Seven months old?!?!?!?

I'm tearing up just typing that title! Where has the time gone? I am blown away that my sweet newborn is now seven months old. I decided to take her pictures outside this month in this gorgeous weather we're having (finally!). She had her six month vaccinations yesterday (I know, late) so I didn't get many smiles out of her but enjoyed just taking pictures of the many faces of Gracyn.

Please ignore her crazy nap hair ;)







Sitting up on her own!!

Daddy was working in the backyard and decided to get in on a few pictures..


I think she's saying "enough already"!

Next, it was my turn..



Then Gracyn decided to get in on the photography action and took a collection of shots that she'd like to call
"A Beautiful Perspective"





Happy seven month birthday, sweet one. We love you more than you will ever know. Father Time, you are very cruel!

I wonder...

If you find your child like this after swaddling her mid section to stabilize her, is it time to stop using the swing? :)

Spring is in the air!

Like any good Texan mom, I took advantage of this beautiful spring and took pictures of my children in the bluebonnets. It took two separate trips to some far away places to get some good shots of each child. Sure, there were patches of bluebonnets all around San Antonio but my mom and I thought it would be good to drive south an hour or so to a little town called Poteet where we heard the flowers would be amazing. Well, they were OK and by the time we got to a good patch, Gracyn was exhausted and would have nothing to do with any of it! So I got some good ones of Gatlin and decided to try again another day. Flash forward to three weeks later and the panic that set in thinking I may have missed the opportunity to get Gracyn's pictures in the bluebonnets during her first spring on this earth. So, my mom and I set off again in search of the perfect field. This time we headed north an hour or so to a 'scenic loop'. Lo and behold, we found a gorgeous strip of bluebonnets worthy of the perfect pictures I had envisioned. I got some great shots of Gracyn but never really got the "money shot" with both children. I can't blame it on the children or the flowers, this one was all me and my lack of photography skills. I decided on the way home that I'd like to take a photography class and that I need a better camera. Yes, a better camera. Perhaps a digital SLR camera (not that I really know what that is, I just heard it's great). That will make my bluebonnet pictures perfect and make up for my lack of skills... hint, hint, Kyle! :)

Day one.. the best shot of the day


Day two, much better field and much happier Gracyn!


Best shot of the two kids.. good of Gatlin but Gracyn's examining her adorable baby toes!

And last, but definitely not least...

Four year old conversation

Today, Kyle dropped Gatlin off at school. As he was signing him in, this is the conversation he overheard between Gatlin and a little girl in his class....

Little girl: My dad is on a trip.
Gatlin: My dad went into the woods and shot a pig.
Little girl: I like pig. I've eaten pig before.

You just can't make this stuff up!

Everything is exciting and new to a five month old!

Gracyn is really beginning to enjoy this wide world around her. I love to watch her discover and experience things she's never seen or touched before. Her favorite thing to look at is still our faces (which I love more than anything) and she is always trying to touch our faces and bring them close to her. She used to suck on our noses but now she gums them HARD, which means my sweet baby girl will be cutting teeth soon, I'm afraid. I love her gummy smile and will miss that so much when her baby teeth poke through.

A few weeks back, we decided it was time for Gracyn's introduction to the new exersaucer. I was at the store when Kyle put it together and when he called me to tell me she was playing in it, I was a little sad to be missing it. I told him to grab a camera and get a picture. All he had was his iPhone so, excuse the picture quality...

Her other latest discovery is her feet. She found them one night while sitting in her bumbo and now she tries to get them in her mouth at every possible moment. Our personal favorite is when she plays with them on the changing table. Unfortunately for you, it is cutest when she's a naked baby, but I am not about to post a picture of her like that! So, I took a couple of her with her diaper on. Not as cute, but still pretty cute.

Busted! Who me?

You would think we were first time parents, wouldn't you? But, we are last time parents, which I think may be even worse. I found myself wishing for each new stage to come with Gatlin like rolling, crawling, and walking. Now, I find myself wishing that each day would be like the last and that Gracyn would stay at just this stage in life forever. She is more fun than should be legally allowed and I am trying to cherish every moment because tomorrow, she'll be bigger than today and a little less baby.

The incredible egg...

So, Gatlin has been learning about dinosaurs lately and has become completely immersed in them. He tells me all about the meat-eaters and plant-eaters and even uses words like "omnivore"! Pretty snazzy, right?

Since he has found a new passion, my mom decided to get Gatlin a dinosaur egg where the dinosaur actually hatches. As soon as Gatlin opened it, he begged me to put it in the water so he could watch it hatch. I think he thought it would instantaneously become a dinosaur so I had to explain to him that it would take several days. I have to say, I was pretty impressed with how it actually "hatched". I expected the shell to just disintegrate, but it actually hatched out of the shell like a bird would! I decided to journal it's growth with pictures and now, I'm going to bore you share them with you!

Day 2
Because Day 1 was just an egg and I forgot to take a picture of it :)

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Finally hatched!
Gatlin named him "Rhino" (don't ask me why) and took him to school the next day to show all his friends. Now, Rhino is a member of the family, even playing board games with us. It's amazing how something so small can bring so much joy, isn't it?

Gatlinisms

I have been meaning to do a post on some of the funny things Gatlin says on a regular basis. So many people have told me that I should be writing all of these down and now I've forgotten some of them so, I'm going to carpe diem and write down the few I can remember from the last couple of months..

1. When talking about his first "girlfriend" Olivia when she told him she didn't want to be friends anymore, he said:
"I just want her to tell me she loves me!"

2. At dinner one night, he was looking at his plate and said:
"Dear Jesus, help me eat these peas!"

3. One morning I told him to put his shoes on and he said:
"These shoes bother me!"
I said: "Why, are they too small?"
He said: "No, they bother me because they aren't perfect!"
(Uh-Oh, I've created a monster!)

4. Gatlin was sick one weekend and Doc was picking on him so he said:
"Quit picking on me or I'll breathe on you!"

5. While camping this last weekend, Gatlin said:
"Doritos give me energy!"

And last, but not least..
6. Gatlin has been saving up for a game he wants and he came out in the living room one night after he'd earned another dollar and said:
"I saved money for my elephant game by switching to Geico!"

Never a dull moment when you live with a four year old!
I love you, Gatlin!