at least it's not a boy named Sue (or maybe that would have been better)

Grace has been totally into her dolls/stuffed animals and make believe play lately. Really, she always has been, but she is much more vocal in her play now. I constantly hear her quietly talking to her babies. She always uses a very low voice, so no one can really hear what she is saying to them. (And, by the way, that is the ONLY time that she uses a low voice!) Whenever I catch her doing this, she gets an embarrassed little smile on her face and won't reveal to me what the discussion was that was taking place. The other day, I was trying to get it out of her by asking some questions. She shared bits and pieces of what her and her two babies were up to and what she might feed them for dinner. Then, at one point, I said that one of them needed her and she said, "Which one? Cheddar or Fatter?" Which left me hoping and praying that her baby name list evolves beyond those two names as she gets older!

future salesman

Grace (who has refused peas her entire life): "I don't like peas!"

Sam (who is in LOVE with the little green balls of goodness): "Grace, they're good. You should try them because they're made out of sour cream, mustard, peanut butter, sugar and a little bit of jelly."

And she tried them! And then spit them out. But he got her to try them!

life aquatic with sam and grace

Sam and Grace recently completed their first session of swimming lessons. While I don't see them giving Michael Phelps a run for his money anytime soon, they have at least conquered their fears of the swimming pool. Grace even decided that she was okay with taking showers now that she is so comfortable around water. And Sam, who generally talks a big talk but is scared to death when it actually comes down to trying new things, decided on Day 8 of lessons, that he was ready to go under water!


All in all, Level 1 was a success, and I no longer have to spend our entire time at the pool coaxing two kids to at least get their toes wet.

the ringbearer (& co.)

Finally getting back to the wedding pics after weeding through ALL of the photos we took that weekend. There are so many more that I could have shared, but I didn't want to bore anyone...

Sam and Ken (the groom)

When I originally told Sam he was going to be a ringbearer and explained his very important job to him he nervously asked, "I'm going to carry the rings on a pillow? What if I drop them?!"

Once the nerves subsided, I'm pretty sure the highlight of his day was putting on the tux. That was really all that mattered to him...well, that and the piece of gum I had promised him if he walked nicely down the aisle.

Grace helping Sam practice his aisle walk before the ceremony

And, even though the flowergirl had a bit of stage fright just seconds before their shining moment and instead walked with a bridesmaid, Sam completed his (solo) walk with flying colors.



He totally earned his gum and the pushed back bedtime so he could party like he was...eight.

Sam and Sara

This picture leaves me wondering if "Sam & Grace" will ever be synonymous with "Fred & Ginger"...or maybe more like "Ross & Monica"...either way, I really think I've been letting them watch too much Dancing with the Stars!


The morning after...the boy who never sleeps slept in until almost 10 when we had to wake him so we could get out of the hotel!

allergy update

With all the running around and travel for birthday/wedding/funeral in the last couple of weeks, I neglected to post about Sam's second round of allergy testing. (If you missed the first round, click here.) The little man did really well, again...even a little better this time because he knew what to expect out of the testing. And he knew that they had a Lego table in the waiting room that he was dying to get to play at so a trip to the allergist didn't sound like such a bad idea to him this time around. So, the results, you ask...

It turns out, as Lexington busily prepares itself to host the 2010 World Equestrian Games, my child is allergic to horses. Go figure. Mild allergies to horses and rabbits, to be exact. Which, if he had to be allergic to any animal, those aren't bad ones to have reactions to, given that most people don't have horses inside of their homes and few have rabbits. So, it looks like poor Gordon will still have to put up with the insanity in this house. And, it looks Kris is losing a little more ground in the battle over having a family dog :)

he's got moves...

The day Diane passed away, my saving grace that kept me from being a total mess was the fact that Sam was a ringbearer in Kris' cousin's wedding. It served as a necessary distraction and a happy celebration to contrast the sad news that arrived that morning. I'll upload more pics and a video of Sam fulfilling his ringbearer duties soon. But for now, I'll share the most memorable part of the event (for me) and the reason that Sara and Ken's wedding videographer spent the better part of the reception filming Sam on the dance floor:

karma?

So, I'm a little worried about the cute, young couple that is moving into the neighborhood. Mainly because they are sparrows and they just tried to build their new home in my porch. Kris noticed the substantial beginnings of their little love nest earlier today and decided he better nip that in the bud before they officially set up shop and started attacking our heads every time we tried to walk past their precious next-generation-to-be to get to our front door. He knocked the meager pile of twigs and grass to the porch floor and swept it off the edge, while strategically ducking so he didn't get his head pecked by a rather angry feathered duo.

Immediately after Kris finished the job, we left to run some errands. Upon our return, we were surprised to see that they hadn't tried to rebuild in the same spot. But, we did notice an ever so slight amount of stray debris sticking out of our dryer vent halfway up the side of the house. We really couldn't definitively say whether it was there before or not. So, now I'm freaking out that this sparrow couple might be making their home right inside of our home.

I had never realized that birds could really get into dryer vents until I noticed one go into our neighbor's vent a couple of weeks ago. Now, I'm wondering if this is karma for not informing the neighbor of the new family that has moved into her home. It's not like I haven't tried, though. The day I saw it, I walked over there to try and tell her. For some reason, the crazy old bat will never answer her door for me. Okay, maybe she thinks the same thing about me. Maybe she's really freaking annoyed that I have to walk over to her house once every other week because one of my kids has decided it would be funny to throw a toy over the fence and into her backyard. Maybe she's actually a little terrified of us after my husband peeked over her fence with a set of binoculars in search of the sitter's house key which Sam decided he needed to chuck over the back fence. But still...I'm a little annoyed that she has never answered the door for us and we've always had to ask her next door neighbor to retrieve our lost items for us...which he always willingly does as he yells in her open window to let her know he's running into her yard to get a toy...to which she alway responds, "okay." It drives me absolutely up a wall that she has been home on almost every occasion but has still not answered the door for us!

Then again, maybe this is just because Kris evicted a young bird family out of his grill last year and has nothing to do with the annoying neighbor. We're watching the vent for further signs of inhabitance. I'll post if there are any developments (since I know you're all on the edge of your seats over this!).

the A-list

I was putting Sam to bed the night of Grace's birthday party and I decided I needed to tell him that he had made me so proud that day. I told him that I was proud and impressed because he was such a good boy at the party and because he had let his sister have her special day without even getting upset or jealous that it wasn't his special day.

I said, "And that means that you are getting to be a very big boy."

And he put my face in his hands and answered very seriously, "And that means that you are invited to my birthday party."

Whew! And I was worried I wouldn't make the list!

because every princess has her admirers...

The day before Grace's birthday, we threw a backyard party with a princess theme, per her request. The funny part is that, of all the kids that were invited, only the boys ended up attending. Oh well, they didn't mind that the cake was a pink castle or that they had to eat it off of Disney princess plates, because...well...it was still cake, so who cares, right?

The cake was made by our friend, Erin, and it was amazing!

Grace's birthday is at the very end of May which is officially summer where we currently live. We could have never counted on being able to include the sprinkler and a kiddie pool in Ohio or Michigan at this time of year! All of the kids and the adults had fun and thankfully, no one was injured in the process of busting the piñata open.

It may be the last time I ask Kris to retrieve a whiffle bat from the garage, though, if I can expect him to return with a broom handle, instead!
Funny final story: Since the party was held the day before Grace's actual birthday, everyone who called her to wish her a happy birthday on Sunday had to argue with her that yes, it was her birthday and no, it was not over yesterday!

five years

It had been five years since the three of us had been in the same place at the same time together. Five years is way too long. Sheila and I had never even met each other's kids. The last time I saw Shawna's baby girl, she was 12 months younger than she is now. Coincidentally, the last time the three of us got together, it was in Kentucky and I was pregnant with Sam. Who knew that five years later, one of us would be living in Kentucky, making for a convenient meeting place between Michigan and North Carolina and we would have five kids between the three of us.
These girls are my friends from gradeschool...GRADESCHOOL...how many people get to say that? I feel so lucky and blessed that we are still part of each others' lives.
I'm not sure how we let five years slip by without a get-together (oh yeah...five births in that time!), but I'm pretty sure we won't let another five slip away without another reunion. Thanks for making the trip, girls (and families)! We were so happy to have a house full of friends and crazy kids over Memorial Day weekend!

the silver lining

Max

Thank you, Diane, for giving me the opportunity to meet my newest nephew a month earlier than originally scheduled.

second

She was my second cousin. To some people, though, second cousin might as well be fifteenth cousin.

godmamas and godbabies, May 2007

Let me make it a little more clear. She was my second mom. My sister's godmother. The sister my mom never had.


She was ever present in my life from the day I was born. She gave me my first nickname...Beanhead...it stuck for awhile. She let me live at her place in "the city" while I did the intern thing during the summers in college. She threw me showers for the major milestones in my life. She made the trip to Ohio to witness the baptisms of both of my babies.


She made me learn the layout of the greater metro Detroit area using only Dairy Queens as landmarks in all of her verbal directions. She sent me harassment notes from her cat. She sent my cat harassment notes from her cat. She made me help her refine the perfect pronunciation of "oh shit". She taught me how to make my hair fire red in the cheapest, most difficult way possible. She owned the most ridiculous and beautiful pair of fruit shoes. She had me accompany her to take the trash out while she was in the process of making her hair fire red and wearing the fruit shoes.

Diane, Grace and "the shoes", July 2006

She made me admire her for her determination. She went to nursing school when her kids were teenagers...and then totally put up with the rest of the family coming to her for medical advice before actually making an appointment with a doctor. She fought cancer and beat it...the whole time jokingly milking it to get her choice in fast food or to go first in Tripoly.


She taught me to get out and do when you get the chance. She took up deep sea diving in her late 40s and traveled the world to do it. She went hunting with her husband. She returned to the place she grew up and loved once the property she admired since she was a kid went up for sale.

She reminded me that sometimes popcorn and beer are just fine for dinner. And also to never pass up ice cream...or my mom's sheet cake...or sugar cookies (especially the frosted ones).


She sent me the most amazing, comforting card after my first pregnancy ended in miscarriage.

She was my second cousin. She was my second mom. She was supposed to be my kids' "second" grandmother. She was supposed to be there for twenty or so more years so they could know her like I did.


We lost her on Saturday.

My kids will still know her...just not the same way I wished they could. She will still be part of our lives...but not the same as we were used to. Now, at least for a little while, passing a Dairy Queen makes me cry instead of laugh.


I'm missing you, Diane. I know the last part of the journey was awful and exhausting and I'm so happy you are at peace.


But, I'm still missing you.