Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Grayson at Four Months

Today, I took Grayson in for his four month check up (a little late I guess) and he had grown leaps and bounds! To sum it up, he had grown 2 inches, gained 2 pounds, and grown 2 centimeters in head circumference. How's that for my big boy!

I made a little comparison chart to show the differences between Ella and Grayson at four months.


Height

Weight

Percentile

Grayson

26 ½ inches

16 lbs. 6.8 oz.

90 - 75

Ella

25 inches

13 lbs. 11.2 oz.

75 - 50


Tuesday, December 28, 2010

A New Kind of Christmas

Christmas 2010 was a new kind of Christmas for the Donovan's. Every year before, we have gone to all 4 Christmases in order to be with Kermie's immediate family, my immediate family, and both sides of my extended family. However, this year we knew all that hustle and bustle wasn't going to work for us. Was I going to miss it? Absolutely! Ever since I was a child I looked forward to visiting with cousins and other family members I didn't get to see all the time on Christmas. It was always such a fun time! But, would we (the four of us) get to set our own family traditions and relax on Christmas Day? I had hoped so!

So, here's the story of our new kind of Christmas 2010!


We started out Christmas Eve morning with Kermie's extended family. Ella and Ava enjoyed getting to open all their presents and spending time with one another. Grayson, as always, took in the sights and opened a few presents himself. As for the rest of us, we enjoyed time together and yummy food!



Later that evening, we headed back to Sadieville for Christmas Eve with my family. My sister had to work so we all waited on her to get back. Ella got to open her Barbie Jeep and Grayson opened some toys and clothes. We usually celebrate Jesus' birthday by singing and eating our cupcakes, but by the time 8:00 rolled around I started feeling a little under the weather. :( By the time we got home (10 minutes away), it had all gone downhill from there! My stomach was in knots and my entire night was spent running from the bedroom to the bathroom! I hadn't been that sick in years! "Mrs. Claus" was out of operation!



Needless to say, the next morning I wasn't a very exciting person. I barely remember watching the kids open their presents, but luckily Kermie took pictures and video for me to cherish! I spent the remainder of that day in bed and was only awake for about 2 hours. All of those fun, new traditions would have to wait until the day after Christmas! But, as for the kiddos... they enjoyed a fun Christmas Day with their daddy :)



The next day, we all woke up feeling great! We made breakfast, played with toys, did a little baking, built a Gingerbread House, and enjoyed a relaxing, blessed day together!

So, while this new kind of Christmas may not have gone exactly as I had planned, I feel so blessed to have spent it with the ones I love! I hope everyone of you had a very Merry Christmas as well!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Two Reasons Why I Am Thankful!

This morning, Ella and Grayson were laying in my bed watching Beauty and the Beast. Or, I guess Ella was watching the movie and Grayson was watching her watch the movie. :) I went to pick up the living room and when I returned this is what I found. Ella had put her brother to sleep. They love each other so much and I am so thankful that God blessed me with this wonderful moment!

Birthday Weekend Fun!

Every year since I can remember, I have loved having a Christmas birthday! This year was no different and maybe one of my favorite yet!

One of my favorite places to go during the Christmas season is the Gaylord Opryland Hotel! They always decorate so pretty and there is quite a bit of stuff for children to do there as well. However, being that it is super expensive to stay the night there, we have always stayed somewhere else... but we found out this year that teachers get discounts! Yes... good discounts! So I immediately told Kermie that there would be no gift giving, but that we would be spending the weekend in Nashville! Lynsie, Robert, and Emmie were wanting to go as well so we met there and were able to spend the weekend catching up with them. Emmie and Ella played together so well and really enjoyed each others company. And, as always, we enjoyed Lynsie and Robert's company as well.






Another plus to my birthday is getting to celebrate it with my mom! Her birthday is on the 18th and mine is on the 20th, so we always celebrate together. This year we ate at Cheddar's and enjoyed the food, drinks, and laughter! :)