Playing

 Mimi came for a few days this week.  It is so nice when she is here because she is so great at PLAYING.  The kids LOVE it!

 I am pretty sure that they played with every single toy that we own over the span of 2 days. 

 Caroline has discovered the microwave.  All those little buttons are too tempting when she's in the kitchen with mommy.

 Grayson has discovered a love for puzzles. These 25 piece 

puzzles keep him busy for a while. 

 It's been fun dressing Caroline in some of my old dresses. This particular dress was made by a sweet family friend and  has gotten lots of wear.  Not only did I wear it at this age, but I used to dress my baby dolls in it.

9 months

 Our sweet baby girl is now 9 months old.  

She is pulling up on EVERYTHING.  This results in many falls or objects falling on top of her.  

Sad.

But, she's a pretty tough girl for the most part.

 She loves to feed herself.  But, unfortunately, the mess drives me crazy, so most of the time I just quickly feed her with a spoon. 

 She loves to wave and will often stop what she's doing, turn around and see who's looking.  If she notices someone looking, she'll give them a quick wave and a smile.  She also loves to laugh at herself or others--it's so very cute.

 She is starting to crawl on all fours now rather than the army crawl that she's used for the past 3 months.  She can get around much faster.

 She even tries to stand every now and then, but she hasn't quite figured that out yet. 

She has added some new words/sounds.  She's now saying "dada", "mama", and "baba". She gets real excited to see Dakota or hear her barking and she says, "D..d..d"--as she looks around for her.

And my favorite new trick is her dancing.  If she hears music, she does the head bob and looks around to make sure people are watching her.  

She's such a sweet girl with lots of personality. 

9 month stats :

16 lb.5.2 oz

29 in. long

nurses 4 times a day along with 3 meals a day

2 naps a day (1.5 hrs each)

sleeps 11-12 hours at night

A Weekend Visit

 This past weekend, the kids and I drove to Clinton to visit with Mimi and Papa.  On Saturday, we headed to Columbia to spend the day with my college roommates.  It was so much fun catching up and seeing how much the kids have grown! 

 Caroline didn't make it into the group picture because she was taking a nap.  It was nearly impossible to coordinate a picture with everyone---with all of the napping, feeding, etc.  We were so happy for Stephanie to join us this time--she is expecting twins in July!!  Yay--2 more to add to the group!! 

Benson was also there for the day and was a great help with the older kids as he watched them play outside in the freezing cold while us ladies stayed inside with a somewhat quiet house. 

 Back in Clinton, the kids got to spend some time with Daddymac and Grandmama...

 

and one of Grayson's most favorite spots.....papa's lap...

  

New Moves

 Caroline's newest trick--pulling up on everything. 

 Checking out her new toy baskets....

 She is a pro at the sippy cup.  I am amazed at how easily she chugs water-she LOVES it.

 Grayson has some new moves too.  He's getting really good at shooting his new basketball.

 Once again, she stands...

 She is now able to ride in the car all by herself.  Grayson is kind enough to give her a push every now and then.

These 2 continue to keep me plenty busy!

Our Christmas with Family

 Once again, we did a lot of driving this Christmas and we got to spend a lot of precious time with family.  We started out visiting with Grandmother and Granddaddy in Covington, Ga. 

 Grayson is very camera shy this year--you'll notice in many of the photos. 

Then, we headed to the beach to stay with Chad's family for a few days.

 I didn't even get a picture of all of the cousins together, which probably would have been nearly impossible anyways.  We were hoping the newest cousin would arrive while we were there, but she hasn't made an appearance yet--she's due any day now!

Grayson's unusual sleeping habits--we never know how we'll find him--this time he decided to play with grandma's bread stash before drifting off to sleep.

 Our next (and last) stop was the Trammell family Christmas.  The girls were happy to be reunited.

 And our greatest gift of all this year was gaining a new sister!!  Andrew and Sarah will be married sometime this summer!!  We're all so excited--we just love her!

 Finally...we arrived back home.  Santa made a special trip to our house a few days after Christmas. 

What a fun year with these 2 little ones and all of our GROWING family!!