Update on my little guy

Its been a while since I've updated on Grayson and how's been doing. He is growing up so fast. In the last few days he's started calling himself a man. He'll say "I'm a man!". Not sure where he's gotten that from but its been hilarious. He like's to state that he's a big boy quite regularly as well.

Here's a few of the phrases he likes to say:
"When I get older I can cook."
"When I get older I can drive."
"When I get older I can work."
"I'm going to work."

I need to measure Grayson soon. Its been a while. Most people think he's 4 years old because he's so tall. I have a feeling he's going to be tall as his Daddy(he's 6'2") or his uncle Chris(he's 6'4" or 6'5"). I'm 5'9". He'll probably be taller than me by the end or beginning of middle school. Should be interesting to see.

Grayson talks ALL the time! The only time he takes breaks is to sleep or eat. That boy loves to ask questions constantly. Usually the same thing over & over (it can drive a person batty). He also states things over & over. He did that today and I thought I might lose my mind. I do love that he's so inquisitive.

He is so fascinated with how things work. He's just like his Daddy. Even my MIL says that Grayson is the same way Nathan was as child. Nathan used to take things apart and rebuild them. Nathan had his first computer at an early age and he would work on it with his Papa. Now that's what Nathan does for a living. He builds computers from the ground up on the side. I have a feeling Grayson will do something similar. He likes to help his Papa build things in his workshop. Its fun watching Grayson figure things out (it can be scary too, lol).

For a little while now Grayson has been going through a defiant stage. There are days where it literally wears me down. Sometimes I wonder what have I done so wrong for him to act the way he does. Then I remember that all children at some point or another goes through that. However, it still doesn't change how I feel like its all my fault. He will say, "No mama" and then shake his finger at me. He loves to argue. There are time's where I can ignore him and go about my business. Then there are other time's where his behavior cannot be ignored. I try to pick and choose my battles. This week has been the hardest because I've been so tired. I haven't been sleeping well with the baby moving all hours of the night or heartburn. Lack of sleep means this mama has less patience. I have lost my temper this week and its makes me feel like such a terrible mom. Sometimes I just don't know what to do. Any advice ladies? Has your kid(s) been this way and what did you do? I know this can't be solved over night but I would love to know a better way of handling the situation.

Despite his defiance he is so loving and very caring. He will say out of know where, "I love you so much mommy" or "I love you so much daddy". Its the sweetest thing ever. He talks about his sister all the time. Although he's starting to refer to her as "Sissy". He talks about how he loves her so much. He's used to hearing everyone pray at church and us pray at home. So now he will pray for others too. Its SO sweet to listen to his prayers. He will close those little eyes and say his prayer. Since yesterday he will stop what he's doing and pray, "Dear Lord please touch Ciaran. Help him feel better. Thank you Lord. Amen." Those are his exact words. I couldn't be more proud of him. If you feel bad he will sit with you and love on you. He then will say a prayer for you.

Grayson talks so well. It blows my mind how much he can say. There are time's where he will go off on a tangent and I can't make heads or tales of what he saying. Most time's he will tell you straight up what he wants or how it is.

We're planning to put Grayson into t-ball next year. I've found a few churches but they are a little farther than I want to drive. Still searching for churches closer to us. I think sign up is usually in February. I think he will have a blast playing and will learn to work with other kids.

He's become very interested in my knitting. He loves to watch me knit and ask me questions about it. I plan to teach him how to knit in the next few years. I thought about teaching him how to finger knit first. Something I still have to learn. Its so funny how he assumes certain things are knitted now. He says, "When I get older I can knit".

Still can't believe my sweet boy is already 3. Time slow down.

It's a.........

GIRL!!!

Our little girl is SO stubborn but VERY active. We were there for over 30 minutes before we even knew what we were having. She wiggled all over the place and kept the technician on her toes. She kept her legs and feet tightly together for the longest time. No matter how many time's the technician pressed on my belly it didn't change a thing. Finally she asked me to go to the restroom and see if that would make a difference. I was beginning to think we wouldn't be able to share the good news today of what we are having. I gave our little girl a talking to and she apparently listened. When I got back it took a few minutes but the technician proudly proclaimed she was able to get a picture. I practically squealed when she told us. The lady was only able to get one shot of her parts(but enough to know for a fact we're having a girl) and back together her legs went. I told Christopher that and he said she's already a little lady. Her heart rate was 146 bpm. She looked great. We loved watching her with those little hands all over the place. I am SO sore now from all the pushing and prodding but it was so worth it!

Grayson seemed to be very happy he was having a sister. He was a little confused as to what was going on. I know he would have been just as happy with a little brother. Nathan was over the moon. I couldn't be more in love with him than I already am. After the u/s we called/texted everyone. I would have loved to do a reveal party but our families couldn't wait. Not only that but some are out of town. Either way we're happy to finally tell everyone the wonderful news. We celebrated by getting lunch at Firehouse Subs(which is SO good) and we went back to Nathan's work to tell his boss and co-workers.

Its been a great day! Its starting to hit me that I'm going to be a mom of two. I'm still in shock that we're having a little girl. lol The drano test was right!

Tonight for Supper

We had a delicious meal tonight thanks to the Pioneer Woman.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Panini

Photo credit: Pioneer Woman

This sandwich was absolutely delicious! My whole family enjoyed it. This sandwich is going to be put on my must have list. To save a little money I did use regular whole wheat loaf bread. We all loved it. I'll eventually try it on some french bread. When I went to the store I purchased chicken tenders instead of chicken breast. My reasoning was because it was cheaper and it saved time. I loved the ranch dressing on the sandwich. We added a thin layer on both sides of the bread but next time I plan to add a little more. We did without the mustard and I of course didn't miss it. We don't own a panini maker so I used our Hamilton Beach Grill. It worked out perfectly.

Thanks Pioneer Woman!

Thankful Thursday

1. My little boy can always make me laugh.

2. Feeling my sweet little one moving around in my belly.

3. My hubby who is my best friend and wonderful provider.

4. Knitting: It always helps me relax.

5. Hot tea to help me relax and make my throat feel better.

Five Question Friday

1. What ring tone do you have on your cell phone? I use the Evening Crow ringtone. It came with the phone.

2. What is your favorite memory from this summer? Playing with Grayson in the ocean at Garden City Beach. He couldn't have been happier!

3. Paper books or ebooks? Paper books all the way. There's just something about actually holding a book in your hands and flipping through the pages.

4. If you could have one home upgrade what would it be and why? I would love it if we could afford to add a room on to our house. Since we're having another baby the office will become the nursery. Nathan has to have an office and it would be so much easier if we had another room. Hopefully one day we can do it.

5. When was your first serious boyfriend/girlfriend? I've only had one serious relationship and that was with my husband. It started December 7, 2003. :)

Wordless Wednesday: "Mommy I working."

Five Question Friday

1. Did you make any fun purchases this week? I purchased some yummy truffles from Chocolate Fetish and I purchased a pretty big present for Nathan's upcoming birthday. I can't share what that is just in case he come's across this.

2. If you could go to any musical concert, what would it be? There's so many so I'll name a few Jeremy Camp, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, and Third Day.

3. What is your least fav/ most fav house chore? My least favorite is dusting(I sneeze & wheeze whenever I do) cleaning the toilet, and mopping. I liked washing Grayson's cloth diapers and putting dishes in the dishwasher.

4. Would you prefer new appliances or clothes? My appliances are still working so I'll say clothes. Now if I only had the money for said clothes.

5. Miracle Whip or Mayo? Mayo

First Ultrasound

We had a scare over the weekend but I'm happy to report we have a healthy baby. I had my first ultrasound today at 9weeks 3days. As soon as I saw the heartbeat I cried uncontrollably. The babies heartbeat ranged between 144-148 per minute. He/she danced all over the place. This baby is such a blessing.

Five Question Friday

1. Vow renewal ceremonies-yay or nay? They're not for everyone but I think they are a great idea. I'd love to renew my vows to my hubby after 25 years of marriage. :)

2. What sound/s annoy you the most? Loud talking, whining...especially from adults, and loud chewing/eating.

3. If you had to pick, would you have only all boys, or only all girls for kids? I couldn't pick either because I'd love to have both.

4. Do you believe in alternative medicine? I believe there's a place for both.

5. Would you take a family member's children and raise them if they needed it? Absolutely. They're family and that's the way its supposed to be.

My little guy

ERGObaby Giveaway

There's a wonderful giveaway going on over at Uniquely Normal Mom. Go check it out for your chance to when a Ergo baby carrier.

Big Boy

Nathan and I have been talking about getting Grayson a big boy bed for what seems like forever. We decided on a twin size bed since it will last longer than a toddler bed. Recently he tried out his toddler bed at his Nana and Papa's. The boy loved it!! So we knew we had to get him a bed soon.

Yesterday after lunch we stopped by a furniture store and bought a twin size mattress set. Before that I had stopped to buy a mattress cover in case of accidents. Thankfully Nathan's parents already had a twin size bed frame. It used to belong to Nathan's great-Grandma. As soon as we got home we got everything set up. We still have to take down the crib. Its currently pushed to the other side of his room (Nathan has to make room in the attic).

Grayson was SO excited!! He was ready to test it out. We bought a bed rail that is almost as long as the bed. It gives us peace of mind with him sleeping in such a big bed. We installed it after these pictures were taken. :)





I love his bedding even more now that's it out of the bag. I bought it on sale months ago from Kohls. Originally it wasn't the bedding I was going for but it was a steal of a deal. Good thing is the comforter is reversible and is striped like the bed skirt. In the picture above you can see the adorable sheets.

Even though he has dinosaur bedding I haven't planned on making that the theme of the room. I would like for his room to be more eclectic. Now I just have to figure out what I want in there. I have a few ideas for what I want to put on his walls.

Five Question Friday

1. Have you ever forgotten your child in a store or at school? No never!! I don't let Grayson out of my sight whenever we go out.

2. Where did you go on your very first date? (Like...first first, not first with your spouse or current significant other!) My first ever date was with my husband. :) We ate at a Chinese restaurant. We were both nervous and thought a buffet would be more laid back. Come to find out it wasn't a buffet and was a bit fancy. I wish I remembered the name because we'd love to go back and visit one day. All I remember is that it was in Chatanooga, TN.

3. What's your "silly" fear? (We're not talking water and heights.)Small bathrooms such as on buses and airplanes. I'm afraid of getting stuck or falling during a bump in the road or turbulence in the air.

4. Confrontation: do you cause it, deal with is as it comes, or run far far away? I run as far away as possible. I do not like confrontation and prefer to stay away.

5. Wood floors or carpet? I love darkish hardwoods. I prefer carpet in the bedrooms but hardwoods everywhere else.

Five Question Friday

1. What movie could you watch over and over again and not get tired of? Last Holiday...its hilarious and I love it.

2. What's your biggest pet peeve right now? Slow drivers. When I say slow I'm referring to people who go 10-20 miles below the speed limit. If your going to drive that slow you might as well stay home or pull to the side let people go around you.

3. If you had to describe your best friend in five words or less, what would you say?
-Loyal
-Compassionate
-Funny
-Creative
-Awesome

4. If you did not have to worry about money or go to school what would you do for a living? I already have the best job in the world and that's being a SAHM!!

5. What is your one "splurge" item, that you will always buy, no matter the cost? I may splurge from time to time but there is a limit on how much I can spend. Usually if I splurge its something that we need & can use. One of my favorite items to splurge on is yarn. I usually wait till its on sale & sometimes it turns into a gift for someone else.

Thankful Thursday

I'm so thankful for these two.



I love watching them together. Melts my heart.


If you haven't checked out my post Pay it Forward 2011 then go check it out!

Wordless Wednesday-Snow Fun!!

Pay it Forward 2011

[source]

I think this will be a lot of fun. I've already done it on facebook. So far I have three takers there. I figured what the heck what's a few more. Hopefully I'll get some more people interested here. :) As I was looking through my craft room I found two items I made a while back. They may be finding new home's soon. :)

In order to participate you need to have a blog of your own. I ask that once you've received your handmade item you blog about it.

New things

Tuesday December 7th
For the longest while Grayson wouldn't give anyone kisses. Then recently he started giving kisses to himself on his "boo boos". When I told him I had a boo boo he kissed my hand. I asked him if he would kiss my cheek and he did! Since then he will kiss our cheek and boo boos. I love that he's starting to do that without us asking us for a kiss. It makes my day when my boy gives his slobbery kisses.

Thursday December 16th
Jingle Bells came on the radio and Grayson sang along. He said, "Jingle bells, jingle bells..HEY!". He said it plain as day and it was amazing. I can't get over how much he his learning lately.

This is how I roll...

Gary Thanksgiving 11/21

This year Thanksgiving was held at Nathan's parents house. There were 42 people in total. Talk about a CRAZY house. Thankfully the weather was nice and majority of the kids played outside. What a relief! We had a great meal! My favorite was Darlene's dressing. Seriously the best ever! After we all ate, some of us retreated outside to where the kids were. I brought my knitting with me and worked on a little dog for Grayson. Nathan's younger cousin Necole watched as I knitted. She told her Mom that she would like to learn to knit. Her Mom told her she would have to find someone to teach her. I asked her if I brought needles and yarn to the Gary Christmas dinner would she like me to teach her. She was so excited and said yes. That was the highlight of the day. Grayson had a blast playing with the kids. It was funny watching him try to act big like them. My boy is growing up too fast.

Thanksgiving Day

The morning was pretty low key. I was able to enjoy the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. Usually I'm running around like crazy trying to finish prepping food. The only thing I had to make that morning was macaroni and cheese for Grandma's. I already made Spinach Dip and a Sugar-Free Coconut Creme Pie the night before for Grandma's. I made the Pumpkin Pie's and put together the Green Bean Casserole for Korey's. It felt good already being prepared. Grayson loved watching the parade. This is the first year that he's been interested in it. He got SO excited when he saw the Kermit the frog balloon even though he had no idea who it was. He runs to me and asks, "What's that?" and I told him it was "Kermit". So he stands at the tv saying "Kermit, Kermit." Things went down hill real fast when Kermit went away and some dancers were featured. He pointed at the tv saying, "Where's Kermit?". He had the saddest face (I have pictures). Eventually he started crying tears and all. He was begging for Kermit to come back. I pulled up a youtube video of Kermit and he was over it. Kids are so funny.

We had a great dinner at Grandma's. So much yummy food!!!

Then we headed home to pick up the food for Franklin and Korey's. As soon as we got there I had to hurry and pop the casserole in the oven. When everything was done we dug in. Everything was delicious! We had a great time catching up. Grayson had fun chasing after Lucy(the kitten Korey recently gave away). I was surprised to turn and find Grayson holding Lucy. Thankfully he wasn't holding her by the neck which is what I feared. He did really well. It was hilarious when he said, "Ride". I was like NO!! She moved before he could sit on her. All in all it was a great time spent with family.

Bonfire 11/27

We had our second bonfire. It was so much fun. Much more enjoyable this time since it was so cold. Last time it was surprisingly muggy. We ate too many roasted hot dogs, roasted marshmallows, and smores. I made a pot of coffee and sat out hot chocolate packets for anyone who wanted any. I chose to drink coffee with pumpkin pie spice creamer mmmmm. I was so happy that Franklin and Korey were able to come this time. While they were here I kept wondering if we will get to do something like that again next year. We have no idea where they will be stationed then. Okay moving on. So the bonfire was a big hit. I wish my parents were interested in coming but its not there thing. Oh well...we had fun and plan on a lot more bonfires in the future.

December 1st-3rd

Grayson and I went to NC to Melody and her family. Originally we were going to go the weekend so Nathan would be with us but I had other plans for Saturday. The first was the only other time I could go. That was the farthest I've ever driven by myself with Grayson. It was also our first trip without Nathan. Over all it wasn't a bad drive. The route I took takes me through Hiawassee, Georgia. Its so pretty through there.

We made it to NC right before 10am. We did great. It was great seeing Melody. We went and had breakfast at Waffle House. Then we stopped by a kids second hand shop and the yarn shop. Melody surprised me with my Christmas present there. My gift was to pick out myself some wool roving or whatever I wanted. I love their wool roving more than the yarn there. I went to town picking all kinds of colors. I still need to take pictures of all I got. Grayson thought he was in heaven with all the "balls" of roving. I plan to make a felted pumpkin with some of the stuff I got. I also plan on copying a felted wall hanging/placemat they had there. It was a tree with fall colored leaves and a bird in the tree with a cream background. I plan to do it but in a much smaller scale. I may do an owl instead of a little bird. I want to make one to put in a shadow box. We'll when that happens.

That evening we went to visit our Mamaw. It was great seeing her. I haven't seen her since she's been diagnosed with breast cancer. Its still hard to believe she has it. I haven't mentioned it here because I guess I'm still in shock that she has it. She's already started radiation. I forget how many weeks she has to take it and then she has to start a chemo pill after that. I feel like I've been processing the whole breast cancer news. I haven't ever mentioned that my other Mawmaw has it too but she's on the chemo pill now and is doing well as far as I know. So now I have breast cancer on both sides. That scares me. I try not too worry but I also think about how my Mom has a chance of having it too. Every so often I bring it up to make sure she's doing her regular checks. Okay enough about the cancer talk. I was glad I got to see my Mamaw.

It seemed like the rest of the trip flew. Late at night RL got to listen to me and Melody go on about knitting. Doesn't feel like we had enough time to knit together but we squeezed in a few hours.

Friday evening we said our goodbyes. Of course that's never easy. If everything works out we should be seeing them in February.

December 4th

Me, Breanne, Korey, and Kelly went to a Women's Self-Defense class. It was so much fun, very informative, and we learned how to kick butt! In all honesty if you have never taken a self defense class I highly suggest you should. Its very empowering and gives you the skills to protect yourself in a bad situation. I plan to go back sometime next year for a refresher(its free). I'm working on getting my mom and MIL to go with me. So far its not an easy task but I plan to get them there someway some how. We took a group photo before leaving.


Best group photo ever. haha It was fun punching the crap out of the head (forgot his name, Carl?)

Afterwards the four of us went out to lunch to Applebee's. Had a wonderful time with the girls.

December 6th

My mil Darlene turned the big 5-0. She was not thrilled at all. The plan was to wait and celebrate on Wednesday when Breanne came home. I couldn't imagine not celebrating her birthday at all. So I made spaghetti and took it to her house. We had a salad with it. I helped Grayson write out a birthday message to his Nana. His message made her night. We had a great time.

December 8th

We went out to eat for Darlene's birthday to Red Bowl Asian Bistro. Its SO good. I ordered the Spicy Thai Mango Chicken with brown rice and requested they not make it spicy. haha After we ate we went back to my in-laws house. Grandma brought over the cake that I dropped off at her house earlier. Darlene was so surprised. I made a German Chocolate pound cake from scratch. Talk about an AMAZING cake. She was thrilled. I seriously need to make another one. For her birthday we got her Ansel Adams book that has 400 of his photos. He was an amazing photographer. He's Darlene's favorite photographer of all time's. She pretty much flipped when she got it. Her 50th birthday was a success. Best mother-in-law ever!

The 6th was also the 7th Anniversary of Nathan coming to visit me for the first time(at that point we hadn't seen each other since highschool). Then as you all know the 7th is the anniversary of when we first started dating.

This Saturday Korey and I are going to the library to knit. I love when its knitting time at the library. I seriously look forward to every month. Not to sound pitiful Korey, but I'm going to miss you not being there next month and so forth. Okay moving on. Afterwards we have plans to get lunch and then to check out Natural Baby in Greenville. They are having Cloth Diapering 101. Should be fun. I can't wait to check out the place. I just found out about it recently. I plan to check out the cloth diapers they sell there and the detergent for them. It will be great having the option of buying in person or buying online. Should be fun!

Then Sunday we're going to Ally's 4th birthday party. I'm trying to hurry and finish knitting Ally's doll. That will be what I work on at the library. I also have to sew her a dress because I couldn't find a knit pattern for it in time. I pray it looks good!

If you read all of this you deserve a cookie. Now go into your pantry to see if you can find one.

12 Days of Clothmas Giveaway

Go check out the awesome giveaway's over at Cloth Diaper Addiction!