T.G.I. almost F!

It's amazing how a shorter 4 day work week can feel twice as long as a regular week! But guess what?...Only 9 days of kindergarten left!!! Woo hoo! And thankfully, tomorrow is Friday. Here's what I can look forward to:


movie night with my darling babes

Flirting with forty...

...pounds, that is.

For months now we've been begging and pleading and pretty much all out cheering every time a piece of broccoli or slice of avocado or bite of grilled chicken or anything termed reasonably healthy, for that matter, made contact with Grayson's mouth. Why? Do you know how much easier it will be to take this:

instead of this:

on our trip next month?!! (plus Molly's, of course)

Way to go, Big Guy! (Just don't tell him that his friends passed up 40 AGES ago!) :)

Just for fun...

Who is who? :)



My niece, Michelle, just gave birth to a beautiful little boy this morning. Seeing pictures of him, brand new and bright-eyed, gave me the urge to search thru hundreds of old pictures so that I could 'ooh' and 'aah' over my own babies when they were brand new. There's nothing quite as special as those first minutes, hours, and days when you get to meet the little person(s) who will forever change your life.

BTW, Grayson on top; Molly on the bottom. Can't tell they're related, can you? Ha! Ha!

One Month Out!

Woo hoo! In one short month, not only will school be out (Hallelujah!), but the McMinnville-based Ryans will be hangin' down south in sunny California!!! The occasion? 10 years! Come June 20th, Dave and I have been married for 10 years! Hard to believe. The jam-packed super fun itinerary that we enjoyed all those years ago on our honeymoon gave us inspiration for our upcoming trip. Only this time, we'll have 2 kids in tow! My how life has changed over the past 10 years. And of course the biggest and best change was going from 'couple' status to 'family' status! So it is with great excitement and anticipation that we look forward to celebrating our 10 years all together as a family. Our destination(s)? We'll start in San Diego and hit Seaworld and the beaches of La Jolla. Next, it's off to Legoland for a day. Finally, we'll finish out the week at "the happiest place on Earth"--Disneyland!!! We can't wait!

Happy Birthday, Grayson!

How can it have already been 5 years since I held that sweet baby?

And has it really been 4 years since he tasted cake for the first time?

And Elmo. I can still hear "Elmo's World" playing thru my head.

And really? It has been 2 years since he got his first bike?

Even just 1 year ago he looked like such a little guy.

Now he's our big boy--a 5-year-old. What a big year for a big boy.

Grayson, you mean the world to us, and we are so proud of you. You are kind, funny, and smart beyond your years. We are often awed by your observations and inquiries. You're such a thinker. And what an awesome big brother you are. The tender way in which you love your sister--that's not something that can be taught, that's just who you are. How lucky we all are to have you as our son and brother. We are excited for you--excited for all of the things that you will learn and accomplish this next year. Thank you for bringing indescribable joy to our lives each and every day. We love you.

12 years from now...

Ever wonder what Grayson might look like when he's 17?

(Yes, I'm sure that burns in the forefront of all your minds!)

Perhaps a little something like this:

Okay American Idol fans, I concede that David Cook probably has the most all around appeal as well as amazing musical talent, but around here we are Archuleta fans...if only for one reason...we think he's a spitting image of what Grayson will look like someday! And truth be told, he's a pretty darn good singer, too! Go David A.!

The "sink" hole...

While on a walk thru the neighborhood earlier today...

Grayson: "Whoa Mom, that's a huge hole!"
(commenting on the rather large sink hole in the neighbor's yard)

Me: "Yep, that is a big sink hole, isn't it?"

Grayson: "A SINK hole? Do people really wash their hands in it?"


Oh how I love the literal mind of a 5-year-old!

Mother's Day '08

Ah, the Mother's Day photo shoot. Need I say more? It was strangely familiar. Perhaps just like last year's?...

Fortunately, the cinnamon roll and coffee brought to me in bed, along with a bouquet of beautiful flowers, 2 very sweet cards, a couple of quarters (a gift from Grayson), and a DELICIOUS brunch at the brew pub more than made up for it.

How I love my sweet children!!!

Them? Blessings.
Me? Blessed.

Batman in bowling shoes...

Tis the season for birthdays, birthdays, and more birthdays. More specifically--parties, parties, and more parties. Today was Grayson's turn. Since his party was the last of the bunch, we ran the risk of having exhausted, 'partied-out' guests, but I think a good time was had by all. Most importantly, the guest of honor couldn't be more delighted with his chosen theme (Batman), the venue (the bowling alley), and his friends in attendance:

Garrett, Morgan, James (he's back there!), Carter, Anna, Molly, Katie, Grayson, Maddy, and Autum

Neighbor Rich helped us get ready by painting the Batman logo on G's face.

Strike! Strike! Strike! Strike!

Crazy boys.

Sweet, sweet Autumn. We love her!

Love this picture! I was about to snap one of all the cute feet in bowling shoes when at the last second Carter jumped in like he was supposed to be there all along. Of course you were, sweet Carter!

There are those cute feet!

Sheer delight. (What's up with my look? Please focus on the boy.)

All is still well...

Now it is not. That's me utilizing the "talk down" strategy after another friend, not Grayson, blew out the birthday candles. Notice my death grip on his neck?! But I don't think that too many unpleasant words were shared out loud...

Anticipating the cake...

Meet Pandee the Panda...the newest member of our family. :)

At the end of the day, a very happy (and I think older looking) boy!

Perspective

My next post will be all about Grayson's birthday party earlier today. Parties are supposed to be fun in nature, but it's what I've come to realize lately that made it a truly enjoyable day.

The fact is, I'm a 'details' gal. I like straight edges, things that match, and everything placed just so. I don't leave much to chance, and success is measured by how closely reality aligns with the "perfect" vision in my head. Not surprisingly, that mentality can be a recipe for disaster, especially at birthday parties!

But then a couple of things happened this week. I got to thinking, and for the life of me, I cannot remember if there were super hero plates at Carter and Garrett's super hero party a little over a week ago. Huh. All I remember is my daughter getting to do the parachute with the big kids and walking across the balance beam for the first time. And then this morning at our friend Morgan's 4th b-day party, the pinata broke before the kids even had a chance to swing at it. Sad. Or was it? The kids were thrilled to pounce on the sugar that much sooner! Apparently swinging a bat at a hanging donkey in the sky is overrated. Ha! Who knew?!

So the lesson? Enjoy the KIDS, watch every minute with observant eyes, and realize that memories are being made. 5 or 10 years from now, I want to remember Grayson's size 11 feet in bowling shoes and the look on his face when he saw Ironman (a.k.a "I-run Man") and his new Webkinz.

And good news! I think I'll be able to do just that. While I did set the table with coordinating Batman tableware (of course), I then quickly moved on. I talked with my friends, I savored those 16 cute feet in bowling shoes (plus 2 babies running wild), ate cake, and watched the birthday boy in living color, not solely through the lens of my camera. And in the end, when all was said and done, I sat down and played Legos.

It was a good day.

But now to contrast the almost 32 years that I've had to shape my perspective, here is a look at the less-rounded perspective of an almost 5-year-old when someone else blows out his birthday candles:

But alas, all was forgotten (but maybe not forgivven...yet...hee hee) minutes later when the wrapping paper started to fly!

A Budding Reader

Grayson is really keyed in to letters and their sounds these days. He just doesn't get how book publishers can get it all wrong! (wink, wink)

Case in point--

Grayson: "Mom, I thought this page was supposed to say Duh cat is here."

Me: "Honey, it does say The cat is here."

Grayson: "No Mom, they got it wrong. See? This word starts with a 'T', but it's supposed to have a 'D'. You know? DUH cat is here!"

Here we go...

Today I am taking my son down to the community center to register him for kindergarten. KINDERGARTEN!!! I can hardly believe it. I mean I know that he's ready, but a piece of me hates to let go of him. It just feels like time is moving too fast. Call me naive and short-sighted, but the other day when my principal and I were discussing Grayson and our school's 'two-way Spanish immersion program'--(which, by the way, I'm all for bilingualism, but I'm not completely sold on kids NOT learning to read and write in their native language)-- he said, "You have to think about where he's going to be at (both language-wise and skill-wise) in 7th grade and beyond." But see, that's the thing...I don't want to think about him as a 7th grader!!!

Not one bit.

Supermodel!

Work it, Sister!


Just think of her as a fashion plate for "tomorrow's" trends. I mean seriously, with what you see on the runways these days, are rubber boots and a helmet all that far-fetched?!?! Probably not. Oh and don't forget next season's hottest accessory--the bib.

Happy Birthday, sweet Gibson boys!

It's hard for me to believe that both Molly and Carter are 2 already, but it's REALLY hard for me to believe that Grayson and Garrett turn 5 this month!!! How can that be? I remember it like it was just yesterday--sitting at the hospital on May 3rd (my due date!!!), holding sweet Garrett Tate right on my extremely pregnant belly hoping that it would in some way influence my own sweet boy to COME OUT! But as we all know, no such luck. And so it began...those LONG 12 days of waiting! :) But, alas, as we also all know, some things in life are worth waiting for...

Tonight we got to celebrate with Carter and Garrett at their Super Hero birthday party. Too fun. Galactic Grayson and Mighty Molly had a ball. Let's hope that our own Batman bowling party is equally impressive next week. Eek!

The Heros--Galactic Grayson and Mighty Molly

Seriously, can you ever get enough of something THAT cute? I think not.

The Birthday Heros--Gorilla Man Garrett and Captain Carter

Best Friends

Daddy's Little Hero

Mighty Molly reveled in playing with the big kids. These pictures don't do the scene justice. You really had to be there to hear the squeals of delight and see the beaming smile that stretched from ear to ear...

Happy birthday, Friends!!! We love you SO much!