All the colors mix together to gray

Yes, Gavin did have a birthday

2010-08-17T15:27:00.006-05:00

Some Gavin birthday pics....from 3 months ago

The birthday boy- my big 3 year old (note the fajita stains from the dinner- no white next year)

The birthday table, which I wanted outside, but it was too windy. Gavin did NOT like the balloons blowing in the wind, it made him quite upset. The birthday banner I made from really cool black/white/red scrapbook papers, it turned out cute, but its hard to tell in the pic
I also made the cupcakes, 2 dozen red velvet, 2 dozen funfetti. Half of them were good. It was less expensive, but I was sad not to get Gavin a cool cake this year (and did I mention half of the cupcakes were not good?), I think next year we will go back to good ole Aunt Nories.
Birthday Boy cupcake- isn't the stand too cute??
Gavin with some of his little guests, unfortunately all the rest of the pics from present time are on the other hard drive and Madi just woke up from her nap, so none of those

When you let Daddy fix your hair...

2010-08-16T21:54:00.003-05:00

FORE!!!!!

2010-06-22T15:29:00.008-05:00

Finally got my iphone mess figured out! So here are the pics I took on my phone of our golf fun.

Gavin's sweet golf clubs he got for his bday that Jordan wishes were his. The bag even has the little kickstand, isn't that so cute!! (is it called a kickstand?? Or is that only on bikes???)
First you must pick your club.
Then you pick either a yellow or white ball and scoot in in front of you using your club. No you cannot hit Madi's shoe- it must be a ball. Why did she take off her shoes and put them in the ball pile?? Wait- why are her shoes off? Where is she???

Oh there she is, climbing into the net where Gavin is about the hit the ball.
Now Gavin has to take a turn in the net.
Finally ready to take a swing.

Always keep your eyes on the ball.... And on Madison when their are golf clubs around.

I Love Technology

2010-06-20T22:10:00.002-05:00

Anyone remember the technology song from Napoleon Dynamite?? Classic.

I have some lovely photos that I took from my iphone of Gavin and his Daddy playing golf but I have only had my iphone for 8 months so of course it is not synched up to my computer and of course I have no idea how to upload photos from my phone to my computer. This makes me feel like a 70 year old who doesn't know how to work a DVD player. Oh technology- you are not my friend.

10 days....

2010-06-19T18:48:00.002-05:00

until I get to watch Eclipse!!! Anyone else excited??

A few life updates....

2010-06-10T14:56:00.002-05:00

We have had a lot of change going on around here..,..

Gavin is now a big THREE year old!!! He had a super awesome birthday party (way down on my to do list is a blog of Gavin's party- but I WILL get to it) At his 3 year appointment he did amazing. He did everything the nurse and doctor asked him to and he did not cry the whole time, even when he got his shot. Can you believe it?! Madison however started throwing a huge fit as soon as we were called back from the waiting room (she thought she was having to see the doctor) and on the way out she proceeded to trip on the asphalt and cut her head, so it was a semi-perfect office visit.

Jordan is no longer working at Alderson. He worked there for about 3 years and it was a great job for him, God really provided a lot through that job and although working Saturdays and until 6 every day was less than idea, it was a great thing for us for those years. Jordan quit to pursue a job with All Size Industrial Sales. If you know are friends the Clarks, that is the All Size I am talking about. He represents that company here in Lubbock and he sells nuts and bolts, electrical supples, drill bits, and all things of that nature. So if you are in need of that stuff, give Jordan a call!! Jordan has loved the job so far (although there is always stress with a new job) and we are really excited about it!

Gavin went to the ear nose and throat doctor this Tuesday to have his tonsils checked out because for the past couple of years he has had bad sleep apnea, snoring, and abnormal breathing. The doctor came into the room took one look at his tonsils and said we needed to take them out as soon as possible, so next Wednesday is the big day! I am a little nervous, but mostly relieved that having the tonsils and adenoids removed will fix all the problems he is having.

We have been swimming at Fun N Sun. If you have two kids and think you cannot take them by yourself because you are totally worried that one of them would drown because how could you ever keep up with 2 kids who cannot swim, this is the pool for you!! haha I was really convinced there was absolutely no way I could take them to the pool by myself. There is a fun splash park area right by the pool that Gavin really loves and the pool is like a wave pool in that you walk into it from ground level. This is perfect because I can sit in the shallow water and they can both walk around and play and "swim" in the water. There is also a little park with a firetruck and a tall slide (2 of their favorite things). We love it. Madison's favorite is jumping off the side of the pool and going down the slide that is taller than me (have I mentioned she is the brave one???).

On a completely different note, So you think you can dance has started a new season. Last night they announced the 10 which turned into 11 contestants. I was sooo excited because I LOVE Billy Bell (my fave probably), Robert, Lauren, Kent Boyd, Adechike, Alex Wong, and Jose. Yes that is all of the guys and one girl, I love when they choose lots of lyrical type dancers. I am soooo excited (and Jordan too-but don't tell him I said that). To top it off Mia Michaels is back, oh how I LOVE Mia. She is only a judge, not a choreographer, but that is better than no Mia at all. Is anybody else obsessed with this show???

Happy Friday!

2010-04-30T16:22:00.001-05:00

This photo makes me happy, Gavin was standing on the dresser watching the man across the street mow his lawn. Gav cannot wait until he is old enough to mow the lawn for Daddy, for now the bubble mower will have to suffice.

Meet Madi- 18 months

2010-04-29T16:42:00.002-05:00

This is more for me to remember than anything else, but here we go....

Weight: 20 lbs
Height: 31 inches
tall and skinny- who is surprised???

Madison LOVES:
-bows in her hair
my favorite story with this is one day she wakes up from her nap and I hear her in her room: "mooooomy, moommmmmmmyyyyy, mommy!, moooooomy" I walk in and she is standing in her crib with one finger on the top of her head pointing and she says "BOW!".
Her bow had fallen out during her nap and of course she noticed and wanted it back in.

- Shoes
She picks out a pair everyday and if she sees your shoes lying on the ground she will take hers off and proceed to wear yours. She even wants to picks out shoes to match her pjs and insists I let her sleep in them (yes she has won before). This obsession has begun a bit early don't you think??

- The tricycle
Everytime we go outside she drags gavins tricycle with us. She can't reach the pedals yet but she really tries and will scoot up so she can move it by walking her feet. When we were in Dallas last week there was a pink and purple tricycle in the window of a toy store and she had her nose to the glass staring until I drug her away.

-Her thumb and her belly button.
Anytime Madi is tired or gets out of sorts at all her right thumb goes in her mouth and she finds her belly button with the other hand. She has sort of an outtie belly button and loves to mess with it.

-Her Daddy.
While he is at work she asks me at least once an hour "Wheres Daddy" and everytime she wakes up in the morning or after nap, "Wheres Daddy?"

-Babies
She loves carrying her babies around and taking care of them. When we saw Brad and Brookes baby Camden for the first time she was in awe. She got to hold him and she was in heaven.

-playing dress up
A girl can never have on too many necklaces and bracelets.

-music
one of the both Madi and Gavin's favorite things is to turn on music (preferably Ben Rector or Coldplay) and dance around and play the guitar and drums. It is fun. I hope no one ever looks in the window and sees me dancing around, I make a complete fool of myself, but we have FUN.

Madison HATES:

-getting in her car seat

-riding in the cart at the stores (this makes life REAL easy for me - HAH)

-taking a bath without Gavin- I don't know why she hates it, but she will yell "nooooooo" anytime she has to take a bath if Gavin is not taking a bath too

-going poop
I won't entertain you with a story there.

So that's Madison at 18 months!

You just thought you could get through a blog post of mine without photos....here they are!!

playing talking on my phone, please ignore the mess of toys, we have since got new toy storage and its MUCH better....wait I just looked and it really looks the same, somehow we managed to get two new storage furniture things and we still have that black thing filled with toys too. Where do all these toys come from??????

looking serious, trying to find her belly button

walking the tricycle

saying cheese!

Gavinisms

2010-04-10T16:39:00.005-05:00

Gavin has turned into quite the entertaining little 2 year old. He really does say the funniest things and has some interesting logic.

I ask him if he wants to go get ice cream at Sheridans, his reply: "Actually Mom I think I want to go to the ice cream shoppe." He uses the word "actually" quite a bit - and correctly I might add. "I think" also is in about 75% of what he says.

He knows how to bargain with you. "Gavin come put on your pajamas" I tell him. "Well hooow abooout (he always drags these 2 words, squints his eyes and angles his head to the side when he says this) if I put on my pajamas then you can get me some bunny cereal."

When he wants something he will say: "Mom I think you do want to go to Target and buy me some cars". He is very good at telling you what you think. He also tells me what Madison wants to do. Me: "Gavin, Madison wants to play with the legos also, lets give her some so she can play too" Gavin will study Madison's face like he is figuring something out then look at me and say, "No Mommy, Madison just wants to play dolls in her room by herself"

He always keeps me entertained.

You know it's a holiday weekend and your family is in town when....

2010-04-03T16:08:00.002-05:00

one of your children starts running a high fever and then the next day your other child is throwing up.
Naturally this would happen on a weekend when you have a LOT planned and family you really wanted to see in town.
Let me just note in case you don't remember that this EXACT thing happened to us on Thanksgiving and on Madison's birthday. We have great timing with the sicknesses over here!!

Have you seen....

2010-04-02T01:55:00.002-05:00

Kailee and Patrick's Session??

and Cambrie's Session??

Go check it out!!!
Have I mentioned that I have the 2 best jobs in the world. Mommy and photographer, I LOVE it!!!

If you have kids I have two big recommendations for younger ones. We went to the science spectrum and they LOVED it. I think we will be getting a yearly membership once Gavin turns 3. Kids under 3 are free and adults are $7.50. An unlimited yearly membership is $100 and you get discounts for omni and the gift shop. Pretty good deal. Also Jordan took the kids to Blue Sky to eat while I had a shoot and they have a sandpit for the kids to play in. Gav and Madison LOVED it. When I met them up there they had been playing for probably an hour and we stayed a good 45 minutes longer. It was a great time (and great food). We are always looking for something new to do, so if you have something you do with your kids let us know!!

What Not To Wear

2010-03-20T23:12:00.006-05:00

Kids can have the strangest preferences when it comes to clothes. Gavin has two (faded) shirts he LOVES, his "skateboard shirt" and "digger shirt". Every morning when we get dressed and I pull out a shirt that is not one of these shirts he gets his whiny voice and "Nooooooo I want my skateboard/digger shirt". One week he wore only these 2 shirts...that is the same 2 shirts for 7 days. I now sometimes intentionally leave them out of the wash so he doesn't get to wear them more than 2 times a week (yes I do that much laundry) and sometimes I even tell him "its not clean" when it might be. Is that bad?? I know, it is, okay I wont do it anymore. When my sister was little she wore a pink tutu over everything. Did you know you can wear a tutu over jeans, a sweatsuit, pajamas, even a bathing suit??? Well, Madison has now reached this stage. Every morning we get dressed, she always prefers to wear a skirt or dress, she wants a bow in her hair or pigtails, and then she wants.....

yes these are rattle socks

yes they are made for infants

yes that is a strange looking red and orange monkey

no they do not fit at all, the heel ends in the middle of the bottom of her foot

yes sometimes she wears them outside to play

and yes she has worn them to the grocery store

This look is not much better than the rattle socks

haha

he can throw the ball

and he can catch the ball

Such a big boy!!

Now go check out Meredith on my photoblog

Getting Ready for Spring - Sisters Gardens

2010-03-16T23:42:00.010-05:00

I am so excited that my bulbs are coming up and my small rosebushes have leaves budding on them!! This year I really want to do a lot with the yard and get it looking really nice. I like gardening, but it is not the easiest thing when you have 2 babies. This spring they are older, both can walk, and LOVE playing outside (the entire time we are out back Madi just cilmbs up her slide, slides down and then repeats this for an hour until we go inside, I don't know how she does it!!), so I am ready to get to work. And may I just say I have a LOT of work to do.

Debbie and her sisters have this really great site called Sisters Gardens where they sell everything for your garden from gardening tools, to stepping stones, to patio furniture, and even information on organics. One thing I really really love the barnwood furniture, I really want the buffet. I love yards that have outdoor kitchens and great furniture so that it truly looks like an outdoor living space.

I also love this planter. Isn't it fabulous??

Another cool thing they carry is unique plants that you can't just go pick up at your local home depot. Are these not AMAZING?? This is a firewheel tree.

Right now they are offering 15% off your purchase!!

Last year you might remember we planted seed in our backyard. That was an adventure. We still have some bare spots in the back so we are going to reseed *sigh* and hopefully it will be looking great by Gavin's birthday, which I am hoping to have in the backyard. We also have this strange side area where we cannot get ANYTHING to grow. Right now a path of flagstone separates the part of the yard where grass grows and the barren dirt part. We are considering just filling in the whole area with flagstone and creating a patio area where Jordan can grill and we can set up our patio furniture. 2 of our back flowers beds have nothing in them, so if you have a great looking flower bed you should post a photo and tell me what is in it!! I am looking for ideas!!!

Eliza

2010-03-02T22:46:00.003-06:00

I cannot resist sharing a few pics from a session I am working on right now of sweet Eliza. More to come later!

What I get to do today....

2010-02-23T11:51:00.005-06:00

EDIT!! Jordan is off and so I am hoping to get caught up on a lot of shoots....maybe I will post some of the photography blog....wait, don't count on that. Why is blogging so hard??? I can't ever decide what photos to put on the blog and then it is too late to post them. Oh well, it will just have to be something that I try to work on.

Here are a couple of sessions I am finishing up/ starting. I thought I would share these b/c everyone who read this knows them, this is Crew's 4 months and Kendi's 7 months

Let's figure this out....

2010-02-17T14:24:00.003-06:00

Two year olds really are not logical and mine is no exception. Generally when he doesn't get his way he falls to the ground and proceeds to whine and cry. Usually he is also yelling " I want Mommy do it!!!!". He is in this phase right now where only I can do things for him. I am the chosen one. If he wants his sippy cup and someone besides me hands it to him, he will NOT accept it. He won't even do things for himself anymore. If he drops a toy and it is at his feet he will still ask me to pick it up for him. Although I am flattered he likes me that much, I still refuse to be his slave. Aren't I suppose to be the boss????
Well the other day he really really wanted some candy, but he had not eaten his lunch so I told him no, you need to eat your lunch. He then walked over to me, climbed in my lap and said, "Okay Mommy, let's figure this out. I really want some candy, but I don't want to eat my lunch." This really made me laugh that he wanted to discuss it.

Well in my continuing attempt to get a good photo of them together, here are some I took the other day. At least they both have their eyes open!!

Love this one of Gavin! He was having a fun time, we got to go see all the buses before we tried to quickly take some photos.

Bringing back the onesies

2010-02-09T10:41:00.002-06:00

So Madison has discovered a new talent, she can undress herself! Now every time I go to get her in the morning or after a nap, she has stripped down completely. I have a feeling just telling her not to do that any more won't do the trick, so she now has to put on a onesie before she sleeps (which is also difficult because she insists on trying to dress herself as well and they are not the easiest to put on). For now she has not learned how to take them off. I think with the undressing and her determination to climb out of her crib we will be moving her to a toddler bed and potty training relatively soon....it's never good to have a naked baby climbing out of their crib and running around the house, that could become a messy situation really fast.

Rain Rain Go Away

2010-02-07T17:14:00.003-06:00

I have officially decided I would not make it one month living in Seattle. Rainy days with 2 young kids is just not ideal. Does anyone else get bored of inside activities?? We have read and read and read books, we have built hundreds of lego towers, we have play doh stuck to every surface in our house, we have made cookies and cupcakes, Gavin has the Blues Clues songs and dances memorized, and we have done every craft that kids under the age of 3 can attempt. Why is it that I can spend 30 minutes getting everything ready for us to do a really fun craft project and then Gavin is finished in 53 seconds (unless there are LOTS of stickers and then it might take him a full minute and a half to finish).

Well, we are looking forward to sunny days playing in our backyard and at the park.

An exciting sidenote, Madison has enough hair for a ponytail! Now we just need enough hair so I can put those pink sponge rollers in her hair.... anyone else do they that when they were little???

Oh the snow

2010-01-28T16:36:00.006-06:00

Gavin is not a big snow fan, it's too cold Mommy!! It was a bummer because when he saw the snow (the first time it snowed) he looked at it out the window and said, "I've waited all my life to play in the snow". He has become very dramatic lately...I wonder where he gets that???

Today the rain before the snow was not good for our trees or our ability to leave the house....

YIKES

Well the kids are napping so I am forced to get to working on posting sessions that I need to on the photography blog...first on the list is Randi and Cody's wedding, go check it out!

so lovely

2009-12-21T11:56:00.005-06:00

I LOVE anthropologie- their clothes, the housewares, the catalog photography, everything about it. And now they have brought back kids clothes!! Every now and then they will have a few pieces and they are the cutest.

adorable

I would like this dress for myself also

love the buttons on this skirt

I want to get Madison this cute apron (or sew her a similar one) to go with her retro style kitchen we got her for Christmas, every girl needs an apron to cook in

104 Degrees

2009-12-19T18:33:00.002-06:00

This has become a common reading on the thermometer for Madison the past few days. Believe it or not when it reads 102 I get excited and consider this to be "low" now.

Since Wednesday Madison has been running very high fever (usually around 103.4, and has not been below 101). So far we have seen her pediatrician, called the on call nurse a billion times, been to the ER (Thurs. night we could not get her fever down from 104 so we spent a couple hours in the ER. Poor Jordan had to fly out the next morning at 6 and we got home at 330am), and called the on call nurse a billion more times.

All that has been done is a strep test which she tested negative for. Besides the fever there really isn't much wrong, her throat is a little red and her nose a little runny. Apparently she has a virus that I just have to "let run its course". This is much easier said than done.

Today she was reading 104 again. Today is the first day she has acted really sick, she is very weak (has trouble walking) and just wants me to hold her and let her sleep. She is still eating some and drinking plenty of fluids so that is good.

So...I am just sitting here trying to be patient and letting this virus "run its course".........

Have I mentioned lately....

2009-12-09T13:28:00.003-06:00

I love this girl!

and I love this boy!

And of course I have to share some funny things Gavin has said over the past few weeks:

Gavin and I were playing and he leaned back and his arm hit my mouth and he said:

"No Mommy! No eating Gavin! *pointing at me* I said DO NOT eat me."

*Gavin singing* "Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear....uh....*looking around*....uh.... dear carpet, happy birthday to you"

me: Gavin what do you want for Christmas?

Gavin: birthday cake

and another time:

me: Gavin what do you want for Christmas?

Gavin: Pawpaws shoes

and another time:

me: Gavin what do you want for Christmas?

Gavin: To partyyyy!!!!

Gavin: *picking up a wrapped gift under the tree and examining it* "This is a car." -and he is right

Thanksgiving

2009-12-02T16:50:00.005-06:00

We had a great thanksgiving, but it was definitely interesting. At 5 in the morning Thanksgiving day Gavin starts vomiting. This was not fun and being in a hotel room made it that much worse. So he gets sick a couple of more times and then Madison woke up sick. It was very strange because they both got sick a few times within a couple of hours and then were completely fine.
So since they were doing fine we went ahead and went over to my grandparents house and had an amazing meal and had so much fun seeing everyone.

On another note we are having Christmas with my parents next Saturday and Sunday, I cannot believe it is that close! We have been frantically shopping and actually are almost done. I have a couple more guys to buy for. Is it just me or are guys in general harder to shop for than girls??? I have the hardest time. If anyone has ideas please share!!

Jordan getting into the holiday spirit

Crew - Newborn Session

2009-11-21T00:08:00.002-06:00

Here are some more of precious baby Crew!

Halloween Session

2009-11-19T15:20:00.005-06:00

I am trying to catch up on blogging! Here are some photos from the halloween session I shot of cousins Collin, Tessa, and Tagen. They were soooo cute and fun! Aren't their costumes fabulous? Their talented grandmother made them all!

Corby and Natalie Wedding Highlights

2009-11-10T21:57:00.002-06:00

This is another wedding I did of some friends of mine, it was a pure joy to be a part of it. It was a very unique, colorful, and fun wedding!

Ryan and Kate's Wedding Teaser

2009-11-09T21:17:00.000-06:00

A few months ago I was given the great pleasure of videoing Ryan Brooke and Kate Winfrey's wedding. I consider it a blessing to be a part of their special day. It was both inspiring and encouraging for me. Here's a small taste of it.

Kate and Ryan Teaser Video from Jordan Gray on Vimeo.

There's more to come........

Trick or Treat

2009-11-01T23:32:00.002-06:00

Halloween was so fun this year. The kids were too cute!! Gavin really got into the whole pirate thing, he is really good at saying "arrrgghh matey!" and he uses his low voice, it is hilarious. We did not think about how covering one eye with the eye patch would take away his depth perception and at the first house he was so excited he ran up to the door and ran right into it! It did not phase him at all though, he was too excited about getting candy.

Babies, Babies, Babies

2009-10-31T14:21:00.008-05:00

Kendi - 3 months
I had so much fun taking photos of Kendi, it is incredible that at only 3 months old a child has so much personality already.
Are her blue eyes not amazing??

Madison- 1 Year
I still cannot believe my sweet girl is one! I have a funny sibling story. The other day Madison was playing with Gavin's dumptruck, which he did NOT like, so he walked over to her yelled "no Madi!", pushed her down, then proceeded to walk to his timeout chair without me even saying a word. I guess it was worth it.

Crew Colley
more to come soon!

Corbin and Kenzie

2009-10-27T23:17:00.005-05:00

This past weekend our really great friends, Brad and Brooke, came to visit and of course I had to take pictures of their kids. They are so adorable, can't you just see them in a gap ad?? I love this family so much!

busy busy

2009-10-14T18:01:00.003-05:00

Life has been busy is an understatement for us. Jordan has 1,349,895,389 videos to edit it seems like and I have been shooting and editing and working on website stuff like crazy.
We do all this after 9 when the kids are in bed, so therefore blogging has been put on the end of the list.
Some happenings in our lives....
Gavin had his "first" real haircut at sports clips, which was quickly followed by a second haircut, compliments of Daddy. Someone should notify sports clips that bowl cuts have not been in style since, well, never. Although I must say, Gavin looked SO cute, even with a chili bowl.
Madison had her first bad sickness, strep throat, followed by a mysterious rash which is still coming and going.
Madison had her first birthday last Sunday, it was so fun and special, even though she was covered in a rash.
Uncle Landon moved back to Lubbock. YAY!
My website is up! Not completely finished, but still, it's up. www.jlgphotography.com

The Haircut

From blog

One from a bridal session I did recently, there are more on my photography blog, but it is not quite ready yet.

From blog

A couple from an engagement session

From blog

I really want to get Madi's birthday pictures up and post some fun pictures of the kids soon, hopefully soon won't be a month from now!

Sneak Peek - The Spencer Family

2009-09-12T18:37:00.002-05:00

From Spencers

Jennifer - Maternity

2009-09-11T18:03:00.004-05:00

I had so much fun taking maternity pictures of Jennifer last week, she is due in a little over a month with baby boy #2, Crew. Coby (who was REALLY excited about the pictures) and Camren joined us for a few shots. Jennifer and Coby are so much fun and are amazing parents, Crew is one lucky baby!

From Jennifer- Maternity

table>

From Jennifer- Maternity

What we have been up to this week

2009-09-03T23:04:00.003-05:00

Our favorite nephew Zack was in town this week! It was so fun to see him (and his parents) and get to see him, Gavin, and Madison interact. Gavin loved having a boy around to show his cars to and Madison liked that Zack would give her the time of day! He is such a sweet boy and is so adorable, he is the perfect mix of his mommy and daddy.

Sorry these pictures are HUGE. I need to resize them down.

From zack

Jordan and I think that all our siblings need to move to Lubbock. You guys go ahead and get on that, okay?

The nice thing about summer....

2009-08-26T23:02:00.006-05:00

is that your kids don't get sick. Right? Wrong. Madison has too many sicknesses to even count. Somehow she has managed to catch a cold, a stomach virus, and is teething all at the same time. It was ridiculous when I was telling the nurse all her symptoms, the list went on and on and on. It is awful. I hate when my kids are sick, I just want to make them feel better and I feel so helpless. Gavin came down with it tonight. He was gagging earlier and said his tummy hurt, but just got sick for the first time about an hour ago. Madison started feeling bad Sunday evening and is still running a fever, snot nosed, and having unpleasant diapers, no more vomiting though. And for me, I woke up with the cold-like symptoms and I am hoping it just stays at that.

Here are some pictures I took the other day of Gavin and Madison. It was there 10 month and 27 month pictures.

Definitely click on these and look at them big, you have to check out her cute ponytail!!

These next one is her new "look". She is always making this face, what would you say she is thinking when she look like this??
I still cannot get over her eyelashes.

Look, one hand Mom!
I wanted to try and edit some of Gavin and post them, but I am too tired. Maybe some other day. But here is just one. Isn't that a cool wall??

Hope everyone stays well and my kids made no one sick!!!

A little about Madison...

2009-08-14T17:35:00.006-05:00

As of today...
She weighs 18 lbs 5 oz (this is ONLY because she is very active because she eats a LOT)
She is 28" tall

This girl LOVES food. I mean REALLY loves it. She has never denied a bite of food or spit anything out. Some faves are cut up tomatoes, strawberries, zucchini, and cheese.
In this picture she is sucking out the inside of the green bean. She likes to do this before she eats the skin. "Skin"??? Is that right? Green bean skin. That sounds disgusting.

She wants to walk everywhere holding onto my finger, but as soon as I let go she gets so mad. Today she was holding a crayon and I let go and she didn't realize it because she had the crayon and she took several steps! So I don't think it will be long.
Yes, that is a golf ball she is holding and a truck she is pushing. I usually put her doll in the truck to make it a little more feminine.

Swinging is a favorite game along with chase. It is especially fun if Gavin will crawl after and try to get her, she loves it.

She loves her thumb. She always sleeps with her right thumb in her mouth and her left hand holding her ear. SO cute. Isn't she big girl in her bed now??

"I Want A Lil Bike.."

2009-08-10T16:14:00.001-05:00

I heard this phrase 243,328,443,903 times every. single. day. For 2 weeks.

Gavin saw a little boy riding a tricycle to the park and the entire time he was there Gavin just stared at this tricycle. In his mind this was the greatest invention ever and he needed one NOW.
He asked and he asked. I tried to get him to ride his tractor, which has pedals just like the little bike, but he did not fall for it. A tractor would not suffice, the boy wanted a lil bike.

Here is a conversation I had with Gavin:

Gavin: Mommy, cuuuute.
Me: Aw, thanks Gavin, you are cute.
Gavin: Mommy cute!
Me: Thanks, you are the most handsome little boy in the world.
Gavin: Mommy......(he tilts his head to the side and gives me the sweetest look ever)
Me: (falling into his trap, I think he is about to say the sweetest thing ever)
Gavin: I WANT A LIL BIKE! (no more sweet tone, no more cute head tilt, he is downright serious)

Can you believe he has already learned how to sweet talk me???

Isnt he cute on his Lil bike? I wish we could get a paint job on it and take off radio flyer and have "lil bike" painted on it. It would be cool to do a spin off west coast choppers and make a rad tricycle.

I love converses for little boys.

Every tricycle needs storage on the back, Gavin keeps McQueen back there.

What do you call these things that hang off the handlebars?? Streamers?? Tassles?? But whatever they are called Madison likes to grab them and Gavin does not like it. However he does let her put stuff in the storage bin. I guess he is just protective of the tassles.

Can't you just see Madison standing on the back of the tricycle and hitching a ride from Gavin??

Yo Baby Giveaway!

2009-08-05T14:54:00.002-05:00

Everyone who has a child knows that yo baby is a must have, its healthy and delicious and you can get it for FREE by entering the giveaway at Really, are you serious? Go enter!

Siblings

2009-08-02T17:56:00.006-05:00

Aren't they so sweet?? I love this picture because that day they were actually playing together. Madison is finally gotten old enough that they are able to interact and play more, it is so neat to watch.

Which do you like better - color or black and white??

Sarah - Maternity

2009-07-31T18:19:00.007-05:00

I took some maternity pictures of Sarah a LONG time ago. I decided to share some, but I had to majorly compress them, which is altering the color and details (very frustrating). If anyone knows how to get images to look better on blogger let me know.

Isn't she beautiful? She had that "pregnancy glow" goin on.

Mr. and Mrs. Zack Jameson

2009-07-30T16:45:00.006-05:00

Two weekends ago my sister got married in lovely Sante Fe. It was a small intimate wedding and was very beautiful.

The ceremony was in the Loretta Chapel, which is known for it's miraculous staircase. The chapel was gorgeous.

Beautiful bride

The reception/dinner was held at the Compound, the food was delicious and everyone there was so nice. The cool thing was that we were upstairs in a private room and our room opened into another private room in which they were holding a cast party for the movie "Paul". Jason Bateman (think arrrested development and Juno),Sigourney Weaver, Bill Hader (SNL), Kristin Wiig (SNL), and the guy from School of Rock that plays the brother, Ned, were all there. It was really neat. Seth Rogen is in the movie, but I never saw him so I am not sure that he was there.

Video guys are so silly.

Congrats Zack and Kate!

To Catch A Butterfly

2009-07-23T18:39:00.005-05:00

First, locate a pretty butterfly.

Preferably, the butterfly should be among some brightly colored flowers.

Continue to move closer, keeping your fingers crossed that it will not fly away.

Voila

Favorite Moments

2009-07-11T17:00:00.004-05:00

It is so easy to get busy each day and forget to enjoy the simple things my kids do that I love. Some of my favorite moments of the day are when I first get my kids out of bed in the morning and get them up after their naps. Madison is always standing up now, just waiting for Mommy. Gavin is always yelling "I want up", "I want Mommy" and always jumps up when I walk in and has big smiles for me. I love how excited they are so see me! Before too long Gavin will be in a big boy bed and coming and waking me up!

"I want up, I want up, I want up, I want up!"
He repeats things over and over for me.

Isn't his bed head cute?

The Fourth and random thoughts

2009-07-09T14:18:00.009-05:00

Before I get to our fourth of July, let me just tell you a few things I have learned about two year olds:
1. Two year olds begin at least 90% of their sentences with "I want".
2. The other 10% consist of "NO" or in Gavin's case "No WAY!"
3. Two year olds discover bodily functions are funny. This might only be the case with boys, I guess I will find out soon enough!
4. Two year olds do not share ANYTHING that belongs to them with their siblings.
5. Two year olds think EVERYTHING belongs to them. This can include, but is not limited to, toys, food, people, furniture, and even entire rooms.
6. They like to eat on the go. I have to keep a close eye on Gavin when it comes to snack and meal time. Today I layed Madison down for her nap while he was eating lunch and came back to Gavin and an emtpy plate. Later I found his burrito on the bathroom counter. Gross.
7. They have great imaginations. Gavin was moving all the dining room chairs around and I almost stopped him, but he seemed to have a plan, and he did! He made a train out of our dining room chairs and the buffet. He lined them up one after another behind the buffet, put his stuffed animals in the back chairs and he held on to the buffet at the front and choo chooed. Isn't he smart?
8. Two year olds think they are smarter than you. Gavin gets stickers for going potty. Somtimes he will just sit down on his potty for maybe 2 seconds, then stand up, close the lid really fast, clap and say "yay" and expects a prize.
9. They can make you feel incredible joy. I never realized just how sweet the words "Nite, Nite Mommy, Love you" would be.

Our fourth of July was really fun. We went to the parade and Gavin really loved it. He figured out you were supposed to clap and wave at all the floats and Madison had just learned to clap, so she clapped to. Gav's favorite thing was watching the road sweepers that would follow the horses. After the parade we were planning on hanging out with our friends Shan and Daniel for the weekend, but sickness got in the way. Such a bummer. Instead, we took a family trip to Ruidoso and it was great. Hopefully I will post about it in the next week (or knowing me - month). Hope everyone else had a great holiday!

Watch Brandon's engagement on the news tonight!

2009-06-29T16:09:00.003-05:00

On Sunday after he did the triathlon Brandon proposed to his girlfriend Michelle! It was a great surprise and Jordan filmed it all for him. Tonight they are talking about the triathlon on the news and are going to show the proposal so everyone should tune in!!

TWO!!

2009-06-03T17:44:00.008-05:00

Can you believe Gavin is TWO??? We celebrated his birthday last week and since his party has been enjoying all his fun gifts. He mows the lawn probably 5 hours a day and gives us many concerts on his guitar. Since the party he has learned to say "cake" and chants it every day. This morning all I heard on the monitor was "cake, cake, cake, cake, CAAAAAKE (in a high pitch scream which he has also learned and will hopefully unlearn soon)......cake, cake, cake....". He had learned to say Aunt Kate a couple of weeks ago, but since then she has become Aunt Cake. I think the child likes cake.

The cake- Didn't Aunt Nories do great??

Birthday Boy
Thanks to Jon for bringing the construction hat

Gavin's cousin Olivia, such a cutie and she had just had her birthday so she helped Gavin figure out how to open presents
Jude and his granddad

Maddys BFF Annerson
We are off to family vacation tomorrow so I wanted to get a quick post in so I would not have tons of catching up to do when we come home.

On another note, Madison now has 2 teeth and learned how to say Dada. I think Camren taught her that at their playdate.

SUMMER!!

2009-05-20T23:35:00.005-05:00

Gotta protect the eyes!!

She just melts my heart

Gavin LOVES the water

Already picking on his little sister

I love watching him have so much fun and doesn't this just capture how he runs?? He has his arm swing goin on.

I am so glad we have been having such pretty, warm days. Hope everyone else is enjoying it!

Jude Wootten

2009-05-19T12:16:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I took some pictures of Laney and Jon's sweet baby Jude. I haven't had time to upload them all, but I wanted to post a couple for them to see. Isn't he precious??

Had to post a smile.

Just Madison

2009-05-15T18:05:00.005-05:00

I love this girl!!!

I Love Canon

2009-04-28T17:48:00.013-05:00

This weekend was a fabulous one. My sister had her first wedding shower in Hobbs and the kids and I were able to see my grandparents, Nanny and DeDad. The Clarks came into town and we had a wildly great time. There is nothing like having 4 kids ages 2 and under. It was so fun. Since my new camera stuff came in, we took LOADS of pictures.

I haven't learned how to edit yet, so maybe I will edit them later and re-post. If anyone is a pro on photoshop I am up for a tutorial.

Corbin is adorable and is so easy to take pictures of, he practically poses for you.

Needs to be cropped, but isn't she adorable?? Check out those eyes.

Mom, my bow is so big I can barely hold my head up! Brooke taught me how to make bows this weekend. Very fun.

Hope everyone had a good weekend! Ours ended with a fun birthday party for our cousin Nick. We will blog about that tomorrow.

Quote for the weekend:
She is not that greasy. On a greasiness scale of 1 to 10 she is like a 3.8.

Gavin's first Easter egg hunt, oh and I never want to be 17 again.

2009-04-18T23:17:00.004-05:00

Gavin had a wonderful Easter. He really got the hang of hunting easter eggs and had also had a great time playing with his older cousins Nathan and Brianna. Jordan and I loved seeing everyone and played a new game, bananagrams. If you are gamers like us, you will love it and can get it on Amazon.

Enjoy the video!

Gavin Easter 09 from Jordan Gray on Vimeo.

Isn't my husband talented???

I am sure everyone is wondering how Seventeen Again was. If you enjoy sitting in a roomful of tweens who cheer and squeal everytime Zac Effron comes on screen, then you should definitely go. So of course Jordan had an awesome time. But really, the movie was cute. Rent it and watch it at home with no thirteen year old girls.

P.S. Thanks to The Justin Cofield Band for the music for the video. Look them up on itunes and buy there CD it's worth every penny. You'll love it.

Nana Fridays

2009-04-17T17:11:00.003-05:00

Well, my Mom usually comes over on Fridays, but not this Friday. I know you are having grandkid withdrawals not seeing them, so here are a couple of pics.

Tonight Jordan and I are going to the movies, I am very excited. We are going to go see seventeen again. Yes, that is the movie with Zac Effron, and yes, I do really want to see it. Who wants to bet we will be the oldest in the theatre??

Easter

2009-04-12T09:08:00.000-05:00

From "It is well with my soul":

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Drink anyone?

2009-04-11T16:05:00.006-05:00

Madison and Gavin had bathtime together for the first time and Gavin has learned a new trick. He gets his frog toy, turns it upside down to fill it up with water, and then proceeds to drink the bathwater. Excellent. Oh, and he enjoys feeding this water to Madison also. I turned my head to grab a washcloth under the sink, turn around, and to Madison's extreme delight, Gavin is pouring water in her mouth. She had a huge smile on her face and drank it up. I am definitely not encouraging the drinking of the bathwater. After all, you do know the first thing that babies tend to do when you put them in that warm bath water.....
On a VERY exciting note....drumroll please....Gavin has been using the potty!! Not at all close to being potty trained of course, but sit him down on his potty, give him a good book, a piece of candy, his sippy cup in reach and he is good to go. He is pretty proud of himself and we are too.

Whisks are fun toys and so are bath crayons from the looks of the wall

Gavin prefers drinking out of the purple frog
Madison makes this face everytime you put food in her mouth
Pretty Girl

Check out those eyelashes

Getting my March post in

2009-03-31T08:50:00.006-05:00

We have been busy the past month! I have to start out my posts like that because it makes me feel better about not posting in so long. But, really, we have been busy. I had an awesome surprise birthday party and really was surprised. We went to Hobbs, my parents came here, and Russell, Susan, Zack, and Phillip were here. Also, we now have a beautifully tiled bathroom (thanks Dad!), new living room furniture (thanks Jordan), and grass in the backyard (thank you Jay, Jason, Diana, Chuck, and Debbie). It has been amazing looking out in the backyard everyday and going from very discouraged looking at a big pile of mud, to now looking out and seeing big patches of tall-ish green grass. It really is amazing!
The kids are great. Madison is BIG and I mean 17 pounds big. She is a chunk! It's so cute. She is sitting up for short periods, rolling over, scooting across the room, sucking her thumb, smiling and cooing, spitting and blowing bubbles, eating cereal, bananas, sweet potatoes, prunes, and puffs and loves all of them. She accidentally got a little crumb of cookie and REALLY loved that. She also loves to pull off her socks, play with her feet, and always wants to hold your hands and stand up. I think she is ready to be able to chase after Gavin, she adores him. Gavin is running all over the place, climbing on things, and talking! He babbles sentences that are hard to understand but is using lots of words correctly too. The cutest thing is the the way he waves and says buh bye. It's worth coming over just to leave and hear it, it will melt your heart. I have several funny stories but I will save them for another day. I want to post pics before they both wake up and whereas I like to think of myself as being computer saavy, it takes me way to long to post pictures, I am not sure what I am doing wrong.

the kids with their adorable cousin Zach, of course they are all looking in different directions

We had dinner with some fun friends, Michael and Evan, who have a cute son and daughter and before we left they dressed up as cowboys and shot us all.

*Just so you know these pictures posted quickly. We recently switched from safari to firefox and I think it just might have been safari gettin' me down.

A Few Favorites

2009-01-29T16:19:00.007-06:00

Gavin loves his Uncle Landon and we all love choppy bobs from Triple J

Gavin + Spagetti = Love

Daddy and Maddy

Smiles from Madison

I thought I would take the time to answer some questions I always get.

Is Gavin jealous?

If jealousy involves Gavin pointing at Madison, whom I am holding, and then pointing at the ground, then yes, he is showing some jealousy. He also has a new found interest in his former swing, bouncy, and Maddy's pacifier, which is really interesting considering he did not even like his own.

Are you able to spend enough time with both kids?

Yes!! It's my good friends internet, tv, and sleep that don't get as much attention. Oh housework misses me too.

Gavin learned to take off his pants and diaper yesterday and that is a disaster waiting to happen so I am getting ready to potty train him. If anyone has ideas or suggestions let me know!

Gymkhana: Simply Amazing

2009-01-19T21:46:00.004-06:00

This is how you drive a car people. The longer I work for Subaru, the more I fall in love with them. Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Ken Block, he is one of our rally car driver's. Watch.... be amazed........ and take notes.

P.S. To do this you'll first have to come buy the STI from me.

ENJOY!!

Pope Gavin the First

2008-12-14T01:20:00.006-06:00

Every parent is guilty of it. I am sure all of you remember your parents doing it to you. Jordan and I have already started it. I see Gavin playing with a tractor. "Gavin do you want to be a cotton farmer??" He is doing puzzles and is really good at it. "Oh Gavin, you are definitely going to be an engineer, aren't you?" He seems slightly interested in the episode of House we are watching on tv. "Gavin don't you want to be a diagnostician so you can take good care of Mommy and Daddy when we are old and decrepid?" Seriously, why am I already trying to put career ideas into the mind of an 18 month old??

This is our "conversation" with Gavin the other day. Apparently we can stop trying to persuade him, he has decided on his future career.

Me: Gavin, do you want to be an architect?

Gavin: No.*

*this,of course, is a nonverbal no. Gavin still chooses to communicate only by nods "yes" and "no", by pointing, and of course his signature grunting. This actually proves to be a very effective mode of communication and so he might never speak.

Jordan: Gavin, do you want to be an actor?

Gavin: No.

Me: Gavin, do you want to be a lawyer?

Gavin: No.

Jordan: Gavin, do you want to be a teacher?

Gavin: No.

Me: Do you want to be an artist?

Gavin: No.

Jordan: Do you want to be a Catholic Priest?

Gavin: Yes.

Jordan and I: Laughing.

Gavin: Has his serious look on.

Me: Gavin do you want to be a dancer? (this is a trick question I am thinking he is just saying yes now)

Gavin: No. (not falling for it)

Jordan: Gavin do you want to be a Catholic Priest?

Gavin: Yes.

Our future little priest.

I think he might have gotten this whole idea from Annerson. Maybe he just digs the hat.

Captured

2008-11-20T16:58:00.004-06:00

Recently our good friend Shan took some amazing photos of our family. She is so talented you should definitely check out her website at www.shanrenee.com. We are so sad that her and Daniel moved to Dallas, but at least we know they will be here a lot to do photo sessions.

Shout out to Lee

2008-11-01T18:25:00.005-05:00

Go Red Raiders!!!
Gavin showing his support for the best team in Texas
Madison is a huge Texas Tech football fan. As you can see she is very excited for the big game.

Trick or Treat!

2008-11-01T11:01:00.008-05:00

Our first trick or treating experience was a success despite a short meltdown. We learned that 5 mini bags of m&m's are TOO many for Gavin to eat. Sugar overload! We had so much fun and wasn't Gavin the cutest rooster you have ever seen!

   Shake your tail feathers
   Jordan dressed up as a smart guy

Introducing...Madison Lane Gray

2008-10-18T21:27:00.008-05:00

Born 10/18/08
10:02 am
6 lbs. 10 oz.
20 inches

This Will Blow Your Mind

2008-10-14T10:13:00.002-05:00

I know, for myself, that this was one of the most surreal moments in my life. Watch closely, it looks like little Madison is already taking after her mother and being a little ballerina. Enjoy!

the house won

2008-10-09T19:19:00.002-05:00

ok, so i was wrong...... maybe little Madison will be here sometime next week. can't wait.

Place your bets!!

2008-10-06T20:10:00.002-05:00

I give Jess 36 hours and we are going to the hospital to have a baby....woohoo

Future Red Raider and Madison update

2008-09-24T08:10:00.010-05:00

We went to the Tech game on Saturday night. Gavin was so funny. He had his snack trap full of goldfish and kept sticking it in everyone's faces to share with them (no, we did not know these people). He insists on sharing his food every time he is eating, he is so polite. His favorite part was riding on Jordan's shoulders on the LONG haul back to the car -we parked at FBC and I cannot believe I did not go into labor from that walk.

This Santa Clause man you see in the picture was Gavin's favorite to share his food with. He loved to do this right when tech was scoring, or better yet, catching an interception.
This is Gavin last year at a football game. Can you believe how much he has changed?!

On another note we had an appointment for Madison yesterday. She is still only 5 pounds, so she will be a little baby. Grow little Madison!! Dr. Kileen is still expecting me to have her 2-3 weeks early, so we are getting ready, it could be in just a week or so! I am trying to get Gavin to understand the concept of a "little sister", but its not so easy with a one and half year old. Everytime I ask if he is ready for his sister to be here or if he is excited about being a brother he just shakes his head "no". Although I don't think this means much because he is shaking his head no at everything, even ice cream. And who shakes their head "no" to ice cream and means it?
A kiss for Madison

Cute Pics

2008-09-20T15:35:00.003-05:00

Gavin wants his own iPod for Christmas

Rockin the sunglasses from Mamaw

Hotlanta

2008-09-20T14:38:00.006-05:00

Jordan and I recently went on our "babymoon" to Atlanta. We left Gavin for the first time, he stayed with my parents. It was definitely harder on me than it was on him.

This is us at the Braves game. They were playing the New York Giants, at least that is what I told everyone. However, apparently the Giants are a football team and they were actually playing the San Francisco Giants. I am very sports saavy.

We asked a random person to take a picture of us. Where are we? Well, those are our feet at the very top of the picture. We weren't expecting professional quality, but come on...

Olympic Park

This is us at the coke museum. We learned the secret ingredient to a coke is FUN!

We had a great time together and were glad to get to go on a vacation before Madison gets here!

Gavin: Corn Boy

2008-09-17T17:19:00.005-05:00

We are testing out how to post a video on here and thought that this would be a cute one to use. I filmed Gavin a while back eating corn. We thought it would be funny to send it to his uncle Russell because in high school I called him corn boy. It seemed like every-time we had a meal Russell had corn with his. Don't get me wrong, corn one of the all time greats. It goes with any great southern meal, and I too have had my fair share of this glorious vegetable. Looking at my belly, some might argue that I've had more than my fair share anyway this isn't the time nor the place for that discussion. Russell was called corn boy first so it stuck with him, lucky me. Enjoy the next generation of corn lovers