Grayson earns Red Belt in Karate Ceremony

Grayson continues to go to karate three days a week. While he did take the summer of 2009 off as soon as First Grade started he began a regiment of going to karate three times per week. Grayson was excited about the red belt but even more excited that he could now wear a special Gi. Instead of the white outfit the red belt allows him to wear a blue and black Gi. He was very excited about the change.

Every once in a while he shows us some karate moves. Just today Grayson and I were messing around and he round house kicked me pretty good. He then showed me a new move where he shoves my arm into my chest then punches me with the other hand. Just on Friday he had is sparring class and mentioned a girl in his class always tries to punch him in the head. Sounds like a liberated six year old!

Grayson, the Chatt Family, Santa and Christmas 2009

The holiday season was busy for the Chatt family. We had a great Christmas tree and set up the tree earlier than ever this year. For Christmas Eve we visited the Lazy Lobster in Sarasota, FL and had a great dinner as just the Chatt Family. After our trek to Sarasota we visited a phenomenal Christmas display to music just off Bee Ridge Road in Sarasota, Fl. The display has thousands of lights which are all timed to music. Each light string has four strings of color. Red, Green, Blue, and white. The light display and phenomenal spirit of the church was a perfect reminder of what Christmas is all about.




On Christmas day we went to the Spanglers and as usual the food was fantastic. Betty and Walt Spangler are kind and have a crew of more than 30 each year. They convert there wonderful house to a large eatery for family and friends and we are very thankful that we continue to be invited.




Lastly, we visited the Tampa Zoo for Christmas with Santa. I was able to video Grayson with Santa and it was clear he was focused and move in for a quick and productive attack. See the video below as he might be the quickest six year old to meet with Santa prior to Christmas.

So the Chatt's had a great Christmas for 2009 and we are so thankful to our family and friends. If we did not see you during the holiday season we are sad but hopeful you will come visit us in Florida so we can catch up with your great fortune and aspirations for 2010 and beyond!

Grayson loses his tonsils - DEC 2009

Yes,
To say I am running late on blogging about the Chatt family is a tremendous understatement. Grayson started to become very plugged up in his nose around July 2009. Jennifer took him to the doctor in July. "Here is some liquid, take some for a week or so and he will be all fixed up." Typically Jennifer and I got excited because 3/4 of the way through the medication we saw progress. Typically within a week after finishing medication Grayson was all plugged up again. So about every month from July to November we were taking Grayson to the doctor trying to get him fixed up. No to allergies, Sinus infection, soar throats, he was never really healthy for 5 months. Slowly Grayson was turning up the tv more and more and more. He was saying "what", "huh" all the time. (By the way, the above to the right is BEFORE SURGERY)

Finally my wonderful wife said forget all these different doctors, I am taking him to a specialist! She took him to a specialist in Bradenton, Florida and the first thing they did was check his hearing. The gal came back and said his right ear is 3X worse than average. She is amazed he can hear anything at all! He must be struggling in school. He then went into the specialist doctor who looked in his mouth... first thing out of his mouth, "I need to remove his tonsils." Then he looked in Grayson's ears, "He needs tubes."

The day Jennifer and I realized there is alot more to life than on the surface stuff was Friday, DEC 4th, 2009 when we handed our baby over to the anesthesiologists for his surgery. Since Grayson was the oldest that day we were the last to go in. We arrive at 7:30 AM and Grayson went in at about 1 PM. It was absolute torture. Jennifer was starving by the time he went in so I went out to get some lunch. The doctor said it would be about a 1.5 hr surgery. I checked my watch while driving out and getting lunch and I definitely had time to pick up some stuff at Office Max and multi-task while picking up lunch. Mental note, don't mult-task while picking up lunch and your wife is sitting at the doctors office worrying sick about your son in surgery. I wont make that mistake again.

Anyways when I arrived with a big bag a food there was NO JENNIFER in the lobby. Uh oh, I got in to the recovery room where Jennifer was blowing oxygen into Grayson's mouth and he was still breathing. Grayson would open his eyes, cough and start crying then go back asleep. The doctor would say a couple things to us then have the nurse give him some more medication. After a few times of him trying to wake up the nurse said, sit him up and that woke him up. We had our Grayson back, it was a pretty good moment for Jennifer and myself. He was ok.... ahhh.

So about an hour later Grayson was ready to leave. I got the car and in the meantime Grayson started puking up a bunch of gunk. Uh oh, something to worry about? We took him home and started shoving popsicles down his throat as fast as we could. That night I skipped his second 4 hour pain medication and there was no looking back. Grayson did great. The next morning Grayson had the TV really low and I asked him if he could hear it..."yah." I turned up the TV to his normal volume and Grayson immediately said "turn it down!!"

So, Grayson has been great since surgery. Jennifer took him to the doctor for a follow up visit and the doctor said everything is great! Great news for the Chatt Family.

On a less important business note I got some help to re-do my Anna Maria Island Real Estate website. If you are at all interested in Anna Maria Island Real Estate visit my website.

The Chatt's have a "Foster" dog

So, it is official. Jennifer and Grayson have been working on me for about six months to get a dog. I was away in Las Vegas and Jennifer pounced. She found a gal who fosters dogs and had more than 5 she was currently fostering so Jennifer said she would foster a dog. This is where Bella comes into play. Bella is a part German Shepard, part Pit Bull. Bella is about 40lbs but must think she is 5 lbs because she is always getting up on Jennifer and Grayson and trying to give them hugs. As for me, I am steering clear of Bella for alot of reasons, probably the most of which is I don't really like dogs. Anyways, the Chatt's have a temporary dog. Below is a picture of Bella and Grayson. Cross your fingers that Jennifer finds a permanent home for Bella. If you live in Bradenton, Florida and would like a sweet dog that is fully house trained then please comment on this post.

Grayson goes sledding in Bradenton, Florida

I have not done well in the last few months keeping up with all the happenings of the Chatt Family. I just downloaded our video camera which took about 20 minutes. Uh oh, lots of videos and pictures to blog. I will need to kick it in high gear and get a bunch done prior to February when mom and dad Chatt come to visit.

You can never eat an elephant all in one sitting so lets take this one step at a time. Christmas supplies lots of activities and fun for kids. Bradenton is no exception to the rule. Downtown Bradenton has a Christmas party every year and they bring in snow makers and allow kids to sled down an artificial hill of snow. Forget me trying to explain the snowy fun. I think the video below will say it all. Take a look.