Play Dates

Just wanted to share a few pictures of Greyson having fun with his little friends.

He has had lots of play dates recently & it has been fun to watch him interact with these little guys.

We also joined a play group a few weeks ago that gives us a chance to get together with other babies, meet new moms & get out of the house every week. We don't go every time, but it's nice to have something to look forward to when we can. We have been a couple times & hopefully Greyson will learn that pulling hair hurts...=)

Cousins Kinsley & Cooper playing at Mimi's house!

Greyson's FIRST official trip to the park. We went on one of our playdates & he LOVED this swing. Sometimes he would laugh & laugh & other times he would just sit back, relax & take it all in. He even yawned a couple times like it might put him to sleep.

Greyson showing Grant the horn on his buddy's car. =)

All you need is a gorgeous day, a car, complete with his drink of choice (milk) & he's ready to go!

 

 One neat thing about having a play group is meeting the mom's. We usually find something in common when it comes to the kids...& one thing I have found is that SO many mom's here are cloth diapering. It has come a long way since our parents were using cloth & there is even another group  I recently joined dedicated to cloth diapering in Alabama. I found several more friends & co-workers on the website that have jumped on the band wagon.
It is fun to share, receive & see all the tips, advice & stories from other mom's in my area. There are so many different cloth diapers out there; I had no idea how big this was until I joined this group =) It is definitely something I plan to do for any other children God see's fit to bless us with.

 I'm thankful for this great group of girls that I am just getting to know, & that Greyson will have lots of little friends to run around & play with...WHEN he starts to run around that is... =)

 



Crawford Vacation!

{Pigeon Forge, TN}
 

Christmas Village~ Crawford family photo

 

The first weekend in November was our annual trip to the smoky mountains! 

We go once or twice a year...sometimes with my parents in the summer but we always go in November with my inlaws. This year was extra special because it was Greyson's first trip & we also got to spend time with "the Jacinda's". 

Explanation needed? Both of my brother in laws are dating...both of them just HAPPEN to be dating girls with the same name. It's gets kind of interesting but its definitely something we are used to. My husbands name is Matt, my brothers name is Matt, 3 of my cousins married Matt's (one of those -distant- cousins also happens to be named Megan so technically we have 2 Matt & Megan's in the family as well)...& to top that off, the friends that we hang out with the most, also have a Matt. 

We definitely had a great time with the girls & Matt's family. Our first stop was the Apple Barn. We love eating there as a family. It was already after 5pm when we arrived, so everyone just met for dinner.
 We also LOVE eating at the Old Mill for breakfast so we started our next day with our tradition to get a picture on the ramp walkway overlooking the river. The last picture we took there, I was 7 months pregnant...this year we finally had our first family photo & it was surreal to see all the time that passed between those 2 photos.

 

The next day we went shopping & to the Dixie Stampede. We weren't sure how Greyson would do with the loud noises or lights but he was fascinated & we all had a great time. It was the Christmas show so during the nativity scene things were slowed down & very beautiful. Greyson loved the camels but when they started singing, the music just lulled him to sleep & he missed the rest of the show. I'm glad it went that way though & wasn't terrifying for him! =)

Dixie Stampede Pre-show

Getting ready to start! He looked so cute in that little seat.

Fast asleep at the end...he did really good & I think he is getting used to more loud noises & is more fascinated with all the lights rather than being scared of them. I'm glad he is growing out of that stage...he just kept saying "Ooo OOooo!" while pointing at everything =)

 

After the show we went to downtown Gatlinburg to see the Christmas lights & do a little shopping.

Can't leave without getting some chocolate covered oreo's, taffee, & fudge!

 

Watching taffee being made with the family =)

 

The next day, we spent the entire day at Dollywood. It was the first day open with all the Christmas lights. It. was. gorgeous!

 

 

Jacinda F. & I hanging out in Dolly's bus =)

 

Greyson got to see the parade of lights!

 

 

 It was a fun filled day!

 

At the close of the weekend, we decided to have church in our cabin before everyone went separate ways. We had a beautiful cabin not too far from where we normally stayed & it was a perfect setting to have our own time of prayer, worship & Bible reading.

 

 

Before we left the mountains, we took a few family photos~

 

Had to get one pic with the Jacinda's in honor of the fact that we were the only ones that rode a rollercoaster at Dollywood... =)

 

Greyson's first trip to the Smoky Mountains...success!!

 

Trunk or Treat 2012

{Trunk or Treat}

2012

Greyson was a Puppy Dog

 

We tried to teach Greyson the words Woof, Bow wow, Ruff or just make a barking noise in general. He did it every once in awhile, but NOT while we were trick or treating...haha

 

 

We had a great turn out for the Trunk or Treat at our church. We probably saw well over 200 kids & passed out lots of Kings Kids invitations, cute gospel messages & LOTS of candy! Every one that participated ran out of candy...so we were done around 7:30pm. 

 

Greyson did awesome! He was the most adorable little puppy ever! We had so much fun dressing him up. Matt & I usually dress up, but this year, we just decided to let Greyson get all the attension =)

 

 

 

Matt brought some card board home from the shop & we made this dog house to go on the back of our car. We fashioned it so it would allow Greyson to sit "in" his dog house & complete the costume.

 

He did SO great just sitting there & watching all the kids come by. I was afraid of how he might react to some of the scary costumes so I would stand in front of him if there was one I didn't think he should see. However, he would lean forward out of the door & scowl at the person dressed up in something scary. I'm not sure what he thought of them, but at least he didn't get scared.

 

 

We had so much fun planning our trunk around Greyson's costume. Mimi & G'pa got the puppy dog costume for him for Christmas when he was just 2 weeks old! We have been looking forward to him wearing it for a long time. It is made so cute & had just the right amount of padding to be comfortable & he seemed to enjoy wearing it.

 

 

My handsome husband holding a very tuckered out little trick or treater!

 

 

After the Trunk or Treat we went over to G'mama & G'daddy's to show them his outfit & they had a few treats all ready for him!

 

 

G-daddy gave him a bucket filled with all things baby friendly =) We obviously didn't take him around to get candy since he wouldn't be eating it anyway, but everyone we saw was prepared with baby friendly snacks & he made out pretty good! He got Teddy Grahams from our pastor's family, yogurt melts from Aunt Maudine & Uncle Jimmy, lots of goodies & toys from G-mama & G-daddy & a cute little bucket that used to be Matt's, more yogurt, toys & goodies from G'pa & Mimi.

 

Overall, we had a great night & a fun first Halloween for Greyson.

I'm already thinking about what he will be next year & maybe we can plan to tie in costumes for Matt & I as well.

Next week we are headed to Gatlinburg with our Crawford family! We have been looking forward to it for a long time...I love all these "firsts" we get to experince with Greyson & can't wait to be on vacation =)

 

 

9 Months!

 

We are behind with our montly report! Greyson has done so much in the last 5 weeks. Visiting Mama in PA & staying with Nana & Paw Paw for awhile was really nice since they got to witness Greyson make a few more milestones. I'm so glad they have been able to be involved & see Greyson grow & change this first year.

 

Greyson

so far you...

 

*have 4 teeth! You cut ALL of them while we were in PA. The 2 bottom ones came in at the same time, a day later the top right broke through & a few days later the top left came in...it took a long time but we finally got TEETH

*chew on your fingers with your new teeth...& have learned to bite

*eat regular table food & do great feeding yourself

*like to drink from a cup rather than sippy cups (but mommy holds it) you still take a bottle once or twice a day depending on if we are out...formula for bottles & nursing morning & night

*weigh 22.10 pounts & are 29 inches long

*started crawling at Nana & Paw paw's! You crawled to them from across the living room

*pull yourself up & cruise furniture

*went to your first fall festival- the Applefest in Franklin, PA

*played with new toys at Nana's, but don't like the riding toys because you hate feeling unsteady

*wear 18-24 month clothes...sometimes you can still wear 12 months but are quickly growing out of them. You got to wear most of your fall stuff up north already in September/October

*LOVE bread or toast with strawberry jam on it

*stayed in the church nursery in PA & did great...you slept the whole time & still do pretty well letting new people hold you

*loved getting to see & meet new people up north

*play by yourself very well & keep yourself entertained while mommy works from home

*are still pretty attached to mommy but we were glad to get home & see daddy...you light up everytime he comes home from work & start looking for him when you hear the door open

*can say, Mama, dada, nana, Pawpaw (officially named), bye bye while waving, Uh-oh (in the right context), Hey, & can imitate or repeat words we say but don't use them everyday

 

What we are looking forward to:

*Gatlinburg trip with Mimi, G'pa & the rest of the crawfords

*Thanksgiving in PA & family Christmas then

*First birthday!!