May in Memphis

As always, it's been too long since I last posted so I'll try to catch up on what's been going on throughout this crazy month of May! I had a little bit of a scare in the early part of the month and ended up in the hospital to make sure all was right with Hayes. It turns out I had a little virus and Hayes was feeling it too, but we both felt better by the end of the week and learned our lesson about pushing ourselves too hard...or at least I did. The weekend before was Artafactor, our biggest event of the year, so that explains a lot. Aside from the good news that Hayes was growing strong (already over 4 lbs), we got to see her on a 4D ultrasound, which was like nothing I could have imagined! We clearly saw her beautiful red lips, cute little nose (just like Billy P and Uncle Andrew's), and head full of hair. This one definitely doesn't look like me or my side of the family, so I think it will be so much fun to see her when she finally arrives in about 7 weeks!

My second mother's day was so wonderful knowing that I'll soon be a mom to two beautiful little children and was able to share it with my wonderful husband, beautiful son, Adam's parents and his brother and sister-in-law who are also expecting a little girl (Greer). We had a great brunch at "Just for Lunch" and I got the royal treatment all day, thanks to my boys!
I also want to send a big thank you to my friends Sarah Ella and Angie and my sister-in-law, Lauren who gave Hayes a beautiful shower last weekend. It was so fun to catch up with all the girls and Hayes got tons of lovely little girly things.....too much! It was also fun to have my Mom come into town to help us celebrate Hayes' upcoming arrival. Thanks to her and my Dad, we have a brand new double Bob ready to go once she comes! Thanks to everyone for all of their generosity and kindness!There was one person we really missed at the shower for Hayes, but she had a great reason for not being there....she was about to give birth to her own little baby, James Carter Lynch! Congratulations Matt and Amy on your 9 lb baby boy! We can't wait to meet him and are so excited for you guys!

Gray had his 18 month check-up at the doctor's office this month and he is still in the 75% for height and 50% for weight, so I guess the string bean physique he has acquired since his first birthday is here to stay! He also had another parent teacher conference at school to wrap up the year and we were pleased to learn that he has continued to develop and learn at a faster pace than what is average for his age, though he still has a ways to go on the sharing, patience, and problem solving. He also had his first bout of "mommy envy" when my friend Angie brought her two boys over to our house the other day and I fed and held one of them for a little while. I guess we are getting a glimpse of what he will have to endure when his little sister arrives, but I still think it will be easier for him to transition into having another sibling now rather than at an older age. We'll see! He is as wild as ever, hurling himself onto pieces of furniture and jumping right off of them. He looks like an abused child with bruises from head to toe, red marks all over his face, and the lingering remnant of a black eye. He's repeating much of what he hears which has really been an eye opener for us. No more adult talk around the parrot! He loves to call people by their names, especially Adam, and is getting much better about calling the animals by their rightful names instead of the sounds that they make. When we went to the zoo last Sunday, he actually identified a few of his favorites....monkey, bear, duck, etc. Sadly, his favorite "animal" at the zoo is still the only one that isn't breathing....the Carousel horse. But, he enjoys it so much and I adore watching him have that much fun.

Due to what I can only refer to as "Baby Brain" I somehow mixed up my parents anniversary with Jackson (our Boston Terrier)'s birthday and wound up missing the big day. So, I want to send a big congrats to my parents who have been married 31 years! What an amazing accomplishment in this day and age and something I know Adam and I are aspiring for ourselves.

Last night my oldest friend Beverly had her baby girl, Hannah Grace, at 36 weeks. Little Hannah is only 3 lbs 7 oz but going strong. We are all praying that Bev and Hannah get better and come home soon! Love you Bev!

Last night we headed over to Chickasaw for our second family night, which Gray loved so we'll have to make it more of a regular event. He had so much fun watching all of the other kids in the bouncer, eating his favorite foods (fries, chicken fingers and chocolate chip cookies), and riding around the golf course in a cart on his Daddy's lap. I can't think of a better way to spend a Thursday night!

Yea! Today is Friday and the start of a long weekend. So far, the weather is not looking too promising so there may be no pool for Gray and no golf for Adam, but we're looking forward to some fun family time either way. Today I'm catching up with some of my girlfriends over lunch and tomorrow night we're headed over to our friends house, the Higdons, so Gray can play with his girlfriend, Annie. For Memorial Day, we're going to the Wrights' for a cookout where there will be lots of playmates there for Gray too.....Carter, Mary Kate, Ethan and more!

That's all for now but I'll try to do better next time and not let it go so long in between posts. Until then.....

Love,
the Pattersons