Labor Day Weekend {St. Simon's Island, GA}

For Labor Day Weekend, Grandma, Aunt Naomi, "Uncle Scott", and cousin Grady made another visit for the long holiday weekend.  Although the skies were cloudy, the rain held off so we could enjoy a little trip to the beach.  We decided to try St. Simon's Island this time, and after all of our beach trials this summer, I do think this one will be our new favorite.  It is an island next to Jekyll Island right off the coast from Brunswick, GA about an hour south of us and has all the charm and amenities of a little beach town with shops and restaurants and some nice beachfront parks.  Even on a busy holiday weekend, it was still very enjoyable.  It definitely has more amenities than nearby Jekyll Island which is mostly a state park and private owned community.  I foresee us spending many more summer days here.  The boys had a great time playing with their cousin and Grandma all weekend and were sad to see them leave. 

When the family arrived, these boys just immediately started an epic pirate battle and enjoyed lots of play time together.  I love little boy dress play. Grady was Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates battling the mean old Captain Hook (Brody).  

The trapped Captain Hook on his "ship." 

The drive to St. Simon's Island is an easy drive south on I-95.  If you are ever passing through and see this exit for Townsend Road about 45 miles south of Savannah, you can remember that this is where Eddie works.  The Marine Corps' Townsend Bombrange is located down that road to the west of I-95 pretty much in the middle of nowhere.  I do appreciate the beauty of the marsh now with its tall green grasses and winding waterways stretching for miles.  The only "downside" is that sometimes it smells bad at night, but I am not often in these areas at night.  The coast tends to have more of a "fishy" smell in the evening at high tide. 

I love the twisty old Live Oaks that cover the road and island.  

We walked along the main street and looked at some of the shops on the way to eat lunch before we hit the beach.  Mattox and Brody were just loving these bubbles one of the shops had put out for the kids. 

Bubbles are definitely one of Mattox's favorite things right now...and one of his favorite words. 

Soccer on the beach is also a favorite with these boys. 

Cousin Grady and his mom build a sandcastle. 

I just love this sweet boy!  He looks so much like big brother Evan here. 

And this sweet faced baby too.  

I love watching my boys play together. 

Sometimes selfies are the only way I am in any of the pictures.  

Evan is just the best big brother in the world! 

Mattox enjoyed some bird chasing.  He was so cute sneaking up on them, waving at them, and calling them excitedly. 

These two are quickly becoming the best of friends. 

Grady wanted to boogey board like the big boys. 

Watching and learning from big cousins. 

Evan and Brody caught some good waves. 

Just hanging out in the water with my boys.  Grandma preferred sitting on the beach under a blanket mostly to avoid the sun. 

Trying to get a picture with all the boys isn't easy.  Grayson was missing from these.  

I was happy there was a Pelican Snoballs (a NC favorite) set up in the beach parking lot, and they had snowcream flavor!  Yay!   The next day, we ate lunch for my birthday before Grandma and the family had to leave.  Grady and Brody enjoyed playing together while Evan acted exhausted. 

Daddy got me a huge pink cupcake for my birthday and regular cupcakes for everyone else.  Brody was super jealous. 

Had to try for one more picture of all the boys with Grandma before she left.  Mattox was not being cooperative. 

Grayson's 9th Month

Nine months!  I do not know how you are already nine months old!  You have been out in the world longer than you were in the womb.  These nine months have definitely gone faster than those first nine months.  I really have to get on the ball and start planning your first birthday celebration.  You are starting to move now doing the army belly crawl and will get up into a full crawl position and make some good forward motions to try to reach a toy you want.  Once you figure out how much faster you can move on your knees, nothing will stop you.  You love to grab for things you want and that has resulted in a few accidents at the dinner table when we underestimate how long your arms can reach.  Haha!  

Size:  We went to your nine month well-check on September 6th, and you weighed 18 lbs. 5 .2 oz. which is just a little more than big brother Mattox weighed.  You were 30 inches long putting you above the 90th percentile there so you are definitely a tall boy right now.  You were 1 and 3/4 inches longer than both big brothers Brody and Mattox.  You have still been wearing size 3 diapers and mostly 9 to 12 month clothes.  

Developmental Accomplishments:  You are starting to army crawling more, and you just have to figure out that you can crawl much more efficiently on your knees than your belly.   You can also stand holding onto furniture for a good little while when we stand you up.  You haven't pulled up fully by yourself yet.  You still love your big brothers and laugh and "talk" a lot now.   You mostly say "mamamama" a lot.  You grasp and bang your toys together, and you taught yourself to clap at the end of this month!  Separation anxiety and stranger anxiety has really been increasing too.  It took you a little while to warm up to Grandma when she visited us this month.  You hate being left alone in a room and will try to crawl after me.   

Sleeping:  You have been sleeping in your crib in your room, but your increased separation anxiety has meant you wake up more at night wanting to be held or rocked or to get more milk.  Daddy has trouble getting you to stay asleep when he lays you down, and you will often wake up and start screaming again.  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 eat more 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, and mangoes.   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 also love pieces of whole fruit like cantaloupe or watermelon in your little mesh feeder.  

Teeth:  You finally got your two top teeth for a total of four teeth with two on the bottom and two on the top. 

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}

Sherry's 37th Birthday

37!  When did that happen?  Yikes!  I am definitely getting closer to that big 4-0.  As the pattern of this year has shown, we have been doing things a little more simply these days, including birthdays.  Moving a couple of times and almost doubling the size of your family in two years will definitely make you want to make life simpler.  Ha!  Also, moving far away from family and away from your favorite restaurants will make you change your routine too.  Thankfully, Daddy's family were able to come spend the Labor Day holiday weekend with us which helped make my birthday feel a little more festive.  Since we are not close to my beloved Cheesecake Factory, Daddy made me a delicious homemade chocolate cheesecake, and yes, it did rival the one I usually get from Cheesecake Factory.  It was very rich and velvety smooth with a chocolate ganache topping.  I also got several special gifts from Daddy and the boys.  Daddy let me go shopping for a new purse and even some shoes on sale at Dillard's, and he let me pick out and order a NC necklace and hat from Etsy.  I felt very loved and celebrated this year, but my boys always do a good job of that. 

Selfies with my husband wearing my new necklace. 

A very delicious birthday treat from my husband and surrounded by my little loves. 

I just love Brody's happy faces.  We blew out my candles together.  No, we did not attempt 37 candles. 

We also enjoyed cupcakes before Grandma and Aunt Naomi's family left. 

Amusing August {2017}

August in the south is usually hot, humid, and not always pleasant.  It was pretty hot this year, but we also had a lot of rainy days and some evenings weren't too unpleasant.  It was a low key month for the most part after the boys started back to school, and we got back into the school routine. 

We started the month with some sparklers on the back porch.  We had not really had a chance to play with them back in July after the 4th. 

Ice cream and sparklers in his Christmas pajamas in August.  This kid is a mess. 

Baby Grayson wasn't too sure about the sparklers. 

Brody and fireworks could definitely be a dangerous combination.  He is a firework! 

Crazy kid!

Daddy helping Mattox with his sparkler. 

Big kid in a baby swing.   Just silliness all the time around here.

Hanging out together in the living room, and I was trying to understand how Evan got a couch to himself while the rest of us were all crammed together on one.  Haha! 

Evan is a fun big brother, and Mattox still loves falling asleep on the floor.  Yep, he has plumber crack.  Ha!

We all enjoy dining at Moe's Southwest Grill.  Mattox and I share a bowl. 

Grayson is just happy to get fed.  He was still enjoying his own yummy food. 

Ice cream is their favorite part of dining at Chick-fil-a. 

On their last week of summer break, we met Daddy for lunch at the new Chick-fil-a closer to his work and a good halfway point between home and his work. 

The boys and I were sitting in the car watching a movie...probably to escape the bugs at big brother's football practice.  

I don't know what Mattox's grumpy face was about.  He was hanging out in the big brother's room watching him play a video game. 

The boys and I enjoying a trip to McAllister's Deli.  

We really didn't enjoy as much pool time as we would have liked do to a very rainy summer, but we had to go one more time before the kids were back in school. Mattox enjoys splashing Daddy. 

The only baby friendly area in this pool is the steps so Grayson enjoys sitting in the water with mommy. 

Mommy's turn to play with Mattox and work on his swimming lessons. 

Evan wanted to work on his diving abilities. 

Grayson and I sitting by the pool watching the other boys playing. 

These two fighting over the float. 

Sniff.  Always sad to see another summer come to an end.  Of course, we still had plenty of summer weekends left, but this was the last one before the boys started back to school. 

Oh, Brody.  He loves making silly videos of himself on my phone and sings the silliest songs.  He really does have a fascination with jewelry and loves my jewelry box. 

We had to make a trip to Target which is located in a mall with a Bass Pro Shop so the boys wanted to visit. 

They received a free fidget spinner and were just mesmerized by it.  I do not get the fascination with these things although I have a pin on pinterest board that reminded me how we used to make our own fidget spinners in school with a pencil and a ruler.  Haha!  The boys always love the giant fish tanks in the store. 

It looks like Brody is in the tank with the fish that is coming towards Mattox. 

This little mall has a fun play area that is modeled after Downtown Savannah, and the boys loved playing on the soft play equipment. 

Mattox liked the little slide that came out of the building. 

Evan and Mattox were sitting on a replica of the riverboat we saw in downtown Savannah on the river.  

Riding on a giant duck. 

And then it was back to school time.  The school really did it right and laid out the red "carpet" for the kids and had Mr. Incredible to welcome them back. 

The boys enjoyed dinner at Mellow Mushroom and making their own pizza after a good first day of school. 

My little pizza chefs. 

This fun Captain America Minion is always a hit. 

Yikes, am I a vigilante superhero like Batman or an assassin?  Don't mess with me!  Haha!  I just get a laugh from some of these facebook quizzes. 

Back to enjoy my days with just these two.  I made myself some Pad Thai for lunch. 

When big brothers get home, they build a blanket fort to hide under. 

Storms and storm clouds were a normal occurrence which is why I suspected the upcoming solar eclipse would be a bust in our area. 

This little bubblegum machine with a golf game is the only "game" at our local Zaxby's, but it does not deter these boys even when they don't have quarters for it.  They really miss our old town's Zaxby's that did a fun kids' night every Wednesday night with games, face painting and balloon animals. 

Cartoon watching and playtime. 

A little lunch date with my little cuties. 

Mattox wanted to hold Grayson in the high chair at Chick-fil-a.  He did not stay like this. 

And Daddy gave Grayson some milkshake.  Sigh.  

The big boys enjoyed some playtime in the playplace.  I tell Evan all the time he is too big for the playplace.  He is right at the maximum height for it, but he says he goes in to help his little brother.  

He usually starts a game of hide and seek.  Mattox was hiding with Brody. 

Mattox enjoys watching the fish in the little koi pond at our local Japanese restaurant.  We sometimes visit for lunch on Sunday. 

Grayson was loving the ball pit while big brothers build forts with blocks. 

There is just something about this kid.  I just adore him.  I do recall that I have really loved all of my boys at this age though.  They are still so cuddly and cute. 

And this sweet face always melts my heart. 

Brody was taking pictures on my phone at Zaxby's, and I don't actually remember where I was taking Mattox when I took the picture in the car.  

We did take the boys to get ice cream at our local ice cream shop.  Brody loved sitting on the stools at the counter. 

The ice cream shop has a little play area with big blocks, and the boys met some friends from church, school, and sports.  Max and Carter go to our church, and Carter is in Brody's class at school.  Shawn played baseball with us in the Spring and is in our Cub Scout troop.  Their moms are friends and work together at a local photography studio. 

Big brother Evan was at his first Cub Scout camping trip of the year so Brody wanted to camp out in my room in his little dinosaur tent.  Yes, he is in his underwear. Mattox joined him for a little bit. 

We spent our hot Saturday at the firehouse seeing the firemen and firetrucks. 

Brody was "taking notes" and Mattox was so curious about the firemen in his safety equipment. 

Mattox loved seeing the big red fire truck. 

Fire trucks and firefighters are awesome. 

Climbing inside the firetruck was fun but hot.  Mattox enjoyed the big fan to get cooled off. 

Oh this sweet boy!  I do think he was using this little pointer as his very own "sonic screwdriver" and has been watching a lot of Doctor Who with mommy. 

Our church took our picture when we joined the church. 

Mattox and Brody were enjoying some lollipops, and Mattox was trying on some sunglasses.  Yes, he prefers to wear them upsidedown. 

Grayson was working on his army crawl and almost full crawling, and Mattox had a new fascination with bandaids and kept bringing them to me to put on.  I think he thought they were stickers.  Ha! 

More sweet brother cuddles as they enjoyed falling asleep together.   These are definitely the memories I want to treasure forever. 

Our living room got a little love when I found some new pillows I liked on sale and finally got a big clock for that empty wall above the television.  It just needed something.  I still want to paint in here but just don't know what color.  

I can never take too many pictures of my sweet babies.  They are growing up too fast.  

Big brother had football practice, and since it was a pretty nice evening, we took a walk around the pond. 

Just trying to get a decent picture together.  Notice how I had to get Mattox in a headlock to make him join us. 

Of course, they get as close to the water as they can. 

Big brothers started riding the bus, and we met them down the street at the bus stop.  

And this cute face is a great end to another month.  He had actually just learned to clap here which I did capture on video.