celebrating Griffin

Our little birthday boy had a great day celebrating! He & Grayson will be having a joint party at the end of August, but I want to remember all his little "Griffin-isms" from his actual birthday.

 

This is the first birthday he has been really excited about. Griffin has talked about being three & been practicing holding up 3 fingers for months now. I love how excited he has been! I asked him last week exactly what all he wanted to do on his birthday and got this response:

 

-do something fun with my friends

-eat cookies

-go get ice cream

-eat pizza

-have a strawberry cake (he even requested that I make it instead of being lazy & ordering one! haha)

 

I love that our tiny toddler's list pretty much revolved around food. Makes me laugh! We started off our day before Ben went to work. Griffin got one present & it was one that was already put together and couldn't be wrapped: his new sand box! You may remember that Ben's dad built G an amazing sandbox for his 2nd birthday & the boys LOVED it. However, after almost 3 years, the wood was just saturated and the sand was always soaked. Ants kept getting in & they just couldn't use it anymore. Griffin was pretty heartbroken & has been asking for a new sandbox ever since. Needless to say, we had some happy boys (even Cheney liked it!) yesterday!

We went to a trampoline park with lots of friends after breakfast & had a blast. There were trampolines and bounce houses galore. It was the perfect morning for our little jumping bean! For lunch, Griffin requested "Ms. McDonald's" because he really wanted chicken nuggets and an ice cream cone. So we went to McDonald's with our friends & I think the boys had a great time sitting at a big table with just their friends!

 

Everyone took really long naps after our 2 hour jumping adventure. When Ben got home from work, we ate pizza, strawberry cake, & opened presents. Griffin got so many fun things but his favorite was a pack of 5 firefighters. He is OBSESSED with "guys." He plays with firemen, superheroes, & policeman figures all day long. It was so funny!

 

He stayed up late jumping on the trampoline and was just so happy all day. Before bed he asked, "am I still going to be 3 tomorrow?" He is very worried that it will only last for a day! Love his cute little self. We had a fun day celebrating our littlest boy! 

and then you were THREE!

Oh, my sweet Griffin. Today you are 3 years old. I can't wrap my head around it because I still vividly remember the night before you were born like it was yesterday. I remember crying as I tucked Grayson in that night because I couldn't imagine loving another baby boy as much as I loved him.  My heart grew the day you were born.  You were the 2nd baby boy I never knew I needed so much.

Griffin, you bring so much JOY to our lives. To know you is to love you. You are a little ball of energy and you are SO funny.  You keep us all laughing every day. I know you are now the middle child, but those big blue eyes just make me melt & your Daddy says you will have me wrapped around your finger for the rest of your life. There is just something about that middle kid!

You love life so much. The most simple things bring you so much happiness.  I love that about you. You are kind, smart, silly, & the best cuddler. And my only cuddly baby. God really knew that I needed a snuggly baby! You give the best "squeezes" and tell me you love me a thousand times a day.  You still love trucks, all kinds of animals, superheroes, singing & dancing, & playing outside...unless it is too hot. If there is one thing you don't love, it's the Tennessee heat in the summertime! You have the best little mixes of personality.  Most of the time you are pretty fearless, but when you are feeling nervous, you still need us to hold your hand or give you a hug so that you feel comfortable. You are loud, loud, loud at home. Full of silly & fun energy. But at school & church? You are much more of an observer. You adore Grayson & pretty much think he hung the moon. Y'all play so well together & are best buds!

The highlight of this past year was definitely watching you become a big brother. I was SO NERVOUS about that transition. You were definitely Mama's baby & we didn't know how you would feel about another baby joining the family. Well, you did great. You are such a sweet big brother to Cheney. She is your "Cheney baby" & you are just so proud that she is yours. You are pretty smitten by her still & she thinks you are just the funniest thing.  You two have a funny relationship & I think you will be the best of friends. I have been so proud of you this year with such a big change!



Griffy, thank you for making my world brighter. You will do big things in life, I just know it! I often say I want to freeze time because everyone should get to have a 2.5 year old Griffin in their life at all times; however, I just love watching you grow up and learn new things. You can grow up all you want but you will always be your Mama's baby!

 

Happy 3rd birthday, Griffin! We love you BIG!  

a new chapter

I traded my teaching hat for the stay at home mama hat 4 years ago. Grayson was just a baby at the time & I loved spending my days with him. We've added two more babies since then & even though it is not an easy job, I really do cherish the time that I have had with my littles. Especially when they are so small.

Well, our family is starting a new chapter in the next month & I am very excited about it! I knew eventually I would go back to work; at least part time. I didn't imagine it would be this soon, but a job was pretty much right in front of my face & it seemed like a great fit for our family! Starting at the end of August, I will be teaching in a 3 year old preschool class two days a week. It is the same preschool that our kids have been a part of & now Cheney will get to go too! I am so excited to work alongside so many people that I know & be a part of a ministry that my family already loves.  It is also nice that all 3 of my kids will be at the same place as me! Although, that will only be the case for one year, because....kindergarten. BUT, we won't talk about that yet!

It just feels right. I still get to have days at home with my kids, be a part of MOPS (which is something that I love so much!), and I get to do something that I really love doing. I'm sure there will be a weird transition period at first, but I think it will be great for all of us. Here's to new beginnings! 

life lately

I never intend to go so long without blogging, but as always, life happens.  We have had a pretty busy summer so far & I can't believe it is getting close to school starting back! Here are a few tidbits about what we have been up to...

 

-I jokingly call our new house the Mays Money Pit. I really do love our house & neighborhood, but it seems like we can't catch break. Right before the beach trip, we had to deal with a big plumbing issue in the kids bathroom. Then, a couple weeks ago, our upstairs air conditioner died. In July. IN THE SOUTH. SO, the Mays Money Pit now has a brand new a/c unit! Fun times, right?!

 

-One week after the air went out, Hudson was acting like his back hurt. I took him to our vet & they gave me some pain meds to see if that would help. We were hoping he had just played too rough with Ellie & bruised his tailbone. The next morning he could not stand up & had no feeling in his back half. I was so freaked out. I took him to get x-rays first thing that morning & was worried sick all day.  I got an awful call from the doctor & she told me that he had ruptured some disks in his back. Our options were either put him down or possibly do surgery. Needless to say, I WAS A WRECK. We met at the emergency animal hospital with Huddy & the doctor there. She looked at his x-rays and said that he had a great chance of a full recovery with surgery. SO, we went for it.


Hudson's surgery took 3 hours & he had 4 ruptured disks. They said if we had waited another day to bring him in, it would not have been the same outcome. Our pup is a trooper! The first week was hard, but he is doing so great now! It has been 2 weeks and he can walk on his own & has almost all control back in his hind legs. We are SO thankful. Our dogs are our family & we are happy to have our big boy almost back to normal!
-My mom & I headed to Louisiana with the kids a few days after Hudson's surgery. It was a 10 hour drive & I am very thankful for childrens Dramamine! We had the best time with family!

We stay at my aunt & uncles house when we go. They live on a few acres and have tractors, mowers, and all sorts of big kid toys! Grayson was in heaven. He helped Papa Bruce all day long on the tractor. I am pretty sure he would move to Baton Rouge if we let him! I wish we lived closer so the kids could see each other more often. It was a great week!

-In BIG KID news, Griffy is potty trained!!!! I dreaded this whole process because he is so stubborn. We tried it in the spring & he freaked out. This time? It happened so easily! He is now diaper-free and just wears pull-ups at night. I am so proud of this big boy!

That is all of our big news for now! We've been really enjoying our summer & soaking it up before school starts. This new yard is a dream...the boys spend hours outside each day & have so much room to run around. We are loving it! Hopefully my next post won't be a month from now:)


Cheney: 11 months old!

Cheney baby, you are 11 months old today!

The Stats:

Weight: 17lbs

Height: around 28 inches

Clothing: some 9 month & 12 month

Diaper: size 3

Shoe: size 4...you have some big feet!

Eating:

Basically, you live to eat. Meal times are your favorite! You eat just about anything we give you & it is wonderful. You are still drinking 4 bottles a day. You did master the sippy cup this month! You can do a straw cup too. I have introduced you to whole milk and you seem to like it. Your favorite foods are watermelon, blueberries, cereal bars, fresh peaches, goldfish, any kind of rice, shredded cheese, & yogurt melts!

Sleep:

You are a great sleeper! And when you aren't, that means you are sick. You had 2 ear infections this month and the only thing that clued us in was that you weren't sleeping at night. You go to bed around 7:30 and wake up bright and early at 6! You are still taking 2 naps a day but on busy days you can skip the morning nap. I am hoping to phase you out of that one soon! You don't like being rocked to sleep anymore & it makes me so sad. You are Miss Independent and just like us to put you in the crib so you can fall asleep! You are a creature of habit and always have to have your sound machine, sleep sack, music, a ton of pacis, & soft lovies.

Happenings this month:

-TEETH! Teeth happened this month. Two bottom teeth to be exact!

-You are pushing your toys all over the house! You love walking with those, but have no interest otherwise. This is a first for us! I am so ready for you to walk!

-You can say "da da" & "Ja" for Jack.

-You are a BIG Daddy's girl. You ask for "da" all day long and your face lights up when he walks through the door! You have him wrapped!

-You are a speed crawler all over the house. Literally. You can fly up the stairs and it makes me crazy!

-You are the busiest May baby so far. I have to constantly watch you because you put everything in your mouth and try to climb on everything. You will be the one who gives me gray hairs!

-You really love bath time and splashing. Some nights you bathe alone & you think it is fantastic!

-you LOVE music! Pat-a-cake is your favorite!

 Oh, my sweet girl. I can't even handle the fact that you will be ONE in a month. It breaks my heart a little. You are just the most precious little thing & I want to freeze time! You make every single day so much fun. You are strong, brave, & sassy! You definitely hold your own with your 2 big brothers. You are such a joy & we love you so much!

Happy 11 months, Cheney!