Satisfying September {2017}

September was a pretty full and fun month even with the boys back in school.  We started the month with a trip to the beach for Labor Day weekend and celebrating my birthday, experienced our first hurricane evacuation and got an impromptu hurrication, started another season of youth sports, and just played, played, played.  Here is the customary monthly photo dump:

The beach is our happy place, and we can't wait for many more visits to St. Simon's Island as we think this is our new favorite. 

My boys made me feel so special on my birthday. 

Good lessons learned at church this month. 

For a very special birthday treat for me and my littlest boys, we visited Oatland Wildlife Center to play with bunnies and see some other wildlife. 

Oatland is located on a beautiful piece of marsh property on the islands off the coast of Savannah.  I am not sure what the beautiful old building used to be (maybe a school), but it is beautiful.  We went for a special storytime all about bunnies.  She was reading one of my favorite books, "Guess How Much I Love You."  

Mattox was hesitant to touch the bunny, but he didn't mind sitting beside him.  I do want another pet bunny one day.  

We made a little bunny hat, and Grayson tried it on. 

Grayson really loved the bunny too. 

I just love these fun days with my little boys.  I am so very thankful to be at home with them right now. 

After storytime, we took a tour of the facility.  There are a few small animals inside, but most are outside in large habitats.  We saw some snakes, fish, and turtles.  The bunnies will soon be moved to a new large outdoor home. 

There is a really nice walking trail through the forest to see the other animals.  We saw the owl house with several different species. 

The Alligator Wetlands were a little scary as the alligators were out lounging in the shade.  

A little cardinal landed on the path, and I tried to sneak up and take a picture.  Cardinals are the state bird of North Carolina so I love seeing them.  I only had my cell phone camera for this outing so I couldn't really zoom in. 

Next, we walked across the bridge to the Cougar habitat.  At first, I thought his habitat was empty until I spotted him way at the back in the shade.  It was a very hot day. 

Next, we headed over to see the barnyard animals.  We saw ducks, a cow, and some donkeys. 

After our hot, tiring outing, we hit Chick-fil-a for lunch. 

I love that our azaleas bloom almost all year.  They were even blooming when we moved in last January. 

Evan and I played his first game of Scrabble.  I had been begging him for a while.  He needed a little help making some words, but he did well.  I think I got really lucky getting some good tiles and made some cool words.  My very first word was Mango.  Brody brought home this paper where he "interviewed" a classmate which just so happened to be his church pal, Carter. 

During our hurrication, we crashed with Eddie's Aunt Homa in Columbia.  The boys loved her house.  We visited a local mall because I forgot to bring jackets for the boys, and it did get rainy and cool when the hurricane passed by us.  I just loved how Mattox was walking along with his hands clasped behind his back.  He just looked so grown up. 

We tried a local Chinese restaurant for lunch. 

I enjoyed my Kung Po Chicken but my fortune was a little ominous.  I would love to "inherit" some money, but I really don't want anyone close to me to die.  The only one who would likely leave me any money would be Eddie so no deal.  Since I am writing this in 2018 and it didn't happen in 2017, I am going to call this one null and void. 

Who knew Norway and Denmark were just a short drive away from us?  We passed through them on our way home from Columbia. 

Eddie and I used to love roadtrips and spending time together in the car.  They aren't as fun with little ones, but we still enjoy them. Of course, we didn't have the ability to take selfies in the car before we had kids.  That was probably a good thing.  Haha! 

Mattox in a box.  

I think they were eating some of my chocolate birthday cake. 

Cool baby wearing shades. 

I love all the things the boys do at church and that someone usually takes pictures. They wrote all the things they were thankful for.  I love Brody's drawings of his house and family (including an angel for Mattie).  Evan's list was very practical.  

Signs of growth...toes poking out of footie pajamas.  Brody did this to his pajamas too.  Mattox loved getting in the crib with Grayson.  When Brody was having anxiety about going to school, we read this Bible story about Jesus being a friend to little children.  

Bathtime with these cuties is always fun.  I styled Mattox's hair. 

Mattox loves his Chick-fil-a ice cream cone, but I prefer my own homemade ice cream sundae. 

Baby playing with blocks.  Where's Mattox? 

Yep, he's in a box again! 

Brody built a bird house as his first official Cub Scout project.  Evan found a cool feather. 

I made a yummy coffee cake for my ladies group meeting.  Brody was ready for soccer practice. 

Baby gets his first french fry. 

We got a new doughnut shop in town, and it was so good.  They really do rival Krispy Kreme for good regular doughnuts.  I had a huge bear claw that was also very yummy. 

We eat Zaxby's a lot on Wednesday nights before church for kids' night. 

Mattox loves watching Sesame Street, and Grayson and I spent a lot of time waiting in the car during soccer and football practice because of the bugs. 

Mattox and Grayson look so cute taking naps.  Grayson was becoming more mobile. 

A gorgeous sunset. 

Mattox puts his shoes on when he wants to go outside.  I found these three handsome superheroes at Target.  

I have to take pictures of myself these days or I would never be in any pictures.  Sigh.  I usually like to take pictures on Sunday of all of us, but it usually doesn't happen. 

Evan's teacher sends us pictures from class sometimes.  They made edible cells for a science lesson with lots of sweet treats. 

Anyone who knows me knows my most priceless treasures are my pictures of my babies, and these little books for each of my babies are some of my favorites. I snapped a picture of this painting at Mattox's ENT office because I may try to paint something similar one day.  I like the moss draped live oak overlooking the marsh.  

Hanging out at Mattox's hearing appointment with the ENT.  

There were toys in the exam room, and Mattox loved sitting in the big chair. 

The best part of the doctor's office was his really cute dog.  I wouldn't mind having one of these hypoallergenic breeds if they weren't so expensive.  I guess I will have to stick with my personal favorite, the poodle.  I really want another poodle because I don't mind them in the house since they don't shed or smell as bad as other breeds with animal fur.  They are really sweet and smart dogs too. 

Eddie loves getting to work with the Marines now.  He had thought about joining the Marines in his younger days so this is the next best thing.  Haha!  We went with him to pick up something he needed for the bomb range. 

Daddy and Brody enjoyed some special memories on the soccer field together as Coach and player.  Evan enjoyed a fun playdate at his best church buddy Justin's house. 

Brody's church group enjoyed learning about healthy things for your body and got to eat some yummy healthy snacks. 

These boys love their church groups and teachers.  Mr. Tyler and Mrs. Melanie are their favorite teachers. 

The boys had their school pictures taken by a local photographer and church friend.  She did a special that was the same price as school pictures with the guarantee of getting good shots.  The boys' school shots weren't bad this year, but we loved these. 

Just some random screenshots from the month.  I broke out my childhood name mug to drink my coffee.  Eddie's sister bought some fall flowers for Mattie for us.  I did have a pretty long to-do list this month.  I just love doing silly little online quizzes and getting their crazy results.  Apparently, I should live in the Northeast.  Um, I don't even know how it got those results.  I am pretty sure I answered that I loved the country better than the city and don't like crowds.  Haha!  Maybe I did say I liked museums, but the South has great museums too.  Raleigh has some of the best!  

I love watching these boys play. 

My little soccer and football stars. 

Brody makes even the grocery store a fun outing and loves having his picture taken.  We tried on Halloween masks.  I really wanted the gas mask for our Doctor Who theme this year.  There is an episode called The Empty Child with freaky children in gas masks.  Ha!  

Grayson's 10th Month

Wow!  What a month!  Big things happened this month as you took off crawling and haven't slowed down since.  You love to follow Mommy or Daddy or big brother Mattox all over the house.  You and Mattox play so well together most of the time when he isn't trying to run you over with his car, shut the doors on you, or climb on you.  Ha!  You also experienced your first hurricane evacuation, your first trip to the zoo, and lots of other wonderful things.

Size:  Since we went to your nine month well-check on September 6th, you weighed 18 lbs. 5 .2 oz. at the beginning of this month and likely put on a pound or two by the end.  You are a very long baby, and we wonder if you will be the tallest of your brothers when you grow up.  You are still above the 90th percentile there.  You have still been wearing size 3 diapers and need mostly12 month clothes as you are starting to need to wear pants more.  You outgrew your 9 month sleepers and needed some new 12 month ones.   

Developmental Accomplishments:  Of course, you started full crawling while Mommy was taking your 42 week pictures, and you haven't slowed down since.  While you can stand holding on to furniture or our fingers, you aren't interested in pulling yourself up yet.  You love bath time with big brother Mattox and love splashing in the water.   You love banging toys together to make noise but are generally still a quiet boy while playing so I often have to come and find you when I can't hear you.    You are babbling more but still mostly say "mamamamama"  a lot.  You have four teeth at the moment but seem to be working on getting more.  The separation anxiety and stranger anxiety has decreased a little as you have started going to church nursery with Mattox on Wednesday nights.  You like the teacher and like crawling around and exploring.  You don't mind playing alone in a room as much now and don't cry as much when I need to leave the room.  Mattox is really loving you more now although he does get a little rough sometimes and has tried to run you over with his car or sit on you.  Ha!  But he really does love you.  You also love cords and my computer which makes it really difficult to get any work done.  You are just a sweet little mess!
   
Sleeping:  You have been sleeping in your crib in your room, but you do sometimes wake up for more milk or because you are really wet.  When you do finally go down for the night, you often wet out of your diaper because you like to turn yourself onto your tummy to sleep.   

Eating:  You have still been doing well eating, and we are still chugging away at breast feeding which I am thankful for.  You still refuse to take a bottle so you get about four to five breast feedings a day.   You still really love eating solids and have really been doing well with every food you have tried.  You still eat mostly mixed combination meals with a fruit and oatmeal or yogurt combination for breakfast, a vegetable combination for lunch, and a meat and vegetable combination for dinner.  You have now tried avocados, peas, squash, apples, pears, bananas, sweet potatoes, peaches, green beans, broccoli, white potatoes, mangoes, and butternut squash.   You like white potatoes mixed with a green vegetable like peas, green beans, or broccoli.  You eat a chicken puree mixed with an orange vegetable like sweet potatoes, butternut squash, or carrots. You have also had a little taste of ice cream and even your first Chick-fil-a kids' meal with some grilled nuggets cut up for you and apple sauce.  

Teeth:  You still have four teeth with two on the bottom and two on the top. 

Favorites:  Mommy; Cocoa (your dog); food; when Daddy gets home from work; playing with your big brothers; blocks to bang together; cars; cups or bowls that have food or drink in them that you try to grab; bath time and splashing in the water

Nicknames:  Grayson Payson (goes with Evan Pevin, Brody Pody, Mattox Pattox), Gray Pay, Gray Gray, Baby Goo (because he is just a little gooey sweet mess)

{More pictures coming soon}

Dear Papa

[Inspired by the movie and book The Shack.]

I know you are described as a father to the fatherless.  Will you also be a mother to the motherless?  I feel as if I have been denied the love of both.  I know I have been angry with you.  I wanted to blame someone for my loss and pain.  Being denied parents and then the daughter I wanted to know so desperately was just more than I could bear alone.  But I pushed you away again and again.  You sought me out.  Sometimes I did try to listen and to speak back to you, but the words would get all jumbled up.  I failed time and time again as my anger, sadness, and resentment kept me from seeing you.  I want to see you, walk with you, talk with you, and receive comfort from you.  I want to feel the peace of forgiveness and a clear mind.  I know you love me as I love my own children.  I want to sit and talk as father and child telling you everything in my heart.  But I am ashamed of so much in my heart.  My angry outbursts towards my precious husband and babies when I am really just angry at myself.  I feel like I have barely been treading water for years.  I am so tired of doing it alone.  I want to walk on water with you.  I want to cry all of my tears onto your shoulder and have you dry them all away.  I want to feel you loving me especially.  I know that you are good and that evil does not come from you.  I know that sin and death are not from you.  I know that you did not take Mattie from me but that she is alive and perfect and happy with you.  I want to be with you and her.  I want all of my children to know you and be with you.  You are my friend and my father! 

Love,
Your Daughter