Millie Kate at home (1 week old)

Mom (Kim), Dad (Brian) and Big Brother (Presley)

(after the excitement in the hospital, I forgot to get a picture of me with MK....so I made sure to get a shot this trip!)

Baby Hayes at Home

Soon after Hayes was home, I went for a visit and a few pictures...

Big brother Simba says, "As long as there's one couch left for me, I MAY be able to tolerate this kid." :)

Proud Oma (and by proud I mean absolutely giddy to finally have a grandchild!) on hand to help Alison her first week home with baby Hayes

So behind...

I have so much to blog about, but have been so busy. I promise we have lots of pictures, updates, videos, and vacation details to share. I'm just still getting organized with the new computer and running around like an idiot. My goal is to get caught up this week....after I unpack and get the rest of my life in order :) Maybe I should pay bills first? Nah.

Millie Kate Gray

Millie Kate Gray
April 25, 2009
8 lbs. 4 oz.
21 in.
5:36 P.M

So after the Walk for Wishes and Buie's birthday party, a very special thing happened...Kim and Brian welcomed their beautiful little girl, Millie Kate, into the world.

To make a SHORT story LONG, let me explain why I was in the delivery room shortly after MK arrived. I knew Kim was being induced that morning and kept waiting for good news. So when I hadn't heard anything, I just wandered up to Northside to see what was going on. In my defense, Beau was about to leave to go out of town (for triathlon #2) so I was anxious to visit before I needed to be home with Wade. Little did I know, I got there just in time to say hi and then be rushed out of the room because it was time for Millie Kate to make her entrance. Well, who can leave to go home when there's that much excitement going on??? Not me. So I waited in the lobby with Kim's dad (who has to be the most calm new grandfather I've ever seen in my life) and gained new respect for the family members who have to WAIT outside when a new life is being born. I know from my experience, when you're delivering you could care less about what's going on outside that room (or outside your body for that matter). But I must say it's very nerve racking to be waiting and wondering.

Anywho...as soon as MK was born I was able to go in and see her first moments. I tried to just stay out of the way and be the little fly on the wall no one would notice. I felt really bad that I was seeing her before the grandpas, so I ran back and forth to show them pictures until it was "all clear" for men to come in.

I must say, it was so exhilarating to experience those special moments with Kim and her entire family that mean so much to me. However, I promise all of my other friends I will not make it a habit of crashing delivery rooms from now on. I promise to stay at home and wait for news :)


Last moments as Mom and Dad "to be". Kim finally relaxing after getting the epidural.

SHE'S HERE!!!Daddy checkin' out his new daughter. Aunt Stephanie broadcasting her beautiful face to family and friends.She winkes at me!!!At 5 minutes old, she already has daddy wrapped around her fingers.

The new Gray family!

"Kanga" and her first grandchild/daughter

"Papa Bear" is all smiles. I'm on to his little game. He was calm and collected on the outside, but deep down he wanted to squeal for joy. Ha ha!

Happy Birthday Buie!

Buie had his 2nd birthday at Southern Prep kids' gym. Wade LOVES playing there and was happy to celebrate at such a fun place. He even got to show his daddy all the fun things to do.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUIE!

All the kids took turns on the zip line (getting a little whiplash along the way).

Walk for Wishes

The Make-A-Wish mission is near and dear to my heart. I want to do anything I can to help them grant as many wishes as possible. Some of the kids truly don't have time to wait. Since leaving the staff to stay home with Wade, I miss being a part of the daily efforts. So I'm happy to help fundraise whenever I can.

On April 25th they hosted the annual Walk for Wishes at Atlantic Station. It was a beautiful day to celebrate and gather enough funds to grant wishes for 20 special children with life threatening medical conditions. Wade and all of our friends came together as "Wade's Wishmakers" to raise $2,400!!! Not too shabby for our first year. I'm so thankful to our team (kids, dogs and parents) for making the effort to be with us, donating, and for asking friends and family to support our efforts. THANKS TEAM!!! Our fabulous team! Most of us made it in the picture...Wade, Nonna, & meWade's Wishmakers Mascot (Mollie). She even had a mascot's uniform :)

The Calverts

Mason and Buie - so proud to hold up the team sign

Ace & Amy Marriott with Lancaster

Beau & Will say hello to the Gwinnett Braves mascot. Wade says, "what makes you think I'm going to hug this bear when I wouldn't even look at the Easter Bunny?"

Taylor and her baby sister Ella. I first met Taylor (totally bald!) when she received her wish - a pink playhouse. She was my first wish and after seeing her excitement, I was sold!!! 3 years later she's healthy, happy, playing soccer, and learning to share her playhouse with a new sister :)

The Crawford family. They get the trooper award for the day because immediately after walking, they rushed to host Buie's 2nd birthday party. What a day!

The Glatzer Family. Sam (with the help of mom & dad) raised $625.00!!! They all get the MVP award!

Wade with his favorite neighbor and babysitter, Kyra

The Everett Family

How did Cali get cottage cheese on her head?

Here's your answer... Wade has started using a spoon all by himself and thinks it's so much fun.

When I praise him and say "Good job buddy" (at any point through the day), he stops what he's doing and claps for himself. So I had to stop saying it when he uses a spoon, otherwise it make for very long and messy meals!

These pics are just a sneak peek of what I need to upload. I was very lucky that everything was recovered from my old computer, but the files are all mixed up so it still might be awhile until I catch up with pictures. Bear with me!

Back in Business

After more than 2 weeks without a functioning computer....I'M BACK!!!
I can't tell you how hard it was for me to not have a computer. I know that sounds so materialistic and petty....I should consider the children in China that have never even seen a computer (or eaten in weeks), but I realized how much I depend on it to do so many daily tasks. And being home with Wade, my computer is a lot of times my link to the outside world! All I can say is that I'm glad my solitary confinement is over.
Our computer went completely kaput (another word I had to look-up to make sure it's actually a word) and we had to get a new one. And THANKFULLY our computer guy was able to salvage our files and pictures off of the old hard drive. So to all of you that I've been promising to burn CD's of picture.....hold your horses - they're coming!!!
Meanwhile, I have so much to blog about. Will I ever catch up? I'm going to have to back date a lot of stuff so stay tuned. We've had baby births, weddings, birthdays, Braves games, Mother's Day and so much more!