What's New With the Whites

Blog Hiatus...

2011-01-15T18:54:00.000-08:00

We are all still alive and well, but I just needed a break from the blog! My to do list is always growing and sometimes writing/posting seems like one more thing to do, so I have taken a break!

I'll get back on the ball soon... hope everyone is doing well!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-01T19:06:00.000-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving! Brian and Robin and the twins came to visit and we were so glad to have them. We haven't seen them since March and that is a long time in "baby world!" The girls have changed so much and were perfecting their walking skills while at our house. Grady enjoyed having them and has been asking ever since they left for "the babies". He grabbed his back pack the other day and I said, "Grady, where are you going?" He said, "On a trip! Babies!" So if he shows up, Brian and Robin, you know why!

Now I REALLY hope I get these pictures right! If not, Robin, please tell me asap! I had such a hard time telling them apart!!!

Addison

Emma

Addison (I THINK!!!)

Emma, Grady, Addison- They are THRILLED to be posing for the camera.

Their faces tell it all- Emma, "What does he think he is doing with his arm?" Grady, "This is getting real old!" Addison, "Move it or lose it"

Grady's eyeing that passy....

Can't take it anymore!

And, we're done!

Later, when the mood changed and we weren't forcing children to sit smack next to each other and be still, Grady decided to show off his big boy "panties". Mikey is ecstatic that Grady refuses to say undies and will only say panties.

The girls loved the headphones as much as Grady does! Don't know what it is about those things! Emma trying them out...

Big cousin Grady showing them the ropes on the potty.

Scrub a dub dub, three babies in the tub!

Thank you, Brian and Robin, for making the trip! I am so glad we got to see y'all! Can't wait to see you again in a few weeks!

Blue Angels

2010-11-11T18:02:00.000-08:00

Today, we went to the annual Blue Angels Homecoming Show. Jeremy, Mikey's best friend, is always gracious enough to share passes with us so that we can sit on the flighline. His mom works for MWR and they have a chalet with lunch and drinks and the best view you can get! The weather was perfect today and Grady was great, even though he missed his afternoon nap!

Happy Veteran's Day, and thank you to all the men and women who fight for our freedom!

Halloween and a little more...

2010-11-07T19:40:00.000-08:00

Whew, I hate to say it, but I am glad Halloween is over! It makes the kids at school go crazy, it's a lot of work getting Grady ready, AND there is too much candy calling my name! We did have a great Halloween together, but he was NOT in a good mood when I first started getting him ready. We went trick-or-treating in Elaine's neighborhood because people in Milton were trick-or-treating on Saturday night. Which is a whole 'nother issue! Why in the world do people think we need to celebrate a holiday early just because Halloween fell on a Sunday? People, you won't go to hell if you miss Sunday night church! Ok, so the fact that people were knocking on our door on Saturday night really put me in a bad mood for Halloween and maybe some of it rubbed off on Grady because he was not cooperative the next day! We ate dinner at Elaine's, then I wanted to give him a bath and get him dressed up. He would not listen to me and wanted no part of his costume either! He even got a spanking (gasp!) for not listening.... finally he put his costume on (minus the hat) and we took a few pics before we headed out.

Please, Grady wear that hat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And what about the golf clubs???

Quick, get a picture while I've got a hold of him!

Once we started walking, both of our mood's improved! (Perhaps it was the candy?)

Come on, Daddy, let's GO!

He really did have so much fun trick-or-treating and I did too. He is at the age where he understands what is going on and what to say. He loved going from house to house saying "trick or treat" and he REALLY loved getting "pops" (lollipops).

The Monday before Halloween, my friend Tenisha and I took Grady and her daughter, Chloe to the far to see Dora and Diego. Chloe and Grady are only 6 weeks apart. We waited for 2 hours to see Dora and Diego and only got a quick picture, but Grady LOVED touching them. He walked right up all by himself for the picture!

Since the weather has turned colder (for a little while anyway), I wanted to make smores outside in our fire pit. We bundled Grady up and I thought he would love it, but he was actually scared of the fire. When we went to see Dora, there was an exposed lightbulb underneath a bench and he touched it. He burned himself and got a blister, so now anytime he sees a light (or a fire apparently), he says BURN, Dora!!!! So the fire reminded him of getting burned at Dora... it's so funny what kids remember!

Not so sure about the fire...

Helping Daddy roast the marshmallow...

And this is random, but funny to me... today, he wanted to go out the front door, but we had it locked. He went and got his chair and tried to unlock it, but it didn't quite work....

so he switches to his foot stool....

and when that didn't work, he went and got his stool from his easel!

Quite persistant he is! He definitely keeps us busy!

This week, Mikey and I both have Veteran's Day off, so we are taking Grady to see the Blue Angels Homecoming Show. We went last year also and we always have a great time!

Spiderweb Cookies

2010-10-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

I found this really cute recipe for Spiderweb cookies and I thought I'd give it a try! I used my regular sugar cookie recipe, iced the cookies with royal icing, then dyed some icing brown (the store was out of black). After icing the cookies, I made a spiral with the brown icing. I used a ziploc baggie with a TINY part of the tip cut off because I couldn't find my decorator's tip. It works just fine. After making the spiral, use a toothpick or skewer to make lines coming from the center all the way to the edge, like this...

Then voila! Spiderweb cookies!

Royal icing hardens as it dries and has a really nice, smooth finish.

On another note....

A few weeks ago, when Nancy was visiting I decided to rearrange the living room. Grady's toys were overtaking the living room so we decided to make the front area a toy area for him, and have a "normal" living room. Now he has his own play area and I think the living room looks MUCH larger!

Sweet Seasons

2010-10-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

Today, we went to Sweet Seasons Farm to go through their 5 acre corn maze! It was so much fun. Each year, they change the design of the maze to spell something or display a picture. Here is an aerial view that's on their website. How cool is this?

While we were there, we also shot a corn cannon, went on a hayride, and Grady went on a pony ride. The weather was beautiful...

Add caption

Parties, Pumpkin Patches, and Peanuts!

2010-10-18T04:06:00.000-07:00

We had a jam packed weekend this weekend and I am exhausted! But we had loads of fun together. Saturday morning, we went to breakfast and then headed to Niceville to Jason and Roxanne's house. It was sweet Adelyn's 1st birthday party. She is just as cute as can be. Poor baby had shots the day prior (or maybe 2 days?) and was not feeling up to partying, but she looked precious in her birthday outfit and was a good sport with all those people in her house! Here is her cake that Roxanne's sister, Misty, made...

And some pics with her mommy and daddy, opening presents, and eating cake...

Adelyn did not enjoy her smash cake too much, but Roxy sure did! (She's my kind of woman!)

We got home around 2 and took a quick nap. Then I met up with my Pea Ridge friends for a wedding. Vicki's daughter- I work with Vicki- got married Saturday night and she looked beautiful! I had fun spending time with my fellow teachers outside of work. We all get along so well!

The bride, Alli

Vicki and her son, Cody

Yvette, Tina, Michelle M., Me, and Michelle B.

While I was at the wedding, Mikey and Grady went downtown for the Greek festival and loaded up on Greek pastries. Yum!

Then on Sunday, we went to Holland Farms which is a peanut farm (among other things) in Jay. They also have a REAL pumpkin patch where we all picked out a pumpkin. We ate boiled peanuts on their big front porch and took a hay ride around the farm. The only thing that could have made the day better is cooler weather!

Waving to the people on the hayide...

Eating some boiled peanuts along the way...

Owner of the farm explaining how peanut grow...

Fall Festival

2010-10-10T19:25:00.000-07:00

This was our one outing this weekend... St. Rose of Lima Fall Festival in Milton. We relaxed most of the weekend and then decided to get out and do something fun today. Let me just say I am glad we didn't set our expectations high! The whole time we where there all I could think about was coming home to take a bath and especially scrub my feet. There were a few booths there with nothing too interesting, several food booths, some carnival rides and a "petting zoo". Of course Grady wanted to see the animals in the petting zoo which consisted of a pig, three goats, a cow (I think?), a couple of rabbits, and turtles. THRILLING! The pig (named Bacon, who could have become a member of our family for a mere $30) would NOT stop jumping on me and rubbing its snotty, dirty snout all over my legs. Grady especially enjoyed this, however it only enhanced my desire to come home and take a shower. Who knew a pig even jumps??? The man told me if I quit backing away Bacon would stop because he thought I was playing. I guess I was sending the wrong signal. Once I lured Grady out of the stink pit, we wandered around for a few more minutes and I continued to observe outrageous clothing choices and lovely hair styles (mullets). I tried to snap a few pictures of these people on the sly, but when your camera requires its own special bag, has a giant neck strap, and a lens that is 6 inches long, it's a little hard to be quick and secretive. But, man, I REALLYwanted to get a shot of the tie dye shirt under the daisy duke jean overalls. To be honest, I really felt silly for even bringing a camera and using it! I only took a couple of pics...

And this is just hilarious to me... Grady likes to wear Mikey's tube socks with NOTHING else... and he pulls the socks all the way up to his heiny. He walks around like this all day. He is pretty much over the diapers. He is doing really great with using the potty (or the grass!), so I am ok with letting him go diaperless! He's such a nut!

Mama/Grady Weekend!

2010-10-03T19:00:00.000-07:00

Mikey had to work all weekend (which is rare), so it was just me and "Gray Gray" to spend some time together. There is so much going on right now and the weather has finally cooled down enough for us to enjoy some outdoor activites. So, Saturday we ventured up to Jay for the Jay Peanut Festival. Mikey has been on a boiled peanut kick for a while now, so I was really bummed that he wouldn't be able to join us, but I didn't want to miss it. It was a lawn mower lovers paradise and we all know that Grady was in heaven. They had tons of John Deere mowers dating back to the stone age until now! Grady sat on what seemed like each one of them and was in love! We also went on a hay ride, train ride, and tried to go on a pony ride but he got scared. He just wanted to touch it. And of course we ate some peanuts. I am so mad, BUT I FORGOT MY CAMERA!!!! I took lots on my cell phone, but I can't get them onto the computer. Oh well....

When we got home, we took naps and then made pumpkin sugar cookies. Mostly I made them while Grady snagged cookie dough when he could.

This mixer is loud!! (It was my mom's and it's probably twenty-something years old! But it works perfectly and reminds me of her...)

I had a great weekend with my sweet boy... every time I look at him I realize how he's getting to be a big boy and not a baby anymore. Although when you say "Grady, are you a big boy?", he replies (rather dramatically), "NO, I'm a BABY!" I don't know why he says that!

Looking forward to the next few weekends when we'll visit the pumpkin patch and a few other places!

Crazy Grady!

2010-09-19T18:46:00.000-07:00

Just a few pics of our mischievous Grady…. He gets into anything and everything he can get away with!

Standing on the “mow mow”

Climbing into the dresser to play his new favorite game, hide and seek….

Taking a shower with Daddy- Peek a Boo!

Collecting money for his piggy bank…

He most definitely keeps us on our toes, but we are having a blast at this age. He is very good at mimicking us and his vocabulary becomes more expansive by the day it seems. He asks for KK (Katie) and Anna Cross daily and many things remind him of them. His memory amazes us!

Elaine's Surprise 60th

2010-09-07T19:26:00.000-07:00

This past Friday, we went to Jenine and Phil's house in Tampa to surprise Elaine with a party for her 60th birthday. Her brother, Steve and his wife, Joy flew in from Texas. Her sister, Janice, niece Christina, nephew TJ and Christina's boyfriend, Chris all flew in from New York. On Friday night, we went to Carrabbas for dinner. She thought it was just us (Jenine, Phil, Mikey, Grady, and me) and she was SO shocked to see her family. This was her reaction:

Hugging her brother, Steve

Steve's wife, Joy

Chris, Chrissy, Janice, TJ

We enjoyed a nice dinner and then we all headed back to Jenine and Phil's to relax and spend time together. We were pretty tired from the drive and Mikey was very exhausted because he had worked all night the night before. So we went to bed a little early. The next morning, we got up to get ready for the party. Jenine had prepared most of the food prior to the party... she made so much yummy food! She spent the morning finishing up the cooking while I decorated.

Joy, Elaine, Steve

Janice and Grady

The next day (Sunday), we went to Clearwater to have lunch at Bahama Breeze. We sat outside, listened to the music, and enjoyed a great meal.

Family picture

Elaine was so surprised and I think it meant a lot to her that her family traveled down to Tampa to celebrate her birthday with her. It shows how much she is loved by her family!

A post can't be complete without a couple pics of crazy Grady...

Listening to the IPOD...

Getting into the Hershey's Syrup...

First Day of School/Happy Birthday Elaine!

2010-08-25T18:37:00.000-07:00

Monday was the first day of school with students… Grady was ready for “school” at Mrs. Kaye’s!!! He has been having a blast with his friends… he sure missed them over the summer!

I have a challenging class this year, but this week has been good so far and I am excited to work with my kids. We also have two new teachers on our grade level and they fit right in!

Yesterday was Elaine’s birthday. She picked up Grady from daycare early so they could spend the day together. Then, she came over for dinner and we had dessert at Dairy Queen. :) Since she likes to work in the yard, we made her a garden stepping stone that Grady put his handprints in. He was SO proud of the finished product and I think Elaine loved it.

Happy Birthday Elaine!

Summer's End...

2010-08-14T19:11:00.000-07:00

Today, we took Grady to a place right outside of Mobile called Kangarooz. My friend Miranda mentioned it the other day on Facebook, so we decided to give it a try. It's an indoor inflatable playground with a great toddler area. It's really clean and nice inside. It has a cafe and even a stage and a dance floor complete with a disco ball (perhaps Grady's favorite part!). My Gymboree membership is up since I am about to go back to work, so Grady hasn't had a place, other than the house, to run around and play since we returned from California. It's still miserably hot and unless we are at the water, we have to stay inside. So we went over there this morning and Grady loved it. I have to say I did too! And it's quite a workout to carry a toddler up the inflatable rock wall in order to slide down! But he really enjoyed it and even liked the "big kid" inflatables. We were told by one ~~bratty~~ informative little kid that the baby area was "over there". Mikey let her know that Grady liked the big ones, too! I had my eye on that girl, don't you worry.

Dancing on the stage....

Mikey fell coming out of the bounce house and I could not stop laughing!

Grady loved the Kangaroo and followed him into his "dressing room"... he cried when he realized he wasn't coming back out!

Kissing the Kangaroo

After that, we went to Bass Pro Shops next door just to walk around and grab lunch. I've only been to the one in Destin, but this one is much bigger and has lots of mounted animals, which Grady really liked.

At Bass Pro Shops

I go back to work on Monday, which I am really looking forward to... but I will of course be sad to leave Grady again. The transition is always hard at first. It's been a great summer filled with many great memories. Grady is at a wonderful age, learning so much and doing such funny things. Last summer was VERY stressful with him because he wasn't sleeping well and he wanted to be held a lot. Now that he's a little older, we were able to do so much more... Gymboree classes, the river, the pool, the beach, go to CALIFORNIA!!!!!, and just spend time together. I know he won't remember these times, but the great part about my job is that I will have every summer to spend with him and make lasting memories.

San Diego

2010-07-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

Whew! We made it home from San Diego and it was bittersweet. I was glad to see Mikey and of course Grady was too, but I missed Katie and Anna Cross as soon as they drove away from the airport! We were gone for 22 days which didn't seem like a long time to me when I booked the trip, but when you're away from your house for that long, it does seem like a long time. But I am so thankful that I was able to go and spend so many days with them. And I'm thankful that they let me! I know it's hard to have a houseguest!
While we were there, we went to the San Diego Zoo, the Wild Animal Park, the beach (Coronado and Mission Beach), Balboa Park, Old Towne, La Jolla, Belmont Park, Kate Sessions Park, Cabrillo National Monument, Los Angeles/Hollywood, and "Let's Make A Deal". I also experienced my first earthquake on the same day we arrived! California is beautiful... I think it's so cool that one state has beaches, mountains, deserts, and snow. It's so amazing.

Anna Cross and Grady had a lot of fun together, even though Grady is a little dominant and definitely has the only child syndrome going on! Anna Cross is just so sweet and has the cutest little voice ever. Every morning, when Grady would wake up (he'd wake up first most of the time), we'd walk out of our room and he'd say "Shhhh"... but as soon as AC woke up, he would RUN to her door and they would both just squeal when they saw each other. They also loved to wrestle around on the floor and dance... so fun to watch!

Anna Cross also had her first birthday party while we were there, so we enjoyed celebrating with her. They splashed in the pool and loved the slip and slide, too. Samantha made the cutest cake and several matching cupcakes. Anna Cross dug right in!

Of course no trip is complete without some kind of "emergency". I noticed some small bumps on Grady's hiney about a week after we were there and since he's had MRSA before, I worried that's what it was. I had decided to wait until the next day to take him to urgent care, but later that afternoon, I saw a HUGE blister/ulcer on his tongue. I took him to the doctor and he gave him a prescription for MRSA, said the ulcer was just viral, and gave me a prescription for a topical ointment for that. The next day, I saw a blister on his foot and one on his hand, so I assumed it was actually Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. I took him back and the doctor confirmed it and said there was nothing to do for it. So 2 copays and 2 prescriptions later, we were stuck riding it out! He really didn't seem too bothered by the blisters, but the ulcers complicated meal time and he was drooling all over the place! Luckily, they cleared up within a few days. What a mess!

The Sunday before I left, Katie and I went to LA to go to Let's Make a Deal. We didn't get to be a contestant, but it was still really interesting to see the TV production process and see Wayne Brady in person. Beau kept the kids for us (super dad!) and everyone was in one piece when we got home and having a blast! Thanks Beau!

There are just too many details to share since I was gone so long! We just really had a great time and it was a great way to end my summer vacation. I go back to work in two weeks. Thank you, Katie and Beau, for having us and being such great hosts! I can't wait to see you again soon!!!

Here are tons of pics... we took over 1000, so it was a process to weed through them all!

We've arrived!

Katie's House

The seals at La Jolla

La Jolla

Grady checking AC's diaper!

Hugs!

Anna Cross's First Birthday Cake (by Samantha!)

Balboa Park

Coronado

A few from Old Towne:

Belmont Park:

Kate Sessions Park:

A few from Cabrillo National Monument:

Wrestling!

Balboa Park Rose Garden (Anna Cross's First Birthday portraits were taken here, so we tagged along and got some of our own!)

Let's Make A Deal!

Having Fun:

Fourth of July Weekend

2010-07-05T19:29:00.000-07:00

We had a great 4th of July weekend, with beautiful weather and good time spent together. Mikey had off work Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday so we have been able to spend a lot of time together! As I mentioned in my last post, he switched hours at work, so he is no longer going to have to struggle with the night hours! Hopefully he’s been able to catch up on rest the past few days!

Jenine came for a visit this weekend. On Sunday we went to the Blackwater River State Park, and it was better than our expectations. There are Cypress trees, long boardwalks, pavilions, and even the sand is white like the beach. The water is clear and shallow, but it does have a swift current, so we definitely had to help Grady out! We really enjoyed our day at the river and plan to go back soon.

Sunday evening, we went over to Elaine’s for sparklers, snaps, and fried chicken. Grady LOVED throwing the snaps down and listening to them pop! When we came home, we sat outside for a while with the neighbors while they shot a few fireworks in the street. He was wiped out and just sat on my lap in a daze.

Today, after two beautiful, sunny days, it rained again, but that was ok with us… we are just thankful for the nice weekend and time spent together… I leave for California on Wednesday! Here are some pics from the weekend…

18 Month Well Check

2010-07-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

Grady had his 18 month well check today and the doctor said he is doing great. Height, weight, verbal skills are all on track. He joked with me last time we were there and said he had his ear plugs in when he saw Grady was coming because Grady screams the instant he sees Dr. Hensley. He hates going to the doctor. He was impressed that Grady understands and follows verbal directions so well, like when I say "Go put Mommy's shoes in her closet". Hey, I'm ready for him to start some chores and pick up after us himself. He's a fun little boy and I am definitely enjoying my summer with him.

Here are a few pics of Grady... he had a haircut, by the way. With the clippers, not scissors. Almost buzzed. Whew! Didn't mean for that much to go, but I'm getting used to it.

Opening Mikey's bday card... loved the music it played

New train table... Craigslist, where else? :)

Crawled right in the toy chest...

Yelling, "HEYYYY" at the top of his lungs... has to make sure I see him!

First time with a belt... checking it out...

Nothing too new is going on, we are just staying busy and out of the house as much as we can so Mikey can sleep! He is actually changing shifts starting this Tuesday. He'll not be working nights anymore, but his hours will still be different than mine. I'll look forward to the weekends when we can see each other and he'll hopefully be well-rested. Night shift is NO good! So I'm glad that is over.

Grady is still going to Gymboree and still LOVING it. We spend a lot of time at the park, running errands, and finding new things to do around town. We usually go out for lunch together after spending most of the morning out and about, then we come home for naps before Mikey wakes up. (Yes, I have been enjoying afternoon naps as well!) This summer is so much different than last summer because Grady can interact with me more and we have a lot of fun together. That's not to say it's always fun... today he screamed the entire time I was at the mall returning something. He wanted to play in the driver's seat of the car and was mad that I would not let him do that. So he didn't get over it for a while. If I have any errands to run that involve clothes or mostly browsing around, I have to wait until he goes to bed at night and then I go out. But no toddler is meltdown-free, so that's to be expected!

We leave for San Diego on Wednesday. I am so excited to see Katie, Beau, and Anna Cross! We are staying for three weeks. We are going to miss Mikey and I don't know what he'll do without Grady for 3 weeks! Catch up on sleep, I hope!

Surprise!

2010-06-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

Pictures, pictures, and more pictures! Yesterday, I threw a surprise birthday party for Mikey. His actual birthday is on Wednesday. We had lots of fun and he was very surprised! We boiled crawfish, had Conecuh sausage, pasta salad, a garden salad, watermelon, fruit salad, brocolli salad, chex mix, chips and dip, french bread, dirty rice, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something else!

Here he is walking in...two of his friends, Mike and Jeremy took him to lunch while I got the surprise ready and guests arrived. He is holding a basket of peanuts he took home with him from the restaraunt... guess they were really good peanuts!

Crawfish in fighting stance before we boiled them....

My friend Michelle's daughter, Marlee, playing with the crawfish... she loved them!

Rinsing the crawfish to get them clean...

Andy and Mikey

Mikey and Elaine (his mom)

McClain (Michelle's little boy)

Grady loves the birthday candles....

36 candles!

About the blow them out...

Stephanie and Michelle

Jeremy and Mikey (this was late in the evening!)

Last night, Grady went to stay overnight at his Grandma's house! That's the first time I have let him stay away from home, and I have to say, it was nice to not have to worry about him while we were enjoying our company. And he did just fine. :) We didn't pick him up until about 3 o'clock this afternoon. Thanks Elaine!

And happy birthday, Mikey!

Gulf Breeze Zoo

2010-06-23T13:37:00.000-07:00

This morning, Grady and I went to the zoo. Our bank, Pen Air Credit Union, has a program for children called the Penny Savers Club and Grady is a member so we were invited to a birthday party for "Penny the Porpoise" (the mascot of the Penny Savers Club). I was excited about it because Grady is at the age where he enjoys things like this. It didn't really cross my mind that it would be 95 degrees, and feel like 105! We were SO HOT to say the least! Grady did really enjoy it at first because he was able to feed all the animals. But after that, we were ready to go! Since it is so hot outside, most of the animals are just laying around in the shaded areas and it was hard to see them. So after we walked around the zoo for a little while, we stopped by the party for some juice and didn't even hang around for cake! I really don't like to sweat unless I mean to sweat! Needless to say, we both came home and fell into bed and Grady is still sleeping... going on three and a half hours now. I guess the heat got to us!

Here are some pictures of him feeding the "farm" animals:

Back at the car... SOOOOOOO hot!

Oil Spill

2010-06-23T12:53:00.000-07:00

Pensacola Beach, today, June 23rd.

Gymboree

2010-06-19T13:51:00.000-07:00

I have been taking Grady to Play and Learn classes at Gymboree since I got out of school for the summer. We go on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday for the class. He loves it! It's all indoors, but there is so much equipment for him to play with and we get to stay out of the heat. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but the classes are really neat... we sing songs, play games, and at the end, it's Grady's favorite part- getting his "Gymbo" tattoo. It's just a stamp, but all day long he points at his foot and says "Bobo!"

Here are some pictures of him at Open Gym. They have Open Gym 4 times a week and it is when the gym is open to all members, but there are no classes taught. There were just a few other kids there yesterday, so he had practically the whole gym to himself...

(He was having fun yesterday, but he was sleepy, so he is not smiling in any of the pictures! He looks a little out of it!)

Mikey came with us to class today and afterwards we were walking around the mall when Grady saw those little rides that all malls have. I hate these things. I used to always see kids on them and think, I'm never letting my kid ride on those dirty things. Well, when your kid REALLY wants to ride on those things, it's hard to say no!

Luckily, as soon as we put the 75 cents in and the machine started rocking, he wanted OUT!

Last Day of School

2010-06-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of school for the children and Friday is my official last day for the summer. This year was a great year with a really well behaved and sweet class. They were all so sweet to each other (most of the time!) and were very considerate of each other, which is sometimes rare at their age! I will miss them, but at the same time, I was ready for them to go! Here is a picture of me with my class at our end of the year party-

On the last day of school, which is always a half day, teachers do something called "Celebration". It is a Pea Ridge tradition and we work hard on it. All the students come in the cafeteria and watch their teachers perform dances, skits, songs, etc. We all get dressed up and come out all together singing "Celebrate Good Times" and the kids go NUTS. They absolutely love it. I always think how much I would have looked forward to that if my elementary school had something like that when I was a kid. But it's intimidating getting up on the stage, even in front of little kids! It's also stressful this time of year and adding dance practice to your afternoon schedule everyday is sometimes a hassle, but when it's all said and done, we are always glad to have done it and we always have fun. New teachers are always amazed by this production!

This year, my grade level did a dance to Lady Gaga's song Telephone. (I never thought I would know every word to that song, but I have been reciting it for days... "stop calling, stop calling, I don't wanna talk anymore"... ugh!!!!) We started out by performing a ballet (b/c third graders take a field trip to the ballet every year) and then said, "We're no good at this ballet stuff, let's try something we're good at"... and then we ripped our hair down from the bun and broke it down. (As best we could for teachers and not professional dancers!). Here is a picture of my grade level before the performance-

I came home after work and took a nap because I was so worn out! Tomorrow and Friday are post-planning days, and then it's me and Grady for the summer!

It's been the same old, same old at our house... Grady is still a handful, but we are enjoying him everyday (minus the meltdowns). He has learned to count, do ring around the rosie, and Mama's proudest accomplishment- burp on command! I can't figure out how to post a video, so if someone can teach me, I'll video him and post it. Here are some random pictures from the past several days...

Eating grapes on the side of the tub while I am trying to relax!!! (I realize this is a little strange.)

Eating popcorn with Daddy...

And watching out for Grandma to arrive...

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

Now that it's warming up, Grady wants to spend even more time outside. So, a few weeks ago, we bought a little sprinkler for Grady to play in since we don't have a pool. He loves it, but when the water goes in his face, it takes his breath away. Also, he only really likes it when we run through it with him, which requires us getting soaking wet as well!

This past weekend, Mikey's sister Jenine came for a visit. We had a great weekend and enjoyed seeing her. We had some people over for a barbeque on Saturday and Mikey smoked some ribs and brisket and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. He is the grill master! :) It was so nice to be able to relax and hang out with friends and not worry about what Grady was doing or where he was... since we were at home, I felt pretty confident he was just doing his usual thing! Also, Jenine was a big help and kept her eye on him... even came and got me at bedtime to tell me Grady was ready for bed! He went right to sleep and did not utter a peep, even though people stayed really late and we were not quiet! I guess I can relax a little about the noise level now that I know he'll sleep regardless... maybe I will stop covering the speaker on the alarm every time I open the door, using my hand to get ice instead of the dispenser, etc! Sunday morning, Grady went to Grandma's so Mikey and I could rest and relax. It had been a while since I'd had a margarita, so I may have overindulged on Saturday! I needed a break on Sunday!

Grady playing with his new friend at the barbeque

We also got a little pool for Grady to play in. He LOVES it.

Jenine and Grady

Making "fishy face"

I missed seeing my brother, sister in law, and nieces this weekend, though. They were at the farm visiting my dad, but it was a full house and I didn't think there would be room for us all... but I am sad I missed them! (Hope you guys had a good visit!)

Only one more week and I'll be out of school for the summer. This time of year just drags on and on and on... Grady and I have a busy summer... Gymboree classes, story time at the bookstore, swimming lessons (hopefully), and a trip to San Diego!!!!!! So excited about that!

Mikey is still enjoying his job, but the hours are hard and he is having a really hard time sleeping during the day. Our evenings usually result in him taking a "nap" right after Grady goes to bed and me doing my own thing for a while! That's getting old! It will be challenging this summer since we'll be home all day while he's trying to sleep. But, despite that, I am just glad he enjoys working for this company and likes the people he works with.

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend!

Grady White, Lizard Lover

2010-05-21T19:50:00.000-07:00

.... Not to be confused with Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter, although their adventurous personalities are quite similar...

Grady enjoyed chasing this lizard yesterday.

Mikey caught it and we let Grady hold it. The lizard got away and Grady actually caught it again!

Then, he stopped, was silent, and looked at us with a bit of shock in his eyes. I said, "Mikey, I think that lizard is doing something to him!" He ran over and that lizard was latched on to Grady's hand like it was his lunch (I'm sure the fact that Grady was squeezing the life out of it had nothing to do with it). Mikey had to squeeze its mouth until it released, but it did break Grady's skin!

I told Mikey to throw that stupid lizard as far as he could. I wish I would have stomped its brains out. (I'm not going to be a protective mother or anything).

Here is Grady playing outside even though it was raining. We pick our battles around here. Since it was just drizzling, we just let him play!

Mikey says you can never start too early- he bought Grady his first baseball glove, ball, and bat!

We hope to have a relaxing and restful weekend. Since Mikey and I are working opposite schedules now, it seems like we are busier than ever. So if I haven't called any of y'all lately, it's because I'm going from 5:30 am until 10:00 pm most nights... and Mikey is going just as much, but opposite hours... it will take some getting used to!

Fiseeeeee!

2010-05-15T19:26:00.000-07:00

Today we went to a birthday party today for Noah... Noah is Matt's son, Matt is Mikey's old roommate and a good friend of ours. Noah turned 9 and had his birthday party at PetLand. It was a really neat party. Noah got to go with the party host to pick out 6 animals to bring into the party that was in a separate room and all his friends got to play with the animals. He chose a bearded dragon (gross), a red tail boa (gross again), a feret that Grady tried to kill by snapping its neck, a beagle (CUTE!), a cha-weiny (this is a new breed... chihuahua/weiner dog... hilarious!), and Mikey's favorite, an english bulldog. OH. MY. GOSH. This was the cutest little thing I have ever seen in my entire life and had it not cost $4800, we may have brought home a little brother for Ellie. No payment plan was convincing me that this would be a smart investment. However, a little boy named Grady did convince me that this was a smart investment:

I must say I do like these little fish and it is pretty to look at. We got some neon tetras and some other neon fish.... I'm not expert on the fish as you can tell. If it weren't for Jessica at PetLand, we'd have a bunch of fish attacks happening right now in our aquarium. Grady gets excited and says "FISEEEE!!!" (or "NEMO!!!", but he doesn't quite understand that we don't have Nemo in our tank... we are amateurs, not quite ready for the saltwater fish!). We want to add just a couple more fish since these are so small, but the rule is one inch of fish per one gallon of water, so we really shouldn't get too many more. We did end up with a shrimp in there somehow. It was a freebie. We didn't notice the poor fella till we got home and set it up. Ever since I saw "Finding Nemo" I personify the fish and think they have real feelings like when they see the net coming, they are thinking "No, not me, not me, not me"! I asked Mikey if he thought they'd be happy with their new living conditions and he looked at me like I was crazy. I keep reminding them not to get near the filter, too. Do you think they look at me like that brace-faced little girl from the movie? I hope not.

We had a lot of fun at the party, Grady crashed AS SOON AS we got in the car. Then, tonight, Elaine came over and babysat so Mikey and I could enjoy a night out with dinner and trip to Wal Mart. We live a luxurious life.

These are a couple pics I took yesterday that I thought were just adorable.

Hope y'all are enjoying your weekend as well!

Just Some Pics

2010-05-10T18:17:00.000-07:00

Grady will be 18 months old next month... his personality is getting more defined each day. He has become very independent and his favorite word right now is "NO!". Sometimes he likes to add in a slap along with the word. And yes, he does get in trouble for it. Here's what happens when he gets in trouble:

Can you see why it's hard to tell him no??? I hate it.

On a brighter side, he is very fun and energetic most of the time. He has a large vocabulary and can understand and follow most directions. He loves to be outside and would stay out there all day and night if we'd let him!

New bubble machine... of course he must investigate how it works....

Watching the bubbles...

Telling us "BYE!" as he heads out to his motorcycle....

Lovin on Mama (or vice versa!)

This picture cracks me up... he loves the sweeper and for some reason, he loves these headphones. He always wants us to put them on for him, then he just walks around wearing them. Maybe he is trying to tune me out!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Bargain Hunters

2010-04-25T19:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I introduced Mikey to the garage sale world. My dad and Charlotte's old neighborhood was having their annual garage sale, so I really wanted to get over there and see if we could find any steals. It is a very kid/family friendly neighborhood and I was hoping to find things for Grady. I gave Mikey the run down when we pulled in the neighborhood about how we don't stop at every sale, always drive by slow and I'll scope out the goods, make people lower offers, etc. He was a fast learner. We ended up with only two things, but they are perfect and just what I was looking for. Here's the first item we found at our very first stop....

When I walked up, I saw my room mom from last year and she's a pro at this garage sale business, so she took over for me and negotiated the price with the owners... would you believe we only paid $15 for this???? It must have 30 tools, some of them are electronic, and it's perfect for Grady because he loves playing with Mikey's tools. It retails for over $50 and also there are many tools that aren't part of the original set, so we got a lot more than we would have gotten at the store! We were very excited.

This is our next find, which Grady is a little too small for right now, but he still likes it...

This brand retails for $110... A HUNDRED AND TEN DOLLARS!!! We paid $10!!!!!! Isn't that crazy? It's in great shape, it looks like it has never been used. I can't believe it! (I really did push him around on this with the handle, but I had on my spandex workout capris since we were just around the house, and I think I should spare you the wretched sight of that... on a brighter note, I am excited to report that I have lost 41 pounds now and Mikey has lost close to 30!)

I know I am probably overly excited about these toys, but toys are very expensive these days and I just can't bring myself to pay $100 for one toy. This may just become our new Saturday morning routine!!!

Here are some more random pics of Grady from the past few days...

You can't really tell, but he is wearing my apron in this pic... he loves to copy whatever he sees!

Singing along with his dinosaur that sings/dances (LOVES to sing)

Loves his clubs... and holding them upside down...

Using something else the wrong way!!! He really does use this as a step stool, but I guess he wanted to try it out as a seat... a few minutes later he was pitching a fit because he was stuck.

Relaxing in his adirondack chair....

We're having lots of fun with him at this age... he's 16 months and is full of energy. We have to be very careful about what we do/say because he copies EVERYTHING!!!! Sometimes Mikey and I laugh, and other times we look at each other like, "Oh crap". Even then it's hard not to laugh!

We're Still Here!

2010-04-18T18:42:00.000-07:00

I have been slacking with the pictures lately and I think it's just because we've been so busy I haven't remembered to get out the camera. We haven't done anything exciting either, so unless you want to see a million pictures of Grady roaming around the backyard and me keeping him from the shed, there is nothing new!

Mikey started a new job (still on base) a couple of weeks ago. However, he was stilling working at his old job, so for the past two weeks, he's been working from 7 am to 4 pm and then from 4:30 pm to 1:00 am. That leaves little time for sleep and family time. So it's been a tiring two weeks for us both. I've had a taste of being a single, working mom and having no time for anything and he has been pure exhausted from only sleeping about 4 hours a night. But old job is ended on Friday and he is only working at his new job now. And he really likes his new job... he stays busy and is up and moving. He's not a desk type person. We are hoping and praying that it continues to go well and we'll never have to job search again! More good news on the job front is that I got my Professional Services Contract on Thursday! That means that I am no longer an annual contract teacher and I do not have to end each school year wondering whether or not I will have a job for the next year. I am now "tenured", so I know at the end of each year that I'll be working again the following year! That is a big stress off my shoulders!

Yesterday, I took Grady to the park when he woke up so Mikey could sleep in and have peace and quiet. There were ducks at the park and Grady has never seen ducks in real life before, and he was VERY excited. But I would not put him down because I have had some encounters with psycho ducks before and I didn't want them to attack! They were getting really close and did not seem scared at all, and one of them made some pretty weird noises, so I just kept backing away. But next weekend when Mikey can go with us, we're going to take some bread and throw it to them. I'm sure Grady will love that. And if anything scary starts to happen, I can run and Mikey can protect Grady. :)

Beach Vacation

2010-04-01T17:53:00.000-07:00

This year, my family decided to get a beach house in Perdido for a few days so that we could all get together and actually have enough space! Tony, Charlotte, Brian, Robin, and the twins, Beau, Katie, and Anna Cross, Emily, Mikey, me and Grady all spent five days at the house. Unfortunately, Emily had to come solo because Jeff had to work. He coaches a baseball team and this past weekend was a tournament weekend. Beau's mom and stepdad, Marie and Lloyd also came from Gainesville to see them.

The beach house was about 45 minutes from our house, so we had the luxury of not having to drive or fly from another state... but we planned to stay there until Grady told us he did not want to. And by that I mean that he would not sleep there and we ended up leaving the first night at midnight. He was just up and talking and ready to play. I did not want him to wake up the other babies (or adults), so that is why we left. So, we actually just drove back and forth each day. We got there as early as we could and stayed until about 8:30 each night. Grady is very particular about where he sleeps! I wasn't thrilled about it, but what could we do? At least we were close enough to home to have that option.

The weather was beautiful, although it was too cold to go in the water. Of course now that everyone is gone, it has warmed up a lot! We had fun just hanging out outside all day on the huge porch... the babies had plenty to play with, thanks to my husband who packed our entire collection of toys in the trailer! We didn't know we'd be back home every night! We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, and had fish, raw oysters, and boiled shrimp another night. Mikey also smoked ribs for us that were delicious as always.

Anna Cross was baptized on Sunday in their home church (the one that Mikey and I joined last year). She looked so pretty and was a perfect angel during the baptism. Not one peep! After the baptism, several people came over to the beach house for lunch and to celebrate AC's baptism. All the girls that Katie and I used to have dinner with once a week (but have since moved) even came into town... Macey, Christy, and Veronica. Roxanne and Jason also came with adorable Adelyn. Nancy, Carol, and Cathy came over as well. We all had a blast visiting with each other.

The twins, Emma and Addison, are so cute and just little butterballs! They were so fun to hold and cuddle up with. I hope Robin was able to relax a little since there were a lot of us there to hold the babies... there was a LOT going on with four babies in the house! It was so neat to see all their little personalities shine. Emma just smiles and relaxes, Addison likes it you make silly faces at her, Anna Cross is quiet and easy going, and Grady is non-stop action. (We are going to work with Grady on sharing and manners!) I miss all those sweet babies. :(

Here are lots of pics from the trip....

Front of House

Back of House

Relaxin' on the Deck

Playing with the ping pong paddle with Uncle Brian...

Ping Pong with Mama

At the church after Anna Cross's baptism

Adelyn (Roxanne and Jason's baby)

Anna Cross resting after her big day!

Nancy and Adelyn

Jason, Adelyn, and Katie

Aunts/Uncles/Cousins

Anna Cross lovin' the trampoline

Grady giving Adelyn a kiss

Grady and Anna Cross

Robin, me, and Anna Cross (not happy!)

Marie, Beau, and Anna Cross

Emily and Anna Cross

Kisses through the glass

Addison, Emma, and Grady (really not kicking her!)

Shucking Oysters with Big Daddy

Dipping their feet in the cold water...

Emma and Addison swinging with Nanny and Big Daddy

All the Grandkids

Beach pics with their matching crab outfits... Grady did NOT want to sit in the sand!

Addison and Emma

Grady and Anna Cross

We had so much fun seeing everyone. It's hard with everyone living so far apart and now that there are babies, we need to see them often so we don't miss anything! We can't wait to do it again!!!!!!!!

Visit from Jenine and Phil

2010-03-14T10:07:00.000-07:00

This weekend, Jenine and Phil came for a quick visit. They got here Thursday night and on Friday, they (Elaine as well) picked him up from day care around 10 so they could spend the day with him. They went to the park and just played all day. He LOVES the park and pretty much anything outside! We were lucky to have gorgeous weather all weekend. We spent every second of the day yesterday outside. Mikey smoked some ribs that were DELICIOUS and even made homemade bbq sauce. Elaine and Jenine fixed coleslaw, baked beans, and pound cake that was yummy, too. I didn't have to make one thing for dinner! This morning, we met at Village Inn for breakfast before they hit the road. It's a long drive back. Thanks for making the trip guys! Here is a pic of Grady "helping" Daddy with the ribs....

And would you believe this is basically the only picture I have from the weekend? Unless you want to count this one in which I'm not exactly sure what Mikey intended to capture, but it was clearly not my face...

How come the mom is always behind the camera, and when she's not, it's pics like this??? Oh well!

I'm annoyed that I didn't take pictures, but I think what happens is that when we have company, they always play with Grady and so I'm not constantly in his face snapping pictures! I may actually be SITTING down!!!! Would someone like to come every weekend? :)

Today, Mikey was mowing the grass/mowing up leaves and of course Grady wanted to hitch a ride. He LOVES the lawnmower and basically anything that has a steering wheel and goes "vroom vroom" as he likes to say. I guess the vibrations and humming finally got the best of him because I went outside and this is what I saw...

I went and got him and he went straight down in his crib. Mikey said "it was the most awesome thing in his whole life". I'm thinking this may be a new routine for nap time!

A few days ago, Aunt Sam sent Grady some stylish new clothes for St. Paddy's Day as well as some cute little animal stickers. Grady loved opening the gifts and the curly ribbon that she used! By the way, Sam, he must have REALLY liked the stickers because I found a clump of them stuck together in his crib!

Finally, Warmer Weather!

2010-03-06T17:44:00.000-08:00

It has been so cold for the past few months and finally today, it was sunny and 60 degrees! We decided to go to our favorite beach restaurant, Peg Leg Pete's and then take Grady over to the boardwalk. Peg Leg's was packed because they were having an Oyster Festival...we enjoyed sitting on the deck and really enjoyed our raw oysters. Grady liked his beach pail full of chicken tenders and fries. (He got to keep the pail and even flirted with the girls beside us to score their pail as well). I told Mikey as we were eating that sometimes I just can't believe what a big boy Grady is. He was just sitting there dunking his fries in his ketchup, drinking his milk with a straw, and pretty much doing everything himself! Don't get me wrong, he's still a handfull because he's into EVERYTHING, but it's nice to not have told hold a spoon for him and feed him every bite.

We headed over to the boardwalk after lunch. We brought the wagon so Grady could just ride along. He absolutely loved it. When we went down to the sand, he wasn't as thrilled because it's hard for him to stand up in it. But we all enjoyed being outside on such a pretty day.

Later this afternoon, we headed back out and took Grady to the park. He's never been to the park before, so we weren't sure if he'd like it. Turns out, he loves it! It was really crowded, but there is an area for the little kids where he could play.

2010-02-27T17:50:00.000-08:00

This morning, Elaine came over to watch Grady while I went with Mikey to help with a cabinet job. You read that right... I was Mikey's help. And I'm even the one who suggested it. It was a small job, but he was going to need a little bit of help handling the cabinet and he had planned to pay one of the people he sometimes asks to help him. So instead of paying someone, I said, "Why don't I just help you?" (Then, thinking to myself, I BETTER not break a nail... or a sweat- that's strictly for times when you MEAN to sweat). But despite my valid concerns, off we went around 8:30 to an 82 year old man's house to take down one cabinet and put up another. (Seriously, when you're 82, why do you really care about your cabinets?) But he was super nice and friendly and probably a little confused as to why I was there, seeing as how I mostly stood there and talked with him while Mikey did all the work. When we Mikey went to put the new cabinet up, he noticed a crack in it. The man then told us that the delivery people did in fact drop the cabinet when they brought it in. So, we had to call and order him a new cabinet and we couldn't even finish the job. Bummer. My first cabinet job was a bust. So now the man has a big empty spot in his laundry room that will remain until the new cabinet arrives. At which time I get to go with Mikey again to "help".

This afternoon, we went and picked up some outdoor toys for Grady. It's still pretty cold (even though it's almost MARCH!!!! I thought we lived in Florida!), but Grady loves to go outside and it's kind of hard to keep him inside all the time. Plus, in my new discipline book, it says that kids need three things daily- outdoor play, reading, and.... can't remember the third one. But at least I have those two down. In order to make sure that Grady is well-behaved, I'm following the rules. So rain or shine, we're going out. And we'll take a book or five with us. One of Mikey's co-workers, Jessica, has been so generous with things her boys have outgrown. She's practically stocked his closet from now until 24 months and today she gave us an outdoor slide, a toy lawn mower, and a basketball goal. Some of the things she had to sneak out of the house when her boys weren't looking! But, Grady is LOVING the new toys! Thank you Jessica!!!!

Even Ellie wanted to ride!

2010-02-25T18:28:00.000-08:00

We've been busy as usual lately, so I haven't had much time to post. But in order to ~~avoid folding laundry~~ keep you all informed, I thought I'd post.

Mikey had a job interview on base on Tuesday, but not in the same building, instead he'd be working on the flight line. He was very interested and excited about this job because of the potential to advance, the stablility, and a job he would enjoy. The Commanding Officer of the base and two other people at work wrote really flattering letters of recommendation for him, praising all sorts of things like his work ethic, devotion to his family (all he talks about is Grady, I know!), and his efficiency at his job. We really felt confident about this interview and afterwards, he had a good feeling. Unfortunately, they called the next day and said it had come down to him and a woman who also interviewed but they offered it to her instead. When the interviewer called Mikey, she even alluded to the fact that since they are an "equal opportunity" employer, that influenced their decision to hire the woman. So that was a disappointment for us, but I know Mikey did great in the interview. He always presents himself well and is such a people person. But, as we all know, everything happens for a reason and whatever happens is in God's plan for our lives. The hard part is accepting that God's plan doesn't always coincide with our plans! He is still interested in the Farm Bureau position (his first job choice), but that isn't available until later on in the year when the person retires. We are hoping that he does actually retire. It is just frustrating for us because Mikey knows what he wants to do, and is well qualified for it, but there are NO jobs right now! However, our family is blessed to have two working people and a child who is well-cared for. I know that during these times, not everyone has that.

Other than that, I am busy preparing my students for the FCAT the week after next. I will be so thankful when it's over. There is so much pressure on students and teachers during this time and it is exhausting. Lying in bed each night thinking of a better way to teach fractions or a more engaging way to practice reading strategies is NOT what I want to be doing! Of course every job comes with stress, but it is always difficult when your effectiveness lies in the hands of 20 nine year olds who can't even sit still!

Enough about work... here are some pics of our crazy little man...

(don't worry, I have ordered a discipline book, rush delivery)!

Eating "leftovers" before I had a chance to clean up!

Just like a man....

Helping me clean (LOVES the broom)

Bird Watching

This picture cracks me up... he went and got this belt and wanted me to put it on him. He's playing with my hairclip, too. Let's hope this is not a prediction of the future!

Something is funny....

This is what happens when Daddy takes over dinner time....

1 Years

2010-02-15T13:22:00.000-08:00

The rest of Grady's pictures are posted-

http://www.kaybrownphotography.com/

and then click ""Online Viewing", then type in White. There are a few choices so make sure you click White M 2/15/10.

Sneak Peek

2010-02-14T09:41:00.000-08:00

Grady finally had his one year portraits made yesterday... Check Kay Brown's blog for a sneak peek...

Click Here, then click "Daily Blog".

I am excited that she posted him on a blog! And I love that picture, can't wait to see the rest.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

2010-02-12T18:32:00.000-08:00

Well, we waited and waited and waited for the snow. We even had the day off because we can handle a hurricane in FL, but if there are a few snowflakes, we forget how to drive. It was raining and cold and we kept seeing nearby places on tv with snow flurries all over and kids building snowmen. Mikey could care less about snow since he got to see it every winter for the first 18 years of his life, but being a southerner, I was very excited. Finally, around 2 pm it started snowing. I had just gotten out of the shower, so I had on my bathrobe. I threw a jacket on Grady, took him outside and we watched the snow fall. It was really coming down. Then, I decided to go get dressed in the proper attire for being outside in 30 degree weather, and by the time I came back out, it was over!!!! I did manage to take a few pics, although they are not that great-

Not too far away, in Brewton, AL, they got a few inches of snow that actually stuck. Lots of people from here traveled up there to have a play day. I wish we would have! I got these from friends on facebook-here is a pic from Brewton, and also one from the FL state line. I thought it was pretty cute.

So maybe it will happen again in another 15 years. Who knows! It's all we've heard about all day, though... it doesn't take much to get us Floridians excited! Now, I am ready for SPRING!!!!!

Little of This, Little of That

2010-02-07T17:42:00.000-08:00

Since succombing our living room over to Grady's toys, I have been going crazy. There are toys everywhere. From big and bulky, to tiny toy cars, everywhere you look there are freakin' baby toys. On any given day, you can find goldfish crackers, balls, or farm animals under the couch. I hate how our living room has gone from an adult area to a baby area, just like that... but we don't really have any other option because I want Grady to play out here where we are. So we've been searching for a "toy box" that will match our living room furniture so we can keep it out here. I didn't think it would take that long to find what we were looking for. We wanted more of a hope chest but we didn't want to pay $500 for it, either (Wood You wanted that price). We had seen one at the Waterfront Mission a while back that was $258, but we really didn't want to pay that much either. Even if Mikey built one for Grady, it was still going to be costly and time consuming. So we kept searching and kept coming up empty handed. We finally went back the Waterfront Mission and they made us a deal and gave us 30% off, so we bought it! We love it. It matches well with the living room furniture and fits perfectly in this spot. What do you think?

Grady really likes it, too.

Here are some pictures of him just being silly today. Excuse the "rag-a-muffin" look. He's become quite a mess since he has started being so "independent". (Translation- don't try to feed him yourself, hold his juice cup for him, show him how something works, etc. He can do it himself, and don't worry, if he can't, he'll just scream at the top of his lungs until you'll help him. Even though you already tried to show him the first time, which also resulted in him screaming at the top of his lungs.)

Trying to "ride" his dumptruck....

Gabbing it up on the phone...

Next Saturday we are FINALLY getting Grady's 1 year pictures done at Kay Brown. I know we are ridiculously late (he'll be 14 months old by the time we get them done), but better late than never, right? December was a very busy month, but I guess we better get used to that since his birthday is not changing anytime soon! I'm hoping his 1st birthday outfits will still fit for the pictures!

And on Sunday, who knows WHAT we will do now that football is ending (in approximately 11 minutes and then one more quarter, but who's counting?)???? We may actually have to resort to some house cleaning, grocery shopping, and perhaps even a little Lifetime Movie Network. Or I'm sure there will be some quality programming on MTV such as Teen Mom or Jersey Shore.... Ah, the thought is just so relaxing.

Have a great week!

PS- I know Sunday is Valentine's Day... it was not an accident that I failed to mention any special plans. You all have met my husband, right???

Football, Four Wheeling, and Fun

2010-01-30T13:04:00.000-08:00

Last weekend the Jets played in the playoffs, so you know what we were doing between the hours of 2 and 5! Grady dressed for the occasion and even though this outfit was WAY to small, I thought Mikey would appreciate the team spirit on Grady's part. It was so small it was gapping between the snaps and the bottom half looked like leggings. I think it really brought out his great qualities (i.e. double chin). He didn't seem to mind!

He is loving the patio and backyard... can't wait till it warms up and he can actually play out there. He is even more in love with the 4 wheeler. He can't get enough. He loved cruising around the yard with Daddy.

Mikey and I went by ourselves this afternoon while "Uncle Mike" and his daughter Kaitlyn watched Grady for us. We used one of their 4 wheelers and went out on the trails for about an hour. Let me just say that I don't really think I'm the "extreme sports" kinda gal. Not only did I get soaked and muddy, but I hit a stump, my 4 wheeler took a turn for the worst and slammed into a tree. I ended up on the ground. Mikey was in front of me and did not realize this happened, so off he goes deeper into the woods as I lay there stunned. After yelling as loud as I could (which is not very loud when you have laryngitis), I realized my Prince Charming was not coming back, so I peeled myself off the ground and tugged that 4 wheeler back into position. (I did not know how to put it in reverse, of course, so I just yanked and pulled and tugged on my own!). Back home, safe and sound, I have a sore leg, back, and hip. And I will not be doing that again anytime soon.

On another note, we've been busy with Grady, work, and trying to be healthier. Mikey's been getting up at 5 am and going to the gym before work. He hates not seeing Grady in the morning, but he enjoys working out and starting the day out that way. I have been going back to spinning for about a month now. I pick Grady up from Kaye's in the afternoon, get to spend about 15 minutes with him and as soon as Mikey gets home, I leave for class. I hate that my time with Grady is so limited on those days, but it's the one of the many things I enjoy that I gave up when Grady was born (and you can DEFINITELY tell!). I've lost 20 pounds so far... only five hundred thousand to go!

Here are a few more pics of Grady...

Think it's time for a hair cut???? I think he likes the pony tail.

Wild Man!

2010-01-23T14:42:00.000-08:00

Not much has been happening at the White house lately, just the usual life of keeping up with a one year old. Now that Grady is walking, he never slows down and he finds trouble everywhere he goes. From taking dirt out of the indoor potted plants to climbing on furniture, he is non stop action. I'm really enjoying this age, though, because he is learning so much, communicating more, and mimicking everything we do. He knows where his nose is (and mine, too), knows where his belly is, and if I say "Oh My!", he puts his hands on his cheeks. When I sing "If you're happy and you know it", he knows to clap even before I say it. He even did it the other day when I was just whistling the tune! He loves to blow raspberries on my belly like we do to him. If I lay on the floor, he comes right up, pulls my shirt up, and blows on my stomach. He thinks the noise is hysterical. He is also really into his stuffed animals right now. He hugs them all the time and loves to lay down with them. He also does that with Ellie, although she tries to get away more often than not! He loves to go outside and walk around the patio. He's not so fond of the way the grass feels on his feet, but if Daddy is in the shed, he'll tolerate it and walk completely across the yard. Today, we finally got him to wear shoes outside while he was walking, but he had some difficulty. He is not a fan of shoes (he definitely didn't get that from me!) Since he's discovered this new walking thing, he really doesn't like naps anymore. I finally got him to take 2 naps a day not so long ago and now it's a struggle again. It usually takes about an hour for him to take an afternoon nap. He just wants to play. BUT I NEED A BREAK!!!!!!!

Here are some pics from the past week. It's finally warmed up just a little, so we have gone outside to swing.

Mystery Diagnosis

2010-01-14T18:49:00.000-08:00

For the past week to ten days, I have been having some very strange medical symptoms. When we were in Tampa, I noticed a swollen lymph node behind my ear. Of course I immediately thought it was cancer related, even though lymph nodes can swell over practically anything. The next week, I was itching all over my body. I couldn't get relief. I thought perhaps it was an allergic reaction to a new medicine I had been taking, so I stopped taking it (did not help the situation). The next day, when I woke up, my hands were extremely swollen and red. I could not get my wedding rings on for several days. Then, not only were they swollen, but my fingers were numb and tingling, during the night mostly. It was the most uncomfortable feeling. I would wake up in the night and shake them for what seemed like hours to try and get feeling back. I was also waking up with terrible pains in my wrists and forearms. This pain continued during the day, as well as pain in my ankles and knees. I was now convinced that my cancer was in fact bone cancer and that is why I had the pain. I kept telling Mikey my bones hurt. He said I don't stretch well enough after exercise. (Such a man to make it my fault somehow). I did get to thinking that maybe the pain was related to the push ups and jumping jacks I had been doing with my new exercise routine. Maybe my wrists and ankles just couldn't support my body weight during all that jumping around (depressing thought)! Then, I noticed one evening that my cheeks were beet red, but I just thought I was hot. Finally, on Tuesday, I noticed a lump in my forearm and then I was certain- it had to be a tumor. Maybe it was lymphoma... Hodgkin's Disease... maybe even Lipoma, another disease I had researched. I decided I couldn't take it anymore and I made a doctor's appointment...again... I had already made one a few days prior, but then cancelled it shortly after when Mikey told me I was a hypochondriac and to quit worrying about it.

The next day at school, one of my students who had been absent the past two days said she was sick with something called Fifth Disease. I said, what in the world is that and are you sure you should be back at school? I googled it that morning at work because I was quite certain that she needed to go home since she had this "disease". As I researched, I realized that I had many of these symptoms, but for some reason it didn't exactly click. When I went to the doctor, I told her all these strange symptoms I'd been having over the course of the past several days. She looked perplexed until I mentioned one of my students had this weird disease called "Fifth Disease". She then looked as if the lightbulb had come on and said, do you have a rash? I said, no. She looked at my chest and said, YOU DON'T CALL THAT A RASH??? I looked down and my chest was covered in a red, lacey rash. So finally, the mystery is solved. The lymph node was swollen because of the virus, the lump in my forearm could possibly be another swollen lymph node (she wasn't exactly sure, but just said to watch it), all that joint pain was because of the virus, and the red cheeks were also a result of the virus.

It is no big deal, it runs its course and there is nothing you can do for it. It is unusual for an adult to contract this because a person can only get this disease one time and it usually happens as a child. I guess I never got it as a child. It's also highly contagious, which would explain why several students at school are out with it, and I sent one home today with it. It's only contagious until the rash appears. Once the rash appears, you can no longer spread the virus. But the problem is that most people don't know what in the world is wrong with them, so they don't isolate themselves and they spread it! Like me! I'm going to watch Grady closely because of course I am always touching and loving on him and I have been contagious for the past several days... I just didn't know it.

So I am VERY happy and relieved to report that I am not dying (that I know of)... I am also happy to report that my joints no longer hurt. That was the worst part of it all. The doctor told me to STOP touching my lumps and STOP getting on the internet researching diseases. I've cut back. But I can't stop cold turkey.

Who Says White Men Can't Jump?

2010-01-13T18:01:00.000-08:00

Back to the Grind...

2010-01-11T17:30:00.000-08:00

We've had a busy past several days and I am finally finding some time to post pictures! We left for Tampa on the 31st (New Year's Eve) to visit Mikey's sister and brother in law. Grady was excited to see his Aunt Jenine and Uncle Phil and had fun exploring new territory.

Sitting in the dog's bed....

He is walking up a storm now... just non-stop on the go.

We did not go out anywhere for New Year's Eve. We just hung out at the house and Jenine cooked some yummy appetizers for us. Jenine and Phil got Grady lots of wonderful Christmas presents. He enjoyed opening them and playing with them all! Thanks guys!

Daddy loved that I put a Christmas bow in his hair. He was just ecstatic about that.

We really did pack clothes for the child, but he was so energetic and never sat down, so he worked up a sweat! I took his clothes off since he was so warm!

On Friday (New Year's Day) we went to Ikea in search of a toy box for Grady. His toys have taken over the house and we have virtually no fireplace now, so we have been looking everywhere for a toy box. We would like to find a nice wooden one that matches with the rest of the living room furniture since that is where Grady plays. We didn't find one at Ikea, but we still enjoyed walking around.

On Saturday we ate at Crispers, went to Babies R Us and then came home and relaxed. Sunday morning we left pretty early so we could get home and settled in. I had to go back to work the next day.

It has been a long week back at work and Grady has been having some separation anxiety when I drop him off at Kaye's house in the mornings. It is hard to leave him when he cries, but I know he stops as soon as she says the word "breakfast".

Tuesday night, I got to see Macey and Rob while they were here for Christmas. Veronica also came and it was so good to see all of them. I miss our weekly girls' night dinners! Almost everyone has moved away!

This weekend we have stayed indoors since it's been so cold outside. It has been about 30-40 degrees during the day and even colder at night. A few mornings when I've left for work it has been in the teens. Sure makes it hard to get out of bed! Even the pond has frozen and has been that way for days!

Grady has a new girlfriend by the way. Her name is Little Debbie and he is IN LOVE. Particularly with Swiss Cake Roll...

Happy New Year! See you 2010!

2009-12-30T11:39:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow morning we are leaving for Tampa to go visit Mikey's sister, Jenine and her husband, Phil. We will ring in the new year with them! (I don't think I've seen midnight since this summer, so who knows if I will actually be awake!)

I'm dreading another long drive, since we just drove to Memphis and then to Austin, but hopefully Grady will be on his best behavior and relax. I've packed the goldfish crackers, vanilla wafers, bananas, toys, and of course the dvd player. I read somewhere that when you are traveling with a baby to pack lots of snacks they can graze on. Good thing Grady likes to eat!

Speaking of eating, today we met Mikey and a couple of his coworkers for lunch at a local restaraunt. I ordered a typical meal for Grady, grilled cheese... but instead of french fries (which he doesn't really care for), I got baked apples. This boy LOVES fruit and would live off of it if I would let him, so I knew he'd love the apples. He was shoveling them in by the handfulls, getting cinnamon and sauce all over his face, especially his cheeks. Then I noticed his face was beet red and looked like it had broken out into a rash. I said to Mikey, I think he is having an allergic reaction! Now, I know I can be a bit dramatic when it comes to health related issues. I will admit that. Afterall, Grady had been to the doctor, including the ER, about 4 times before he was a month old. Call me paranoid, but this time, it was apparent. His cheeks were splotchy and his face was warm. But his demeanor hadn't changed and he wasn't having any difficulty breathing, so I knew it was nothing to rush to ER over. (See, I have improved a little!). We cleaned him up and I called the doctor as soon as we left. Of course they were closed for lunch, so I called the next best hypochondriac I know, Katie. She conveniently googled it for me as I drove home, and as it turns out, cinnamon is a spice that many babies are either allergic to, or it just irritates their skin (contact dermititis). He did not have any other symptoms, so I think it may just irritate his skin. Needless to say, we will not be eating anymore cinnamon! I would have been a mean mommy and taken a picture, but I did not have my camera.

I really don't have any good pictures to post, but everyone loves a blog with pictures, so here are two from yesterday... just playing around.

Of course if Grady can find a way to use something the wrong way, he will! He is definitely ALL BOY!

Getting closer to grab the camera....

I'll post when we get home on Sunday (or it might have to wait until Monday). I hope everyone has a great New Year's Eve and an even better start to the new year!

Happy Boy

2009-12-27T17:49:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pics I took today (with my new camera!). I took over 200 pictures today, but I'll spare you all that jazz. It's really not my fault, this camera takes a gazillion pictures in a row, unlike my old canon that missed every good shot because it was too slow. For example, we took these pictures outside today and in a matter of 2 or 3 minutes, we already had 70 shots. So in my defense, I am not that obsessed with my kid, it's just a good camera.

He loves watching planes and birds...

Merry Christmas from the Whites!

2009-12-25T18:26:00.000-08:00

I am wiped out! We had a great Christmas and I hope you all did, too. Mikey gave me my gift last night (it's really a family gift)... check it out!

I love it! Apparently Mikey does not listen when I set price limits on gifts, but this is a perfect gift for our family since we take so many pictures.

When we woke up this morning, we went in Grady's room to find this:

Apparently we did not respond to him soon enough when he woke up, so he had to resort to stripping his clothes off!

Have I mentioned he's learning to walk? He just started a few days ago, but is really doing great! He can walk clear across this room and has gained so much confidence! Here are some pics of him in action...

We are so excited! He's really moving now!

After he woke up, we went straight to gifts. He's not really interested in the unwrapping part. I thought he would enjoy the paper and the noise, but not really. He got just a few gifts from us since he's still so little... two pairs of shoes, a puzzle, a popper toy, pj's, and some sort of car toy...

After gifts, we enjoyed the Hatcher family tradition of breakfast casserole. Grady and Mikey ate it up! Then the boys took a nap while I started preparing Christmas dinner. When Grady woke up, I went in his room to find (you guessed it!)...

(He must really not like those PJs! He's also jumping up and down in his crib!)

Then Grandma came over with loads of gifts... clothes, a shape sorter, miniature cars, a book, and this WONDERFUL chair!

He just loves it! He can sit independently and just relax. Thanks Grandma!

Gazing at the tree...

We had some friends over for Christmas dinner.... Mike, Woody, and Roger, plus Elaine and the three of us. I cooked sweet potato casserole, crock pot mac and cheese, corn casserole, watergate salad, green bean casserole, and Mikey fried his first turkey that was mouth watering. For dessert we had another Hatcher family favorite, Hummingbird Cake. We also had sausage balls, cookies, peppermint bark, fudge, and homeade chex mix for appetizers. I made everyone take a plate home so we wouldn't have so many leftovers! I'll have to really work it at the gym next week! I forgot to take pictures during dinner, but we all enjoyed ourselves and the company.

Here's another picture of Grady relaxing in his chair, drinking his milk before bed time.

I missed my family today and I hope we can all be together for Christmas next year! I hope you all had a great day!

Love you all!

Grady's 1st Birthday

2009-12-22T19:10:00.000-08:00

The party was a success and lots of fun. Several of our friends came to help us celebrate Grady's big day. Best of all, Leslie Roark , a friend of ours and a VERY talented photographer, came and graciously took pictures for us. Follow the link above, click online viewing, Grady White's 1st Birthday, and the password is white. Enjoy!

THANK YOU LESLIE!!!!!!! YOU ARE AWESOME!!!

Sweets For My Sweets

2009-12-19T20:19:00.000-08:00

This year, for Grady's birthday, I wanted to go all out. I know that comes a shock to most of you... that I wanted to "bling it up"... :). But I mean, you only turn one once! Of course you only turn any age once, but that's beside the point. I started thinking of a theme months in advance, but y'all know I don't really do "themes". I hate Disney and cartoons, and I am not a big fan of anything you can buy in a kit and decorate your whole party with. Not that there is anything wrong with that, it's just not me. So in all this thinking, I finally decided we would do a broader theme (using that word loosely) and just decorate with primary colors and polka dots. The idea stemmed from this:

So, then I decided we would do a candy station, a dum dum tree, a round ornament mobile, balloons, and streamers. I also found a cake that I could not live without. Then I found out how much it cost and Mikey said either I live without the cake or I live without him. After MUCH deliberation, I decided I better not buy that cake. So, Betty Crocker over here decides to "recreate" this cake. Here's where you imagine a LOOOONG sigh....

One of my student's moms let me borrow her cake pans, leveling tool, spreaders, and icing bags. So, all I had to buy were the ingredient and a few other things. Needless to say, what I saved in money, I made up for in time!!!

Here's the beginning...

Noticing the mess, Grady says... "Mom, seriously???"

"Welll, ok... keep whipping it up please"...

Take One: (Cake Split!)

"Ok, Mom, hit up the Wal Mart please"

Take Two:

It's Coming Along!

TADA!!!!

Ok, so I know it's a little lopsided, but for my first try, I say not bad!

Can't wait to see Grady dig in tomorrow! The top tier is all his! More pics to come tomorrow after the party!

Happy Birthday Grady!

2009-12-18T20:10:00.000-08:00

365 Days Ago...

Through the tears....

Through the smiles....

Through the ups and downs...

We have (all) survived our first year!!!!!

Grady, you are very special to your mama and your daddy! You make us laugh everyday and we love your big personality. We can't wait to see what new things you will learn next, and we miss the little things you used to do. We are looking forward to watching your personality blossom with passing year.

No Pics!

2009-12-16T18:19:00.000-08:00

Once again, I have failed to take pictures at another important event... Emily's wedding! Fortunately, Nancy never leaves home without her camera and she took some for us! Here are a few... but for some reason they are tiny!

Rehearsal Dinner

Emily and Jeff on the big day

So I definitely need to get better at taking pictures!

We had a great time at the wedding and visiting the family. I loved seeing Anna Cross because I hadn't seen her since she was 5 days old and now she is 5 months old! She is so quiet and shy, but I can tell she already loves her Aunt MG. :) I loved holding her, she's much smaller than Grady! I can't wait to see her again in March (and her mom, too, of course!)

It was an extremely long drive... one will we never do again in one day, or prefereably not at all! Airplane it is from now on! I am so proud of Grady, though. He handled being in that car seat very well, but had his moments of agitation, as did his mom and dad! Sure was nice to be home and sleep in our own beds!

The fun never stops... this Friday is Grady's birthday!!! My baby is one year old, I can't believe it. Sunday is his party. We have a photographer coming at 2 and the fun starts at 3. And of course, then it will be Christmas, and New Years, and all of that! I will definitely have plenty of pictures from Friday and Sunday!

Grady's Birthday Invitation

2009-12-07T19:05:00.000-08:00

Here is a copy of Grady's 1st Birthday invitation... just wanted to share, I am very happy with the way it turned out!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-28T18:36:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving, we loaded up the car and headed to Memphis to see Brian, Robin and the new baby girls. Dad and Charlotte were there as well. I was ~~freaking out~~ just a little nervous about how Grady would behave in the car for 7 hours (which turned into 9), but he was GREAT! Those of you that have spent any time with him know that he is not one to sit still for longer than 5 seconds. So we packed every small toy we could, juice, goldfish, bottles, pacifiers, and a dvd player. All I can say is thank the Lord for Baby Einstein! I'm not one to put the tv on for Grady, but in the car, it is a life saver.

We were so glad to get there and see everyone, especially the twins! I couldn't wait to hold them. They are so sweet and tiny! When I wasn't chasing Grady around the house, I was just sitting and holding those sweet girls. At first I didn't think they were identical, but after spending more time with them and looking at them in person, I thought they might be. It's still hard to tell. All I know is that they are just so cute! My favorite is to see them lying side by side together in their crib. I have a special bond with my sisters, and I know these girls will, too. They make the cutest little sounds and are really good babies. I know Brian and Robin don't get much sleep during the night, but I think that's mostly because it's a long process to feed two babies, not so much that they are crying. Of course, I wasn't up in the middle of the night with them, so I could be wrong!

I was however, up in the middle of the night with my own child! That child is SO routine and schedule oriented it's not even funny. Are we sure Grady isn't Katie's baby??? Just kidding, sis! No matter what time he goes to bed, he is still up BY seven. He does not do well "out of his element". He went to sleep pretty easily, but when he woke up in the middle of the night and didn't know where he was, it was GAME OVER. After an hour or so, I ended up on the floor with him next to his pack and play trying to grab a few more hours of sleep before he woke up again. The next night, Dad and Charlotte were gone, so when he woke up in the middle of the night, I took him in the guest bed and slept with him there. And then again last night. Let's hope now that we are back home he will be back into his routine. I do not want to be up at 4 am tonight trying to sleep next to a baby that is playing with my face and my hair!

Here are a couple of pics of Chief and Bailey who I'm pretty sure Mikey wanted to steal. Can you imagine us riding home in the Malibu with Ellie, Chief, Bailey, and Grady all in the back seat? They are pretty dogs, but I think they'd rather stay in Memphis!

We had a delicous Thanksgiving feast on Thursday... all Hatcher family favorites... fried turkey, hashbrown casserole, corn casserole, sweet potato casserole, cornbread dressing, sweet rolls, crockpot macaroni and cheese, and turnip greens. We have a lot to be thankful for the past 12 months... 1 marriage (another one soon!), and FOUR babies!!!! The Lord has blessed us this year!

Recipes

2009-11-24T13:39:00.000-08:00

Several of you have asked for the coleslaw and grape salad recipes....

Grape Salad

1 block cream cheese (8 ounces)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup sugar
1 bunch grapes (a BIG bunch)
1 bag chopped pecans

Wash and dry the grapes thoroughly. Pull all the stems off. Beat the cream cheese, sour cream and sugar with a hand mixer. Then add the grapes and mix. Sprinkle pecans on top. Chill.

Oriental Coleslaw

DRESSING:

4 1/2 tbsp. vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar, but distilled white works fine)
3 tbsp. sugar
1/2 c. oil
Salt and pepper
Flavor packet from Top Ramen noodles (chicken flavor)

SALAD:

1 pkg. cole slaw mix
1/2 c. toasted almonds
1/2 c. green onions
3 tbsp. sesame seeds
1 pkg. dry Top Ramen noodles, crushed

This salad needs to be put together at the last minute to make sure that everything is crunchy. Toss the salad ingredients first and then toss with the dressing. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Pics

2009-11-24T13:04:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pics that I have taken the past few days, but none from the baptism.... (don't forget to send me some, everybody!)

Gifts from Aunt Sam... she is soooo good!

Eating a handful of dirt from the plant when no one was looking....

Football star already....

Cleaned out his PJ drawer and then climbed in it (as I am putting clothes AWAY!)

And a few random pics...

Baptism Weekend

2009-11-24T08:13:00.000-08:00

What a great weekend we had with family and friends! Jenine and Phil arrived on Friday night, and we saw them first thing on Saturday morning. Later that day, we went to the "Oyster and Beer Festival" in downtown Pensacola which pretty much consisted of two booths and a dozen people. I expected more of a crowd, but this was it's first running in Pensacola, so maybe next year they will vamp it up a little more. We ended up leaving there and going to Sam's Seafood across from Joe Patti's for lunch. We then walked over to Joe Patti's after lunch to browse around and look at all their wonderful seafood.

Sunday morning, Grady took a 45 minute nap which REALLY stressed me out because it was his big day and I did not want a fussy baby. Then to make matters worse, Samantha (Grady's godmother and my best friend) calls me and says she is stuck in ATL and won't make it here in time for the baptism. I was so upset!!!! And she was too. I threw a small temper tantrum about how things just never work out for me and then I realized it was Samantha who was sitting in an airport for an additional 6 hours and I felt selfish!

We had a lot of family and friends meet us at the church.... my dad, Nancy, Russell, Cathy, Carol, Elaine, Jenine, Phil, Jerry, Sara, Mike, Jeremy, Kristin, Brannon, Matt, Noah, Angela... I sure hope I am not leaving anyone off the list! In fact, the pastor even made a comment about how we brought half of Pensacola with us! Grady is loved! Unfortunately, our senior pastor was out on Sunday and the minister of missions is the person who baptized Grady. I was really expecting Dr. Wachob to do it and was sad that he wasn't there, but it was ok. Grady was a good boy and it was a special time for us.

We all came back to the house afterwards for good fellowship and food. We had baked ziti, subway sandwiches, oriental salad, grape salad, greek salad, chips, stuffed mushrooms, chicken pinwheels, and cake (thank you to all who contributed!!!). Grady fell asleep as soon as everyone left, and I even had to wake him up for dinner! Samantha arrived at about 3 pm and although she missed the party, we enjoyed our visit together (she left this morning).

On a frustrating note... I ended up with NO pictures! I am always wrapped up with Grady and taking care of him that I never get to take any pictures or be in any pictures with him. I am very upset that we didn't get a family picture outside of the church on Sunday. That was the ONE picture I wanted to get, and I forgot. If any of you took pictures, please send them to me. I will post them on the blog when I get them.

Mikey and I want to say thank you to everyone who came! We love you all couldn't ask for better friends and family to be in Grady's and our lives!

Confession

2009-11-17T18:38:00.000-08:00

Ok, I feel stupid admitting this, but I just have to. Macey, you're comment on my facebook about Clinton, Iowa visiting your blog as well is leading me to this confession. As it turns out, Clinton, Iowa is ME!!! I am retarded. Somehow, my internet service does not have me located in Milton, FL (as it once did), so now I show up as Clinton, Iowa. I must admit, I was getting a little concerned about this stalker who visited my blog like 500 times a day. I just kept imagining them staring at pictures of my baby and planning some kidnapping or something. Then I realized that Milton, FL was not ever showing up as visiting the blog. And Katie mentioned how often they visited her blog, too. And then it hit me. I feel like a total doofus, but now at least I can rest at night knowing that no one is that obsessed with me. I should have known that from the beginning!!!!

So, hello Clinton, Iowa, it's ME!

Blue Angels

2009-11-14T18:34:00.000-08:00

Today we took Grady to see the Blue Angels Homecoming show. We got VIP passes to watch from the flight line, thanks to Jeremy's (Mikey's best friend) mom. We were just about as close as you can get to the show. They have tables and chairs set up in that area, along with free food, beer, wine, etc. It really is a treat to be able to see the show from that angle. It was a beautiful, clear day today and the weather was perfect for an air show. Grady did not really like the loud noises, and he hated wearing his ear muffs. Too bad he's too young to make the connection between the loud noise and the ear muffs! He's also not feeling well, has a cold and now an eye infection, and to top it all off he didn't sleep well last night, so he was very tired today. But, he was a trooper and did not fuss too much. I think he'll enjoy it much more next year. He did like watching the planes and waved as they flew by. He was exhausted by the time we got to the car, fell asleep on the way home, and slept for another 2 hours when we got home. He woke up 20 minutes before bedtime, so we're a little off schedule, but I've really tried to lighten up about the schedule. A little. Ok, maybe a tiny bit.

Here are some pics from the day:

Watching the Planes

Waving "Bye-Bye"

Hanging with Uncle Jeremy

Took his headphones off and got scared by the noise!

Sleepy Head

The Blues

Covering his ears when a plane flew overhead on the way home! His eyes are red from his eye infection, and he's covered in milk. What a mess!

Overall, we had a great day. We are all exhausted though! Tomorrow we'll go to church and then spend the day at home relaxing. We have a very busy weekend next weekend because Grady is getting baptized on Sunday. Jenine and Phil are coming on Friday night, Samantha is coming on Sunday morning, Nancy and Cathy are coming on Sunday as well, and about 15 people are coming over for lunch after church. I guess I'd better rest up this week!

Farewell Bleach Blonde

2009-11-11T18:58:00.000-08:00

I have fought it for some time now, but the time has come to say goodbye to my super blonde hair and gradually go darker. I know this is of no importance or interest to most readers, but I have to discuss it so that I can feel better about my choice! And for some reason Mikey doesn't want to talk about it for the umpteenth time. I've had some major two-toned (or maybe three/four-toned) hair lately and also it has been TOO LONG and stringy. This hair style is also known as the "trailer park trash" look. It was long overdue, but after much distress and resitance, I finally decided to get some low lights and cut off about 6 inches. At the next appointment, I will get more low lights until I am back at my natural color (whatever that is, it's been disguised for about 10 years!).... What do you think?

2009-11-11T08:36:00.000-08:00

Well we survived Tropical Storm Ida with just some wind and rain. Many areas got heavy flooding, and some areas on the beach had storm surges that caused damage. Nor Mikey or myself had to go to work yesterday, and today is Veteran's Day, so we've had 2 days off! It's a good thing, because I was whooped from my travels to New Orleans this weekend for Emily's bachelorette party...

Speaking of that, I had a great time with my sisters and really did not worry much about Grady. Of course I wasn't worried at all about leaving him with Mikey, I was just worried about being away from him in general. I have always been a worry wart and a very anxious person, so I was really feeling nervous as the trip got closer. But when it came time to leave, I was just fine and was actually kind of looking forward to getting away for the night. We got to Nola around 3 pm, picked Katie up from the airport (yay!), and went to the hotel to meet up with Emily (another yay!). We did some touring around for just a couple hours and then it was time to go to the hotel to get ready for the big night out. I called Mikey just to check in when we got back to the hotel and guess where they were??? HOOTERS! Who takes a baby to Hooters???? Oh well, he was having fun eating his hot dog and mac and cheese, so I guess it's ok with me!

Meanwhile, back in New Orleans, we headed out to dinner, then went to Harrah's casino, and then onto Bourbon Street.... I have discovered that Bourbon Street is just not for me. I have been a couple of times before, but this time I was really grossed out by the smells, the people, the dirty street, etc. And there was a lady there WITH HER BABY (it was almost midnight!). I wanted to yell at her so bad! That poor baby. We were home pretty early, around 1 am, but Katie had to be at the airport by 6, so it was more like nap before we were up again. I can't believe on my one night away from Grady (who wakes up with the roosters), I had to wake up earlier than ever! Oh well, I did not want Katie taking a cab to the airport all by herself.

When I got back home, Grady wanted nothing to do with me. All he wanted was his daddy. I guess he was mad at me for leaving, or either just had so much fun with Daddy that he wanted him back! Maybe he really enjoyed Hooters!

In other news, we finally broke down and bought Grady his forward facing car seat. Technically it's best to wait until he is 1, but we are about to take a long trip to Tennessee for Thanksgiving and also to Texas next month, so we really wanted him to be comfortable. I'll post some pics in his new seat later on.

He's also started brushing his teeth (all 6 of them). We thought it was probably a good idea to do this since he drinks juice now and has solid foods. He LOVES to brush his teeth!

Hey You!

2009-11-02T18:08:00.000-08:00

Hello Clinton, Iowa.... who are you? I see you visit frequently... both me and Katie. Are we friends? It's a mystery we want to solve!!! Leave me a comment so I know!

Halloween Part 2

2009-11-01T13:10:00.000-08:00

We took Grady trick-or-treating around the neighborhood.... I say trick or treating, but really we just walked around the neighborhood with him and stopped a few select houses. We visitied Jackie next door for some M and M's and a Milky Way. He loved both of those, but chewing the wrapper got old.

So I ran home for a pickle and let him chew on that while we continued our walk.

We stopped at three more houses before coming back home for dinner, bath, and bed. His first Halloween wasn't too thrilling, but I think he may enjoy more next year! I did give him one sucker and he did like it, but that ended up being one. huge. sticky. mess.

Mikey and I used the fire pit that Brian and Robin gave us for our wedding. This is the first time we've used it and we really like it. We set it out in the driveway, invited the neighbors over and passed out candy to the trick or treaters. It was a very chilly night!

Halloween Part 1

2009-10-31T13:32:00.000-07:00

Today we took Grady to the Pensacola Naval Museum for some trick or treating. There was a fun house, a haunted helicopter, a play area, and some treats. Grady is too young for the treats, but fortunately for his mom and dad, lots of people (especially old people) have a hard time determining if he can have candy or not so they just give it ~~me and Mikey~~ him.

He was very original in his scarecrow costume. We saw lots of spidermans, and ninjas, and princesses, and star wars thingies (don't know what they are called, and I've already told Mikey that Grady will NEVER be anything Star Wars). He said, what if he asks??? I said, we'll start telling him from a young age that he cannot ever be Star Wars, Disney, comic book creatures, etc. Plus, I'll just tell him no. I'm the boss anyway.

A hilarious blow up shark!

Life Stinks Sometimes

2009-10-31T13:11:00.000-07:00

Literally.

As if I don't get to deal with poop enough with a 10 month old, I now get to deal with it at work. The other day after the kids had gone home, I smelled something in my bathroom in my classroom. I walked in and looked in the under-the-sink cabinet, and lo and behold, one of my "precious" students had left a little surprise for me! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT????? I almost threw up and I just got out of there as fast as humanly possible. There are so many things wrong with this situation, I don't even know where to begin.

I tried to lay the guilt trip on them BIG time on Friday morning... I mean I told them how sad I was that someone wanted to do that and how disappointed I was and how the poor janitor had to clean that up. Oh yeah, and also how disgusting that is and don't they know they can die if they touch human poop? And don't they also know there are all kinds of poop related diseases out there, so if they're responsible for this, they better go home and tell their mom because they may need to go to the hospital and be admitted and monitored for these so-called diseases. Do you think any of that made someone confess? I gave them each a sheet of paper and told them to write their name on it and a simple YES or NO. I told them they would not be in trouble (if you consider getting a paddling from the principal not "in trouble"), but that we would just discuss is privately and that's it. Well at the end of the day, I had 19 NO's in my mailbox. Those little turkeys.

What to do, what to do....

I thought my kids liked me!

Don't worry, NO PICS for this post!!!

Farm Weekend

2009-10-31T13:01:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we went to visit Dad and Charlotte at their farm in Alabama. Their house is just beautiful.

They are always working on something at the farm and their hard work definitely shows! Charlotte's friends Loretta and Scooter where there, along with her brother and sister-in-law Ellis Ray and Jan.

Ellis Ray and Scooter

Dad

Jan and Loretta

Charlotte

We all just relaxed and enjoyed the chilly weather (finally!). Best of all, Charlotte and the other ladies would not let me lift a finger! They let me relax because they said I never get to do it anymore with a baby (very true). Loretta, Jan and Charlotte made a FABULOUS dinner on Saturday night and Dad grilled some fish... we had Mahi Mahi, tuna steak, crab casserole, grilled veggies, asparagus, garlic bread... and chocolate cake for dessert. It was definitely the best meal I have had in a long time. Mikey never liked fish, but I always told him, once you have fish that my dad makes, you will like it. And he did!

We took long walks....

Played on Big Daddy's tractor....

and Nanny's Kaboda....

And visited Jenny the donkey...

Grady didn't really like her... poor Jenny!

And just a couple more...

We had a nice visit and we'll be back soon!

Grady's 1st Haircut

2009-10-23T18:04:00.000-07:00

We couldn't make it until his first birthday....

Not so sure about this!

Getting Ready....

Ok, not really caring for this too much...

What IS that thing??

Really not sure about it now!

Had to break out the passy

After....

I hate to tell him, but he'll have to go through this torture again one day soon! I think it looks so much better now! He did a good job!

Kay Brown Photos

2009-10-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

They are up! Follow the link...

9 Month Portraits

Click the Online Viewing tab, type in White

Let me know what you think! They ones in the chef's hat are for our Christmas cards.

Bye Bye Birdie

2009-10-21T18:59:00.000-07:00

As it turns out, Grady loves birds. Which is odd, because I hate them. Well, I should say used to hate them. I used to hate them because their chirping woke me up at the crack of dawn, but now I have a little boy who does that, so my hatred for the birds has diminished. But, he absolutely LOVES birds. He likes to watch them fly and follows them across the sky. He waves at them as they soar by...

(Following them ALL the way back!)