Weekend fun!

First of all, I just want to thank Meemaw (Damaris) and Nanny (Damaris's mom Christine) who drove all the way to Athens on Thursday morning to clean our house and to see Gray and me. We were so thankful and greatly appreciated the help. It's so nice to walk into a clean home and know that all I have to do is spend time with my family and not worry about cleaning the bathrooms or sweeping the floor. Thanks again Meemaw and Nanny!

We had such a fun and enjoyable weekend. It started off on Friday with Mike getting to Athens in time to pick up Gray from daycare. Mike hadn't see Gray since last Monday morning and it was a nice treat for both of them. By the way...Gray moves up to the next class in daycare on November 2nd. Now that he is crawling and sitting up by himself, it is time...and time is just flying by. Mike, Gray, and I stayed home Friday night and just hung out together. We were anticipating seeing several of our friends who had planned to come visit us. Due to some issues, the only ones that got to come to our house on Saturday was Steven and his son Emerson. Emerson is only two weeks younger than Gray and it was great to see them both.

Saturday morning came and Gray pulled up for the first time on the little play table that you see in the picture above. We were so proud of him. He also had another first...he fell on that same table and busted his lip. Yes, there was blood and he was pitiful. He has never really had a "boo boo". We know that there will probably be many more, but I felt so bad for him. Gray sucked it up like a big boy though and it never bothered him again.

I had to work some on Saturday, but when I got home, I got to see Mr. Emerson...what a cutie! He is precious and it was so much fun to see them playing together. We visited the Terrapin Brewery on Saturday night and then went out for dinner.

Sunday, after everyone slept in, we headed to Sandy Creek park for some disc golf. Emerson and Graylon enjoyed being strolled around and Mike and Steven competed for 19 holes of disc golf. Steven won. I was the official score keeper. It was such a beautiful day. The weather was perfect. My camera battery died while we were there so I didn't get many pictures at the park.

Graylon also got another tooth today. One of his top middle teeth is peeking through. He has three teeth now! Also, now that Gray is always on the move, it is getting difficult trying to change his diaper. There is some proof below. Gray may not like this but I thought it was too cute not to share. Please no one tell Gray about the picture below. When you see it, you will know what I mean. :) All in all, it was a great weekend. Check out some pictures below.


This is after Graylon had pulled up on his play table. Way to go Gray!


Gray and Emerson playing together. They are such sweet babies.


Gray's is trying to get Emerson to crawl and Emerson is trying to get Gray to just relax...it is the weekend.


The two boys both in the back seat of our Honda Accord. They were so ready to go out on the town Saturday night.


It was a little chilly out on Saturday so Gray got to wear his new gray jacket.


Emerson in his gray jacket too.


Me and my sweet baby boy...check out the busted lip.


If you think Emerson looks like his daddy, you should see his mommy. He is such a good mix of them both.


Gray is teaching Mike how to keep your dukes up.


All the boys posing in front of the Terrapin at the brewery.


Someone could not sit still long enough to get a new diaper on before he was on his way to play.


Gray and Emerson were getting ready for their trip to the park.


Not really sure what they were looking at...probably a fresh bottle of milk.


Steven is getting some love from both baby boys.


Mike couldn't be left out.


Gray and Emerson were sooo good in their strollers for the disc golf game. They took it all in.


My baby Gray in his new hat that Granna and Pop gave us last Christmas before Gray was even here.

Happy 7 Month Birthday Gray!

Dear Gray,

It has been seven amazing months since your daddy and I welcomed your sweet little self into this world. It has been such a learning and growing experience for not just you but for your mommy and daddy too. This month has been filled with a lot of Gray and mommy time which I absolutely love. You have been sick some this month, but you have been quite the little trooper. Every single day, I feel like you are doing something new. You have learned to sit up by yourself, you have learned to crawl, you love to splash in the bathtub, you eat like a hungry hungry hippo, and you love to love on your mommy. You eat solid food twice a day and love your high chair. You are so close to pulling up on everything. You will hold your own bottle if I put both of your hands on it. You still just need a little help from your mommy. Since you are on the move now, you love to crawl around in your crib. You get up on your knees and push the buttons on the mobile and also on the ocean aquarium toy. I think it distracts you sometimes from going to sleep. You love to have your daddy tickle your face and you love to have your hair brushed after a bath. I love the way you look at me. You study me and how my mouth moves when I talk or sing to you. I never want to take a day with you for granted because I don't want to miss anything. I am your biggest fan (your daddy is too) and I always want you to know that I love you so very much. I am proud of you and my heart overflows with "Grayness". "You are my sunshine". I let you know by singing it to you just about every day. It's your new favorite song. I only know the first verse but you could listen to it for an hour straight if I would sing it. I can't wait to see what's next. I love you!

Love,
Mommy

Catch up!

I know that you all know that Mike, Gray, and I have been pretty busy over the last few weeks and the blog hasn't really reflected all that has been going on in our lives. Here is a quick recap...three weeks ago, Uncle Brandon, Aunt Heather, and cousin Jocey came to Athens to visit for the week before the LSU game. I got really sick and stayed in the bed most of the week and weekend. Aunt Heather and Uncle Brandon jumped right in and took care of everything. Graylon loves them so much. Grandma Sharon visited that weekend and got some Gray love. Cousin Jocey Lynn loved on her cousin nonstop and I when I say nonstop, I mean NONSTOP.

Then Baby William arrived! We headed to Canton the very next weekend to see the LaBarbera family and to stay with Granna and Pop. We also got some time with the Lane's. It all made for a great weekend.

Gray has had a cold this past week and we have had to use the blue aspirator a lot so that he can breathe. I feel really bad for him, but you would never know just how sick he was because he has still been his happy self.

The Lady Dogs preseason party was last Tuesday and it was the best one that we have had so far. Everyone got to meet Gray or see him again and the players and coaches were so funny. Even though there isn't a picture below, Ms. Ann helped me take care of Gray during the party. We had a lot of fun.

When I picked Gray up from daycare on Wednesday, one of his teachers, Ms. Robin, said that he had been crawling all day. I was in total shock because he had only really tried to crawl (see last post with the video). When I got home (Daddy made it home on Wednesday so he was there too), I put Gray down in the living room floor and sure enough, he could crawl. He is everywhere now and I love it! By the way, Gray sits on his own now too.

He is also eating a lot better. In addition to all of his bottles throughout the day, each morning, he eats oatmeal and a fruit for breakfast at daycare. At night about 7 p.m., he eats oatmeal and a vegetable. I know, you are thinking, oatmeal and a vegetable. Well, Gray's doctor told us to offer him oatmeal for a while because back when he was sick after he had started eating rice cereal, we thought he might have an allergy to it. So we will offer rice cereal again soon, but right now, he is really liking the oatmeal. Our goal is to eventually get to three meals a day, but he has really just started eating the two pretty well. We are so proud of him!

Like Mike said in the last post, Gray got his pictures made at Olan Mills on Wednesday and the pictures are adorable. I can't wait to get them back and share them with everyone.

This morning, we went to Watkinsville for the fall festival. It was wet and cold but we got out in it anyways. Gray was in his car seat in the stroller the entire time bundled up. He was too cute. We ate at breakfast at a place we had never been to before...the Big Easy Cafe. Gray had oatmeal and pears and Mommy and Daddy had omelets. It was nice to just go out as a family together. The rest of the day was filled with Georgia football and more football. Way to go Dawgs! Gray is now asleep and I am already looking forward to spending time as a family tomorrow.

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks...enjoy!


Jocey and Aunt Heather giving Gray a bath.


Shirtless Gray starting his "Gooooo Dawgs" cheer.


Uncle Brandon was just explaining how to get your opponent to "tap out" during an MMA fight.


Gray loves bubble baths!


Jocey Lynn loves her cousin Gray.


We just told Jocey that she gets to hold Gray for 5 whole minutes.


Gray sporting his new Halloween attire.


Gray trying to take a nap with Jocey attached to his hip.


Can you tell that they are buddies? They are watching TV and Gray is pointing out that Tom can never catch Jerry.


Grandma Sharon, Gray, and Jojo wishing Michaela was here too.


You go Gray!


Graylon was showing off his three point stance.


Gray finally got to meet the very talented Jermaine King at the preseason party.


Lauren and Mike Holcomb thinking about having baby number 3 after getting a little time with Gray.


Once again, Gray demonstrates proper football technique...check out that stiff arm on Chase White.


We caught Gray playing under his jumperoo.


He couldn't decide whether to play with Elmo or pull up after crawling over to mommy.

Gray Can Crawl!

I wonder how many blog followers we lost during this drought between posts? Our schedules haven't really allowed us to blog lately. There are gobs and gobs of pictures to put up, but for the time being, I'm just gonna put up some cute ones with a video. Heather will chronologically put the rest up later.

The video below is a very special one. It is the first footage caught of Mr. Graylon crawling. This video was shot a few days ago while I was still in Dalton. He is much faster now. Hopefully I'll capture a little more video soon. I'm gonna have to be quick with the camera cause the little guy can scoot now.




He's also battling a little cold too, so keep him in your prayers. He's still as smiley and happy-go-lucky as he always is. Mommy and I just cringe though, every time he coughs.

This past Wednesday, Gray got his pictures made at Olan Mills. He posed with overalls, and a football uniform, and in a diaper. We picked several good ones. We can't wait to show them to all of you. We'll get them in 2 weeks.

Enjoy the rest of the pictures below. They're all long overdue. We apologize for the delay. We're all doing the best we can. Thanks for your patience. I hope all followers of this blog are still loyal and true. We'll pick up the pace as soon as we can.



Headed to see the Dawgs play at Averie and William's house


You can tell by the smile that UGA/UT game hadn't kicked off yet.


Pop feeding Gray some sweet potatoes.


Gray and Henry were finishing their secret hand shake with a chest bump.


Yep. He can hold his own bottle...most of the time.

Graylon's Got a New Cousin!

The LaBarbera family welcomed William Anthony LaBarbera yesterday, Graylon's first boy cousin. He weighed in a whopping 8 lbs. 6 oz. and was 21 inches long. Uncle Rick, Aunt Kelly, and Cousin Averie now have a little boy/brother in their family. We are so happy for them because we know how special little boys are. We can't wait to get to spend some more time with William and his big sister Averie hopefully this upcoming weekend. Congratulations Rick and Kelly! We love you and now we love that little man of yours too. He is beautiful! Check out some pictures before William arrived and some after he made his grand entrance into this world.


Graylon and Averie hanging out in the waiting area. Averie was on her second cup of coffee.


Henry and Graylon having a dance contest in the waiting room...shake it like a salt shaker.


Mama Kelly did a great job! This is when we first laid eyes on William. We were in awe!


William is definitely a LaBarbera...check out his hair!


William is a precious gift from God.


It's hard to see Granna for the cell phone but she was beaming with pride.


Pop couldn't take his eyes off of his new grandson.


Uncle Mike got his hands on Baby William and didn't want to let go.


"What's up ladies?"


What a beautiful family!