cheers to 2012

We've had a very merry (and busy) holiday season with lots of visits from family and friends.  We have one more trip to take this weekend so Gray can meet his great grandma in Baton Rouge, LA.  Then back home to start our 2012.  I can't believe 2011 is already over- the year our sweet baby Gray was born! 

Christmas morning- he loved that bow!

our cheeky Christmas poodle wearing his tie!

dressed warm for his morning ride in the jogging stroller

Cheers to 2012!  I'll toast all of you tomorrow night when I'm drinking my champagne in our hotel room ( with a sleeping baby- I guess we won't be getting too loud this NYE! ).
ps:  happy 7 month birthday Gray!

six month photo shoot

While we were in San Francisco &  Napa, my sister was nice enough to do a quick photo shoot for us.  She did such an awesome job- I think she needs to quit being an accountant and start doing this all the time!
Here is Mr. Gray at 6 months:

a west coast Thanksgiving

Our trip to California was a success!  We had only some mild problems at the airport (word of advice: infants need a boarding pass even if the ticketing people tell you they don't) and my expired drivers license I never noticed (oops! It only expired about 5 months ago- no biggie).  Gray did great on the plane- slept most of the time, cried a little bit, but fortunately he made friends with the people behind us so I don't think they minded the crying!  
He got to ride in his stroller all around Whitney's neighborhood, play with his cousin Given, check out the great views, play in the park with other kids, drive across the Golden Gate Bridge twice, and eat out at some delish San Fran restaurants.  In Napa Gray did a little wine tasting and even posed for pictures in the vines!  We celebrated Thanksgiving in Napa at Brooke and Randy's house and watched the very sad Aggie game (we won't talk about that, but he did represent with his Aggie shirt that day).
The flight home he was pretty much asleep the whole time.  We had a great time and can't wait to go back!
Unfortunately, I was so busy with the baby I didn't have time to take a lot of pictures.  In fact I only got two:

he's ready to go!

the dads and their strollers

Can't wait to see the California crew back in Texas for Christmas!
p.s. I'm really dreading going to the DMV to renew my drivers license.  ughh... I think I'll put it off for a while longer.

birthday boys!

Yesterday my two boys celebrated their birthdays.  Jake turned 30 and Gray turned 1/2 a year old!  We had a wild party- Gray was in bed by 6:30 pm and Jake and I watched some shows on our DVR.  We are a cay-razy!  We were supposed to go to dinner but I caught a cold and so we've postponed it.  Anyway, happy birthday to my favorite boys!

a birthday hug before Jake goes to work

I can't believe Gray is already 6 months old- it really does go by fast.  I think I need to start planning his 1st birthday party already!  

sucker

Man, I'm a sucker for a good "young adult" book series. It must be the 15 year old still living inside my 28 year old body...
Let's see, I love the Harry Potter books and don't even get me started on the Twilight series ( so good!!! ).  I saw Breaking Dawn this weekend- love!   And, by the way, I'm totally team Edward.

you're welcome

Anyway...
So of course I jumped all over the Hunger Games trilogy- and they were really good.  I couldn't put them down.  If you haven't read it yet you need to start!  The movie is coming out sometime in the spring I think.  Check it out!

Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

what's going on?

baby Gray update:
1.  He's eating food now.  I've made him sweet potatoes and next up on the menu is butternut squash.  So far so good!
2.  He's trying to crawl- he moves those little arms and legs but can't go anywhere yet.  Baby proofing the house is on our agenda!
3.  Gray is getting very good at sitting up.  He still needs a little help, but each day he does better and better!
4.  We are taking our first airplane trip with Gray.  We'll be flying to San Francisco and Napa to visit the sisters for Thanksgiving.  Any tips on dealing with the time change?!
5.  He has discovered the swing at the park- fun, fun!  
6.  Picture overload below!

wearing his dinner

checking things out

smile!

swinging fool

cowboy Gray! 

wearing his bear hat from Canada

party pooper

hot stuff

happy baby!

to grandmother's house we go...

Gray and I took a 6.5 hour road trip with Kelly, Carson, and Wesley (we all survived!) to meet baby Given!  Whitney and her baby G flew all the way from San Francisco to San Angelo.  It was so fun to introduce the cousins!

Whitney and Given

cousins! Wesley, Gray, Given, and Carson

sisters & cousins

sharing toys!

See y'all in San Francisco next week!

Canada, eh?

I'm a little behind so I'll be trying to catch up this week!
Here's some pics from our trip to Banff, Canada.  It was beautiful and cold- a nice break from the hot weather here.  Jake had to work most of the time, but it was nice to get away.  It was funny to see deer and elk roaming the streets and all over the hotel grounds.  
We had a good time but I was ready to get back to my baby!  I probably won't be leaving him again for a long time.

our hotel

view from our room

Canadian flag

nice view!

it was really cold!

Next up, our roadtrip to San Angelo to see grandma & grandpa and meet our new cousin!

a 5 month old pumpkin

Yesterday was Gray's first Halloween and his 5 month birthday!  I think he enjoyed both, especially dressing up as a pumpkin!

a chubby pumpkin

pumpkin and his dad

he was over the head piece

He also rocked a couple of other Halloween themed outfits:

back view

front view

" trick rrrrr treat " saws the owl dressed as a pirate

That last picture cracks me up!  This is how excited he is when I come get him from his nap.  Makes me laugh every time and forget that he only took a 30 minute nap and really should be sleeping longer.  Sneaky kid- already knows how to play me!

away we go...

Jake and I are headed here this week:

Banff, Canada

I'm excited to travel to somewhere new, beautiful, and with cold weather (maybe some snow?!), but am very sad to leave my baby for a couple of days.  I'm hoping I can enjoy the trip and not worry the whole time!
We had a special visitor from Napa come and stay with us this past weekend.  Gray wore his favorite shirt in her honor.

"My Aunt's a Hottie!"

And here we have Gray and his favorite poodle.

brothers