My 4th picture in my 4th folder!

I was recently tagged to post my 6th picture in my 6th folder. How fun! However, I went to do just that and realized that I only have 4 folders. Since my computer crashed 2 months ago and I had to kind of start over, I am short on folders! So, I have decided to change the rules of engagement! Whoever I tag, has to post their 4th picture in their 4th folder! :)

I found it very funny that this was the picture I was to post, given that I have been complaining about bad pictures of Olivia and having slim to none of Jack and Olivia together! This is from September and Jack was only 3 weeks old!

So, Julie, Carrie, Noel, Emily, Rebecca, Allison, Meredith, consider yourselves tagged!

The Pumpkin Farm

Last Saturday we made our annual trip up to the Pumpkin Farm in Celina. Olivia had really been looking forward to it! She loves to feed the animals, go on the hayride, have her hot dog picnic lunch, etc... We usually walk away with some really fun pictures. And although I have heard there are better farms in the area we have been to this one every year since Olivia was 3 months old, so we really enjoy going back each year!
This year was a little different! :) She wasn't quite as eager to feed the animals, for some reason she was timid at first. In years past she went through all 3 of our cups of feed in record time. But this year we actually had to throw some away because once she did warm up, she just wasn't very into it! So, a little discouraged, we headed out to take some pictures of her and Jack in the pumpkins. And this is where the day really went downhill. Lately Olivia will NOT cooperate at all when it comes to having her picture made! (Which should make tomorrow's school pictures interesting!) She would not look at the camera to save her life. And if she did, she wouldn't smile. Needless to say we didn't get any cute pictures of her..., or Jack, with the pumpkins! Oh well, maybe next year will be better!
The highlight of the day for her was most likely when she got to bounce in the bounce house for 3 minutes! We paid $1 for that, and they really did time her! Denny and I laughed, but thought that was a little ridiculous seeing as how we had already paid $21 to get all of us in! :)

(For some reason blogger is randomly placing photos when I upload them, so they are in no order, not that it really matters!)

Jack's 2 Month Well Visit

Well, it's official, my sweet little baby is not so "little"! :) I don't know why, but I love it when my kids weigh-in at each well visit appointment. It is so much fun to me. Maybe because I am an analytical, numbers type of person! But, whatever the reason, lil Jack did not disappoint! I thought he was looking pretty big, but it's nice to have it validated! Here are his stats:

Weight - 13 lbs. 10.5 oz. = 90th percentile

Height - 25.25" = over 97th percentile; basically off the charts!

Head - 55th percentile (can't remember the measurment)

He's a big baby and we are just so proud! Although, I really thought his head would measure bigger, that was a surprise. Here are Olivia's stats at 2 months, just to compare for fun:

Weight - 12 lbs. 2 oz = 80th percentile

Height - 23" = 75th percentile

Head = 76th percentile

Everything else looked great! And of course there were the 4 shots, which were not so much fun! Poor little guy! It was so cute, funny and sad all at the same time. Those needles are so long Denny thought it was going to come out the other side of his leg! Jack's reaction was so funny though. I wish I had it recorded! As soon as he felt the needle, he didn't scream. Rather his face turned bright red, his mouth opened big enough to eat a basketball, and he just took this huge breath in. It was a good 5-10 seconds before we heard a peep out of him! Then he really let loose! But nothing a big hug from mommy couldn't help! So, we all survived! And thank you to Stacy who took Liv at the last minute for us! Naturally she did not want to go see Dr. B no matter who's appointment it was. Guess the pain is just still too fresh from her 4 shots in July!

So we will go back in 2 months, barring no illnesses (Lord willing), and do it all over again!

Liv's New "Do"

Olivia was in desparate need of a haircut. We hadn't had it cut since May!!!! Yikes! So on Thursday we went up to Sweet and Sassy, one of her favorite places, to have it trimmed, or so I thought. Olivia had other plans! Many of her friends are sporting short haircuts, and being the sweet follower that Olivia is, she decided she wanted her hair cut short as well. I decided to compromise with Liv as I just hated to part with her hair! :) Olivia wanted her hair to her chin! I was definitely not ready to go there! I still wanted to do ponytails, pigtails, etc.... So, I asked the stylist to cut off 2 inches... no more! I thought that would be a good in-between length. But either her idea of 2 inches is more than mine or I need to look at a ruler! I know you all will probably look at it and think, what's the big deal. But to me, it seems chopped! Don't get me wrong it's a precious haircut, but it makes my baby look like a big girl!!!!! :( I am definitely mourning the loss of her hair! Thankfully with time it will grow back, and in the meantime we get to experiment with new, fun ways to do short hair!


Disclaimer: Please excuse the Mr. T necklace! Olivia is really into wearing necklaces these days and will not accept my opinion of whether or not they match her outfit or are cute! Rather than the sweet pearls (the ones that match the bracelet she's wearing!), she chose a fake gold necklace that will turn her neck hideous shades of green and blue! Ah, the joys of a 4 yr. old!

Jack's New Trick

The other night Denny was putting Jack to bed Jack started to play. He started blowing raspberries, or a beginning form of them! So Denny would do it back to him and Jack would just smile and squeal!

I was able to get a short video of him copying me blowing raspberries. It's a short one, he was doing them so much better before I busted out the camera... of course. But it is still so cute!!!!

O-Who?

What a great game! Today was so much fun! But, I will be the very first to admit (much to Denny's disdain), that I did not think Texas could pull it off. I thought for sure today's game would end with Denny pouting and Texas having their first loss of the season. But the more I watched the game the more confident I became that we might actually have a chance at winning this year! A Texas victory makes Saturday so much more enjoyable around our house, and especially when it's over OU. However there will be another game next week and it will not be easy. So we will enjoy this week's win and hope next week will be the same!

Some of our good friends from college, (who actually now live in Dallas, we just never get to see them), came over to watch the game with us today! We had a great time watching the game and spending the day with Drew and Andrea!


I have decided that Jack is our new good luck charm! He watched his first TX/OU game and we won! All the loud holloring and cheering really wore him out..... BUT, look at his right hand... that's right, he never lost his spirit! (I did not even realize he was doing hook 'em until I uploaded these pictures, there was no help from mom on this one... he's just so advanced!) :)

Jack is just busting with excitement at Texas' win! You can almost hear his squeal just looking at the picture!

After a hard day of rooting for his team, it was time to crash! Looks like Dad could use a nap too!
And we did not forget about our first Longhorn! When she woke up this morning Denny told her there was a big game today. She asked who the Longhorns were playing and when Denny told her Oklahoma, her response... "That's not good"! She usually refers to Oklahoma as the "bad guys!"
And just in case you were wondering, we did go out last night, but were definitely not the party animals we once were! We met everyone up at Chuy's, for our annual happy hour/dinner, hung out for a few hours, and then we came home. We were home before 11:00!!!! We are SO old! But we had a great time and are so thankful for our first "date" since Jack arrived! Again, thank you La-la for watching the kids! You are so sweet to come all this way just to help us out!

TX/OU Weekend!!!!

For all of those UT, or OU fans out there... Just a little something to wet your whistle!
This is a weekend Denny and I always look forward to! So many of our college friends come into town and it's so great to see everyone! Not only that, but tonight will be our first night out since Jack was born. Watch out Dallas, here I come! :) A HUGE thanks to La-la who will be here with the kiddos! She is wonderful with Jack, and Olivia just loves her! It's so nice to know the kids will be well taken care of, it makes my night that much more enjoyable!

We are looking forward to a fun-filled and busy, busy weekend! Pictures to come....

The Pumpkin Patch

Today was Pumpkin Patch day at Olivia's school! She was SO excited to go! They were told to wear orange or black, and lucky for us, we just happened to have our Halloween shirt ready to go! It was also pizza day and they had a bounce house! What a lucky little girl!

This is Olivia's "I'm scared" face! She was hamming it up for the camera this morning!

My Sweet Boy is 2 Months Old

Little Jack is not so little anymore. In fact he is getting to be a roly poly! And a long one as well. He has almost outgrown all of his 0-3 month clothing. Like his big sister, he is long, especially his torso. His onsies have become high-cut, like a women's one piece swimsuit, not so cute!

I can't believe that 2 days ago he turned 2 months old! I am a little tardy in posting, as usual! But I was hoping I would find some time to take a picture or two to post, but I just haven't! I have been working on getting this house back in order and CLEAN! It had really gotten out of hand. As everyone knows I am a neat freak, so on the surface everything has looked just fine! But the deep cleaning has definitely been lacking from my routine! Anyway, you all do not want to hear how dirty my house has been, so back to the reason for my post!

I can't say that a lot has changed since he was 6 weeks really. He is super smiley when he awake, which does not seem to be very often. Apparently he likes to sleep, at least when he is in his crib or pack and play. Which brings me to the most exciting news of the month. He is sleeping through the night! The last 3 nights (that's the magic number right?!) he has gone 11 hours between feedings! We have had to get up a few times to console him or give him the "fassy", but he has not had to eat! Wahoo! He does not sleep much however when we are out and about. Lately he just wants to take it all in, whether he's in his carrier at dinner, or strolling around a store... or in the car! He will sleep here and there, but overall, he would rather be in his bed! He'll go from content to upset quickly because he just won't let himself fall asleep, he's so nosey! :) I am quickly realizing that before long I will not be able to run errands when he is supposed to be sleeping. Unless he changes his ways, which he just might, you never know! On the fun side, he is laughing and squealing and cooing a lot! It is sooooo cute, it just melts this mommy's heart!

We don't go in for our 2 month well visit until the 22nd!!!!! I am so upset! I am just dying to know his stats... how much he weighs, how long he is and his percentiles. I just think it's fun to get that information! Oh well, it will be here before I know it!

Other than that we are just getting ready for TX/OU weekend!!!! GO HORNS! I'm sure I'll have some pictures to post after the weekend, so stay tuned!

A Visit with Nana

As many of you know, my grandmother, Nana, is suffering from either alzheimer's or dimentia. Over the past few years her memory has significantly deteriorated and within the last 2 years she has become very paranoid that people are coming into her house and moving stuff around or taking it. My aunts have taken her to numerous doctor appointments, where they have performed a number of memory tests and the like, and they have all agreed that she needs round the clock care. If any of you know anything about my grandmother, you know that she has been on her own for many years and is a very strong-willed and prideful woman! She has done everything for herself for years and is not very accepting of any kind of help. She is one tough cookie really, and very stubborn! Needless to say, she has not taken this news very well. In fact she flat out said she would not go. Things really escalated last week and on Wednesday she was moved into an assisted living facility. Thanks to many of your prayers the transition has been much smoother than any of us anticipated. She is on an anti-depressant, which is helping her accept things, but she just seems so out of it so to speak. We can't tell if she's just depressed or it's the Lorazapam keeping her sedated. She actually fell in her room her second night there and isn't sure how she did it. And the employees are having to come and get her for lunch and dinner as she is not wanting to eat in the dining room with the other tenants. However, the director said this is completely normal for some of their patients and to give her a couple of weeks before we get concerned. So really, all in all, we are thankful!

With all of this going on we thought it would be nice to have the family over to her new digs to welcome her! A house warming party! :)

It was Nana's first time to meet Jack. It was so sad though, she kept forgetting his name. But even with her swollen hand she was able to hold and comfort him as naturally as ever!

Jack getting some love from La-La
Olivia was quite content watching Dora Super Babies with Aunt Sandy
My cousin Bradley and his girlfriend stopped by too!

Despite the circumstances it was great having us all together. I know Nana appreciated it more than anyone! It is still hard to think that she will never be in her house again. And my aunt and I were talking today about how much older she suddenly looks. I know it is the course of life, and she has led a long one, but it is still sad to see someone you love so much, grow old and fade away. It is a good reminder about how fragile life is, and how we should truly embrace each and every day!

A Day at the Fair

Yesterday was a day Olivia had been looking forward to since we left the State Fair last year! Seriously, this girl loves the fair! She talked about it all year and constantly asked when we could go again (not understanding it's only here 3 weeks out of the year), and if I would be able to ride rides with her again because when we went to Sea World this summer I couldn't since I was preggers! The teacups are our special ride... lucky me! Anyway, off we headed, thinking it would be a nice cool day in the mid 80's. We were wrong! And let me mention that we also had Jack with us! Beware, this post will be long, but I just want you to get the full story! ;)

We got to the fair around 11:00 and walked right through the midway only to notice that none of the rides were going and none of the games were open. Strange considering the fair had actually opened at 10:00. Anywho, I was craving a Belgian waffle, so off we went to the complete other side of the fair grounds to the International Way or something like that.... On our way, we stopped for a photo op at Big Tex. We just had to get a pic of him in his new clothing! With as hot as it is he should seriously consider a tank top and some cutoffs!

So after I got my fill of Belgian waffles, we headed back to where we had originally started to see if the rides were running. Of course... they were not. We found out they do not open until noon, FYI. Olivia said she wanted lunch, so back we went to the food! After just stuffing my face with a huge Belgian waffle with powdered sugar, strawberries and whipped cream, I opted for a Fletchers corny dog and french fries! Very healthy... and at this point I am already regretting my decision to leave the Tums at home!!!! Olivia loved her corny dog as much as we did and ate the whole thing! While Olivia and I finished up our corny dog, Denny went off to get some french fries. I was turned around helping Olivia with her dog and drink, and when I turned back around to check on Jack, who was peacefully snoozing, I saw one of the State Fair's best bent over my sweet baby staring at him. I was a little taken aback considering I had not even heard her come up, much less breathing in Jack's face. She decided to stay for awhile and just stare, but eventually went off with her broom and dust pan and went back to work. It was so strange! But I guess that's par for the course at the fair! At least she did not awake him and we were able to eat in peace!
When we first walked up to eat I was looking down the aisle to make sure they had "Fletchers" corny dogs there (did I mention my main reason for going to the fair is to eat!?) and noticed these 3 stands all in a row. Some of you may not get the significance, so I'll explain.... Obviously "Jack's" Mexican Food makes sense, then there was "Ruth's" Tamale House (Ruth is my Mimi's name), and finally "Smokey John's BBQ" (my dad's name)! Our family was well represented! I thought it was so funny I just had to snap a pic! Maybe next year I can hope for a "Shelley's Sausage on a Stick" and we'll have 4 generations of the Gray family truly represented!
Finally we were off to the rides! Olivia could hardly contain her excitement! We do an annual picture in front of the Big Tex growth chart as I call it to see how big she is! She measured in at 43" this year!!!

Her first ride to my surprise was the mini Log Flume. I was worried she would be scared, but she wasn't! She rode most rides by herself, except for the Dragon roller coaster, (which I couldn't imagine her riding alone, I was a little afraid on that one!), the Tugboat, and the Teacups of course!

Our little pirate!
And race car driver
And finally pilot! Like I said, she really had a blast riding all the rides.
About 10 rides later we decided it was time to hike back to the other side of the fair grounds yet again to enjoy some AC! Little Jack had become quite sweaty while his big sister was whirling around on the rides and it was time for him to eat. On our way to the car show I got out our handy new Grab N Go Bottle Warmer to heat up his meal! I took it out, snapped the tab like it said.... and nothing! I snapped that darn tab a hundred times and it would not heat up! It had worked just fine the night before, but was not going to work for anything in our time of need. So, Denny, being the handy guy he is, takes over and still nothing. And now it seems as though he has broken the darn thing altogether! So I am stressing just imagining one of us sitting in a State Fair restroom holding his bottle under hot water for 20 minutes! If you know me at all, you know I am a pretty big germaphobe and was not liking our dilema! Thankfully, when Denny handed it back to me and I was trying to snap it back and forth it mysterioulsy started working! Praise the Lord! No one was happier than Jack though! :)

Finally we made it to the car show and could relax a little!

Denny has it engrained in Liv's head that her first car will be a Jeep. I think he is forgetting this will be her car and not his! So we always have to get a picture of Liv in the Jeep! I am just realizing we have a lot of picture traditions at the fair! Scary!

Shortly after this picture we all broke down! We had been there for four hours and Olivia was tired, I was tired (and cranky), Denny just wanted a beer, and poor Jack had been in the same diaper for 5 hours! Don't worry, it was just wet! So we decided to trek across the fair one last time and head to the car to go home! I have to say, I can't remember the last time I got so much exercise! Sad I know!!!! And when we got to the car it said it was 83 degrees outside. There is just no way it was only 83 degrees! It really felt more like 95 with 95% humidity!

I wish I could say I had a great time, I think it will be one of those memories that will get better the more time that passes! :) But, Olivia and Denny had a great time, and really, I just love the fair, heat and strange people included! Next year we'll just be sure to go the last week of the fair and just maybe it will be a little cooler! And we'll park at a better location... and now we know the rides don't open until noon!