It's the Simple Things

Long time... I know. Busy, busy, busy as usual. Last weekend I went home to Ohio to surprise my mom for her birthday. Aunt Vickie had planned a surprise get together for us girls (Christi, Cari, Kim, Brianna, me, my mom, and her). We don't get to do that very often so it was a well spent afternoon. I had lots of fun and my cheeks hurt by the time I left from laughing so hard. Me and the boys stayed at Jason and Steph's house in Ashland, KY so mom wouldn't know I was in. Grant definitely had fun playing with Nathaniel and Jarred despite the sharing issue he has. We're still working on it! I got in the car on Saturday morning to drive to P'ville to meet everyone and realized someone had gotten into my car overnight and had stolen my MP3 player as well as Grant's portable DVD player. I was sick to my stomach realizing that I had left my doors unlocked. You think I'd know by now. If it can happen to me, it will happen to me. When Grant got in the car later that day he kept asking for "Barrey" ("Barney"). Bummer. I had to tell him that Barney went bye bye for a little while. It's crazy to me that someone can seek out a car, climb in, see two car seats in the back, and still steal a toddler's DVD player with "Barrey" still inside. It's very irritating to me that people are so lazy. I mean, we work hard to have the occasional nice thing just to have someone take it. Other than the missing electronics nothing else was taken and my New Testament was thrown in the floor. Hmmm. What goes around comes around I suppose. All in all we had a great trip and appreciate Steph and Jay for letting us stay in "Lori's" room. Ha, ha! Lori, I hope you don't mind!

Brianna came back to VA with me and stayed for the week. It was nice to get to spend some one on one time with her. We used to be able to spend time like that all the time, but a wedding, a move to VA, and two kids have drastically changed the dynamics. I was sad that I couldn't take her out and blow loads of money and spoil her like I used to. I had a great time and hope she did too. I wish we lived closer because she'd make a great babysitter! Thanks for coming down Nan! I had a blast!

Last Friday while Brianna was here and Chris was off work, we went to the Mill Mountain Zoo on a field trip. It was a nice day, although pretty hot in the sun. I had a lot of fun and Grant loved seeing the animals. I think he loved the stinky pigs the best. He has learned to snort like a pig - pretty hilarious.

Ben is loving his swing these days and loves it much more than the bouncy seat we purchased for him not long ago. The swing is definitely his new love. He has chubbed up quite a bit and is quickly outgrowing most of the clothes I have for him. He is already in 3-6 months clothes and probably won't be in those for long. I think he's about to have another growth spurt because he's been sleeping a lot and eating about every three hours some days instead of every four like usual. He's definitely a cutie and has beautiful eyes. The color of his eyes is yet to be seen, but they are huge and are outlined with these gorgeous, long eyelashes. Why is it that boys always get the long eyelashes? Mascara still doesn't do it for me. He doesn't look like Grant much these days, but some of his movements and facial expressions are identical to Grant's, especially when he's going to sleep.

Grant is still wild as ever. He's taken to climbing up on things. Although he's not a daredevil compared to some other toddlers, he is spreading his wings a bit more than usual. He's a very careful and thoughtful little boy. It's funny to see his personality unfold more and more every day.

One more week until vacation! YEAH! I can't wait. I'll be in Ohio for the week spending time with friends and family. Grant will probably enjoy swimming in mom and dad's pool and playing with "Benna" and "Ifan." We can't wait to see everyone!

Have a great week everyone! Heather, are we scrapping tonight?

Jen

We took the boys to see the fireworks on July 4th. Because I wasn't sure what Grant's reaction would be, we tried to prepare him by telling him that the fireworks are loud and go "boom, boom!" We found a good spot, parked, popped open the tailgate, and jumped in the back. We brought some snacks ("Eineins" for Grant - meaning, Little Einsteins fruit snacks) and drinks and just enjoyed the show. Grant did like the fireworks, but I think he liked the motorcycles driving by better. They easily distracted him from the colorful display in the sky. He kept saying, "oh bike!" Ben, of course, after having his evening bottle slept through the show and the Harleys driving by. I loved going to see the fireworks as a family and had a blast. Hopefully, it will become our own little tradition.

Taking Grant to get a haircut has been a nightmare lately. He kicks and screams bloody murder the entire time. A couple months ago I took him to Pam's to get a cut when we were back home. I had to hold him down the entire time. It was totally traumatic for the both of us. I've been putting off taking him because it's such an ordeal. So, I had the bright idea on Saturday to take the clippers to his head. I thought I had the guard on so it wouldn't be too short but would just trim it up a bit. I trimmed a little off of daddy's head first so Grant wouldn't be scared and then started in on his. Well, apparently I had the guard in the wrong position because the first swipe across the top of his head made it really, really short. I had to shave his entire head! I felt horrible! I just kept thinking that he'll look back some day and see pictures of when his mommy cut his hair and butchered it. It reminded me of looking at my elementary school pictures when my mom used to cut my bangs. They were always so crooked. It's pretty funny now that I think about it. I've had a couple of days to get used to "sarge" (he kind of looks like a drill sargeant) and it's growing on me. It's still not the length I would like it to be, but it'll grow out. However, we did make a pretty funny memory from the incident.

Grant loved seeing the airplanes when we went to pick up Chris. He also loved seeing daddy and missed him terribly, I know. One of the airplanes was right outside the window. He just kept saying "oh plane" and "sky." What a hoot!

Ben has started to find his voice this last week. He goos and coos when we talk to him and smiles so big. He's also noticed his little toys that hang above his bouncy seat and loves talking to them as well. He's growing so fast! At his eight week appointment he was 11 lbs. and 9 ozs. and was 22 1/2 inches long. So, in a month he had grown an inch and a half and gained about 3 lbs. Crazy!

Grant has really started to love reading in the last few weeks. We have always looked at a book before bedtime, but now he likes it when we read to him. We usually don't get through an entire book before he's wanting to read another. I think I read about 4 books last night before bedtime. I love my quiet time with him. He espcially likes "The Three Little Pigs" that my mom found at a yardsale for him. I think he just likes it because I do funny voices. He also loves taking his books to bed with him among other things. It's always something. If it's not books, it's his cars or little school bus.

Love,
Jen