Thanks Gaga!

Grandma Schmidt (Gaga, as G calls her) came to stay with us last week when Daddy had to travel to Atlanta. It was so great to have her and she was TONS of help. I am not sure what sort of insanity would have occurred without her, but I feel like I may owe my life to her right now. So THANK YOU GAGA! She made everything nicer for everyone. It was especially nice that I could bring Grady to his first week of school without worrying about Anson being happy or tired or whatever. Whether he realizes it or not, I know Grady is thankful for that too.

Here are a few pictures from the week:


Gaga and Anson







Gaga was great about playing with Anson when I was doing some special things with G, like going to the playground. She also got him to roll from back to belly, which had only done once before! Here he is having some tummy time.

Smiling at the baby on the block:



The pictures of Grady's first day of school were also taken when she was here. Wish there were more pictures, but we were busy taking care of the boys!

Anson is 4 months old!

Baby Anson is 4 months old today! He celebrated by sleeping fabulously last night - 7:30PM to 5:30AM straight through. Then he went back to sleep for 2 more hours. Keep it up A!

At 4 months he is doing very well. He is an extremely happy and mellow baby. He is nice and chunky (about 14.5 pounds - we'll know for sure next week) and seems very healthy. He LOVES to eat and so far is still just nursing. Some solid food will be in his near future (just rice cereal for now). He is wearing 3-6 month clothes but some are already too short for him. He seems quite long! He is rolling both ways now (though he doesn't do it all the time), smiles almost constantly, and is starting to laugh quite a bit now. He is just starting to grab at and sometimes even hold toys. He also seems to REALLY want to sit on his own, though it will be a little while before he is capable of that. He loves when we sing to him and play little games (like bicycling his legs).

Most nights he sleeps from about 7:30PM-6:30AM and only wakes once to nurse. Then he goes back to sleep for about another hour. Naps continue to be a bit all over the place, though he seems to be doing better lately.

Here is a picture of the little guy - hanging out and smiling - what he normally does.

Back to School

Grady went back to school this week. He's going three days a week this year, from 9-12. He has many of the same friends as last year in his class and has been very excited about going back. He also just loves the teachers and the school.

Here we are - putting on his new sneakers (thanks Nana and Papa) for his first day back




How funny is this - he's testing them out to see how fast he can run in his sneakers



Mama and Grady



off we go!



Waiting for the doors to open up





Walking into the newly redone school with Daddy



Grady and his new teacher!



He got right to playing and had no problem saying goodbye



Have a great school year Grady!

Two cute videos

Just wanted to share two cute videos - one of each of my 2 favorite guys...

Anson

And Grady

Bye Bye Summer!

We had a fabulous Labor Day weekend. The weather was amazing! It was not humid and "only" in the mid 80's. It was actually cool in the early morning and evening. We spent the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Schmidt and did lots of fun things. We are so happy they could make it. Thank you guys for a great time!

While there is certainly more summery weather ahead, this weekend does sort of mark the end of real summer, as Grady starts school next week. Summer 2010 was a very special one, particularly because of the addition of a new little one into our family. Now we are really looking forward to a fun-filled fall!

Stories with Daddy last week...






Baby Man



Grady doing some artwork



Grady is still obsessed with his brother and gives him tons of hugs. He's such a good big brother.



We think Anson has become quite the little chunker!







holding a toy!





Getting very good at tummy time



drooly because we think he is getting his first tooth already





Super cute matching outfits from Nana







Love



This is what happens when I leave Daddy alone with Anson





On Sunday morning we all went to the zoo - Gaga, Grandpa, Mama, Dada, Grady, and even Anson! It was officially his first trip to the zoo. He was even awake some of the time!





getting a ride from Grandpa



Gaga and Grandpa relaxing with Anson - he is such a mellow baby!



Sunday afternoon we all headed to the neighborhood carnival at the pool. They had games, a bounce house, a fire engine, and lots of yummy treats. We had a great time!



Grady was THE first child on the fire engine



then his buddy Drew joined in



doing the fishing game



and eating his prize



pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey (where he peeked)



First real cotton candy!







On Monday everyone except me and Anson went to Lake Conestee to hike



That afternoon we took Grady to the pool when he swam with Gaga and Grandpa.

That evening Gaga helped me to give Anson a tubby









We get to see Gaga agin in a few days when she comes to stay with us while Dada goes to Atlanta for a few days. We're excited to see her again!