Meet Grady Shores Morales. My son. How in the world is this real life?! Grady was born on December 21, 2018 at 6:17 p.m. at 7 lbs. 14.5 oz. via c-section after approximately 44 hours of labor. Yes, you read that right.
As I write this, Grady is 2.5 months old. Having two kids has proved difficult to allow time to actually write about them. I’m learning about balance, time management, and survival skills though, so today is the day that I actually open my MacBook and write about the little guy sleeping next to me.
Grady has proved to be a super chill babe, albeit not textbook AT ALL. Brighten, on the other hand, has never been chill a moment in her life, but she was a very easy baby because I’d read something to try for sleep or soothing, try it, and it would work. Grady apparently has more of me in him that I’d like to admit and is going to quietly rebel against “the man” (aka his parents).
In all honesty, though, life has been going pretty well. Brighten is an AMAZING big sister. Just this morning Grady was laying in the middle of my bed and he started to cry (I hope he never rolls because I need to be able to lay him in the middle of my bed!) (okay, that’s not true, I want him to actually be wildly advanced and a super-child). Before I could get to him, Brighten had gone into the kitchen, grabbed his mostly-empty bottle, a clean paci, and she’d found a burp cloth and taken it to Grady-man. When I walked in my room to pick him up, he had all the necessities laying next to him, complete with a bottle wedged between his little arm and body. Brighten is on top of things, way more than I am! I also think she thinks we’ve set up a giant doll house for her because I frequently find her baby dolls and stuff animals buckled into the baby swing, bouncer, or laying in Grady’s crib with a blanket gently placed on them. She’s a great big sister, and possibly a better mom than I am!
I’ll blame it on the hormones, but Brighten meeting Grady was one of the most emotional and fantastic moments of my life. I really struggled with the fact that Brighten would not remember our first 27 months together — the time of just the three and a half (Swanson) of us. She’s been my little sidekick, and many days it was just her and me hanging out together. We sang, played, laughed, and hung out basically all the time. Is it weird for a 2 year old to be your best friend? Maybe so, but she kind of was. I wanted to capture every moment with her in a bottle and keep it forever. Leading up to Grady’s birth, I really worried what bringing a baby home would do to our relationship.
In fact, the afternoon that I went to the hospital and was admitted, I rocked Brighten before her naptime and explained that when she woke up, her Aunt Cici would be there with her and Honey and Poppy (my parents) would be here soon after. Because of the hospital rules for flu season, Brighten wasn’t allowed to come to the hospital to meet Grady. Honestly, I was pretty mad about this, but having had a c-section, I’m glad she couldn’t come. It gave me a chance to start healing and Brighten does not like for anyone to be in pain or hurt (she’s extremely compassionate and empathetic). We were discharged on Christmas Eve and we had my sister and brother-in-law take Brighten to do some fun things before they brought her to our house so we could be ready for her. When she walked in, it was love at first sight! She L-O-V-E-D Grady the moment she laid eyes on him. She knew who he was and she knew that she was his big sister forever.
Love at first sight. Her little face in this picture melts me. She looks both excited and fearful and I just can’t help but wonder what all was going through her tiny little mind.
Grady is the perfect addition to our family — the child we never knew we needed. He was a big surprise, and he keeps surprising us with how much he fits into our little world. Grady’s most prominent quality is his hair — he has tons of it and he has since the moment he was born. It makes sense considering I was about to take out stock on TUMS while I was pregnant because I had such bad heartburn. Apparently, that’s not an ole wives tale, who knew?! Truthfully, though, when he was born, everyone commented on how much hair he had. I didn’t see him for a few minutes because c-section, and I kept wondering to myself, “Are y’all talking about like a cute amount of hair or are y’all going to hand me Esau?” Turns out, it’s cute. Super cute, in fact.
So. Much. Hair. Thank you, Jenny Clark, for this photo!
We are so thankful for Grady Shores, Brighten Storie, and Swanson dog. We are so thankful for the Lord knowing exactly what we need and providing for us, even when we had different plans and ideas for our family. He truly is so gracious to give us what we need, even in our complete and utter ignorance.
Part I: Brighten Storie Morales (2016)
Jehovah Jireh — “The Lord Will Provide”
Photo by: Ashley Newman Photography
Part II: Grady Shores Morales (2018)
Jehovah Jireh — “The Lord Will Provide”
Photo by: Marchele J Photo
