Halloween Fun

Halloween came and went but not before Grady was able to dress up. It is funny to look back and see him when he was barely 1 month old (dressed as a bat) til now when he is 1 year old. This year he was a lion. A mighty cute one if I do say so myself. Here are some pictures of him dressed up for Halloween.

Halloween night ended with Grady getting to spend some time with his cousins who had just gotten back from trick-or-treating.

Dawson and Grady

Are we done yet...this is probably how he felt the day that I took him around to see family.

Having fun at Grandma and Grandpa Moseley's

Grady and Grandma Jean

One of the stops that we make is at Jon's office. Betty loves to see Grady!

Grady and daddy! Jon dressed up as a nerd so it was fun to have them pose together.

Grady and Grandma Jeanette at the Grace Brethren "Trunk-n-Treat"

Grady and Aunt Athena - can you imagine him growling in this picture.

The many angles of Grady all dressed up.

Grady's First Birthday Party

Today we celebrated Grady's FIRST birthday. He officially turned 1 on the 7th, but this was a time for family and friends to come and celebrate Grady. The party was at my parents house and we had a taco bar for supper. After that, we opened gifts and had cake. I think we all had a good time and it was great to spend time with family and friends (Great Grandpa Earl and Norma, Grandma/pa Moseley, Grandma/pa Grady, Athena, Addison, Lucas, Dawson, Elizabeth and Jameson, Aunt Elaine, Darren, Jenny, Brooke, Ally, Lindsey, Heather and Trisha - missing is uncle Matthew who thought the Hawkeyes in MI playing were more important...good thing it was a good game - you were missed uncle Matthew!)

This is Grady's birthday cake. It was from Target (of course) and I had ordered a Lego type cake. I love Lego's and so does Grady. I was not sure what we were going to get by just saying "make us a Lego cake" but I think it turned out cute for his birthday. Here is a picture of the table that showcased his cake and balloons.

The birthday boy's center seat.

Lots of family and friends came and enjoyed time together. As you can see, no matter where Heather and Trisha are, the kids are close by getting them to play with them. More birthday celebration decorations.

We had a taco bar for supper. YUM!!!!

The birthday boy - doesn't he look handsome with his new hair cut?

Here he is playing with his cousins.

This basket is something that he loves to play in at Grandma Jeanette's. This is also something that he loves to do at home in his laundry basket. He wanted to play with the big kids...but he does not know how to write and draw yet.

Opening gifts - he received a lot of great toys! This is a Jack-in-the-box "gnome" style. He received a shopping cart from Grandma and Grandpa Grady. He also got a wagon from Grandpa and Grandma Moseley.

This will be fun to take him on walks in next spring.

Cake time!

Grady loved his birthday cake!

Birthday cake time = immediate bath time!

Heather and Grady

Trisha and Grady

Heather, Stephanie and Trisha - Best Friends!

PROUD PARENTS

What a big boy hair cut!

Today Grady got his first big boy hair cut. I had cut his bangs before, but the rest of his hair - that I was not going to tackle. So, since he was having his birthday party that night and his one year pictures taken next week, we decided to have someone who knew what they were doing cut his hair. Jon made the appointment at Kids Cuts and so we went. Liza was a very patient women. Grady sat on a toy horse and was a pretty good boy. He wasn't a fan of having his hair sprayed with water, but he survived! Here we are right before he hair cut began.

He had a TV to watch which helped keep him occupied from time to time.Here he is actually yawning - he didn't have a morning nap, so was ready for that to come soon. ALL DONE!! This is actually a smile but this is the horse that he sat on during his hair cut. Liza did a great job and now he really looks like a big boy.

A year ago today...Grady introduced himself to the world.

Years ago as a little girl, I often wondered who I would marry and would I have children and what would life be like. Today, as I celebrated my baby boy's 1st birthday, I sat back and reflected on the gifts God has given me. He gave me, Jon, the wonderful husband and daddy and a Godly man who loves his family tremendously! God also blessed us a year ago with Grady - a handsome, sweet boy who just melts our and your heart. As the weekend before Grady's birthday approached, I would often greet him in the morning and say..." year ago I was..." sharing stories about how I was getting ready to become his mommy. He of course really just looked at me and smiled, glad that I was finally in his room to get him out of his crib. The day before his birthday 10/6, I sat in the rocker glider and chuckled as I told Grady of the "car incident" on the way to the hospital that daddy and I had, how the nurse told me getting an IV was not bad, maybe a little worse then the epidural (both lies) and then about the nurse Dotty, who to this day I am not sure about, and so forth. As I told these stories, I teared up remembering the day. Then the day of his birthday, 10/7, I walked into his room singing happy birthday and again teared up as I looked at this handsome little boy who maybe isn't a baby anymore, but will always be my baby boy. His birthday day consisted of playing at day care for a few hours (so I could get supper made for that night), going to pick out balloons for his seat at the table, having lunch with daddy and I and then a big long nap in the afternoon. Grandma and Grandpa Moseley came over and we opened a few gifts and had supper. As if his 1st birthday wasn't a big enough milestone - he topped it by starting to walk. What a boy! After supper Grandma Jeanette, Matthew, Addison, Lucas and Dawson joined in for cake and ice cream (dad and Athena were sick and could not make it). When all was said and done, we got him ready for bed and the three of us played in his room. It was my night to give him his night time bottle (which I will be sad to give up soon), so I got to rock him in the dark quiet of his room. I hummed happy birthday, like it was a lullaby and again reflected that God has been gracious and of course...I teared up again.

Grady - I still remember hearing you cry for the first time and holding you in my arms for the first time. I also remember thinking that I wouldn't be able to be a good mommy b/c I didn't even know really how to make a bottle or how I could be a good mommy when I had just forgotten a month earlier to let the dog outside. I have soon realized that other than providing and protecting you - I just need to go with the flow and enjoy the role that God gave me: To be your mommy. Daddy and I waited a long time for you and you have given us such joy and we pray that you will continue to be the boy God meant for you to be. To have a faith like no other and compassion beyond belief...oh yeah and to always remain the boy who loves his mommy!

A family photo - he is a hard one to get to sit still and have his picture taken. He loves to be on the go all of the time. Birthday boy waiting for cake!

I made the cakes. I had a small one made for Grady and then a bigger one for the party. Let me tell you - the easy squeeze that I used to spell "happy birthday". Not so easy to squeeze! :-) It almost looks like it is a Halloween cake the way I wrote it.

Grady opening gifts. He will get the majority at his party on the 24th, but you can't have a birthday w/out gifts (especially if I am involved...one gets a birthday week.). He received some cool toys and a fleece blanket that Jon and I both made together. He got pretty good at opening his gifts that night (a trial run for Christmas.)

Happy Birthday Grady Stephen Moseley!

Sorry if it is dark - these were when I was walking into his room as I was getting him up. You'll also get to see what he likes to do with his crib now that he has teeth. Ahhh one of the joys of teething. I still love you Grady! :-)