Hello my friends... I actually got 2 count them 2 replacement phones for Christmas, so I should have them up and going soon. If I forgot to tell you what happened to my latest phone its probably because I don't have one.

My dear sweet gentle Grayden boy decided it was fun to chuck things out of our second story dining room window. After a week or so of not finding it our gracious neighbor brought us a stack of items left on their porch below. Needless to say the phone was dead.

Grayden is a Gentleman

Ok so we just got back from the grocery store, and I am holding three bags and a bag of dog food. All the while I am trying to coax Grayden along, slowly. We get up the stairs and he wants to linger by a well known pair of bikes locked to the railing on the way home. My arms are dying. He offers his services. I tell him its heavy, not having a light bag to offer, but he insists. After he tries he grunts to lift it and I offer to take it back. "Oh NO!" he says and this is what the little man accomplished!

I am so proud.










p.s. He promptly closed the door just after I barely retrieve the dog food...

First Suit

Today Grayden wore his first suit to church! He was so handsome. I forgot to get a picture before we left so all we've got is this one which as you can see is not the best. He was not very happy by the time we got home and he woke up from a nap. Although he is screaming in the shot he did manage to make it to the third hour of church before his shirt came untucked and home before the tie was all the way off...

my pic won't load so I will try again later...

Scary Story

Ok so its been a huge drought in writing on the blog, but we have not had internet at home since the hurricane and we were somewhat MIA for about the entire month of August. That being said here is a heart racing tale about Grayden.

Yesterday at playgroup all the little toddlers, seven to be exact, and four mothers enjoyed each other's company staying indoors on a rainy day. Grayden and our hosts daughter Cally apparently made good friends and decided to go on an adventure together. Grayden being the dashing young man that he is with his charm and good looks whisked the lovely Cally on a dangerous journey without the safety of the apartment walls, unbeknown to us.

One second we were laughing and chitchatting the next, Crystal, the other mommy, and I were panicked searching for out little ones. There were only about 1000 square feet to cover looking for the two. The thought to check OUTSIDE didn't cross my mind until several passes over the same places produced no children.

Running out the front door I yelled Grayden's name trying not to get hysterical. Crystal called from above on the next floor up, screaming with relief, "I've got them!" Ohhhhhhh!

Grayden was the obvious culprit being that he was the only one able to reach the door handle and formerly discovering he could open that particular kind. Of course the children were completely unaware and wondering what all the fuss was about.

After several minutes of breathing deeply and commiserating the craziness of the situation Kerry, another mommy (of twins!) took the children to the well protected balcony. But alas not even 3x3 metal gridded bars can prevent out little escape artist from trying. Not two minutes passed before he was scaling the railing trying to climb over the edge.

Seriously... Seriously!

Grayden's First Birthday

We had a tiny party with our friends here in San Antonio. Here are a few pics. He really dug the cake and the he and his pal Brooke were into the bubbles she gave him!

Here are some pics of the FINAL product.

He's so handsome!

Grayden's First Hair Cut

In preparation for his first birthday tomorrow Grayden got his first trim. It turned out pretty well, we think.

Grayden v. The Dog

Well apparently the battle continues over who should get the dog's food ball.

Fun With Family

Two Saturdays ago we all loaded up and went to Georgetown TX to visit some of my family. It was great because I got to see one of my cousins who I had not seen in over ten years! Plus I met some other cousins that I hadn't met yet. Crazy.

Grayden had a great time playing with everyone, especially Nanna (my mother). Here is my favorite picture of the day. It was his first time getting muddy.

UPDATES

Ok so I have been pretty terrible about writing on the blog. I get caught up in things and then side tracked. Much is worth mentioning.

Grayden has recently discovered how to pull himself up and walk along the edge of the couch. He still does the army crawl, although I have seen him on all fours more than once, but I am not so sure he will be belly down for much longer.

Here are some pictures of him doing his new tricks. My favorites are the ones by the window. I wonder if he is contemplating the world outside or just looking at the trees.

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This is from the other day at the park. It was a beautiful afternoon, unusually cool, so we thought we would take advantage and go for a swing.




Finally, Grayden has two new teeth. I tried to get a picture, but that was just not going to happen, so trust me they are there. Since I could not get a picture of his two front teeth, here he is getting stuck in his play gym. This was only the first of many bizarre places he has gotten himself into.

MY SHOP!!!

I opened my own shop at etsy.com! Check it out...

www.allthingsfelt.etsy.com

Jodene Bond

My grandmother. One of the greatest influences in my life and someone who helped me become a better me. She died last weekend and its all a little surreal still. She is the closest person to die in my life. It has not totally sunk in.

My sister sang and we were both pall bearers, a job generally meant for men, but my mom wanted to be one so we all participated. Today was the burial. It could not have been more beautiful. The tender mercies of the Lord were all around.

Grayden in Pursuit

Grayden!!!!

Ok so we JUST got home from Dallas, about 20 minutes ago. Grayden has figured how to pull himself across the floor using his arms and knees, not quite a crawl, but just as effective. He has already gotten to the dogs food ball three times, a piece of the dog's rawhide twice and my flip flops were almost within grasp. Yep, I'm a gonner!

These were pictures I took at the birthday party.

Cousin Ewan

This past weekend we attended Ewan Taylor's birthday party. He turned the big 4 and got lots of Thomas the train stuff. Grayden was the youngest, but he had fun watching all the big kids play.

Snow, Sun and Ski

Last week my Dad took me, Grayden, and his 4 and 6 year old skiing in Park City, UT. We had a lot of fun. Troy did not get to come however so trading Grayden around, so I could ski, was limited. I think by the next time I will be fairly descent. My six year old sister was out-skiing me to give you an idea of how "not good" I am, or how good she is. She did take the blues and skied between trees and did jumps, all without falling, with Breanna.

This is my 6 year old sis, Christina, schooling me on the slopes...



Grayden got to see the snow and mountains, but other than that he was pretty restricted in his activities due to his inability to stand yet. He will get there though and soon he will out ski me too.

Oh and while we were visiting we managed to make it to one of Breanna's rugby games where she immediately busted her lip, causing it to fall our of her skin. She got about 12 stitches, but not cosmetic surgery was necessary. Then the following Saturday my dad got to go to another game in the which she got kicked in the face and broke her nose. At least this time she got to stay in long enough to score.

Here are pics of Breanna's injuries. (As a side note, no one has ever had to go to the emergency room until we got there!)

MORE TO COME

I have plenty to post about our little adventure in Park City last week, but its late now so I will write detail tomorrow!

(Troy is laughing hysterically upstairs about something...I must investigate.)

One more thing...

His hair is growing like cazy.


I figured I should mention how Grayden is developing. Lately he has turned into a little Rolie Polie. He has managed to cross vast expanses of carpet and reach for everything from lamp cords to book shelves. Fun times.

Today he showed promising signs of crawling. He knows how to push himself backwards, but has not quite been able to get up on his knees all the way yet. Yep, I know. My days are numbered and I'll be lucky if that number is a double digit!

More Easter Pics

Of course Breanna was a little princess in her yellow froo froo dress

When I was a kid I watched the original Little Rascals a lot. One episode featured Darla wearing this puffy white dress, loaded with tulle. She was beautiful. This little blue dress made feel like a princess and that I was as pretty as she was.lol So much fun!

Random visit to Mommom's

Grayden and I made a little trip to grandma's last Friday and spent the afternoon playing. Amongst the fun, Mommom found a gold mine of pictures from the past. Several of which were from the Easter of 89. I must say me and Bre looked pretty darn cute!

Me, Breanna and Dad, oh and Silver (the dog)

The famine is over!

Its been a while, but the rains have come in...

Last week Grayden and I went to Herman Park to play. We swung on the swing set, talk to a duck and watched some crazy guys feed the squirrels from their hands.

The sun was shining and the sky was blue. It was a beautiful day to say the least. However it was a bit chilly so we had to wear our light jackets. I think Grayden enjoyed the little excursion.

Grayden Update

Grayden has recently developed a skill for sitting up, at least until he decides he needs to suck his toes or kick his leg knocking himself over. He is still a novice, but I expect he will enter the pros very soon.

Oh Glorious Van

I just spent the last week in San Marcos trading cars with my dad. Since he recently purchased a new car I inherited the family van. Its great. The best part is the ease getting Grayden in and out not to mention the space, comfort etc...

It was hard being away for so long, but in the end it was worth it. Dad had to get a few things fixed before I took it. Troy missed us and we missed him. The neatest thing was seeing the expression on Grayden's face when he heard daddy's voice on the phone.

Another Picture

I took this picture of my mother in law Mary Ann. I think she looks quite beautiful. She might kill me for posting it, but it should be seen.

Some Grayden Pics

Bryce left his camera yesterday after Fynn's birthday party. Its wonderful having the use of an DSLR! These are some of my favs I took yesterday afternoon.