End of an Era

Earlier this month, my baby brother graduated from high school. We made the trek down I-45 for the third weekend in a row...and an eventful weekend it was. Friday night was the graduation ceremony, followed by our own little family celebration until almost 3:00 in the morning (it'd been a while since we were all together). The next day we spent a few hours by the pool before heading to Lufkin for Kody's regional championship game. It was our last chance to see him play baseball...or any high school sport. So, despite being slightly travel weary (and 100 degrees outside) we wanted to be there to cheer him on. Unfortunately we were not good luck charms; they ended up coming one run shy of advancing to state. I'm so proud of him, though, and look forward to watching him play football at the next level. Love you, Kody!

Trying out Grandpa's antique stroller

The four K's - Kim (35), Kody (18), KellieAnne (28), Kyle (20)

My little brother isn't so little anymore

Fun in the pool with daddy

Check out those teefers

Uncle Kyle's just so funny

No. 8 is our hero!

A loss AND time to go our separate ways...sad face

Saying bye to Grandpa & Granzie

You know, it's been ten years since I left Huntsville to start my own journey, and one of the few things that always stayed the same was having two little brothers still at home. In a couple of months, they'll scatter...Kody to Arkansas and Kyle to College Station (he's transferring). Not that I make it back home SO often, but when I do, they won't be there. Hard to believe.

Grace, meet the ocean. Ocean, meet Grace.

For Memorial Day weekend, we rented a house in Galveston with the Blakely family and Brad, Talya and Dylan. We went down Friday evening after Reed's birthday party and came back Tuesday, so we had a full three days at the beach (David's heaven). Jason's sweet mom, Susan, tagged along to help with the little ones - which was a lifesaver being that we had four ranging from two months to two years! She held down the fort during nap time and would call us when too many were up for her to handle. She also took on Colton duty (her heaven) pretty much nonstop, letting Jess relax and enjoy herself. Each couple provided food for a day, so we never ended up leaving the house/beach except to run to the neighborhood store for random stuff. We played a little Catch Phrase here and a little Washers there, but for the most part just hung out and enjoyed having nowhere to be. It was a nice weekend:

Excited to wake up at the beach

First time in the ocean

First time in the sand (not so sure)

Talya, Me & Jessica

Jason, David & Brad with their babies...

...and a flashback to Galveston 2005 with their first babies

A little Washers action

Helping Reed open presents - he was a good sharer!

All sunscreened up and ready to go

Loving the little waves

Our house...please excuse Jason's hideous Longhorn flag

Grace's favorite game with daddy

We haven't forgotten our original girls

Ready to take matters in their own hands and get to the beach

Soaking up our last day of vacation

The sand definitely grew on her (lovely)

Their first of many family trips together

"I love, love, love the ocean!"

Reed Turns Two

Here are some fun pics from Reed's recent birthday shindig at GattiTown. It was Grace's first b-day party and, appropriately enough, for her first friend. She gave him a set of sports balls and a little bowling set, which Jess has informed me is now being used for everything but bowling and found all around the house. Oops! I was just a few days post wisdom teeth removal, so excuse the poofy cheeks...

Splish, Splash

Today Grace went on a date with her boyfriend/buddy, Reed, to Hawaiian Falls. I've been looking forward to this since Jess started taking him last summer, while I was in baby countdown mode (and miserably large and hot). I decided to invest in a season pass since it's relatively inexpensive and a great way to get out - yet stay cool - the next few months. Grace is just barely getting to the age where she can enjoy it (she started dozing off on the lazy river), though I anticipate she'll be a pro by the end of the summer! Maybe I'll get a little tan out of it, too.

The BEFORE shot...totally pumped

Jessica and her new stroller for two (it's cute, Jess)

So much to do, so little time

Time for a nap, maybe?

The AFTER shot...totally pooped

Nine Months

Gracie Mo is nine months now and, as you can see, she's everywhere! Long gone is the little army crawl or the cute moments of walking in to her standing up in the crib...now she crawls like she's on a mission and is pulling up on anything and everything. She's even trying to figure out how to stand up on her own, but usually just ends up with her butt in the air. She can go up the two steps that separates the front of the house (where her room and daddy's office is) from the back of the house (where everything else is) like a champ. She just doesn't know how to come down, so she'll sit there and fuss until someone helps her. She's also discovered the big staircase to the game room and media room, and once made it five steps up before we realized it. Yikes! A baby gate is next on the To Do list. When she gets excited, she opens her mouth real big and starts twirling her hands and feet...and when she's really excited her whole body will shake (this is what's happening in the first picture). The sight of yogurt and a spoon will often prompt this reaction, as will tossing up or rolling a ball. Although she made the 'ma' sound first, the 'da' sound has definitely taken over. "Dada" is sure to be her first intentional word, and soon. She's already saying it, we're just not convinced she's associating it with David yet. She gives the sweetest kisses, all open mouthed, and we're working on clapping. Oh! And one of the coolest developments of all? She can feed herself her bottle...tilt it up as it empties and everything! I still do it most of the time (except at night when daddy does) to take advantage of the snuggling, but being able to eat on the go makes things so much easier. I know I say this every month, but - except for a constant bruise somewhere on her head/face from being too ambitious - we're really loving this stage.

*I forgot about Grace's stats from her nine month well visit! She's actually slowed down on weight (due to the increase in activity, no doubt) and is now in just the 75th percentile at 20 pounds, 12 ounces. She had a growth spurt in height, though, and is now in the 90th percentile at 29.25 inches. And finally, bless her heart, the head circumference...now totally off the charts at 18.5 inches. I'm thinking it's just a really thick skull and a lot of cushion for all the inevitable falls we'll be experiencing for a while. :)