2010 in review.

How can it already be New Years Eve?! 2010 came and went...super fast. This was by far the most exciting year for Ben & I. Here is a recap of what happened over the past year...

On January 14th I took a pregnancy test...and it pretty much screamed at me that I was indeed PREGNANT! I screamed from the bathroom upstairs and could not believe my eyes. 7 tests later, I was still pregnant. You read that right....7 tests. Told ya, I could not believe my eyes! My best friend, Whitney, got married in February! It was a beautiful wedding & I just love Matt. I could not have picked a more perfect guy for my best friend!

In May we had the horrible Nashville flood.

Molly Cate was also born in May!! The Aunt VM's were thriled! :)

I turned 25 with friends, mexican food, and froyo. Oink.

Mom, June, and Robyn came and played in Nashville for a few days in June...we had a great time!

We took a girl mini-vacay to Hotlanta in July! We shopped til we dropped, laughed a lot, and consumed way too many calories. Perfect!

Ben's friend Matt got hitched in July! It was such a fun wedding and I loved being able to see people from Ole Miss!

My ankles got lost in August.

I swallowed a bowling ball. A 9lb 1oz bowling ball to be exact!

I gave birth to the most perfect & beautiful baby boy. Literally, a dream come true. I've wanted this baby since I was 4 years old! Ha!

We spent Thanksgiving in Atlanta with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins! My how things have changed in the past 2 years!

...and last but not least, we celebrated Christmas with this cute little guy.

Seriously...I could not have had a more perfect year. My life has been completely turned upside down & I am loving every second. I can't wait to see what 2011 will bring!

a Christmas recap of pics

We had a great Christmas of firsts in the May household...our first WHITE Christmas and our first Christmas as a family of 3!

my sweet boy gave me a pretty good gift...he slept through the night on Christmas!

Grayson was fascinated by the paper & gifts..just wait until next year!

We spent Christmas Eve & Christmas Day with Ben's family...we had fun opening gifts, ate way too much food, and danced on the Wii!

our first family Christmas:)

My parents came up the day after for Christmas round 2!

when did my baby get so big?! He loves to stand all the time and is REALLY working hard on sitting up by himself!

I made all the grandparents a book on Shutterfly. Grayson loved looking at his pictures--such a ham!

twins in Beatles shirts--ha!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!!

SANTA! I know him!!!

That is all. :)

Christmas.

Yes, I have a Christmas tree. or 3.
Yes, I absolutely drive my husband crazy by listening to Christmas music in the car, on the computer, and from our tv.
Yes, I could watch ELF, The Family Stone, and A Christmas Story over and over again.
Yes, there will be Santa in our house as well as Elf on a Shelf.
Yes, I buy presents for the people in my family...including the 3 dogs.
Yes, I think decorating for the holidays is so fun & so is driving around looking at beautiful lights.
But no, this is not why I celebrate Christmas. Maybe Christmas has become a commercialized holiday & lots of people have only become concerned with gifts.

However, this is why I celebrate Christmas ~ Luke 2:9-11
⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

I celebrate Christmas because it is about the birth of my Savior. My Savior who died on the cross so that I could live. Now that, my bloggy friends, is the reason I celebrate Christmas.

Our Christmas Card

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Jennifer, you have exceptional taste! :)

fa ra ra ra ra....

Merry Christmas from Tennessee! We've already had snow (which is just plain crazy) so I guess we almost had a white Christmas! I really need to take a picture of our house at night all lit up...but it is always freezing so I have been lazy. I'll work on that.

I added a 3rd tree this year in Grayson's room. It's just a small one that used to be in my classroom. So far it has blue and silver ornaments & I would like to find some lime green ones to add. Oh, and a sock monkey ornament of course!
Grayson even has a cute little tree skirt that I got at Kohl's for $4.99!

Just like llamas, I also have a love for chihuahuas. These are chi ornaments. Excessive? Please don't tell me that I am playing favorites with Jack...they simply don't make everything-under-the-sky-mutt ornaments!

Nana's Santa came to live with me...and he is always watching!

Entryway...needs something else. Any ideas?

Our red & silver tree. This is G's favorite. He loves the angel.

Newest ornament!

Our REAL tree! I love nothing more than picking out a real tree. They smell divine.

6 stockings this year! Guess we can't have any more kids because the stockings simply would not fit. Don't you love the new dog stockings? I ordered them last year after Christmas from Ballard's. I am obsessed!

There will be more next year...I have lots of ideas! I'm hoping to get things on sale after Christmas. Oh, and I'm still waiting on another tree...perhaps next Christmas!

3 months

Grayson is 3 months old today!

Grayson hasn't gone to the doctor this month...but according to our scale, he is approximately 14 pounds! We have now pretty much officially moved out of all 3 month clothing. He is too long! Grayson can wear all of his 6 month clothes & wears 6-12 month socks--big boy with big feet!!
Here is what Grayson have been up to this month:

• I think that we have entered into the world of teething. Grayson always has his hands...both hands...in his mouth at all times. He is drooling like crazy and loves biting down on things.
• He started using his jumperoo! Grayson can't actually jump in it yet, but he loves grabbing the different toys and listening to the sounds!
• He is eating every 4 hours during the day. Grayson eats 6-7 ounces during the day and before bed he turns into a little porker! He'll usually do 8-9 ounces and then fall into a similac coma.
• He has become a very finicky napper. It's totally hit or miss. Some days he will completely skip one altogether! Needless to say, it is hard to be productive at home:)
• Still not sleeping through the night. We'll get there eventually!
• You now have a *gasp* working mama! We won't discuss this.
• You started giggling this month! We love to hear that sweet baby laugh!
• Grayson has started noticing...himself. He loves mirrors!
• You talk all the time. I wish I knew what you were saying!

Still fascinated by lights!

He's checking out his Santa feet. I feel like we will have a toe grabber soon!

Grayson is as happy as ever & I am loving this stage he is in. When he hears his mama or daddy's voice, he just smiles. It is so sweet. I can't believe he is getting so big!

Happy 3 months little G!

a good ol' brain dump.

I am back at work. Grayson is still not sleeping through the night. I'm a tired girl. This is how my brain is working today:

• I am surviving my first week back at work. Monday=snow day. Tuesday=2 hour late due to ice day. Wednesday=Leave 2 hours due to ice day. I kid you not. I love snow.
• I had a student asked if I knew what Grayson was yet. Ha! So hard not to laugh at a 7 year old when they say such funny things. Nope. Haven't checked between the legs yet.
• Sunday night was when our snow began. I went to Publix at 3:30 and it iced over while I was there. It took me an hour and a half to get back to my house....which by the way was only 3 miles away!! People were stuck on frozen hills, rolling backwards, and on the sidewalk. It was t e r r i b l e.
• Grayson hasn't napped in weeks. He might have a 30 minute cat nap a couple times a day...but the kid has been wasy too alert to want to sleep. Well now that my mom is here watching him this week, he is napping like a champ!! I don't get it. I hope it lasts.
• Is it bad that I told Ben to buy a small white Christmas tree at work after Christmas so that I can save it for a little girl's room? And no, I don't have baby fever. Yet.
• I absolutely love ABC Family's "25 Days of Christmas." LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!! Next week I will be parked on the couch, drinking hot chocolate, and watching cheesy Christmas movies.
• I just want to point out that my friend Alex is having her baby boy (G's future bff) in March. That is so soon!! I'm getting really excited...so is Grayson.
• I have been back to my pre-baby weight for a long time. However, my pre-baby pants don't fit right. What in the world?! So annoying..
• It's fun seeing my friends again at work. Kinda makes it possible to not be sad! The VM's have been reunited!:)

I know, little buddy...

I feel the same way.

(I go back to work on Monday.)

drooly mcdroolerson.

Folks, we have a serious drooler on our hands.

...and he thinks it is just hilarious!
Not only does Grayson drool, but he also spits. {See below.} He typically spits on purpose as soon as he gets in his carseat...it's like he's mad that I'm making him get all squished in there. Geez with the 'tude already..

Yep. He gets soaked. We change shirts about 6 times a day.

atleast he is a happy drooler, right?

baby dedication

This past Sunday was our baby dedication for little Grayson. He wore his smocked little Christmas outfit AND big boy shoes! He looked so cute!

The whole fam came in town to watch. It even snowed the whole day! It was FREEZING.
Grayson's bff, Molly Cate, was also being dedicated. She was in her Christmas best, too. Are they not the sweetest little pair?!

Caron and I with our babies. So fun!

We had to get to the church 30 minutes before the service started to take family pictures. Grayson was happy and smiling...until the church doors open. Apparently, our child does not like "big" church. He SCREAMED the entire time during the dedication and would not calm down. Our pastor even commented on his "great set of lungs." Ha! Our first public meltdown. Molly Cate was very concerned and just kept staring at her friend wondering what was wrong. It was definitely a moment we won't forget!

Here is the life verse we chose for Grayson:

Ephesians 3:16-19

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

Regardless of our sweet boy's terrible church behavior (we'll work on that!) it was still a special day. I pray for this boy every night and I can't wait to see the great things he does as he gets older!