Happy 4th Birthday, Grayson!

Height - 44" (97%)
Weight - 47.5 lbs (85%)
Size 5T shirts
Size XS or 5 Long pants in the big kid section (SNIFF! TEAR! SOB!)
Size 11 or 11.5 shoe. Can't remember

Grayson is growing like a weed! And is getting very, very close to being too big for me to pick up. :( Sad! He still loves to be picked up though, loves cuddling, is doing really well with his manners and is overall, a really good kid. I am amazed every day at his intelligence, soft side, rough side (wrestling!), and his sweet nature. He does what he's asked, can sit through big church well-behaved and is my big helper! A total help with his little brother and understands that he should set a good example for Walker. But he can also take him down with one arm and wrestle away! Only on the carpet though. Good thing Walker loves every minute of it. :)

Grayson is such a cool kid. And y'all. He's BEAUTIFUL. I stare at him all the time. And the things he builds and creates and draws and paints are so impressive. I can't get enough of him and I can quite literally feel a shortness of breath come on when I think I only have one more year with him at home before he starts Elementary school where he will spend more waking hours away from me than with me. And we all know how fast these years go....

I have really wished over the course of the past year that I would've documented his cute sayings and conversations b/c this kid just isn't the same little guy from June 2013. His conversation and vocabulary have exploded (he says "Actually." Really?! The kid who used to just grunt at me?!), his temper has mellowed and he is usually just fine with "No" as long as he understands why. And usually, even if he doesn't.

Funny things he says (there has been so much more but this is off the top of my head):
"I need some milk or I can pass out!"
"I want to be a good kid like Finley and Cole." ME TOO, CHILD! Do it.
"Pop is not the boss. Mimi is the boss." I have a feeling she had something to do with that one ;)
Gets words confused. "I love you either."Instead of also. :)
"I want to give you a kiss or a hug." He says this religiously every time we leave Mimi and Pop's house and he means he wants to give both a kiss and a hug to them. :)
We say, "I love you to the moon and back, Grayson." Him: "I love you to the back of the moon."
"Fire starter" - Lighter
He tells me what Walker is "saying" when he grunts. "He says he wants to go to Cole's house." "He says he doesn't want to wear that." "He says he doesn't like dinner. He wants cookies." Sure thing, buddy!
"What you wasting time for?!" When we are taking too long to come play with him.
"Nap Sleeping" - Sleep Walking
"That is a good Dea?!" - Meaning 'Idea' and said every time he comes up with something we can do or a place to go. SO cute!
When he reeeeally wants something, he puts his hands together like he's in prayer and begs and pleads saying, "Pleeeease." He usually starts laughing because even he knows how ridiculous he looks. ;) It's super cute though!

Grayson's favorite things:
Golfing
Swim lessons

Building things, booby traps, forts, anything!


Writing and drawing! He is so good too!

His Daddy


Cooking and baking

Water guns, being outside, any outside toys, his scooter

Super heroes, of course!
Guns, bow and arrows, swords
Dessert, donuts, candy
Going to the candy store in the mall with Mimi is a BIG treat for him and he beams when they go!
Cole and Finley. He loves playing this brother/sister duo and asks for Cole just about every day. :)
Helping in the kitchen, chores, feeding Brinkley

Sleep Update: He is a dream at bedtime! He goes to HIS OWN bed effortlessly and can put himself to sleep. For nap time also. On the rare nights when he stays up a bit later to finish a movie (in lieu of a bedtime story), he will even walk up there by himself. I do love tucking him in but it's cool that he can go up on his own and tuck himself in. He likes to sleep with his lamp on and likes a stuffed animal and his "covers" (a blanket he has take a liking to recently). Beau installed a ceiling fan in his room b/c the kid is SO hot natured. He sleeps over his covers many nights with the fan on. Overall, he has grown leaps and bounds in the sleep department seeing how he was in our bed for over a YEAR! Even when he went down just fine, he'd always sneak back in with us at some point. I am so proud of my big boy! And Beau and I enjoy having our bed back!

We celebrated the Big 4 with two small get togethers. One with family at our house on the actual day/Father's Day and then with friends the following Monday at the park. Both were a Superhero theme and all of his friends came dressed in their favorite Super hero T. I didn't get any pictures :( There were about 20 or so kids there and he had SO much fun! He loves his friends! We DO have pictures of the family party but we have lost the chord to the big camera. Of course. (sigh). Another time...

And lastly...

Just the 2 of us at breakfast. We have real conversations about things. I love watching his brain work and seeing the things he finds humorous. :)

He still falls asleep in the car like a champ and transitions to a bed for nap time. I can only carry him as far as my bed; I could never make it up stairs!

On the way to swim. He's such a character. :)

We love this boy so much! He has exceeded our wildest dreams! xoxo

2013: A Look Back at a Whirlwind of a Year!

I just found this as a draft! Not sure which pictures I was waiting to add but here it is - published with disregard to whatever I was waiting on 6 months ago! :) 

New Orleans!
We kicked off the new year flying home from one of my favorite weddings and family trips of all time - Andrea and Rogan's NYE wedding! I turned 36 weeks pregnant the following day...the cut-off for travel ;)

Walker was born
Our biggest Baby #2 blessing was born on 2/1 weighing 9 lbs 3 oz. This delivery and hospital stay was picture perfect - I loved every second and wish I could go back for just a moment in time! I can't imagine any different personality fitting so well with our family. He's our cuddly, lovable easy-going little dude.

How can such a big baby still be so little?!

I can't stop adding photos here! I miss this time so much!

Walker was Baptized
I have said it before, but we feel so blessed to have so much family that loves our family so deeply. Andrea and Rogan came into town to stand beside us and become Walker's Godparents and many other family members joined us on that day.

Destin
I'm so nostalgic looking through the photos! I can't even pick just one to put here. We really want to make this an annual tradition but probably need to pass this year with all of the expenses of a big move. I really, really can't wait to go back though!

 

Shelby went to a new home
2013 wasn't all wonderful. I still get so sad when I think about Shelby. She was my #1 girl. We decided that it would be in everyone's best interest, including her own, if she went to live in a kid-free home. The first time she bit Grayson, since it didn't break the skin, I convinced myself it was an accident and that she wasn't dangerous. I mean she was my little 10 lb lover! How could she be?! But the second time, when she bit Grayson on the face, I knew it was time. Things weren't getting any better: she would shake when the kids would get near, she couldn't relax to sleep all day, which is all she wanted to do, she just had so much anxiety with them around. She went to live with a sweet retired woman who was a recent widow AND had lost her beloved dog soon after she lost her husband. What heartache all at once. Her adult daughter told me that Shelby gave her a reason to be happy and go on with her life again. How could I feel like this was anything but meant to be? I miss my Shelby Girl though!

She would find the furthest and/or highest point from Grayson so that he couldn't get to her.

I loved the way she slept with me! I still miss her burrowing under the covers.

Oh, these pictures make me miss her so much!

My Birthday with the girls
Beau sent me down to Hotel Zaza in Dallas with my Mama friends the weekend of my birthday and we had so much fun! A day by the pool, then dinner and drinks. Too many drinks. There is a reason a birthday only comes once a year! We did a post-mortem on the weekend and decided that going forward, a day by the pool should only end with room service and a movie. That's more our speed these days! :) Thank you Honey for such a treat! And the bottle service. Too much bottle service...

Grayson turned 3
My sweet Grayson turned the big 3! And I wish I could freeze frame time and capture every single change and thing he has said. He is a chatterbox these days with an impressive imagination to boot. We celebrated this Birthday with just a few friends at Chuck E. Cheese. My first outside of the home and to order 100% online. In 15 minutes. What a treat! Especially because....

A case of the Staph
We weren't even sure if we'd be able to do a party because around this time (mid-June)

We sold our house!
Our first home will always have a special place in our hearts! But what a time to sell! This house was under contract with multiple offers within 24 hours. It's a hot market, people! We sold this home for an amount that no one believed could be possible! Our neighbors, realtor, everyone was blown away. The neighborhood was selling at a consistent $103/sq ft and we sold for $124/sq ft. (someday we will all wish we could get back to these prices!) But it was SO worth it with the updated kitchen, huge backyard and surround sound among so much else. It was where we brought our babies home and we will always, always miss this house! :)

We moved in with my parents
They made this 12 weeks (was only supposed to be 6) the easiest time for us! We alternated between their home and the Marriott in the Shops at Legacy while our new house was being built. And delayed. And built. And delayed. :) It felt like a really long time. Everyone involved was a trooper - my parents with the unexpected delays, Beau, Grayson, everyone! We finally closed on our new house on December 6, 2013 after a 5 day ice storm across the metroplex. It was unbelievable! But my parents' house with them and Beau and the kids is the ONLY place I'd want to be cuddled up. Homemade cookies, scones, hot cocoa, stew, you name it! It was a lot of fun :)

Girls' Canton Trip
This was a much-needed trip with many other mamas from MOPS. We shopped all day and then curled up in our PJs at a lake house that belongs to the family of one of the girls. This is an annual tradition that I was fortunate enough to be part of and I look forward to the first-annual Spring trip in a couple of weeks! :)

Top L to R: Meghan, Kim, me, Shannon, Megan
Lower L to R: Sarah, Shannon, Jen, Ashley, Aimee

Dinner at the quirkiest little "winery" in all of Canton. ;)

Wine and good convo out on the deck!

We stayed up til 4am! That's HARD to do being a 30-ish Mom! 

Views like this continue to be retirement inspiration for Beau and me!

Grayson's very first soccer season!

What a milestone! It was his very first organized sports team and he had a ball! Lots to learn but he and the other 3 year olds did a great job with it all! This year, we are on a new team that is closer to our new neighborhood. We did this with the hope of him playing with more kids that he may go to elementary school with so he'll have some friends when it's time to make that big step! That happens in about 18 months - yikes! :(

Grayson receiving his Participation Trophy from Coach Casey. ;)

New House

I have talked about this so much on this blog but woo hoo, a very exciting time for our little family. We moved into a new, fun house that we have really enjoyed so far. I'll update with more pictures of us settling in when I have them. 

Walker's First Haircut!

I forgot to post some pictures of Walker's first haircut! This was shortly after his first birthday and looking back, I wish I would have waited. I let a couple of people mistaking him for a girl get me flustered and I caved. I'm letting it go a lot longer this second time around and I love it! It's silky and the back covers his collar and it's beautiful and did I say silky?  

 

I was so proud of Grayson (in the background)! I was busy with Walker the whole time and Grayson sat through his whole haircut pretty much on his own, still, quiet and well-behaved. Sweet big brother!

We headed to a play date after their haircuts. He looked so much older already!

Walker Beau at 14 months

Walker is so many things these days! He's so curious and confident, so stable on his feet and already loves to rough house with us and his brother. He is an explorer, a lover, a screamer and I think he's going to be my temper tantrumer! A 14 month old stomping their feet back and forth because you closed the pantry door is pretty darn cute. For now. :) I'm really surprised that, if I may put some labels on my child for a moment, my cuddler (not a word) and lover of an easy going baby is going to be the one who loudly tantrums. I guess love hard, fight hard?! That's Walker's motto these days, for sure!

Stats:
No idea on height and weight
Mostly 18 month clothes now; some 12m shorts
Size 5W or 5.5W shoe
Size 4 diaper

Words: I wouldn't call them "words" at this point but wow, does he have plenty of language. He just babbles all day long. So, so adorable. Especially when he's waddling like an overweight, drunk old man through this house without purpose ! So precious!

And y'all, one of my most favorite things about this sweet little guy is that he hums a lot! We all think it's to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, in fact I'm certain it is, and it's the sweetest thing! Whether he's playing or exploring by himself or getting sleepy and it's time for bed, he just hums away and it's so special.

Teething: He teethes passionately! Haha. But for real - this is tough, people. Poor baby. Walker is in the process of getting his 10th tooth and man, he wants everyone to know it. And I'm pretty sure they do. At least the neighbors do! Geez, this kid is LOUD.

Sleep: Champion sleeper still! Goes down without a fuss, maybe needs to cry it out for 2-3 minutes, but otherwise sleeps through the night and still takes 2 naps. I'm milking all of this since, as I've mentioned many times, I NEVER had this with Grayson! :)

Eat: Le Sigh. I mean I don't even know what to say here. Pickiest eater. Changes all the time. We waste a lot of food. I stare in the fridge/pantry hopeless and idealess for 4 meals and 2 snacks a day. The kid brings me the loaf of bread at least 3x a day. And is adamant (y'all, he's LOUD) that I give him slices of bread. That's it. That's all he wants. He HAS taken to yogurt, which is a great source of protein! And I get the super fatty stuff so there's hope! :) He has started insisting that he feeds himself. Ohmygoodness a 14 month old with yogurt. What a mess! But he's so cute...

Anything other than waffles or fruit that I put in front of him and he looks at me like, "What's this $#!%"

What could possibly be in that belly?! BREAD, That's what.

Overall Health: We had really good news from the allergist we saw (side note: my joke that Dr. Stacey Silvers kinda sounded like a stripper name fell flat when HE walked in the door and was a young, attractive family man and super sweet doctor. Oh well.) He decided that there just wasn't a need to put Baby Walker through all those tests since, in his opinion, Walker didn't have any allergies. He gave me a lot of credit (oh man, so nice to hear from a doc!) for managing W's eczema so well (thanks Nikki!) and told us to come back if anything gets way worse. Which it hasn't. I think we barely skated by a whole other world of allergies. For now. Beau is still allergic to everything green and Zyretc is the glue that holds this family together so who knows what the future holds. Just happy we didn't have to go through a lot of testing with a baby!

Things he's up to these days:
Collects and carries as many pacifiers as he can. This is his security blanket. I've found he goes down a little easier at night if he has at least one pacifier in his hand. So cute :)

He's so playful! Always wanting to be by brother, he tries to balance a cup on his head in the bath and thinks it's SO funny when it falls off, he is so, so ticklish and giggles uncontrollably when you tickle him, he likes wrestling in the bed or when you grab and his feet and pull him back. He enjoys putting things in containers and then taking them out. Stacking things, music and dancing make him beam, love to see the differences as Grayson still asks me to turn the radio off in the car. Just not into it ;)

Walker is 110% into the kitchen cabinets right now. And bathroom cabinets. And putting things in the toilet. And trying to escape out of any exterior door he possibly can. He still dives head first out of our arms b/c he'd rather be exploring on his own than being confined. This is the part where going to restaurants is a total beating b/c he just wants to run around!

He climbs, climbs, climbs! Anything he can find, one leg is hiked and I know what he's thinking! And then he has no concept of safety - I think I've mentioned this before. We are trying to teach him to turn around and go feet first off the furniture. So far, he thinks head first is the better option. :)

Always.

He climbed up there like he goes for a stroll every day. So sturdy on his feet and learning fast from his brother!

Loves to work at the table.

He had to borrow Grayson's big boy car seat for the day. Made him look so little yet so big!

Walker is a big time reader. He brings the same Hungry Caterpillar book to Mimi ever time we're over there. He points and puts his finger in the little hole. So cute!

Sorry, but I had to! A Baby Stacey! ;)

He got that from bathroom cabinet, no doubt.

We are so in love with Walker Beau!