Your Work

Dear Grady,
Wow...You do some fabulous work at school, and sometimes even ask to do "work" at home.  You like every subject.  I think Science is your favorite and you asked me the other day why you couldn't do more science at school... probably because there just isn't that much "meaty" science in Kinder buddy!  You do love Science Discovery with Mrs. Alday and report any facts you learn each time you go.  I have to tell you though, you talk with pretty equal amounts of affection for each of your teachers.  I hope it always stays that way - ha!  You come home with some really great work Goose, and I save as much of it as I can.  You want me to save every single piece.  We keep it all in the cabinet and I suppose at the end of the school year I'll have to go through it all and decide which 20  pieces to keep or something.  I figure taking a picture is the next best thing to saving all 25,000 pieces of your work and having to get a storage unit.  :)  There have been so many milestones reached recently, and one of my favorites is to see how far your writing has come along.  You are an excellent writer and sounder-outer!  You want your handwriting to look just so, and will erase and erase again until it is perfect in your eyes.  You are creative and take pride in coming up with responses to things that nobody else thought of.  I think you are brilliant... but then again, I am your Mom.  :)  Mrs. Burson is your Kindergarten teacher and she is so great.  You talk about her lessons like they were the best thing on earth and tell me all the time, "Not like that Mom, this is how Mrs. Burson does it."  This makes my heart happy.  She loves you and I think you two are a very good match.  She knows you well!  Here are a few pieces of your work you were particularly proud of, and wanted me to take a picture of.
Love,
Mom

MLK Project

 I love how he spelled future!  Just how it sounds!

 "Be a good example to Cole"

 Pond water he made in Science Discovery - he told me all the layers!

    

What Would I Do Without My iPhone?!?

My iPhone captures pretty much most of the exciting events in our life right now.  I was one of those people who held out for a few years... I didn't want to jump on the bandwagon and didn't see the need.  Well, I am eating my words daily.  It takes pretty good pictures and videos, can entertain young children when waiting at the doctor or in the airport, helps me find places (I am map-challenged), keeps count of my calories, provides music entertainment, movie times, recipes, Facetime with Mimi and Papa, and all the things a regular phone can do, and the list goes on and on.  I had no idea that one little thing that fits in your pocket could be that wonderful.  I have a really nice camera.  It's big and too expensive to haul around while also hauling around a diaper bag, stroller, almost 2 year old and not to mention sometimes Grady's sports stuff.  I LOVE my big camera, and still use it some... but right now our life lends itself to only use it when I want really good quality pictures and have another grown up to handle everything else.  Fancy camera, we will be friends again someday... I promise!  Did I just write this much about my phone... wow... some might say I need a life!  Ha!  So all of this to tell ya that here are pictures from the last couple of weeks from my iPhone, again!!

 When we were out shopping a while back G picked this out for me... 

Isn't it beautiful?!?  Oh my... It's even more sparkly in real life. 

 I saw this shower curtain at Target and just had to have it.  

I LOVE the colors!  We had a plain tan curtain in there before.  I just love the pattern! 

 I also replaced the comforter in the guest room that was from my first apartment.

I hated to get rid of it... but it was time for something new and lighter.  I kept the shams because the color scheme is the same so I wouldn't have to replace the curtains, throw pillows, etc.   

    With two wild boys we spend lots of time doing "manly" type things.  

This includes a monthly trip to Cabela's or Bass Pro. 

 Fun at the shooting range...

 Just like Big Brother... he kept saying "pow-pow"

 Cole thought the animals talking were a show.  

He sat right down in the middle of the store and watched... well, for 10 seconds which is a long time for Cole-time!

 Pretending to sleep on the cots...

I am envisioning the fun they will have with Dad hunting in the fall in a few years...

What will I do with myself...

 Watch out world!  In about 10 more years this is what you'll see - yikes!

 Growing my hair out... I actually think it's easier?!?  A ponytail this summer will be nice... at least that's what I keep telling myself!

 My own homemade chicken noodle soup... and it is healthy and realllllllly good!!!

 G put this together all by himself!  He's getting really good at Lego's. 

 Here is sweet Cole sleeping on a nap-mat at Stephie's house instead of the crib.

I have no words... except that she has magical powers and fairy dust. 

 Wags (the class "pet") came home with us this weekend.

We took pictures of him doing fun things with us.

Have I told you before how much we LOVE his teacher... because G loves school!

This is Wags with Grady at the dentist! 

 This is Grady and Richard at Grady's first basketball practice ever.  This is the only picture I got. 

Richard is helping coach this season.  The first practice went really well, I think they have a pretty good team.  I did not get to watch much because I was "wrangling" Cole... it was so fun...

You know when people give you that "I am so sorry I remember those days" look?!?  

I got lots of them... and then they would add how cute he was.  I might or might not of asked those random people if they wanted to "borrow" him for the night.  

I kid... but he gives me a run for my money. 

 Saturday Grady went to a birthday party for one of his best friends.  

It was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle themed and super fun! 

 It was all boys and crazy - the obstacle course of delivering pizzas was a riot.

 

Michelle is so creative!

The picture above reminded me of college....  Ha!

There was also a silly string war!

 They had pizza and green sewer slime punch!

 I LOVE these two boys!  Friends since they were one!  They've grown up quite a bit...

Today has been a wear sweats, crock-pot dinner and relax kinda day.  I LOVE Sundays like this! 

1/2 Way Through Kindergarten Celebration!

To celebrate it being the end of the third six weeks (and also officially 1/2 way through the school year -- woo-hoo) Richard and I spent an awesome afternoon with Grady!  He has worked so hard this year and grown leaps and bounds academically and socially.  He is such a boy, but a pretty typical Kindergartner in every way.  We don't by any means expect perfection, but this six weeks was pretty darn close with a happy face every single day.  I am even more amazed by his academic growth.  Grady is reading, I mean really reading and it makes me just ecstatic when I hear him in the backseat of the car or in his room at home.  His teacher just rocks and we give her so much credit, but G has this internal desire to do well at his school work and we hope this continues throughout his education.  I don't really know how you teach that... wish I did!  He loves school and his friends, and can't wait to tell me what they learned each day and what special he went to.  He says his favorite is art, but he loves them all and it seems like he talks the most about Science.  He quotes facts verbatim and has even taught me a few things...  He also enjoys recess and lunch which just goes to show you what a "normal" boy he is - ha!   His teacher told me the other day that he has such a caring personality and kind heart.  This means more to me than pretty much anything! 

Well, we are so proud of him and decided to celebrate with a treat at Corner Bakery, and Main Event with some bowling (a first) and putt-putt(which he loves).  It was a very cool surprise when Daddy said he could make it too!  We all had fun, and G really liked his first time bowling!

He was so excited and got the hang of it pretty quickly! 

 Notice the scoreboard...

 Grady even got three hole-in-ones! 

I am hoping this is the first of many celebrations for Grady's successes at school!  We LOVE you G, just for being you!!!               

Teeth and Cookies... and Other Randoms

Grady has had a wiggly tooth for a few months now.  The front two, bottom teeth have just been begging to fall out.  There are two fully in, adult teeth sitting right behind these baby teeth.  Well, I am not very patient when it comes to things like this!  Every single day for the past month I have been talking up the tooth fairy and asking Grady to wiggle those teeth... or let me wiggle them for him.  Grady wasn't interested in any way in losing those teeth, or anything else I had to say about the tooth fairy, or money... odd child - ha!  Well, the last week or so he hasn't wanted to eat anything hard at all and has complained about the front left tooth hurting.  So after our nightly tooth brushing (he brushes in the am and I brush at night to make sure there is at least one good brushing a day) I asked him again (jokingly) if I could just pull that tooth out and he said YES!  I was shocked and after about one minute of twisting, that tooth came right out.  No crying, just pure excitement!

 The Tooth Fairy traded him 8 shiny quarters for that tooth.  

Talk about milestones...

This was when he got those first teeth... and now they are falling out.

My baby is growing up!

Cole is cookie and Cookie Monster obsessed.  The first thing he does every single day when he walks in the house is go to the kitchen and point up by the bread basket and he says, "cookie, cookie" because that's where we keep them.  He won't stop until I give him something to crunch on and often times there is a small sugar cookie over there just for my baby!  I'm a sucker... The way he says cookie is just so precious and I want to remember it always...

I have a few new obsessions myself... since I have been dieting and eating like this, instead of cookies...

I have found a few new yummy treats.  Baked sweet potato fries are delicious... and so easy to make yourself.  I limit myself to 10 or so, but they are sooooo good.  The key is parchment paper, olive oil, kosher salt and pepper and none of them touching on the baking sheet.  After about 6 failed attempts I finally have discovered the tricks.  I also have discovered this... and this... oh my! 

Do you have any good low-cal snacks or recipes I might like to try?!?         

Today I took Grady and his sweet friend Brody to see Monsters Inc. 3D.  I forgot how cute that movie was.  They had a great time!   Afterwards, the Vaughn family came over for tacos and playtime.  It was crazy f-u-n as usual! 

My mom finished the sampler for Cole -- How awesome is she?!?  I LOVE that both boys have this very special keepsake.  I think cross stitch is becoming a lost art.  Which is so sad because it's amazing when you think about the heart, time and effort that went into something like this.  It will always remind me of his first room and when we first brought him home from the hospital.  Have I mentioned he's turning two in 2 months...  Thanks Mimi -- we LOVE you!!!