12 days later...

Yesterday I realized just how long it had been since I last blogged.. It's been crazy over here, a lot has happened. Here is a short version to get us caught back up.

Maddux got dedicated. It was so very special. And he was a quiet boy while Pastor Vic prayed for him...here is the family on dedication day.

That night, despite being exhausted, Maddux showed off his new skill for us. Big boy can sit all by himself.

As the week went on, life got crazy (main reason no blogging took place). I hosted my first Thanksgiving and it was for 14 people. It was an absolute blast hosting and having the entire family together.  Opportunities like this don't happen often anymore and we thoroughly enjoyed our day (and I think my dinner was good, no one said otherwise ;) ).

We had a lovely time. And surprisingly....I even ventured out black Friday shopping that night! No clue how I survived, but I did :) It's amazing what shopping will do to a woman.

Next up...getting our first family Christmas tree. We let Maddux hang the first ornament....

I think that catches us up....in an INCREDIBLY shortened fashion. I can't promise I'll be great this next month, but I'm going to do my best. A lot of fun things are coming up (including an awesome wedding).

LOVES.

P.S. - Maddux has two teeth now :)

Please Vote!

Yesterday Maddux was in 55th place, today he is in 45th! We entered him into the American Baby cover contest and each week during the entry period, photos are selected for the weekly contest. This week is his week! Please keep on voting. You can vote daily, through Sunday. CLICK HERE  to be taken directly to his picture. You don't need to sign up for anything or give away any personal information, just enter whatever text it asks you to!

While we're talking voting...a high school friend of mine, Libby, has entered her precious baby (22 months) girl into an animal sounds contest. Ava could win $10,000 towards college! You can click HERE to vote for Ava and her cock a doodle do! And if you're looking for a good read, an inspiring story, and to learn more about what it means to truly have faith in Jesus, you should check out Libby's blog. It's a pretty awesome story about trusting Jesus and fighting through cancer, until the end!

I hope everyone is having a great week! Thanksgiving is ONE, yes one, week away (and I'm hosting 14 people and 2 kids), yikes!

Love,

All of us

PS - Look at this smile....I can't get enough of it!

A Tooth! And some other things....

Yesterday Maddux grew up a little more on me, his first tooth popped through. That is right. A tooth. I started crying in Wendy's when I discovered it!!!  At least this explains the poor sleeping and un-ending fussiness as of late, he was working on that tooth! I don't think Will and I can let him chomp on our fingers for much longer, before we know it it's going to hurt. My baby boy is growing up SO fast and quite honestly, I'm loving every single second of it. Yeah, I miss the itty bitty Maddux I brought home from the hospital but seriously, watching him grow is amazing.

I'm a terrible mother and didn't take any pictures of Maddux yesterday with the camera, only my phone. Of course you can't really see the tooth yet, only feel it. But have no worries, soon enough I will have a picture of the lonesome tooth! Here he is playing in his exer-saucer and of course it's blurry, the kid won't stop bouncing.

We had a great weekend around the Gay household. On Friday Will and I got some quality bonding time - a whole day alone together and we loved every second of it. Here we are at breakfast....good ol' self portrait.

On Saturday Maddux tried out a new toy....his doorway jumper. To say he loved it wouldn't do justice. That kid would bounce from sun up to sun down if I let him!

Sunday was a big day at Journey church. Our pastor, Vic Cuccia, gave out a copy of his new book he wrote called Steeple Envy. I'm only through chapter 4 but am thoroughly enjoying it. The book is a great reminder of what the church should be, and sadly, what so many are not. If you're interested in reading it you can check it out HERE. It's a great book for anyone who loves Jesus.

One last thing, I entered Maddux's photo into a contest! He could possibly be on the cover of American Baby next year! Please go vote. You can vote once a day through November 20. So  GO! Vote! And remember, you can vote daily!!!! Please and Thank you!!!!


Love to all,


Kathryn

Peek a Boo.

Yesterday I got a little video of Will playing peek a boo with Maddux.

This doesn't capture the giggles that peek a boo has been known to produce around our house however, it's darn cute.

Happy weekend! Go Spartans!!!

Happy Birthday Momma!

Yesterday was my mom's birthday. I hate that we couldn't be there with her to celebrate with her...but we can celebrate that we'll see her in 9 days!

Thank you for being the best mom and nana anyone could ask for. Maddux, Will, and I all miss you tremendously!

xoxo

A family kind of weekend.

Yesterday we returned home from a weekend in Savannah with family. It was long overdue and most enjoyable. Bradley, Nichole, and Brandon came down from Atlanta and we drove up from Jacksonville - we spent the whole weekend together. Friday night we all got in late - I wasted no time crawling in to bed, and I had a snuggle bug next to me. Maddux decided he didn't want to sleep alone in his pack n play, he wanted to sleep with mommy....I let him do it....and we slept great. :)

Saturday we woke up to a delicious pancake breakfast - perfect start to a Saturday morning (thank you Pamela). Maddux took his morning nap and little did he know what he was waking up to....he got to try apples! To say he loved them would be an under statement...I think it's fair to say the introduction of fruit to his diet was a hit....

After a delicious gourmet orange chicken lunch made by Pamela and Jonathan, the babies took their afternoon naps and the boys played Rockband. Jonathan worked on mastering the "pro keys", something I've never been able to do. Eventually we decided to venture out on the town, granny and granddaddy wanted to buy their grandbabies new shoes, we said fine :) Miss Pamela took us to this adorable shoe store for kids where we picked out the perfect shoes for Maddux and Brandon. I don't think the babies enjoyed it as much as Nichole and I did, but our babes got some good looking kicks! Brandon is officially ready to RUN! As for Maddux, he is simply more stylish....he isn't doing much walking these days ;)

We packed everyone up and headed to the Upper Crust for a pizza dinner Saturday night. Yummy. It hit the spot. And we took great pictures while spending time together :)

Sunday was a special day for my in-laws church. Their church celebrated 30 years of service from their pastor and we were happy we got to be there for it. Pastor Cooper means a lot to our family...he is someone we can always count on to be praying for us, hug us when we need it, or simply talk if we just need to talk. Bethel Baptist is blessed to have such a wonderful man as their pastor.

I was sad to leave, it was a great weekend. It's always so special spending time with family. I know I've said it before and I'm going to say it again, I'm blessed to have such great in-laws.

P.S. - Maddux revealed to us his new talent this weekend, being able to put almost his whole foot in his mouth :)

Halloween

Yesterday was Maddux's first Halloween! It was also his first day at day care. The day went a little like this...

My alarm clock started squawking at me 45 minutes earlier than I've been used to. A new routine was starting. I had to not only get myself ready and out the door, but Maddux too. God had a plan for us. He knew we were going to need a daycare. Thank you to the Westerman's (Hudson's family) we didn't have to daycare search. We met the perfect lady. Her name is Marianne and I couldn't feel more comfortable dropping Maddux off with her. She runs a small, in home daycare. It's Maddux, Hudson, and Rachel (a little girl who is 18 months old). Yesterday marked day one of this new adventure and it couldn't have gone any better. I dropped the little man off with a giant smile on his face and when I picked him up 9 hours later, he was still smiling. Marianne said he did great. I was so so so happy to hear it. And so so so glad to be picking him up to go home and get ready for the Halloween party!

We ventured over to the Westerman's to hang out and help pass out candy to the trick or treaters. It was a blast, although the boys didn't last long. Here I am with the best looking giraffe I've ever seen...

And might I add, the costume only cost me $4.50! I found it at a consignment shop back in September. Go me.

Daddy carved a Mickey Mouse (Maddux's favorite) pumpkin last weekend and of course we had to bring that with us. Maddux and Mickey...

It was fun passing out candy and seeing all of the costumes. Kids are just so darn cute!
Maddux didn't last long....but he was a good snuggle bug...

Halloween 2011 was a blast. I can't wait to be able to go trick or treating with Maddux in a couple of years (and eat his candy :) ).

And I leave you with this....quite possibly my favorite picture of all time. Remember a few weeks ago when we went to the pumpkin patch? Stephanie captured this picture of our boys being done with the whole taking picture thing.....I love it.

Happy November everyone.

Exhausted.

Yesterday I was exhausted and did not feel good. It has been a whirlwind of a week around our household! I apologize for the lack of blogging, but let me get you up to speed.

Maddux was sick. The poor little guy. He went to bed last Monday not feeling well and woke up Tuesday morning with a fever. He got to stay home with his daddy for the day and by 5 pm the little man was starting to get spots all over his body. I decided to let is take its course and see what happened. Well, with NO sleep on Tuesday night (literally I got a max of 2 hours), when the sun came up on Wednesday the bumps had multiplied and he had a high fever...off to the pediatrician we went! The doctor said everything looked ok. The rash was probably was from the fever and he should be back to normal within a few days, which he was. A huge thank you to my father in law for watching Maddux last week when he was miserable. He was a trooper for watching more hours of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse then he ever wanted to see in a lifetime and comforting my little guy when he wasn't feeling well. Here is Maddux snoozing in his swing with spots....

By Thursday Maddux was back to normal...thank God because it was the start of my long working weekend.  I helped my best friend Kate out by marketing for Artistry at the Southern Women's Show. All was looking well until I woke up Friday morning with a fever, sore throat, head ache, and upset stomach. Did I mention it was 10 hour work days? The weekend was a long one. My dear friend Stephanie worked with me and she was a trooper for dealing with me feeling awful Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! On Saturday Will came to the show with his mom and Maddux. That of course made me feel a little better :) Maddux got to meet Kristina Janolo, Miss Florida 2011. Artistry represents the Miss America organization therefore Miss Florida hung out with us all weekend. She is an absolute sweetheart. She will be competing in Miss America on January 14, 2012 @ 9pm on ABC! I can't wait to watch and cheer for her....if I could vote she'd definitatly get mine. Here she is with Maddux, a for sure picture for the baby book.

 And here are all of the ladies I got to spend my weekend with. All of them are wonderful people. I feel blessed to have met them (and it was fun hanging out with girls from Grap! I miss that place!!!).

 
Before I knew it Sunday night had arrived and it was back to my regular work week. The pile of laundy I had to fold was unbelievable (THANK YOU Miss Pamela for doing that for me), the house was a disaster (THANK YOU Will for cleaning the house), and my bed was calling my name knowing I still felt awful. Yesterday was a rough day...still feeling under the weather. I toughed it out and hit the hay by 8pm. No joke. It felt glorious. Thank you Maddux for sleeping through the night.

Phew! Craziness. Glad we're all feeling better. I'll be back later this week. Maddux is spending the week with his Granny...I'm we'll have pictures to share.

Love to all of you.

The Pumpkin Patch.

Yesterday we took Maddux to the "pumpkin patch"! I have to say it like that because lets be realistic, it was at a church, in the grass, with a busy street beside it, and the pumpkins were organized on wooden crates to make it feel like a real pumpkin patch. Regardless, we had fun. Thank you so much to our friends Steph and Brandon for inviting us!

I love the thought of starting traditions with my family, the pumpkin patch will definitely be one. Hopefully someday it will include cinnamon sugar donuts and hot apple cider, I trust it will. I would call our first trip to the pumpkin patch a success! Someone loved checking everything out....

He even cooperated while his crazy momma took pictures of him sitting in the middle of the pumpkins! 

We then of course had to attempt pictures of Maddux and his friend Hudson (they are 4 days apart). Let me say this, it isn't easy capturing a picture of two 4 month old boys barely strong enough to hold themselves up. Good thing they were surrounded by pumpkins. :) 

And then they let us know they were done. Ready to not be propped up by pumpkins anymore...

I wanted one last attempt at a good family shot with my boys...

And since Maddux wouldn't take his thumb out of his mouth, we thought we'd suck our thumbs too.

So many wonderful memories made. I can't wait to take him back next year and chase him all around!

I love the little man...

A New Toy.

Yesterday, we flipped Maddux playing with his new toy...

Shutterfly

It's been so fun watching him grow and develop into the little man he has become. When people told me to enjoy every minute because it whips by, they were not kidding. Phew! Sometimes I feel like I need to sit down, take a deep breath, and enjoy that very moment with him.

We had a rather enjoyable weekend spending time together as  family. The weather here has been rainy, dark, and "cold" the last few days making it stay inside type of weather. We played, watched TV, took naps, read books, cleaned (well, I cleaned), and slept in. I love those kind of weekends, I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world.

Shifting gears slightly...I know you're reading this blog....will you follow it? I want to know who is keeping up with us! Or at least leave me a comment every now and then....it's fun knowing who is keeping up with us :)

A longer post will come this week....I've had some things on my heart and I'll share them soon.

Happy Monday ya'll.

PS - New pictures are posted on Shutterfly. Click the link 'yesterday pictures' and it will take you there.   Not many, but a few. I promise to be better at not only posting pictures, but taking pictures. I've been slacking. I think I need to leave the camera out at all times to remind me to take pictures.....shame on me.

Family Visit.

Yesterday we said goodbye to my dad and Jill, what a great time we had with them. It's always so nice when family comes to visit. We had a busy, yet relaxing weekend. Saturday we headed to Amelia Island, it was beautiful. The weather could not have been more perfect. Sunny, mid 70's, and a light breeze coming off the ocean. We walked around downtown, ate lunch at a local restaurant, tried on shoes, ate frozen yogurt, and spent quality time together. At one point I got out my camera to capture some pictures only to realize I forgot to put the memory card back in after downloading pictures to the computer, boo. So I have nothing to prove of our fabulous day on the island. Sunday was relaxing aside from deep cleaning our porch. It desperately needed it and looks SO MUCH better. We had happy hour on our clean porch followed by a tasty stir fry dinner! Monday Will and I headed back to work while dad and Jill ventured out towards the beach. Monday night we did dinner at Gene's Seafood...Will and I couldn't believe we'd never been to that place before! It was delicious and so well priced for a delicious seafood dinner. We will definitely be going back.

Maddux always love spending time with his grandparents. He loves when his grandpa sings to him. Grandpa got lots of smiles and giggles from him this weekend, quality bonding time for sure.

 

We love you dad and Jill and can't wait to see you again in December!

Yes!

Yesterday I thought back to that Wednesday 4 years ago when I said yes to marrying my best friend. I love you Will, even though I had blisters on my feet that night because of your proposal plan!

soon after I said yes...grinning from ear to ear

PS - Do you like the new header picture? 

My little blessing.

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of finding out that I was going to be a mommy. It was an amazing day....I'll never forget it. Lets take a little trip down memory lane...

It was a Sunday in August, 2010. Will and I walked out of church after hearing a testimony from a couple at our church...they were having difficulty getting pregnant and at that pointed had decided to hand it over to God and move to Guatemala to love on kiddos there. It left a mark on our hearts, that is for sure. Will looked at me on our way to lunch from church that sunny afternoon and said "Babe, I think it's time we not not try to get pregnant". I was shocked. Excited. It was my turn for a shot at starting my family. Well, 5 weeks later....it was September 29, 2010. It was a typical morning in our household. Will's alarm was going off at 3:05 for him to be at work by 4:00 AM. Far to early. At that point I was so used to his alarm going off so early that I rarely woke up, but something was different that day. I didn't feel good, something felt off. I didn't say anything to Will, just rolled over and tried to sleep it off while he got ready for work. After he left I still didn't feel right and thought to myself that maybe I should take a pregnancy test. Knowing we were "not not trying" I had bought a pregnancy test to keep so that when the day would come....I'd be prepared. I had no clue it would be so soon. At 4:00 in the morning, alone, on a Wednesday, I saw those 2 blue lines....my heart dropped. I couldn't believe it. I was going to be a mommy. God blessed me, ME, with a little babe. I started to cry. Obviously I couldn't go back to sleep as my mind was racing 1000 mph. I knew I had to pull it together and go into work and act totally normal. I didn't want to say anything to Will because I wanted to tell him in person. Talk about a long day at work....I couldn't focus. I'm sure I looked flustered, excited, tired, confused, anxious, and so many other emotions. After the longest work day ever passed I made a stop at TJ Maxx on my way home...I wanted to find something "babyish" to give to Will to tell him I was pregnant. I found the perfect gift - a yellow bib that said "Daddy's hugs are the best". I wrapped it up and home I went! I walked in the door and tried to hide it for a few minutes....I was unsuccessful. I blurted out "Will, I got you something today....". I handed him the wrapped up bib and watched him open it. The look on his face. Priceless. He knew as soon as he unrolled the bib, before he even read what it said, that I was pregnant. He was excited (maybe a little shocked too). The first words out of his mouth, "My boys can swim!". Second, "Where is the test, I want to see it". Third, "Can I pray for our baby?". And there we stood, hugging, and Will prayed for our little babe. A truly amazing day.

Time sure does fly! Here we are, 4 months in, and our little guy is practicing sitting up all by himself....

 I just can't get enough of him....I love him to death.