Fireman Grant

We had some family pictures taken on Friday in the little town of Micanopy our dear friend, Shandon. The pictures are to be used for a magazine article being written for MomSense (MOPS International publication) featuring our family and my MOPS group.

Well we had to bribe Grant to cooperate by telling him we would take him to see fire trucks. So after the shoot we went to this little park next to the fire station. And then walked Grant over to see the fire truck parked outside. Well one of the firefighters realized we were outside and came to visit Grant. He got his own private tour of the truck complete with getting to "drive", blow the air horn, take down the ladder, and spraying the fire hose. He even got a new fire helmet. Such a lucky kid, he beamed from ear to ear. The firemen seemed to enjoy it as much as he did.

Thanks to our brave men and women for ALL you do, every single day!

Picnic

A picnic lunch outside in our backyard, sounded like a good idea...but Grant complained because it was too hot, windy, and too many bugs. :-)

Dancing in the Rain

Today hasn't been a good day. I woke up missing Ethan so bad. Then I had to ask Grant not to jump on the couch, 2 seconds later he jumps and gets hurt. While tending to him Gavin gets into Visken's water. While cleaning up that Visken poops on the floor. While cleaning that up Grant pees on the couch. While dealing with that Gavin hits his head. This cycle continues. Ugh. I decide to get in the shower. A hot shower and restart to the day. Except that the shower was ice cold. Really? I haven't had a shower in 2 days and it is ice cold. I finally get all of us dressed and outside, only for it to start pouring the minute the garage door opened. I sat on the floor of the garage and cried. I just wanted to go back inside and climb in bed. Then Grant stepped outside and started splashing in the puddles. "Jump with me Mommy!". And Grant and Gavin squealed in delight.

Yup, I still have crummy days. Days when I miss Ethan more than I can ever put into words. Days where my patience is tested and I am physically and emotionally exhausted. But that is the point, that is life. We can always go back to bed, wait for the storm to pass. Or we can learn to dance in the rain. I am thankful that my boys are teaching me to "splash" in the rain.

Brothers

It is fun to just sit and watch them play. They both adore each other. They both bring so much light and joy to our lives. Brothers always, but I hope more than anything that they are life long friends.

Visit from Papa

We were blessed to see Jake's dad for a few hours this past weekend while he was in Orlando on business. The boys sure love their Papa!

Happy, Happy 3rd Birthday Grant!

Grant is 3. It is hard to believe Grant is really 3. We have waited a long time to have a 3 year old. Much longer than 3 years. There was a time not long ago that I couldn't imagine it ever happening. The beauty of life is...it goes on.

Grant wanted a fire truck cake for his birthday and a party. I have never made a birthday cake before. I debated asking my friend, Christine )a master at cake decorating) if she would do it. Then I decided, what do I have to lose. If I try and it doesn't work out we can always go to Publix and buy one. Well it didn't turn out too bad. It wasn't perfect, but Grant was thrilled and that was all that mattered to me.

He was blessed to have 6 of his closest friends come to a play date party at his favorite place, the "house park". He was a happy boy! And i loved watching him go up to each of his friends to thank them for coming to his party.

O' the gifts! Grant got some good stuff. A power wheels, fire trucks, a clock, kite, books, bubbles, game, a fire station, etc. I am not sure what we are going to do with everything, but you only turn 3 once right?

Happy Birthday Grant!

Through the Eyes of a Child

What an amazing gift to see the world through the eyes of a child. I was dreading running errands the other day- in and out of the car with 2 kids, driving around town was not my idea of a fun day. But Grant saw it differently, he pretended we were in a fire truck racing from call to call.

I love the way he looks at the world. I am thankful for the way in which he forces me to see the world.

Happy 8 Month Birthday!

Gavin is 8 months old today. His mobility has really taken off this month. And his 3rd tooth has broken the surface. What immense joy he brings to our lives.

Changing Before My Eyes

My boys are changing so fast. In the last couple of weeks Grant has started to peddle his bike and made huge potty training strides. Gavin is now pulling himself up to standing. So fun to watch them growing up!

Happy Easter!

We dyed some Easter eggs yesterday. Grant wanted nearly every egg orange (his favorite color) and made sure all of us had our own egg. Surprisingly he didn't make too much of a mess.

This morning we woke up to find that the bunny hid Easter eggs all over the house. It took Grant a few minutes to catch on, but when he did he was on a mission to find them all and a basket stuffed with goodies! And being such a good big brother, he helped 'avin located his basket. Fun to see Grant into Easter this year!

Moments I Do Not Want to Forget

Blessed with this beautiful life.

Visit from Nana

Nana was here for just a couple of days this week. She flew down here, spent a few days with us, and then was driving back to Wisconsin with a good friend.

We had a wonderful visit. A trip to the Botanical Gardens for Nana's birthday. A trip to Ocala for dinner with Uncle John and Aunt Lisa. Of course we had to take Nana to the "house park", where Nana taught him the phrase "dog gone it". Grant thought that was incredibly funny. And Grant started peddling his tractor. It was a busy week. It was a fun week.

Milkshakes

While out geocaching we stopped by the cool diner in High Springs. It makes me miss the diner that was by campus when we lived in Des Moines. O' how I miss the Drake Diner. Happy memories there and this little diner doesn't even compare. But I got to "share" a chocolate milkshake with Grant...his idea of sharing (see picture), "your turn Mommy". He doesn't mess around when it comes to milkshakes.