Grady’s Dubose

Ahhhh we got Grady's proofs back and how will we ever choose?  I've put our top four below!  I need to put them in one document side by side to make our final choice!  I'm going to get one 8x10 and one 5x7 like we did for Molly Anne's.

Memorial Day Weekend

Hope everyone enjoyed a nice long weekend while remembering those that gave all for our freedom!   

Friday we went to our club for dinner and after we put the kids to bed, our neighbors came over to hang out on the back porch.  We hadn't had a back porch night in awhile so it was long overdue ha!

(their outfits are from Shutterbugs!)

Grady officially started crawling yesterday, May 27th!  We haven't caught it on camera yet but he did it in the morning and then again in the afternoon.  Watch out!

Saturday morning we laid low and after Grady's nap I took him to get his first pair of running shoes because Grady's physical therapist says he needs them.  The lady at Tootsie Too couldn't have been kinder and nicely told me he doesn't need shoes yet.  They didn't have his size new balance that the PT lady wanted him to get but I ended up ordering them anyway.  I'll go back to Tootsie Too to buy a pair of shoes sooner rather than later but this time it didn't work out.  

After that we went to Barnes and Noble because my old neighbor's cousin was in town and signing books!  We had bought one when they went on Amazon's site and have loved reading it!  Linda couldn't have been sweeter to Molly Anne!  It was a good learning lesson for Molly Anne about what an author is and all of the details behind her signing the book!  And we of course picked up a couple Fancy Nancy books while we were there!

We had the cheeseburger salad for dinner Saturday night.  Delish.  And yes, paper plates are my jam right now in this fun season of craziness!

Sunday morning we laid low and rested up for a big afternoon and evening at the pool!  We went to the neighborhood pool around lunchtime and Kevin and Molly Anne stayed through her nap.  I took Grady home for his nap then we all headed next door to their pool.  Grady's little blow up boat is from Wal-Mart and is perfect for him this summer!  Next year he'll be in puddle jumpers!


Molly Anne has done so well at swim lessons that she doesn't need her puddle jumpers where it's 3' of water or less.  She has become such a little fish already this year.  And we are still doing lessons all summer, in fact in a couple of weeks, she is doing a two week bootcamp.  She goes to MSA.  Prepping for swim team next year!  She's going to love it!



Safety break = snack time at our neighborhood pool!  


I have zero pictures from the rest of the day but we hung out next door alllllll day and grilled out etc.  It was a good time!  I had to peel Molly Anne out of the pool to get her to go home for bed!

Sunday we hung around the house until we went to the pool about 3pm after naps.  Brad, Shauna and Sarah came with us!  

We headed back to the house for a little cookout.  We had grabbed some meat from Butcher's Market and grilled that and had a bunch of sides.  It was a quick little get together and everyone went home for showers and early bedtimes!







These two G's are something else with allll of the heart eyes!  Constantly holding hands and being adorable together.



Short week this week!

Friday

Keeping it short and sweet today!

I bought this coverup for my niece 8 or 9 years ago. Never did I think I’d have a little girl that got to wear it too!!

This little boy loves his puppy that he sleeps with and it always cracks me up when he holds him by the ear!  

I skipped out of work early today and grabbed Molly Anne. Ive gotten laundry done and some other things organized.  We will go get Grady after nap time!  Hope everyone has a nice weekend!

Randoms

1.  Everyone is posting first and last day pictures of their children in preschool. Not really sure how we fit into that but I guess I’ll take an end of year photo in August the week before she starts in the 4’s class haha!  Her school is absolutely unreal and the experiences she has gotten are amazing.  Starting in a couple of weeks they have water days so every Wednesday they’ll have a ton of water toys and slides etc to play in.  And parents will bring popsicles on those days. So fun!

2.  I’m gonna be honest, I’m struggling at work these days.  I know that every job on earth is hard whether you stay at home, work or do half and half.  That’s not really what I’m talking about.  I’m in a weird spot of my career where I love what I do, love who I work with but I’m not sure it’s for me every day and as much as I’m working right now.  It ebbs and flows and I’m hoping it gets better soon but I’m on the struggle bus right now, not gonna lie.  Kevin is more than supportive in whatever I decide but I’m just drowning.  I want to be ALL of the things. I want to do everything for my kids and enjoy all of their activities. I think I mostly have a good balance but some days I’m like what gives?!  Any other working mamas hear me?  Sometimes working in a guys world is not ideal because they do not get it.  At all. Well one guy does but the rest don’t! 

3.  Yesterday Molly Anne, Grady and I got caught in traffic and we were stopped for about 40 minutes for Pence’s motorcade to come through. I decided not to turn around and instead use it as a cool learning experience.  Molly Anne loved learning all about it and seeing it roll by. Grady loved seeing a helicopter for the first time!  

4.  Molly Anne had her third dentist appointment on Tuesday morning. It’s always an adventure taking her there.  They are so good with her and Molly Anne asks lots of questions.  She likes to know what’s going to go down before it happens. Wonder where she gets that from haha?!  The dentist and hygentist were talking to her and she looked up at them and said, “I love you guys” out of nowhere.  A hoot!  And she got x rays taken. They said oh we usually don’t know if we will be able to get them with 3 and 4 year olds and I knew Molly Anne would be just fine and she was. She gets her picture taken 80 times a day so this was another picture for her with lots of gear to ask about!!  We drove by yesterday and she said, “that’s where I go to the dentist and I’m going back in 6 months!”  She does not miss a beat.  

5.  Grady had a really great PT appointment yesterday. He’s really progressing and that makes my little heart happy.  He’s almost pulling up now which is good, eeek!!  Also, when Molly Anne was crawling we lived in our old house and the stairs were behind a door and she was a rule follower.  This house should be interesting. I’m not a big baby proofing person but depending on how Grady is, I may become one. Never say never. #moming101 

6.  I ordered three pairs of these shorts and three of these shirts for 40% off with code SHOP40.  They are the best and I needed a refresh for this summer. I was tired of the same three colors I have had for a few years.  Sometimes ya just gotta get some basics.  

7.  Who is watching the bachelorette this season?  I think Hannah is cool and very real!  Looking forward to seeing how it all works out for her. Although I do read spoilers which I think makes watching the show even more fun!

8.  Anyone have any fun plans this weekend?  Usually we go to Pawleys for a long weekend but we aren’t this year.  I really think we just need to be home. We have a few parties we’ve been invited to and hopefully we have lots of pool time too!  

Menu for This Week

I have been in a meal rut so I finally sat down (while I was on the plane Monday) and figured out what we were going to have this week.  All of it is low carb because Kevin is on the low carb train these days and I always like to be!

Tuesday - taco salads

Wednesday - quiche

Thursday - greek pita chicken salad (won't use croutons and I bought pre-made tzatziki)

Friday - cheeseburger salad (will grill the burgers the night before when I grill chicken)

Saturday - out 

Nothing fancy and I prep it all ahead of time and throw it together at dinner.  The children will eat the salads broken down and I'll sub in fruits and veggies as needed.  

Happy Wednesday!

Blanks turned Cute

A good way to save money on children's clothes is to order blanks from blanks boutique and having someone put an applique or monogram on them!  I must brag on Christine because she is simply the best.  We have the same taste and she knows exactly what I like for everything haha!  Check out our newest creations.  Can you tell where we are heading soon?!

And I REALLY wanted this bucket hat from TBBC but I couldn't pull the trigger on a $50 bucket hat for some reason. Ha!  So instead, I ordered this $10 one and Christine put a similar TBBC monogram on it.  How cute did it turn out?!!  Pretty good dupe if I say so myself.  Don't think I'm too terrible, I order plenty from TBBC! ;)

Weekend Parties

We had a busy weekend!  First we got to go next door on Friday after work and swim. Grady loved it again this year as I figured he would!  

Mills even took a dip and doggie paddled! 

Saturday morning we chilled and Grady tried on some new pajamas he got for his birthday!  

We played outside a ton and I love this picture!

Kevin took Molly Anne to the playground, Target and Chick Fil A in the morning. Then they went to the pool all afternoon.  Emme happened to be there so that was a fun surprise!!  I didn’t know what to do with myself only having Grady so I got some things done around the house when he napped!

I took Grady to his first birthday party for a friend of his!  These boys were born the same day and live in the same hood!

We went out that night with a guy that Kevin worked with at the bank and his girl!  We had dinner at burtons then walked to dot dot dot for a drink!

Sunday I took Molly Anne with me to a going away party for friends of ours who are moving. We will miss them so much!  

Grady stayed home and napped. 

We played last night then went out to dinner!

It was an easy and fun weekend!  Today I’m cruising to Dallas and my friend Sarah was going to the airport too so we rode together!  She’s fancy and I’m going to a construction site hahah!  

Chat soon friends!

Random Friday - Grady's Well Visit

It's been a mostly good week.  Honestly I needed normalcy more than ever this week because the last 6 weeks have been INSANE.  I've hosted parties at our house, we were gone for Easter, I had jury duty, teacher appreciation weeks, we went to Savannah for a Spring Soiree for Kevin's work, I've been busier than ever at work.  All of the things.  

This week was semi normal other than a funeral which was so sad but uplifting at the same time - a wonderful celebration of the life of an amazing lady.  I got Kevin's car serviced one day.  Grady has his well check and PT on Wednesday.  I went out with friends last night. 

This boy had his last bottle ever on Wednesday night.  He had drank so much milk with dinner that he spit up the milk from his bottle so that was my sign.  I needed any sign considering his extra week of a bottle past his first birthday was more for me than it was for him.  And I didn't want to rock the boat with him having been sick, Kevin and I out of town and shots on Wednesday.  But, I operate better when I can put it through my head that it's just time and it's done.  So that was Wednesday and I met my goal for having it gone a week after his birthday.  Considering last night he ate his own dinner and then all of Molly Anne's, I don't think he'll miss the calories! :)

How cute is Molly Anne in her pigtail braids?  Her outfit is Crewcuts.  

I LOVED Wisk detergent for getting stains out but they don't make it anymore.  No stain remover has compared since.  Of course my Mom had found the best one and she got tons of stuff out of my kid's clothes over Easter.  So when I came back to Charlotte, I grabbed some of her magic potion from Wal-Mart and wow it's a miracle.  And also, I use the good ole fashion sun too!  It's amazing what the sun gets out of clothes!

Wednesday was Grady's well check!  26 pounds 12 ounces full of love.  91st percentile.  30.5" 67th percentile and 47 cm head circumference.  We discussed his lack of moving and came up with a good plan on that.  I feel generally pretty good about where sit about it.  We are going to continue with PT and reevaluate at 15 months.  Physically he has the muscle tone and he can do it.  He just chooses not to.  Hmmmmmmmmmmmm! ;)  This week Ms. Becky found him sitting up in his crib after nap so that was a big hurdle!

They do the best crafts at Molly Anne's school.  Every day they do something new.  It's unreal what she comes home with. 



Wednesday after school I was feeling extra nice and took them to TCBY.  It was only right because it was the day of Grady's 1 year shots and I took Molly Anne for her first trip to TCBY on the day she had her 1 year shots.  Grady loved his first taste of yogurt!


And you know this one was in heaven!

Little sass in her step for a Thursday.  We did double french braids and she loved it!





Surprise visitors at swim class last night!  Molly Anne thought that was the best thing on earth!  It was sweet.  





I went out with moms from Molly Anne's class last night.  We had drinks and appetizers at Porter's House then went to the Italian restaurant for one more glass of wine.  It's always good to hang with them because we all have the same struggles with our kids or with work stuff in combo with having children.  Living the life.  Yes, I'm wearing that dress again!

Hope everyone has a nice weekend!  We have some fun plans we are excited about!