The GRAY Gang: ACK!!!!

Time is going by WAY to fast… is that how I start every blog post now? I swear the days are long and the weeks are fast and the months are just zooming by. I thought I had better get caught up before I head to Idaho. (I’ll be there in 5 days, BUT who’s counting right?!) It’s hard to believe Christmas is upon us already. Right here next to me I have one suit case already packed for my sweet nephew Samuel, and I have a mountain of things for a future niece and a few other random things for other nieces and nephews and of course a good sized stack of Christmas presents! Not a dang thing packed for myself or my kids. But all the fun stuff is blocking the entrance to our bedroom and the path to our computer.

My kids are growing like weeds. Lacey is changing by the day. She is very talkative, Very smiley, and VERY wiggly. She loves tummy time. After laying on her belly for a bit she will put her face on the floor and push up on her knees. When she is laying on her back she has perfected her bridge. I can’t believe how move-y (not a word!) she is. We love her. She is still as patient as can be. She is still a decent sleeper. She hasn’t been sleeping through the night EVERY night as she once was, but we get 3 or so nights a week out of her. Sadly, her bassinet was packed up this week. --TEAR—and she is now sharing a room with Julia. Julia is in heaven. Mommy is sad. I think it is the fact that there aren’t going to be very many more babies around these parts. I’m having a hard time letting this one grow up.

Anything I am doing with Lacey, the older kids want a part of… for example…

Lacey got some new, super cute boots from Grandma Wi. Wanted to capture the cuteness

For whatever reason, cuteness goes away once the shoes start getting bigger! Smile

Don’t get me wrong, the children themselves are as cute as can be…the shoes… get dingy and old looking super fast though!

Julia. Oh my little Julia. Look how much she has changed since February. Holy Moly. She lost her baby look and grew into a little girl. I love my sweet Julia. But boy oh boy does she give this Mama a run for her money. I love everything about her. She’s a fireball. She is so full of will and desire and attitude it is NOT.EVEN.FUNNY. She does what she wants to when she wants to and there is NO changing her mind. She does NOT want an ounce of help if you offer it. It’s when I don’t offer that she needs me. She does NOT want me to hold and snuggle her unless I’m cooking dinner or feeding Lacey. And EVERY single night I lay down by her and I wrap my arms around her and she asks, “Mommy, why do you hold me?” and every night I say, “Because I love you!” and Every night she gets a great big smile on her face and snuggles me closer and I LOVE IT!

Julia is my little number girl. She loves numbers. She loves counting, and I’m always amazed how fast she can count things and add things up. She is still working on her letters and knows 3/4 of her alphabet, but she is MUCH more interested in numbers then letters. She loves when she sees an L, because it is for Lacey. All Ks belong to Kevin, and a D is for her Daddy whom she has wrapped around her little fingers. Have I ever told you how much I love Julia’s fingers. I can not describe them, but they are my favorite. I always ask her to hold her hand up with her fingers spread out because her pinkie sticks out and her fingers… are just so dang cute!

Julia is hugely addicted to nail polish. She will sit in the kitchen on a towel for a good hour painting her toes and fingers. She is getting pretty good at only getting it on the toe nails and finger nails too.

Nobody can make Lacey smile quicker than Julia. The other day I was doing a haircut and I left Lacey in the living room on the floor with Julia. My appointment said, “You are pretty trusting to leave a newborn with a 2 year old!” When we were finished and walked back around to the living room my sweet Julia was laying on the floor with Lacey singing her songs and helping her play with toys. It melts my heart. Julia is so good and sweet with Lacey. She LOVES changing diapers and she loves getting toys and she LOVES holding Lacey’s hand when she is sad. As crazy as this little girl can make me and as resilient as she is, I would not, could not change her for anything or anyone in this world!

One of the bummers of being so far from family is that they miss all our cool parties/game nights. As much fun as we’ve had, they would be even more fun shared with our parents and brothers and sisters.

Here, is my handsome husband in his ugly sweater with his uber yucky center part.

I don’t have many pictures of Kevin this go around, but we can’t forget him. We changed his bed into a big bed again. (put the frame under it!) He LOVES it. Kevin is our very tender hearted boy. He is sweet beyond belief. But, don’t be fooled, he knows how to make Julia scream a bloody curdling scream, due to his never ending teasing that has been going on as of late. He is definitely my big boy. He is four and he knows it. He has been trying to give up naps. (He’s ready to be done, but his little body can’t keep up with himself!) He’s only napping a few times a week, which he LOVES, and really so do I. It has been fun to have one on one time with him while the girls are napping. He is the projecting King. He LOVES making things. As of late, due to a MacGyver addiction he has been making bums…Yes, you read that right. BUMS! He really means bombs, but it comes out bums more often then not. He LOVES the tool set he got for his birthday and is always building or repairing something. He loves gluing things together, cutting paper, tying string on to things, and taping… oh boy does he love tape. We should buy stock in tape. He is also a play dough maniac. Our play dough supply has gone from a little basket to a great big apple box of play dough equipment. He will play for hours. His coloring is awesome and he has recently developed the desire to spell. He has mastered Mom, Dad, and Zoo, and of course he always writes a row of letters and either tells me what is says or asks me to read it to him.

Incase Kevin tells you all about his baby brother Jackson… there is NO baby brother Jackson…But he is talked about on a daily basis, SEVERAL times a day. He is currently a yellow match box car, because he isn’t HERE yet… but he is coming. (Or so we’re told!)

Kevin asks 8 gillion questions a day. I handle 7 gillion of them really well, but by 7 gillion and 1 and start to get burned out. I love my Kevin boy. His love for footie pajamas, motorcycles, sticky popcorn, and projects makes me one happy Mama.

And… I’ll wrap things up with some super cute pictures of Lacey Lace.