Gaines Baptism

Gaines (my sister's youngest) had his baptism this past Sunday. It seems like it was just last year that we were in Atlanta for big brother's baptism (here). Oh, wait, we were! That's what happens when brothers are 20 months apart! These 2 little boys are precious, and I always look forward to spending time with them. 

Since Robbie wasn't going to be able to attend with us on Sunday, my parents stopped by Auburn & picked us up on their way to Atlanta on Saturday. Saturday night, we all went over to my sister's house for supper and to watch the beginning of the Alabama game.

3 wild little boys
Jake loves being the older big boy to his younger 2 cousins

My sister hanging out with Hollon

Gaines was excited to play with Hollon

Hollon was not so sure of all of this

Mama Marrell holding Hollon

The 6 grandkids
Marrell (6), Gaines (8 months), Maddox (10), Hollon (2 months), Jake (5.5) & Woody (2)

Getting a picture of these 6 is not easy

I can't wait for Maddox to babysit Hollon
She actually got Hollon to sleep

The 3 boys

The 3 girls

Destroying Aunt Lindsey's house

Around halftime, we went back to the hotel to get the kids in bed and to finish watching the game. The kids & I were sharing a room with my parents. Jake & Hollon were asleep and my mom was back & forth between sleeping & watching the rest of the game. My dad & I were wide awake though, pacing, watching the Alabama game. It has been so long since I've watched a game with him. It was one of my favorite memories of the weekend. And I may or may not have held my sleeping infant for an hour while standing in one particular spot in the room, because it seemed to bring the team good luck.

#sabancansendthethankyounotetomyhomeaddress

On Sunday, we all attended sweet Gaines baptism. 

Hollon was super excited

And then she passed out

Afterwards, our cousin Becky hosted a reception at her house.

Woody especially loved sticking his leg through the cornhorn game that they had setup for the kids

I had to take Hollon out of the church service, and by the time I saw Jake afterwards,
my dad had already let him loose the blazer & tie.

Gaines & Gran

The guest of honor!

Gaines is seriously the happiest baby on the planet. In this picture, he had not had a nap, not eaten and had been passed around to about 100 different people. He was laying his head on my sister's shoulder, he was so tired and it looked so sweet. I went to snap a picture of it, and as soon as he heard the camera, he popped his head up and gave a perfect smile. This baby is so good, he might be a robot. I've signed him up to mentor his high maintenance little cousin.  

Happiest baby on the block

Our family!

(minus Robbie)

Not sure what Marrell & Jake were doing in the picture
But it is a miracle that 13 people (6 that are kids!) are all looking at the camera

Guess which child is completely over all of this?

Gran, Marrell & Jake finding trouble to get into

The Harvard family

This was such an amazing & fun weekend. I loved being with all of our family. I loved seeing the 6 grandchild all be together for the first time. And I loved celebrating sweet Gaines. 

Week in Review

On Monday Hollon had her 2 month checkup at the doctor. 

This is a horrible picture of Hollon, but it makes me laugh. Reminds me of the guy from Beetlejuice with the tiny head & big eyes.

Here is a much sweeter picture of her swinging.

This was one of my favorite outfits of Jake's. Yes, it is blue, but she still looks adorable to me.

Lambs on a baby's feet. How much cuter can you get?

I am a huge believer in swaddle blankets. We have different ones we use for different times. I love the one below because it is super long (it's a sleep sack / swaddle combined). I can put Hollon in it and swaddle her, but it is long enough that I can still buckle her into the swing.

Glamour shots pose from the front 

Glamour shots pose from the side

We put the mobile up on the downstairs swing. So far, Hollon likes it.

Big eyes & Woodstock's hair from Charlie Brown

Thursday I went to the Holiday Market at the BJCC. I've been to the Easter one several times, always on a Saturday. It is crowded, but manageable. I figured that going to the Christmas one on a Thursday, it wouldn't be too crowded. WRONG. It was horribly crowded. Between all the women with strollers (myself included) and all of the women shopping together in groups, you could barely move. But my surprise was how good Hollon was. The first 20 minutes we were there, she just looked around. Then she fell asleep and even slept through her feeding. She would occasionally wake up, look around and then fall back asleep. I was amazed, she has never been that good for that long out in public.

Everyone thought she was a boy because of the blue overalls

Thursday evening, Robbie's best friend from high school flew into town, as he was going to the Auburn football game with Robbie over the weekend. Robbie B, Robbie P., Hollon & I all headed down to Auburn Friday. (Mimi, Granddad & Jake all came once school was out.)

Hollon's first picture by the Auburn sign

She was sleeping so we just left her in the stroller for the pictures

Jake finally got to climb on top of the RV

Hanging out with Mimi & Granddad Saturday morning

My nephew Gaines was being baptized Sunday in Atlanta. Since I knew Robbie couldn't go since he'd be taking Robbie P, back to Birmingham to the airport, my parents swung by Auburn on their way to Atlanta Saturday and picked up me & the kids. The rest of our weekend, which was spent in Atlanta, comes in the next post. 

Hollon's 2 Month Checkup

Last week (11/3) Hollon had her 2 month check up

Weight: 12 lbs. 15 oz. (80% percentile)

Height: 22 in. (30% percentile)

Yes, Hollon is my little stumpy peanut.

So, she probably will not be a basketball or volleyball player. 

The checkup went well. Hollon is healthy & growing. She was much better for this appointment than her last one.

Day of her appointment

Halloween

I think it is so cute when Halloween costumes coordinate. Well, I could hang that idea up with a 5 year old boy & 2 month old girl. So Hollon was a pumpkin & Jake was Voltron. I choose Hollon to be a pumpkin because I found the costume on sale at a consignment sale. I thought it would be cute if Jake would go as Charlie Brown, but there was no way he was buying that. Ever since we sold Voltron from under Jake's nose, he has asked if he could be Voltron for Halloween. Robbie was able to find a Voltron costume online (which of course was more than what we would typically pay for a Halloween costume), but Robbie felt like he owed it to Jake. So Voltron & Pumpkin got ready Friday night for Halloween.

This is what Hollon thought of Halloween:

NOT.A.FAN

Even with the pacifier in her mouth, she was still not too pleased. She did not like the costume, the stroller or the cold weather outside.

Unhappy pumpkin

This picture was a winner

At least one person was excited about Halloween.

As they were trick-or-treating, people kept thinking Jake was a transformer. Which would make Jake mad & he would snap back that he was Voltron. We tried telling him, if you want people to know who you are, don't pick a character that is 30 years old and not on TV anymore.

Jake had a friend, Kade join him for trick-or-treating

After a few houses, Hollon got tired of crying and just fell asleep. I didn't want her out in the cold for too long, so she & I went back to the house while Rob took the boys to more houses in the neighborhood.

Sleepy pumpkin

Mimi & Granddad stopped by to see the kids in their costumes

Mimi rocking our little pumpkin

Later, when Hollon was in a better mood and there wasn't so much commotion, we tried the pumpkin suit again to try to get some better pictures. Please excuse the fact she is not wearing an undershirt. I was too lazy to put it back on her, it was so small!

Our happy pumpkin

Happy Halloween!