-04:00

Laughing

Notice how Wyatt gives one last courtesy laugh before he has completely ceased to be amused by Mommy.

Slide Show

2009-03-23T17:06:00.002-04:00

Slideshow from Clark Dray on Vimeo.

This is a slide show that Clark made for Wyatt's Great-Great Grandma Stowell. I thought we'd share it with everyone. Many of the pictures will be familiar if you've kept up with the blog, especially those toward the beginning, but there are quite a few that haven't been posted before too.

The music is from the album Baby Mine: Classic Songs for Bedtime, which we received as a gift from Penny Lambson and really enjoy.

Smiles

2009-03-23T15:30:00.003-04:00

Smiles from Clark Dray on Vimeo.
To see a larger, higher quality version of this video, click on the blue Smiles title that shows up in the upper left hand corner of the video instead of clicking the play button.

No wonder my back hurts . . .

2009-03-23T13:41:00.007-04:00

I stopped in at the hospital today to weigh Wyatt. He measured in at 13 lbs 6 oz. If I'm reading the chart below correctly, that puts him in the 95th percentile for weight! We measured length and head circumference at home, so these measurements are probably less accurate. With his frog legs all stretched out, Wyatt is about 25" long, which unsurprisingly puts him off the chart.*

Below, the chart has him in the 90th percentile with a 16.25" head circumference.

Finally, the weight for length chart puts him at just about the 10th percentile. A long, skinny baby - who would have thought?

* 25" seemed a little on the long side, so we remeasured. While we haven't been able to get the same measurement twice, it's probably safe to say that he's not quite that tall, yet.

ZZzzzzzzzz

2009-03-19T12:33:00.003-04:00

All Clean!!!

2009-03-19T12:12:00.005-04:00

Daddy gave me a bath for church. Aren't I soooo cute?

Wyatt's video debut

2009-03-19T01:18:00.001-04:00

Wyatt watching mobile from Clark Dray on Vimeo.

More photos

2009-02-23T19:51:00.009-05:00

So apparently I have been slacking because my mom called me and said she was having Wyatt withdrawals. Here are some more photos for you, Mom, and all of Wyatt's adoring fans:

Big Boy

2009-02-15T21:23:00.002-05:00

I had my 1st doctor's appointment on Friday. I really like my doctor(see the pic)! She's nice, but her stethoscope was really cold. Since I have a reputation to uphold, I decided I had better impress everyone at my 1st weigh in since leaving the hospital. As of Friday, the 13th I am 10 lbs. 2 oz. Mom isn't too surprised given my ferocious appetite. Sorry, Mom. Here are some more pictures of me in all my chubby glory. Enjoy!

4 days old

2009-02-08T18:14:00.005-05:00

Wyatt is really starting to get the hang of nursing. Now all he ever does is eat! It has been so nice to have Clark home these past couple of days to help me out. He has been wonderful. We were using some newborn (up to 10 lbs) diapers and found that he leaked through nearly every time because he is just so big! In fact, he already has a laundry basket full of dirty duds (2 crib sheets, changing pad cover, pee pads, a million burp cloths, about 10 onesies, receiving blankets, some pjs, etc.) I still can't believe something so little could make such a mess.

We gave him a bath yesterday evening. I think he really liked the warm water because he practically fell asleep. He wasn't too happy when we took him out, though. Check out the pics

Welcome Home, Wyatt

2009-02-07T14:51:00.005-05:00

We’ve survived our first night at home with Wyatt. He’s quickly getting the hang of nursing and destroying diapers. Everything is going well and we'll continue to keep you posted as time permits.

So Cute!

2009-02-05T16:36:00.002-05:00

So, I just have to say that little Wyatt is just about the cutest, sweetest little boy ever. I am so in love! Even his little cry just makes my heart melt. Everything I have done/ been through in the last 41 weeks has been so worth it. Thank you to everyone for your love, support, and prayers. Clark & I feel so truly blessed.

Today Wyatt turns 1 day old. Awww! He is finally starting to get the hang of nursing, but it takes a lot of work to keep him latched on. The nurses have been checking his blood sugars, though, and say that everything looks great so I think he has been getting enough food. He also had his photos taken today by the hospital photographer. We will be able to send a link in a few days so you can check them out and order any if you'd like.

I have been trying to sleep. Ha. The nurses here at the hospital are wonderful, but it will be nice once we are home in our comfy bed and don't have the constant interruptions. If everything continues to go well, we should be able to go home tomorrow. Love you all.

Ready for my close-up

2009-02-04T23:49:00.002-05:00

More Pictures

2009-02-04T22:54:00.000-05:00

2009-02-04T18:22:00.000-05:00

2009-02-04T18:18:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday

2009-02-04T18:13:00.001-05:00

Wyatt Emerson Dray: 9lbs 13oz, 22" long. Lots of dark hair.

Liveblogging from the Hospital

2009-02-04T11:30:00.005-05:00

11:30 am - Okay, we've been here since a little after 7 am. Kristin's been on Pitosin for a while now and she's now having regular contractions. They broke her water. Everything's normal so far.

1:38 pm - Epidural's in and she's feeling fine. Didn't even notice the last contraction.

2:50 pm - You may have seen a post appear and then disappear, or had one come up in your feed reader titled "Happy Birthday." That was an accident. It was supposed to have been a draft only, but somehow it seems to have been published. No baby yet, still at 8.

4:45 pm - Dilated to 9.5. Baby's head is really low, +2 I think. Let's go, stubborn baby.

Momma's reply to baby

2009-02-02T20:09:00.004-05:00

Alright baby, time to come out! I would strongly suggest you do it on your own. Trust me, it will be much more pleasant that way. You have until Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 7am. After that the doctors are going to induce me and I have a feeling you are not going to like it very much. You are getting far too big to fit inside me anymore and I am ready to meet you already. P.S. Dad is the one that keeps poking you with his finger, so you can be sure to get back at him somehow when you do come out.

Update from the Womb:

2009-01-30T16:36:00.004-05:00

That's right - from the womb, suckers. I'm still in here and guess what - I'm not coming out. On the inside it's so warm and comfortable, and I have a direct line for food plugged right into my gut. I don't even have to swallow! And why would I want to trade pre-digested ice-cream, Indian food, etc. for a diet consisting of exclusively milk? On top of all that, I hear it's pretty cold and miserable out there right now. Snow, ice, freezing rain - no thank you. I prefer my personal hot-tub, so I'm staying here. You can try and force me out, but remember that babies have a very strong grip reflex, so I'll be latching on to Mommy's spleen or ribs or whatever else I can reach in here and holding on tight. Let me know when they add a bailout for newborns to the stimulus package and maybe I'll reconsider. . .

No baby yet

2009-01-29T19:39:00.005-05:00

It's the day after my due date and still no baby. Sigh. I had my 40 week doctor appointment yesterday. I am dilated to a 5! Woohoo! Progress, right? The midwife stripped my membranes again and said I could go any day now. Just in case, we scheduled an induction for next Wednesday, Feb. 4th. At least I have an end date in sight. I have been having contractions all day, but they aren't 5 minutes apart. I think Clark and I are going to go to the mall to walk and see if we can get things going. Wish me luck! I am so ready to meet my little guy. Here are some updated photos of me at 39.5 weeks, taken on Sunday.

False Alarm

2009-01-26T17:07:00.004-05:00

So...Here's the scoop:

I am still very pregnant. My due date is not until this Wednesday, January 28th.

I went to the doctor's office on Friday, the 23rd. They told me I was dilated to a 5/6 & that I should go to the hospital to be monitored. The nurse commented that I must be one of those lucky girls because I didn't look like I was in labor. (How true! The whole not being in labor part) Anyways, I left work early, called Clark to meet me at the house and we proceeded to head to the hospital (Riverside). They checked me in, hooked me up to measure my contractions and the baby's heartbeat and "checked me". They looked at me and said, "Um, you're maybe a 4 (as in 4cm dilated)". They let me walk around the hospital for an hour & then checked me again to see if I made any progress: still a 4!!! We got sent home along with a packet of information about how to recognize true labor.

I am still working and waiting for baby to come. Clark will update the blog on his laptop if we happen to end up back in the hospital. For now, though, nothing new.

Sorry we can't return phone calls. We are very busy, so keep checking the blog. Love you all!

Nope

2009-01-23T17:55:00.001-05:00

Sent home.

On the way?

2009-01-23T17:28:00.000-05:00

At the hospital now, still waiting to see if admitted...

Baby moving

2009-01-22T00:53:00.000-05:00

Untitled from Clark Dray on Vimeo.

Click through to Vimeo to watch the HD version. It's a lot better.

More shower pics

2009-01-12T22:11:00.001-05:00

Thank you so much to everyone who threw my shower: Ellen, Jessica, Kristina, Ariel, Tiffany, Heather. You guys are Amazing!!!
Thank you so much to everyone who came to celebrate the upcoming arrival of baby Dray. Here are a few of the pics I took. You all look so beautiful! Thanks for everything!!!

Showered With Love

2009-01-12T21:51:00.000-05:00

So my friends threw me the most amazing shower on Saturday! It was so perfect! The theme was the alphabet & all the decorations were in the colors of my nursery (blue, orange, & gray). We had alphabet shaped sugar cookies, alphabet soup, and Ellen made me some nursery decorations using my nursery fabrics that spelled B-O-Y (B is for Bear, O is for Octopus, Y is for Yo-yo) So cute! And...we played fun word games: Pictionary & writing down a boy name for every letter of the alphabet. Whoever had the most names that no one else had won. It was really fun to hear some of the unique names people came up with. I did hear the name that Clark & I like while playing that game (hint, hint). The favors were little hand folded paper cubes that were decorated to look like alphabet blocks. Check out some of the pictures:

Mommy suggestions, please

2009-01-04T18:19:00.000-05:00

All you moms out there:

Does anyone have recommendations for a humidifier that doesn't get moldy or need to have the filter changed frequently. Is it better to have a warm humidifier or cool?

Also, I need suggestions for relaxing music to listen to while giving birth. Does anyone have any ideas or CD's I can borrow?

36 weeks

2008-12-31T19:44:00.000-05:00

My how the time flies. According to my due date I have only 28 days to go. Crazy!!! I feel ready, yet so unprepared all at the same time. I had my doc appt yesterday. When the nurse went to check the baby's heartbeat she started laughing & said, " the baby keeps kicking me!" We would hear the heartbeat for a second before he would flip/ twist/ rotate over to get away. After about 3 minutes, she finally caught up with him and was able to get a good reading. She did say that I was going to have my hands full. :) I can't wait. The baby's heartbeat was 140 beats/ minute. My belly measured 36 cm exactly so I am right on target & I only gained 1 lb. Woohoo! Now I have to start seeing the doctor every week, so scheduling my appts. with work is going to be a little bit trickier. Oh, I also had to take my Group B strep test. I should have the results next week. I won't give you all the gruesome details but it's a fairly common bacteria found in the digestive/ reproductive tract that is usually harmless in adults but can potentially be passed on to the baby during birth. If I have it, they will just give me an IV of antibiotics when I go into labor.

My mom got me "The Gift" by Willow Tree for Christmas. I love it! It looks just like Clark & I holding a little baby. I've included a picture so I can show it off. Thanks, Mommy!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! For New Year's I get to pick Clark up from the airport. No, seriously. One of his best friends, Jake, just got married yesterday and he is flying back tonight with an expected arrival time of 11:56 pm. I just hope I can stay awake that late. lol.

Happy New Year!

I finished!!!

2008-12-31T19:32:00.000-05:00

So, I really wanted a nice wood glider rocker with a matching ottomon for my baby's room, but everything I looked at was soooo expensive. I started searching Craig's list(like a local internet garage sale) and finally found one for a reasonable price but the cover was old and torn in a few places. I have never recovered anything with such weird shaped cushions, but I was bound and determined to have my rocking chair and have it be cute, too. I used a couple of my favorite fabrics that are in the nursery bedding & voila...6 months later a rocker & ottoman that are like new. I even made a matching pillow for my back. So, normally this wouldn't have taken so long but I just kept getting so nervous that I would somehow ruin it, so I had to work up the courage every time I wanted to start working on it. That and the fact that I also had 50 other projects I was working on plus a full-time job. Excuses excuses, right? Anyways, I am finished now and couldn't be happier! Hooray for Craig's List and sewing skills.

Update from the womb

2008-12-20T23:06:00.000-05:00

Hi there! It's baby Dray. I just wanted to let you know what I have been up to in here. I'm almost 5 lbs and 18 inches long. It's getting really cramped in here & I am really hungry now (at least that's what mom says). I'm starting to put on fat so I can be super cute & cuddly when I am born. My hearing is fully developed so I already know Mom & Dad's voice as well as all the Christmas songs that Mom listens to on the radio. My lungs still have a few weeks to go so I can breathe on my own when I'm born. After that I should be ready to come out. I still haven't decided when I will make my grand entrance into the world. I guess everyone will have to wait and see. Here's what I look like inside of Mom. No wonder her belly is getting so big.

Nesting

2008-12-20T22:31:00.000-05:00

So I have been cleaning like crazy. I think I rearranged the baby's room for the 20th time today. Is that possible? We have a 2 bedroom townhome and up until now the 2nd bedroom has been my craft room/ guest bedroom. Now it's the baby's room/ craft room/ guest bedroom. Needless to say, fitting everything into that room has been quite the design challenge. I think I finally got everything arranged how I want it (of course that's what I thought last week, too). Here is a list of all the furniture I have to fit in the room: a crib, changing table, dresser, bookshelf, x-long twin bed, 4 standing storage chests full of craft stuff. I started the 3rd load of baby laundry today & baby isn't even here yet. I just want everything to be clean and ready to go for when baby gets here. Once everything is all done I will be sure to post pictures.

Random baby Projects

2008-12-13T22:14:00.000-05:00

I went crazy at the fabric store when I found out we were having a boy and bought a ton of fabric for various projects. Now I am trying to finish them all before baby comes. The clock is ticking, I know. I finished the baby bedding a couple of weeks ago, but here are some pictures of some other things that I have done:

The first is a baby bib that I knitted. It's 100% cotton, washable, and super soft. I started it when I first found out I was pregnant and finally finished it on Wednesday. I was so proud of myself. It turned out so cute! Baby will not be allowed to eat peas, carrots, or squash with this bib. Haha. Big thanks to Cynthia & Ellen, my knitting buddies. You guys are amazing. Maybe someday I can knit like you.

The second is a lovey, minky, whatever you call it. It's super soft and has all sorts of different textured and colored ribbons for baby to play with. I have seen them in the stores and thought, "I could totally make that". I especially love the geometric spiral design stitched to hold the 2 layers together.

Pregnancy Update

2008-12-13T21:27:00.000-05:00

Well, I am almost 34 weeks along now which means only 6 weeks to go. With the Holidays, time is just flying. I just put up the tree this past week and Clark thought it would be the perfect background for a photo update. Clark has his last week of finals this week and I am still working, hoping it will make the time go by faster. But enough about us. Baby Dray is still healthy and ACTIVE!!! He keeps me up every night with his crazy acrobatic moves & kicks. I think he is in denial that he is running out of room because he refuses to stay still and is constantly changing positions. Of course I can't complain because any movement is a sign of a healthy baby. At my last doctor's appointment, the doctor told me to pick an hour out of every day to do fetal kick counts. I am supposed to lie down and count the number of kicks/ movements he makes in an hour. Once I count 10 movements, I can stop. Lucky for me, I usually don't have to wait longer than 5-10 minutes before he has met his quota. I have a feeling that I will have my hands full once this little guy starts crawling & walking.
Clark & I have been taking Childbirth classes at the hospital we are planning to deliver at. So far it's been really informative and have really enjoyed the time that Clark and I have been able to spend together. My favorite part is the relaxation techniques, especially when Clark gives me a massage. :) Thanks, honey! That's it for now.

Old News

2008-11-30T18:25:00.000-05:00

Here is a letter I sent out a few weeks ago providing some info about the pregnancy. I'm now 31 weeks pregnant...

I am officially 26 ½ weeks pregnant now, which means I only have about 3 months to go! Woohoo! January 28^th is my expected due date. The baby is about 14 inches long and 1 ¾ lbs now. He sure feels a lot bigger when he is doing flips inside of me. It makes me jump sometimes when he starts squirming around. He is definitely going to be a ball full of energy when he is born.
So far everything is moving right along. Both ultrasounds have showed a healthy baby boy, so the Dray family tradition continues. I just hope he is as handsome as his daddy. I got my flu shot about a week and a half ago, but came down with some yucky stomach bug this weekend. I guess you can’t prevent everything, huh.

I haven’t had any really strange cravings although the baby does seem to prefer wholesome foods like vegetables. Hey, at least it’s healthy! Mom still craves sweets, so I have had to tame my sweet tooth a bit. I have to take a routine gestational diabetes test at my next doctor’s visit. I am certainly not looking forward to that at all. They make you drink this glucose drink and then test your blood 1 hr. later to see how your body handles the sugar. Hopefully, everything will go well.

In the meantime I am still working full time and trying to prepare for the baby. I decided to sew all the baby’s bedding myself, which has proven to be more than I bargained for. All my sewing projects are keeping me busy. So far I have finished the crib skirt, the bumper (just finished today) and the quilt top. I need to put the backing on the quilt. I also am making some burp cloths, changing pads, and stuffed monsters and toys for baby to play with. Phew! Thank goodness for Joann’s coupons.

Last weekend a friend and I went to a huge baby garage sale in our area. It was at a local school and there were 2 gyms packed full of baby stuff. I found a really good swing, some toys, and lots of clothes. There are some things, though, that we just won’t buy used, like a car seat, breast pump, and diaper pails (yuck!). For those things and more, Clark & I registered at Babies ‘R Us and Target. Check it out if you are interested.

We will keep you posted as things progress. We love you all!

Kristin and Clark

BabyBleg: Middle Name

2008-11-30T18:24:00.001-05:00

Now it's time for some audience participation: help pick Baby's middle name. We need a name with two or more syllables and it can't start with the letters A, I, M, N, O, U, or W.

You might be wondering what Baby's first name is going to be. Well, so are we. We have some pretty good ideas, but we'll be keeping them under wraps until we've finalized things.

Also, worst baby name nominations, such as Octavius, Napoleon, Adolf, Elvis, and Aloysius, are not only allowed but encouraged. Negative points if we can't tell the difference between your actual suggestions and the worst names nominations.

Update from the Womb:

2008-11-30T18:02:00.000-05:00

Since this blog is supposed to be about me, I thought I'd tell you a little about myself. I've been in here for about 31 weeks and I weigh about three and a half pounds. My birthday is supposed to be Jan 28, 2009, but I haven't made a final decision on that quite yet. My hobbies include: doing front and back flips, being sloshed around, and delivering punishing kicks to mom's bladder and crushing judo-chops to her ribs. My primary life goals right now are to grow some fingernails and toenails, and maybe some hair. That's all for now, but I'll try to keep you updated if I'm not too busy.

-Baby

Monsters!

2008-11-30T01:49:00.001-05:00

Here are a few of the monsters I sewed for baby. I had planned on decorating the nursery in a Where the Wild Things are theme, but Clark was worried that would traumatize Baby. Tell him that he's wrong in the comments section.

Baby's Quilt

2008-11-30T01:38:00.000-05:00

I finished Baby's quilt today. It is one of the many projects I am working on in the nursery. I hope Baby likes psychedelic colors!