Graduation

Last Thursday we returned to our alma mater, Highland High School, to attend Natalie's graduation ceremony. Being there brought back lots of fun memories and we all had a nice time together. The weather was even quite pleasant once the sun went down.

 

the long procession

 the four siblings, all graduates of Highland

 just the girls

 high school sweethearts back where it all began  =)

Greer

On May 17th we drove to my grandma's cabin in Greer. I have countless memories spent at this mountain home with siblings, cousins, and friends. Grant and Lucas absolutely love the cabin and cried when it was time to go home. We spent the weekend...

 

swinging on the old, red merry-go-round,

 

snuggling together in the cold morning,

 bird watching,

 posing by our favorite river (many picnics were enjoyed here when I was little),

 watching grandma and Preston snuggle to stay warm,

 running as fast as we can in the wide open spaces,

 making wishes and blowing on the dandelions,

 throwing rocks in the ponds and rivers,

 pretending to ride a train while sitting together on a log,

 loving our cousins,

 relaxing in the fresh, mountain air,

 and playing, playing, playing.

We won't mention that poor Lucas fell and had to go to the Springerville ER and get 6 staples in his head, or that Adam's tire went flat due to a nail, or that the highway was closed on the way home so we had to take a 2-hour detour that made us all very carsick, or that we all spent Sunday night throwing up once we finally made it home.  =)

Out of the Mouth of Babes

My sweet Grant came home from preschool last week having filled out a Mother's Day paper all about me, his lucky momma. I was laughing outloud as I read them.

My mom is one year old.

She likes to play.

The best thing she cooks is pancakes.

Her favorite food is letters.

Her favorite thing to do to relax is draw.

We like to color cars together.

She is really good at throwing water on herself.

As you can see, my mom is special because I love her.

 

 

 My mom is as pretty as a rainbow.
She is as sweet as brownies.
She is as smart as Ms. Julie.
But most of all she is as special as Lightning McQueen.



I'm so grateful that I'm right up there with McQueen. Since that is Grant's very favorite thing in the world, that means a lot to me. =) And for the record: I don't like drawing, I'm not good at making pancakes, and I'm 26. =)

10 Months Old and...

• He loves clicking his tongue
• He says "da da" all the time and today, once, he finally said "ma ma"

• He laughs when Grant jumps on the couch or says "boo" to him
 
• He endured another ear infection (That's 2 so far and Grant has never had a single one.)
 
• He loves a good tickle torture

• He sleeps from 7pm to 6am, nurses, then goes back to bed until 7:30am 
• He loves clapping

We Did It!!

Last month we achieved something really wonderful here in our house. I potty trained Grant!! He is a strong-willed little guy and resisted for a while but I picked a day, literally marked the calendar, threw away the diapers, and never looked back.

 

I stocked up on an assortment of flavorful drinks and salty snacks.

 

 

I spent weeks reading, preparing, and talking with other moms.

 

 

And it was a lot of work but it actually went smoothly. (And yes it really only took 1 day.)

 

We had all sorts of awards for successful pottying including stickers on the sticker chart, a present out of the treasure chest (each less than a dollar), and short kid videos on the ipad.

 

And the grand prize was the beloved Mack truck that Grant has been asking for for over a year now.  

This feels so good to be done with diapers (at least for 1 of the boys)! Grant has some serious bladder capacity and stays dry all through naps and all through nightime (he doesn't wear diapers for anything). He is growing up and even got to go on the father's and sons campout with daddy (went potty at 7pm and didn't go again until 7am). Woo hoo. What a big boy we have here!!