And Then There Were Four...

Max's Milestones

2010-01-02T22:19:00.000-08:00

Cutie Patutie!

Getting ready to chow down on some Christmas dinner

1st bath with sissy

Playing with sissy

Eating some puffs

Playing some basketball

Holding his own bottle, chillin.

Max will be 11 months old in a couple of days and although he's been a bit later at doing things, all of a sudden, he can do LOTS of things!
This time last week, Max still wasn't really crawling. Now, he gets around so fast that we had to put up the ugly baby gates. And boy does he find the craziest things to put in his mouth. Talk about needing to vacuum DAILY!
He has also been 'talking' a lot the last few days. Daddy was holding him and they were looking at a picture on the wall of Callie Grace (sissy) and he said 'sis sis'. When I give him a little ducky toy, he says 'qua qua'. Such a little smarty pants.
He pretty much can't stand baby food anymore- but he can eat just about any kind of 'real' food you give him as long as it's in really small bites. He's been a pretty good eater for us.
Max also has been enjoying his nightly baths with his sissy. They are so cute, and it's pretty great that he doesn't need the blow up baby tub anymore.

Now it's time for him to start pulling up. He's getting there, but not by himself yet. It's funny b/c his sister was doing all this stuff months and months before he has, but he is just the most laid back little baby I've ever met. And we LOVE this about him.

Home for the Holidays

2010-01-01T20:31:00.000-08:00

Santa came!!

Our most precious gifts

Max's first snow- and the lovely manger scene

PawPaw and the cousins

The cousins and Nana

Grandaddy and Callie

Max likes opening gifts!

Santa Baby

Callie's First Dance Recital

It has been so much fun these past 2 weeks getting to be at home with Callie Grace and Max. I love Christmas time! There are so many different reasons why this is my favorite time of year. It's so great to be off of work for a while so that I can actually spend some quality time with my children. It's also a time for us to see all of our family. My sister and nieces came down and spent a few days here. It's fun getting the cousins together. Callie Grace loves them SO MUCH! Of course we spent time with our parents, too, but this Christmas morning was especially special- now that our family is finally complete, it was really nice for the 4 of us to wake up on Christmas morning in our own house to see what Santa brought. This is really only our 2nd time to not have any other family here. It's different, but it's fun to start new traditions. Then we all drove to Grammie's house to spend the rest of the day. And no one could believe that we had an actual WHITE CHRISTMAS!! Not sure that's ever happened in my lifetime.
But the real reason that this is my favorite time of year is because it is when baby Jesus was born. Thank you God, for the gift of your Son.
We are teaching CG all about the real meaning of Christmas and she's so cute- she just LOVES baby Jesus and it's precious. When we were trying to pick out a blow up Christmas thing for the yard this year, we were asking Callie if she wanted the snowman or the Santa Claus (because they were the cheapest!!). She kept insisting that we get the manger scene with baby Jesus- the only problem was that it was $100 and we were NOT planning on spending that much for 'yard art'... We kept trying to push for the other ones, and she started crying in the store b/c she only wanted Jesus. Next thing we knew, that silly manger scene was in the shopping cart and we were out a hundred bucks! Oh the things you do for your kids. So every night this month she asks "Can I go see if baby Jesus blew up yet?" haha

2009-11-19T18:12:00.001-08:00

Well I'm almost embarrassed to say that it has been well over 6 months since my last post. Boy have we been BUSY! Summer has come and gone and we had so much fun. Callie Grace mastered potty training at the beginning of June, got her first haircut, & started taking ballet and tap; Max now has 3 teeth & is finally sleeping through the night; Brad has lost about 20 pounds & got a rockin new truck, and I just got tickets to see Bon Jovi in April (this will be my 8th time to see them)!
We had a really fun Halloween this year as Callie was Tinkerbell and Max was Peter Pan- too darn cute for words! It's hard to believe that next week is Thanksgiving and that baby Max is 9 1/2 months old- talk about time flying by.
My desire to still want to be able to stay at home hasn't changed. Don't get me wrong, it's a lot of hard work being in charge of 2 little lives all day long, but I'll never get this time back. It also doesn't help that I am not happy with my job (AT ALL). It used to be a dream job and now it's totally changed and for the worse. Not sure I've ever been this unhappy with my career. But my eyes are always open for new opportunities that may be out there. Who knows, maybe God will move us back to good ole' Lubbock!! In the mean time, we are just trying to keep our heads above water and savor the few moments a day we have with our precious babes. If I know anything, I know that if we stay focused on God, then He will lead us to where we are supposed to be.

Wet 'N Wild!

2009-05-24T21:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend was Memorial Day weekend and we had pretty good weather (on Saturday). We decided to let Callie swim and play in her new sprinkler that she got for her birthday. She had a blast and luckily didn't get a sunburn (like her parents). Baby Max was with us the whole time, but he didn't get in the pool because he was still getting over being sick. He chilled out in his swing on the deck under a big umbrella. We grilled hotdogs and had a really fun day as a family!

Max's Baby Dedication

2009-05-24T20:28:00.000-07:00

We love you little buddy!

Nancy and PawPaw at lunch
Nana & Callie Grace at Joe's
Getting everyone ready for church

Last Sunday, our sweet baby boy was dedicated at Northwood Church. It was a very special day for Brad and I as it reminded us when Callie Grace had her dedication when she was about 9 months old. We were happy to have my mom, dad, and Nancy come for this big day!
Baby dedications are really for the parents. It's where we make a commitment to God that we will raise our children according to His plan. We picked a bible verse for Max and it says “Now therefore, listen to me, my children, for blessed are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and do not disdain it.” Proverbs 8:32-33.
Unfortunately, early that morning (3:00 am), Max started throwing up in his bed. I hadn't experienced a little baby vomiting before (because Callie never did that) so we really didn't know what to do for him. All I kept thinking about was that he had his dedication in 7 hours! Luckily, we cleaned him all up and he went back to sleep- he woke up in a pretty good mood and ready to go to church! At about 7:00 am that morning, Grammie called and said that she'd been up all night throwing up! Coincidence??? Not really- she had been watching Max the whole week while I was at work. Sounds like they got each other sick:( We missed you, Grammie, but know you would've been there if you could!
As with Callie's dedication, we went to lunch at Joe's Coffee Shop (my dad's FAVORITE place) and the poor baby threw up once again. Oh well- he's better now (after a week of being sick off and on) and we are thankful for that.

My, How Time Flies!

2009-04-26T22:08:00.000-07:00

So Max will be turning 11 weeks old tomorrow and we have just been having so much fun together. This will be my last week at home with him before I go back to work and I am VERY sad about that. I'm telling you people, I would be a great stay-at-home mommy!! But that's just not in the cards for us at this time. We are SO fortunate to have Nana and Grammie come out on alternating weeks to watch Max for the month of May and the beginning of June while I'm at work. I'm just not sure how we would've done it without all of their help!
I've posted some pictures from the week he was born up through Easter. He seems to change so much and he still just melts my heart. I love you Max-a-roni!

Our baby turns 3!

2009-04-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

So Saturday was Callie Grace's 3rd birthday. I remember when she turned one and it was really hard for me. The thought of my little baby girl growing up was too much. Her second birthday was better for me, but still made me a bit sad that the time was flying by too fast. Now that she is 3, it hasn't even phased me!! What's that all about? Maybe it has to do with me wanting her to hurry up and get out of this "terrible two's" phase (which she's been in since she was about 14 months old!!). Or maybe it's because now that she's older, we are able to have even more fun together than we've ever had. She's just turned out to be this tiny little person who can do almost everything for herself (with the exception of going on the potty regularly-aarrrgghh!) She can walk, talk, laugh at our jokes, tell us stories (that make sense), eat with big people utensils, change her own clothes, drink out of a regular cup, eat food without it having to be cut into tiny little bites, pick out her own clothes with matching bow or headband (pretty impressive, eh?), fix her own juice box without any help, and so on... what's sad about that? I'll tell you- NOTHING at all!

So happy birthday my sweet baby cakes! We love you very much:)

These pictures are from her week long celebration- cupcakes at her school, party at Little Gym, & a good old-fashioned carnival!

Bunnies & Jesus & Eggs, Oh My!

2009-04-15T22:58:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was Good Friday and Easter. Although Callie is at the perfect age to hunt eggs and visit the Easter bunny, we wanted her to know why we really celebrate this day. But try explaining it to a 3 year old! As the weekend was approaching, we had read a children's book about Jesus dying on the cross and rising again- of course she didn't really understand, but it was better than nothing, right? I told her that this weekend we would be going to church and then Nana's house. She said, "Is the Easter bunny gonna be there?" I said, "Yes, but Easter isn't just about bunnies and eggs. It's about Jesus." She said, "Oh, is he gonna be there, too?" Out of the mouths of babes...

Hello....Kitty!

2009-04-06T21:07:00.000-07:00

So I swore I'd never do it again, but apparently I lied. I have always hand-made Callie Grace's birthday invitations (and they have been pretty darn cute, might I add!), but this year I told myself that I wasn't going to put myself through all of that since I have a new baby who is taking up all my time. But as I looked for cute invites at Target and places like that, I just couldn't find what I was looking for. I knew that we were going to have Hello Kitty decorations, and I knew that it would be SOOOOO easy to make a kitty head- easy shmeasy. Although they are nothing compared to last years hand-made ponies with full manes and tails, they are still cuter than something store-bought.
See, I told you I'd make a good 'stay-at-home' mom. I'm just sayin'....

Busy Day

2009-04-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a very busy day for the Grays! We had lunch with PawPaw and Nancy at Luby's. Ya gotta love cafeteria food! We had a wonderful visit and stayed for over an hour:)
Then we did a little shopping before nap time. Of course that ran long and we decided to take the risk of Callie NOT getting her nap. Luckily for us, she fell asleep in the car (which is rare for her) and caught about 20 minutes of zzzzz's. That doesn't compare to her usual 2.5-3 hour naps she usually takes, but it was better than nothing. It was such a beautiful day outside and once we got home, she was ready to play outside. She had lots of fun with bubbles and riding her big girl bike.
The next thing we knew it was almost 7:00 and time for dinner and bedtime. Max was his usual perfect little self and I think he had a pretty good day, too. He actually slept a lot better that night and we were all happy about that!

Tales from the Potty

2009-04-03T21:01:00.000-07:00

So Callie Grace will be 3 this month and it's a bit embarrassing to say that she is still NOT potty trained. We are talking about the girl who could speak full sentences at a year and a half old and lots of other things 'early'. We started last summer right after she turned 2. I thought that she would surely get through this milestone in a month or so. WRONG!! If you know her at all, then you know that she's got quite the strong will and will do things when she is good and ready! So after a few weeks in the summer when I noticed that she wasn't 'ready', I backed off. I didn't stress out about it. When she would want to sit on the potty we'd let her. If she refused, no big deal.

Then she started preschool. They assured me that they would work with her and practically handle it all themselves- lucky me! But that didn't last. I had accepted the fact that I would, indeed, have 2 children in diapers for a while- because the last thing I wanted to do was struggle with potty training while being 8-9 months pregnant.

Then, it happened. This past weekend she wanted to try and go on the potty all throughout the day ( I think it had to do with bribing her with Starbursts and Dove chocolate). And all this week at school, she went potty at least 3 times a day! We are so proud of her. I think we are finally getting somewhere. It would be so awesome if she could actually be in big girl panties by the time she turns 3! (But I'm a realist- so I'm not holding my breath...)

As you can see in this picture, she is VERY proud to be wearing her plastic panties!

Hold me, mommy!

2009-04-03T20:46:00.000-07:00

So little Max is at the age to where he should be sleeping a bit longer and in a pretty good routine. Needless to say, he ISN'T! This baby wants to be held all day long. And unfortunately, he gets his way. Otherwise he screams his pretty little head off. The only time I'm NOT holding him is right after he eats because he likes to 'play' for about 15 minutes. He enjoys his bouncy seat and play mat. But getting that boy back to sleep by laying him in his bassinet is another story.
Thank goodness my mom (aka Nana) came over today to 'hold' Max so that I could actually get some stuff done. It was so nice getting to clean up around the house (and trust me, I usually don't say that)...
I'm hoping for a good night tonight! (One can always dream, right?!)

Bringing home baby!

2009-04-02T23:03:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that our sweet baby Max is already 7 weeks old. It seems like just yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital. He is such a sweetheart. Everyone told me that I would have this different feeling with a boy- some kind of special bond between mothers and sons. I was skeptical about that because if you know me at all, you know that Callie Grace is my WORLD! How could anyone else have a bond like we have? Well, they were all right! Max is seriously the most precious little thing ever. And somehow, it IS different. I can't explain it, but I am so happy that I have 2 little angels that get to call me 'mama' and I wouldn't trade them for anything. We are truly blessed to have Max and Callie Grace in our lives~ thank you Jesus!