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.