July birthdays

The last few weeks have been busy with ......well, life I guess. We had Hayes' 1st birthday party a couple of weeks ago and it was so much fun to get together with all the people we love and celebrate her big day. She was such a big girl and didn't fuss once! Even though we had a major wardrobe malfunction (her custom-made bird dress and bloomers didn't fit!), everything else seemed to go off without a hitch. She loved all of the attention and proved to be a complete chocaholic...definitely Adam's daughter.

She has absolutely LOVED playing with all of her girly toys since she has grown so accustomed to playing with trucks and bugs this past year. We had so much fun planning our first girly party and were so happy to have such a great turnout. Thanks to everyone who was a part of her big day!

Gray has been such a big boy lately too, and it's really making me realize how much he has grown up. I miss my baby boy sometimes, but it's so nice to see him morph into this wonderful little man. The 2's are so much fun! He loves to tell me what Hayes is feeling and what she needs (not sure if he's a good translator or a great guesser, but he's always right!) and he's such a good big brother to her....most of the time. He has done so well with the crib farewell and has been sleeping better than ever in his big boy bed, which he promoted himself to on his own after the first week. He fell out once and reverted back to his toddler bed, but seems to have overcome his fears over the last few weeks, which is a good thing because we're leaving tomorrow for the family reunion and he'll be sleeping in a double bed next to P and Pop. Yikes!

It's also been a big couple of weeks for Mommy. I just accepted a part-time position as a freelance grant writer for a nonprofit called The Visible School.It's all from home and on my own schedule, so it's absolutely perfect and I am loving it so far! They threw me in head first with my first grant due about 3 days after I started, but I rose to the challenge and have written 3 more since.  It's fun to be working on a new project again, but I'm still loving being a stay-at-home-mom. The best of both worlds, if you ask me!!!!

We celebrated Adam's 31st birthday this week and it was small and simple but fun. We had Adam's parents over and I bought and fixed all of his favorites....Gus's fried chicken, Pancho's cheese dip, and asiago mac n cheese. Linda made Adam's birthday ritual, chocolate sheet cake, and we are still enjoying it! Happy birthday to my silly, loving, handsome, humble, wonderful husband. Here's to your next 31 years!

Love,
The Pattersons

Happy birthday Hazie!

I can't believe that a year ago yesterday our little Hazie came into our lives, forever changing them. I was dreading the idea of a girl and all of the drama and fuss that comes with them, yet here we are, 1 year later, knee deep in tutus and bows. And we wouldn't have it any other way.

We had such a fun day doing all of Hayes' favorite things....playing with her new kitchen

opening cards from all the people she loves....

eating her first birthday cake....

and dancing around the living room to Indigo Girls with her Daddy (can't imagine where she gets that love from).

Gray was a little jealous of all of the attention, particularly during the birthday cake part, although I'm not convinced that it didn't have more to do with his obsession with sweet stuff.

Once he got a piece, he was much more tolerable.

God love our dirty little boy....

Happy birthday Hazie-girl (as Gray calls her)! We love you and can't wait to see what your next year of life holds for you!

After a lot of research, we finally decided on what camera to buy.....a Canon Rebel XS! It was a little anniversary gift for Adam and I to ourselves for making it past the "7 year itch", and we are so excited about it. I haven't really figured out how to do much except point and shoot, which kind of defeats the purpose of an SLR camera, but I'm looking forward to learning all the ins and outs. I tested it out while we were making cookies Friday night. Huge improvement over our old camera, but still a lot to learn!

Muah!

The Pattersons

Too hot to handle

With the heat of summer in full force, we are itching to find things to do where we can keep cool and have fun. Fortunately, Memphis seems to have a good number of options but we'll see how long they stay novel to the kids. Last Friday, I took the babies to the Germantown Athletic Club's splash park with a friend and her daughter. The older kids had a blast running in and out of the pool and Hayes, as always, just soaked up the attention and the great outdoors. That place is sheer genius!

Saturday, Adam and I took the kids to the Children's Museum for what sadly was their first trip (I know, shame on me). What a blast that place is! So much to do for everyone, (even Adam)

but the winner for Gray was the firetruck. It caused a mini meltdown when it was time to leave, but totally worth it.

Hayes' favorites were the dance room (Yes, there is a dance room and she booty danced till her diaper drooped) and the cars (Here she is pimping her Escalade in style). I don't know where her thuggish tendencies came from but they are hysterical.

It's a little pricey at $10 per person (ages 1 and up) but if you bring in a canned good for the needy for each person, they knock a buck off the price per person. Definitely looking into a membership for the year. Yesterday, another first! Lovie came over and stayed with Hayes while she was napping so I could take Gray to the movies with some friends and their tikes. Gray did better than I expected but not as good as I had hoped, so I'm pretty happy all in all. Fortunately, the theatre was filled with kids and every mom there is in the same boat so I didn't feel so bad. I figured Gray would come home and mimick the dancing or singing from the movie, which was Alvin and the Chipmunks. Instead I found him in the den with a bench pulled up to him like a counter. He was asking Hayes if she wanted to buy tickets and handed her a post-it note. Not sure if I should be concerned or relieved about these entrepreneurial interests.

In other Gray news, we are starting to talk/think/dream about pottytraining him, but are trying to be strategic about timing. The doctor said to wait until he was 3 but with that date now only about 4 months away, we're in preparation mode. To take advantage of his ongoing obsession with Toy Story, I thought buying a Woody and Buzz themed potty seat would provide some good motivation. Thrilled would be an understatement. Last night while I was just settling for the night, I overheard Gray in his crib saying something about his diaper over and over again even though I thought he'd been asleep for 30 or 45 minutes. I went in there and his excitement about the new potty seat had apparently gotten the best of him. He was buck naked and his clothes and sheets were drenched in urine. He told me he wanted to go potty on his Toy Story seat. Note to self: Do not make any changes or the suggestion of changes when it comes to the kids while husband is out of town.

My last cool trick for this hot weather is the Farmer's Market at the Botanic Gardens. It's every Wednesday, totally free, and they have a vendor called Mama D who sells italian ice that is made with REAL fruit...black cherry, watermelon, strawberry-lemonade. So yummy and the perfect way to cool off! Lovie treated us to some cones this afternoon and then we headed over to the gardens to dip our feet in the pond. Aghhhhhh....

Stay cool everyone! Till next time....

The Pattersons

Another favorite....

Going anywhere these days takes major preparation on my part and there never seems to be a bag big enough to contain all of our stuff. The biggest challenge has been the beach/pool bag. By the time you pack the towels, pool toys, sunscreen, and snacks, there is no room for adding anything extra and good luck finding anything once it's so tightly jammed in there. My solution? The Land's End Extra Large Classic Tote Bag. Used my 40% off coupon and free shipping and got this great tote bag that has more than enough room for everything we would want to take to the beach or pool. I love the key holder so I don't lose my keys and the inside, divided pockets are a God-send. Don't get me started on the zippered-top.......

It's even big enough for Hayes!

One of our favorite annual events was this weekend, the St. Jude golf tournament at Southwind, and we had a great time hanging out with old friends. Watching all the kids play together is such fun and it makes it hard to remember a time when they weren't around. Whatever did we do when they weren't there to entertain us? Oh right....relax, have a drink, talk about non-kiddy things. I'm starting to recall....Here are some pics of the fun.

It was so hot, as always, but Hayes and Campbell found a good way to cool off. At least for a second, they were both happy....

Then she moved on to her other man, Cole, who's only 3 days older than her. She seemed a little uninterested in him, but maybe she's just playing hard to get. That's my girl!

Meanwhile, Gray and Lewis caught up on old times. I imagine they had a very meaningful and fulfilling conversation based on the looks on their faces. 

Later, they shared insights into their favorite book featuring the always mysterious character, "Thomas the Train". A good time was had by all.

New favorite thing....

I love finding things that I quickly realize I can't live without. Here's the latest.....

These are made by Crocs and are the comfiest, lightest shoes I have ever worn! I love that they are so bright and cheery. They also come in yellow, green, purple, blue, orange, and other fun colors and patterns too! Adam got me hooked on them after he bought a pair. Don't worry, his are much "manlier" than these and are a tan color (although don't think for two seconds he didn't want the sky blue ones, but I thankfully was able to talk him out of them!).  Now if only I could find them in the kids' sizes!