A Little R&R

We had a wonderful time in Atlanta and Cashiers this past week. Weslyn, Kobe and I went up to Atlanta so I could attend a church leadership conference at Northpoint. Lawton's cousin, Kim, was so sweet and let us stay with her. Not only did she let us stay there, but she kept Weslyn the ENTIRE time I was at the conference. I mean, this was sun up, sun down for two days. Oh, did I mention she has two children of her own she was also taking care of? This lady is a saint to me for sure. As nice and sweet as can be, she continued to tell me how happy she was to have Weslyn. Talk about feeling extremely blessed to have someone so wonderful take care of your child for two days.

Weslyn had a wonderful time with Kim and her boys. She was sad to leave and asked about them the next day. I'm so grateful to have people in my life who love my child and can take care of her for me. Kim, you're a life saver!

We dropped Kobe off with Lawton's Uncle Bryan. He's a big dog lover, so we new Kobe was going to be on a permanent vacation with Bryan. They had so much fun together and I'm pretty sure Kobe loves Bryan way more than he loves me. Something about those Graves men I guess!

While Weslyn & Kobe were having the time of their lives, I was having a pretty great time too. I learned so much at my conference and I can't wait to go back  next year.

After we left Atlanta, we headed up to Cashiers, NC for a little vacay with our friends. Lawton's grandparents were so nice to let us use their mountain house for our vacation. Let me tell you, this vacation was exactly what I needed and pictured it to be. Good times with old friends and lots of resting. Not to mention the 2 1/2 hour hike we did on Saturday. The two pregnant ladies (myself and my friend, Grace) stayed with the group though and finished the whole thing. Don't worry, we had lots of ice cream later that day to congratulate ourselves on the great accomplishment.

Weslyn had a wonderful time with everyone. It was great to see my friends getting to know her more. I want her to learn from them and love them as much as I do!

We made it back on Sunday and got back in the swing of things by Monday. It's great to be home, but I miss everyone already!

Being at Drive with our church staff was so much fun! Can't wait until next year!

Finding good seats was a challenge, but we were able to get close enough to the action.

Waumba Team! 

Finally in the mountains. We had one cold day, the rest were beautiful!

The two pregnant ladies on the ends made it to the top. Only took us 1.5 hrs...yikes!

This hike wasn't nearly as difficult, but poor Lawton carried a 25 lbs child on his back the whole time.  My hero!

Weslyn made new friends. Fell in love with Grace and Audrey real quick!

Audrey provided her with lots of entertainment. She was truly missed on the ride home.

Game night! Three hours of mexican train dominoes. Serious stuff.

The girls on Adrienne's birthday. We were full of cookie cake and ice cream!
 We had such a wonderful time! Can't wait until next time:)

A Growing Family.

That's right people, the Graves family is growing this year! In January we found out we'll be expecting a little one at beginning of September. I should just say, some time in September since Weslyn was 10 days late. I don't think a due date is something I rely on anymore to help me know when the baby is actually coming. We're pretty thrilled and glad to share it with the world. I've had two doctor's appointments that have brought me to tears, in a good way. Seeing and hearing a baby's heartbeat is absolutely miraculous.

Weslyn has no idea what is going on, but we're hopeful that she'll adjust well with the little babe, considering she really loves playing with her babies now. Rocking them, putting them down to go "night-night" and giving them a paci. I know she'll be a helpful big sister.

Here's to yet another hot summer being pregnant!

Baby to Toddler

It's true. Weslyn is definitely not a baby anymore. I mean, let's get one thing straight, she will ALWAYS be my baby, but she's certainly grown up in these last couple of months. It's really made me feel...old. When you no longer have a baby and you have a kid you're officially an adult. At least that's how I feel. I also feel like I'm officially a parent. Only because with this new toddler stage now comes, discipline. Oh goodness, of all the years I've studied child psychology and behaviors, never did anything prepare me for correcting my own child's behavior. It's been heart breaking at times, but those times have been worth it for my proud mama moments. It's an exhausting task but very, very necessary. I'm so happy the Lord guides us in this area because there are too many books to look thru that have completely opposite directives. I really can't complain though. All in all, she's a really great kid. A little fiesty (you won, mom) but still a really great kid.

I see Lawton and myself in her everyday. She loves the outdoors, being with her friends and being really, really silly We've had a great time experiencing her as a toddler. I'm so excited for what the next year will bring us with her.

At the library doing an art activity

She was very fascinated with the paint. I see many finger painting day
in our near future!

Our new Saturday ritual. Going to the park and walking around for...hours. Kobe and Weslyn. They just can't get enough of it. 

In the backyard enjoying a snack. This was one of those moments
that I had to capture. Nothing special about it, but I just hope I
remember it forever. 

Just so you know, I realize most of my blog posts are about the child.
Don't worry, Kobe is still around and still the best dog ever. 

Happy February everyone! Hope you all are having a great start to 2013.

Holiday Season 2012

The holidays went by in a flash. Once I began planning for Thanksgiving dinner, I feel like I never had a free moment until today. I'm finally able to sit down and write a blog post. Weslyn is with Gigi and I don't have to work today (which I usually do on Wednesdays).

Wrapping up the last few months is going to be hard to do in one post, but I'm up for the challenge. We saw so many amazing people, went to fun places and ate some really, really good food. Here's a recap of our 2012 holiday season:

Thanksgiving: Wonderful to see friends and family. Lawton's cousins were a huge help with Weslyn's Christmas present. A playhouse and swing set. Our sweet neighbors were willing to give us this generous gift, just as long as we were able to remove it from their backyard...in come the Edmiston boys...I mean men, sorry guys.

They were AMAZING. They spent about 4 hours of their vacation taking apart, carrying down the street, and putting together this playset. Words can't describe how grateful I am.

This is only the roof. The whole thing came in four parts!

The final piece. It really did look heavy. 

Ta Da! Such a masterpiece.

Luckily the cousins were here too, so they got to enjoy some time with it!

Weslyn has already mastered this thing. She's 16 months old y'all.  She can climb up
the ladder on her own and go down the slide. I have no idea who would have taught her this... 

Oh wait, yes, her brilliant cousins. Anna Corbin taught her how to use the slide...

And Chesson taught her how to go up the ladder. Sweet cousins:)

I owe it all to these gentlemen. Big thanks to Lawton, Holt and
the Edmiston men! Sorry you had to miss out on the fun, Corbin & Gordon!

Oregon: We went to Oregon in December and had an amazing time. My cousins got to meet Weslyn in person for the first time. The other time they've seen her was thru an ultrasound my cousin, Charlie,  did at his office while I was 7 months pregnant with her. It was so special for them to spend time with her and introduce her to SNOW. Our trip was filled with skiing, food (of course), site seeing, and games...lots of games!

The time with my family came and went way too fast. I miss them so much already and can't wait to plan the next trip to see them!

Weslyn was quite a trooper on the plan. She only napped for an hour,
but was really happy for  the entire plane ride.

Here she is! Snow for the first time. 

It was hard to move around...

But she got used to it eventually. I think the cold weather agrees with her.
At least the outfits do, because she is stinkin' cute in this thing. 

Lynn, Camaryn & Maddie. All looking stylish and cute. 

My sweet family. Not including my sister, who is the one
taking the picture. Gotta love her skills.

family photo

Here we are in Pike Place Market, first Starbucks!

Oregon 2012

Christmas 2012: Christmas was nice and relaxing. My sister and parents came to Jacksonville to celebrate the holiday with us and Lawton's family. We all had a wonderful time on Christmas Eve at our house and on Christmas day at Holt & Betty Ann's. My favorite moment of all was when Lawton and I took a few minutes to put Weslyn down for bed together on Christmas Eve. We had a house full of people over, but we didn't care. We were going to read Weslyn the Christmas story together and pray to thank God for His son. It was the perfect way to close out 2012.

I think they are best friends. Same size and same  interests. Cuddling and eating. 

Christmas Eve 2012

Christmas day. Showing off her peek-a-boo skills. Still hasn't gotten sick of that game. :)

Weslyn got some very special gifts. A kitchen (shown here) from my parents,
chair with her name on it from Lawton's parents and a playset. 

2012 has been an amazing year.  Thank you to our friends and family for making the year so great.
Can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for the Graves family!

Trick or Treat

We had so much fun on Halloween. Weslyn got to spend all day with Gigi and had fun adventures with her, as always. Then our sweet friends, Heather & Paul came over with their little girl, Izzie later that evening. Weslyn & Izzie had so much fun with one another. Playing, a hayride in the neighborhood and trick-or-treating. We only made it to one house, but one was enough:) We were all pretty hungry for dinner, so headed back to our house after the hayride festivities.

Weslyn & Gigi in their matching outfits. So cute. 

Very excited to see one another. Hugs all around. 

Sylvias. Love this family. 

On our way out. Of course Kobe came too. 

Ready to trick-or-treat!

they each picked chocolate. Girls after my own heart. We of course lost the candy 5 min later. 

Kobe was quite a hit too. We realized that all of our neighbors are big fans!

More hugs. 

The monkey & little red riding hood make quite the cute pair.

Hayride fun

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!