Making Christmas Cookies

This weekend I made cookies for Logan's cookie party at school on Tuesday, and I let Logan decorate some cookies (for only him to eat!) as well.  Decorating cookies shirtless is the only way to go when you are 3 and kind of messy.  Grayson was very interested in what Logan was doing, and I know he will be joining in on the fun next year!

Logan trying out one of his creations while Grayson looks as sweet as can be.

He said he was painting the cookies

Icing is yummy by itself, too!

Grayson- 6 months old!

6 Months Old- 12/12/13

5 months old 11/12/13

Our sweet Grayson is 6 months old! He is the happiest baby, and we just love being around him!  The past two months have been busy and lots of fun.  Grayson is becoming more interactive and alert all the time, and he and Logan have actually started to play together.  Logan pushes Grayson around in his high chair all over the house while giving him toys and tickling his feet, and Grayson just laughs.  It is so sweet! I know they will continue to be able to play together more in the months and years to come. 

Grayson started sucking his thumb shortly after turning 4 months old when we stopped swaddling him at night.  At first we tried to stop him from sucking his thumb, but there is no stopping that boy!  However, now we love it because he can soothe himself without a pacifier or help from us most of the time.  It is pretty sweet to watch him!  

Speaking of sleep, Grayson goes to bed about 7:00-7:30 p.m. each night and usually wakes up once to eat around 2-3 a.m.  He then goes immediately back to sleep until about 6 a.m.  Grayson is a big boy wearing size 12-18 month clothes and size 4 diapers.  We took him for his check-up, and his height is 29.5 inches and weight is 23 lbs., 8 oz.  Both of these measurements are off of the growth charts for his age (greater than 97th percentile), which was no surprise!  Grayson also just hit another mile stone- his first tooth!  It popped through the day after he turned 6 months old.  He had been drooling for months, and we were glad to see that first one finally appear!

Grayson is becoming very active and grabs everything in sight.  He enjoys sitting in his high chair playing with toys, and he also loves his jumparoo.  He can easily roll over from his tummy to his back, but he still has not completely mastered rolling from back to tummy regularly.  I think we still have a little while before he is mobile.  He loves to jump in my lap when I am holding him, and his legs are getting strong!

Grayson says lots of things like "da da da," "ga, ga, ga" and "ag-goo."  He can also squeal very loudly, and his laugh may be the sweetest sound I have ever heard.  He is eating and enjoying all of the stage 1 fruits and veggies as well as oatmeal and rice cereal.  He nurses about every 3 hours when I am with him, but he can wait 4 hours when he has bottles at Mimi's or school.

Grayson is such a happy, easy-going baby, and he has the best smile! We love him very much.

Christmas Card, Santa & Other Fun

Our 2013 Christmas card. I actually got both boys to smile for a picture!

We visited with Santa at Collierville mall on Friday night, and both of my boys were perfect!  Logan got right in Santa's lap and told him he wanted superhero costumes and helmets.  Grayson was not phased by Santa and his beard, and both boys gave us a good smile for the picture.  

The weekend after Thanksgiving, we went to the "Big Red Barn" at the Agricenter for some Christmas fun with the cousins.  Logan, Kaylie, and Graham had a great time playing, and Grayson was as sweet as could be.  Here are several pictures, but I could not get a picture of Graham.  He is never still!  

Thanksgiving

We hosted the Barcroft Thanksgiving at our house this year, and we had a great time visiting with everyone!  Here are a few pictures I managed to take:

My big boy ready to host our family. He was so excited!

Sweet baby at his 1st Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving Hosts

Siblings: Aunt Kate, Daddy, Aunt Jane & Uncle Tim.  We were just missing Aunt Betsy.

Aunt Kate lives in Oklahoma and has not been able to join us in several years.  Aunt Jane lives in Knoxville, and Uncle Tim lives in McKenzie near my Dad.  My Daddy is in the midst of a very tough battle with advanced melanoma, and he was feeling fairly well during Thanksgiving.  I was so glad to see him visiting with his siblings, nephews, nieces, and other family.  

We had about 30 family members in attendance and a great time was had by all.  I just wish I would have taken more pictures! 

Happy Halloween!

The cutest Spider-Man and Spider are excited about Halloween this year!  Logan is 3 years old and Grayson is 4 1/2 months old!

Such sweet boys!

Chunky Spider

Logan was using his super powers in this one.

Here are some throwback Halloween pictures of sweet Logan. I can't believe how what a big boy he is becoming!

Superman- 2012- age 2

Pumpkin 2011- age 15 months

Spider 2010- age 3 1/2 months

Logan lately...

Our sweet Logan is as busy as ever!  He is still our loving, sweet little boy, and he is growing up so fast.

Aunt Holly's picture from St. George Island in early October. I think he is so beautiful.

The last 4 1/2 months have brought huge changes to Logan's life with the addition of his baby brother to our family.  Logan has taken it all in stride, and he is such a sweet big brother to Grayson.  Every morning, he wants to come into Grayson's room with me to get him out of bed.  Grayson is greeted with lots of Logan's hugs and kisses and baby talk!

Logan started the Pre-K 3 year old class at school in August (3 days a week), and he is continuing to thrive in that learning environment.  He loves his teachers Mrs. Katie and Ms. Erica, and he is in a class of 12 students (some full-time and some part-time).  Only three of those are boys, and he says his best friend in class is Brennan.  He learned all of his letters last year, but this year he is learning one letter a week and a lot of other things to go with the letter.  They are currently on the letter "H" which is fitting since Halloween falls this week.  He comes home everyday with at least 3-4 activities in his folder for us to see.  He is always proud of his work!

It is amazing how much Logan knows!  He is truly a sponge, and he remembers everything.  He also continues to notice everything, and you cannot get anything past him.  Lately he has noticed my new eye shadow, which he told me he did not like.  At lunch at Chick-Fil-A with Aunt Holly recently he kept staring at a lady at the table behind us.  I repeatedly asked him to sit down and eat, but he kept staring at her.  Finally he pointed at her and said, "Mommy, she doesn't have any eyebrows!"  I was quite embarrassed, and Holly and I had to try to contain our laughter that he would say that out loud.  It was true- the lady did not have any eyebrows.  I was shocked he noticed something so detailed!

I have a code on my iPhone primarily to keep Logan out of it whenever I do not want him playing with it.  This week he took my phone, typed in the code and unlocked it.  I have never told him the code before, but I guess he has watched me and learned it.  He did it several other times that day, and I changed the code that night!  I think he is so smart!

Logan's imagination continues to grow as well.  He is now completely into superheros, and we play superheros and bad guys all the time.  He makes "shooter things" out of blocks, and he uses his "superpowers" to do whatever he wants.  He also likes to play that he is the "Daddy" and I am the little girl he is taking to school.  I have to sit in the pretend back seat while he buckles me in my pretend car seat, and then we drive to school and talk.  He hugs me bye, and then comes to pick me up a few minutes later.  When he gets to "school", he says "How did she do today?" and takes my hand to walk to the car.  He does not leave out any detail!

Logan constantly wants to know how everything works or why something is the way it is.  An apartment complex is being built near U of M, and we watch the progress on our car rides to school in the morning.  One day Logan said he wanted to go up in that building, but how would he get up to the top?  I told him they would probably build an elevator.  He said, how will they build an elevator?  I told him I did not know.  His response- "Mommy, TELL ME!"  So, I tried to explain how they would build one with my limited knowledge.  I suppose I will one day wish for the time when Logan thought I had all of the answers!

One big thing Logan did a couple of weeks ago is finally throw away his pacifiers (his paci).  Truth be told, I was also addicted to him having it!  At night when he would be going 100 mph, he would immediately calm down upon getting his paci.  It was like magic- he would sit on the bed and start rubbing his hair and not make a sound!  But, we knew he was too old to have it, and it was time to give it up.  A month or so ago he mentioned that he had seen a flying Buzz Lightyear at school and wanted one at home.  I asked him if he would be willing to trade his paci for it, and he said yes.  So, I ordered one online, and we waited until the time was right for him to throw his paci away.  He really has not even asked for it since throwing it away, but it did take him a few days to adjust to falling asleep without it.  Those were some late nights!  But now he has adjusted well.  I am proud of him!

We are so proud of our sweet boy, and we love watching him discover the world.  He is loud, pretty much always runs (I don't think he knows how to walk), and he plays rough.  But, he is also sweet and kind, and he is always curious and aware of the world around him.  We would not want him any other way!  We love you, sweet Logan!

Bath time for Brothers

I decided to try to give the boys a bath together for the first time today.  Since Grayson cannot yet sit up, I put the Bumbo seat in the bathtub.  I had heard that people sometimes use those for baths, but it did not work for us.  It kept floating, and Grayson weighs at least 22 pounds!  At least I got a few pictures, even if Logan would not cooperate long enough to take one with Grayson.  I think I will wait a couple of months until Grayson can sit up alone before trying it again!

Such a sweet baby

One day we will find his neck!

Roly-Poly Baby

My big boy

He would stay in the bathtub all day!