THE CUTEST!!!

You may remember Gray and his bottle of "Grayson" chardonnay that his DEAR friends Toniann and Justin gave him when he was born. Well, Gray's very creative Grandparents (Nanny and Grandaddo Unthank) gave "Grayson" chardonnay as gifts with a picture of Gray as the tag. The tag read "Seasons Greetings from Grayson's Grandparents (The Unthanks.)"

I just had to share it, I thought it was so cute and cleaver. Don't be surprised if I steal this idea for myself next year!

If you can't stand the heat...

Gray walking out in the morning to find what Santa had left...his new kitchen.

MY OWN TONGS? WHAT? HOW? AWESOME!

Santa hooked Gray up with a stocked cupboard.

WOAH. KETCHUP & MUSTARD TOO?

Needless to say, Gray got a kitchen for Christmas. We waited until we got back from Flagstaff to set it up for him, while Drew's parents were here. He was pretty excited about it! I'm sure a lot of you are thinking..."a kitchen, for a BOY?" Yep... a kitchen, for a boy. A few months ago we were at our friends house who have this same kitchen and Gray was LOVING it. I thought if we got him one and put it in our kitchen, maybe he would stay out of my cabinets. Well, not so much, but it does distract him long enough for me to get a few things done.

Here's to the next Jamie Oliver.

Christmas 2011

My beautiful family!

Nelson checking out Gray's wild hair.

I love this picture for a few reasons, but mostly because my brother is wearing Santa pj's (or pa-jay's as we like to say!)

For those of you that don't know, my parents have collected Hallmark ornament's since my brother and I were born, making their trees the best I've ever seen. Gray loved them.

Sweet.

Refusing his pants.

Gray LOVED his cousin. He gave him hug after hug after kiss after kiss. The two of them are heart breakers.

Uncle Brian.

I'm the luckiest aunt in the world!

Dad showing Gray how to play his new drum set that his aunt and uncle gave him.

Not too sure about this.

Ready to get out.

Matching track suits from Grandma and Grandpa Bohn.

Gray, open mouth kissing his cousin. Gross.

I predict a life long friendship between these two.

We were in Flagstaff for Christmas this year. We were there to celebrate my parents 40th Anniversary (amazing!) and of course Christmas. It was so fun to get Gray and Nelson together. The last time they were together, Gray was turning 1 and Nelson was 3 months old. This time was much more entertaining. Gray loved Nelson so much, and how could he not? Nelson is one of the happiest babies I have ever known. He smiles at anyone and everyone. Gray loved it so much he just wanted to keep hugging him and kissing him and poking him in the eyes.

I really did a terrible job taking pictures this trip. It was so hectic, I didn't pull out my camera much. However, I did get a new lens and flash for Christmas so you will be seeing a lot of "practice" pictures coming up!

Hope you all had a VERY wonderful holiday and are all excited to welcome 2012!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Hope you all are having a wonderful day!

I had a few extra countdown photos, so I decided to put them all up! I hope you all have enjoyed Gray's countdown. It's so fun for me to do and I look forward to the 2012 countdown!

All our love,
Drew, Kristy, Gray and Ellie!

Christmas Countdown-1!

IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE!!!

I had to post all three of these photos that my brother took last night.
They were too good to pass up!
Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Eve!

Christmas Countdown-2!!!

2 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas Countdown-3!

3 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!!

Christmas Countdown-4!

4 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!

Hope you are on the "NICE" list this year!

Christmas Countdown-5!

5 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!

Sweet 16!

I've been so caught up in the Christmas Countdown, I forgot to post Gray's 16 month picture. Gray walks everywhere, gets into everything, eats anything that starts with a C and ends with an -arb and loves to pat Ellie on the head (and poke her in the eyes, while saying eyes.) He still is 95% for head size, 50% for height and 15% for weight, Drew said this must be why it took him a while to start walking...top heavy. ;) Gray continues to amaze me with the things he knows and how quickly he picks up on things...smart, smart man (explains his head size...big brains!!!)

Happy Birthday Gravy! We love you!!!!

Christmas Countdown-6!

6 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas Countdown-7!

7 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas Countdown-8!

8 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas Countdown-9!

9 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!

My name's DJ Gray with the mic in my hand and I'm chillin' and coolin' just like a snowman.
So open your eyes, lend me an ear I want to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
-Run DMC. "Christmas in Hollis."


Grandma Toni gave Gray this bib and microphone set a few months ago. I was waiting to use it for something spectacular and I think we finally found a winner!

Christmas Countdown-10!

10 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!

So, I bought these foam letters thinking I could spell out Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays in the tub. What I didn't think about was that there would only be one of each letter in the pack. I was tempted to go back and buy two more packs but the thought of that many letters floating around our house was too much. We have enough bath toys (and regular toys) to worry about finding places for. So, the letters for "HAPPY" aren't really foam, but close enough! :)

Can you believe we only have 10 days until Christmas? It doesn't seem possible!

Oh, and yes, Gray's face is orange. He had just finished eating a large helping of baked ziti.

Christmas Countdown-11!

11 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas Countdown-12!

12 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!

I love this line from "Oh Christmas Tree."
A line that often gets overlooked, but has so much truth! Hope you all have your trees up and are enjoying the twinkling lights & ornaments from years past! We are going to Arizona this year (and we have a toddler who would probably pull the tree over) so decided not to put up our tree.

The picture of Gray is him in his finest lumberjack apparel.
For my fellow NAU alum...GO JACKS!!!

Christmas Countdown-13!

13 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!

JOY

1. the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation.

2. a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated.

3. the expression or display of glad feeling; festive gaiety.

4. a state of happiness or felicity.

Gray has brought so much JOY into our lives over the last 15 months. He has taught us the true meaning of the word.

Christmas Countdown-14!

14 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!

I'm posting a few more photos than usual today. The introduction to these tiny trees was too hilarious to not share. I have them up on our mantel for the holidays. I decided to try to take some pictures of Gray with the trees and he DID NOT LIKE THEM. I'm not sure what it was, but something about them totally spooked him. He didn't want to get close to the trees, but he was interested in them, so he kept his distance while checking them out. If my dad or I tried to move one closer to him, he panicked. We couldn't help but laugh. In the end, he got over his fear and now he wants to carry the little trees all over the house.

Gray running away from the super scary trees.

Gray examining the super scary trees.

Gray warming up to the not so scary trees.

Gray grabbing his first tree (carefully by the top) and running away.

Christmas Countdown-15

15 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!

What does Christmas mean to you? For most of us it is a Christian holiday in which we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. For those of us who believe in some other sort of higher being, Christmas can represent the rebirth of the soul and the return of the light to earth. But to many people, the true meaning has been lost, it has become more about gifts and parties and over-indulging. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of the season and forget the true meaning. I challenge you to allow yourself some time today and NOT think about what gifts you still need to buy, or what you forgot to put on your Christmas list, but sit and think about a way to bring peace and love to ourselves and to one another.

Celebrate the holiday season, eat a lot of fudge, drink a lot of eggnog and be a messenger of light and love.

Christmas Countdown-16!

16 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!
(no children were harmed in the taking of this photo)

Well, we took Gray to the mall to see Santa and the outcome was just as I had hoped! Most people probably want their children to be smiling with Santa, but I think the best photos are the ones where the kid is crying. Gray didn't want to let me down! I think he is at that age where he only likes Santa from afar. He knows that Santa says "Ho!Ho!Ho! Merry Christmas!" and he tries to say it. It usually sounds like "Ho! Ry, Stas!" But, I know what he is saying! I keep trying to capture it on video, if I succeed I will post it!

Hope you enjoy the picture today! It's one of my favorites!