Gray Family Picture Time Once Again!

We don't get up to NOVA to visit with Micah's family nearly as much as we used to now that Haley has come along...there's a lot of extras to carry with two kiddos ya know? But nonetheless, we were excited to head up for a visit during the last weekend of June!! We were excited to get to visit with Micah's sister, Rachel (as she was visiting from CA), and also to get to meet our newest niece Lily!
It was a great trip, always full of adventure as we travel with our two little girls!! We won't even mention the excitement that comes along with them sleeping in new places:) We even brought Haley's pack-n-play with us and she still felt it necessary to scream until midnight! I am telling you that little baby can protest when she wants to!! Emily did pretty well adjusting. She only screamed for about 5 minutes and then she was out for the night!
Also on that Saturday we got to spend a few hours playing with our nieces and nephews (the girls' cousins) while Nathan and Sarah went to the temple:) There were some pretty crazy moments as we did our best to take care of 7 children!! Overall, everyone was obedient and we had a good time together! And most importantly Nathan and Sarah had a nice time at the temple together!! (And we got to go back the next weekend and they watched our girls while we went to the temple!).

Now for some pictures from overnight trip!

Emily playing with her cousin, Abigail! Gotta get the lamb all ready for a ride!

Our Sister in Law, Sarah, was gracious enough to get some photos of our girls!! And so I just wanted to share a handful of our favorites!! (Okay, so maybe more than a handful, but I LOVE pictures of my girls!).

Haley Looking Up from her Tummy!

That Smile Melts My Heart!

Another Cute One!

I Love Haley's Toes!

Such a Good Girl and So Happy to Have Her Picture Taken!

Emily wasn't quite in the mood to smile, but she is still as beautiful as ever!

I love this! I wonder what she was thinking about?

ALMOST smiling in the rocking chair!

I know Sarah was working hard to get her to smile! Emily's expressions just crack me up!

Bring in the little sister and everything changes!

Haley looks like she is having a good time and Emily looks like she is about to make a run for it at any second!

All of the Gray/Reid Cousins!

Mummis with all of her grandchildren! (This picture was a little chaotic, it may have had more success if it was at the beginning of the photo shoot!)

Another Great Photo!!

A Group Shot!

What Could be More Fun Than.....

....Getting Four Little Cousins together for a day long play date? Well, that's simple.....having all FOUR of them nap at the same time (at least for 30 minutes;) !

I really enjoy being able to take Emily and Haley in to Mommers and Dooders' house each week and letting them play with their cousins!! Whether it's Eliza, Colton or Gracie.....they all have a great time together! And yesterday was no exception!

Colton is getting to be such a "little man" now that he is crawling around!! Haley really enjoyed watching him and soaking in all of his skills....ones that she will someday soon acquire too! And he was so funny and gentle with her, it was heartwarming to watch their little relationship develop!

And of course, Emily and Eliza had a BLAST together....as usual! They always enjoy getting a day together where they can play and laugh and just see how far their limits actually are:) I think it is so fun to watch them, as they have developed their own little language and signals for each other! I love to watch them as they tell the each other to come over for snack or come play or watch tv!! And they also are starting to really pick up on their "mothering skills". They love to love on their baby dolls and sometimes they take it to the next level and try to love on their little cousins (and sister). And even still sometimes they even try to experiment on those skills with each other and that is when the 18 month old cat fights break out! But one of the greatest joys that I have been blessed to witness as a mother is when my children do something that they aren't supposed to (and after a reminder of what is right, of course) I get to see them apologize and make up with each other! My girls have taught me so much in the last 18 months and I am so grateful for all of the lessons that I learn from both of them! I am glad we got to play yesterday!! Playing is good for the heart and soul!

Eliza eating her snack from a pot!

Colton, looking for some snack!

Haley just chillin' in her Bumbo with her new "tray toy"!

Love this Expression( as the spit up is drooling down)!

Colton is SERIOUS!! He wants a snack too!

Emily and Eliza all ready for lunch!

Haley woke up from her nap a little earlier than the rest of the gang! As you can tell, she really wasn't quite ready to be awake and having her picture taken, but she was so cute and cuddly I couldn't resist!

Priceless Expression!

Eliza fast asleep!

Each of the girls doing their own thing....while Colton was napping!

Eliza getting ready for a ride in the stroller!

Making Sure they are both ready for the stroll!

Going on a ride and watching Baby Einstein at the same time!

Eliza got tired, so Emily got a ride from Dooders a little later in the afternoon!

More Siding and Dry Wall!!!

The construction crews are really moving with our house now! When we went yesterday afternoon they had almost finished with BOTH the siding and the dry wall!! The siding they had just started Tuesday afternoon and the drywall they just started yesterday morning! Micah and I have been impressed with how quickly and efficiently these crews are working together!! Our house is really starting to take form now, both inside and outside! It is so fun to visit each day and talk to the girls about our new home, and showing them where their room and play room are going to be!! All sorts of fun memory making experiences that we never anticipated as we started out on this journey!! I can't help but think of the country song that just came out by Miranda Lambert called "The house that Built Me", each time we go there! I am so excited to be on this journey right now with Micah and with our sweet girls!

Haley and I standing on our finished front porch (finished meaning all of the decking is down....not stained or treated yet though)

The girls and I in our Dining Room! (As you can tell Emily was ready to get down and explore!!)

View of part of our dining room and our kitchen from the living room!

Micah and Emily near the future home of our stove (to the his right) and sink(to Emily's left)!

Our Tub in the Master Bathroom!

Progress Continues!

Yesterday, Tuesday July 6, 2010, Micah and I had our pre-drywall walk thru! It was DEFINITELY a HOT day to be walking through a house WITHOUT Air Conditioning for about an hour! I definitely gained a greater respect for all of the construction workers in the world and particularly the ones who are laboring at our home right now!
Our walk thru went relatively well yesterday. There were only a few set backs, but nothing that should delay production. The biggest set back was probably that they had put a gas line in when we were under the impression that we were having an electric stove in the kitchen, not gas. One thing that we are learning is that communication is definitely key when taking on a project like this. Even when you think things have been communicated, it is definitely okay to communicate them again. That way everyone can stay on the same page and happy:) I know this is something that we already knew, but it never hurts to be reminded once in a while.
Last night, Micah went to our new home after work and installed speaker brackets. Time was of the essence because he needed to get them in before they start dry wall today so that they could cut around them and we wouldn't have to later:) And even though it was in the 90's last night, Micah went there....after a wild goose chase to hunt down the brackets which were still sitting at Fed Ex on Avon street......and installed 8 brackets!! He was so tired, but at the end of the day was really glad he did it.
The girls and I met him over there on our way home, and at the end of his project, because he had also told me that the decking was partly done and the siding had been started! Emily and I got to get out and look at the progress while Haley snoozed in the car, under Micah's supervision:)

My Hard Working Husband standing on our new decking boards!

Siding is partly up!

Fourth of July Weekend 2010!

I LOVE holiday weekends! And not just for the fact that Micah gets to have a LONG weekend with us either:) This Fourth of July was no exception!! We started off the weekend with a nice date night together, while the girls got to spend a few hours with Mommers and Dooders (man, it sure is nice having parents who live close by and are willing to fore go their date night so that we could go out!!). Micah and I grabbed a bagel at Bodo's and then a smoothie at Smoothie King and then we headed over to our soon to be neighborhood and checked out the progress of our new house!! It was a great date night!

Friday evening in front of our house....note that the HUGE orange dumpster has FINALLY been moved, but at least the matching port-o-potty is still there:)

Here we are in the corner of our very unfinished Master Bedroom!

Us showing our "bad" faces at the foot our our stairs!! I LOVE my "serious" Micah Cordon!


On Saturday morning before we headed to NOVA, Emily decided to play some nice music on the piano! She's a natural!

Then on Saturday we also headed to NOVA for a day trip! We got to sneak away to the temple while the girls got to get some play time in with some of their cousins and then Saturday evening we went to a birthday party for our good friend, Wyatt!! Emily, Haley, Micah and I all enjoyed our day of family, friends, food, and excitement!

Here's Emily playing with her new friend, Victor!! She really enjoyed all of his fun toys too!

Here's our dear friend, Norma, sneaking in a quick moment in time with both Victor, her grandson, and Emily!

I LOVE this picture of Wyatt blowing out the candles on his birthday cake!!

On Sunday, the actual 4th of July, we hung our flag and went to church! This Sunday was also memorable as it was Independence Day it was also Emily's FIRST DAY of NURSERY!! Micah took her and dropped her off and he said she only seemed a little sad then. Apparently she got a little more sad throughout nursery and then one of her teachers carried her around the halls and she fell asleep and slept for about 20 minutes and then when she woke up, she just wanted to be held for the rest of the time! So her "first official nursery experience" wasn't a total success, but it wasn't a complete failure either! So, we will just have to see what this week brings:)

On Monday, Independence Day observed, we spent the morning at home just chillin' and spending some time together. That evening we decided to go back to the splash park. For one, because Emily LOVED it so much and two, because Micah wasn't able to come with us last time! We had a nice time together.....Emily wasn't as fond of the park today, but Haley absolutely LOVED it. Before we went we couldn't really take Haley out because the sun was too bright and hot, but since we went so late in the afternoon the sun was behind the trees more so we were able to bring Haley out to play too!!

Emily and Her Daddy!

LOVE the water in this picture!!

Trying out one of Emily's favorite areas!

Learning to "Steer" already!

Family Shot in the Water!

Gotta Love Close-Ups!

First Time at a Splash Park!

I have been wanting to take the girls to a Splash Park for several weeks now, but I just haven't figured out how to go by myself with my two girls yet! So, lucky for us my mom had off of work today and she suggested that we all head over to one of the splash parks in Charlottesville! I readily agreed and after a crazy morning, we finally got their a little bit after noon!
Emily was skeptical at first, but it didn't take her too long to get the idea of the "splash park" and she was really excited to be there! Still not old enough to want to venture in by herself, but as long as she had someone's hand to hold she was all smiles and ready to splash!! Haley got to spend most of her time at the splash park with Dooders under the shade of a tree...since she isn't old enough to wear sunscreen yet....she was also happy to be outside on this beautiful day!! She LOVES the outdoors!

Now for some pictures of our adventures.....

Such a Cute, Girly Picture of Emily....from her head all the way down to her jelly shoes!

Splashin' with Mommers!

Haley just chillin' in her car seat with our new beach towel as her blanket!

Watching Emily splash was so fun, we had to do it too!

Even though it's not the best picture to see us, I just love the way the water looks!

Haley hangin' with Dooders!

Haley's turn to try out the splash park!

So Serious, but having so much fun!

I love snuggling my little Honey "B"!

We got Dooders in the water after all!

Love this picture of Haley and her Big Hat!

Later that afternoon, Haley got to spend a little time "talking to Dooders!"

She is showing him her pretty pink top!

A short video of Emily enjoying the Splash Park with Mommers!