September Wrap Up

Our September was filled with lots of family fun!

 

The boys love getting some Hayden time!

 

We celebrated Grayson's 2nd birthday

 

Hayden met Papu for the first time!

 

We celebrated Yiayia's birthday with cake!

 

And a yummy dinner at Nick and Sams

Played with our friends...and ate popsicles!

 

Got more snuggles in with baby sister!

Hayden and I had brunch with Katie, Liam and Nat

Fall soccer started and we had a game with actual some fall weather! Note that Grayson is out there with the team - he might think that he is actually on the team.

Kevin and I had out first 'night out'. Of course we brought Hayden...but she basically slept the entire time. We went to AT&T Stadium to see our Longhorns play UCLA...and I may or may not have added some drama to the evening...

 

I look so calm and relaxed here, right? Well, I wasn't...and it was because of my rings! As I was getting ready I decided to wear them. Clearly, I shouldn't have. As soon as I got them on (which I am still not entirely sure how I did that) I realized it was a huge mistake.  Kevin and I spent a good forty-five minutes attempting to remove them using different tactics we found online. He was determined...but they wouldn't budge. I was tempted to run to the fire station and have them cut them off but we didn't have enough time. I knew there would be medics at the game so I figured that if I really needed help I could get it there.

So yeah. That happened. Guess we are going to have to fix those...but not until I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight. So I have a little time to think about a new setting :)

 

Much happier!

Silly boys!

We headed to the Children's Garden with some friends...

 

Hayden was there too....

Sweet girl!

 

And more popsicles!

Fun September but we are ready for some fall weather!

Grayson Two Years

Age: 2 years

Stats: 27lbs (45%) & 35 inches (75%)

Clothes: 
Little man is wearing 2T and is a 6.5 in shoes. Ryan and him can basically wear the same clothes - they are a little big on Grayson and a tad small on Ryan...but get the job done in a pinch. Grayson's upper body is probably the same size as Ryan's but his legs are not quite as long. If they are both sitting in the stroller a lot of people ask if they are twins?!? really? They look nothing alike...

Favorite Foods:
I would say typical toddler foods including hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and mac n' cheese. He however is not a huge fan of PB&J - sometimes he will ask for it (because that's what Ryan wants) but he won't eat much of it. In general Grayson is my big eater. He really will typically try anything and when he is hungry he will gobble it all up. For breakfast he loves sausage and yogurt with granola. And when it is meal time this guy is serious. He has figured out how to climb into his highchair himself and will not let you help. 

Sleep:
Another great sleeper - yay! This little guy wakes up around 7:30am, takes a nap from 1pm - 4pm and then goes to bed at 8pm. I guess this makes up for his first six months of not sleeping :)

Words:
His vocabulary is crazy! 

Yesterday Kevin asked him what he did at school and he ACTUALLY answered! (This is surprising because when we ask Ryan he typically says "I dunno, what did I do?" or nothing...which is a typical boy answer.) It was so cute! He said that he "Played, Picked up toys, Ate Food, took a nite nite and played outside." It was adorable! He is a little parrot as well. Doesn't matter what you say he will repeat it all. And he will communicate using full sentences. He talks so much more than Ryan did at this age...and maybe even more than Ryan currently does! lol!

Activities: 
This little man loves Little Gym and music class.  At little gym he is a huge fan of the bars and balance beam and he has almost mastered doing a forward roll by himself.  

Favorite things:
He loves legos, balls, play-doh, and art! Grayson loves to color and paint...and has been known to get loose with a crayon or two. Oops. He loves to play outside at the park, in the backyard and especially in water. He loves to help out in the kitchen and will drag his chair over to help reach the counter.

Sibling Love
Grayson LOVES his big brother Ryan. I love it when he and Ryan play so sweetly together...which is happening more and more. Grayson also knows how to push Ryan's buttons. And he also loves his baby sister. He brings her toys and is constantly worried about her pacifier. He will bring it to her and try and shove it in her mouth. If she doesn't take it he gets so worried...and then he just sticks it in his mouth. 

Signature Moves:

Happy feet dance. This little man has some quick feet! He loves to dance and it's pretty darn adorable.
Fake laugh. I don't recall exactly how this started but Kevin and I were laughing at something and we noticed that all of the sudden Grayson started laughing although he had no idea why. He just wanted to be included. So now we purposely will randomly laugh just to see how he reacts...it's quite funny. He looks around to try and figure out why we are laughing then will just laugh. Once he realizes that we are now laughing at him he gobbles it up. He loves attnetion. lol

School: 
He is going to school on Mondays, Wednesdays and half-days on Friday. He has really transitioned well and loves his teachers. They call him "party boy" because he is always so happy. Morning drop off has been great as he walks right into the room (like he owns it) and gets right down to business...finding a toy to play with. There is no crying which I am loving!

This little man is such a blessing and we have loved watching his personality unfold over the past two years. Love my little boy!

Grayson's Super Hero 2nd Birthday

Grayson is a big fan of "Sup Man" right now (and really any other super heros), so we decided to throw him a Super Hero birthday party!

And since baby Hayden was due on his birthday I scheduled his party at The Little Gym for mid-August. When Hayden arrived early August, we moved his party to August 31st. 

I ordered super hero capes for all of the kiddos and I made (with help from Mary) simple super hero masks. Trust me when I say everything was kept very simple...it was an easy, low stress party and Grayson LOVED it! 

Yummy cupcakes with toppers from Everything Design.

The birthday boy warming up with bells!

Ryan loved Grayson's party too!

Baby Hayden's first birthday party

Tom was such an awesome instructor!  He has so much enthusiasm and energy - the kids absolutely love him!

Happy birthday to this little man!

Love this goofy little super hero!

One Month - Hayden

Our little Hayden is officially one month old! It's crazy to think that she wasn't suppose to arrived until a couple days ago (official due date September 3)... Crazy! The boys are LOVING having a baby sister. They are incredibly excited to have her around and love showing her off to their friends...and even strangers.

The first month was pretty low-key (especially compared to Grayson's first month). Our schedules were empty (and I mean empty...no school or activities) and we didn't really have any 'events' (you know, like moving or something). This was wonderful and also scary at the same time...I wasn't sure when the boys might start bouncing off the walls being homebound. Luckily, with Kevin home for a week, my mom here for a couple weeks and a last minute camp we powered though!

People tend to always ask how you are sleeping and the answer to that is...like a newborn. You still eat every three hours (sometimes two, sometimes four) so that is that. Kevin and I have resorted back to our system we used with Ryan. Basically I feed Hayden around 7pm and she crashes so I let her 'nap' in the swing since it is downstairs with Kevin. I pump around 8:30 then head to bed. Kevin gives Hayden a bottle of breast milk (2oz) around 10/11pm then brings her up to our room where she sleeps in the rock n play until her next feeding. She usually wakes around 2am (which is great for me because I get a stretch from basically 9:30 - 2am) and I feed her then attempt to get her back down...which I haven't been incredibly successful at. She is not a fan of going back into the rock n play, she wants to sleep on me. From 2am to 6am its somewhat of a crap shot...sometimes she will sleep and then sometimes she wants to eat every hour. I know it is probably because she falls asleep while eating so she isn't getting a good session. I try to wake her up but sometimes it just doesn't work. Anyhow, that's basically how our nights have been for the past month.

Hayden is a fan of hanging out in her swing and carseat...those are the two places that she will actually sleep. For the first two weeks I didn't use the swaddle because it seemed to make her upset but now we have gone back to it and it seems to work. 

When she starts to cry the boys will run over to her and try to sooth her. I have found random toys on her that her sweet brothers thought she needed at one time or another. The boys also love helping give her a bath. They grab their stools and watch, giggle and attempt to help. It's super cute and they keep her entertained. Grayson is also a big fan of helping change diapers - he even tried to help wipe her (which isn't incredibly helpful, but you can't say he isn't dedicated). He loves to throw away her dirty diapers - so helpful!

Your first month

- playgroup with the boys

- Lakewood pool (no swimming for you)

- Shopping at North Park

- Galleria play area

- Grocery store

For the first two weeks this little angel slept...all. the. time. 

The first month was made infinitely easier with such love and support from friends and family. Seriously, it has been amazing to have my mom around for so long - helping with either the boys or watching Hayden so that I can do something with the boys. When Kevin's parents came they were also incredibly helpful with both the boys and Hayden. We have also had friends delivering meals all month - I haven't had to worry about dinner at all! It's been such a blessing. We feel so lucky to have such wonderful families and friends!