Beau and I went to Brooke and Aaron's wedding earlier this month and I have SO many great things to say about it! It was a par-TAY by the end of the night (the only way the Kiwis do it)! The way they incorporated Southern charm and class with an urban feel for the reception was just really cool. Aaron is a fishmonger in New Zealand (no, really) and he had his fish flown in for the reception. It was delicious! We had the chance to meet so many of their friends and Aaron's family from New Zealand and the accents were AWESOME! They really know how to have a good time!
Photo Booth! Don't have to ask us twice!
Another girl shot
Ken, Beau, Jeremy, Matt and Chuck
The beautiful bride with her awesome cake and the Dallas skyline :)
Ahhh, props.
They had the best band! Which meant lots of dancing.
At the end of the night. Beau was hot and sweaty
and he just sat there all night. Ha!
Couple's First Dance
Did I mention that the Kiwis know how to have FUN?!
You may remember me talking about our photo session with our photographer...I talked about it here. Well, we are thrilled with the results! I don't even think I mentioned the chigger bites that we ended up with - thank God it was only Beau and me and that Grayson didn't get them. They lasted 2 weeks and reminded me of the chicken pocks. I have scars now because of course I was like a crack fiend trying to get a fix and scratched and scratched and ahhhh, relief. For like a second. And then I scratched again. Anyway, here are the pictures - SO worth the chigger bites! :)
First, my apologies for only talking baby for, oh I don't know, the PAST YEAR. I promise I have other aspects to my life! However, I'm finally shooting Grayson videos again and want to keep this blog updated since I love looking back on it. But, I'm always pretty shocked at how much I *don't* capture. I'll try to go back and reference certain milestones and other happenings and I haven't really captured most of anything! I know, hard to imagine. So with that, more Grayson....
I've mentioned before that this kid can fight a nap with the best of them. He *has* gotten so much better at being put in his crib and putting himself to sleep. But every once in a while, we get a kid who will try anything to stay awake (all shown in the video below)!
Twirls - SO funny! He seriously twirls in the sitting position to stay awake.
Downward dog - his unintentional yoga position
Tantrum-like behavior - crying and body thrusts
Sing songy whines - pretty funny but also pretty annoying ;)
Tries to play with toys
Hits himself in the head - the Ped says this is normal. For now.
Dare I say we have a walker?! Well, I wouldn't really describe Grayson as walking just yet BUT he has taken his first few steps! Here are some short videos. He definitely prefers crawling and is still very cautious when it comes to letting go of the furniture but he would be charged with traveling if he was in a heated game of basketball...do you get the reference? 2 steps....never mind. Enjoy!
Beau, Grayson and I really enjoyed Father's Day! We began the day with cooking breakfast and then headed next door to our neighbor's pool for a couple of hours. They were out of town and offered it to us in exchange for watching the house while they were on vacation. We actually had free reign of it all week but only made it over there this one day - boo. We had a GREAT time swimming and Brinkley LOVED it! (They have a golden retriever so dogs are allowed :))
Brinkley waiting his turn.
My 3 boys!
Grayson enjoyed the water hose more than the pool.
Go figure!
We headed down to Dallas when Grayson awoke from his afternoon nap. My parents and my sister, Andrea were down at Trinity Hall enjoying some live Irish music and a Guiness. Well, one of them had a Guiness - I'll let you figure that one out ;-) Beau always enjoys that place also Grayson looooves the Irish music and dancers - it's a family-friendly place and a great Sunday afternoon hangout! In fact, we missed the Dallas Caldwells by a couple of hours - it's a favorite of theirs too!
Later, we ended up next door at Margarita Ranch for dinner. Overall, a perfect Father's Day!
Beau sporting his Father's Day present!
His 574,973rd Brooks Brothers shirt ;)
I always knew it would take a special man to be able to put up with me FOREVER. Such a big word. And I was right, Beau is SO special! So patient, and calm, and patient, and gentle. And patient. Here is a conversation from last night....
Me: "My allergies are acting up. Ugh." Beau: "Do you want a [he gets distracted]..." Me: "A back massage? Yes!" Beau: "No, a Zyrtec." Me: "No thanks, I'll take the massage." Beau: "I didn't offer you a massage." Me: "But I choose that over the Zyrtec. Thank you for giving me options sweetie!" Beau: "I didn't give you options." Me: [I roll onto my stomach and move my hair out of the way]
Beau gives me a back rub.
I win! Granted, my efforts don't always score me a back rub but I'll take it!
Can I still call you Baby G? Well, I am. Happy 1st Birthday, my BIG boy!! We went to your annual well-visit today and here's the latest:
Weight: 25lb 4oz; 81%
Height: 31.5 inches; 91%
Head: 19 inches; 92%
Doctor said that you look healthy and great! We are now down to 2 bottles a day, 14 ounces total. He said we can take the formula away whenever you are ready as it shouldn't be the primary source of nutrients for you.
This is fine b/c you're doing great with solids! Especially the unhealthy stuff. How do you already know to love the bad stuff?!
Dr. Kaplan gave me a little lecture on your tan. Okay, okay, so he calls it sun exposure. You tan SO fast just like your Mama (we can't help it). You have had maybe an hour in the sun and you look like a farmer. It's not my fault!
You can climb up on the couch with a little help (like using a pillow as a step). But you still get down the right way. SO smart.
Cautious. Which is why you will not take your hand off the furniture to take those first steps. When you play in any drawers, you always look up before standing to make sure you don't hit your head. Where did you get this from?! I guess it only takes one good head bump to learn your lesson!
You now hold the remote and look up at the TV every time you push a button. You totally get that the one controls the other. I'm so impressed that you have this figured out. However, you sure can throw a fit when I take the remote away. It's. Not. A. Toy. So tired of saying this!
You still love giving High 5s and now you brush your hair when we tell you to :) It kind of reminds me of teaching the dogs tricks but MUCH cooler. No, I'm not comparing you to the dogs. Promise.
You LOVE taking wagon rides and you point to birds as they fly over. I enjoy this time with you so much!
Rough housing! All any of us have to do is get on the floor and you get the biggest grin and rush on over to fall on us over and over again. You love to roll around and climb all over us. You love to wrestle and you can throw a pretty good elbow to the throat!
You are beginning to associate Mamamama with distress and needs. I'll take it! But I wish you said it when you have a smile on your face like you do Dadadadada. :)
You have been a master at pulling things off of surfaces but now you are putting the items BACK where they belong! It doesn't happen all the time but at least you are showing other interest other than completely destroying a room! ;)
We love you dearly - and I just can't get enough of you! Watching you grow up is the coolest thing I've gotten to do in all my life. I'm so blessed to have this time with you!
Here are some random, blurry photos from my phone over the past month....
Wearing Dada's hat
I'm getting used to having all blurry photos of this little busy body
You eat like your Dad! ;-)
Fascinated by all things toilet: the scrub brush, plunger, etc.
Oops. I mean Poops. Major mess all over your clothes in the restaurant.
Naked ride home.
Your Mimi decided tutus aren't just for girls!
Still get your thrills by playing IN the toy basket.
Your first time in a real pool! You loved it :)
And you still like your little baby pool in our backyard. :)
The neighbors brought this over for us to collect their mail while they are
out of town. You, of course, had different ideas!
Pathetic! Crying after I took a pen away from you.
You got yourself pretty good though!
I woke up to Beau saying, "Happy Birthday, Baby! The BIG 3-2!"
Umm, it's my 31st but thanks for playing. Haha, I can't even be upset b/c I'm the world's worst with remembering Birthdays (and apparently our Anniversary too). :)
I had the BEST birthday but not for some of the reasons you might imagine. :) My Mom offered to take Grayson for the ENTIRE day so that I could do whatever I wanted. My mind swirled with ideas! There are just not enough hours in the day to do everything but I did a lot....
I sat at Starbucks in peace with my coffee and laptop for two hours that morning and you know what?! No one needed me, there were no grubby little fingers pulling at my computer, no laundry or dishes, just a girl, her coffee and her Hollywood gossip sites...LOVE!
I then went to Target and wandered around aimlessly! No list, no plan, no ticking time bomb sitting in the cart (ahem, Grayson), just a girl, her wallet and cheap merchandise....LOVE!
I made it out of Target just in time to meet my friend Lori at Chuy's for lunch. It was there that I had a Corona at lunch. Because I COULD. It was Friday, it was my Birthday, I didn't have a baby with me and I was having an ice cold beer. I always love conversation with Lori! We have SO much to talk about and I don't think we have ever finished a conversation b/c we have to cram so many topics into a short time period! It was heaven. Just a girl, her friend, a beer and a Chuychanga....LOVE!
After that, I ran a couple more errands then went home to get ready for dinner with the family! My parents took us to Fireside Pies for my Birthday and, as always, it was delicious! Ma joined us and we all had a really good time. :)
Beau gave me the sweetest Birthday card! If he was open to me publicly broadcasting our personal life on my blog, I would totally re-type it here (since I'll probably lose the card). In fact, I probably wouldn't even be able to locate it now to do that....(sigh).
Note to self next B-day: No pics in front of the liquor store
Grayson's gift to me was a destroyed bathroom.
He's so good to me ;-)
Our friends Brooke and Aaron were getting married the following night so I asked that my gift from Beau just be a hotel room downtown so that we can stay out with friends and not have to worry about driving back. Thanks Chandler clan for the best Birthday celebration ever - great band, incredible food, open bar, and tons of friends! ;-)
A marathon weekend so I had to capture it! Warning: This post is super long....
Friday We stayed in Friday night so that I could obsess over the attire for our family pictures the following morning. I had 3 weeks to plan the look/feel that would be captured for a lifetime. I also needed to figure out my wardrobe for the rest of the busy weekend....sooo I waited until the day before to stress. It's a good thing we stayed in and went to bed early because....
Saturday Family Pictures! Our day started at 5:45am! Since Grayson naps at 9am, we had to have pictures wrapped up by then! Zoe D. Photography, who also did Grayson's newborn photos, chose a meadow in Allen for our setting and since I trust her with my photographed life I was happy to drag the family out there! We started at 7:30am, were out by 9am and only had a handful of mishaps mostly caused by me. Here they are in no particular order:
1) I forgot Grayson's hair brush - didn't seem like a big deal at the time... 2) I had chocolate all over my butt. Not a big deal b/c that doesn't get photographed but it was weird since my pants were white. Shouldn't have eaten that chocolate bar on the way there. 3) I got icing on my boob. We did a smash cake session at the end so while I was pushing the stroller and carrying the exposed cake out to the meadow, I apparently brushed against the BLUE icing. 4) Grayson had said BLUE icing in his hair BEFORE we got started. I blamed Beau. However, the blue icing on my boob gave me away...I was caught blue-boobed. Get it?! Instead of red-handed?? Never mind. 5) Grayson's hair ended up looking SO greasy throughout the session b/c of all this and since I didn't have his hair brush (see #1), we were limited. I'm so sad since his hair was one thing I really wanted to capture (we have to cut it soon). Oh well.
All of this said, I can't wait to see the pictures! Overall, it went really well and I'm sure we got some good ones :)
Byron Nelson - oh wait, we didn't go. Grayson had the PERFECT golf Jon Jon to wear to this golf tournament and my parents, Beau and I had planned to go to this for weeks. Long story short, when it was Go Time, I was the only one that wanted to go. Boo. Beau, Grayson and I ended up playing in the back yard and listening to good music with a couple of cold beers - it was perfect! :) And good thing we didn't make a day of the golf tournament because....
He hates this hat. I love it!
Someone has a penguin in their drawers....
Brooke's Lingerie Shower/Bachelorette Party I had a VERY exciting night planned with my girl friends! It all started at 5:30 when Kristi, Thea, Whitney, Ryan and I had a nice dinner at Neighborhood Services Tavern and then met the rest of the group for Brooke's lingerie shower! She received tons of great goodies, some that were absolutely crazy (ahem, Whitney) but overall very fun things!
We then took cabs to Teddy's Lounge - a cabaret bar where we had bottle service, made ridiculous requests of the DJ and watched my friends drop like flies! Ha. Needless to say that we started out with 20+ girls and Kristi and I (you can call us the Real Housewives of Frisco) were pretty much the last ones standing! We had a hotel room downtown so we wanted to make the best of the night! I so enjoyed being with all the girls and can't wait for Brooke's wedding this coming Saturday (the 4th) and then our Lake Day at her parent's house the following weekend. She and Aaron are here from New Zealand so this is their big month-long trip home for the year. I can't think of a better reason than to get married. :)
LOVE this picture of Brooke - not only does she
look so pretty but SO happy as well :)
The only other photo I took - the snazzy band that played while
the cabaret dancers did their thing. Awesome!
Sunday Brunch Kristi, Thea, Kate and I had a great brunch at Cafe Brazil where I fell in love with this tree! Anyone know what it is?? The pink and yellow blooms are like brushes or fans - I love it!
Trinity Hall with Framily (friends + family) Later, we had two parties to attend. So I left the M Streets at about noon to only be back down there by 2 for my friend's pool party! On our way back down to Dallas with Grayson in tow, Beau and I received a barrage of texts from friends and my parents that they were all at Trinity Hall, a fun family-friendly Irish pub with live Irish music. We were completely diverted and had a great time re-living the night before! But really, it was pretty random to walk in and see my friends and parents hanging out together. Ha! Facebook really DOES bring people together ;-)
RAZOR Reunion We ended up missing party #1 in order to make it to the second one given by a former co-worker of mine. I'm SO glad we made it - I got to see a lot of my old co-workers and was able to catch up with most of them! We didn't get to stay as long as I would have liked because it had been a LONG day for Grayson and it was his bedtime. Beau was SO sweet to let me drag them both all over the metroplex to see my friends. He was so good watching the baby so that I could have uninterrupted conversations. :)
Monday BBQ with the Andersons! Our friends, Lori and Allan, invited us over to their house for BBQ and I was SO looking forward to seeing them. Lori used to be my stay-at-home-mom buddy but recently went back to work. Grayson and Piper are not happy that their love affair has been jeopardized by such a decision but I completely support Lori who is loving her new job! Not only is Allan awesome on the grill (and apparently Lori was Betty Crocker in her past life), but they invited us to celebrate Lori's new job by opening a bottle of Dom! It was SO sweet that they chose us to share that with :)
Grayson wants his own PB chair.
What a fun surprise!
Grayson loved playing with all of Piper's toys (read: pink teapots and baby dolls). So much so that he didn't go down for an afternoon nap until like 5. Sheesh.
Family Time When Grayson woke up, we made our way down to Dallas (see a theme here?) to Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Gayle's house. They were grilling and had a bunch of family and friends over. I took Grayson with me and Beau hung back to have some down time....I don't know why he was so tired from this weekend... :)
Anyway, another banner holiday weekend fo sho! LOVE our family and friends!!
Grayson is like the Michael Jackson of sock-wearing babies! He has been since he was strong enough to pull them off. I can find a lone sock just about anywhere - under the crib, his stroller, the mall...Here are just a few of many pictures we have with this funny guy. ;)
One sock. Always.
About 8 or 9 months old
Alphabet by osmosis
This video is from a couple of months ago when he started doing patty cake. So. Stinkin. Cute. Regardless, look closely at his feet...yep, one sock. :)
Baby Grayson - I'm going to stop begging you to slow down because it's futile but what I *will* do is tell you how much we enjoy watching you grow up! On one hand I can't wait to see what kind of person you will grow up to be but on the other hand I want you to stay my cuddly baby forever! We still get so many compliments on you! That said, you aren't happy as often as you used to be but that was only to be expected as you begin to grow up and learn that 98% of the things in this house aren't toys for you to play with :) You want in the oven, the washing machine, fridge, bath tub, toilet, shower (only when I have just gotten out and there is water inside), the fireplace, the kennels, the list goes on. You most definitely don't like to hear "no". Temper, temper. Here are some goings on from the past month:
Wake up every time with a huge smile on your face and usually laughing. Just like your Aunt Andrea! Hope this lasts forever as there is simply nothing better to wake up to. (besides your Aunt Andrea, of course).
You are hugging! I have been waiting for this all year! You latch on and get so tickled and squeeze so tight - it means everything to me.
We are seeing more strong will coming through (mentioned above). I could do without the kicking and back arching. I can only imagine what kind of tantrums we will have to deal with in public.
You are getting taller (although I don't have measurements) and can now reach things off tables. It still catches me off guard! You are thinning out a bit but still moving up in clothing sizes. 18 months - wearing some 24 month PJs. I'm thinking you will plateau around this for a while.
Climbing! On everything - things I wouldn't even think of. Your music table? You want to be ON it. The fireplace, boxes, the dogs - you want to climb it all!
You give High 5's! You may not be walk or talk but you sure can slap a hand when we say "High 5!"
If your Dad is home and in his office, you are standing right by his chair. You love to be near him and are now pulling at his pants leg when he gets home. You are really starting to show your love for us and it's adorable :)
Nap times and night time are SO much easier! We put you in your crib and you put yourself right to sleep.
You are eating table foods and feeding yourself!....and then running your fingers through your hair. Why must these two things go hand in hand (hand in hair?)? The upside is that you smell like peaches :)
You know exactly how to get down from the couch or someone's lap - feet first! Every time. You're like a legit toddler that way! You have never really even tried to go head first - it's like you've always known. Kinda weird so I had to mention it :)
You start laughing so hard that you can't stop - we LOVE it!
I promise this is a pastel pink! It looks sharp with your sear sucker shorts ;)
I couldn't keep you away from this pool!
The pink shirt again - playing with Piper at her 1st Birthday!
You two have come a long way!
Can usually be found climbing on everything -
even if you are too tired to finish. :)
You love bath time too! Again, obsessed with water -
the complete opposite of me!
Here is a video showing you just how happy you are in the mornings! Yes, I have morning voice and yes, you start freaking out because I haven't picked you up yet. But aren't you ADORABLE?!
