Baby Gray/cousins/Ranch

Good Sports

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Sunday, we were all at The Ranch (yes, proper noun… that’s its name) hunting, shooting clays, looking at the wildlife, etc. 
T-Paw and Mr. Gray cooked a yummy prime rib roll for dinner, and we celebrated Mr. Gray’s birthday with a chocolate cake, courtesy of T-Paw! While we were eating, I realized Baby Gray needed a photo with his other two cousins. T overheard me talking about it, and when I asked he and L to please take a photo with Baby Gray, T readily grabbed him and said they’d love to. Those boys may be 15 (almost 16–YIKES!) and 13, but they are some awesome kids (I can still call them that). They’re always helpful and willing to do anything any of us need. They also send me sports and hunting updates via text–I love it! 
So here it is, my picture I didn’t even really have to ask for with Baby Gray’s awesome older cousins!
Aggies/Baby Gray/blessings

So Grateful

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Baby Gray will be six weeks old tomorrow! CRAZY! It’s gone by so quickly. All I can think about as we hit this six-week mark is the fact that I would be going back to work Monday if I were taking standard maternity leave. 
HOW?
How do people go back to work with their tiny babies at home or at daycare after only six weeks? (I know the answer to this; hypothetically speaking.) I am so grateful I am not experiencing that on Monday! God has been so good to us.
In other, far less important, blessings today, the Aggies upset OU at Kyle this evening! Whoop!
Annie/Baby Gray/dinner/Young Life

Just a Country Boy…

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We had a Young Life Round Up to go to last night, and it was western themed. I haven’t bought Baby Gray any western wear, since I didn’t really have any thoughts about dressing him up as a cowboy just yet. Luckily, Annie had bought him some cute little cowboy things so he had something to wear! 


His little John Deere boots were so cute!



Notice the traction on the bottom of the boots–just in case he needs to walk anywhere!


At the dinner, he “wore” Mr. Gray’s hat! Cutie!
Baby Gray/sewing

Say it Ain’t Sew…

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Generally, when I need something that involves fabric and stitches, I call on Nonna. As I’ve posted before, I’ve tried my hand at applique a few times. 
I wanted some black and white blankets for Baby Gray, so I called Nonna with intentions of asking her to make us a couple. She had made some cute light weight blankets for my classroom a few years back, so I was just going to have her do those. She didn’t answer when I called, and between then and the time she called me back, I decided I could make them myself. I quizzed her on how to make them for sure and felt confident I could do it. 
Mr. Gray was out and about, so I had him pick up some fabric for me on his way home. Then I got to sewing! 
The edges are all the way frayed yet since it’s only been washed once, but it’s pretty cute (if I do say so myself). Baby Gray used it Sunday evening, and it worked out perfectly!
Baby Gray/friends/Halloween

A BOO-tiful HalloWEEn!

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The beginning of fall marks pumpkins & harvest decorations–to me, it’s the start of “holiday” decorating… Halloween stuff goes up October 1st; I switch to fall stuff November 1st; Thanksgiving stuff goes up mid-November; the Sunday after Thanksgiving is CHRISTMASDAY (probably my favorite day of the year: this is our day to get the house all Christmas-y, wrap presents, and watch Christmas movies). 
The short of it, Halloween is the beginning of so many fun times throughout the fall and winter for us! 
I had Baby Gray’s costume ordered before he was even born. I found the cutest monster outfit that just happened to be the same colors as a onesie we had already bought him it looked like the perfect Plan A and Plan B to me! We also got a cute pumpkin outfit (see pumpkin patch pictures) from Mrs. Doc C and a Halloween outfit from Aunt Cookie. Baby Gray had all sorts of outfits to choose from! 
We started out in this outfit for church. Thanks, Aunt Cookie!
We got our things together and got ready to head to San Marcos to hand out candy and hang out. 
Our Plan A outfit! So stinkin’ cute! 
Baby Gray slept through most of the festivities, but we got a few photos for memory’s sake. Shooby was the cutest peacock of all! (I didn’t get any pictures of Jax… boo!)
His actual monster costume was pretty hot (it wasn’t designed for a Texas Halloween). We went to Plan B before too long. He was still such a cute monster!
Aggies/Baby Gray/football/tailgate

Baby Gray Tailgates…

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Gorgeous weather forecasts and a 2:30 game made for the perfect first tailgating experience for Baby Gray! We were able to make it a day trip instead of spending the night, and it wasn’t too hot for Baby Gray to be outside while we tailgated.
Baby Gray and I were going to watch the game from the Alumni Center since Kyle is so loud, so Mr. Gray & we invited our friend, Doc C, to come along and take my ticket. He is a big Aggie, but doesn’t get to go to many games. We were glad he got to come with us! 

 
Baby Gray enjoyed being outside and seeing everyone. He spent time with Pops & Nonna and everyone else! 

 
We had a good time in the Alumni Center–we met some other little Aggies and their families.

The best part of the day was that the Ags beat Tech! Gig ’em!

Baby Gray/Kingsville/road trip

Headed South!

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Baby Gray had his first trip last week to Kingsville. Mr. Gray needed to go for work, so Baby Gray and I loaded up and headed south with him. We even took Rooster! The whole family went on a little trip! It was a trip filled with lots of food I’ve missed–all the little Kingsville joints that can’t be replicated! I started my food trip down memory lane with a taco at Lydia’s, lunch (and a vanilla Dr Pepper with crushed ice!) at Harrell’s, and dinner at Young’s. A lot of times we’re there on an overlap to a Sunday, so not everywhere is open. 
We left Rooster in a crate while he was in the room and we were gone. When I came back to the room in the middle of the day, he was not where I left his crate; I got a little scared that he was missing. Then I saw him across the room–he had ROLLED himself in his crate! 

Crazy dog! 
Thursday evening, we at dinner with Baby Gray’s cousins as well as Uncle W & Aunt K. It was great to see them all! Baby Gray tried to sleep through dinner, but we woke him up so that Aunt K could hold him, and we could take a few photos of the boys. 
Hopefully before too long we can get all five cousins together for some photos!
As usual, Baby Gray was a great traveler! It’s a good thing–we left the next day for Aggieland!
Recipes

Cheesy, Corny, and Yummy!

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When I have items in my fridge that I haven’t used, I start dreaming up ideas for what to do with them. Luckily, Tuesday we had a dinner we were supposed to take an appetizer to, so I got to create! 
I had a couple of eight ounce containers of cream cheese that I needed to use. No desserts were sounding appealing, so I decided to try to make my own variation of corn dip with the cream cheese instead of sour cream and mayonnaise. It was pretty good, if I do say so myself. 
Creamy Corn Dip
8 ounces cream cheese
6 ounces sour cream
1 can Mexicorn (drained)
1 can pinto beans (drained)
1 can Rotel (drained)
1 packet dry Ranch mix
1 cup grated Colby Jack cheese
  • Mix sour cream and cream cheese together. 
  • Add vegetables and continue to mix. 
  • Stir in Ranch packet until no powder remains. 
  • Mix in grated cheese. 
Keep refrigerated until you are ready to use. Serve with tortilla chips. YUM!
Baby Gray/bottle/vaccinations

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

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Today was Baby Gray’s big day.
He got his first (ethical) vaccination today. I was a little apprehensive about the vaccination; I was scared maybe they hadn’t read the pamphlet correctly or something. Before administering the shot, I asked for the patient pamphlet to read and verify with my own eyes that the vaccine being used was made from an animal cell line. 
The nurse was very patient as I read through the information and verified what I wanted to know. When I finally gave her the OK, she had me hold Baby Gray while she administered the shot in his right thigh. She was very gentle and kind (as much as you can be when giving an infant a shot). I appreciated that. Baby Gray was such a tough little guy. He cried for a minute, but as soon as she put the band-aid on and Mama kissed him and rocked him, he was content. He got a dinosaur band-aid this time. 
At least they have cute band-aids when they have to hurt my sweet baby… 
Annie was with us at the doctor, and, as an added comfort, she started a bottle for Baby Gray while I finished asking questions about our two-month vaccinations. I had the nurse bring me all the patient pamphlets for the vaccines that would be used at our next appointment.
As we headed out of the doctor’s office, I asked the nurse if we could weigh my big boy–12 pounds! Wow! (They didn’t measure his length, but he was laying on a quilt this afternoon, and he stretched all the way across four-six inch quilt blocks! He’s about 24 inches long by those (precise) measurements!
When we got to the car, Annie finished giving Baby Gray his bottle while I researched the rest of the vaccination pamphlets. 
That was the first time Baby Gray ate from a bottle during the day. Of course, he’s not into missing meals, so he did just fine! 
Only one of the upcoming vaccinations concerns me, so I will be talking with the pediatrician’s office before we go back. If they can’t find me the alternative, I will have to find an office somewhere that is using it. Hopefully they will continue to be as helpful and understanding as they have been.
Annie had to go back today, so we grabbed lunch before she left for her flight. We can’t wait for her to come visit again.