SIX!

Six years ago the most precious 9lb sack of sugar made me a mama. It was the craziest and one of the best days of my entire life. Grayson was the most alert & active baby and to this day is always busy. It is hard to remember him being this little!

At 6 years old, this boy is a harder worker than any kid I know. He is driven, determined to do his best, & always looking to improve. His two biggest loves are baseball and American Ninja Warrior. Grayson's dream is to be a professional baseball player & become a Ninja Warrior--he dreams big & works hard so I have no doubt he could do both!

I remember when Grayson was 4 and I prayed confidence over him. He was so unsure of himself & that was my word for him that year. Two years later & he is a different kid! He is so confident (we may even be working on that whole humble thing-ha!) and that makes me so proud. I love that he doesn't care what others think of him. Two different color Nike socks? no big deal. He thinks it looks cool and that is all that matters!

I love this little guy's personality! He has such a funny sense of humor & is an old soul. And sometimes he thinks he is a 16 year old trapped in a 6 year old's body! He is opinionated & can be a perfectionist. He is the best big brother to Griffin and Cheney. He is super independent and loves picking out what he wants to wear every day.  I feel like he has already grown up so much this year since he started kindergarten. I think 6 will be a big year for Grayson--lots of learning and lots of growing!

Happy SIXTH birthday to our baseball playing, monkey bar obsessed, always climbing or running, tender hearted firstborn. Grayson, you are a natural leader & I know you will do big things in life. We love you, G!

WE SURVIVED.

I haven't been this happy about a Friday in a long time. We survived the first week of kindergarten and tomorrow we won't need an alarm clock to wake up! HALLELUJAH! I guess I should say Grayson survived his first week of kindergarten..but not only did he survive, he rocked it! 

This week was the real deal. He rode the bus to and from school and was there for the full day. I was so nervous about Monday since it was the first time he rode the bus, but he did it and really wasn't even nervous. I am so proud of him! He is definitely not like I was when I was his age. Love that about him!

He seems to really like his teacher, Mrs. Hodge. He has also talked about a few of his new friends...one of which is a boy named Griffin! I think his favorite things are riding the bus, eating lunch in the cafeteria (but he refuses to buy a lunch EVER because they put veggies on the tray. haha!), going to P.E, and of course recess. He was so excited to see that they have monkey bars on the kindergarten playground! 

It has been really strange having just the two little ones with me during the day. We went to our MOPS leadership meeting yesterday and I told G it was so weird to not bring him with me! I started going to MOPS at our church when he was just 11 months old. Crazy how time flies! 

Last night he was so cute. They went to the school library for the first time and he got to check out his first book. He would not show it to us until bedtime because he wanted to surprise Griffin and I. Grayson is just loving all these new experiences and it is so sweet to watch! 

I am proud to say that we have had no tears about school so far...from either of us! (don't worry--I will more than make up for it when my last baby heads off on that bus.) It has been a busy, busy week with this and baseball starting but G has handled it all like a pro. Yay for a great first week! 

...and just because I love this picture so much, I have to share it. Cheney was not happy about her Bubba going to school without her last Wednesday. She cried and cried that morning & kept asking "where Bubba go?" We are definitely missing him during the day but I know he is having fun being a big boy at school!

my baby is FIVE!

FIVE. A whole hand. I can hardly believe it!

 

I always get nostalgic when birthdays are approaching & look at baby pictures. I was looking at pictures of Grayson earlier this week and it is just so hard to remember him being SO LITTLE. 5 years seems to have flown by but at the same time it feels like forever ago!

Grayson has looked forward to this birthday for a LONG time. We have been talking about turning 5 for many months. 5 just seems old, doesn't it?!

Well, G, it is finally here. The day you turn 5. My first moments with you in the hospital were quite a blur (thanks Ambien) but I remember just staring at you all the time during our first few days at home. I was in such awe of you. You were perfect & you were my dream come true. The baby boy I had always wanted!

At this moment in your life, you LOVE baseball. You're really good at it. You are a natural born athlete & it is so fun watching you play! You also love playing soccer in our backyard, football with daddy, & basketball in the bonus room. Let's be honest....at age 5, you just love all things sports related! You also love superheroes, power rangers, & anything rough & tumble boy related.  You are super opinionated about your clothing & dress like a tiny teenager. All things neon, Nike, & Under Armour are your favorite. You are definitely confident in your style!

You are also the hardest little worker I have ever seen! Your Friday night routine is helping your daddy in the yard. You help him mow, weed eat, & rake up all the grass. You are a great helper & you love it! You also love to help with your brother & sister. You've been a HUGE help now that I am teaching! Cheney on the loose at school could be a nightmare, but you help me in the mornings and afternoons keeping her out of trouble!

Grayson, you are such a huge blessing to your daddy and I. You are tender-hearted, kind, funny, and inquisitive. You ask no less than 5,000 questions a day! You have a heart of gold and we adore you!!
Happy FIFTH birthday to our biggest boy!! 

I'm not a resolution person

I have never been a resolution person. Sure, I will make a list of goals each January because I feel like it's what I'm "supposed" to do, but I rarely think twice about them.  2 years ago I decided to just focus on one word or phrase for the year. My phrase for 2013 was "to be present." I prayed that over my life in so many aspects and I really liked having that kind of resolution.

 

At our last bible study in December, my friend Anna said she had done something similar but picked a word for her kids and prayed that over them for the year. I loved that! I pray for my kids daily but I am not always intentional with my prayers.  This year I want to change that. Not only do I want to be intentional but I really want to just focus on one thing with each of our kids. I spent time in December asking God what word He wanted me to focus on with each kid.

 

Grayson's word is confidence. Our firstborn has always been the shy one of our family. He can be easily intimidated. I know that feeling all too well because I was so similar to him growing up. I long for him to be confident in not only who he is but whose he is.  He has already gotten so much better in the past year about standing up for himself (and Griff!) but I want him to just keep growing in that area. I want him to be able to stand firm in what he believes in and be able to confidently stand up for himself. I want him to be comfortable in his own skin.

 

Griffin's word is rest. This may sound silly, but I will be praying restful sleep over Griffin this year. Griffin has never been a fantastic sleeper. As a baby, he was actually a horrible sleeper. He has gotten so much better as he has gotten older, but his main issue now is night terrors & bad dreams. There is nothing sadder than seeing your baby absolutely terrified. Griffy is a boy that appreciates his sleep & it just makes me sad for him that he doesn't get the rest his little body needs because of his pretty regular bad dreams. I want that spunky 2 year old to have a full night of restful sleep & kick those night terrors to the curb!

 

Cheney's word is beauty. That sounds so cliché since she is the baby girl of the family, but I promise it goes deeper than just wearing bows and cute clothes! ha! This one is really important to me. I want Cheney to know that real beauty is on the inside. The outward beauty that people are always trying to perfect can quickly become an obsession. I want our sweet girl to understand that God made her exactly how he wanted her and he made her beautiful. Her beauty and worth comes from Him. As a mama who has dealt with an eating disorder, this one just really make me teary thinking about it. I never want Cheney to feel like she isn't pretty enough or thin enough. She is fearfully & wonderfully made and I want her to know that AND believe that from an early age.

So these are my biggest goals for 2015. Praying intentionally over my children. What are your goals?

celebrating G!

Well, Grayson's birthday came and went & we officially have a very proud 4 year old! This is the first time Grayson has really cared about his birthday. He proudly tells everyone that he is big now because he is 4!

Grayson's birthday week didn't quite go as planned. He played in his baseball game on Monday night & then several hours later both boys woke up with fevers and a stomach bug. It hit Grayson hard & he was sick until the early morning of his birthday. That totally messed up our plans to go to the zoo but we did have a fun, low-key day at home!

Grayson woke up feeling better so we celebrated with Ben that morning by eating donuts & opening a couple of presents. After a rough week of preschool germs, I was so happy to see G smiling on his birthday!

Later that night we celebrated with just our family. We had a pizza picnic on the floor, watched a movie, opened presents, & let Grayson blow the candles out on his chocolate brownies!

 The one thing Grayson told me he wanted this year was a superhero party. So superheroes it was! I love his birthday shirt!

This was Grayson's big present. He has been wanting his own golf clubs so he can play with his daddy. He was so excited & is already a natural. Surprise, surprise!

It was a fun day celebrating our big boy. I still can't believe he is 4!

 

Grayson's birthday party was this past Friday at Monkey Joe's.  We had his party there last year & he is obsessed! We tried to get him to pick a different place but he was set on Monkey Joe's. This boy loves to bounce!

These kids had so much fun bouncing the night away! I am so thankful that our boys have such sweet friends. We love this group of kids!



Grayson is FOUR!

Grayson, my firstborn baby, today you are 4 years old. When you were that squishy 9lb newborn it was hard to imagine that you would ever be a big 4 year old. Now, four years have gone by in the blink of an eye. You are growing up SO fast!

 

At 4 you love:

-your little brother (most of the time) & your new baby sister. You are such a great big brother & always help out when you can. I know you will always be protective of Griffin & Cheney and I love that about you!

-baseball. You really love all sports, but you really love baseball. You are such a natural born athlete. It's still amazing to me that you can hit a ball without even using a tee. Not only can you hit it, but you can hit it really hard! Right now you are the youngest in the tee ball/coach pitch league & you haven't had to use the tee yet. We are so proud of you! It's been so much fun watching you do something you enjoy.

-being outside! You are always wanting to play outside. You mow, do all sorts of fancy tricks on the trampoline, play in the sandbox, drive your Gator around like a crazy man, & race down our hill on your plasma car.

-going to preschool! You are so proud to be in the "big kid" preschool class this year. You think it is pretty awesome that they don't make you nap. Your favorite thing is going to Preschool Praise with all the kids at school!

-all things superheroes! You love them all & change your mind about which is your favorite every week. However, you did ask for a superhero party this year!

 

You have grown up so much over the past year. I can't wait to take you to your 4 year appointment to see exactly how tall you are now! You have become so independent this year...you definitely don't need your mama like you used to! You love trying to do all things by yourself & you love telling Griffin that you can do things because you are bigger:) You have come out of your shell a lot & aren't  nearly as timid in new situations. You've even starting standing up for yourself (and your brother!) when we are at places with bigger kids who aren't acting very nice. This makes me SO proud because that was something I struggled with so much as a kid. I love watching you get more & more confident in who you are as you get older! Grayson, you have the best heart of any kid I know & we love you so much. Thank you for making me a mama 4 years ago!

Back to School, Back to School...

Well, just like that, our summer has come to an end.  With the birth of baby sister, school really snuck up on us this year! Last week was a big week in our house. Not only did Grayson start 4 year old preschool at our church, but Griffin started in the 2 year old class!

 

Last Tuesday was the first day of school for Grayson & Griffin. Grayson was excited this year because he knows several kids in his class AND they are "so big" that they don't nap at school. I keep reminding him this is just a school thing. Let's cross our fingers that he agrees with that statement for another year...I love nap time! Griffin was not as thrilled about school but I was! He is in the same room with the same teachers that G started out with and I adore them. I know he will have a great 1st year!

 

Grayson is in Ms. Cherry & Ms. Judy's class this year. He had a great first week & is excited about being in his new class! It is hard to believe that next year he will be in Pre-K & then off to kindergarten. I know it will go by so fast!

How perfect is this picture? I think it sums up our middle child perfectly! He's a ham! Griffin will be in Ms. Barbara & Ms. Jennifer's class this year. We already love them & are so excited to see him grow throughout this year. I think it will be great for him to have time to be with kids his age!

 

Here's to a great 2014-2015 school year! 

The State of Affairs

Well, this is our first full week with just us & we sure did hit the ground running. We have something going on every day this week so I guess I will be figuring out our new routine pretty quickly!

 

Summer is just about over & with that brings our busy fall schedule.  Grayson started his new coach pitch/tee ball league the week after Cheney was born, preschool for the boys starts next Tuesday, & my MOPS group kicks off next week! It will be a full & fun fall, that is for sure!

 

Grayson is loving his new baseball team. We are playing closer to home & they get to do coach pitch. That's what he has been so excited for & he's done so good! I feel like poor Cheney just may grow up at the ball fields. Hope she doesn't mind!

It's so fun watching him play because he just loves it. Not to mention, he's good at it! I think tee ball & baseball have really helped his confidence.

 

We had Cheney's appointment with the cardiologist yesterday. I was a little anxious about how she would do. Thankfully I had time to feed her once we got there & she was able to calm down. They checked her pulse & the oxygen level in her blood and then it was time for the Echo.  She did great through the entire thing! We learned that Cheney has a VSD (ventricular septal defect) & a Patent Foramen Ovale. Basically, there are 2 holes in her heart. One of the holes (the VSD & what is causing the murmur) is in the anterior margin which just means it will probably take a longer amount of time to close. It also may not close at all on its own. The other hole is something we didn't know about until yesterday. It is something that is supposed to close shortly after birth & hers has not.  As of right now, these are things that are not too concerning. We are really hoping they get smaller before our next appointment in December.  So, basically, we are just in a monitoring phase right now & will determine what is next if these things don't start getting smaller on their own. Have you had enough medical talk?? Whew.

 

How sweet is that little patient, though?? I wish y'all could see how strong she is. Cheney is not only identical to baby Grayson but also reminds me of him. He was so strong from day 1! Cheney was so alert at the doctor and was holding her head up like an old pro!

 

I can't leave out our middle child! Griffin starts preschool next week & will be in the same classroom that his big brother started in! I can't believe it is already time for him to be going to school. I know he will love it but it will be strange not to have my tiny toddler sidekick every day!

 



A Room for Our Boys

I assumed as soon as we found out Griffin was a boy that he & Grayson would at some point be sharing a bedroom. I expected that they would be the best of friends (and they are) and that it would be fun for them while they were young.  So, naturally, when we found out we were expecting little Miss C, our plan was to move Grayson and Griffin in together so that we could have a nursery and a guest room.  I really wasn't all that worried about it. Grayson has always transitioned so easily & I thought Griff would love it. Well, let me just say, the transition was not nearly as easy as we had hoped. In fact, after nearly 2 months of transitioning Griffin is just now getting settled! But? They are actually sleeping in the same room AND Griffin has been sleeping through the night. Hallelujah!

 

Even though the transition has been hard & we were exhausted (see also: I needed an IV of coffee sometimes all the time), they love being in the same room. They really are best friends and have so much fun together. I love hearing them on the monitor as they wake up or as I get ready in the mornings. Those boys can make each other laugh SO hard! They won't be in the same room forever, but I'm glad they can share right now. It's still fun for them!

 

Now, onto the fun part. Pictures of the room! I kept the same "theme" that was in Grayson's room. He had a lot of navy blue, red, & trucks. I don't do character stuff (I'm sure I will eat my words on this eventually) but I can handle some trucks!

The beds are my favorite! We had thought about bunk beds with stairs but I am not ready to trust Griffin alone with those! He's a safety hazard--ha! Ben's dad made these awesome twin beds for the boys and they turned out just how I had envisioned them. I wanted a more rustic look & they look amazing! Griffin's bed is the one with about a gazillion stuffed animals. I made the same "G" canvas over his bed as Grayson had in his old room. I just switched out the colors...easy wall art!

 Griff's side & a better look at the bed. Aren't they perfect?!

This is Grayson's side of the bedroom.

 Both the bookshelf & this dresser are from a local furniture store in Franklin called Rooster Tails. I highly recommend them!

 

 

 

 I love this bedroom & the fact that they are now actually both sleeping in it! Let's hope that trend continues!!



Batter up!

We are now officially parents of a child who is old enough to be playing tee ball! Grayson started practicing with his team about 2 weeks ago & they had their first game on Saturday. He had the best time!

 He is playing for the purple Bats & takes his role pretty seriously, can you tell?! This boy is so proud of his uniform!

Right before his first game!

 

Not trying to be total mom bragger, but Grayson has been naturally athletic his entire life. We were impressed by his ability to throw a ball at 12 months--he has a cannon for an arm! He has been itching to play baseball for well over a year & we were so excited we finally found a league that would let a 3 year old play!

Their first game was a success & Grayson had so much fun. I loved watching these little kids play an organized sport; it was pretty comical! He had several great hits, ran the bases, & was even able to stop a few ground balls. I was one proud mama!

At his first practice, there were some tears shed about not wanting to participate. G can be so timid & shy. It broke my heart a little because I know that he is a great little ball player & I really wanted this to help give him a confidence boost. After lots of pep talks, the 2nd practice went really well. He was so excited about his first game & getting to use all of his new baseball gear. After the game he kept talking about how well he played because he is "so big."  I can't tell you how happy it made me to hear him saying those kinds of things about himself. He was so proud of himself!

I'm so glad that Grayson has found something that he loves...we can't wait to watch him play all summer!

We even got to see our neighbors & G's best buddies after his game! Eventually we will play against Gray & Eli's team. I can't stand how cute these little ball players are!