Lots of Firsts

It was a gorgeous, unseasonably warm day in Dallas today! Low 70s and sunny in January - what a great break from the cold! We spent the morning at the park and the afternoon at Cole's 2nd Birthday party. Grayson had tons of fun and lots of firsts today....

First time at the park...

and in a park swing!

On a slide...

 and in this tubey thing (that's what it's called, right?)

 It took him about 3 seconds to crawl through that thing - short-lived entertainment fo sho...

 First time playing in dead grass! Which also didn't last long b/c dead grass hurts!

First Birthday party to attend...

[wait, i just remembered that he attended Carter's 1st B-day back in August but he was like 6 weeks old and just lay there ;-)] 

and first time playing with balloons!

Anyone surprised that Grayson was sleeping during all the playtime pictures?

What a great day with friends! Happy Birthday, Cole! Thanks for letting us play with your toys and balloons and friends (and letting us sleep in your pack 'n play)  :)

A Whale of a Good Time

Pun intended :) Isn't he precious in these jammies?! I'm really enjoying this camera while Beau is at work - I never thought I'd pick it up but the camera is just so FUN. Right down to the professional sounding button push, which I think is the shutter but whatev.


I seriously get told many times a day just how HAPPY he is. And then others ask, "Is he this happy all the time??" I have to say yes. He really, really is a joy to be around. I need to stop saying that b/c people will really notice if he has a bad day! Ha!

I was trying to change him. But he moves fast. We zoomed in on his face and it says one thing: TROUBLE.

 He now holds his [HUGE] bottle on his own.

He was so over modeling for me that he actually fell asleep on the changing table. Unheard of these days. :)

Baby Food Making Machine!

Me, not that green thing! ;-) I'm reeeeally taking a liking to making Grayson's food! It's becoming a nice, fun hobby where I can zone out and spend some quiet time to myself (well, other than that whole blender part). All made possible by my lovely mom who watches Grayson for me! He has loved every food I have introduced him to so far - he practically falls onto the spoon with every bite and fusses when it's all gone (just like his Daddy). Next up: prunes (ugh), peaches, squash and some combination recipes now that he isn't showing any allergies to any previous foods. I'm avoiding pureeing meat like the plague though - gross. I'll get there...just not this week. :)

Good Friends, Good Food

We had a fun night over at Nick and Annie's house last night with their son Cole and their friends, Casey and Ryan and their daughter Lexi. Annie made some of the best chicken pot pie I've had - she claims it was easy to make...we shall see! We had a ball sitting around over some drinks telling stories after the kids went to bed! Here are some pictures before they went down for the night - yes, Grayson showed up with his PJs on. :)

I especially love this picture - it's our very first photo of him playing with other children - like they're all working together to play. :) In reality, he was a total nuisance to the older kids but it's still cute!

Camera Debut (or Shelby finally gets her day)

Beau is now the proud owner of the camera he has always wanted (I'm still too scared to touch it). I'm so happy for him - he set his goal to work contract hours for it and did it before month end! Me? I'm just thrilled that Shelby finally gets the camera justice she deserves. Anyone who has a black doggie knows that they are very difficult to photograph, especially in doors. Especially on dark furniture...and dark floors. I have countless photos of Shelby where you can barely make out the shape of a dog - it's so sad. But now! Now she gets her time in the spotlight! Many more of these to come as Beau hones his skills (I know, you're tickled pink) but here are the very first pictures taken of the pups with the new camera....

Since this lens works so well in low light, I will actually be able to take pictures and blog about the changes we have made to the living room that I started here. I just have to clean first ;-)

But really we are most excited about having it for the two weddings we have in April (Nikki and Brad's in Destin, FL & Amanda and Andrew's in Cape Elizabeth, ME). Beau is looking forward to capturing the family and friend time that professional photogs don't always get. We will be taking it to Thea's Birthday party this weekend too so she doesn't have to take pics at her OWN party! Yay!

Little White Lies (or subtle exaggeration)

I can't believe I'm going to admit this but Hoda and Kathy Lee are really growing on me! But I kind of like them together. This morning they had a segment called Little White Lies - they are split on whether it's okay to fib a little. They interviewed a dozen people on the street who all admitted to telling little white lies almost daily. You know like telling their wife they look good in a certain dress or telling their child that a particular loud toy is broken (I'm going to remember this one!) I began wondering whether I tell little white lies? Does exaggerating count? I've noticed I sometimes don't tell numbers accurately, mainly when the exact number can't be known. Like I will say that traffic was backed up on the tollway for 300 miles (okay, maybe it was 1.5ish). Or when Beau bought enough steaks to last us 17 years (okay more like 4 months-ish). But I always make sure that I exaggerate enough that people know it's a joke! So that's not a little white lie, right?! (I'm spot on with prices though - I'm not going to tell you that Pottery Barn is running a great white sale and then tell you they were $400 - that would be a waste of cold, hard facts.)


So you wanna know Beau's little white lie? :) I can tell you he doesn't tell little white lies about whether an outfit looks good on me or how my hair looks. I know this for a fact because if I'm ever dumb enough to ask, I get a deer in the headlights look...loooooong pause.....blubbering stuttering....and then a terrified "You look great, baby." He's so scared of the question and what his answer will be that he can't even think, "wait, that dress just might be okay for this wedding!" Haha! But I will let you in on this...Beau doesn't always tell someone his exact ETA or his exact location en route somewhere! If he tells you that he is on the tollway at Northwest Hwy, it might be more like 635. Ha! This is an ongoing joke with us. :) In fact, I get a kick out of listening to him when we are on our way to meet friends:


Beau on phone: "Yeah bud, we're exiting now. See you in a few." 
Me when he hangs up: "We are SO not even close to the exit."
A smiling Beau: "Well, we're close."


What are your little white lies? And you better not say, "I tell people I like their blog when I really don't!" Ha! :)

My Baby's Blues

Of course I would have my baby in mismatched clothing when Beau decided to grab the camera yesterday while Grayson was crawling around! Beau was just really playing with the camera but I can't not post this cutie patootie...look at these eye balls!!


But first, look at that hair! When it's fixed (i.e. swept to the side), it's total business in the front/party in the back!

 Let's all say it together..."I have a BLUE-EYED BABY!" Who would've thought with my dominant brownies?!

So maybe this doesn't make sense in a blue eye blog post but pretty adorable nonetheless...

His neck roles impress me.

Next up: Pictures where I actually put forth some effort with his attire :)

Dual Purpose Lovie

One of the coolest things about having this little guy around is seeing his personality take shape. So far most of what he does is typical baby behavior (like being enamored with everything he isn't supposed to touch) but this is pretty cute....he always falls asleep with his little lovie blanket over his face. :) It's the cutest thing.


He is really good at going to sleep on his own. It's the same routine for both night time and naps: we simply put him in his crib with his pacifier and lovie blanket and he can put himself to sleep.  I watch the monitor as he rolls back and forth once or twice. Without fail, he then puts his lovie over his face and flails his arms like it's attacking him - ha! Don't worry - it's light and small enough that he can breathe just fine. We still remove it once he has calmed himself and fallen asleep. 


Maybe he needs a little black-out mask for babies!

Grayson is 7 months!

Happy 7 months old, Baby Grayson! We have lots of new developments - I'm sure I've missed some but here are most of them:

• Grayson is crawling! I've blogged about this but he gets better at it every day. Even on the hardwoods, which are pretty slippery.
• He is sitting up on his own! Finally.
• Can pull up to his knees
• In the nursery, we had to remove his mobile and we are mounting the camera from the monitor since he can pull up and his sole mission in his crib is to pull them down.
• Loving a thrill now more than ever - pretend falling in our arms, doing the wheelbarrow off the sofa, hanging upside down - I'm really seeing the crazy boy I'm going to have when he's mobile. Do I still really want to have ALL boys?!
• Loves dancing in your arms. BIG SMILES. Especially during fast turns and the dip ;-)
• Making raspberry sounds morning, noon and night! It's so cute! He is so content and doesn't even want to catch his breath between them...and just smiles while he does it. Adorbs.
• LOVES Brinkley! (see videos below)
• New foods: oatmeal, apples, pears, carrots. Next up - meats. Gross. I'm in no hurry to introduce these Pureed meat - mmmmm. :/
• Wearing 12 month clothes. Need to go to 18 months on the footed PJs
• Officially in size 4 diapers
• Regularly says DaDaDaDaDa but still doesn't realize what it means. However, Beau puffs up with pride EVERY. TIME. [rolling my eyes!]
• We have a routine! Like clockwork - sleeping 7:30pm to 7:30am, 3 naps a day, Happy Baby -  HAPPY MAMA! Now that it's set, it will no doubt change with teething
• We have graduated from the Hand Harmonica and are now interested in teething on your chin. And it hurts! But alas, still EVERYTHING goes in the mouth. Shoes, the dogs, furniture, restaurant tables...
• ALL about the pacifier. It calms him almost every time and at this rate, he can keep it until he's 18 if it still works. I no longer judge when I see 4 year olds with a pacifier in their mouth.
• We are so blessed that he is just so happy. We get stopped in public just about everywhere we go with people telling us how HAPPY he is. He smiles so big at everyone and I love every minute of it :)

Weight: 20lbs, 2oz (75%)
Height: 28.5 inches (80%)
Head: 18 inches (80%)


Here are a couple of videos we took last night that just show him loving on Brinkley, saying some Dadas and how much this little boy looks just like hid Dada ;-)





He's standing flat-footed lately. I don't know if that means anything but he has been all about the tippy-toes until the past couple of days...

Beau Knows....Me?!

Beau knows me so well. Like really well. Just when I think he doesn't at all, he totally surprises me. I've mentioned tons before that I follow this blog.....well, they just bought a new fixer-upper home and I LOVE the color they painted their master bedroom/bathroom. I like it. A. LOT (in my best Jim Carey/Dumb and Dumber voice)....so I casually showed Beau the before and after pictures:


Me: "Beau, you know that blog I follow, the one with the Do-It-Yourself couple...look at what they did with their walls...."
Beau: "It's beautiful. We're not re-painting our bathroom."
Me: "Huh? But I didn't say anything about the bathroom..." [but I was thinking it]
Beau: "We're not painting the bedroom either."
[Damn]


Here is the post in case you are curious and if I find out that anyone does this, I'm never talking to you again... ;-)


But seriously, isn't this blue sort of my color?! If Stacey were a color she would be this shade of blue with white crown molding! ;-)

Grayson's Baptism

Grayson was baptized on Sunday, January 9th - the same day of the beautiful snowfall I blogged about earlier this week. :) And what a beautiful day it was! Annie and Nick Seeman are Grayson's Godparents and we can't think of two better people to set a great example for him. We had a lunch afterward at my parents' house for the family that attended the Baptism - about 15 people. It meant the world to us that they were there for such an important moment in our lives. The snow was pretty intimidating (HUGE snowflakes I tell you!!) so it was really special to see everyone.

 The Cupcakery created the crosses to look like the one on the invitation - so pretty!

 Four generations - we loved having Ma here for Grayson's Baptism!

Dave Ramsey in my ear

My Mom and I have listened to Dave Ramsey for years, have traveled to see him speak and have even watched as our friends and family have adopted the Dave Ramsey mentality - getting themselves out of debt and saving for their future. If you haven't heard me talk about Dave Ramsey or don't know about him or his message, take the time to check him out and his own personal story here - SO interesting.

We have some close friends who recently paid off a new car in record timing and are still on track to be debt free in an unthinkable timeframe. And when I say debt free, I mean EVERYTHING. Student loans, cars, credit cards and NO MORTGAGE. That's right - we are SO proud of them! Also, Beau's mentor/old boss/new boss also lives like this. In fact, he has recommended a financial planner to Beau who is sponsored by Dave Ramsey. Beau's boss has a success story even through the economic downturn - it's so reassuring to us.

I'm proud of Beau and me too although we have a way to go. We made great strides in 2010 and hope to keep up the momentum in 2011. Granted that has slowed a bit going down to one income but we have some ideas to keep us on track (I shared some of them in my 2011 Goals post). I hear Dave Ramsey in my ear all the time:

"Live like no one else so that later you can live like no one else."

However, we are human and slip up from time to time (yes, like with Pottery Barn sheets - but they were on SALE! ;)) and that camera we really, really, really want (but it's an investment in our family memories! ;)), but I hear Dave loud and clear! I even recommended to Beau that we sell the truck & go to one car for a while (sacrifices are worth it in the end!) but he didn't bite :)

I will leave you with some of my other favorite Dave quotes. He's so funny sometimes...

"Normal is Broke. Be Weird in 2011."

"A goal is just a dream if you don't have a plan."

"If you are inside of a restaurant and in debt then it better be because you are working there!"

"If you keep doing what you are doing, you will keep getting what you are getting."

"Sell everything, make the kids think they're next!"

If you follow Dave Ramsey, let's talk soon! Annie and my Mom know I could talk about this forever :D

Will work for TV remote

I am loving this video because it sums up everything cute about Grayson right now: army crawling, his interest in all things electronic and how everything ends up in his mouth. Notice that he passes up two of his toys (one that lights up and sings to him) for the TV remote. Story of our lives right now. And yes, the video camera ends up in his mouth. You're welcome for saving you from that. :)

White Sales

The white sales are here! I've only been waiting like 5 months for January to roll around to get new sheets on sale! And why not personalize them?! I am probably the last person on earth to get these from Pottery Barn but for anyone who has yet to get these, do it now! Personalized and shipped for like $80. Not bad at all!


Don't think of this picture as a crappy one taken with my phone at night in poor lighting but as a calculated, moody shot to set the tone...

Is there anything better than new sheets? Or new personalized items? Or really anything that UPS delivers to your doorstep?

First Snowfall of 2011

It began snowing during Grayson's Baptism yesterday and it was so beautiful and special! The snowflakes were gigantic! Probably some of the largest I've seen. I will blog more about the Baptism at another time but I wanted to capture some of our snow pictures. 


Beau took Brinkley over to my parents' house yesterday since they had free reign of the golf course and lake. They had a BLAST! And yes, Brinkley got in the water. Crazy dog. I stayed inside with my Mom and Ma by the fire and enjoyed a skinny margarita. And a champagne cocktail.

Beau's office resumed regular business hours this morning while much of the metroplex observed delayed hours or closed altogether. This is how the rest of the fam is enjoying the snow day....

Anyone surprised that Brinkley is the ONLY one that wants to be out in this frigid weather? Not me.

Grayson is getting into....

his own stuff?! No complaints here - I'm a happy Mama!

Eyelash Update

I'm still jealous....in case you were wondering. :)

My Mother would just die...

if she knew about this.

And if she saw what happened right after I took this.

Poor Brinkley just lays there. He has moved spots about 37 times but this now-crawling baby keeps following him :)