Having a birthday right after Thanksgiving and in the same month as Christmas can be tricky. We are often traveling and visiting family for the holidays on Grayson's birthday. While it allows us to be with family, it doesn't always allow for a birthday party that is just for him. I really want my Grayson to feel that he is special and appreciated as much as any other child. He has been such a blessing to our family. He is the best little brother and friend to Mattox, the best big brother to Maggie who adores him, and just the funniest little guy these days. He and Daddy have the most fun together. This year, we didn't travel for Thanksgiving and just celebrated at home with our little family. We had a special little celebration for you with your favorite PJ Masks characters. We also met up with your Uncle and Aunt and cousin for a little joint birthday party and late Thanksgiving meal. I hope you felt loved and celebrated on your special day as you are everyday.
The birthday boy with his balloons and decorations.
He was showing us his Catboy toy.
Mommy made you a PJ Masks cake with the toys for you to keep. I said the bright blue icing was the "splat" that the bad character throws at the superhero characters.
Sweet beautiful boy
Getting ready to make a special wish. Big brother Evan helped him.
Blowing out his candle and then licking the icing off the bottom of it.
Showing our blue tongues.
I think Gecko is his favorite so he was wearing green for him.
He got some birthday cards and money in the mail from family.
Opening his present.
He got masks and capes so we dressed as the fearsome trio of Catboy, Owlette, and Gecko.
Mattox insisted Maggie needed to be Owlette.
Cute baby Owlette. Her eyelashes really pop when wearing a mask.
I was trying to demonstrate the costumes for Grayson to get him to wear them.
We couldn't get Grayson in our picture. Mattox and I did a costume swap.
Awe, we finally got a little Catboy. I just love him!
And the cutest Gecko and Owlette.
We celebrated cousin Grady's 7th birthday and Grayson's 3rd together. I found Grady a Pokemon balloon.
A festive birthday celebration at the Mexican restaurant.
Daddy helped him blow out his candle.
A picture with the siblings and cousin. Brody and Grady are best pals.
Grayson,
You are such a bright little star who is bursting with personality and fun. You are all boy and love to play rough. We expect you will be the largest built man in our crew, and I expect you will be a bodyguard for your little sister. I know that you have an amazing purpose to fulfill. I often feel that your baby years flew by way too fast and that I didn't get nearly enough time to really cherish and enjoy them. You were such a sweet, loving, and cuddly baby, and our time together was precious. Now, I can barely get you to slow down for more gentle cuddle time at bedtime. You show love by wrestling and playing rough most of the time. You like to join in with your big brother's school lessons, and I know you are ready to go to school too. We hope you can start preschool this year in our new home. We love you to the moon and back and look forward to watching you grow and develop into an amazing little man with big dreams to fulfill!
Our family loves to celebrate Christmas. We love everything about this festive season except maybe the stress from the over commercialization that has really tried to take away from the true meaning of the season. I have really tried to adopt traditions that will help our family remember what this season is all about. Namely, our faith and belief that Christmas is the time when we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. While we do allow our children to experience the magic of believing in Santa while they are young, we also want them to be aware that the real magic of Christmas is in the gift that was given over 2000 years ago for us all. We hope that our Christmas traditions help to inspire you to make Christmas magic this year!
Picking out a Real Christmas Tree
2. Decorating the Christmas Tree and House
3. Visiting Santa
4. We do have an elf!
5. We decorate gingerbread houses together.
6. We go see Christmas lights.
7. We attend a Candlelight Christmas Eve Service
8. Reading the Christmas Story on Christmas Eve
9. Putting Out Cookies and Milk for Santa
10. Santa Visits!
11. Santa leaves a special letter
12. Opening Presents!
13. We celebrate with family
14. We enjoy a yummy Christmas dinner together
15. We sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and blow out his candles on his birthday cake!
How do you celebrate Christmas? Do you have a favorite tradition? Leave us a comment to share!
Until the last almost three years, we have been blessed to live in areas where we could easily experience the beauty of the Fall season. We love traditional Fall activities and want to share a few of our favorites with you. These activities are great for families of all ages and sizes from one to infinity. We hope you are inspired to get out there and explore!
Visiting a Farm
2. Do a Corn Maze as a Family
3. Pick out pumpkins at a pumpkin patch or roadside stand.
4. Carve the Pumpkins
5. Pumpkin Painting
6. Apple Picking
7. Jumpin' in the Leaves
8. Go on a Nature Hike and Scavenger Hunt
9. Go for a Leisurely Fall Drive
10. Dress up for Halloween
What do you enjoy doing in the Fall? What is your favorite season? Do you have any favorite costumes for Halloween? We would love to hear from you.
I have really been so behind in documenting our lives and in capturing the precious moments of my youngest children's lives. Grayson is my fourth born son, and I hate that means that I have very limited time to spend with him. In those moments that I can steal for just him, I usually just want to spend them holding onto him as tightly as I can and cuddling my precious baby boy. Of course, he doesn't really like that very much as he is a tough little man who wants to play rough with his big brothers. I do love when he gets tired and sleepy and wants to cuddle or when he sweetly holds his little arms out wanting to hold his baby sister. His favorite things seem to be watching Octonauts either on television or on the kindle, being chased around the house and wrestling with the older boys, and drinking lots and lots and lots of liquid beverages (which does make potty training a little tricky). I stole a few moments with him outside in the yard to take some sweet pictures of him just doing whatever he wanted to do. I love how expressive he is. I also needed his picture in these Oshkosh overalls before he outgrew them because all of his brothers wore these too. They are my favorites!
How grown up does he look with his little hands in his pockets?
Ugh, pay no attention to how bare and ugly my porch looks. It really needs some love this year!
Grayson checks out the few azaleas left on the bushes.
Sweet sweet smile.
He loves to point out everything he sees.
Checking on the grass or looking for critters.
"What's that?" He says that a lot.
"What, mom? What do you want me to do?"
Okay, I will just look cute.
And pretend like something is stinky by holding my nose.
Beautiful boy
Blowing kisses.
He likes to roar like a lion.
Oh my goodness, what could be cuter than a little boy holding his overall suspenders?
Yep, he is very mischievous.
Now how do I take these off?
I just love that face!
Of course, we had to do an epic comparison of all the boys wearing the special overalls.