The only one he missed was the most fun of all....ours! Our parents threw us a combined birthday party (or fiesta I should say) to celebrate our big 3-0.
We had so much fun catching up with all of our friends and it was so nice to know that the little ones were in good hands with their favorite babysitter, Ryan. My parents were in town all weekend and we had a great time visiting with them. Gray was super excited when they gave him an early 2nd birthday present...his first tricycle! He can't quite steer it or pedal yet so it's a good thing it has a push handle in back....something to grow into for sure!
We are also thrilled to finally be an aunt and uncle! Miriam Greer Patterson was born on August 28th (just one day before my birthday) to Uncle Andrew and Aunt Lauren and we were so excited to meet Gray and Hayes' baby cousin! I know that Hayes and Greer will have so much fun together and Gray will enjoy terrorizing them I'm sure. She is so sweet and looks just like Andrew. Here is a picture that was taken by Linda's good friend, Susan, as a gift to Lauren.
She also took some of Gray and Hayes and they turned out great...can't wait to get them framed and hung! I'm so glad to find out that my good friend Sarah Ella has recently acquired a miter saw....I'm going to have to get her to put it to good use and make me some frames for all of these fabulous pictures with these little cuties! Gray is going to kill me one day with the boots picture but I'm going to see how long I can get away with it in his room...surely it will resurface at his rehearsal dinner if not sooner!
We have been trying to take advantage of these last few weeks of warm, sunny weather by going to the zoo, My Big Backyard, Shelby Farms, and the pool. Before we know it, it will be too cold and cloudy to do anything but hole up in the house with a warm blanket, a hot fire, and some good T.V. I can't wait to enjoy the Fall, my favorite time of the year, but we had to send the summer off with a bang.
I think Elmo Live had to be Gray's favorite. If you had told me that a 23 month old would sit/stand and watch big furry characters dance and sing on stage for an hour and a half, I would have laughed. But it was as if he was in a trance! He loved them....especially the beetle rap guys and their song about "Moving Trash". He still sings it two weeks later!I can't believe our little baby girl is already almost 11 weeks old and I'm more than halfway through my maternity leave (yikes!)! Where has the time gone? She seems to get bigger and prettier every day. She looks so much like Gray did at that age, yet there is something unique about her....something that makes her our little Hazy! She has blue eyes and light brown/blonde hair but I'm still holding out hope that she'll look like her Daddy.
Since about 6 1/2 weeks, she has been getting up only once in the night for a feeding and for that, I'm so thankful. Hopefully it will be an easier road than it was with Gray towards sleeping through the night. She struggles with the 45 minute nap monster, but I just keep hoping that one day she'll push through that cycle and put herself back to sleep on her own. Here's to hoping! At her 8 weeks appointment she weighed almost 11 lbs and she's growing out of her 3 month clothing and size 1 diapers already! She might even beat Gray on the chunk factor, but we'll see. We are so happy that her reflux is finally under control thanks to the Prevacid and Reglan. It makes for a much happier baby, although she still hates the carseat and prefers to be in someone's arms at all times (wouldn't we all?). She is cooing and smiling and her little personality is starting to shine through. I can't wait to see what kind of a little lady she becomes! Adam has started traveling again (boo!) and I am getting the swing of this "single mom" thing while he's gone. We all miss him terribly while he's gone but it goes by so fast since we are so busy! Yesterday on the way home from picking Gray up, we stopped at Sonic for a wacky pack. I always like to get a treat for Gray when his Daddy is away and anything that comes with french fries does the trick! Then Lovie and Papa surprised us with a visit, which helped with all the chaos and multi-tasking that comes with dinnertime/bathtime/bedtime at our house. Adam returns tonight and so far, I've survived my first night/day without him and with both kids. Wine helps....alot.
I really will try and post more regularly...it's good to keep track of our experiences and the kids' progression as they get older. Until next time, take care!
The Pattersons
