Hitting the pumpkin patch

Last year we waited so long to get our pumpkins that our choices were pretty slim. So this year we hit the patch early and were rewarded by a plethora of big, beautiful pumpkins! One of Gray's favorite words right now is "Ba" (Ball). He spent the whole time we were there pointing at pumpkins and shrieking BA, BA, BA! His only disappointment was that he couldn't move the wheelbarrow like daddy could. We can just tell that he is desperate to be a big boy, we just tell him "maybe next year buddy"! Now we will have to see what he thinks of carving his Ba's.

First skinned knees

Now that he has mastered walking Gray is working on running. The other day while running down the path at the park he took a header and recieved his first two skinned knees! One more sign that he isn't my baby anymore.

It seems that it doesn't matter how much you try and raise a well rounded boy
they are all going to end up as sports fanatics. Here is a game that Gray invented the other day and has been obsessed with ever since. It's usually played with this beach ball but really any object that he can lift above his head is up for grabs.

Soccer is Hard

Gray had his first soccer practice last weekend. Some day he will get the idea that the balls are for kicking not for throwing. In the meantime, he enjoys playing red light/green light, stacking cones, parachutes and heart to heart chats with coach Hannah (if only she understood what he was saying). Dad is really enjoying sharing this activity with Gray.

In Japan

Robert and I went to Japan for a week to attend our friend's wedding. We spent a day in Tokyo having sushi for breakfast and visiting the fish and electronic markets. Then we took the bullet train down to Kyoto for the wedding. Let me tell you the Japanese know how to do a wedding right. After the ceremony came the formal reception, then we moved on to the second reception at a bar, then the younger people went to a second bar before ending the night having noodles at midnight. Congrats Tom and Yaya, the whole day was beautiful and a blast! We spent a day sightseeing in Osaka and attending a Tigers vs. Tokyo Giants Baseball game. Then, after a day of touring Kyoto's castles and shopping districts we hit the town which included several raucous hours singing Kareoke (even Robert participated). The next day we headed to a hotsprings hotel where we ate our meals in the traditional Japanese style sitting on cushions on the floor, bathed in the hotsprings, wore cotton kimonos everywhere (sooo comfortable) and slept on futons. The whole week was a wonderful introduction to Japan for the both of us (Thanks again Tom and Yaya for all of your hard work) we will be back.

Gray and Holly

A picture of Gray and his nanny, whom he adores. Thank you Holly for taking such good care of our precious son!

Gray's baptisim

I'm way behind in getting my pictures organized but I still wanted to share this one. Gray was baptized at Robert's family's church in May. It was a very nice day. After the service we had a lunch with many family friends at the Thomas' house.