Mad Libs

making out their Christmas wish list with Daddy

No.  It seems that Drew's favorite word is No.  He doesn't say it in a defiant, mean sort of way.  It's more like a sweet, "look at me I'm cute and no really, I'm not done eating" sort of way.  And it's funny.  If he doesn't understand the question, he will automatically say no. 

Drew, do you want a million dollars? 

Noooooo.

Do you want to go to Disney World?
Nooooo.

Do you like Daddy better than Mommy?

Nooooo.  (Well, I think he might understand that one)

Drew, do you want your milk

Yay!

Nashville Zoo, 10/10

Excuse me.  How many 20 month olds do you know with manners?  Whenever he burps, toots, sneezes or coughs, he says "mew me".  And you can't get away with anything when he's around.  If you just so much as burp under your breath, he may not even look up from what he is doing, but he will calmly excuse your behavior.

Thanksgiving

Interpreter. It's so funny how Grant understands Drew.  I can remember when Grant was this age.  I would proudly interpret his gibberish. I spent more time with him than anybody else so I naturally could understand him better.  Now, Grant will interpret Drew's gibberish, gestures or cries.  And 9 times out of 10 he is right.  The funniest thing is when Grant uses his pretend voice to tell us what Drew is trying to say and it's even funnier when he explains what he his thinking.

my interpreter

Cupcakes.  He can spot 'tuptakes' from a mile away.  Often times, I am busy making cupcakes while he is napping, and by the time he wakes up, I usually haven't had time to hide the evidence.  So needless to say, he is very familiar with the term and he has them for snack more times than I care to admit.

licking the spatula

I did it.  He has figured out how to climb up on the couch in the bonus room.  With the help of a hot wheels storage box, he climbs up on the couch like a big boy and says "ah did it!"

 



Thanksgiving.  Just a recap.  Thanksgiving was completely uneventful.  Just the way I like it.  Everything to be thankful for.  Period.

Buzz, Strep, and a Big Gulp

Halloween continues to be one of my favorite holidays.  It's just fun and relaxed.   There's no special menu to plan.  I don't have to stress about the house being perfectly clean.  We just throw a pot of chili on and have our families over to see the kids get dressed up.

This year was a little more hectic than usual.  First, I realized on Halloween day that we forgot to carve the pumpkin.  Second, I had promised Grant that we would make his selection of Halloween cupcakes.  What did he choose?  ...the haunted cupcake tower.  Lastly, well, Grant wasn't feeling so great for about half of the day.  AND we still needed to do laundry and pick up the house, at least a little bit .

After some Motrin and a snack, Grant and I got the pumpkin carved, although I'm still kicking myself for not getting a picture of it. And we ended up having a great time making the cupcake tower. Danny cooked the chili and helped me pick up the house.

After the chili was consumed, we got the kids ready and headed out for some treats.  Oh wait!  I DID get a picture of the pumpkin.  (Sorry Peyton, I cut off your head, but I couldn't see you in your scary costume!)

Buzz Lightyear, dalmation puppy and the Grim Reaper

Drew learned a new word, "chotlet."  And this would be the last picture of Grant with all of his baby teeth.



The next morning he woke up crying and still not feeling well so he got to play hooky from school.  I spent half the day in denial that he was fighting anything more than a little virus.  Then broke down and took him to the clinic after lunch.  Poor guy.  He had strep throat. 

Disclaimer to all of our neighbors:  Please accept my sincere apologies to those whose candy bowls Grant stuck his hand in on Halloween.  I had no idea!

That night, still feeling awful, we left Grant to munch on his dinner in front of the TV.  After a few minutes we heard a-- "um, I think I lost my tooth."  I rushed in there to try and help him find it, and then he clarified-- "I think I just gulped it."

Grant lost his very first tooth, literally.  Luckily (I guess), he was too busy feeling awful to worry or think about it.  I told him I would leave the tooth fairy a note.  He went to bed and then I slipped the note in his room along with five dollars in QUARTERS. 

This misfortunate tooth fairy didn't have a dollar in her entire haunted "castle."

18 Months

Dear Drew,

You can slow down now.  You are growing a little too quickly.  Somehow, you are already 18 months old.

You are running, and climbing, and sliding down the slide by yourself.

Your one syllable words have turned into two word sentences like "weh mommy?" and "awnt up."  You are fascinated by letters and insist on us telling you the letters on the pages of books instead of actually reading the book.  You know the letter O, P, and S and we're pretty sure you know others, but they all kind of start to sound the same after that. 

Your favorite shows are Super Why and Mickey Mouse.  No, we don't let you watch a lot of TV, but when mommy needs to get things done your favorite shows will keep you occupied.  Thank you, by the way, for skipping the whole Wiggles and Barney phase.  We had enough dancing men with pointing fingers and purple dinosaurs with your brother.

Speaking of  your brother, I love to watch you chase him around the house.  You giggle at his crazy antics and then calmly push him out of the way when you've had enough.  I know you adore him though and he loves you more than you know. 

I'm probably not supposed to think of you as perfect, but you just are.  You are sweet and adorable and still have that baby smell.  You do what I ask you to and have yet to throw a tantrum.  If I could, I would hit the pause button and just put you on hold for at least a few more months.

As much as I want you to stop growing up so fast, I am thrilled to know that the best is yet to come. 

First (Second) Day of School

I anticipated Grant's first day of school for many weeks.  We opened a door on his calendar each day.  I repeatedly talked about his new routine with him.  The night before we got his back pack ready and laid out his clothes. 

I put him to bed by 8:00, but after brushing his teeth and reading a book, he complained that his belly hurt.  I was pretty sure it was just nerves getting the best of him.  Minutes later, he was doubled over in bed crying.  I began to fear that this whole kindergarten thing is going to be alot harder than I had anticipated. 

I finally got him settled down and said good night.  About 20 minutes later, I heard him coughing.  I ran to check on him.  Kindergarten nerves had definitely not gotten the best of him.  A stomach bug did.

And so it goes Grant missed his first first day of school.  It was Tuesday, and his next half day fell on Friday.  So by Friday, his official first day of school was uneventful.  There was no crying.  There was no worrying.  There was no second guessing.

My Facebook status would read... "Grant did excellent for his first day of school.  Mommy did too."

I am so proud of him.  He's actually said several times that he loves it.   He did shed some tears on day seven, but I think it had more to do with missing Daddy than going to school. 

He's officially a Kindergartener.

Separation Anxiety

Next week Grant will start Kindergarten. 

I've been thinking a lot lately about what a change it will be for both him and I.  We've probably spent more time together over the past 5 & 1/2 years than anyone else in our family.  From those late night feedings as an infant, to countless hours of building train tracks and playing tackle with him as a toddler, to weekly trips to Target just to get out of the house.  Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Together.  Basically, we've been best friends as well as mother and son. 

After this week, most of his waking time will be spent outside of the home, away from me.  I'm not sad that my baby is leaving my side.  I'm more concerned about what he will be exposed to. Will he make friends? Will he talk to his teacher?

I'm excited that he will be challenged academically as well as socially. Much of his day currently consists of him asking if he can watch TV or play X-Box.  Recently, it's all I can do to get him to color a picture or read a book to me.   As many kindergartners will be learning letter sounds and how to read, Grant will be adjusting to being away from home for 7 hours a day five days a week. 

The question remains-- Who will have the hardest time coming to terms with our impending separation?  Me or him? 

I'm betting on Grant.

But hoping (in that best friend/motherly sort of way)

that it will be me.

More Firsts

Over the past couple of weeks Drew has had many more firsts.

He finished his first week of swim school.. He did more crying than swimming, but only because mommy wasn't in the pool with him.

He had his first (and please God, only) surgery, tubes in his ears.  The surgery lasted literally 5 minutes.  The hardest part was keeping him preoccupied from food for the two hours we had to wait until they took him back.  He woke up fairly happy from the anesthesia, and we were home by 9:30am.

He's learned new animal sounds. Braloo for elephant, roar for lion, and buzz for bee.  I know.  What's the big deal?  Well, it's the cutest thing ever.

He goes around the house like baby Stewie from Family Guy saying "Mommy. Mommy, Mommy.  Mommy.  Mommy. Mommy.  Mommy.  Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy.  Mommy.  Hi."

His newest words/sayings are "hot', "tractor", "caterpillar", and "I get you."  He doesn't actually pronounce the latter two, but from his tone and syllables you can make it out.

And he now has an affirmative response for questions you ask him....

Me-  Drew, do you want to go outside and swing?

Drew- YAY!

Me-  Drew, Do you want a snack? 

Drew- YAY!

And what is definitely the MOST sweetest thing ever.... when Danny or I pick him up to hold him, Drew will pat our chest and say a perfectly clear ...

MINE!

The best day ever

10 years ago Danny and I went on vacation to Hilton Head Island. We were still newlyweds and ventured away from our typical Florida vacation for a chance to see a little bit of the east coast.

I must confess. I don't remember many details about the trip. I remember the moss covered towering trees, the lack of high rises, and I remember it being one of the busiest beaches I had ever seen.

On the other hand, Danny has an incredible memory of that vacation. He remembers restaurants where we ate, the plantation where we stayed, and the fireworks show at Harbour Island. He swears he remembers all of our dates. I'm not too sure.

Flash forward 10 years later.... Threats of oil covered beaches in Destin made us make a last minute decision to head once again to the Atlantic Ocean. We were back, plus two little boys, my parents, Danny's parents, Dale, Becca and one fabulous house with a private pool.

Vacationing is much different now with a one year old plus a five year old in tow, but thanks to grandparents and Drew's daily 3 hour nap, Danny and I were able to get plenty enough down time.

The first couple of days Drew had his moments trying to figure out the sand and his new schedule. As it turns out, he loved the ocean as well as sand covered goldfish.  Grant pretty much stayed in the water non-stop only to get out periodically to pee or eat an ice cream sandwich.  He was quoted numerous time saying "this is the best day ever!"  On the second day, he got crushed by a wave on his boogie board and suffered a pretty bad strawberry on his head, but he was back in the water in no time. By Thursday Grant was "all done with vacation," and Drew was just getting started.

I wonder what details I will remember about this trip ten years from now.....

I'll remember our visit to Harbor Island-- Grant and Danny climbing the 114 stairs to get to the top of the lighthouse, snacking on ice cream cones with the whole family, and the trolley ride with Drew squirming in my lap.

 

I'll remember Drew skinning dipping in the swimming pool.

 and Grant perfecting his cannon ball.









And I'll remember the feeling I felt wondering with Danny one night at dinner (at Alexander's!) if it would be another 10 years before we go back to Hilton Head.... Grant would be 15. Drew would be 11. I would be....well, let's just not go there.


We never made it down to the beach for some nice family pictures so the back yard had to do.  After snapping a some shots, Dale asked if we wanted some pictures of just the two of us.  No, I said.  There's not just two of us anymore.  There's four of us now.

14 Months

Drew has learned lots of new tricks recently. 

Now that he is one year old, he thinks he's two years old or something.  He can walk.  He can talk.  AND he thinks he is the first born of the houshold. 

Since the past couple of weeks he has started to take more and more steps.  But just since this weekend he is a full blown TODDLER.  He's walking around the house like he own's the place. 

He is learning to feed himself and do various tricks with his utensils and food.

And all of the sudden he has a vocabulary.   He says,

     mama

     dada

     bubba

     ball

     uh oh

     dah (dog)

     ball

     mih  (milk)

     nana

     bye-bye

     puh (puff)

     cah (car)

     dah du  (thank you)

     And assorted animal noises for horse, cow, dog, cat, sheep, and fish. 

He uses his baby signs for all done, night-night, eat,  more and fan (yes, he's currently facinated with the ceiling fans). And he's even invented his own sign for whatever it is he wants by waving his arm and saying "uuuuuhhhhhhhuuuuuhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!"

His favorite things to do include unloading the kitchen cabinets......

Taking a bath....

And his VERY favorite thing is swinging in his new backyard swing....

Something I haven't figured out though is his jealousy of Grant.  Since bringing Drew into the world I've worried about Grant coping with consequences of having to learn to share his time with us with his younger brother.  It never occured to me though that my baby boy would be jealous of big brother.  When Grant wants to cuddle up with a book or he's crying from hurting himself, Drew will bust up the snuggling with a push and a shove and his classic "uuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh!!

Grant on the other hand loves to try and cuddle with Drew, give him zerberts, or pats on the head.  Go figure.

I Heart T-ball

With the help of many volunteers and appoved funding by the county, most of our Little Leauge fields are back in business after the flood, and Grant's remaining T-ball game have been rescheduled. 

Thank goodness because the San Diego Padres were getting better and better every game.  I'm so proud of Grant and how excited he is to play every game.  While some kids are dumping dirt on their heads or picking dandelions in the outfield, Grant finds his spot, draws an "X" in the dirt with his cleats, and stands there baseball ready every game.

 

It's always easy for me to tell which one he is on the field because he's the only 5 year old sporting sunglasses.  My man is serious about watching that ball.
 

How exciting it is to see him grow into the little boy that he is. His likes (dessert, fresh pineapple and XBOX) and dislikes (dinner and anything to drink other than milk or apple juice). His desires (to go to the beach and play XBOX as much as he wanted to) and thoughts ("I just looked at how many there were and my brain just knew that there were seven"). On some days I feel like he is still my baby, and other days he seems so grown up and mature.

I might 'heart' T-ball, but I'm totally in love with Grant.  I can't wait to see the little baseball player he becomes (and if he will ever drink a Sprite).

The 1000 Year Flood

It's safe to say that's one title I never thought I would write.

The Saturday before last Danny took Grant to Opry Mills for some Glow Golf and arcade games. I decided I'd let them have a father/son day by themselves. I took Drew with me to run some errands. Rain and thunderstorms were forcasted all weekend so we were desperate to get out of the house for at least part of the weekend.

Drew spiked a fever as I kept an eye on the news watching out for tornado warnings. Luckily, Drew took a good nap, and the tornado warnings never came. It just rained and rained and rained.

It stopped raining Saturday night. And we had a peaceful night until Drew woke us up at 3:30am crying. After a little ibuprofen and a drink of milk he went back to bed easily only to wake up screaming at 4:15. This time he was unconsolable requiring a little help from Daddy and a breath of fresh air from outside. He reluctantly put himself back to sleep around 5:30am. It began raining again soon after that.

And raining. And raining. Sometimes it was simply a steady rain. At other times it was a torrential downpour. By Sunday night it would rain 13 inches in two days and would break the all time rainfall record for May. It was only May 2nd.

Danny spent most of the day Sunday helping his Dad shop vac the water out of his basement at a speed of 12 gallons per 1.5 minutes. I spent the day consoling Drew and gawking at the images of rising water on the news and postings from friends and family via facebook and email.

At 8pm Gaylord Opryland officials ordered the evacuation of the Opryland hotel. I remember thinking, really? They think the river is going to go into the hotel? Just 6 hours later hotel, indeed, would be filling with water.



Opryland, Pennington Bend, Downtown 1st Avenue, and Bellvue suffered the most with thousands of homes and businesses under water. Danny's 85 year old grandmother, has lived on Pennington Bend for about 50 years I guess. After numerous requests from her children to leave and stay the night with one of them, she declined. In her own words, "I don't have anywhere I need to be until Tomorrow." The water stopped just shy of her house and she later declared, "See. I told you it wasn't going to get my house."

Our home was blessed to hardly be affected at all by the water.  It caused a massive bubble in our sod which Danny took care of with a shovel and Grant's T-ball games have been cancelled due to the extensive damage to the fields.  I managed to get Drew to the pediatrician on Monday with no trouble. His ears checked out fine, and his doctor thought he might have had a mild case of hand, foot and mouth disease.

The flood pictures on Monday as the river crested were truly surreal. It was the kind of stuff you only see on TV. Except they didn't really show it on TV. The national news that is. Apparently, they gave us a few minutes here and there, but there wasn't enough looting keep anybody's attention. But it's amazing to see what has already been done on the road to recovery for Nashville all largely done by the help of neighbors and volunteers.

I guess they don't call us the Volunteer State for nothing. There's a long road ahead, but obviously, Nashville will be fine and better than ever.  National coverage or not.

I am a horrible mother

I let my baby boy eat a McDonald's hamburger.   Better him than me though.  Right?

Actually it was leftover from Grant.  Tell me, how can you turn down that precious little smile?

He didn't eat much of it.  He had already filled up on cheese and mandarin oranges.   After a couple of bites this is what he did to it. 

Birthday Bear

We were trying a picture of everyone with Drew and his cake at his first birthday party.   But he had another idea.... he decided he would go ahead and sample his B-day cake.  As Danny and Dale were trying to snap a picture, Drew was snapping a cupcake. 

He nearly ate the whole thing.  And at one point he had so much icing on his nose, I was worried that he couldn't breathe.  He didn't care though.  He kept eating and eating.  He probably would've eaten another one if I had given him one. 

Who cares about presents when you have 3 Great Grandmothers and 2 Grandmothers at  your party?  (also 2 grandads, not pictured) :-)

First birthday party is officially in the books.

The vacation that almost never was

A few days before Danny left for San Francisco we were contemplating cancelling our weekend getaway to Napa Valley.  Maybe it was him not wanting to leave his boys for a few added days or not wanting to leave his very new sod unattended.   Or maybe it was me.  I was feeling quite anxious.  Not about leaving the boys for a couple of days, but about all the things I had to get done before I got on the plane.... appointments, errands, laundry, clean, and pack all by myself. 

Well, in the end, we decided to go for it.  And a rough couple of days led to one wonderful, much needed vacation. 

Schedules, chores, and rain were exchanged for leisure, good wine, and the warm California sunshine.  Our itinerary each day was pretty much deciding what wineries we wanted to visit and what resuraunt we should try for dinner. 

Anxiety gone.