picture of the day

*the diaper box is my lost sock box. ignore it.

**yes, he is wearing the same shorts that he wore yesterday. clean clothes

are overrated.

Grouchy

I'm grouchy today.

Grouchy that the house is a mess.
Grouchy because I am going to be the one who has to clean it.
Grouchy that no matter how much time she has, Madison will not get ready for school on time.
Grouchy Grouchy because I'm extremely unhappy about what will be happening in the month of May. (Ask me in person and I'll explain)
Grouchy because of hormones.
Grouchy.

At least I have this: 

(*and yes, I let him go like this when we went to take a late Madison to school)

And this:

"Once upon a time a cowgirl had a fast horse. She livd whith her mom and dad and her crazy dog in the whest. One day a stranger followde a path to her house. He askted her to go with him. She rilly dident want to go bot he said if she dident he wod shoot her. Her mom and dad herd him so thay ran out and got thare guns in thare hands. He was about to shoot her but her dad got in front of her and said do not shoot my doter. The next day it was her birthay he came back and ges what she said she said she wants to marry him they livd happy ever after. The Eend."  (Madison)

One Year Older

A year ago today I was an emotional, sleep-deprived wreck with four kids, one of which was less than a week old and another with head lice. We were talking about it this morning over breakfast, and I made the statement that there have been 3 really HUGE trials in my life: my brother's death, Joe losing his job, and what we will call the head-lice incident. Knock on wood, but I (we) are in a much better place in life right now!!

Grant's birthday: we woke up early and he opened his presents before breakfast, which was Captain Crunch cereal (Grant's choice). We had a daytime party, and Grant invited 4 four-year-old boys over for a pirate party. We read "How I Became a Pirate," walked the plank, looked for treasure, and beat the pirate pinata. For lunch we ate traditional pirate food. . . fish sticks, gold fish, chocolate milk, apple slices, and chocolate cupcakes. We continued the partying when dad got home with some pizza, salad, apple juice, and more chocolate cake. 

I bet you don't remember what a milestone "4" is. According to Grant, when you are four you become a superhero, you can kill bad guys, break out of jail, and make your own sandwiches. Grant was very sad, though, when he realized that being four does not mean you get to go to preschool the next day. We are working on getting him into preschool in the fall--but that sounds forever away for him.

It was stormy on his birthday, and the picture below is a friend's mom showing her bravery while holding the pinata (and talking pirate) for all those 4-year olds with a wooden bat. 

oops, I guess this picture didn't get turned the right way.

I'm pretty sure Grant took this picture. 

Ammon turned one on Thursday, but we took advantage of his innocence and didn't do a thing to celebrate until Saturday. OK, we sang him "happy birthday" at least a dozen times. He smiled. 

On Saturday we had cinnamon rolls and eggs for breakfast, pizza for lunch, and chili for supper. Chili, believe it or not, is Ammon's favorite food. He growls at us if we don't feed it to him fast enough. The other kids whine and complain that it is too spicy or too tomatoey. But Ammon loves it. 

Joe's family came on Saturday to help us to celebrate. This picture had the most people in it, so that's why I put it on. 

I love this picture because the three big kids were so thoughtful and helpful (lol) while Ammon attempted to open presents. PAHAHA! I just looked at the pictures and realized that is me sitting by Grant. . . I thought it was Madison. Madi is on the left in the fluorescent yellow uniform. 

I actually think he got the hang of it faster than the other kids on their first birthdays. He started ripping that paper off! 

Here he is with his stash! 

I did not feel like making him his very own cake like I did with the other kids on their first birthdays. We just ate cupcakes and cake a week ago for Grant's birthday, so I felt caked-out. Instead I made a berry-poke cake with whipping cream and berries on top. I know it's still not healthy, but it seems a little lighter somehow than chocolate and frosting. He got the biggest piece, though. 

As you can see, we stripped him down to his diaper and let him go. He ate about 1/3 of it, then he threw the cake on the ground and started licking his plate. I think Joe got a picture of that on his phone, but I don't have it right now. I'm not sure if a few silly pictures are worth the huge mess (which, actually, I didn't have to clean up because Joe's mom cleaned the kitchen while I bathed the boy. Thank You!). 

Here he is enjoying his second bath of the day. 

Happy Birthday Boys! 

S

Real Fast Before I Forget

Since this is my journal:

We were quizzing Grant about his birthday (pics and details when I have another minute), where we live, etc. Apparently I've failed to teach him some very important information.

Me: Grant, what is your whole name?
Grant: Grant McGregor
Me: But what is your whole name? Do you know your middle name?
Grant: Yeah. Grantee Pants McGregor

Also, last night was our ward's RS birthday celebration, so I ate a small amount of Grant's birthday dinner and then headed over to the church. When I got home I just sat in the car for a minute to enjoy the peace and a moment by myself. I was checking facebook on my phone and saw that Joe had tagged me in this picture of Ammon. I laughed SO HARD!! I guess Ammon got to practice eating some birthday cake and found it quite enjoyable--but I can't get over the shape his mouth is making!

Then I opened the car door and Joe jumped out from behind me and made me scream! Somehow he snuck out and had been waiting there for a few minutes. (He said he was cracking up because he could hear me laughing like a crazy woman from inside the car.)

Family!

March=Birthday Madness!

Or: Trying to get ahead before I fall behind.


Do you remember last year's Grant's Birthday post?! I was 9 months pregnant and too tired to plan anything for his birthday. Add that to some pregnancy hormones and I was a crying mess.

This year I am determined to do something!! Too bad his birthday is only 4 days away. . . So I talked to him and we made some plans and are inviting a few boys over to party like pirates. I will include pictures and details (hopefully) in about a week, but I wanted to talk about my two March babies for a few minutes before it just didn't happen.

 First of all, I LOVE having some space between #3 and #4. Don't get me wrong, I loved having Logan and Madi close together (21 months), and then there was a nice 2 1/2 year gap between Madi and Grant. . . but I feel bad for Madison. She never got me to herself! I was always tired and worn out chasing two toddlers around and then adding another baby to the mix. I think I have kind of forgotten that, but when I think about it I remember that it was kind of hard sometimes. :) But now. . . Logan and Madi head to school and it's just Grant and Ammon. Two! And the older two can do so much! I could write a long, long time about this.

Most of all I'm happy for Grant because he finally has some one-on-one time with me. And it's so good!! I have found that when he has my undivided attention for even 30 minutes in the morning he is so helpful and cheerful the rest of the day (and if not. . . life is harder for both of us). And he finally knows his letters, his speech has improved leaps and bounds, and we have a good time!

So here's how we do things: Dad takes the kids to school at 7:30. Ammon wakes up at 6:00, so he is ready for a nap soon after the kids leave, and Grant and I have the next hour all to ourselves.
We clean up breakfast. Then we hop on the wii to do "just dance for kids" for some exercise. And then we do something fun/educational for about 30 minutes.

After our time together we clean, cook, run errands, etc. It is so functional!

So about Grant: He LOVES to help. Lately, if I am cooking, he gets his apron on and asks to help. He also likes to wash dishes and help me clean whatever room we are working on. I love it! His speech, as I said, has improved SO MUCH. We are working on "sh" and "ch" sounds right now, and I'm so proud of him!! He loves to dress up--especially as Darth Vader, Superman, and a pirate. He is just so very fun! Also, he LOVES the headlamp dad gave him for Christmas.

And Ammon. This year we will have a small family party to celebrate his first birthday. And every year after. . . sadly. . . if there is a birthday party, they will probably get to party together, as their birthdays are 9 days apart, and I'm just not sure I will every be up to planning 2 parties so close together. Even getting one in is a feat for me.

Ammon is my baby. He is so easy-going, wanting to get into everything, loving his big brothers and sister, just a good boy. He is almost ready to walk! He gets a lot of love and attention. Sometimes I wonder if the older kids feel jealous that he gets so much of me, but I think they adore him as much as I do. Today Madison was holding his hand and helping him walk around the house, and he just looked up at her with happy eyes. And it was SO CUTE to look over and see Grantee sharing his precious apple (seriously loves apples) with Ammon, and look at Ammon looking at Grant with awe! I just wish that the clock would slow down a little bit. I'm not ready for him to be a big boy! (Also, I have had a lot of people asking me if we are done. Like the ladies on Madison's soccer team. . . I think they have a morbid fascination with someone who already has FOUR kids and might possibly want more? Anyway, you know, when the baby turns one I start wondering too!)

I tell you what, it is a beautiful thing to be a mother and to see your children talk and play and help each other. Yes, there is fighting. And I certainly have my share of mom time-outs. But it IS wonderful!

The humans are all alive

Lost a fish this week. We tried adding two Cories to the tank (I'm hoping that they will somehow magically clean the bottom of the tank so that I don't have to, hahaha). One died the next morning and I had to be the one to get it out and flush. :( I named the other Cory "Dracula" because it is white, ugly, and has fangs. The gal at petsmart said it would die without a friend to school with. She had some tongue rings, so I guess she knows what she's talking about, and I am expecting the worst.

Logan and Madison had their first soccer games today. Madison made a goal. And touched the ball with her hands. Joe went to Logan's game (that was at the same time) and reported back that he did well (except when he kicked the ball towards the wrong goal). Having never played or even seen a soccer game, I think today went well. I expect much improvement over the next ten weeks. I will also take pictures.

Today we went for the hike I've been wanting to take for over a month. It was perfect outside. And it wasn't paved!! It's kind of odd to have to drive 30+ minutes and pay money in order to walk in nature--I grew up just crossing the street to take a walk in the woods. Joe carried Ammon in the backpack, Grant and I walked 5 minutes behind everyone else, and Logan and Madison spent the time running back and forth between Dad and Mom. Logan wore his soccer gear plus dress shoes (I guess he forgot his change of clothes). Madi wore a sweater and capris, and Grant wore his jacket upside down.  It was a lovely day. 

Thinking Thursday, and something truly frightful (but downright funny)

1. My brother Brent just got his mission call to somewhere is Brazil (never heard of the mission and can't remember what it is). 

2. Last night I put a pound of spinach in the lasagna. I was either finding a good way to get my kids to eat spinach, OR, I was ruining an entire pan of lasagna. Even Joe said it was good, so that means I have another way to hide veggies. Actually, my kids love veggies, just not spinach.

3. Signed the kids up for soccer, which means the next 10 weeks are booked--specifically Saturdays. After paying a good amount of money to register and to buy shoes, shin guards, socks, balls, and some sportsy clothes, I think we are good to go. Madi had her first practice Tues (I think she's going to do well) and Logan's is tonight.

4. Ammon is almost one!! He wants so badly to be a big kid (see pic below). He's close to walking, and he just figured out (not mastered) how to get down the stairs. In all fairness, he rarely wants to get down, but always wants to get up. 

4a. We've encouraged something naughty. . . when we say "no" he smiles and starts shaking his head. It's pretty cute, so we let him get away with telling us "no" and laugh instead. I see trouble in our future.

5. Grant and I have been working each morning on our letters and numbers. I know a lot of your children the same age already know these things--but he's baby number three, which means he is interested in other things, I have other things going on, and quite honestly I'm not overly worried about it--he's going to be in school for the next 13+ years of his life! OK, so I actually feel like a bad mom that he hasn't quite mastered writing his first name (among other things). But you know what? Logan knew all of his letters and numbers before Madison was born (at 21 months, so there). Anyway, my point is that Grant and I finally have time together to play games and learn, it is going well, and we are having fun. 

6. Since Joe started teaching seminary, he has been getting up at 4:30 a.m., which means I wake up at 4:30 a.m. (not to be confused with getting up). We don't go to bed early enough to avoid being tired during the day. But on Tuesday we went to bed at 9:00 and I didn't need a nap the next day! I'm actually considering getting up early and doing something constructive in the morning. It really would require getting to bed earlier, which is hard because when the kids go to bed I feel like I'm finally free. 

7. Truly frightening but funny at the same time: Madison took this picture a while ago (my crazy face). I laughed so hard when I saw it, and I have been debating whether or not I should show anyone. Because come on, it's FUNNY! But it's also kind of embarrassing. So I don't know how long I will leave this on here, and if you see it, please don't think any less of me, just laugh.

Little Moments Like That

Can't say this is the best picture of Grant, but the story behind it is pretty good. On Sunday morning he spent over half an hour insisting that he did not need help with his buttons. He finally, and proudly, walked into our bedroom and said, "Well that was easy." 

Dad helped him get the buttons right and then Grant tucked in his shirt. . . all the way into his underwear. 

Joe made me this Turkey four years ago when I was the Primary chorister, and we've been using it every November since then. Everyone gets a feather to write on during breakfast. It has been fun, funny, and sweet to see what everyone is thankful for. Today, for instance, Logan wrote "awsomness" (sic)--probably the one we laughed hardest at, Grant's was "Sheeps, cows, and animals." Madison wrote "Little Elm," Joe wrote "digital scripture tools" (new seminary teacher talking),  and mine was "sleep!"Some other favorites include "hot chocolate on rainy days" (Grant), "healing from sick" (Logan), "good friends" (Madi), and "Mommy" (Joe). I find myself thinking throughout the day about all the blessings we have. I love this time of year, and we truly have been greatly blessed by our Heavenly Father.

10:00 a.m.

Underwear

The last few months Grant has been doing a great job of getting himself dressed. The only problem? Everything is on backwards--jeans, shirts, shoes (on the wrong feet). I don't usually say anything but, "Way to go big boy!" Sure, we get a few funny looks when we go out in public, but if they have kids I know they understand.

Yesterday when Grant got dressed he came out laughing hysterically and talking about his underwear. I looked briefly and saw they were inside out and backwards and kind of bunched up, and then giggled with him for a minute and then told him to finish getting dressed. We went to see his speech teacher and then went to the lake for a picnic and impromptu swimming with some friends. I hadn't brought his swimming suit, but we had the lake all to ourselves, so I decided to strip him down to his undies and let him play in the water like that. That was when I noticed that he had actually put on TWO pairs of underwear (which must have been what he thought was so funny earlier in the morning). Well, it worked out perfectly--he had dry underwear to change into when we went home. Two of the other kids just decided to play in the lake naked, leaving only one child with real swimming attire. I wish I had brought the camera because it was cute to watch all these naked kiddos running around and playing at the lake (from a distance, obviously, I'm really not a pervert).  It all seemed very old-fashioned and natural. Good thing we are the only people in the area who think it is acceptable to swim in 80 degree weather!

Grant remembered the hilarity of it all today when he got dressed and put on FIVE pairs of underwear. The first time he went to the bathroom he decided that was not such a good plan and left the extra FOUR pairs on the floor. The pair he left on? Well, as soon as Logan came home he announced to everyone, "Guess what? I wore Logan's underwear today." Good thing Logan is a good sport. 

a week in review

a little crawl

a push-up or two

and now I will sit down for you!

Sadly, I never got the gorilla/tri-pod I'm-sitting-but-gonna'-fall-over picture. :( Seriously, I can't keep up with the boy! He's also been awesome about taking a long nap for me after lunch--the same time Grant does. It's wonderful.

Ammon is entertaining himself for longer periods of time. Today he crawled/scooted all over the bedroom for an hour looking for things to gnaw on. The kids have been pretty good at keep little toys off of the floor. . . although he did get hold of a Star Wars coloring book and chewed the cover off.

I should mention that last Sunday Joe took Grant to the E.R. for a smashed finger. It looked really bad, and we'd had some experience with smashed fingers (Madi smashed hers off), so we decided to be safe. They took some x-rays and said he was fine. . . and we felt kind of dumb because by the time we got home it was looking a ton better. It still looks bad. . . his fingernail will definitely fall off, and an inch of his finger is horribly bruised and scabbed over, but not E.R. worthy, for sure. He did, for the first time in his life, ask for a band-aid. Ah well. I'm trying not to think about it.

What else. . . do you want to help me come up with ideas for the fire mantel? We had fire places in the last 2 places we've lived, and I thought we did ok, but this one has a curved recessed area above the fire place, and I hate it! Even if I could fit a small picture/mirror in there I wouldn't want to because I think it looks dumb. Every other room in the house looks somewhat put together and ok, but I have been avoiding this room because of the lack of furniture and the fire mantel! So right now the whole room looks crummy, but I am itching to get it put together because I want to pull out my fall decorations (like the one on the left of the mantel in the pic). I need help!!

*I think Grant got the camera and smudged the lens because all of the pictures are coming out blurry. Or it could be because I spent 30 minutes pushing buttons on the camera and wondering just what those buttons did. . .and now I don't know how to undo everything. Oops. Also, do you see how you can see Ammon's reflection on the floor. . .pretty cool. Maybe my floor is cleaner than I thought. ;)

As Promised

Back to school pics plus some. . .

Let's see: Grandma and Grandpa got Madi this outfit for her birthday. The shirt came with a super cute scarf that I thought we should tie in her hair, but she flat out refused, which surprised me because last year she begged me to buy her scarves. I bought her some cute sneaks, but without her, and they ended up being too big. She'll grow into them, right? So anyway, we compromised by sending her old sneaks in the backpack and wearing these adorable sandals that I would wear if they fit. I'm pretty sure she changed into the old ratty sneakers as soon as she got to school. She's persistent, I guess, and I've decided to save our fights for more important things.

I got Logan some back to school clothes, but found this snazzy cross-country shirt at a Salvation Army for $0.50. I thought it looked cool (plus I ran cross country for 6 years and haven't run a mile since). . . kind of like something from American Eagle, not that my 7-year old boy needs to be wearing stuff from American Eagle. Anyway, I bought him other new shirts, including one that had Yoda and one that had Spiderman (which I would never love, but thought he would), so I was actually really surprised that this was the outfit he chose to wear on the first day of school. He's cool like that.

And Grantee? Well he picked out his clothes too. Stripes and plaid. We didn't go anywhere today; we just stayed home and played together and cleaned up a few rooms. So I let him wear this all day. Hey--I'm cool like that (yesterday I let him wear his church pants backwards at church. OK, really I didn't notice that he'd put them on backwards until the middle of sacrament meeting and then decided to leave them. . . his teachers understand, right?!). Also, he got a little teary-eyed when Logan and Madi climbed into the back of Daddy's car, but then we went inside and life went on. . . although even I found myself thinking a few times that the house was a little too quiet.

I think everyone had a good day at school. Logan loves his teacher, Madison loves hers. Logan says second grade is "way too easy." They rode the bus home together and I called when it was taking too long to arrive to make sure that they weren't lost somewhere wondering where I was. Call me paranoid. Then I had a good long chat with the bus driver because I was MAD when she dropped the kids off on the wrong bus stop without an adult there to pick them up. . . something that the bus company reassured me (that morning) would not happen when I told them I was worried that the kids would not recognize the new neighborhood we lived in. I am lucky (and the bus company is very lucky) that I noticed 2 kids wearing bright yellow and bright pink walking in the distance. Seriously, what was that bus driver thinking? I kept trying to get them to tell me about their day, they kept asking me if they could play on the computer. The supper table conversation was a little more entertaining than usual, though. All in all, it was a good day.

I think Madi took this picture of Grant. I certainly wouldn't have taken one showing how messy her room was. But oh well. This is reality. :) The problem is that her room is too cool, and even when she's not around, all Grant wants to do is play in there. Not a good idea when Madison is in school.

And here is Madi talking on the phone. Cute girl, cute dress, although I was thinking that I should probably stop buying things for her that I would like to wear. Oh, and notice my treadmill not set up in the background. Yeah. . . working on that.

Where is Ammon? For the first time in a very long time he took two very long and much needed naps, one of which was after lunch and during Grant's naptime (which we still struggled with). I think by the end of the week I should have these boys re-trained. Yay!

30 minutes of after-school social skills

Logan (7): plays tag, Star Wars/Transformers, jumps off of the swing

Madison (5): walks around holding hands with her friend, hugs every friend and teacher who leaves the school

Grant (3): swings, goes down the slide, runs 10 feet behind Logan and his friends

Ammon (7 weeks): sits in the stroller, looks around, breathes deeply every time a gust of wind blows in his face, looks pretty darn cute

*note: Logan, who is reading this over my shoulder, says, "Looks pretty dam(n) cute." Had to show him that it's daRn, and that the other word is actually a bad word.

Four Weeks??!!

Seriously, where does the time go?

A few things about Ammon at 4 weeks:

• He's a baby. He cries sometimes.
• But, luckily, we've always been able to soothe him by holding him and
• He loves his pacifier. What a blessing!
• He's a pretty good napper.
• He just started sleeping pretty well in his crib.
• He will sleep about 5-6 hours at night, eat, and go back to sleep.
• If I need him to nap, I buckle him in the car seat, set him on top of the dryer, and turn it on. Wah-lah. It's magic.
• Instead of blow-outs, Ammon leaves little poops for me pretty much every diaper change. I'll take it. :)
• He can sleep through anything. In fact, I'm pretty sure that kids playing, vacuums running, and loud noises in general are his thing.
• He's the first of my babies that hasn't had a major pimple break-out. Knock on wood.
• He likes tummy-time more than my other kids did. Maybe because when he gets tired of it he just sets his big head to the side and the rest of his body rolls over. Or he's just the smartest baby ever, right? ;)
• He's got some big brothers and a big sister who adore him.
• Ammon was blessed 2 Sundays ago. Both Joe's parents and my parents were able to come, which was so wonderful! What stuck out: He is going to be a peacemaker in our family, a good example to his brothers and sisters, and he will live his life as a missionary. This last part really stuck out to me, because he has already become a missionary! We have found, and my parents have also commented, that people have never heard of the name "Ammon." We've had many ask us where it came from, and I know that Ammon is going to be explaining his name for the rest of his life. I hope he doesn't mind. :)

And the other kids?

• I just finalized this: Logan and Madison will be attending the Watson Science and Technology Center next year. We received a letter in the mail last fall telling us that Logan's grades and test scores qualified him for the Tech. and Classical schools in Dallas. I went to a meeting to see what it was all about and decided that if Madison could get in then we would send them both to the S&T Center. She went through 2 rounds of testing and was also accepted. What does this mean? Well, besides riding a bus, wearing uniforms, and doing extra homework, they will be in a pretty awesome school program. I'm a little nervous because I've enjoyed having them so close to home, but I think in the long run this will be a great thing for them.
• Logan just finished the 3rd Harry Potter. He's 7. I don't know how I feel about this. He understands it and really likes the series. As an English teacher (well, I have the degree), I never thought I would be for book censoring, but I just don't know that he is old enough to read Harry Potter. We told him he could watch the movies after he read the books, but he will have to wait with movie #4 because it is pg-13. Any thoughts on this topic?
• Madison is such a cute girl. She is just getting into the social scene. She and her little friends have been sending each other cute pictures with notes that go something like this, "Der Vivi, You are my best frend. Lov, Madi."
• Grant failed his last hearing test (he can hear fine, but this one sent tiny air-waves or something, that got stuck in his ear canal and didn't bounce back??? Something like that--it has to do with pressure in his ear). The last test he had he also had pressure in his ears, so now he's on an anti-biotic and allergy medicine to see if that clears it up, but if it doesn't clear up by his next visit then we will talk about what to do next. I am hopeful that this will help to improve his speech even more.

Grant speaks!

I think he's so cute! Of course, when I hear other 3 year olds talk, I realize that he sounds/talks more like a barely 2 year old--but he has made so much progress over the last 5 months with his speech teacher. Turning 3 means he no longer qualifies for ECI (early childhood intervention).

But... he got tested at the school district... and he is in the bottom 7% for speech (although he is over 100 for communication, which is wonderful). This means that he qualifies to start speech with the school speech pathologist every week. I know... 7% sounds horrible, right? It is probably the only time in my life that I will be happy that my child scored so low... had he been any higher he would not have qualified. Needless to say, we are thrilled!

He starts speech with his new teacher, Miss Sarah, on Friday.

#3 turns 3

Picture taken by Ashlee Jenks

Why it's nice to be the third child:

• You always have friends.
• Parents know a little bit more about parenting.
• You know how to do "Eenie Meenie Miny Moe."
• You know all about Star Wars and Transformers.
• You get more attention than the older kids.
• You get to play with all the older kids at the playground.
• You are pretty dang tough.
• You have more unsupervised play time.
• Mom lets you eat more sugar than the other kids got to eat.
• You get to watch movies that other 2 year olds don't get to watch.
• You get mom all to yourself when brother and sis go to school.
• You have so many people to love you, take care of you, and talk for you.

Why it's not so nice to be the third child:

• You have to share. Everything.
• Fewer pictures.
• You learn phrases like, "You're not the boss" when you are 2.
• You also learn that you should always, always blame it on someone else--who no doubt "did it first."
• You have more unsupervised play time.
• Other parents might think you live in a very violent household because you want to play Star Wars with the other 2-year olds; everything is a light saber. Or a gun.
• You have to watch everyone go to school and other fun activities. You still have to take a nap.
• You don't have friends over that are your age unless Mom is babysitting.
• You don't get a birthday party. Or a nice cake. Luckily, you don't care. Yet.

Well, these are just a few things, off the top of my head. Maybe I will continue to add to this list as I think more about it.

Grant, we LOVE you! Madison and Logan have been waiting for you to open their presents for weeks. They woke you up early this morning so you could see the 15 balloons scattered across the floor (which you have all popped by squeezing them to death). They couldn't believe we were making you wait until after church to open presents (because Dad had early morning meetings). The most heartfelt gift was Logan's gift to you: a stick.... I mean, a Harry Potter magic wand. He made sure it had a notch in just the right spot, he wrapped it for you himself, and then he taught you how to hold it. You thought it was awesome.

We took chocolate cupcakes to nursery for your friends (probably to your teacher's dismay). Mom had a crazy moment that made dad worry. She only made you half a cake because she didn't think we needed any more sugar (the other half was made into the cupcakes). She was too tired to do anything fancy.... well actually, your mom just isn't that talented or fancy to begin with. She did, however, let you decide where to put your candles. Logan and Madison thought it was sad that you didn't have a cool cake, so they got some Star Wars characters, washed them, and stuck them in the cake (they asked you if you wanted Transformers or Star Wars--you chose Star Wars). When mom went to put the cake on the table, they had all fallen over and looked quite dead. Madison came to see what all the noise was about and stuck the people in very deep so they wouldn't fall over again. Mom laughed hysterically for about 3 minutes, which turned into tears. You said, "Mom, you crying?" She then actually burst into tears and had to leave for a few minutes to save face.



Being the third child is wonderful in many ways, and hard too. Hopefully next year I am up to doing a little bit more for your birthday. But I don't think you minded today. In fact, you had a very good day. I think that Madison and Logan sang you "Happy Birthday" about 20 times just today.... that's not including the many, many times they have been practicing and getting you ready over the past several weeks. When we asked you why you got to open presents, you would say, "Because I'm good?" And you are! We can't wait to see how you grow and progress this next year. I know you will be a wonderful big brother!

Grant finds success!

I have just been overwhelmed with gratitude and love for this little guy these past few days. As you know, we have been concerned about his (lack of) communication skills. When I finally took him to the dr. and requested some outside help, I also expressed my frustration with not being able to potty-train Grant. The pediatrician explained that communication and toilet skills have some sort of connections; children who are not able to communicate well tend to take longer to be potty-trained. I have had to explain this to myself, family, and friends when I feel like I need something to blame for Grant not being potty-trained before the age of 2 like my other kids were.

These past few weeks have just been amazing! I don't know if the speech pathologist is doing it, if I am finally figuring out how to help Grant, or if he just needed a little longer to get things going, but he is making daily progress on his ability to communicate! We have really been working on end sounds like "d," "t," "p," and "s." As he has started to master this a little more (with many reminders, and an emphasis on the wrong syllable), he has also begun to use consonants at the beginning of words. He is willing and wanting to say words over and over until he gets it out--and then there is cheering and celebrating from the whole family. Some of his newly mastered (and most exciting) words include "DadDY," "MaDI," and "potTY."

And speaking of potty: about 2-3 weeks ago, right before Thanksgiving, Grant started showing signs of wanting to be potty-trained. He would take off his diaper if it was wet, he would pull out his potty-chair and sit on it for a few minutes at a time, and he would tell us if he went poop. I decided we would try to train him (a third time) after Thanksgiving. Well, last week came and went. Then yesterday, Tuesday, as Joe was leaving for work and to drop the kids off at school, Grant said his diaper was falling off, and I asked him if he wanted to go potty on his chair. He said yes, so we dropped our plans for the day and decided to potty-train.

Today is day #2--and with no accidents! He has woken up with a dry diaper after all naps and even after a night of sleep! We went to story-time (we were gone for 1 1/2 hrs) and he came home and immediately went to the bathroom. He tells me when he goes, asks to dump the pee in the toilet, and reminds me that he gets 5 m&m's. I think he gets it! Tomorrow we will try wearing underwear at home (he's just been running around naked--and his speech teacher comes tomorrow, so that won't work!) and see how that goes. We still haven't had a chance for #2, so if he makes it through the night we should be able to see how that goes tomorrow. Logan and Madison have been a great support (although it is much easier for Grant to concentrate when they are away). They are so excited for him, and have made a "potty-dance" along with a cheer that they perform for him every time he goes. Watching them love and care for him help me to feel the wonderfulness and beauty of being a family.

(On a side note, the other day we had a great conversation about jealousy. Both Madison and Logan admitted that they sometimes feel jealous when we go places--store/library/etc-- because people are always saying how cute Grant is, asking how old he is, wanting to give him five, etc. We talked about the new baby and how Grant might be jealous because everyone always wants to see/touch/talk about little babies. While I'm not sure how to balance it (there's really no way to, is there?), I think the secret is to spend lots of quality time with each child individually so that they know they are loved and can trust us enough to tell us how they are feeling and what is going on. It was a really good and down-to-earth conversation. )

While I am excited for me, I am even more excited for Grant. He is trying so hard to talk and communicate and now go to the bathroom and he is doing it! I imagine that our Heavenly Father is up there cheering and feeling the same happiness when we begin to accomplish or conquer something that has been challenging us.