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Baby Gray/Fashion Friday/independent/toddler

Spotlight Styles

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

Fashion Friday returns this week with a few selections from our guest stylist, Ella Bella.

We now return to our regularly photographed bucket wearing.

And, finally, lookin’ like a million bucks in the tux he didn’t wear (in its entirety) to the wedding:

jury duty

Civic Duty

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 2 Comments

Last week, I opened my mailbox to find quite a surprise.

Yep, jury duty.

No where I’d rather spend my Thursday afternoon.

blessings/home/life/marriage/Mr. Gray

Tick, Tick, BOOM!

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

One of my least favorite things is sharing a sink with Mr. Gray. Our hotel room this weekend only had one sink. It was pure torture, I tell you (you know, if torture comes in the form of spending a weekend with your family). As I complained several times throughout the weekend, it made me think about the way we came to terms with living together when we got married.

Mr. Gray and Baby Gray apparently have similar ideas about how to behave when water is present.

Thankfully, we have his and hers sinks in our bathroom. This is not a problem we deal with daily. It used to be, though.

When we were in College Station, we only had one sink. We only had one of a lot of things. Somehow, I didn’t vomit (I had the urge, I’m sure), and we made it through. How?

It’s about compromise. It’s about picking battles. It’s about talking through it before holding it all in and exploding over something small. Of course we live differently. He’s a man; I’m a woman. He’s into the big picture; I’m into the details. The key is deciding what’s important. What are the non-negotiables? That is going to be different for everyone, but for us, we (well, I) have a few.

One of my non-negotiables is water on the bath mat. Mr. Gray took the time to make it a habit of drying his feet before stepping on the mat. It’s not necessarily important to him, but it’s important to me, so he made it part of his routine.

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Philippians 2:4

Other things are not as high on the priority list, but still worth talking about. I let him know I would like him to do those things, but if they don’t get done, I do it and go on about my day (closing closet doors, leaving a glass on the counter, silly stuff like that). The key is to keep it from building up and blowing up. When we stay in communication about things, we don’t end up arguing about it. We talk about what we need to do to accommodate each other better. I’m the queen of leaving lent in the dryer. Mr. Gray gently reminds me each time he checks the filter that it needed to be cleaned out; I like to think I’m getting better about it.

I remember moving into our condo in College Station and seeing the differences materialize. It was daunting at first, but we figured out how to navigate through it. It was nice to have a little flashback of that this weekend and see how far we’ve come.

Baby Gray/competition/guns/nephews/shooting

Shootin’ the Breeze

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

It’s no secret my family loves guns, shooting, and such. We’ve spent many afternoons at The Ranch “shooting skeet” (which we’ve learned is sort of a misnomer for what we do) and competing. Luckily for T and L, the high school in our hometown started having a shooting team a few years ago (with quite a bit of urging from Uncle J and company).

Currently, there is one big high school shooting competition each year. Yesterday, Baby Gray and I headed to San Antonio to check it out.

We attempted ear protection, but it only lasted through a station or two (there are twelve).

After that, we resorted to playing in the dirt and ~~drinking~~ water, picking flowers, and socializing with Will Mill.

They finished up sporting clays yesterday, and they’ll shoot trap this morning. I’m sad to miss trap (it’s my favorite), but I’m glad we finally made it to part of the competition.

I’ll be standing by for today’s results.

Baby Gray/blessings/friends/ring bearer/wedding

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 2 Comments

We headed to Austin Friday get ready for the big wedding weekend!

Baby Gray was geared up and ready for his ring bearer duties. He did great at the rehearsal–of course he was a total ham!

Franklin’s Barbecue was on the menu for the rehearsal dinner, and, man, I’m glad it was. It was delicious. I don’t know that I would have ever stood in the line down the block for it, but I’m glad I didn’t have to. YUM!

Saturday morning, the goal was to exhaust Baby Gray enough that he’d nap before his big gig. We went to Kerbey Lane, the farmer’s market, The Austin Children’s Museum, and swam before heading to the room for his nap. He slept good; it worked!

Next, it was go-time! I got Baby Gray into his pre-tux (and post-tux) outfit to head to the church. He ate a cookie or two and got a feel for the place before we tackled the tux.

We didn’t manage to get him to wear his coat or bow tie (and he lost the flower soon after this), but he was still super handsome in his tiny tux.

I have some photos and videos coming of his actual walk, but after a quick meltdown prior to his big moment, he did great! He walked straight down to Mr. Gray with his pillow in tow. I had a bird’s eye view from the front (I was reading during the ceremony). It was a proud mama-moment for sure.

The reception was at Laguna Gloria–it was beautiful! Baby Gray had a blast and then headed to the hotel with Nonna and Pops to catch some z’s.

We had a great night celebrating with Such and DD.

Sunday morning, it was time to load up and head home.

We checked out a church, ate at Guero’s, and devoured some Amy’s before heading that way, though. Baby Gray was worn out from his big weekend.

Baby Gray/jammers/TV

A Fairy Tale

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

Once upon a time, I judged all the moms who dressed their kids in t-shirts with characters on them. I just knew those poor children’s brains must be rotting out from the hours of television they were consuming. Not my child, I pledged. He won’t even know who those characters are!

Once upon a time, I was completely delusional. My child calls almost every character we see in the grocery store line (you know, the impulse buys) by name. Some of them, I am certain he has never seen on television–he rarely even watches television! I have no idea how he knows.

Once upon a time, my son was happy as a clam when his Annie brought him Lightning McQueen, Thomas, and Elmo jammers. He knew all their names. He hugged them and played with them for hours. He finally relinquished a set so they could be washed to wear to sleep.

Mom gave up on that no character idea, and he lived happily ever after.

Baby Gray/family day/fun/Home Depot

That’s a Bust

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

Mr. Gray and I were in and out throughout the weekend, so Sunday afternoon, we wanted to treat Baby Gray to some family fun. We remembered that Peter Piper Pizza had recently opened in New Braunfels, so we decided to try it out.

Baby Gray was excited about pipa and game on the way over. He waited patiently while we ate, but referenced pay-ing often.

Finally, it was time to play! We headed to the mechanical horse, which he was quite fond of from the ground. He even liked sitting on it when it was still. He did not, however, enjoy riding it when it was moving.

The best part of the whole horse ride was the end, right after the video stopped. In a meek, quiet little voice, he said, “Yaaaay,” as it was time to get off. Poor baby.

We didn’t stop there, though, we rode the safari truck, the hotdog truck, and the airplane.

He did like the basketball game, though.

Peter Piper shares a parking lot with Home Po, and Baby Gray tried to make a break for it when he saw.

Next time, maybe we’ll just take a family trip to Home Depot for some fun. Whatever we do, it won’t be Peter Piper.

blessings/entertaining/friends/hosting/Recipes

Load ’em Up

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

I love entertaining–even when it’s not at my house. This weekend, I had the pleasure of hosting a baby shower for a friend. As usual, I offered to bring the serving dishes. I color coordinated everything and loaded up my trusty laundry basket.

I also made a few types of mini quiches. I used my dependable sausage, egg and cheese recipe, and modified it for the smaller size; I also tried two new recipes.

I was really excited about these bacon and egg cups, but they left a lot to be desired. They stuck to the pan, so they eye appeal was little to none. Plus, without being warm, they weren’t very good–they’re more of a serve immediately-type food.

Source: bonzblogz.blogspot.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

These mini quiches, sans crust were pretty good. I used mushroom, spinach, egg, and cheese. I upped the ingredients a little based on how many I needed, and it still made less than the recipe suggests.

Source: finger-food-recipes.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

We had a great morning celebrating a new life. I can’t wait to meet her!

Baby Gray/discipline/independent/parenting

Discipline, Party of Three

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 4 Comments

Toddlerhood is the source of many laughs in the Gray household. Mr. Gray and I can’t help but crack up at some of the things Baby Gray does–even when they’re not actually funny. We’re in the thick of finding a discipline style that works for the three of us. Consistency is key, so it is a decision we have decided to make as a family.

Through a little trial and error with timeout, we have figured out that putting the toy in timeout works better than putting the boy in timeout. Of course, the goal of timeout is a removal from the situation; for us, removing the toy is more effective than removing the child. Baby Gray thinks timeout is funny. However, there is nothing funny about his tractor, phone, book, or what-have-you being in timeout, though.