Grant's Fourth Birthday

All day, Grant waited to eat his birthday cake.  I kept telling him that we wouldn't be cutting into it until after everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to him.  To which, he replied, "I no want no one to sing to me."   We didn't listen.  We lit the candles, brought the cake, and Grant did this:

So we sang louder. (And you wonder why some people don't like their families?)

He wasn't an absolute poor sport.  He did willingly blow out his candles.

Then, oops, what is that?  Did a smile escape his lips?

Uh-oh.

Now what?  Oh, I know.  Let's get embarrassed.

You know what they say: hindsight is 20/20.  Grant should have made a wish to become invisible.


Matt asked me if Grant is always so ornery about people singing to him.  I replied, "No, he's ornery about life in general."  Not long after the whole cake incident, Aunt Sarah asked Grant if he liked primary, and if he liked (she started singing), "Jesus wants me for a sunbeam!"  Grant covered her mouth with his hand and said, "Stop!  Don't you say that."

Grant wasn't ornery the whole night.  Let's see ... He and Tommy had fun together outside.

Nicole gave him a present (one of her dearly beloved stuffed animals; Nicole later confided in me that she didn't think Grant totally appreciated it).

We carried on our long-standing tradition of pinata bursting (babies first). After the pinata broke, Scotty stood staring (in horror) and said "uh-oh" at least ten times.

Grant picked the pinata this year and decided on Scooby Doo's head.  Nicole thought it was creepy without a body.  Nicole actually picked a Scooby Doo for her birthday a few years ago (except it was the whole dog).

Sammie read cards to him (he clung onto her every word, as you can see).

Grant opened many gifts with a cheerful heart.

We laughed that some people in our family coordinated outfits. (Hey, maybe we should make a new tradition!)

I guess Grant isn't ornery all of the time -- just when someone sings!

Bookworm Scotty

I recently wondered if Scotty would ever be interested in books for any reason besides tearing out pages.  At our last visit to the library (which happened to be during naptime, as it often does), one of the librarians who takes pity on me every time we see him asked Scotty, "What sort of books do you like?" 

Scotty screamed at him, so I answered, "He likes cars.  Anything about cars."

The man disappeared and returned a minute later with a Dinotrain.  He said to Scotty, "I couldn't find a car book. [Scotty screamed.] But, look! It's a book about a train and dinosaurs -- together!  What could be better?"

I thanked him in Scotty's behalf, we took the book and checked out immediately.

I forgot about the book until Grant asked me to read it to him a couple of days later.  While I was reading, Scotty heard me say something interesting, so he ran to me, pushed Grant off my lap and grabbed the book from us.  He took the book for himself and sat on our big book chair for at least 45 minutes, turning the pages back and forth and saying things like, "Chu (chug), chu, too, too!"  And, "Uh-oh.  Train, wah-er (water)."  And, "Bye-bye, Train." And, "Dino."  And finally, "Train all gone.  Air-pay (airplane)."  That librarian was right!  What could be better than a book that gets a two-year-old to sit quietly, alone, "reading" a book for 45 minutes?

Scotty, Assistant Launderer

Scotty loves to do the laundry; he likes every step (except the folding and putting away -- must be hereditary).  A few nights ago, I ran into the washroom to switch the laundry around before bed.  Spoiled, independent, go-to-bed-whenever-I-feel-like-it, baby of the family followed me in.  He helped me pile the clean clothes in the bucket, then said, "Night, night," and hopped inside.

I like this second pose because I see Scotty's chubby hands and wrists.  I think when I am old, I will search for baby photos just like this so I can see his baby hands again, clutching toy trucks.

Last night, lo and behold, Scotty and I were up late again doing laundry.  When Scotty found one of Clint's socks, he stopped filling the clean basket and put a sock on his hand, like a mitten.  Then he dug around for another sock and motioned for me to help him with his other hand.  I didn't know what he was doing, and I figured he didn't know what he was doing either.  I was certain he would yank them off as soon as I placed the second sock over his hands.  But he didn't take the socks off!  He wore them all the way to bed, and even insisted on sleeping with them on! 

I wonder where he gets his ideas!

The Flood

It rained and rained and rained until we thought about docking our boat at the park.

The Greatest Family on Earth

Officially, this was our first ever family reunion with my immediate family.  Although immediate, we were not small in numbers.  Unfortunately, not everyone was able to make it, but we still managed to overwhelm the hotel staff and invade Disneyland restaurants with our party of 29. (One server taking our reservation asked me, "Are you serious?!")

As always at Disneyland, watching the kids is my favorite part.  The cousins were inseparable!

They played chase.

They loved each other immediately, even if they couldn't remember meeting before.

They shared pictures, no matter how old or how young.

They played tic-tac-toe at breakfast.

They held hands.

They gave piggy-back rides.

They made each other laugh.

We weren't with the entire group for all three park days, so here are some shots of my little family.

First of all, let's just say that Scotty couldn't believe his eyes when we first stepped into Disneyland.  He was mesmerized.  He stared with his mouth wide open for the first two and three-quarter days.

Scotty never hesitated to board a ride. 

Dumbo ride: I have a similar picture of me with Nicole when she was about 9 months old, only she was crying out in terror. You can't tell from this picture, but Scotty really liked this ride.  He kept calling it an airplane and saying, "High! High!"

Just like Nicole as a baby, one of Scotty's favorite parts of the park was the birds singing in the Tiki-Tiki-Tiki-Tiki-Tiki Room.  However, his all-time favorite ride (we went on it at least 20 times and one time we actually got stuck inside) was the Winnie-the-Pooh ride.  I think he liked it because of the colors and magnitude of the characters in the strange dream sequence.  The first time we rode through, the dream sequence made me think of a commercial I would make to show kids what LSD does to your brain.

Grant liked the merry-go-round as well.  (I might be the only person who doesn't enjoy the merry-go-round.  I can even get sick just watching from the sidelines.)

Actually, to my great astonishment, Grant liked every ride he went on except Tower of Terror and Space Mountain.  He begged for Big Thunder Mountain (a personal favorite), Splash Mountain and the Matterhorn.  He was extremely disappointed that he wasn't tall enough to ride California Screamin'.  After some persuasion and much peer pressure, Nicole succumbed to all of the roller coasters with her cousins.  She was a brave, little soul, and in the end, decided to stick with the milder coaster rides.

Last merry-go-round picture, honest!

See what I mean?  Everyone likes it! 

Scotty loved the characters.

He viewed them as giant stuffed animals and gave all of them hugs, even the ones he didn't know.

There was no shortage of grandparent time on the trip.  Nicole and Grandma walking together (a rare moment these days, since Nicole has to divide herself among all of her cousins).

Little Scotty wanted his turn, too.  He loves to take people for a walk by pulling their finger along. You'd think those little legs would have preferred a stroller!

And above all, we certainly didn't have a shortage of love!

I can't wait until next year!  Same great family, fun new location.

Why I Must Live in Arizona Forever and Ever

I remember what I was doing this time last year. 

I was shoveling snow.  Lots and lots and lots of it.  When vitally necessary, I was driving on ice.  And finally, I was checking weather reports in Phoenix.  I never would have made it through that winter if I didn't have the 75 degree weather days waiting for me all winter long.  You think I'm kidding.

Here's what we did on this winter day in Arizona.

Nicole's in flip-flops.  Scotty's not wearing a onesie underneath.

Grant, well, Grant's always cold, so he just has to wear two shirts or a sweater every day.  But no shoes.  He didn't like the shoes I picked out.  He absolutely must find something to whine about or it can't be "a great day," or at the very least a normal day.

There is nothing more liberating than the feeling of being able to go outside every day of the year, and enjoy it, too!  And don't even start with me on Arizona summers.  It's like a vacation on the sun.  What's not to love?!

See how happy this weather makes Scotty feel?

He was so excited about riding his brother's bike outside that he grabbed his sister's helmet and insisted on wearing it.  I take no responsibility for that.  I don't know where these kids get the notion that they need helmets.  I never wore a helmet.  I think I would have made fun of a kid wearing a helmet.  I don't even remember seeing helmets for children until we bought Nicole's first bike.  Well, anyway, looks like Scotty was happy with the weather and the helmet.

Double Dippin'

Scotty is so special that we decided to give him two birthday parties for turning two.  Just kidding.  What really happened is Scotty's and Grant's birthdays are 25 days apart, and in the same month.  And seeing as Scotty is the youngest of three children, I voted myself a break and announced that the boys would be holding a joint birthday party this year.  However, we did give Scotty a little celebration on his birthday proper, just so he would know deep, down in his heart that his family really does love him.

We bought Scotty a giant cupcake, which Nicole picked out, and we served it with rainbow sherbet, because Grant thought that's what Scotty would like best.  Coincidentally, it's also the ice cream flavor that Grant has requested for his birthday.  Hmm, thoughtfulness simply abounds in big brothers, doesn't it?

Scotty had a little trouble blowing out the fire (actually, he didn't like the fire part at all).  But no need to fear!  Big Sister and Brother to the rescue!

Scotty, like Mama and siblings, really liked the frosting, and the cake not as much.

Scotty has adopted Nicole's pink cheetah.  I've thought of taking him to Build-a-Bear so that he could pick a more masculine "baby," but I don't know if he'd be as happy with a replacement.  Anyway, he seems to latch onto a new animal every now and again, so maybe he'll transfer his affections soon. 

I don't remember giving the other two kids driving lessons on their second birthdays, but you know, the baby's always the spoiled one (not that I know from personal experience or anything).  Clint was just pulling the truck into the garage, but Scotty liked it so much, that he insisted on a trip around the block.  And the next day when Clint got home from work, the first thing Scotty did was grab Clint's finger and drag him to the garage.

We still have the "big" birthday bash ahead of us, but Scotty's mini birthday was just right for a jumbo-sized baby!

Scotty Is Two

I can't believe Scotty is already two years old! I still call him my baby (and people look around and say, "Where's your baby?!" "Um, hello! What do you call this parasite in my arms?").

While Scotty has blond hair and blue eyes like the other kids, he has certainly developed into his own little self.

Scotty loves ...
to find airplanes in the sky

CARS of any sort
trains ("too-too!")
bubble gum (and he says "bubble gum," too) and suckers
screaming -- still!
stuffed animals, which he calls "baby"
real animals, all of which, regardless of species, are called "kitty"
all food, but especially food from the plates of others
wagon and trike rides
outside time
chunky puzzles
unloading the dishwasher (to my horror)
lights, which he calls "pretty"
sleeping in his big boy bed (as opposed to a tent)
talking to Grandma on the phone (he calls her almost as much as I do!)
throwing things, with no respect to fragility
dancing and singing "mashed banana, cold spaghetti"
building wooden block towers and knocking them over
getting tickled and giggling
going potty on the toilet (he begs to go!)
slides
waving and saying bye-bye, and giving kisses, too!
pushing buttons
saying prayers (he folds his arms in bed and says, "Pear." At the end, he copies "amen" and smiles big.)
his daddy more than anyone else in the world

A Bitter Farewell

Clint sold Douglas today. Nicole knew it was going to happen eventually, but it didn't seem to appease the pain. I took this picture this morning, just a couple of hours before Douglas was gone. At this point, I think Nicole was clinging to a sliver of hope that Clint might have a change of heart and not sell Douglas after all.
I took Nicole to the mall with me, and while we were gone, a couple came and bought the car. The whole time we were gone, Nicole made comments like, "I hope those people don't buy it." Or, "Why does Dad have to sell it, Mom?" And, "Can't you tell Dad not to sell it?"

When we pulled in the driveway, Douglas was gone and Nicole gasped and said, "Oh no! It's gone, Mom!" We ran into the house and Clint met us at the door. She looked up at him and asked if it really was gone. He told her it was, and then Nicole's face turned somber. She tried to be strong, but she couldn't keep the tears from coming. Clint put his arms around Nicole and picked her up, and then she started sobbing. Oh, how she cried and cried and cried. It was the saddest thing ever!

Clint tried to console Nicole by telling her how happy the people were to have Douglas, and how the people needed a car big enough for their family of 8, and how they needed 4-wheel drive to get through the snow (they weren't from here). And how the family said that they would keep the name of Douglas.

I've tried to think of why Douglas meant so much to Nicole. She liked how the windows went all the way down in the backseat. Also, since there were no airbags, sometimes Clint let her sit up front. Nicole knew that I never really liked riding in Douglas very much, so just the fact that she and Clint liked it so much meant that they shared a little something special together. Just the two of them. And I suppose, in a way, it represented some of her favorite times with her dad. Whenever Clint took Nicole on a "date," they always drove Douglas. Clint, Nicole and Douglas have made some very sweet memories together. Douglas will be sorely missed!