Trick or treat and Good ole Rocky Top

We celebrated our first Halloween in Germantown by participating in lots of fun Fall festivities and since it's my FAVORITE holiday, I wouldn't have it any other way! Gray had asked to be "army" or a G.I. Joe but the only army costume I could find came complete with an all-too realistic assault weapon and goatee. I'm not even exaggerating. I hate to disappoint on Halloween though, so scary facial hair and knives it was! Hayes was a witch, and a pretty sweet one if you ask me;). But with so many Halloween parties, from birthdays to the country club, by the time Halloween came around, they were both switching up their costumes.

For Thanksgiving, we packed up the car and headed east to the Smoky Mountains. I may live in one of the most beautiful states on the map, but prior to this, I'd never even been east of Nashville! Shocker, right? Well, my parents, who are always up for a Griswold-type adventure, rented a chalet for the week and I have to say, it definitely lived up to it's name! The 8 of us holed up in a 3-story log cabin complete with a game room, movie screen, 2-story stone fireplace, hot tub, and wrap-around porches on every level and we were happy campers. We ventured into the town of Gatlinburg a few times to visit the aquarium, the ski lodge Ober Gatlinburg, and a few of the other quirky sites, but other than that, we did a whole lot of nothing.....eating, lounging, hot-tubbing, ping-ponging, movie-watching, and more eating. We took some hikes through the woods, roasted s'mores around a real campfire, and just took in the beautiful mountain scenery. It was definitely one of the best family trips we've taken and although it was a loooong drive with 2 antsy/crazy/hyper/fussy kids, we are already looking forward to doing it again. Next time, we hope to be able to see a bit more of the foliage changing colors, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

It was a very happy Thanksgiving and we all left feeling that much more blessed. Thanks P and Pop! Until next time, The Pattersons

Thanksgiving (mountains)

Back to School: A retrospective

The kids were out of school for the majority of the month of August and with most of their friends back already, and pools closing left and right, it was an interesting couple of weeks filled with lots of outings, tons of Pinterest crafts, and plenty of meltdowns. I think it's safe to say that by the time the month came to a close, we were all VERY ready to get back into the routine that the "Back to School" season brings. Gray and Hayes started 4k and 3k at St. George's Episcopal preschool just down the road from our new house in Germantown and they are thriving and loving every minute of it.

For the first time, Gray is going to school 4 days a week, which means that I have Hayes all to myself on Tuesdays. With the second child, I've learned that you seldom get the opportunity to focus all of your attention on one child, and it leaves me with a serious case of mommy guilt. I never knew how much it would mean to me to have this special day for just us girls, but I am so grateful for it. We run errands, work on the computer together, meet Daddy for lunch, go to Caterpillar Club at the Botanic Gardens, have picnics, and just play. Alone. Together. Aahhhh.

Hayes has begun taking ballet lessons and I fear that I might already be turning into one of those crazy dance moms (God help us all!). But when I get stressed out about her turnout and cringe over the lack of arches in her feet, Adam is quick to remind me that there is still plenty of time for Joffrey. Shew! Just kidding.....but now I think I know why my mom just dropped me off. Just sayin'.

Gray just completed his second season of soccer and we are thrilled to report that we have seen serious improvement from last spring. And by improvement, I am not referring to his soccer skills, but rather his ability to abstain from tears for most of the entire practice. It's the small things, right? All kidding aside, he is a fast little guy and is giving the other kids some stiff competition. And of course, Adam has loved being on the soccer field with him to coach him along. He clearly does not have any of my issues and shows no sign of being a "crazy soccer Dad"...yet.

Surely part of the "less tears/more smiles" campaign that Gray is on has to do with the fact that he recently turned 5. F-I-V-E!! I can't even believe it myself. Was it really almost 6 years ago when we found out he was coming? Only 5 years ago when he turned our world upside down and made us a family? Five is serious big-boy territory. Five is skipping naps because you are having too much fun at a birthday party and it not being the end of the world. Five is skipping meals because you are too busy to eat and you don't even care. Five is drop-off play dates, homework, learning to read, and saying the Pledge of Allegiance by heart. Five is blue jeans and button ups, half zips and khakis and sayonara smocking. Five is BIG and Gray is five. We celebrated with a Mad Science birthday party (his idea of course) and it was mad fun!

In other news, I am proud to announce that Adam is officially a Certified Financial Planner! All of his hard work and studying paid off and he has the letters behind his name to prove it. Way to go, WAP! Proud of you, babe! Until next time, The Pattersons

Hayes' 3rd birthday and our "tin anniversary"

I cannot believe it has been 3 years since the birth of our sweet baby Hayes! She has grown into such a sweet, sassy, dramatic, sensitive little girl with the silliest sense of humor. She is tall and skinny (81st percentile for height and 37th for weight) and she loves to try new things......especially new foods! Her favorite thing to eat is any kind of meat and all things chocolate. She wants to do EVERYTHING her big brother does but is such a girly girl too! She loves to dress up like a ballerina or princess, carries her purse with her everywhere, and feels naked without lip gloss. Lord help us!

We celebrated her 3rd birthday with a party at The Village Toymaker and it turned out just as we had hoped.....sweet, simple, and fun with LOTS of pink!

Hayes and her friends made pirate and princess masks, got tattoos and their nails painted, and ate yummy cake and ice cream.

As for Gray, he has been busy getting too big for his britches. He just finished his first week of Vacation Bible School at our new church and after the first day, he was already preaching to me. Me: Mumbling some typical rant about not being able to find something and being late for school AGAIN.... Gray: "Leave it with God, Mom". Me: "Word."

He also had his second year of swim lessons and I am happy to report that he is now far beyond the "shark teenager" he proclaimed himself to be last year....he is swimming like a full-fledged shark! He is jumping off of the diving board, swimming to us every chance he gets, and completely resisting his puddle jumper. In true Hazey fashion, his little sister is not far behind him, even though this was her first year at swim lessons. I'm so glad we did them again and as always, it was fun to do it with fun friends!

Being the avid Grouponer that I am, I took advantage of a "great" deal for four so that the kids could have their first experience at the circus. With no elephant, tiger, lion, trapeze, or tight rope, I'd hardly call it a circus (a rodeo at best), but the kids didn't know the difference and they sat still as statues through the whole thing. Okay, okay, it may have been the cotton candy.....

Some anniversaries promise gifts of silver, some of gold, some of crystal or pearl. Hey, I'd happily settle for the gift of wine, though I doubt I'll make it to our 85th year of marriage (we'd be be 107!!). But alas, the prescribed gift for our 10th anniversary this June was tin. I tried to think of a clever gift comprised of the cheap, flimsy substance, but I came up with nothing. Instead, we decided to celebrate this milestone with a trip to a familiar, relaxing and beautiful spot....The Grand Hotel in Fairhope, Alabama. We dropped the kids off at my parents and headed east a bit to spend a few days together sans kids. It was the first time we had been without them for more than a night in almost 2 years and I can't tell you how much it was needed. While the kids were at "Camp P and Pop", we slept in, lounged by the pool, meandered around the town with no purpose at all, and ate fabulous food at some of our favorite restaurants (new and old!). We even met up with some old friends for a fun night of dinner and laughter.

But most of all, we strolled through the memories of our last 10 years together and all that we had seen and done......four moves, 2 kids, new jobs and promotions, new churches, new neighborhoods, new friends, old friends moving away, exciting trips, some challenges (of course), but most of all, LOTS of love and laughter! Here's to another 10 years, WAP!

Hello summer!

The last month has been a whirlwind of fun times and great memories, paving the way for what looks to be a great summer for the Pattersons. For Easter this year, we went down to the coast to stay with my parents for another fun-filled visit....a crawfish boil, a church Easter egg hunt, great shopping at the outlet malls, a visit to Keifer's on the way home, and a fabulous dinner at a new restaurant with my parents....kids free! Now, I do realize that most of the highlights involve food and to that I can only say, what do you expect? It's the Mississippi Gulf Coast! Love, love, love the food down there so much and miss it terribly. Fortunately, my parents are really sympathetic and try to stock our freezer with samples when they come to Memphis for visits. Adam and I got to attend our first-ever Kimbrough Woods progressive dinner in late April and are thankful to his parents for babysitting for us. It was such a fun night filled with great food, new friends, and lots of laughter. We also enjoyed the Cinco de Mayo Davenport Cove party with the all the neighborhood kids and the Memorial Day celebration to kick off opening day of the pool. What a fun neighborhood we have and such great people we've met! With the weather so warm and sunny, the kids and I have all kept pretty busy enjoying the great outdoors before it gets too hot! We visited Aunt Mal at the zoo where she is currently volunteering with the camels, and the kids are now convinced she is the coolest person ever! We are so proud of Gray for completing his first soccer program, considering that in the beginning, he cried every time he missed a goal or someone stole the ball from him. I'm glad he (we) stuck it out though, because he was head butting balls and loving every minute of it by the end of it! In other firsts, we took the kids to the circus and even though it was a pretty rinky dink one (no lion, elephant or trapeze!!!), they loved every minute of it. Of course they had nothing to compare it to and the cotton candy kept them pretty entertained too, but it was a fun night either way. The kids had their end of the year school program a few weeks ago and had a great time showing off for me, Aunt Mal and Papa. Both kids sang at the top of their lungs and included lots of hand gestures for emphasis. How did I end up with these hams? As always, we had a great time at the school carnival that followed the program. Both the kids LOVE animals and when you add a bouncer and tons of junk food, it's a winning combination. Now that the gutters have been installed and the portico is complete, we are FINALLY done with the exterior improvements to our home. Can you believe it's the same house? We are so in love with this house we call home and while we still have lots to do, are so excited about all that we have to look forward to in it. Until next time, The Pattersons

Spring has sprung!

I know, I know, another three months has passed and I'm just now updating the family blog. To sum it up, we've been.....just busy, I guess! Here's a three month review in pictures....

Hayes' "get well soon" flowers from Cousin Greer after busting her eye open on the coffee table

Hayes' "Snookie" make-over from Aunt Mal while Mommy was working on Staxtacular

Gray learning to dribble from ex-professional basketball player, Penny Hardaway

Gray's first soccer practice!

While we survived (barely) the interior renovations (scraping ceilings, installing crown molding, building built-ins/mantle,putting in all new door fixtures and several new light and bath fixtures, and paint on every surface), it only scratched the surface of our plans for this home we are creating for ourselves for the what we hope will be a very, very long time.So after a short sabbatical from the constant presence of painters and workmen, we are pressing the "repeat" button and starting on the outside.....gutters, doors, paint, a portico.....the whole nine yards! And then there's the yard of course....but since I have already endured a steroid shot, a round of internal steroid medication, antibiotics, a homeopathic daily scrub, and a prescription topical ointment in the name of banishing the poison ivy I've contracted while trying to tackle it, I'm thinking it's on the back burner for now.

So, other than home improvements, we've been busy enjoying our new neighborhood. From garden club and book club to events like Breakfast with Santa, carriage rides through the luminaires, and next month's progressive dinner, I feel like we have finally found the perfect place to raise our little family and we couldn't be more happy with our big move.

Gray and Hayes with the Easter Bunny at the Kimbrough Woods annual hunt

Gray and Hayes at the KW Easter Egg Hunt - Train ride

That's all for now....hopefully it won't be so long before the next update!
The Pattersons