Crocodile Tears

Grayer + Photos = …well, you’ll just have a see below…

In the last seven days there have been some pretty important photos that we have tried to take either as a family or of Grayer solo that he has all but dug his feet into the sand and refused.

It all started several weeks ago when I booked a photography session with Dallas photographer, Jenny Leigh. I just couldn’t wait to finally get some family pictures taken with the three of us, since we haven’t had any professional pictures taken since Grayer’s newborn shoot when he was a wee 10 days old. I was giddy with excitement (well except for the “WHAT ON EARTH ARE WE ALL GOING TO WEAR!?!” drama) and knew exactly where I was going to put up the photos in our home. Well… Grayer had other ideas. On Sunday at dusk we loaded up in the car and drove to the a nature reserve in west Plano and began taking pictures…for about 3 minutes… and then came the water works. Grayer wanted absolutely nothing to do with getting his picture taken, and couldn’t be consoled by anyone other than his momma... literally… he wouldn’t let go of my neck. After a grueling (yes, I was sweating!!) 40 minutes of this, we finally called it a night and headed home. I am PRAYING that she got even one good family picture of us, but we haven’t gotten any proofs back yet…so we will see… I’m hoping that it’s a good sign that she hasn’t called us to reschedule another outing yet!

So it continues…

On Friday afternoon, we met up with our playgroup at the Arboretum for a picnic on the lawn and some pictures of our little ones in the pumpkin patch. Grayer had a great time playing with his friends and running around in the grass, and looking at the pretty flowers and pumpkins…but as soon as the cameras came out, he was a goner! To his credit, I think some of the frustration here could have been from the two on either side of him pulling at his shoes, but who’s to say? :)

Aren’t they all so cute though? He really loves his playgroup friends!

On Saturday, we attended a friend’s Halloween party and had a great time as well. Grayer was the *CUTEST* little frog that I’ve ever seen, and even left the head piece of this outfit on the whole time! He trotted around their house playing with all the new toys and ate goldfish and rice crispy treats for snacks, which of course he loved! All was well except for the 5 minutes of group picture taking that obviously was needed to record all of the adorable outfits, but my little guy, not so thrilled!

See: precious little froggy below :)

This week reminded me of our first Bluebonnet experience, ha! (April 2011- 6 ½ months)

Gray baby, even with all the whaling, I still think you’re the best toddler (tear!) in the whole wide world. Love you sweet boy!

A Walker on the Loose!

Yes, Grayer is officially walking!! He took his very first steps on Monday, September 26th (4 days after his 1st birthday) and we were overjoyed! He started walking more than crawling on Thursday, Oct 11th and pretty much hasn’t stopped since! He is so proud of himself and usually claps and walks at the same time. I think he picked this up since we were constantly saying “Yay Grayer!!!!” any time that he would take some steps J He is such a cutie and we are amazed at just how quickly our sweet baby is growing up! It has been such a joy to see him grow and start exploring the world on his own and we love sweet little Frankenstein walk :) I know soon he will be running, and that makes me so excited and sad at the same time. When I look back at pictures and videos of him as a baby, I can’t believe that he was so small just a few short months ago, but am amazed at how much he has grown and learned in his one year of life.

Grayer here is what you are up to at almost 13 Months:

You are doing a lot of babbling these days! You have FINALLY started saying “ma-ma” and it just melts my heart!!! I can’t get enough of it, and could listen to you talk all day and all night. We have lots of conversations, but I am not exactly sure what you are trying to convey most of the time, but it’s still so fun to listen to you babble :) You are starting to point and grunt at things that you want, which has been a nice development since I was having to try 3 or 4 different items before finding the one that you were actually wanting.

You have become a little bit of a picky eater, but usually still eat pretty well. You’ve moved from mostly cut up fruits and veggies to some bigger solids such as sandwich bites, french fries, ravioli, and rice and beans. I’ve found that you will pretty much eat anything as long as daddy or I are eating it too. If we need you to “relax” we can always count on snacks with you, because you are so content to eat anything we give you. Your favorites are goldfish, fruit puffs, and cheerios, but occasionally I will give you some animal crackers too, which you adore J You can go through an entire cupful of snacks on a car or stroller ride, but it hasn’t added to any weight gain yet, as you are still in the 20th percentile :) For now, you are a long and lean little boy.

We are in the middle of weaning from the bottle and are having a little bit of difficult time. You are OK going to bed with milk from a sippy cup, but have started waking up in the middle of the night and won’t settle without a bottle. Daddy and I have started doing some research and are trying some new techniques to help with this, but have only been somewhat successful. Everyone is a little tired in our household right now from these midnight waking, but we all know it’s just a phase and are hoping that is passes quickly. Wish us luck!

You are really starting to enjoy reading books together again, which I love! When you were really little before you could sit up and move around you would lay on your mat for a long time and let me read book after book after book to you, and just stare in awe…but once you could wiggle around, that no longer happened! Now that you can maneuver the books pages yourself you are more willing to sit and let me read to you. I am hoping that this will continue and that we will have many lazy afternoons and evenings reading books together, as it is such a joy for me and warms my heart.

Since you were itty bitty, you have LOVED watching Baby Einstein videos. Even before you could sit up, I would prop you up in your Bumbo seat on the coffee table and you would sit for a good 15 minutes watching the videos, just cooing and enjoying the music and sounds. NOW, you squeal and bounce up and down as soon as I get out the video case and don’t stop your bouncing and excitement until you see the little Baby Einstein caterpillar on the screen. Then you become absolutely entranced and will sit in your highchair for the entire 30 minute show, which has saved me many days as it allows me to get a few things done while you are completely entertained! I am looking forward to you getting a little bit older and wanting to watch some more advanced Disney movies that I grew up on like Lion King, Bambi and Pinocchio.

Now that the weather is starting to cool down, you get to wear my favorite thing… footy pajamas!! You look absolutely adorable tootling around in them, and it makes me so excited for the fall weather. We had an extremely hot summer this year, and it is so nice to be able to sleep with the windows open, enjoy a warm cup of coffee in the morning, and snuggle up with you in the evenings. I just know that you are going to love the fall and winter holidays this year as much as your mama! I am so looking forward to you being able to enjoy some of the yummy Thanksgiving foods this year, and for you to be able to “help” open some of your Christmas presents on Christmas morning! We are beyond blessed to have such a precious baby to share our lives with, and I wouldn’t trade a single moment of it! We love you so dearly little munchkin!

Loving the watertable that Mimi & Poppa got you for your 1st birthday!

After bathtime, wrapped in your monogrammed towel from Mrs. Murray!

Eating some lunch while watching the Texas Tech game! Go Tech!

Outside of Gracie's in Weston after dinner with Mimi, Nana, Papaw, Aunt Chrissa, Uncle Noah and Cousin Elle!