If This is Spring, Who Needs Winter?

You would think this picture happened in the winter...oh no! This happened this past week. March 23. Two days after the Spring Equinox. Fun, huh?

K, I don't know about you all, but I am SICK of snow. I'm sick of the snow showers, drifts by my house, sliding around in the slush, and silently praying not to get stuck. And worst of all, hoping someone isn't going to hurdle right into me. Yes, we have had a mild awinter this year. Last year we had a lot of really cold days, and more snow showers. This year, we have had few snow showers, but the ones we have gotten are happening in the spring, and this last snowfall was a doozy! We received 14 inches this last Monday. I'm all for snow, but couldn't we have gotten this all before Christmas? I am so ready for brightness, and green, I have seriously considered getting one of those sunlight lamps for my house! And the wind! There is nothing like blowing snow, and driving in white out conditions. I know its probably worse in some other places, but I am from St. George, where its really warm. I don't know if I will ever get used to this. Not fun. Really sick of the winter and I cannot wait for the warmth of spring to thaw out my chilly bones.

Such an adventure this week for my school kiddos as well. On Monday, when snow was just pouring down, our Central Office decided to shut down schools early. This didn't really affect me since I work in the morning and am off by 12:30, so I still worked my full hours. James happens to work with two ladies who have kids who go to my school. They asked if I would take them home, since James was closing down the office and also drive them home as well. Of course I would! James, being the wonderful husband that he is, came to school to make sure I would be able to get out and about okay. It was such a good thing! I kept getting stuck just backing out of the parking lot. Back and forth, we'd keep trying and trying, until finally all four wheels backed safely out my parking spot. That was just the beginning! If you've ever driven in Casper, they don't have Brigham Young's wonderful grid idea to find addresses. Casper is all grouped and plotted out by themes. The theme in my school neighborhood is flowers. Both of the kids I was driving home lived on a flower street. They knew their addresses, but I am so unfamiliar with all of the different streets, I couldn't find where they lived for the life of me! Luckily, we were following James, and one of the ladies he works with was giving him directions. She replied, "just go straight." So we did, but she led us the wrong way, and we had to turn around in all of this snow. The Chevy kept getting stuck, so James would come out of his truck, get me unstuck, and then go back in his truck. This happened a few times! Finally, we got both kiddos home safely, and James and I were able to go home-one hour later from when we began! Gotta love Wyoming!

We did manage to play with Grant in the snow. I don't think we were out there for a full minute before he started crying. And those are shorts that James is wearing! Crazy!

Tuesday was a snow day. I don't know why...the sun was shining and was absolutely beautiful. The snow plows had come out and scraped our streets really well for once, so not sure why we had school canceled. You would think this would make me happy-it doesn't. This means we will have two make up days in June. June and school do not mix for me! I loved spending the day with Grant though! We had so much fun playing, and reading books. His favorite book is the Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Luckily we have the board book edition. Whenever I start it, he grins and touches the moon. I always ask him where the moon is, and he pats it with his hand! He also likes the middle part where the caterpillar eats through all the fruit. He loves to turn the pages and poke his fingers in the holes. It's cute to watch.

We are still trying to get Grant and Cooper to be better friends. Here's a start:

Cooper is starting to let Grant pet him. Maybe when Grant is older Cooper will finally be used to him. I don't know what it is! Grant is so great with our nieces and nephews!

Wednesday we had a late start for school. This snow just totally threw us for a loop. It has been so crazy. The students are also in the middle of taking their end of year tests, and this has really been rough for them. I love routines for kids, and they love it too. It's really hard when everything is thrown up in the air. I hope next week is better!

This Thursday, our plans for the missionaries were foiled again. They actually had a zone conference that night and were fed at the meeting. They mentioned the meeting earlier in the day, and the fact that they might not come. I prepared everything anyway, and when 6:00 came, they called and told us about their having dinner at the zone conference. James and I ate the feast of spring food-ham, shrimp salad, Red Lobster rolls, and green beans. It made me think of WARM Sunday dinners at my mom's about this time of year. Hmmm.

Then comes Friday. I LOVE Fridays. Who doesn't? It just feels different. By the time Friday comes I am spent. I love pulling on those jeans and heading off to work with a spring in my step thinking about the hard earned break that will happen in a few hours. Today, after I got home from work, I had to go visiting teaching. However, when James came home, Grant was awake, but had really sleepy eyes. He fell asleep right after James laid him in his crib. Since James pretty much eats and runs, I had to make a fast trip over to my neighbors house and give the lesson to her while James was eating his lunch. I feel bad that I had to be so rushed, but James had to go back to work in a matter of minutes. I left my partner there to finish the visit, but I just had to let Grant sleep. It was a good thing I did. He slept a whopping two hours! He has never gone that long. He must have really been tired. I feel a little bit better, since I had another visiting teaching appointment with a sister we have a tough time getting a hold of. I took Grant and went by myself, since my partner had another commitment. We had a really good visit. I think this is the second time I have been able to see her. She has a couple of dogs, and they adored Grant. He laughed and was so cute with them. I wish Cooper would be more like that. He is with our nieces and nephews. Maybe when Grant is older! Later that night James and I took the baby out to dinner at Applebee's where I enjoyed a strawberry lemonade and a shrimp dinner. Perfect end to the day!

Grant and James-what a pair. Don't they look so handsome? This was just after we came home from church. Have I mentioned before how much I love 9:00 church?! :)

A lot of our snow is beginning to melt. On the way home, James exclaimed, "Wow, its warm out there. Thirty-five degrees and it is still going up." Yeah. Thirty-five was our high. Did I mention how sick I am of the snow? :)

Back In the Swing!

The dishes are all caught up.

Laundry is finished.

The suitcases are all unpacked.

There is food in the cupboards.

Toys are all put away.

It's fun to be away, but it feels so good to be back! I'm home today (Tuesday), and I just love it. James had to go to Wheatland this morning, so I took the day to watch the baby. I absolutely love being home! Grant and I read books, played with his learning table, and practiced walking with his push cart. We also had a play date today. Our friends the Daly's invited Grant and I over to their house. Grant and McKinley (Lyndi's daughter) didn't really "play" together to say the least, but Lyndi and I had a great time! I hope we get to do it again soon!

Grant's physical therapy session was funny this week. He is getting more and more independent, and really didn't want to have anything to do with the activities the physical therapist had planned. He crawled everywhere, so he pretty much ran his own session! She just sort of rolled with the flow-she watched him crawl, and practice walking (he's keeping his right leg stiff when he walks, so we just need to help him bend his knee when he walks down the hall at least twice a day), and she also managed to squeeze in some container play. Grant needs to practice, bending down, picking up something, and letting the something go in a container. I tried practicing with him yesterday, and he pretty much had his own plans. We'll keep trying though!

The only way I can make dinner:

Making dinner in the late afternoon used to be so difficult. I was thinking back to when Grant was a newborn, to about 4 months old, when he would want to be held all time. Making dinner was a huge task. I had a sling, and a Snugli that I would put him in to help me, but those were just so awkward to work around. My back would hurt at the very end, and I was super conscious of the stove, and stood away from it, so Grant wouldn't be in the heat. I think he also didn't like being in those so much. It took a lot of work to get him those, and he would cry and fuss till he would finally settle down. Now, things are so much easier! Cheerios in the high chair seem to do the trick. I can get dinner made and on the table in no time flat. So while I am sad, that my little baby is growing up, it's also fun to have him be more independent.

It's also fun to have him eat dinner with us. He's getting introduced more to real food, and this week he had his first pancake:

I think it helps to have him eat with us. It's fun to eat together as a family!

I asked James what he did this week, so he can be in the blog, and he replied with, "Nothing." (Huge help, huh? :))He actually loves his job and works with two ladies who are fantastic at running things. We are able to go on trips (like spring break to St. George) without having to worry too much about what goes on at the office.

James is also huge into the March Madness. I have learned a lot since being married to him about college basketball. First of all, James is CRAZY nuts for college basketball. He fills out his brackets (teams who play against each other till there is finally one winner left for all for four regions). He watches or listens to most games when he can, which sometimes includes watching on the computer and the TV when the TV doesn't show his favorite team. (This actually happened this week. If they don't show Duke, that takes care of the TV AND the computer.) He makes me fill out MY brackets (I think so he can make fun of my choices and rub my nose in it when he beats me.) If I don't choose Duke, (which I actually did one year, but then had to change it :)) I get the third degree! So, in short, James has been totally tuned into basketball and claims that these past two days are the greatest days in sports all year. So all I have to say is, "Go Duke!"

When I did manage to pull James away from the TV, we went for a walk in PV Park. The last time we took Grant for a walk in his stroller, he cried, but this time we brought Cooper, and Grant was totally tuned into him the whole time:

The weather was a beautiful 77 degrees, with a light wind. We had a great walk, and I am sure glad Grant enjoyed it too!

Cooper gets a little tired when we get home. He completely wears himself out after a walk. Here's what I mean:

Have a great week!

Spring Break finally came (and went) too quickly. We had such a great time! We left on Tuesday afternoon. James took a half a day off, and we stayed the night at James' brother's house (thanks Paul and Robbi :)). Cooper came with us, and between Grant and Cooper, it was quite the ride. Cooper rode in front and Grant and I rode in the back. We found that Cooper does a lot better when he is the center of attention. He managed to knock over his water bowl along with some of James' drink, but other than that he was a good little traveler. Grant did really well too. He was easily entertained with this soft book we got at a baby shower. He played with that almost the whole trip. I also have a theory. I think when we travel, it's anything I can do to make him not cry. Crying sounds ten times louder when you are in a car. So whenever Grant would cry, (which was not too often) he'd get a bottle. It seemed to work. He would fall asleep soon after the bottle was given so I feel way good about that. Here are some pics of the many faces of Grant in the car:

This is what we left behind. Casper had gotten snow the night before, so we woke up to a snow covered backyard. It looks pretty now, but then it gets all blown into drifts, and turns brown. I'm all for no snow after Christmas. So ready for spring. The weather in St. George did not disappoint. So beautiful, and their trees are starting to get those popcorn blossoms on them. I LOVE St. George!

Anyway, Wednesday morning, we got to go see my cute Grandma who is now in a nursing home. It was a little (okay, a lot) heartbreaking to see her, and not have her truly know who I am. She did get to see Grant and we took a picture:

Now we can say that he has met his great grandma. I just wish that this could have happened a few years ago, so she could love on him like I always imagined she would. Oh well. I just count my blessings that she was still here with us when we had Grant.

Later that day, we stopped in Payson to see one of my old college friends. We graduated together in 2003, and then she had had her first little one. Now she has three! So crazy! She also just added a pug to her family:

Cooper looks so huge compared to this little guy! His name is Po, and I don't think Cooper was ever that little. He weighed just nothing, and seemed to like Grant's Jacket:

We managed to get pics with Grandparents this time. Particuluarly with Grandma's. Grant saw three Grandmas in one day. Here Grant is with my mom:

and with James' mom:

Thursday we spent the day with the Killpack's and just relaxed. We actually tried to take Grant on walk in Snow Canyon where the weather was so perfect. But Grant would not have it. For some reason, he did not like being in his stroller, and he cried nearly the whole time. Near the end of the walk, he calmed down and decided that the walk wasn't so bad after all, but wouldn't ya know, he stopped at the end!

Later that night, James, Grant, and I met my mom and Kirk at an ice cream place in town. Grant can't have dairy yet, but he really liked drinking water from the straw. I would plug up one end with my finger to keep some water in the straw, and then let it drip into his mouth. He could not get enough of that! It was so fun to watch.

Friday, was so interesting. Our plans seemed to change as the day went on. We were going to go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and then I found out that that was too far, so then we were going to Tooweap (Tuweap? I have no clue how to spell this!) And by the time I was ready to go, and had gotten Grant ready, the plan changed to Kolob. We started out by going to the St. George temple visitors center to see the new Joseph Smith movie (which by the way is really good!) We thought it would be just a half an hour, oh no! It lasted about an hour and a half! So when we left, we were really hungry for lunch. We thought In and Out Burger might be a good place to go. Well so did everyone else in town! We turned into the parking lot, and were waiting to turn right, when a truck pulling a trailor started to turn left, but he turned to sharp, and his trailor didn't make the turn as wide, so it hit the back of my father in law's truck. The person who did this didn't have his license with him, so we had to wait forever for the police to show up, and ya da, ya da, ya da. When we were finally free to go, we had been in the parking lot for two hours, and we were so ready to leave. We ended up just going home. It was too bad too. I really like Kolob, and I bet we could have taken some great pics of Grant.

Saturday finally came! I went to see my mom and go shopping. We had our usual shopping day. Starts out in the morning, we grab lunch, and then based on what we need, we will continue shopping or just go home. Love shopping dates with my mom. We've done them ever since I was a kid. Fun tradition to have, I only wish we could do it more often. Maybe when we move back to Utah! Anyway, Grant needed some church clothes, a swimsuit, and some shorts, which I found at Target! (LOVE that store!) We also managed to find some clothes for me for spring! It was just a fun day!

Grant also has a new trick. He's big into crawling and will do this nifty trick with a book. Who needs a skate board, when you could have a hand board? He does this all day, and will get upset when the book gets stuck on the ridge between the carpet and the kitchen floor. Too funny!

Honestly, I cannot believe how fast the time went! It seems like we just barely got down there. It was so fun! The weather was gorgeous, and I love the brightness there. Everything seems bright and cheery, and there is a happy atmosphere there. Can't wait to go back! Thanks to our families for everything!

If It's Not One Thing, It's Another!

We have a crawler! Grant is such a great crawler. We are so proud of him. The army crawl he started out with, is getting less and less and his crawling is getting faster and faster. It is so fun to watch! This week at physical therapy, she brought a push cart for him to start practicing taking steps. He still really loves to keep his legs straight, but he did take a few steps with the cart. She said that he will probably do his walking like he did his crawling: on his own terms! Grant doesn't really like to helped. He will hardly let you guide his hand over a picture in a book, for crawling he wouldn't let me move his legs, and for rolling from tummy to back, he would just lay there till I backed off. This kid likes things to be done in his own way! So he is starting to practice walking. During the session, I asked her what comes after when babies learn how to walk? My answer would have been, "heck, as soon as they are walking, they should be done." Not so. (Shows you how much I know about babies!) Oh my goodness, there was a whole list of things! Walking backward, throwing a ball, jumping. The list went on and on. Things just don't stop after they start to walk. There is always something to be working on!

Large:

Our physical therapist was commenting on what a big baby Grant is. She was saying that Grant probably is the biggest baby she has ever worked with, and that is saying a lot since she has been doing this for a lot of years. Just before physical therapy, I was looking online at baby names (one of my friends just got a puppy. She was wondering what to name him, and James and I like people names for dogs! :) ) Anyway, I looked up Grant's name and it said (of all things) that Grant is Scottish for "large!" We had a good laugh. Such an appropriate name!

Continuing:

All of my fellow teacher friends know that when you first start out as a teacher you are kind of under a microscope. You have to follow your district's new teacher program (yes, an actual program) for three years (both in Utah and in Wyoming) not to mention all of the other teacher responsibilities that are in your building. And I might as well mention, all the wonderful things you want to accomplish in your own classroom. Well, this is my third year teaching in Wyoming, and I was just offered a continuing contract for the district which means I am guarenteed a job in the district next year (part time, mind you!). I am way excited that I am finally able to just teach. My working part time has been a huge blessing for our family.

A New Face:

So, I was feeding Grant on Thursday afternoon. He was having ham and gravy. (I have to try hard not to pull a face at the smell. Oh, it is so gross!) I was making an airplane noise with the spoon loaded with his ham and gravy. I started high, circled around a few times, and finished my journey with a vroom sound that ended when his mouth was closed. After the food entered his waiting mouth, he gave me the funniest face. With each mouthful, one of these faces would appear! I managed to capture one on camera:

A Missed Opportunity:

Today (Thursday) my friend Lyndi and I were going to get together with our little ones for a play date. We had planned to get together at around three. Well, Grant had other plans. He had taken a nap at 11:30, so by 2:00 I thought, I would be able to get him to go for a nap. I heard Grant in his crib clear up until 2:40. When I went to check on him, he was sound asleep! I called Lyndi to let her know Grant had just fallen asleep, and we'd probably be a little after three. He must've been tired. He slept until 4:00! When he takes naps, you just never know how long it will be. Some days its a half an hour, and others its an hour. Today about an hour and fifteen minutes seemed to cover it. Lyndi was very understanding, and invited us over for dinner. She also happened to be hosting the missionaries as well, so I got to have my fill of them to make up for last month. (Thanks Lyndi, it was delicious! :)) We'll try our playdate idea another day!

Remembering:

I was just thinking about when we first brought Grant home from the hospital (for the second time!) He never would just go down in his bassinette for his naps with out waking up two minutes later. So I would just sit and hold him in between feedings. It sounds exhausting, but I loved every second of it! I'm thinking about this time because I just relived it! Grant had just taken a nap, when I heard him start to cry. I could tell maybe he didn't get enough sleep, and I thought how he might be hungry. So I made him a small bottle, and he let me hold him (since he's been crawling, he only lets me hold him for a short while) through his whole bottle, and I saw those eyes start to close and soon he was asleep again. I looked at him while he was asleep and couldn't help think of how much he looks like James. I know people say he looks like me, and I agree but just around the eyes, he really looks like James around the mouth and chin. He totally has James's smile! This Sunday he will be eleven months old and I just can't believe it! How fast the time goes!

A New Game:
When Cooper is outside and the pet door is closed, Cooper will beg to come back in. Well, Grant thinks this is a fun time, and loves to be around the sliding door when Cooper is on the other side. They are about the same height! :)