Good holiday fun!

Melissa and I took the boys out for some fun yesterday! Our first stop was to a pumpkin patch at Creekwood Methodist Church and then to a Carnival in Plano. We all had a great time together! :)













Our "attempt" at a group picture! HA!!

Now on to the carnival...
I wish I'd taken pictures of a game we saw there. The object was to throw a baseball at a stack of empty beer bottles in the hopes of smashing them. Nice family fun, right?!

Anyhoo...Grady rode on his 1st carousel and Ross caught 7 fish to win us each a prize! Our poor babies were so tuckered out afterwards. It's tough having fun!!

Oh dada!

Gradybug said "Dada" last night clear as day! Music to a parents ears :)

Our lil' man is growing up so fast. I can't believe he'll be 9 months next week. Time sure does fly by when you're having fun!

Pumpkin Patch with my pu-kins

We had an amazing time Saturday at our very first pumpkin patch! Grady was in awe, he could've stayed there for hours looking at all the pumpkins. I think we found us a new Ripley Family tradition :) Enjoy!

Sad, upset and angry...

These are a few emotions that hit me yesterday after Grady's 6 week checkup with his Pediatric Urologist. We found out that his hypospadia surgery was not a complete success and that he'll need another surgery to fix a fistula that has recently appeared. :(

A fistula is an abnormal, usually ulcerous channel like formation between two internal organs or between an internal organ and the skin. It may follow a surgical procedure with improper healing, or it may be caused by injury, abscess, or infection with penetration deep enough to reach another organ or the skin. When open at only one end it is called an incomplete fistula or sinus. The most common sites of fistula are the rectum and the urinary organs, but almost any part of the body may be affected.

In other words, he did not heal properly and now has 2 urinary streams.

It breaks my heart that my baby has to go through another surgery. But Jason is trying to keep me positive. He keeps reminding me that we are very lucky that this is the only problem Grady's had after being 6 weeks premature. And he is completely right, but that doesn't take the hurt away.

The doctor said we'll need to wait 6 months for his body to completely heal from this surgery before we can do another. So now we're just waiting.

Sticky situation

I wanted to share some pictures of Gradybug's 1st attempt at feeding himself. He had so much fun!! A few spoonful of mixed berries ended up in his nose, ears and under his 3rd chin but "most" of it made it to his mouth!!



It started off nice and innocent...



...a spoonful here, a spoonful there...



...then it snowballed...



...into a Mixed Berry Monstrosity!!



NICE!!





Like Christopher Columbus, Grady has discovered a new world. Well, a new world to him anyway. He's taking his first steps with the help of his toy and uncovered the mystery that was once the stairs.





Isn't he the cutest?!

Grady's gone bananas!

Here's a quick video of my crazy monkey! I'm not even tickling him, I'm just saying boo! :)

Love you bunches Grady!

Go Cowboys!

Well I'm off today with Gradybug. It's too bad he still has a double ear infection...my poor baby boy! But he had so much fun yesterday watching the Cowboys game with his Daddy!! Here's some adorable pictures of the Bug. He was in such a great mood!

I like to move it, move it...

Jason and I are in for some fun now, our little man is on the move!

He's officially crawling at 8 months old! He hasn't mastered his skill yet, there's a nose-dive here and there but he always gets back up. It also doesn't take him long to tucker out, but he's up to 5 "steps" so far! ;)
He's also sitting up on his own and knows how to clap his hands. He's also eating a lot more table food. Mashed potatoes, Gerber Puffs, Cheerios, and green beans!! I'm a proud mommy bear!

Enjoy the video!