My boy is all boy!

Graham, Gretchen, and Emma went for a wagon ride Saturday morning while Tucker and Wesley napped. Graham wanted to show the girls how the common area in our neighborhood had filled with water after a big storm earlier in the week. He insisted that he go down and get a closer look of the water. He was the only one with boots on and the only one that really wanted to go, so we watched from the sidewalk as he walked down the hill. He, of course, took his stick so he could go fishing. He loves to explore and get dirty and wet. Most of the time, I just take a deep breath, let him explore, and know I can just do more laundry. What's a little dirt when your boy is having fun?

Graham's checking out the water and trying to catch a fish with his stick as we look on from the sidewalk.
After the wagon ride, we went in our back yard and Graham decided he needed to explore some more. Emma and Gretchen anxiously looked on as he got pretty wet and dirty. They were a little nervous that he would slip and fall, but he was having so much fun.
My boy is all boy and Gretchen and Emma are all girls.

First Sleepover

We had 5 kids last night to feed, bathe, and put to bed and boy was it fun!! We had Gretchen, Emma, and Tucker over for the night, and in a few weeks, Graham and Wesley will go spend the night at the Fulks' house. This is great fun for all the kids and it gives the parents a night out and a Saturday to sleep in. I loved the idea, and everything went really well. We played lots of games!
We watched a few movies and snuggled with blankets.

Everyone got a bath and slept well.
We had waffles for breakfast on Saturday and played more games. I think all of the kids can't wait for the next sleepover.

Wesley is six months old!

Our little buddy

The Dynamic Duo!

Big squeeze from the big brother!

kisses from Mommy

It's hard to believe Wesley is already six months old. He's such a sweetie and each day we enjoy him more. He loves to giggle and make squeaky noises. He's not that interested in rolling or learning to scoot, but he loves watching Graham. They are starting to interact more, and they make each other laugh a smile a lot. Wesley's a great eater and is quite a bit bigger than Graham was at this age. We are so happy he's a part of our family and we look forward to watching him grow and learn over the next six months.

What we've been up to this week...

catching a few snowflakes on our tongues

riding a new pony that Perpy gave us

reading books in Wesley's crib

enjoying being together again

A Few More Pictures

All of us before on Christmas Eve

One of Graham's favorite gifts this year was a game from Nana called Hungry Hippos. It makes a lot of noise and you get to bang on it. No wonder he likes it so much.
enjoying some yummy Mexican food, a night out with friends, and free babysitting

More Highlights

Graham and Tim drove back to TN with Perpy earlier in the week while Wesley and I stayed a little longer in Tyler. I enjoyed some quiet time with family and giving Wesley some one-on-one attention. I think Wesley also enjoyed all of the extra attention he got from Nana. Unfortunately, he got a very bad cold at the beginning of the trip and it just keeps hanging on. He's fine during the day but has a terrible time sleeping at night. We'll all be glad when his cold goes away.

Christmas Highlights

First, we drove to Memphis and spent the night with Perpy. She traveled with us the next day to Dallas to see Tim's sister, her husband, and their children, Hayley and Davis. We had an interesting time trying to get a picture of all of the grandchildren with Perpy. Here's the best we could do. :) Doesn't Perpy look beautiful! After a nice visit with Aunt Melanie and her family, we drove to Tyler to visit my family.

Nana helped Graham make the birthday cake for Jesus.

Wesley enjoyed some time with Nana and Grandpa Sam.

My granddad, GG Pa, came by for a visit and met Wesley for the first time.

I was thrilled to spend some time with my good friends, Christine, Anne and Natalie. The last time I saw these girls, they were taking me to the hospital to deliver Wesley. It was so fun to spend time with them and meet Anne's boyfriend. Soon, Christine will be having her third boy and Natalie will be having her first child-a boy. Lots of little boys in our group!

Merry Christmas!

Here's another picture of us outside of the church where Graham goes to Mother's Day Out. Christmas is so fun with children!!

Graham's Christmas Program

Nana came for a visit this week. We were so excited that she could attend Graham's school Christmas program. It was very fun to see Graham on stage for the first time. He's been practicing Jingle Bells at home for a few weeks now, and the big day finally came. Once on stage, he just kind of stood there with a starstruck look on his face. I guess he was a little surprised by all the people in the audience. Regardless of if he sang any of the song, I was so proud of my little boy! Nana and Graham coloring before going to school.

Unfortunatley, my camera focused more on the heads in front of me. If you look closely, you can see Graham in the middle with the white shirt and red sweater.

Santa made an appearance to the school's Christmas party. Graham wasn't afraid to sit on his lap, but he didn't have anything to say when Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas.

My Christmas Cuties!

Am I stylish, or what??!!

Christmas Crafts

Graham helped me make some salt dough ornaments to hang on our tree and give as gifts. A friend made them with her son and passed along the recipe to me. It's very simple: 1/2 cup salt, 1 cup flour, and 1/2 cup water. Mix it together, roll out the dough, cut into shapes, and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 2 hours at 250 degrees. Graham is helping me paint the ornaments in these pictures. What fun!

Random Pics

This is Graham with his cousin, Davis, two years ago at Thanksgiving. I was looking at it to see how Wesley and Graham resemble each other. I see some similarities but they have their own look and personalities, too. Wesley doesn't seem as interested in moving. He seems to be more content to lay back and watch. Wesley has a little bit more meat on his bones right now, too.

Graham took the picture of me and Wesley. Although it's not very good of us, I was impressed he actually got our faces in the picture.

This picture cracks me up. Graham's expression seems to say, "Mom, hurry up and take the picture."

A Visit from Grandpa and M.A.

My dad and his wife, Maryann, came for a visit last week. They had not met Wesley so it was exciting to introduce Wesley to his grandpa. Graham enjoyed their visit. When I took this picture, my dad was sitting on the couch with his arm out, and Graham hopped up there and put his arm the same way. It was so funny to see him try to be like his grandpa.