Merry Christmas!

Just some recent pictures from my phone I thought I'd share

Waiting at a doctor's office

 Lunch date with mommy

 

We did a 5k benefiting the Urban League of greater Dallas

 Afterwards we did some face painting

 And then went to eat donuts. :/

 Loving the balloons

 He loves to brush his teeth. Not so much having  his teeth brushed.

 Play date with a good friend, Audrey. Candy cane craft!

 He carried this around for awhile pointing to the cow on the label and mooing.

 Play date with Julia

 Watching Dora I think

 Really loves wearing stickers lately

 Leaf blower fun

 Buds

 Being so silly in the bathtub

 Last night we made our annual trip to Santa's Village to see Santa. I have such vivid memories of doing this the past three years. Last night the weather was much warmer than it's every been in the past, which made waiting in line seem much easier and quicker.

Here's our annual family pic in front of the gingerbread house

 My sweet boy. He loved running around and man is he ever fast!

 These kids both love their daddy so much!

 Saylor kept asking Gray if he was gonna cry when it was his turn to see Santa. He would look at her and say "no!" in a silly voice and they both would crack up. It became their little game which made us all laugh. Sure enough, he didn't cry at all when it was their turn. (He didn't smile either, but you can't have it all, right)?

Finally time...here they are!

 Saylor looks so big to me. So crazy that she is turning FOUR in four weeks!

 Gray got distracted looking at the reindeer. 

He was actually quite a bit more interested in the reindeer than he was Santa.

 Here is Say telling Santa what she wants. (Her request pretty much changes daily).

 It was a fun night!

 And just for fun, here was last year:

And 2010

 2009

 2009

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope your family had a fun day celebrating together! We have so much to be thankful for! Here are a couple pics from our day.

18 Months

Dear Gray,

Sweet boy, I can't believe you have already reached the 18 month mark! I always get nostalgic around these age markers. I always feel like time goes to fast and you and your sister are growing too quick. But the last few months have been worse than usual. I have been almost literally aching for more time with you and for more time before you turn into a "big boy." (I realize that sounds dramatic, but it's true). Maybe it's because I started a new job so I have a bit less time with you. Or maybe it's just because life with small kids is busy and fast, and there isn't much down time. I try my hardest to enjoy every moment and to soak you up every day, but I am sad at how quickly you are growing up.

You are seriously the sweetest.boy.that.ever.was. You are mostly so content to play and entertain yourself. You are very entertained by your big sister, too. :) You have trouble saying her name but you have started calling her "sissy." You love to laugh, and tickle, and play. You love to give hugs and blow kisses. I love watching you run! It is the cutest little wide-stanced-arms-swinging run there ever was. You love to cuddle and snuggle. Especially if you are feeling sensitive or sad, you love for me to hold you and put your head down on my shoulder and your arms around my neck. I love how soft your skin is and I love your smell. I love your wispy blonde hair and your wide little feet. I love coming to get you from your crib in the mornings and after nap. The first thing you do is ask for a book. You are often walking around with your lovey in one hand and a ratty paperback book in the other. You love Dora, Nemo, Woody, Buzz, and Elmo. When I took you to Barnes and Nobel (where it was silent), you excitedly and  loudly shouted their names over and over and over when you saw them on the shelf. When you see a cow (even on the milk carton in our fridge) you point and shoot "moo!" over and over until we acknowledge you. You love songs and try to sing along to Old MacDonald or Bingo or Twinkle Twinkle. You love fruit and milk and lately pretzels. You will not eat peanut butter. Ever. You don't seem to like chocolate either. I love watching you dance. You swing your arms side to side and stomp your foot and it makes your daddy and me laugh so hard. We especially love watching you dance to the "ugawug" song from Peter Pan...it's hilarious! I love how much you love to facetime your grandparents or your aunt and uncle...you get an enormous grin and just have to position yourself in front of the camera. You have learned the words "no" and "mine" and use them often, especially with Saylor. You HATE to have your diaper changed or your clothes changed and it is pretty much wrestling an alligator to get you to oblige. You love marching up the stairs after dinner and you love taking a bath. You have become very interested in airplanes and love to point them out outside.You never fight going down to sleep, but you like to be read to at bedtime and you like to pick the books. You still love your lovey very much. You are saying lots of new words and work very hard to get my attention when you want it. You can name many animals and make their sounds. But I still think overall you are just a quiet-natured guy. You don't cry very often when I leave you at the nursery or school or the gym. You love to push the buttons on the elevator.You have come to love trains and you love to say "choo choo" and "all aboard" any time you see one, and now you even say "all aboard" every time we load up in the car! You love to play a new game where you point to each person in the room and say their name (as best you can) as fast as you can, on repeat. You are a good sleeper, unless you have teeth coming in, which seems to cycle through every few weeks. You are sometimes shy with new people and other times you wave to everyone when we are out and about.

I love you, buddy, very, very much. Even though I don't have the same time with you that I did with your sister, and even though I have done a terrible job taking pictures and videos of you like I did of her, I love you more than I could ever begin to put into words. Having you come into my life has broadened my definition of love in a way I never knew before. Thank you for bringing so much joy into our lives every day!