Christmas Eve 2011

On our way back from church, we break out the reindeer dust. You don't want Santa, Rudolph and the gang to bypass your house just because they couldn't see it, now do ya??? No way. So you sprinkle some reindeer dust on the ground and the reflection of the moon on the glitter lights the way to our house. Here's Natalie taking a toss...

Santa Grantie ran around the house in his holiday gear, and boy was he cute!

After dinner and bath, the kids got in their jammies and Daddy read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Grant lasted about 1 sentence, and darted for the play room. Natalie really likes the story though. Here, they are saying, "And laying a finger aside of his nose..."

Naturally, we have to leave Santa a note, as well as some egg nog and a cookie. We heard Santa might want to try paleo, so we didn't want to leave too many cookies for him. Natalie's note says, "Santa, We've been good. Love, Natalie and Grant." Please note the beautiful bubble letters that my daughter did, despite the fact that I had no idea she could do so.

And when I woke up in the middle of the night to see if Santa had been there... he HAD!

Thanksgiving 2011

Where is the time going???

So this year, I had it all planned out.  We were going to have our holiday card pictures taken at JC Penney on the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  The cards would be in the mail by December 3.  But then the day before we were scheduled to have our pictures taken, Grant came down with a stomach bug.  Even our trip to Florida, where we were scheduled to leave on Monday before Thanksgiving, was in jeopardy. 

But he recovered quickly, or so we thought!  We made it to Florida Monday afternoon, but by Monday night, Grant was sick again.  On top of it, he and I both came down with a cold.  But thankfully no one else got the stomach bug.  Natalie and Daddy did a little swimming in the chilly pool (I think it was 74 degrees).

Little buddy didn't want anything to do with the pool, so he and Nana got to watch the garbage men pick up the trash, and they were so nice and even honked the horn for him!

Unfortunately this year, there weren't a lot of fish off the dock, even with the big light that my parents have to attract the bait.  We checked every night, which Natalie loved to do.  One night we saw a few fish, but nothing like what we saw last year.

Todd, Cory, Dad and Britt (Brie's sister) did a little golfing too.  You can't go to Florida, where temps were in the mid to upper 70s, and not golf!

Todd and I also ran our first ever official 5K.  Cory ran the 1 mile and Brie did the 10K on Thanksgiving morning.  The night before, we went out for a little Mexican.  You know, to carb up.  HA.

Unfortunately, when we got back, Grant had been sick again.  UGH.  We didn't get any pics of the 5K, because there's no where to put your camera, but Todd and I both set PRs, and I ran mine in about 29 minutes.  It was hard to tell because you start so far back of the starting line.  Last year, they kept the clock going, but this year, they didn't, so we figured it was about a minute after they shot the gun that we actually started the race.  The clock said 30:03 when I crossed the finish line, so subtract a minute and that was about 29 minutes.  Not too bad!

We took some nice family pictures on the dock too- one of all of us, and one of the four of us.

Next up was a trip to the beach one sunny morning.  Of course, poor Grant is also teething his 2-year molars.  So he chomps on his fingers a lot.  And his fingers were sandy.  Plus he hates bare feet in the sand.  Plus his sister stole his trowel, which was his only source of fun at the beach.  So after about 10 minutes, Grant and I went home.  But Natalie and Daddy enjoyed some time on the beach!

Above is the one picture I snapped of Grant and Daddy before Grant and I left.  Below is Natalie buried in the sand.  She thought this was really funny.

Mommy not only missed out on going to the beach, but she also missed out on going out on Pop Pop's boat.  Grant decided he didn't want to have anything to do with the life jacket this year.  And since it's a law that kids have to wear one, well... we just didn't go.  But Natalie and Daddy had fun with Nana and Pop Pop!

Pop Pop even let her drive the boat!!!!!  She took this very seriously, of course.

Finally by the weekend after Thanksgiving, Grant was feeling a lot better, so we went over to the Pfaelzer's house on the beach and got to play in their heated pool and had a cookout!  The Pfaelzer's lived next door to my parents since I was 5, and only recently did Mrs. Pfaelzer move to the beach.  Emma, Kriss and baby Coco live there (for now!) too!

Above, the guys swimming with their little ladies.  Natalie swam with just floaties and the assistance of a noodle, but eventually, she accidentally started swimming without the noodle.  She started panicking, but I was encouraging her by saying, "You're doing it!" and she got excited and started doggy paddling. 

I love the picture above.  Hey Ladies.  My name is Grant and I like long walks on the beach and fluffy puppies.

Little buddy didn't want to swim, but he liked hanging in the lounge chair with Pop Pop before the sun set.  He was funny- he whined the first 20 minutes we were there until we put his shoes on him, then he was perfectly normal and happy.  He hates not having shoes and socks on.

The next day, which was our last full day in Florida, it rained, was windy and kind of cool.  So the four of us went to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, the home of Winter, the dolphin who does not have a fin.  They made a movie about him called A Dolphin Tale, starring Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd and Harry Connick, Jr.  A doctor made a prosthetic fin for him, although in real life, he just swims around without it.  Here's Natalie and Grant checking him and his buddy Panama.

A little later, Winter was showing off for the camera.  That Winter is such a ham!

I know the picture below is blurry, but Todd and I thought this was HILARIOUS!  Run away from the shark Grant!  Run away!!!!!!!!

Until next year Florida, happy Thanksgiving!

Chippy, the Elf on the Shelf

Santa sent us one of his special elves this holiday season.  We named him Chippy, and every night, he flies back to the north pole to report Santa about how good or bad Natalie and Grant have been.  Then he flies back, and lands in a new spot every night.  One morning, we caught him with his girlfriend, Barbie...

Shout Out

I just want to give a shout out to Delta Air Lines, who dealt with our annoying peanut allergy so nicely this past weekend, even though we are all non-revs and aren't supposed to ask for special treatment.  On the way to Cincinnati for my grandma's 100th birthday party (more on that later...), they chose not to serve peanuts to everyone on the plane.  I mean, this was after a 4 hour delay that made us a half hour late to my Grandma's party, so the least they could do was not kill my kid, but I digress... On the flight back, they didn't serve peanuts AND they made a special announcement on the PA that my little guy had a severe allergy!  I kind of felt like a celebrity.  That plus the Woodford Reserve made that flight a lot less stressful.  Good times.

GG's 100th Birthday Party

My Grandma, Frances Swales, turned 100 on December 7.  100 years old.  Can you imagine the things she's seen in her lifetime?

Todd, the kids and I flew to Cincinnati on Saturday the 3rd.  Well, we tried to anyway- our flight was supposed to leave at 8 am.  There was a problem with the engine, so we never boarded, but instead, they announced they were flying in a part from (ironically) Cincinnati, and then we would be taking the plane that brought the part BACK to Cincinnati.  Since the 8 am flight was the only one of the day, they kind of had to get us there.  A bunch of people got on the non stop to Columbus, but we had a car waiting for us in Cincinnati so we decided to wait.  We didn't take off until 12:30, and didn't get to Cincinnati until about 2:30, about a half hour before the party started.  We all changed clothes in the bathroom (ah, memories of my childhood!) and quickly got our rental car.  The kids were surprisingly VERY well behaved, and slept most of the flight.  Of course, Grant woke up with conjunctivitis ... UGH.  It seems like it's never ending with him lately.

Above is a picture of the whole family- minus my cousin Patti.  My grandparents had two children, my dad and my Aunt Martha, who passed away in 2002.  She had 3 kids, Mike, Patti, and David.  And then of course, there's us!

Here is Grandma with me and the kids.  This is the first time she has ever met Grant.  She met Natalie once back in 2008.  The party was really fun!  There was a great big cake, and ice cream for everyone.  Brie's mom Darlene made this great poster of Grandma that everyone signed, wishing her a happy birthday. 

After the party, mom, dad, Cory, Brie and the four of us went out to LaRosa's for some dinner.  The kids were totally spent, and there was a long wait, but thankfully, Cory and Brie's hotel room was right next door. So we took the kids over there for about 20-30 minutes and watched some TV and played trucks.  It totally did the trick.  Since it was also Cory's birthday, mom and dad got him a cake.  Here we are posing with the cake... which would later slide down dad's jacket when he tried to pick it up.  No more post-party alcoholic beverages for you! 

We all got a great night sleep and since our flight didn't leave until 4 pm on Sunday, we got to go visit with GG again.  I love the picture below- it really looks like Grant and GG are having a lengthy conversation! 

Grandma even got a letter from President Obama and the First Lady Michelle Obama, wishing her a happy 100th birthday - very cool!!!

After our visit with GG, we went back to the farm to eat a quick lunch and let the kids take a quick (around an hour) nap.  While Todd and my dad went out to get some lunch for us, Natalie, Grant, Nana and I walked around the farm and went over to Mount Pleasant Cemetery, which is next door to my grandparents house. 

Here the kids are running around outside, right before I put their coats on them.

Coats required, it was chilly.  Hey, let's head over to the cemetery!

The conversation about the above picture went something like this: Me: "Natalie, please do not dance on the graves of deceased people!  It's disrespectful!"  My mom:  "Oh it's okay, that's so-and-so's grave and she's not dead yet!"  Oh, fantastic! 

A few minutes later, Ben came by on his ATV (he lives across the street, his grandpa is my dad's cousin, I think).  He came over to drop off some venison sausage, and Grant and Natalie got to sit on the ATV for a few minutes.  Ben was so sweet to let them sit there.  He even let them rev the engine!  Thought Grant might have a heart attack! 

After nap, we headed to the airport and had an uneventful flight home, thankfully.  Wish I could say that I stayed put for a few days... but the next weekend, I went to Atlanta for my friend Sally's baby shower.  She is having a baby girl, Maley Marie, in January!  I was only there for about 48 hours, but it was so good to see my friends Sally and Jen!!!!



Grant at 2 years

Here is an update on what my little sweet boy is like at 2 years old.  First, I'll give you the stats.  Grant went for his 2 year check up on 11/2, just a few days after his 2nd birthday.  He was 34.75 inches tall (60th percentile), weighted 29 pounds (64th percentile) and his head is 50.5 centimeters.  I love my big boy! 

Second, we learned that Grant has a severe peanut allergy (which we kind of already knew of course) and a mild allergy to pistachios.  Boooooo.  This is not cool AT. ALL.  However, not totally unexpected because of the Labor Day weekend reaction he had, plus Grant's cousins Gordon and Ryan both have peanut allergies!  I pretty much knew from the moment I found out I was having a boy that he would have some kind of peanut issue.  Of course, it's never fun when his pediatrician says, "Yeah, his allergy is off the charts!"  Um, great.

Third, let's remember what Grant is like at 2 years old.  The kid is a talking machine!  I always tell Todd that Grant isn't as clear as Natalie was with her words at this age, but he certainly has as many words as she did!  He must have close to 100 words, if not more.  He speaks in 4 and 5 word sentences.  He is OBSESSED with anything that has wheels.  Trucks, cars, trains, front loaders, cranes, tractors, back hoes, dump trucks, firetrucks, you name it.  He knows them by name.  At dinner, he will eat and then say, "I finished!  I watch TV?  I watch trucks?"  Of course, this sounds more like, "I finisss.  I watt TV?  I watt twucks?"  But we know what he means!

He's a pretty good eater too.  Last night he ate 1.5 grilled cheese sandwiches, and tonight, about 2 hot dogs and a bunch of mandarin oranges and some dried apple rings.  He still loves his milk!  He asks for it every morning and says, "Peas" when he wants it (mostly when prompted though).  Some other things that are kind of unique that he likes to eat are:  cooked carrots (sometimes), peppers (orange, red, yellow), cucumber slices, any kind of fruit, and his latest favorite... ketchup.  He LOVES sweets, just like his sister, but obviously now that we know he has a peanut allergy, we have to watch this a little closer.

He's still a good sleeper.  We put him down around 7:30 every night and he sleeps until 5 something, when Todd goes in, gives him a small cup of water, changes his diaper and puts him back to bed.  He loves teddy bears and loves to sleep with Blue Bear, his taggy blankie, and his blue blanket. 

He's a sweet boy too.  Maureen says he is always SO good with the babies at her house.  He hardly ever touches them, but he kneels down and is sweet to them, and he doesn't even mind it when baby Liam follows him around.  He tolerates his sister, although I feel this year that is going to change!  He's almost always sweet with mommy and daddy, although lately he will whine for the other parent when one doesn't give him what he wants!  It's pretty funny.   

We love you little buddy!!!!!  (And we love the haircut we got you not long after this picture was taken!)

Update on my eyes

This post is for Rob, who asked in the comments section of my last post about this how my eyes were doing.

Well, it's been over 2 months and they are GREAT!!!  I don't have any pain at all, and my vision is perfect.  I have another follow up next week, so I'll be sure to post more on how I'm doing, even if it's just a quick blurb.  As you know, I didn't have Lasik- I had advanced surface ablation, which is a little different with the same out come.  I had a slight astigmatism, and slightly weakened corneas, so this was determined to be the best procedure for me based on these things.  The recover was kind of tough for a few days, as I felt like scratching my eyeballs out, but it only lasted a few days, and a few adult beverages took the edge off and I slept for 12 hours straight.  The best thing you can do for your eyes is SLEEP.  So if anyone plans on doing this, and has ASA rather than Lasik, I recommend you either a) get a babysitter if you have kids or dogs, or b) make sure your spouse has a handle on the kids/dogs.  But about 5 days after the surgery, they took out the hard contact lenses, and that made a BIG difference.  Every day got a little better, and a week after surgery, I would say I was pretty close to 100%.  For a few weeks, I was having a bit of trouble with halos (and I think almost everyone gets those) but I have been taking my eye drops and vitamin C religiously, so that has helped.  With it now being dark when I go to CrossFit in the morning, or dark when I drive to the chiropractor at night, I've noticed a huge improvement.  The moon still ocassionally halos, but that's about it.  It doesn't affect my driving, because even if the "red light" haloed, I could still see that it was red!  People, houses, street signs, etc. did not have halos.  Just bright lights, and only when you look directly at them. 

When I last went to the doctor, I was 20/16, and could even read a few letters on the 20/12 line.  I had to go searching for it, but I was previously -2.00 prescription in one eye, and -1.75 in another. I think I was about 20/90 and 20/80, or pretty close to that.

Halloween 2011

Happy Halloween!  OK, I'm a little late, but better late than never, right???

This year, Natalie went dressed as an Auburn cheerleader.  She decided at the first house that she didn't want her props- her megaphone or her shakers/pom poms.  Grant only made it about 4 or 5 houses and Todd had to take him home.  He didn't get it, didn't care for candy, and was only excited about the fact that it was dark outside! 

We went over to our friend Chris' parents house to pick up our friends Chris and Tiffany, and their kids Jackson and Samantha.  Sammi was a princess, and Jackson was Buzz Lightyear!  Here are 3 out of 4 of the kids waiting to go trick or treating!

Here you can see Natalie waiting patiently at a door for someone to answer and give her candy.  Grant has already turned around and is ready to take off and fly around the neighborhood so he can save a few damsels in distress.

See?  Here he is, saving this lady, ahem, Mommy, from the cold, fall night! Let's go Mommy!!!

Finally Daddy had to take him home.  Daddy tried his best to get in on the Halloween act!  At least he put forth an effort, which is more than Mommy can say.  Mommy was only concerned about staying warm.  That being said, I realize neither of my kids have coats on.  Neither wanted them on!  I figured Grant was only out for a few minutes, and if Natalie wanted a coat, she was big enough to ask for it.  She finally did, with about 3 houses to go!

Here's Natalie with Jackson and Sammi (and Tiffany!) at this awesome lady's house- she gave out Matchbox cars and candy!  Natalie was sweet enough to get a car for her brother, since he had already gone home.  We just love going trick or treating with our friends the Kelley's! 

Grant's 2nd Birthday Party

My little buddy turned 2 on October 30.  Sniff sniff.  For his birthday weekend, we went down to Grammi and Bean's house for a little family birthday party.  We got there Saturday right before lunch, and while the kids took a nap, Bean made us some cocktails.  This is what ensued:

After the kids woke up, we snapped a few pictures of Natalie and Grant on the stairs in their Halloween costumes.  Natalie is an Auburn cheerleader, and Grant is Superman!  Here he is attempting to fly!

Then we took a nice Bailey family picture on the stairs.  Natalie grabbed her props for this one!

After a delicious dinner, we got to enjoy some yummy birthday cake that KK made for Grant!  It's Lightning McQueen!!!  Can you believe she made this?  It's so awesome!  Wish I had talent like this.  Good thing I married into a talented family!

I love the picture below of Grant and his Godmother Nauni. 

We sung happy birthday to Grant, and of course, we only have a really long video and no pictures, but we did snap a few of him devouring his cake.  Double fisting!!! 

Here is a kind of blurry picture of most of the family (minus Nauni, who's taking the picture!) at Grant's birthday feast!  Little buddy was so cute and really loved his cake and ice cream.

After dinner, we opened presents!  Grant really loves this Lightning McQueen car that Seth got him.  Forget the other presents dad, I wanna play with LMQ!!!  The kid has a one track mind, and there's gotta be at least 4 wheels going on that track!

Mommy, Daddy and Sis got him a big loader.  He loves loaders, dump trucks, and tractors.  It's the funniest thing.  I've never seen anything quite like it! 

It was a great 2nd birthday celebration with our wonderful Bailey relatives, who showered baby boy with love, cake and presents!  I hope someday he realizes what a lucky boy he is!