Mr. Potato Head

Grant got a Mr. Potato head last Christmas, but he wasn't quite ready for it then. A couple weeks ago, we got it back out and he had fun playing with it. This one was pretty good, aside from having an extra arm and a pair of eyes on the side of its head:

Grant wanted to put the glasses on himself......

.....so we put the other pair on Drew (Dean is holding his arms down so he can't pull them off!):
And of course anything Grant plays with, Drew wants to be playing right along with him (very annoying to Grant!):
Here are a couple more of Grant's "creations." Yikes!

First day of school

With his pacifier:
After I talked him into giving me his paci (he wasn't too happy about this, so he wouldn't smile for me):

Finally a little bit of a smile (a few minutes later):
Grant went back to school today! Dean is still home today (he's feeling better but just weak from not eating for two days), so he kept Drew while I took Grant to school.

It was weird....taking pictures of him this morning before school, it was hard to believe that it's been a whole year since his (first) first day of school a year ago. I remember it so well....getting teary-eyed as we pulled into the parking lot, worrying that he'd have a meltdown when I left, just a little sad that he was getting to be such a big boy. That was three weeks before Drew was born and I also was excited to have a few weeks to finish getting ready for the baby (especially during the hours that Grant was at school). It turned out I didn't have much of that time at all, since Hurricane Ike showed up a few days later and we spent the rest of the time (until after Drew was born) with Grant at home because the schools were closed!

Anyway, today wasn't nearly so emotional. It definitely hasn't felt like we've been on summer break for three months. I took Grant inside and to his new classroom (he wanted me to carry him inside, which I gladly did because I don't know how many more times he'll want me to do that!), and we met one of his teachers (Ms. Michelle). She showed him where his cubby was, and he put his bag down and went to sit down at a table to play with some toys. I talked to her for a second, then I said goodbye to Grant. He looked back and me, waved and said "bye." No problem!

When I picked him up, he was crying.....they had come inside from the playground at the end of the morning and Grant decided he wanted his pacifier. His teachers looked in his bag and couldn't find it (or at least said they couldn't). So he was crying when I got there, asking me for his pacifier. I think this will be really good for him......they are more strict in this older classroom with pacifiers and blankies. They said if a child really needs one of these, they'll let them go get it for just a minute, then put it back in their bag and come back with the rest of the class. It will be very interesting to see what happens if Grant gets a hold of his pacifier, then someone tries to take it away after just a minute. Hmmmmm......

And here are a couple of cute pics of Drew. He had fun playing with Daddy while I took Grant and picked him up later (and he slept a LOT.....but still no other signs that he got our stomach virus, thankfully!).

CDs for kids.....recommendations??

I've been thinking about trying to find a good new CD for the car.....something that the kids (especially Grant) would enjoy. I get on Amazon and see so many that look interesting, but I just don't want to pay $13 and waste my money if they're not good. If anyone has any favorites that they'd recommend, please share!! Thanks.....

Long weekend....and Galveston pictures

It was a long weekend. I'm so tired of someone in our house being sick....this month it's been one thing after another. Grant first got this stomach thing on Thursday afternoon, but on Friday he acted like he felt okay (he just had no appetite). So Saturday morning, we gave him some milk. Big mistake! He threw up again, but then seemed to feel okay. My parents came in town that day for a few hours, and while they were here I started feeling nauseous. They left around 3pm, and a couple hours later I got sick. But it really only lasted a few hours, and then by the end of the night I was feeling a lot better (just weak).

Then this morning Dean woke up with it. He hasn't moved from our bedroom all day.....he definitely has it worse than I did. I was hoping to be able to rest today, but I was by far the more healthy of the two of us.....so I was alone with the boys all day. It's so frustrating when weekend days are just like weekdays. We couldn't go to church, which I was really looking forward to because they were having a potluck lunch (and we still don't feel like we know people very well, so I was excited about going to that). Things like that don't come up very often at church, but inevitably those seem to be the weekends that something like this happens.

And I was just so short with the boys.....so resentful that I can never have any time to myself, even when I'm sick. So I was getting upset with Grant for backtalking and mistreating Drew, but I just had no energy to try to discipline him correctly. So instead I just yelled and fussed at him a lot. Then at around 7pm, Drew kept trying to grab Grant's trains that he was playing with, and he shoved Drew a few times before I took him upstairs and put him to bed. I know that in order for him to learn the correct way to behave, I need to be consistent in disciplining him (instead of just getting angry), but this is so hard to actually do. Especially when I've been around them all day long, and all I want is a break. It's so much easier just to drop him in his room and be done with it.

Things are just really hard right now. Even having friends over isn't easy.....it drives me crazy to not be able to have more than a 10-second conversation with a friend because one of the kids is crying or needing something. It's nearly impossible to have an in-depth conversation with someone when you have small kids around. They're just so dependent right now. I just want them to be a little older so I can do fun things with them (instead of just feeling like a babysitter). And believe me, if we could afford to put both of them in school (or to put Grant in for more than 2 days per week), we would! I know they'll both be there next year......

Okay, here are some pictures from Palm Beach in Galveston, when I took the boys about 10 days ago.The boys had the most fun just playing here on the beach part....we were just about the first people there that day, so we claimed a good spot right next to the water. There are a lot of different parts to the park, but Grant was actually pretty afraid of doing very much (probably because it was our only time to go this summer). We went a few times last year, but I'm sure he doesn't remember it!



Drew found a rock, so of course that means that Grant MUST have it!

Drew is learning to protest when his big brother takes something away from him. Unfortunately, there's not much he can do about it yet except to cry (although he has slapped at Grant a few times in frustration, which is quite funny to watch)!

It's so hard getting a good picture of them together (where both of them look reasonably happy and one isn't trying to mess with the other). I thought this one was pretty cute....

Grant was a good little helper and pushed Drew's stroller all the way to and from the parking lot. I know I complain about Grant a lot, but the moments that he's not being a little stinker, he's actually quite a gentleman (and is proud of himself when he helps out). It seems like it's always one extreme or the other!

Nasty bug

A nasty stomach bug has gotten Grant with a vengeance. Poor thing....at lunch today he mentioned he didn't feel good and wanted to be excused. (He didn't even eat all of his cheese, which is a bad sign). But he got out of his chair and started playing again, so I went ahead and decided to go to the post office, like I had planned.

No sooner had we walked into the post office (both boys in the stroller) did Grant start asking me to carry him. The second time he asked, I took him out of his stroller just as he threw up all over the place. Remnants of hot dog, cheese and grapes were all over the carpet (with the tile just a few inches away). At least it missed the stroller, though....I guess that was good!

So we came straight home....he threw up again on the way home, and has been continually tonight. His stomach is empty but he still tries. Poor little guy. He can't even keep any Gatorade down.

We feel so bad for him while also hoping we don't get the same thing (especially Drew, who grabbed Grant's sippy cup and starting drinking from it). Meet the teacher day at school is tomorrow.....we'll definitely miss that, but hopefully he'll be better for school next Tuesday!