Enough said...

The beginning of hoarding...?  Nope, just a 3 year old boy's car collection! 

GRADY'S FAVORITE THINGS, as of June 2010...

Grady, you have many favorite things but I thought I'd list a few of them so when you are 25 we can look back and laugh and talk about them together! 

Favorite color:  BLUE... and nobody else can like it also, Ms. Stephie has told me that there have been a few incidents where she will look over while you all are coloring and you will have collected all the blue crayons so that you are the only one who can have them. (Orange is your second favorite)
 
Favorite foods:  PIZZA and close runner ups are spaghetti, strawberries, ice cream -- you always say you want pepperoni but then you make me peel them off -- you also love all veggies, fruit, meat, pasta, breads, etc.  You are not a big fan of melted cheese like on grilled cheese (but you have no idea there is melted cheese on pizza and neither of us have the heart to break that news to you...)... weird huh!  Food has never been an issue for you... lucky mom and dad!!! 

Favorite toys:  still Lightning McQueen stuff but you also love your animals, train stuff, books and more recently Woody and Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story 

Favorite Movie:  Cars... obsession ... but also love Toy Story(all 3) and Jungle Book

Favorite TV Shows:   Sports and Nature... seriously.... baseball is your favorite but you also like plenty of kids shows such as Chuggington, Handy Manny, Diego and Imagination Movers

Favorite Sayings:  "I think that..." , "That's a good idea..." , "Uhm..." , What's your favorite..." , "Uh, no" , "Can I..." , "You little stinker..." and "I need to go____"  "Stop that..."  --- You have developed quite a vocabulary and often times say more than you should and talk back to Mommy and Daddy.  I sometimes have a hard time not laughing because you have a great sense of humor and understand way more than your years!

Favorite Activities:  playing with your cars, animals, doing puzzles, reading books, playing with your tools and tool bench, playing with your Thomas train set (you want the tracks just so and if they mess up you freak and destroy all of it... Can we say Type-A?), coloring, painting, Skyping with Mimi and Papa, swimming, playing outside in sandbox or at the playground, riding your tricycle, scooter or bike, helping Mommy cook, and playing with your sports stuff -- golf, baseball, soccer

Favorite Animal:    Elephant and you like lions too -- you love going to the zoo and you like to tell us facts you learn about all the animals.  For example.. "Elephants are the biggest land animal and they eat peanuts with their trunks!"

Favorite Books:   Bernstein Bears, any trucks books with facts, and animal fact books

Favorite Room:   playroom upstairs -- you love going up to play by yourself like a big-boy

Favorite Friends:   Brody is your best bud and you also love Jackson, Sophia, Ava, and Kate at Mrs. Stephie's house.  You are constantly going up to other kids and wanting to play with them... not a shy bone in your body!  You also say that Daddy is your best friend... that melts my heart!  

Favorite Clothes:  "comfy shorts" which just means they have an elastic waist and Lightning McQueen Crocs (Uncle Craig and Isabel gave these to you) you are very particular about the shirts you wear now -- I let you pick 95% of the time and Daddy dresses you most days.  If I put you in something you don't like, you tell me that "it hurts" and you try to pull it off.  You also don't like it when I put gel in your hair... you say, "Don't make it spiky Mommy" 

Grady William we love you very much and LOVE getting to know you more and more each and every day!!!        

GOOD FRIENDS

So I am having some trouble figuring out how to add more than 5 pictures to each post so this one is in parts.... not sure why but this is all new to me as I just started writing this blog last week.  I started it up after seeing some really cute ones and deciding that this would be a good way to document our life for Grady and use as a scrapbook... thanks for the idea Michelle(who has a wonderful blog that I would link but don't know how!)  Ha! Yet....

Anyway, here are some pictures from Saturday at the pool and Sunday at the Vaughns' for dinner and play-time!  Brody is Grady's best buddy from "school"... AKA his wonderful babysitter Stephanie's house.  Both boys and Kate are there together during the school year.   

Playing with the cool Toy Story "Stretch" Octopus' that Michelle bought for both boys... so sweet!

The boys decided to dress up as Spiderman and Buzz Lightyear and had a great time riding around on the motorcycle saving something... not real sure what... 

 

Thanks for having us over and we can't wait to do it again soon! 

Continued...

Enjoying the rain... at least it cooled it off! 

Isn't this just the cutest little Ranger fan you have ever seen?!  I am amazed that he lasts through the entire game and really does enjoy each second of it.  He loves the stadium, is learning the players names, talks about the plays/hits, loves the yummy ballpark snacks, Friday night fireworks, playing in the kids area (getting tattoos) and wearing his Rangers shirts.  He is quite a fan and I'm sure we'll enjoy Ranger games as a family for years to come!   

POOL, RANGERS AND FRIENDS!!!

This weekend started out with a fabulous day at our neighborhood pool.  We met Brody, Kate and Michelle for some fun swim time!

Not sure what they are all looking at but it must be something special! 

On Friday night we went to a Texas Rangers game which is always loads of fun!  

 


Daddy and Grady... not even a little rain or a loss could ruin this great night. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPHANIE!!!

So on Thursday night we met the Kings at Mi Cocina for dinner to celebrate Stephanie's birthday.  Steph is one of my very best friends from college at SFA and when we get together it's just like old times!  We are both married now and have kids so it's fun to catch up and let the kids play.  

Steph and her mom... don't they look alike?!?

Nathan 7, Madison 5, and Grady 3

These 3 always have a great time together while the grown-ups have fun as well! 

AIR BOAT AND GATOR SPYING - VACATION

So one of our many adventures while we were in Florida was a little day-trip down to Miami to visit Uncle Craig and Isabel.  Craig has a beautiful condo in Sunny Isles that we got to see for the very first time.  That day we decided to go "Gator-Spying"  (only appropriate since Craig was, and always will be a Florida Gator) and again it was very hot... but the air boat ride helped and we did manage to see a few gators, birds and a crazy man who did a bunch of tricks with real, live, HUGE gators! 

RIDING NEXT TO MY VERY FAVORITE UNCLE, CRAIG!

Very cool bird.... I forget the name although it looks a little like a heron...oops

Seriously I thought this guy had to be crazy and then

I realized we were crazy as well...

Yes, that's Grady volunteering to hold this baby gator...

It was the highlight of his day!  Thanks for a great day Uncle Craig!!!

ANIMAL KINGDOM - STILL VACATION

Boy we had a great time at Animal Kingdom.  It was super hot, so hot in fact that we saw 2 different people taken away on stretchers due to heat exhaustion.  We sure are glad that we braved the heat and ended up having a wonderful time!  When I asked Grady what his favorite part of the day was he responded with, "Lion King" and he was right... the show was fabulous and we got to sing along and the show was interactive which makes it much more fun for 3 year olds! 

The parade was also a big hit where he got to see all his favorite characters!

And seeing his favorite animal -- an elephant -- which has been Grady's fav for at least a year now.  This was on the Safari ride which was pretty cool!

Thanks Mimi for taking us... as usual we had a wonderful time sharing new and exciting things with you!!! 

Beach Vacation -- Part 2

We also got lots of great snuggle time with family! 

Wrestling with Uncle Craig... 

Silly-time with Papa...

 Papa taught Grady his very first "potty-word" as we call them in our house.  Papa asked Grady what Papa started with Grady said P and then Papa said PP and there you go -- "Papa starts with Pee Pee" and then hysterical laughing is what we have heard dozens of times out of Grady's mouth.  Thanks Papa!

And our favorite brunch ever at the club! 

   

VACATION ADVENTURES in Cocoa Beach, FL -- Part 1

So here is the view from Mimi and Papa's condo in sunny Florida... breathtaking right, it is every time we go there. Our trips are filled with many adventures including morning and afternoon beach time, pool play, naps, reading, playtime, a day-trip to Miami to see Uncle Craig and Isabel, great food, a trip to Disney's Animal Kingdom and lots and lots of great FAMILY TIME!

  Here is a pic of Grady diggin' in the sand.  He brought all his diggers and cars from Mimi's house and we all took turns helping him make castles and roads that he would play with for 1 minute and then gleefully destroy... I also want you to take note of all the smiles I got out him.  Maybe a few.  Smiling for the camera is not a favorite activity for my three year old stinker! 

Building with Daddy...

And here it is! 

Here are the very first pictures of our new swimmer!  Yes, he picked up this new and exciting skill on vacation at Mimi and Papa's house!  I was starting to put the water wings on Grady (and for those of you who have been around him for 1 minute knows that my little man is somewhat stubborn...) and he told me he didn't want to wear them he would just swim.  I was tired and didn't feel the need to fight that battle.  Anyone who has a three year old knows that some battles are worth fighting and others are not... we were all in the pool and the worst that could happen would be he might swallow a little water.  He has no fear of water (or anything for that matter) so the next thing we know he is pushing off or Mimi and swimming to Daddy about 5 feet away.  He proceeded to do this back and forth thing with us for the next 6 days.  He is also now jumping in and then swimming to us -- scoopers and kicks just like Mrs. Kasi taught him last summer. 
We are so proud of our swimmer!!!  "Go DOLPHIN" as Papa says! 

"I'd really preciate that..." and "Oh, grief..."

So yesterday during dinnertime Grady wanted more milk. We've really been working on good manners and he has been doing a great job. At the table Grady says, "Momma, can I have more milk?" I respond with, "What do you say?" and he says "Please more milk... I'd really preciate it!" Funny little man!

Grady has also decided that when he is feeling frustrated he should say. "Oh, grief." I think he got this one from me because I say "Good grief" a bunch. Looks like I better watch what I say from here on out! This one is G rated but you never know what they might hear and repeat! Yikes...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Father's Day started by Mommy and Grady going to the donut shop to get Daddy donuts, a balloon, and special card that plays a Lion King song -all Grady's choice! Then, we went to the theater to see Toy Story 3, which is the cutest movie for those of you who haven't seen it yet -- it is a must see! After naptime we ended our perfect day by going to the neighborhood swimming pool where Grady amazed us with his most recent talent... swimming. Thank you Richard for being an amazing husband and more importantly a WONDERFUL Daddy! We LOVE you!!!

Brave and CRAZY!

Yes, that's Grady holding a real-live gator. He is smiling from ear to ear and loved every second of this. You see, on our trip to Cocoa Beach, FL to visit Mimi and Papa we also drove down to Miami to see Uncle Craig and Isabel. We went to a "Gator Park" and rode on an air boat looking for all kinds of wildlife. We saw quite a few gators and some cool birds. It was HOT but we all had a great time visiting with Craig, seeing his new condo and having dinner with Isabel!