Sticks, Leaves, and Autumn Fun

Fall finally feels like fall. The weather has cooled off quite a bit but that doesn't deter Dylan from wanting to run around outside. Now there are even more sticks and leaves to play with! I absolutely love this picture. It's definitely my new favorite! The boy has so much personality and makes me laugh all day everyday.

Dylan goes through phases of silly faces and there have been some really silly ones. This is his new face, the kissy or fish face. He makes this face all the time or at least for the time being. You can't help but laugh when you see it.



I can't believe how big Dylan is already. He's not just big but grown up. I know I know, he's only a year old now but seriously, where did the time go. He is so full of personality and definitely not camera shy!


Dylan running all over the yard with a leaf in each hand. If you couldn't tell, this is Dylan's favorite hobby when he's outside. Sticks, leaves, rocks, dirt...typical boy.

Awww. My beautiful little red-head. Dylan's hair changes colors depending on the lighting. Any time we are outside in the sun, it has a red tint to it, as you can see. However, other times it just looks brown or even a little golden.

Grandma & Grandpa Gray's house has A LOT of leaves on the ground! Dylan, of course, loved it. Daddy was riding and Dylan was playing in the leaves. In this picture, Daddy was teaching Dylan to throw leaves up in the air.

Dylan kept running away every time Jeff threw the leaves in the air except this time, haha. He decided he was going to try to do it too and ended up in a whirlwind of leaves.

Dylan showing and telling Daddy all about his pile of leaves and the weird banana shaped pod things.

Dylan with another stick, haha. He had a blast running around that day. The leaves and sticks were plentiful and the weather was beautiful!

Playing with Actual Toys

Aunt Amanda gave Dylan this rainforest play center thing, or whatever you want to call it, for his 1st birthday. This video was a couple weeks after his birthday. He normally doesn't play with toys for too long. He tends to play with weird non-toy items for most of his day, haha. With that being said, I was surprised to see him play with this for so long. He was playing with it for a bit before I remembered to grab the camera. When he started talking with his "whoa whoa's" and "yeah yeah's," I finally realized I should grab the camera.


I know that I said Dylan spends most of his day playing with non-toy items however, that is only after he has pulled out and played with all of his toys. After he is bored with the toys, he looks for "other things" to get into.


In the morning, after he is finished with his milk, Dylan begins his whirlwind of playing that usually leaves the living room looking like a tornado just hit. He digs out every single toy he can find to investigate and play with.


Dylan playing with the rainforest again. He spends a lot of his time just playing with the different colored ball that came with the set. He also moves the monkey's hand which starts the music so that he can dance. The boy loves music!


I know this one is a little bit blurry too but still cute. He was pushing his new tractor with all the animals across the floor. After he is done pushing it around, he usually takes the animals for a tour around the house, lol.

Pushing Buttons (no pun intended, lol)

In this video, Dylan was about 9 1/2 months old. He was walking but usually only when he had something to hold onto. As you can see, he's a little wobbly, lol. It's a little outdated but still hilarious to look back on.


Thanks to Daddy, Dylan had his very first Kawasaki by the time he was one month old, equipped with stickers and everything. Although he doesn't like to ride it very often, he still plays with it constantly. He spends a lot of time pushing buttons and then dancing to the music. He flips the whole thing upside down and plays mechanic by inspecting everything, spinning the wheels, poking this and prodding that. When he's not playing mechanic, he pushes it all around the house. Although, now that he is tall enough to get on and off, he seems more interested in riding it, lol.

Playing Outside

This October has just recently started to feel like fall. The first few weeks of October still felt like the end of summer with temperatures still in the low 80's. Dylan loves going outside to play. We go outside several times during the day to burn off some of that high never-ending energy. Even when it's raining outside, Dylan will stand at the kitchen door and point outside. Therefore, we try to get outside to play in the beautiful sun whenever we can.

The very first thing on his agenda when we go outside to play, is to find some rocks. For some reason, the boy loves rocks. Water usually runs off of the roof and washes away all the dirt in one spot outside. That's usually the first place Dylan goes. 

Dylan loves playing with a ball when we are outside too. He likes to carry, throw, and even kick the ball around. Maybe he'll be a soccer player, haha!

Dylan got this little ball for his birthday from Nicole and the two twins, Kadie & Kaylie. He also has a giant Spiderman beach ball that he got from Cam's graduation party that he loves to play with all the time.

Dylan definately burns off some energy outside. He runs around everywhere and investigates every little thing. He checks out the rocks, grass, bushes, and the leaves that have fallen to the ground. I usually end up with a collection of stuff that he also picks up and gives to me.


Dylan loves to watch the leaves rattle and the trees sway in the wind. He will stop whatever he is doing and point at the trees and say some words I don't quite get yet, haha. Sometimes he even waves to the trees and says "Hi."


Dylan & I playing outside together. Dylan thought it was hilarious when I took this picture for some reason. He was trying his hardest to help me "hold" the camera to take the picture. Unfortunately for him and forunately for me (for now), my arms are longer than his!

Go Go Go!

Dylan started taking his first steps on his own around 9 1/2 months. He would let go of whatever he was holding onto and would wobble a few feet until he could grab onto something else. However, that did not last for long. Dylan quickly picked up the walking thing and just kept trying to go faster and faster. Now that he can run, quite fast I might add, he doesn't walk anywhere. Spending a day chasing Dylan around can leave you extremely tired and exhausted, haha.


I know that this picture is a little blurry but he's hard to capture him in full speed. This is Dylan doing one of many laps from the kitchen to the living room and back again. He is usually squealing or gibbering his own special Dylan language as he goes.


This is one of Dylan's favorite pastimes, pushing the highchair all around the kitchen. That is until it gets stuck on something and then he comes running to me for help. The boy has so many toys but what does he play with, the highchair or anything else that is not toy related.


Dylan loves attacking his giant lion. The lion usually sits on a small chair in his bedroom until Dylan walks in. One of the first things on his agenda is to remove the lion from his chair and attack him. Grandma & Grandpa Gray brought Dylan this giant lion the day after he was born.


This is Dylan being a big goofball again. He likes to "crawl" around like a bear and try to do headstands, handstands, or whatever you want to call this maneuver.

Dylan's Laughter

I am so glad I got this laugh on video that day. It all started with me making a funny noise and he completely lost it. His laugh is so hilarious that of course I kept making the noise. Enjoy!

The Gray Family

Grandma & Grandpa Gray were at the hospital as soon as they could get there after Jeff told them that their grandson was on the way. Aunt Amanda was also there. Grandpa Gray actually got just a couple hours of sleep that night before he had to wake up to go to work very early the next morning. There were a few very interesting things about my pregnancy with Dylan and Grandma's pregnancy with Jeff. First of all, we had the same due date. Then both Jeff and Dylan were a few days late and were born on the same date. Dylan almost was born around the same time but decided to wait a little bit longer.


Grandpa Gray holding Dylan the next day. He had no sleep, went to work, and still came up the very next day to see Dylan. Grandpa tries to act "tough" all the time but when Dylan was born all he could say is "You are too freakin' cute."


Grandma Gray needs regular doses of Dylan, haha. If we don't make it back to visit, then you can bet that they will be up to visit all of us. Can you tell how in love she is? Dylan loves his Grandma very much too! He is apparently making up for the hard time Daddy gave her when he was a baby because Dylan is always so good for her.



Aunt Amanda & Dylan. Amanda spoils Dylan like crazy too! Her and Grandma were always battling each other for baby time, haha. Amanda also keeps Dylan stocked up on the latest Kawasaki gear and all kinds of fun, crazy, and elaborate toys.



Dylan & Great-Grandma Gray. She has an amazing ability to make this boy light up, smile, and laugh every time she sees him, even when he was tiny and just starting to smile.






4 Generations. Great-Grandpa Gallagher, Grandma Gray, Daddy, and Dylan





4 Generations of Gray. Great-Grandpa Gray, Grandpa Gray, Daddy, and Dylan

The Faith Family

I wanted to do a little tribute to the Grandparents, Aunts & Uncles from both sides. I'll start with my family, haha. They all love Dylan with all of their heart and it shows. They enjoy every second they get to spend with the munchkin. Everyone was so supportive! I remember being a little nervous telling my family that they were about to be grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. Ok...I lied. I was a little more than nervous, haha. I was nervous for no reason though. My family was extremely supportive through everything.

Anyone who has ever been pregnant knows how much it stinks to constantly outgrow your own clothes and have nothing to wear. I was so grateful when my step-mom, Chrissy, would bring me new clothes. It wasn’t just new clothes for me though. I worked until I was 8 1/2 months pregnant and had to look nice in the process. I couldn’t get away with wearing sweats or Jeff’s clothes like I did at home. It was just relieving to have someone remember the little things about being pregnant. This picture was taken by Dad & Chrissy the day were told them that we were expecting.

The day we went to the hospital, Jeff made a few calls to my family to let them know that “It’s time.” My Dad & Chrissy were in the waiting room for hours along with the Gray family while Jeff popped out to keep them updated from time to time. When my Mom arrived, she joined me in my room. Jeff and my mom helped me get through the hardest part of my labor. After I got the epidural, they laughed at me sipping on my apple juice and cracking jokes, haha.

After Dylan arrived, the nurses allowed everyone in the waiting room to come back and visit with us. Everyone was so excited to see their first grandson. This is my Dad holding Dylan right after they put the goopy crap in his eyes.

This is one of my favorite pictures. Dylan was 2 weeks old and we made a trip back home to visit with all of the family. Of course, I see this picture now and can’t believe how tiny he used to be.

Dylan & Grandma Ginger, or as she would like to be called “Mamma G,” haha. My Mom cuddling with her first grandson. He’s not going to be spoiled, is he, haha?




If Dylan doesn't get spoiled enough by the Grandparents then he definately gets it from his Uncle Dustin & Aunt Alisha. I was almost 9 months pregnant in their wedding with only 10 days to go until my due date. We all had our fingers crossed!


Aunt Blake, Nicole & Dylan. Blake was a little scared to hold Dylan at first when he was really really tiny, haha. If you walk into her bedroom at home, she has pictures of her nephew hanging up on the walls.


Uncle Cameron & Dylan. I think this picture is hilarious because these two look like they are up to something, haha. Cameron is one of Dylan's buddies. He likes playing with his Uncle and is usually all smiles with Cam.