Sunday, January 30, 2011

Graysen's Birthday Dinner

Our family tradition is that every gets to have a special birthday dinner every year. We went to Mr. Gatti's for Graysen's birthday. (I just recently discovered Mr. Gatti's and it is SO much better than CEC!!!) The boys had a blast playing and Momma enjoyed the Smores pizza. So yummy...

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Happy 3rd Birthday Graysen!

Graysen turned three today!!! This is such a blessing and joyful day considering where we have been the past few years. I enjoy seeing him happy and healthy and enjoying life.

As you can see from the picture, he was very excited that today was his special day. His favorite gift was RC Ironman. He loves it and it is a weird feeling have a little robot wondering around the house.

Happy Birthday Graysen! We love you!

"House-filling"

Lee is dedicated to recycling and to leaving this earth in the best possible shape for our children. Although I recycle, I do not do so 100%... So, to encourage me, Lee started "house-filling." He tells me that if I am going to landfill, he is going to bring the landfill to me.

He has been doing this for a while now. I can't say that it makes me happy, but it is definitely an incentive to recycle. Items that he finds in the trash, which could have been recycled, find their way into places in our house. This morning I found a body wash bottle in the closet. I guess I need to re-double my efforts...




Sunday, January 23, 2011

Graysen's Birthday Party

Yesterday, we celebrated Graysen's third birthday with a Batman themed birthday-party!  (He doesn't actually turn three until Wednesday.)  Just for the fun of it, we all bought superhero costumes for the party.  Laura, Caleb, and Graysen wore theirs during the entire party.  I surprised Graysen with my Batman costume just before he blew out his candles (which was a mistake--he started crying.)  He are a few photos of the festivities:



Graysen was a little tired from too little sleep.  He was a grumpy little Batman.



We ate.


The kids played.


Laura dressed as Batgirl.



Caleb dressed as Robin.

The first game was "Mr. Freeze's Dance Party."


The second game was "Pin the Bat on Batman."


The third was "The Joker's Surprise Package." 




I made an apperance as Batman. Chad laughed at me.  He'll understand when he has kids.  (Thanks for the photo, Aunt Kim.)


Graysen was blessed with many wonderful gifts.


Graysen thanked everyone.



Graysen was a tired boy after the party.  He was asleep by 6 p.m.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Out & About

After spending five days relaxing at home in jammies, the boys and I ventured out today to go to Graysen's cardiologist appointment.

The appointment was pushed back from 8:30 AM to noon, but even so, I wasn't sure if we were going to make it or not. Here is a picture of our driveway as we were leaving, four days after the big snow and after Lee spent over an hour shoveling it last night.

I made it out of the drive way, but got stuck in the cul-de-sac for a few minutes before I was able to find traction. Thankfully Lee had given me some tips for driving on ice and I was able to make it to Graysen's doctor, although I didn't go over 30 MPH the entire way.
His appointment went great!!! Graysen is doing fantastic and is cleared for six more months. There are no concerns and he is like a "normal" boy right now.

After the doctor, I thought that we would take advantage of being out. I took the boys to Starbucks for a treat, followed by a trip to Costco to stock up on milk, bread, and wine.
I let the boys play in the snow for a while when we got home. This is the first day that they have been able to play in the snow and they LOVED it!!!
Caleb was tentative, as usual.
Graysen enjoyed throwing large chunks of ice.
Graysen really wanted me to build a snowman for him. It is a very sad snowman. I would have made it bigger, but I was not getting any help.
Well... School is cancelled tomorrow for the fifth day in a row!!! This is unheard of here in SC!!! I can't believe that we have had a whole extra week of vacation. It has been great!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Still Snowing!!!

We woke up to a beautiful Winter Wonderland this morning, and it is supposed to continue snowing all day. The news this morning said that we should get 9-12 inches total. It is SO pretty and the boys and I are loving it!!!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Video: Jedi Training Academy at Disney's Hollywood Studios

We were lucky to be able to "enroll" Caleb in the Star Wars: Jedi Training Academy show at Disney's Hollywood Studios.  The show allows about twenty-five kids to participate as Jedi trainees.  Since Caleb was one of the two smallest participants, he was placed right next to the "Jedi Master" for supervision.

Below is selected video from the show.  Caleb is the little boy in an orange shirt with his hood twisted.   Forgive my geeky laughing in the background of the audio:  my boy was a funny little Jedi.  It couldn't be helped.

Lee


Click here to watch in HD.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Disney Vacation / Christmas 2011 Photos

Below are some photos from our recent trip to Florida. More photos from the trip (and commentary on the photos) can be found at the following link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2073556&id=1479573483&l=b172dd5baf

(The link is a Facebook Photo Album, but you don't need a Facebook account to be able to see it.)


Caleb with his glowing Buzz Lightyear lemonade.


The Magic Kingdom at Christmas



Laura and Graysen on the Tomorrowland Speedway



Caleb and Graysen on the Liberty Square Riverboat at the Magic Kingdom



Christmas lights at the Magic Kingdom



Cinderella's castle at night at the Magic Kingdom



The boys meet Spider-Man



Caleb, waiting for the superheros




Caleb and Graysen meet Wolverine



Our hotel at night



Caleb at Epcot



The boys meet Handy Manny



Caleb graduating from Jedi Training Academy at Disney's Hollywood Studios



Caleb, thanking his Grammy for many wonderful gifts on Christmas day