Sweet Grayson...

Good gracious I love this little blue eyed guy!! He is such a sweetie, and he LOVES his mama! He takes care of all the other babies in the nursery by making sure that everyone has their pacis. His teacher tells me that he spends a good part of his day picking lost pacis off the floor and returning them to the proper baby. So sweet!

See that blanket?? Grayson MUST have that blanket to sleep. He would just assume have it with him all of the time. In fact, we laugh and call him Linus because he can often be seen with that blanket dragging behind him. When we get to school in the morning, he goes over to his bed and pulls out his blanket saying, "Ban-kee!!" Too cute!!! He is definitely gonna be a precious little teddy bear.

Boys...

First of all, here is a pic of Caden's new big boy bed. He LOVES it!! He started sleeping in a big bed at the beach, and we haven't gone back. He has done perfectly in it...we're so proud. I thought I would take some cute pics of the boys today after church since they were matching and all. The pics below will show you just exactly why I am NOT a photographer. I can't even get the boys to look at me ONCE at the same time. I think they are pretty cute anyway!!
Here we are trying to pose on the steps, but Grabes isn't having it...

"Hey, Honey, let's just go inside...maybe mommy won't follow!"

Caden is telling us that his shoes are too big and Grayson is totally not into this!

Notice Caden is airborne in this one...
Geronimo!!!

"Maybe if I keep running, she'll go away."
Keep trying baby, but it's not gonna work!

Now this one's gonna run...

SO close to a good pic. At least you can kinda see that they have on matching outfits!

Beach Baby...

Ahhh...this is nice!! After a very busy summer we were able to wrap it up with a trip to Orange Beach. Mom and Dad went with us, and Paul was actually there at the same time at the same Condo. I am a horrid mother because I didn't take any pictures at the actual beach!! But that really sums up our trip. We only actually went to the beach once. The boys loved the pool so much that we did that most of the time!
This little man LOVES the water. He would stay in all day and night if we would let him!!
The POOL!! Actually it was one of several pools, but this was where we lived for the week. You'll notice there are not many people there...Caden was ready to go out before most people are awake!!
I felt relaxed as soon as I walked in the door!! It was a lovely condo with all of the comforts of home. We only went out to eat once. We grilled out 2 nights and had Paul and his friends over each night for dinner. It was SO much fun!!! I really think Mom and I relax by entertaining others...sick, I know!
We went on a dolphin cruise, and our little marine biologist LOVED it. Caden could have cared less, but Grayson didn't want to miss a second of it. He kept pointing at the dolphins saying, "Look!!" It was super cute!! I felt bad for the boys having to wear the life vests...it was pretty warm!
Frank was able to get some pretty good pictures of the dolphins.

Happy Baby!! I swear Caden was there too...we just didn't get any pics of him on the boat!
This is what Caden was living for the whole week!! You'll notice that Frank is standing at the top of the slide, and my dad is at the bottom. If he did this once, he did it 10,000 times!! He absolutely LOVED it!!!!!
Grayson hung back with Mom and I most of the time. He's my sweet little love!!!!
Lunch time after the pool! All that sliding can make a kid sleepy and HUNGRY!
And thank goodness...Dora also goes to the beach!

Filling the Freezer...

Caden likes to perch in the rocking chair in the play room. I think he likes it because he can observe most of the goings on of the house from there. He likes to be in the middle of things!! We have had lots of fun putting up veggies this summer. We hope to have a garden of our own ready to go for next year. For this year, the farmer's market had to suffice. I got a few pics of some of our work.
Yummy Cantaloupe...
Mmmm...peaches. These always make me think of my great grandmother, "Thatmama." She always made peach preserves. Don't you just love how certain smells can just bring back such vivid memories. The smell of fresh peaches makes me think of wicker peach baskets on the table of her house in Cleveland. I remember going to stay with Thatmama and Dean when I was little. It was so much fun!!!
Here is some spaghetti sauce, twice baked potatoes, pink eyed peas, and snap beans. We also put up field peas. Frank is especially excited about having the veggies into the winter.
Loved the color of these blanched beans. I also love the fresh smell they leave in the kitchen. It is just a part of summer in the south!

Trying Something New...

So here is my first attempt at putting a video on Blogger...we shall see if I am successful. If I am, you should see a video of Frank playing with the boys...this is a very typical look at an evening at home.
Feel free to comment if you have any pointers on better ways to put video on Blogger.
There are more posts coming...I have lots of pics, but we've been thoroughly enjoying our summer, so I haven't taken the time to post!

NOLA here we come!!!

Mom, Dad, Frank, and I took the boys to New Orleans for the day. It's nice to live close enough to make a day trip. The boys were WORN OUT afterward, but I think they had quite a fun time. We started off at the zoo. (Actually we had pancakes at the McDs in Brookhaven first, but who's counting!) Caden was super excited about seeing all of the animals. He's always enjoyed learning about animals and their sounds. He wasn't a big fan of the hat, but I've got very white children, so we must take all of the proper precautions!! :) It was also hot as who-da-thunk that day!!!!
Ah, the smell of elephants in the morning!! Refreshing!
Remember when I said it was hot??? Mom would periodically let the boys enjoy a portable fan. They LOVED it, and we all got a good laugh out of the fact that mom actually brought fans with us!
Caden and Grayson ADORE their Papa!! He would pretty much win out against anyone in their minds (including Frank and I!).
Grayson was HOT, but he was a tropper. I think he had a good time, but how do you really know with a 15 month old?? He did like when we let him out of the stroller to run around. He's our little busy body!!
Caden was super pumped about riding the "carous-wheel". First he wanted to ride the elephant, and he had a ball!!
I love carousels!! They are so happy...they speak to a simpler time. But I digress!!
Then the zoo had the fabulous misting fans. In this pic the boys are all standing under one of them. You can see it in the very top right corner of the picture.
Mommy and Daddy with Caden. Have I mentioned yet that it was HOT!!!
The big boys went on the train ride around the zoo. Caden loved it and told mom and I all about it when they were done.
In the meantime, Grayson was tired and HUNGRY, so mom and I went to find the boys something to eat. We call Grayson "Linus" because he LOVES his blanket. The only time that he sucks his thumb is when he has his blanket. It is so cute!
After the train ride, Caden talked Papa into one more ride on the "Carous-wheel" because this time he wanted to ride on a lion. I think a good time was had by all!!

Let's go to the Aquarium...

When we left the zoo, we headed over to the Aquarium. Actually we had some Mother's po-boys in the car on the way. YUMMO!!!!! We knew Caden would really enjoy the aquarium, and we were, quite frankly, glad to be in the A/C. What we didn't expect, however, was how much Grayson loved it!!! He was absolutely enamored!
He wanted to see everything. He tried to look and see all he could. We were there a good 30 minutes before sweet Graybaby was completely passed out in the stroller. He slept through most of the aquarium. We'll have to go back sometime so he can enjoy the whole thing...I know he would love it!
Caden loved that lots of the exhibits had buttons underneath them. He love running up and pushing all of the buttons. It wasn't very crowded, so that was very nice for us!
I just liked these birds...I thought it was cute how they were cleaning eachother. They were taking care of one another. We've just gotta do that for each other every now and again. Some spots, ya just can't reach!
When I turned around to see what my parents were laughing at, my first thought was, "Dear Lord, I hope that's not the piranha tank!!" Caden was INTENSE about getting something in the tank. I assumed he wanted to touch a fish.
Oh look, there's a fish...how cute he wants to pet the fish!!
NOPE!!! God love his little OCD heart!! There was a leaf in the tank, and he just HAD to get it out. Good gracious, I love that little guy!!! He makes me laugh every single day!!
Daddy and Caden in the giant teeth...no idea to what this jaw belongs!!
On the way home, we stopped at Gambino's Bakery for some Doberge squares, and we let Caden have a petit four. Caden was just tickled with his "baby cake." He practically licked the wrapper!