Homecoming and Halloween

I've abandoned my beloved blog! Time to catch up...

Last weekend we headed to Hattiesburg for Southern Miss homecoming, one of my favorite weekends all year. This year was a little different because our usual crew didn't come to set up a tailgate, so we improvised.

We met some friends at a new restaurant in town for lunch, Patio 44, then my parents met us to take Sibley home for the afternoon/night.

We drove over to campus and made a last minute tailgate on some benches. We still had a lot of fun, despite not having a tent.
 

After the SAD game, I called it a night while the rest of my friends went out downtown. I needed my beauty rest. ;)
 

I still love my Golden Eagles, despite not winning a game since 2011. :(

Halloween was Thursday, and it was a total washout. Most neighborhoods postponed trick-or-treating to Friday, which worked out much better.

We went one clock over to our friends Melanie and Trey's house for a hayride (minus the hay) on a trailer for all the kiddos to trick-or-treat. Sibley loved it, even though we just watched the whole time. Fun night! Can't wait until she's a little older to actually have fun with her daddy's favorite holiday.

Isn't she the cutest Snow White you've ever seen?
 

And last but not least, we had a lazy, cozy Saturday night at home this weekend and made our first real fire of the season.

This baby is loving some tummy time these days, and she LOVED watching the fire. Welcome to winter in the Grey fam, little one!
 

Four Months

Sweet Sibley,

You are now a little over 4 months old! (Eighteen weeks today, to be exact.)

What an eventful month it has been! You LOVE going to school, and we love the school, too. Ms. Mary and Ms. Carolyn take great care of you, and it's so funny to watch you and the other four babies in your class just watch each other. 

You got your second round of shots last week, and you did great! You are now 15 pounds, 1 ounce and 24.5 inches long. Big girl!

The biggest news lately is that you've learned how to roll over onto your tummy. You did it for the first time at the doctor's office and have since perfected it this past week. Now pretty much any time we put you down on your back (except at bedtime when you're too tired) you immediately flip over an start trying to scoot. You can work those legs like crazy now and can push yourself up on your arms. You just haven't figured out how to move your arms to make you go forward just yet.

I think I'm close to winning my bet with your dad that you'll be crawling by Christmas!

Speaking of your dad, he is your FAVORITE person in the world. He cracks you up, and you think he hung the moon. It's so very sweet to watch, even though I have to admit it makes me a little jealous. I am still the one who can comfort you when you cry though, so I suppose that's fair. :)

You're starting to teethe now, and we've added rice cereal in your bottles. Next comes trying it in a bowl with a spoon! 

You keep us busy, but we love it. When you crash at 7:45 for the night, we struggle to stay up much later than that.

We can't imagine life without you, sweet girl. It's so amazing to watch you learn how to do new things. Every day is a new adventure, and we love you so very much.

Introducing Mr. And Mrs. Grey!

I'm a week or so behind on blogging, so please forgive me. On September 28th, I turned 33, but more importantly I gained another sister-in-law!

Ryan and Beth Ann got married in an absolutely beautiful rustic, country wedding on Zach and Jennifer's land. Everything was just perfect, and both the rehearsal dinner and wedding were wonderful.

Beth Ann's sweet mom even had some special birthday cupcakes made to celebrate my day, too. It was a wonderful wedding weekend!

Congrats to the newlyweds! I had a great birthday celebration. :)

Not Quite 33

My birthday is this Saturday, but since we'll be celebrating at Derek's brother's wedding, my sweet husband organized a little early birthday party for me this past weekend.

We had a delicious dinner with some dear friends at Bon Ami, followed by a little karaoke. Fun night!

Aunt KK kept Sibley for the night, which was so sweet, especially given that she took care of all THREE kiddos solo while Uncle Neil was out of town.

I feel very loved! Thanks to everyone who celebrated with me. I think 33 will be a great year!

Birthdays and Football

I can't believe it's already Wednesday, and I haven't written a short post about the weekend yet. Here's my recap in fast forward...

First of all, happy belated birthday to my mom! (I know she reads the blog). Glad you had a fun time in Nola. Sibley can't wait to see you next weekend! 

Now on to the weekend... I started the weekend out with a massage Friday night, which was just lovely. We took it easy Saturday and watched football ALL day long. Not a good day for my Eagles, but those Rebels sure played a good one! We watched the game over at our friends Claire and Jeremy's new house. Of course we dressed the girl up in her Hotty Toddy attire. The weather was perfect for some football-watching!

Sunday we spent the majority of the day in Vicksburg visiting with family for Derek's dad's birthday. Sibley was exhausted from all the cousin time once we finally got home, but we had fun.

We watched some Sunday night tv (Saints won, Miss Mississippi didn't) before bedtime at 9. I am a proud old person these days who is happy to go to bed before the hour hits double digits. No shame here.

I love football weekends! Only four more days until the official start of autumn. Happy fall, y'all! Now bring on the cool temps!

Three Months

Sweet Sibley,

You are almost 14 weeks old! I'm clearly a little late in posting your three month update, but better late than never.

What a busy month we've had! You've been in "school" for almost two full weeks now, and you really seem to love it! I knew you would enjoy being around other babies because people-watching is one of your favorite pastimes (mama's too). You've adjusted so well, and Ms. Mary and Ms. Carolyn love you!

I can't tell you how much your dad and I love the school you're attending. It's called the Privette School, and it's very small. It was our first choice of daycares for you, and we've been on their waiting list since right when we told family and friends we were expecting you. They called last month to let us know they had a spot saved just for you, and you would have thought your dad and I won the lottery we were so excited. :)

It's a wonderful place, and you're making new friends already! You also made your first piece of artwork on your second day of school. We were very proud.

At home, you now sleep about 10 hours a night in your CRIB! I think I was more nervous about the transition to your own room than you were, but we put you in your room overnight for the first time at 10 weeks, and you had no problems at all. I think you enjoy having the space to stretch out, and you enjoy the peace and quiet of being by yourself. We put you down about 8 and get you up about 6:15, and it works out wonderfully. You are a GREAT sleeper, and we can't thank you enough for that, especially now that I'm back at work. :)

You smile at us all the time now, and you're really starting to laugh and talk. It's really cute. You just talk to yourself all morning long while we're getting ready for work, and you laugh at yourself. You're in a great mood in the mornings, and I LOVE waking you up. It's the sweetest part of the day.

You're wearing all your 3-month clothes, and I'm so glad you're finally getting good use out of all those cute play clothes your cousin Frances passed down to you! 

We brought you to church for the first time a few weeks ago, and you looked so pretty in your sweet little dress. You did just fine in the nursery. You LOVE being around other babies.

You're at a really fun stage right now where you're not mobile, but you want to be so badly! You love to stand up on our laps while we hold your hands, and you get so proud of yourself when you do. 

I know I say this every month, but you are so sweet and so funny, and we enjoy every minute with you. That being said, I'm also happy to share you with others sometimes because I know you brighten their days as much as you brighten ours. You're a special gift.

We love you so very much, munch.

Long Days

Well, we survived our first week back in the real world. Even though it was only a four-day work week, it felt like it lasted 10 days straight.

We have our little morning routine pretty well orchestrated, but in the evenings I feel like we're running a marathon. From getting her fed immediately when we get home and trying to feed ourselves something other than cereal for dinner to bathing her and bathing ourselves then getting her ready for bed and getting everything ready for the next day, we are on GO from sunrise to sunset.

I know all you other moms are thinking, "Welcome to the club, sister." It's exhausting. Of course, before I started back at work I thought staying home with her or running errands with her was exhausting. I think being a mom is just exhausting in general, but definitely so worth it!

I couldn't wait until Friday at 5:00 when I got to go pick up the munch and settle in for a mostly lazy weekend in our pajamas. It was wonderful. Sometime during those four days while I was at work, she learned how to laugh and how to perfect that sweet little chubby-cheeked smile just for me.

I really have an entirely new appreciation for the weekends now. They are to be completely cherished, and we shall do just that at our house, especially in our pj's.