O'Kane Family News

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T20:10:00.003-06:00

Happy Easter to every one!!!

UPDATE:

This is Grayson's new Easter Egg hunting friend Connor. They had a great time finding eggs.

And even a better time comparing their loot and enjoying the spoils of their labor.

I don't know about Connor, but Grayson's Jelly Bean sugar high lasted for hours. Grandparents, Aunts & Uncles got them hyped up. And the parents get to deal with the temporary analog of a super bouncy ball. Funny how that works...

Easter Egg Fun

2010-04-04T19:54:00.008-06:00

Grayson had his first go at coloring easter eggs this weekend. And despite temporary multicolored fingers, no catastrophic messes occurred.

After Easter Egg coloring, it was off to the hunt. I think this shot is the only time he sat down all weekend.

Helpful Goober

2010-01-13T11:26:00.003-07:00

He is saying "Here you go" or "hereygo."

Time Travel

2009-11-08T13:00:00.002-07:00

So by now you should all be used to my on again off again blogging style. Please bear with me and expand your imagination while reading my posts and pretend that they were authored on time instead of several months late.

Thank You

Mngmt

Happy Halloween

2009-11-08T12:54:00.009-07:00

We attended the Pickford Annual Pumpkin Carving Celebration this year. They rolled out the plastic, pumpkins were carved, and the naked babies stayed miraculously clean.

Grayson decided to play the role of the friendly lion this year. He enjoyed dressing up for the school parade.

Trick or Treat Street in downtown Parker was full of fun, games and candy. Grayson loved the hay bale maze.

It wasn't just the kiddos enjoying themselves. Jamie and Laura sneaked away for some jello shots.

It just wouldn't be Halloween without the door to door trick or treating. Grayson and Clara worked very hard to fill mom & dad's candy drawer.

Thanks again to the Pickford family for inviting us to all of the holiday festivities. This was the best O'Kane family Halloween ever.

Grayson Explores the Zoo

2009-11-08T12:34:00.002-07:00

That's my boy, go right for the snakes. Mom is outside with a serious case of the hebie-jebies while Grayson is pressing his face to the glass of the Snake bin.

1st Haircut

2009-11-08T12:30:00.002-07:00

Grayson had his first haircut and was a perfect little gentleman during the whole process. I am told that most gentlemen wear there hair like this these days.

Dad goes to China

2009-11-08T12:27:00.002-07:00

I am back from my second work trip to China, the visit was successful and should benefit the project.

The O'Kane's Visit the Splash Park

2009-11-08T12:23:00.002-07:00

As August draws to a close, we decided to walk to the splash park. Grayson had a blast playing in the water fountains. I forsee many future visits in our future.

It's Just a Phase

2009-11-08T12:18:00.002-07:00

I am told that all children go through phases.

I really hope this ill-advised Billy Idol phase doesn't last, Grayson just can't pull off the english accent.

Art Fair in Golden

2009-11-08T12:14:00.003-07:00

We went to some art fair thing in golden this weekend (try really hard to pretend it is mid-August) with Papa and Co. I don't know if we saw any art, but Grayson had a blast eating on Uncle Kelly's lap and playing with Papa.

Just Friends

2009-11-08T12:07:00.004-07:00

Rumor has it that there are people (Grandma Katy) planning Grayson and Clara's Wedding. I have protested such conversations out of principle from the very beginning, why do I feel that I am on the loosing side of this one...

Rasberry Picking Fun!

2009-11-08T12:02:00.002-07:00

I am pretending that this post is dated mid-August, and you should too. Because then you won't think that we are such blog posting slackers.

What a wonderful weekend we had, dinner and rasberry picking at G'ma's. It was a shirt staining good time.

The Verbal Update

2009-08-13T08:38:00.006-06:00

Grayson has been flying through the gross and fine motor skill milestones. Yes, he is running and trying to climb and can use a spoon pretty effectively. As evidenced by this picture...

But, lately his verbal/language skills have been improving and I find this most exciting.

His words are:
1. dada
2. mama
3. hat - FIRST WORD (other than the obligatory I know who my parents are :)
4. dog "dahhhhh"
5. ball "baaaah"
6. book "boooh"
7. up "ugh!"
8. pop/papa
9. duck "duuuuh"
10. Uh-oh "uh-uh"

11. Tonka "duh-da"

12. hot dog "ha-dah"

His animals sounds are:
1. baa - sheep
2. maa - billy goat

His signs are (notice most of these have to do with eating):
1. eat
2. more
3. please
4. cheese
5. cookie
6. cereal
7. dog
8. cracker - he made this one up
9. up
10. banana
11. blows kisses
12. bye-bye
13. milk
14. water
15. daddy

16. hat

Yeah, so the silence is over :)

The Trouble With Smurfs...

2009-08-01T09:57:00.005-06:00

Everyone loves Smurfs. And why not, they are small, cute, and plagued by a large, grumpy human. What is not to love? Well, we have all been fooled. You see, Smurfs are a menace to society, they multiply faster than rabbits, have terrible hygiene and talk smack like a washed up hockey player. Well here at the O'Kane household, we have had enough. We are declaring war on all Smurfkind. Watch out Smurfs, we are coming for you, and we know that you taste like Cheese Quesadillas...

Don't Feed the Wildlife

2009-06-22T12:39:00.004-06:00

Many people don't understand why it is unwise to feed wildlife in it's native environment. They believe that the mean park rangers want to punish the animals or don't want the animals getting fat. The true reason is far more insidious, because wild animals will quickly turn on a human and attack in attempt to get more food. So beware to all, don't feed the wildlife, for the next time you are in the wild, the animals may attack in search of more.

In related news Grayson finally has mastered the sign for please, followed immediately by the sign for "gimme more of that Root Beer Float."

Update: Uncle Kelly has just been released from the hospital. The doctors report that the bite marks on his lower legs and knee caps will heal completely. Kelly agrees that he will think twice about feeding wildlife from now on...

Everybody Get in the Pool

2009-05-31T21:16:00.010-06:00

It has been beautiful this weekend and Aunt Kathy has been talking about taking him swimming so we decided to take the G-Man to the pool for the first time today.

He thinks his sunscreen tastes good. Yum.

He loved watching all of the kids playing in the water.

Here he is chillin', eatin' some Goldfish.

It was the perfect day for a swim. I love weekends.

Grayson's First Birthday

2009-05-31T20:11:00.013-06:00

Hello All! Sorry, I am a little bit behind. Here are pics from Grayson's first birthday party. A good time was had by all.

Grayson didn't want to be messy when eating his cake. He doesn't like to waste food :).

Papa Pat showed him how it was done, to all of our amusement.

Thank you to every one who attended, and we missed all of you who couldn't.

Here's to another year of fun!

It's a Big World Out There

2009-05-21T20:40:00.004-06:00

Just a reminder to all...Nature is out there, proceed at your own risk.

10 Month Update

2009-03-13T20:50:00.007-06:00

Hello all! Long time, no post. Things are pretty nuts in the O'Kane household with tax season and the usual rigmarole. You all don't want to hear about any of that you just want to know what the G-man, or as we call him "Agent Gray Baby," is up to. Well, he is currently working on the walking. He can do 2-3 steps in succession, which is fun and terrifying all at the same time. Oh, the havoc that will ensue. Other than the walking he has pretty much decided that table food is WAY better than baby food. Not that we can blame him, his favorite is cheese. He IS his mommy's baby...I was starting to wonder :). As for verbally he has added "mama" and "babapffffffttba" to his repertoire. We will get a sign out of him every once in awhile, either "please" or "milk," but pretty much he is not seeing any need to communicate further. He generally gets what he needs by grunting and being cute. We are working on it, he is male after all. His most favorite games to play are "So Big" and chase. He just loves to crawl as fast as he can while somebody chases him. He will stop and laugh and then continue as fast as he can. Here is a pic of the little man recking havoc and being a ham at the same time. (I might have helped a little ;).

Back From the Dead... Tired

2009-02-19T19:55:00.003-07:00

So the five of you out there that regularly monitor this blog, and the random others of you, you all know who you are, may have noticed a bit of a dry spell in blog posting lately. Well there are many contributing factors to this, exhaustion from Grayson teething, pure laziness or dogs nagging for walks. The truth is perhaps far more simple. You see, my last blog post, the one about the Department of the Grandparent, well it was pretty awesome. And how do you follow up a blog post like that? Good question, as you can tell, my choice was a 3 month sabbatical followed by a simple text only post. Not perhaps as entertaining to the masses, but it is the path I chose. So please look forward to more updates. I will try to reign in my creativity to prevent anymore... hiatuses.

2008-12-21T11:35:00.008-07:00

The Department of the Grandparent (D.O.T.G.) has just declassified the following document.

EYES ONLY:

On November 29th, 2008 Special Grandparent Codename Patty (other A.K.A.s known but not declassified) tasked Secret Agent "Gray Baby" with a nefarious mission. Secret Agent "Gray Baby" was to accomplish at all costs the feeding of "human food" to the civilian canine know as Tonka.

On December 21st, 2008 Agent Gray Baby was pleased to report a successful mission with multiple chunks of banana fed to the canine.

Unfortunately the agents secret identity was compromised as enemies of the D.O.T.G., codename Parents, witnessed the act taking place. Agent Gray Baby is confident that despite "losing his cover" he will continue to be able to undertake special operations for the D.O.T.G. in the years to come.

This document is a confidential memo of the Department of the Grandparent.

Look Ma, No Hands

2008-12-17T21:09:00.002-07:00

Since crawling was so easy, Grayson has decided to move on (or up) to standing. Watch out world, here he comes...

Depressed Dog Claims Impending Doom

2008-11-22T15:34:00.009-07:00

This just in from our source on the ground. Local dog depressed over eminent demise.

Exclusive interview indicates formerly happy dog acknowledges that his end is near. Dog states, "I used to be loved... Until they brought home the screaming midget human terror. I have been on the outside looking in ever since." The dog, known as Tonka, insists that the newest addition to his family is "out to get him" and has made repeated threats on his life. The screaming midget human terror, known colloquially as baby, was unavailable for comment, apparently busy taking a nap. The dog concludes that he felt safe while the baby was immobile, able to "stay out of his murderous clutches" but is now unable to sleep as he has witnessed the baby crawl and knows it is only a matter of time until the baby is able to realize his terrible plans. At this time no evil doing has been reported. Dog is sleeping with one eye open.

Halloween

2008-11-10T07:21:00.005-07:00

We usually are not big on Halloween, but I have a feeling that that will change as Grayson gets more excited about it. This year he was a dinosaur/monster. The costume was just like fuzzy jams with scales and ears. Of course it was unseasonably warm on Halloween this year so he was baking. The daycare had a parade and it was so fun to see all the babies dressed up. All of the kids were super excited! We took the G-man to trick-or-treat to 3-4 houses in the neighborhood so that mommy and daddy could get some candy. Here are a couple of our favorite pics.

Shutterfly Updates

2008-11-05T20:22:00.003-07:00

The Shutterfly site is once again up to date. I appologize for the delay, I have been getting all sorts of increasingly hostile e-mails regarding this issue and I want everyone to know that I hear your pleas and the pictures are all once again available.

A Visit to the Left Coast

2008-10-24T21:21:00.011-06:00

After much haranguing and arm twisting we relented to a long weekend trip to California so that Grayson could meet his Great Grandmother Stella McTeer. This of course was Grayson's first airplane ride. He did fabulously and charmed everybody in sight at both airports. We were very lucky to be able to see many of the members of this side of the family, they all were glad to meet Grayson and catch up with the best looking part of the Colorado clan.

G'ma Stella, Mama, G-Man, Cousin Sawyer & Bobby McTeer

Mama, G-Man & Mike McTeer

Aunt Mamie, G'ma Stella & G-Man

Let's Start With Running

2008-10-23T18:27:00.004-06:00

Grayson has requested that he be able to skip sitting up, crawling, standing and walking in order to get to running sooner. We have signed him up for a marathon next weekend.

Starting Solids

2008-10-05T06:51:00.006-06:00

We started Grayson on solids this week. The doctor's wanted us to wait as long as we could, but he was ready. He has been watching the older babies at daycare eat their cereal so he has pretty much got it figured out. His mouth is constantly open so getting the cereal in is easy, it's the keeping it in that is hard :).

Date Night

2008-10-01T12:02:00.001-06:00

Nick and I have decided to establish a weekly date night (Saturdays). This gives the grandparents (and other various family members) a chance to get their G-man fix and it gets Mommy & Daddy out of the house together. Last weekend we went to Red Lobster and Aunt Kathy and Uncle Chris watched the little man. He just loves Aunt Kathy (lots of laughing when she arrived). Uncle Chris is crazy and Grayson isn't sure what to make of him. Can't turn off the Wolfe Man. We need more ideas for cheap or free date nights.

Shutterfly Updates

2008-09-29T21:51:00.003-06:00

I have uploaded the September photos to the Shutterfly page. I also removed the huge Grayson album and will be replacing it with smaller monthly Grayson albums for easier navigation. Please bear with me during this reorganization.

First Cold of the Season

2008-09-22T08:52:00.002-06:00

Well, we knew it was going to happen. Grayson started daycare and we all got sick within the first 3 weeks. I got it first (last Saturday) and then Grayson and Nick came down with it Thursday. Grayson seems to have just blasted through it no problem. I kept him home on Friday and he went back to school today. He is mostly better, just a little more tired then usual. Nick is feeling pretty awful still. I am feeling mostly the same as I have since I got sick more than a week ago. I know that this is just the beginning. We are looking forward to a long winter.

Daycare

2008-09-14T11:45:00.002-06:00

Grayson started daycare last week. It is such a great fit for all of us. We are so excited to have found a place that he is happy and that we feel totally comfortable leaving him. According to his head teacher Ms. Carol in the Cottontails classroom he loves to sit at the table and watch the other babies eat and he talks to his new friend Chance all day. So cute. He looks so big sitting at the table with the other babies. They have been great about trying to stick to his schedule and he has been cooperating in that respect also. It is just such a loving and happy environment, we are truly blessed to have them be part of the "village" that will be helping us raise him.

4 month doctor's appt

2008-09-14T11:31:00.004-06:00

Grayson had his 4 month doctor's appointment last week. I can't believe he is 4 months old already! Anywho, he was 16 pounds 6 ounces (80th percentile) and 26.75 inches (96th percentile). Where did this big baby come from? I still can't believe how big he is. His development is great. He is constantly rolling from his back to his belly, has great hand to mouth coordination and loves to stand up. As for his social/verbal skills he is also doing great, he turns his head to look at noises (especially mommy's voice), smiles at friendly people and it starting to become more verbal (says "ahgoo"). The Dr. thinks that he might be teething (swollen gums), we shall see.

Photos

2008-09-13T16:41:00.000-06:00

Since our number one request is always for more pictures of Grayson, we have created a shutterfly web site that we will try to keep updated.

http://okanefamily.shutterfly.com

Please contact us for the access password.

2008-09-13T10:07:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite pics taken at 3 months

Welcome

2008-09-13T10:00:00.000-06:00

Hello all. We started this blog as a forum to provide information about the O'Kane family and extended family for those who are interested in such things. Mostly it's for the latest and greatest on Grayson Paul. I will try to keep up with the postings on a weekly basis and include pictures.