My blog is broken!

I'm having some technical difficulties with my extra storage I purchase each year. Stay tuned. I have LOADS of pictures to update....soon, hopefully very soon!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, Everyone!

A Grady Funny

So on Thursdays Grady has been going to a class at Gymboree and he goes with his little friend Isabella who lives up the street. This week I dropped Grady and Bella off and Isabella's dad picked them up because I had to take G3 to the doctor. Anyway, on the way there Grady and Bella were chatting about stuff (not sure what, I was only half listening) when I hear "Isabelwah, I not fend with Dibon anymour, he not understand a-me", I about wrecked the car laughing (ok, not really, but it was hysterical). Seriously, the kid is only THREE and he's worried about people understanding him? Grady is a complicated kid, but not THAT complicated.

Silly boy!

Garrison

I swear, I can't turn my back for 2 seconds around this kid! Look at his hands and face? He looks like he has tattoos!

Oh, then, he undressed himself. So he looks like he has a dress on. Crazy kid.

Photos from our trip to the mall to see Santa

Before I had Garrison I took the boys to the mall quite often to either just walk around or to play in the play area, since Garrison, I think I have taken them twice. It's just too much work and I have a hard time watching all 3 of them in the play area, so we just don't go. Anyway, as part of those mall trips Gibson and Grady and I would do, I would always let the boys throw pennies in the fountains, so now, of course, they expect it! And, of course, Garrison wants to do everything is brothers do, so all 3 boys got to throw a penny in the fountain.

And then, there is the bribing. This time, it was a serious bribe because I wanted a good Santa picture. So the boys not only got pretzels but a LEMONADE from Aunt Annie's. That is a serious treat because usually, they share one and I water it down. They thought they hit the jackpot! Especially Gibson because he is the one that remembers our frequent mall trips and only getting a pretzel!

Santa Photos

I braved the mall this morning with all 3 boys (thank goodness for double strollers!) to get this year's Santa photo. The boys did great despite Grady being totally freaked out! After the picture was taken, he did tell Santa that he wanted some "Wegos" aka Legos for Christmas, so it wasn't all that bad. Of course, the promise of pretzels and lemonade after it was all over didn't hurt either!

Our past photos:
2005

2006 - best.Santa.photo.EVER.

2007

2008

2009 - Grady didn't want any part of Santa last year either, but at least he wasn't crying when I agreed to be in the photo with him.

The Lollipop!

We've got a monster. Seriously, its like this kid is 3 already. He HAS to do everything his brothers do and if he doesn't get his way, WATCH OUT. But seriously, he's adorable, so we go with it.

The other night I was letting the boys finish off their Halloween candy (I'm just mostly tired of listening to them BEG for it and so now that it is gone, it's not an issue anymore) and Gibson tried a lollipop that he didn't like (a coconut dumdum) so he set it on the counter and guess who gets to it? Yep, you guessed it, the baby. I wasn't standing there when it happened, Gregg was (I was being all domestic like and doing some laundry), and when I rounded the corner I saw him trying out the lollipop he had his grubby little hands on. We tried to take it away but that only garnered screams, so we relented and let him try it. He LOVED it. Of course....what kid wouldn't? I eventually got it away from him after he had tried enough that he was ok with letting it go. I know I have said this before, but being the 3rd kid has some serious advantages. Gibson would have NEVER had a lollipop at 18 months. Oh, and Gibson's shirt would have never been that dirty either. But, eh, end of the day and again, 3rd kid and we were at home, so he was looking a little like pigpen.


"see, mom, I'm ADORABLE, you can't say no to ME..."

*sigh*

Surgery

Grady had this little growth at the base of his spine that I found about a month or so ago while changing him after he had an accident one day. We had checked out by our pediatrician and she wasn't sure about it so she referred to a general surgeon at Seattle Children's Hospital. We met with the surgeon right before Thanksgiving and he recommended removing it and having an MRI done to see if anything more was going on or if it was just a random cluster of skin cells. From the time we saw our doctor to seeing the surgeon it had doubled in size. It doesn't look like much in the picture, but it was about the size of a kernel of corn.

This last Monday was surgery day. We had originally tried to schedule the surgery and MRI all in the same day, but it didn't work out, so we decided to go with the surgery first to see if the MRI was even really needed.

We arrived at Children's a little bit early (I never know how bad traffic is going to be) and they got us taken pretty much right in and got us settled in a room. Grady was having no part of anything. He wouldn't wear the gown they gave me, so he went everywhere in his Spiderman underwear and Lightening McQueen socks. He wouldn't let them put the ID bracelet on him so we had to hold him down and put it on his leg (I guess this is pretty normal). He kept yelling at me to take it off and was pulling at it. He didn't want anyone touching him. The Anesthesiologist had a hard time listening to his heart and lungs and he didn't like the blood pressure thing and it took 4 times to get his blood pressure because he kept moving despite me holding him.

They decided that it would be best if I suited up and went to the operating room WITH Grady and the nurse. He clearly wasn't going to let anyone carry him back there but me. So, I got ready and went back with them. It took him sitting on my lap with me holding him tightly and 3 other people to get the mask on his face for him to go to sleep. Poor thing, I'm sure it was scary for him despite me trying to talk to him and explain, but he is only 3. Thank goodness they do the IV AFTER they put them under.

After that I had some time to wait, so I headed out to the waiting room and read my book til my pager went off indicating surgery was over. Shortly after that our doctor came out and spoke to me and said that they were able to get all of the growth and it just sort of trailed off into nowhere and they were not sure what caused it or what it even was. They sent it off to be tested. Before our doctor removed the growth, he had a neurosurgeon come in and look at it and offer his advice. This is because the growth was on the midline of the spine and a lot of the growths on that midline are suspect and can sometimes/often relate to something in the spinal column. The neurosurgeon didn't think it was anything, but did recommend we get an MRI just in case. He said he would hate for Grady to be the one kid that they didn't MRI only to find out later that there was something causing the growth. So, we will have an MRI sometime in January or February.

After about 30 minutes Grady woke up, I met him in a room again and he was able to do the rest of his recovery in my arms. He just snuggled up and we sat and watched Dora for about another 45 minutes and then they checked him out. He was very upset about having the IV in his arm during this whole time and so that was the worst part about it. He kept asking me to take it out.

Grady is doing well now, although he says his bottom hurts, so we are trying to stay on top of the Tylenol for him. He has no stitches or anything that we have to worry about, just some sterry (sp?) strips.

I know many of you out there were praying and thinking good thoughts for us. I really appreciate it!

The older G boys

Me: "Grady, show me your smile" Grady: "No, I hide it from you"

Sign Language

Garrison has been using a few signs for a couple of months now. It's just so darn cute! Now he says the word when he signs too.

"More"


"Eat"

"Please"

Date Night

We haven't been out on a date night with our friends Kristi and Jason in several months (I think since before I went to California this summer!). Gregg and I had our standing date night planned for last Saturday so I called Kristi to see if they wanted to join us. We tried a new place called Wild Vine Bistro (I had a coupon) that is located right here in Mill Creek. It's in a strip mall so none of us knew what to think, but we were all impressed when we walked through the door. The food was really good and they were able to cook around my allergies which was also a bonus and meant I didn't have to have just a salad. It was nice to get out with another couple and have some good conversation, plus, I got to hold baby Henry the entire night which was a total highlight for me.

After that Gregg and I ran an errand and then hit the local bowling alley for 2 games, again, because I had a coupon. I LOVE bowling, but I am TERRIBLE at it. I mean REALLY REALLY bad. But, it's fun, so I don't care. Gregg managed to break 100 on both of his games, while I only managed to break 70 on one and 80 on the other. I think we need a rematch ;-)

Some pictures I found on my camera...

Gibson got a hold of my camera the other day apparently...me thinks he probably took it from out of my purse which is a no no in this house and he knows it. Somehow said purse ended up on the floor, also a no no, and another little boy was apparently in it and there is no denying it since I have photographic PROOF!!! I wonder where I was during all this. Probably cooking dinner or in the bathroom, that is about the only time they could have gotten away with this!

Ruh-Roh. It's a time out!

Garrison had his first time out this last week. I usually don't start doing them til about 18 months and realized the other day that we had reached that age with G3 (where did all the time go?). So, he was throwing and hitting his brothers (sort of a problem lately) and so, I decided I would introduce him to the time out. He was NONE too pleased with it, and I kept having to put him back in there, but after the 3rd time, he sat his minute, and then got up after some snuggles. I've only had to put in back in there about 2 or 3 times since then, so it seems he might catch onto this whole deal faster than his oldest brother did. Poor thing, doesn't he look pathetic? It's a good thing he is so cute :)

(don't mind the scratches on the door. Darn dogs did that after we moved in and I have yet to fix it. I'm right on top of things like that...NOT!)

The littlest boy and I

I was sitting at the computer the other day checking my email and FaceBook when G3 came up and wanted in on the action. Usually in the evening we try to see if Grandma is online and we try to talk to her, but this night, she wasn't, so instead he pointed to the camera and said "cheese", so I took us a few photos instead. This is the cutest of the bunch, so I thought I would post it for you all to see.

The Comedian

I think that needs to be G3's new nickname. I could give all the kids nicknames, but Garrison's needs to be The Comedian. I swear the kid is much smarter than his year and half and does things just to make me laugh. The other day, he was sitting up at the counter (his favorite place to sit) eating a snack (which he always gets all over the counter AND the floor) and pulled this with his shirt. Gibson did this a few times too. When I put his shirt back to how it was, he immediately put it back again and then looked at me and started cracking up. Hysterical. Then, when I told him we should wear our shirt the right way, he gave me a face (as seen in the last picture) and said "nnnooooooooo"

test post

wow. I just figured out how to post from my kindle. hard to type but how cool! I love learning new things.

Thanksgiving

We headed down to the beach house in Lincoln City this year for Thanksgiving. It was our final Thanksgiving there as my aunt and uncle sold the house. We had some stuff to pack up and wanted to have one final weekend there. They've had the house for 10 years and we have really enjoyed it over that time, but don't get to go nearly as much as we use to now that we have 3 kidlets. It's just a wee bit harder to get there than it was when it was just the 2 (or even 3) of us!

Gibson doesn't quite get that this was the last trip, he loves going there and keeps asking when we are going to go back. When I tell him we can't that the house was sold to someone else he justs asks "why?" It's hard to explain some things to a 5 year old.

Anyway, on with the pictures. Gregg tried to teach the boys how to play Chinese Checkers.

G3 and Uncle Steve, G3 liked to look at the birds out the window and at the water.

Gibson and I playing on the iPad. Actually, I was playing a slot game and was winning BIG and he was watching along. Contributing to the delinquency of a minor and all that :)

Food. Always food when my kids are around. We decided to have a late lunch, so I put out a table of snacks for us all to enjoy. The boys immediately "set up shop" there and camped out for several hours. G3 got really good at tasting the food and putting it back and also triple dipping. It's a good thing he is so darn cute.

Gibson reading his Seattle book he brought with him.

Aunt Wanda and Uncle Steve doing kitchen stuff.

Grady. He says "I tire mommy" so I said, do you want to take a nap? "No, I ok" he says. So, he just took a rest while watching Mary Poppins.


Gibson playing on the iPad. He liked it so we asked him if he needed one for Christmas and he said "NO, I don't need any EYE PATCH!"

Everyone getting in on the iPad. Can you tell this was a real treat for my family to play with his?

The whole crew.

Sweet thing.

Oh boy. I sat him up there because we were talking to my mom and she was sending little animated things over IM and he immediately started playing with the mouse and clicking around. Smart kid...

"What? I'm not doing anything!"

On Friday afternoon, we decided the kids needed to get out of the house while G3 napped. AW/US were going to be home, so we left G3 to nap and we took the boys to check out the local putt putt indoor golf place. Was not that great, but it was indoors, so we couldn't complain. The kids had fun and that was all I cared about.


Gregg thought that the boys should hold the clubs right and follow the rules. Ya, they are 3 and 5. I tried to explain to him that he was just stressing himself out and to just let them have fun. He's new ;-) but he listened to my advice and all was good.

Ok, I'm annoyed that this picture is sideways, but anyway. This was the hardest hole for the boys to deal with. Eventually Grady just gave up and walked away.

This was Grady's preferred method of getting the ball in the hole.

And when all else failed he just climbed into the structure to get the ball where it needed to go!


Then, of course, we had to go get ice cream! A rare treat around our house.



Daddy and G3

The Gibster


Aunt Wanda and Grady with Livvie. I think Livvie was happy when the boys went to bed and night and when we left...she is good with the kids, but I know she gets tired of them.

One last shot in front of the beach house! Thanks for the memories...

and someone passed out on the way home. What is it about a sleeping baby that makes you love them 100x more than you thought you did when they were awake?

We hope everyone had a fun and happy Thanksgiving holiday. We have much to be thankful for!