First Hot Day of the Year

We had our first hot day of the year a couple of weeks ago. Grant and I walked to Bridgeport with Lola and the girls to have lunch and feed the birds. Grant and Emma had such a great time splashing in the fountain after we ate. I don't think we actually fed any ducks that day, but we found some baby turtles that were a huge hit. I love this picture of little Bella. That's the look she always gives me. She likes me okay, only if I keep my distance so she gives me cute little warning looks if I get too close!

Disneyland with Papa

Papa with a Beard came to Disneyland with us a few weeks ago. We had such a great day! He got Grant to go on a few rides he was never willing to try before. Now his two favorites are the Monorail and Casey Jones, both of which terrified him before. We can't wait for our next adventure with Papa!

More Snails

So, Grant's still really into snails. He laid out his snail shell collection for me and said, "These are the ones I found with my Grandma." One even made it as the pilot of his plane toy. Funny how something so simple can be the source of endless hours of enjoyment. Yet another reason we don't buy a lot of toys--nature has the best toys!

Day at the Zoo

We got to go to the zoo with Lola, Emma, and Bella this last week. We didn't see a whole lot of animals, but Grant and Emma had a great time together!

Snapshots of a Day #3

I forgot about my Snapshots day till I saw Crystie's! Better late than never.

8:30 Starting to hatch the dinosaur egg Gramma & Papa with a beard and Gramma Jean sent
9:30 Going for a walk with Jack
10:30 What's cuter that a boy watching for the garbage truck? TWO boys watching for the garbage truck!
11:30 Lunch, drive-through style
12:30 (Oops, busy at Target and forgot to take a picture)
1:30 Shopping at Albertson's with my little helper
2:30 Taking a little break and seeing what Rachael Ray is making for dinner tonight
3:30 Steaming shirts
4:30 Talking to Lola on the phone...I haven't mastered self-portraits
5:30 Dinner prep
6:30 Watching a few minutes of the Upside Down show with Grant while dinner cooks
7:30 Crazy car rides with Daddy

Saying Grace for the 1st Time

We've never been able to get Grant to say grace. He will repeat what we say, but he's never come up with anything on his own. Today I asked him to pray for our food and this is what he said:

"Jesus love me! And GLORY! (with his arms raised) Thank you for food. And I love you. I eat now. Pasta. And plates. And bowls. You not sad. You happy. And Jesus love me. Amen."

It was so sweet to peek at him with his eyes tightly shut and saying whatever was coming to his mind. And I'm not sure where "GLORY!" came from...maybe that's how they do it in Sunday School.

Snapshots of a Day, #3

Today we went down to visit my Mom who has been staying at Jill's house for the last couple of weeks. It was our last of 4 visits with her on this trip. We had a great time visiting and can't wait to see her again soon!

9:30 Driving on the 405 to visit Jill and Mom
10:30 Finally there!
11:30 Ready to head out to lunch together
12:30 Grant having a great time with Grandma at lunch
1:30 Playing with Zhu Zhu pets and waiting for Timmy to get home from school
2:30 Grant and Timmy wrestling around--Grant was laughing SO hard
3:30 On our way back home
4:30 Trying to catch up on my email after being gone for 3 days in a row
5:30 Setting Grant up with a computer game so I can figure out dinner
6:30 Proof-reading Nate's paper for his class

Singing A-LOUD to the Lord

During our Bible time today, I read "Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the Lord." Grant said, "Jesus likes the ABC song" then proceeded to sing his ABCs at an earsplitting volume. I love that he's trying to put the Word into action, even if it isn't in the most conventional way.

A Quick Change

I ordered this pirate ship wall vinyl a couple of years ago for Grant's room. He's much more into space than he was into pirates, so I recently got a space bedding set on clearance and changed things up. Then, with my new cutting machine I was able to replace the pirate ship with a spaceship. Have I mentioned how much I love my Silhouette machine?!?

Random Conversations

Me: Do you know who the President is?
Grant: Oh, it's George. George Washington.
(They've been talking about President's Day at school.)

After Grant's rest time, I noticed that he'd changed his clothes.
Me: Did you have an accident?
Grant: No, it was just a little bit wet.
Me: Why was it wet?
Grant: Oh, maybe it was rain...that dropped down...from the sky.
Me: In your room?
Grant: Yes?
Hmmm, somehow I just don't think so. Another day he said, "It's not an accident. Maybe I'm just sweaty." At least at this point it's easy to tell which of his explanations are true and which are made up. I wonder if he'll always think I'm that gullible.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! We were so excited about it this year. Grant's class at school was celebrating so we got to make valentines for him to hand out. Then I wanted him to have a special shirt to wear so I made him a "Mom" tattoo one...but he really wanted a robot shirt, so that's what he ended up wearing. He was so pleased that it looked like the robot that Gramma and Papa with a beard got him for Christmas. He seemed to have a great time with his Valentines exchange at school and wanted to show me each one he got the moment he left the building.

In his Valentine's basket this morning, Grant got a new caterpillar friend called "Cappie" whom he carried around and talked to all day. The poor caterpillar's eyes are actually rubbing off from getting so much love today. Such a fun day!

Snapshots of a Day #2

So I actually remembered on the 10th to take 10 pictures! Hopefully next month I 'll have more exciting things happening on the 10th. This time, it was a very uneventful day:

9:30 Got a busy morning so I'm starting my exercise late while Grant works on a vocabulary computer game.
10:30 The dragon (Grant) plays in the tub while the princess (Mom) puts on her makeup. (He wants me to pretend to be the princess ALL THE TIME...if you thought Barney's voice was annoying, you should hear the princess.)
11:30 The dragon and the princess go to Walmart to pick up supplies for his preschool class.
12:30 Lunch is ending. I saved the best for last (or so I'm telling myself).
1:30 Sampling at Costco. I found that chewing gum while shopping is my best defense against all the goodies and Grant's happy to get them all to himself.
2:30 Mr. Clean and I took a little spin around the kitchen.
3:30 Deciphering how many points are in those goodies from Costco. 5 pieces for 1 point is acceptable. No, I didn't eat the whole 1/4 cup.
4:30 Planting "pomagranick" and avocado trees and green peppers in Grant's room, then pretending to eat the fruits of our labor. We grow the best pretend produce around.
5:30 Grant and I are fixing dinner together. He commandeered the sweet potatoes and thought they looked like organ pipe cacti. I thought the little hats were a nice touch.
6:30 Daddy's home!!! Grant's new ritual is to bolt for the door as soon as he hears the garage door opening so he can play in Nate's car for a while before dinner. Daddy's a good sport and never complains about all the little fingerprints all over his mirror and dashboard.