Pilot Sandwiches

So pretty soon you should be able to look at some videos of G vacuuming volumes of popcorn off the floor. Yea, he really likes to spread his food out. Actually this morning it was water, covered the entire counter top while I was doing bills. Oh - he is a bit mischievous these days. We try to remind ourselves he is as stressed as we are. We have so many changes going on, including hurrying up our remodel for a move early next year.

Losing the dogs has probably been hard on him too. Other changes include night weaning and advances in potty training. We are definitely getting there... just not there yet.

On happy notes G plays independently really well and loves to crack the eggs for breakfast and other recipes  He is really a very good egg cracker. He also helped make our traditional fudge.

G also ate his first official Pilot Sandwich this morning (minus paper towel wrap). I told him our family story behind this, that Grandpa was a pilot for the Navy and my Grandmother made him egg sandwiches in the morning, wrapped in a towel. Anyway that was the story my mother told me when I was a child and served them to me. I always liked it with ketchup, and so did G, he finished his little egg fold-over.

Blessings to you all...

Holiday Greeting

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Leaves

Visiting Daddy at work. What fun the dry erase board is!
Fall leaves = PLAY

Going to Md

Over the Thanksgiving Day holidays...
Yams we grew in GA, we cooked them up two nights ago... delish.
Bronson being a great bonus Uncle and friend!

Grandpa Bob and Grady.

Uzvar-Hazy Museum near Dulles. Uncle Scott showing G a thing or two about military aircraft.

Had some trouble getting a good shot, but here is our Four generations photo for my mother side of the family.

Uncle Scott and Aunt Lindsey with G.

Goodbye to my Beloved Bluew

We have also made the difficult decision to put Bluew down, and Grady and I said Goodbye to him today. He has long lived with very bad arthritis and recent circumstances found us in a place where we no longer had treatment options to makes his life comfortable. Because of his pain, his behavior had also become unpredictable at times. I will miss him dreadfully as he has been with me for 12 long years. It is the end of an Era for me.

Our Sweet Ginger is Gone

We had to put Ginger down today. She suffered a stroke back in March, and another much more severe one yesterday. She was unable to walk or see properly. Her prognosis wasn't very good at all so we let her go. She is already very missed as she was a very sweet soul who always laid down near Grady when he napped, as he is doing now. I haven't perfected how to help Grady with this change but he knows she was very sick and she is not comming home.

A and G

Grady and Ami photo session.



In other news Grady has been dealing with a cold on and off this last week. A stuffy nose is sending him into screaming snits. Apparently his stuffy nose is my fault. Anyway he is getting better... I think. He is making huge progress in the Potty training/ EC department. The sudden drop in laundry is noticeable. And now he is sooo proud to wear his Tomas the Tank Engine underwear. He prefers the pair with Percy and James on it too. Anywho... just watching tons of Tomas the train stuff here these days.

The Neighborhood was Good to Him

Sorting out the Earnings

Awww...

Nap time on the Porch

Life With G

So filling you all in on the little things seems like a good idea.

G enjoyed trick or treating very much and really takes stock and ownership of the candy so we decided throwing it away wasn't really an option. I weaned out things like gobstoppers and gummies and re-gave those out. The rest Grady wants to see about 4 times a day and he gets to have one after lunch and one after dinner. Some days he has forgotten them but not so much today.

Naps are hit or miss but are mostly becoming a weaned event. We have a "head down" time on days he does seem to want to nap. That has become falling asleep in front of the TV watching "Polar Express" again. It is such a benign movie I'm totally ok with this (I think ;-).

G and his friend Noah are discovering wrestling (is that hard wired?).

Over all we are making progress, slowly, toward weaning. All in good time. G has also had a few days of near potty perfection. Considering the long road of EC that has been most exciting and encouraging.

A few nights ago G was yelling "I'm a MAN!". We are not sure where it come from but we had a big talk about genders. Now he will yell "I am a boy! Daddy is a MAN!". Mommy is a mommy.

Yesterday G wanted to do voting too. I put him up on my shoulders, but that wasn't enough. He wasn't happy when I told him he had to wait till he was 18. This morning we watched the news and I had him saying "that my pessident". Yea! Isn't it so cool that he will know a totally different political America.... it is just so awesome to consider.

I can't think of anything else just now...

We went to a Pumpkin Carving Party last night.
Grady had a blast running around with older, bigger boys... oh! and helping break a pinata.

Can you guess what Grady's costume is? The answer is at the bottom. Here is a hint, look at his feet where his shoes are on.




Also check out our YouTube. I'm going to post a video of all the pumkins everyone made lit up at night. Ours is pretty big, and has a cute little round nose.



He is a Hobbit! Thanks to Bluew for donating the hair I glued to the shoes. Odin - all you have to do is smile and you can have this little number if mom and dad want to use it in two years.

Georgia "Pumpkin Patch"

Pumpkin "Patch" with Friends.

Raleigh Trip

Our Visit to Clayton/Raliegh

Well the one thing I can say about Johnston Co, there hasn't been a whole lot of rain...here's the house and G telling me "that's Mine house".

Celia and Bronson with pretty Baby Odin... love the sling, don't you.

G loved hanging out with Bronson.

Celia with Odin...

Playing dressup silks with Chloe...

Chandi and Chloe, great pic!

Line Drying, Oh My!

Hazards of Line Drying your Clothes.

I line dried and folded these shorts. A day and a half later I put them on Grady... who started to grab his leg and fuss. I got that funny feeling and yanked the pants and underpants off... and searched them for "it". Here is what I killed, a big shinny black bumble bee that stung him four times, drawing blood in two places. Now I know I'm not just shaking out leaves or spiders when I pull stuff off the lines!

Georgian Beauty

Random September Photos

These strange flowers just come out of peoples yards, between fenches, near ditches. As long as you stop mowing you will get a few. Up north you have to pay for this kinda thing. I have no idea what they are called but they sure make coastal Georgia curious.


Water colors... great fun. If you let the paint get junky, little ones will discover finger paints too.


Moon Bounce!

Sentient Bean

Thanks to Carmen for the Picture of Grady and Isa sharing a smoothie at Sentient Bean. Grady is growing so fast.

Grady and I went shoe shopping and he is wearing size 8 1/2! Once I had mentioned buying shoes just for him he was on me to "go buy shoes"(thanks Heather for the Gift card) all day. I had fun explaining how we buy shoes and measuring his feet. Target has a brilliant floor mat to help you get started. Grady paraded up and down testing out shoes and mastered walking with them still tied together. We bought the first pair he forgot he had on, and the socks I had to grab off the shelf for trying. All the socks at home are just so small now.

In the past we've had nights where he just couldn't fall asleep nursing and I would have to tell him no more. There would be fussing and eventually he'd flop on his belly and give the "just close you eyes a while" thing a try. Last night he refused to use milkies to fall asleep. Nursing is still a part of his life, but not for much longer. It has been just a few weeks since I told him we would only nurse for naps and bedtime. Now he is telling me he doesn't need it to fall asleep, a first. I am excited and sad, perhaps something only other weaning mothers could understand.

Also yesterday he refused his naps... something that has happened alot this week. Lets hope that isn't a permenant pattern just yet. If it is I'm moving up his bed time.

His canine teeth are comming in on top too now so I feel like he is finally finishing up his first basic set of teeth... though more molars could come in whenever.

Messy

G has a cupcake at Noah's Birthday party.

Soap Box

Support the Breast Feeding Promotion act.
http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5162/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=468

Storming Cinci

More of Our Trip
We spent one day down along the Cincinnati River front where there are parks and walking paths and scum warnings we didn't know about (thanks stranger lady person, we rinsed off the little like as soon as you filled us in).
Randomly Grady piped up from the back seat "mom, mom, nice hat". What a sense of humor! We shared the hat back in forth on the drive to the river front.
One of the Flying pigs of Cinci and Grady man.
This park was awesome for little tikes, along the River front and built under a an overpass. It had swings, and bells and climbing walls and sand play and slides and ladders and ropes and Grady was all over it. Best of all it was well shaded.
Unfortunately when you turn off the flash on our camera, it remembers that, even when you turn it off. Some of the next few picture didn't come out so well because we weren't aware the flash was off.
Here I am catching a ride across town on Mark's friend Jimmy's new road bike. It has a nice radio.
Cousin Judy in her Homecomming Dress.
We ate a lot of Graeters french pot, hand packed, saw it on Discovery Channel, only in Cinci ice cream.
Story time with Grandma Beverly, "Oh the Thinks You Can Think"

Cinci Road Trip

These pictures are in reverse order to how we did these things. I'll try and post more tomorrow. Anyway, here is our trip to Cinci!
Giraffe exhibit.
Choo choo ride at the Zoo.
Orangatang!
Polar Bear swimming at the Cncinatti Zoo. What a view!
Playing Drums with daddy at Pediliction studios.
Here we are standing in front of Stone Mountain in Ga.