L is for Lights

I keep calling this the Wonder of Lights picture. We put up our Christmas tree yesterday and decorated it while Greysen was sleeping. When he awoke, we took him and placed him in front of the sparkly Christmas tree. This is how he looked at the tree: I, the certifiable scrooge, can admit that seeing this wonder in the eyes of my child is quite magical....

K is for Karma, Kismet

I got the job! I think my last post did it for me - got me all the karma and kismet I needed. And happened to make it easy to post for K. Thanks Internets!

J is for Job

I have an interview for a new Job on Monday. I am hoping by telling the Internets about this, I will relieve some nerves and get some good karma coming my way. Please freely send karma my way, friends. And luck too; luck is always good.

Stay tuned.

I in for Interest

Greysen has a profound Interest in books these days. I think most of the recent photos we have of him are with a book in hand. Some of them, he reads better than we can.

Behold:

P.S. Could SOMEONE teach me how to post pics without these weird spaces and odd placement?

H is for Halloween

Greysen already loves Halloween just like his Mama and Dada. Cassie bought him a Halloween book that he loves ALMOST as much as his Little Blue Truck book. Any book about a truck who is friends with ducks, horses and frogs that helps a dump truck get out of the mud is bound to be the fave in this house.

Greysen is going to be Raggedy Andy doll for Halloween this year. I think it'll be a cute, fun, easy outfit. And it's one that I won't get away with dressing my child as for very long. As soon as he wants to pick out his own outfits, I am certain a doll will not be the choice.

And Andrew and I are going to be the old washed-up has-been parents of Raggedy Andy doll - maybe Raggedy Becky and Andy. Ratted hair, too much makeup, cleavage, smoking cigs, etc ... Got any other ideas about how to make this look legit?

I will undoubtedly post pics of Greysen but I don't know yet whether our pics will be blog-worthy.

G is for Gay

I was telling the story yesterday of Greysen getting a cold this past week while we were traveling for my Gramma's funeral. And I said to a co-worker, "I can't get him to stop kissing people on the mouth, so, of course, he got sick. And then he probably infected everyone he kissed as well."

The co-worker responded, with a chuckle, "Wouldn't it be funny if Greysen turned out to be flaming Gay?"

I didn't know how to respond. How does one respond to this question? It raised so many questions and so many responses, that I was stunned into a non-response. That just isn't like me.

Relatedly, yesterday was the official end to the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy of the military in the U.S. Witness history and be proud that the U.S. can look beyond this irrelavant personal detail. The question was, for this situation and for the instance of my co-worker making that comment, "What does it matter?"

F is for Family

My Gramma, Marie Martell, died last week, Sept. 8, 2011. She held on, despite not having eaten or taken her meds for the week prior, until my Mama and I arrived to say goodbye. She died an hour later.

To honor the life of this cute and feisty lady, our whole Family gathered at the church in Wishek, North Dakota. It's the first time the cousins had been together since my Grandpa passed away 24 years ago. Gramma was never one to travel far or wide but was always wherever her Family could be found. She would have been so happy to see us all together in one place.


I hope the smile that has been missing from your face in your latest days has found you again Gramma. I love you, I miss you. Rest in peace.

E is for Exploded

I initially planned to call this post Eloquent. It is a bit of a stretch to call Greysen's speech eloquent. However, it is not a stretch to say that his speech has Exploded in the last week or so. He now talks in sentences and we can actually have short conversations about rocks and food and toys, mostly trucks and airplanes.

While we drove in the car, and Greysen in his carseat, from Wishek, ND to Dickinson, ND a couple days ago (a subject I will write about in the next post), Cassie asked Greysen what he'd like to eat in addition to what he'd already (barely) eaten. She said, "What else do you want?" And Greysen responded, referring to his carseat, "I want out."

This morning Greysen threw a temper tantrum (nope, we aren't spared from those) and whipped his head backward right into my nose. I put him down while I reeled from the pain. Greysen stopped his tantrum and followed me as I sat on the stairs. He put his hand on my arm and said, "Mama, hurt." And then he pointed to himself when Andrew asked me what happened and he said, "Greysen" in his pained, scrunched-up, hurt face. He was acknowledging that he hurt me.

He can count to 10 by himself, sings every single word of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star by himself and in the right tune and he sings over and over his A,B, C's up to J and then ends it with (in the right tune), "Now I know my A, B's."

Is it any wonder that I can't keep up with this? SHEESH!

The comprehension amazes me. I know he understands more than he can speak. So the smarts of this kid is, by far, already surpassed his Mama. And it'll only get better ...

D is for DIRT

The Jakes' camped but one measley time this summer ... well, 2 if you count the backyard campout. We don't ...

We went to an access spot near Helena hoping to cut down on the time traveling to the spot and instead just finally get to enjoy some relaxing time doing what we love to do.

Greysen recently decided to push limits; trying to redefine boundaries; like the one where we've prohibited eating Dirt. He thinks that one is unreasonable. Handfuls of Dirt are Delicious.

We had a great time regardless and hope that next summer we will have many more dog days of summer to wile away next to a stream where the rocks are so great that we can't even bear to throw them.

Cassie-Care

Cassie takes care of Greysen every day while we are at work. We have never had to worry about child care. And we feel so very lucky. I could fill this whole blog about stories of Cassie-care kids. There are five kids (not all at once) who are lucky enough to have Cassie love them. And boy does she love them.

Cassie has to run upstairs every now and then. And there is no way, with just one person, she can keep an eye on the kiddos while she's gone. This particular time, when things got suddenly quiet downstairs, she knew trouble was a-brewing. She was pleasantly surprised when she found this instead ...

Bennett, Emerson, Greysen and Dylan quietly reading their books and surprising the heck out of everyone. The only little one missing here is Parker. She's the little lady and seems to rule the others.








Commonly, the kiddos spend their time looking out the door window trying to convince Cassie they need not eat, sleep, or play inside. They love to be outside and even pine over the outdoors when they are inside. Cassie often hears, "Big truck," "hi" (to passersby), "Rain, rain go way," "deer." They get outside almost every day unless the weather doesn't allow. In the winter, this is quite the feat cuz they all get dressed in their snowsuits and by the time the last kid is dressed, the first couple have had multiple meltdowns. I can't imagine the challenge on a regular basis.


I can't even take credit for the pics in this post. It's another perk of the Cassie-care arrangement. The pics are here, like many things in the daily care of the kiddos, all thanks to Cassie.

B is for Boogers

The summer finally hit here in li'l ol' Helena and it has been D.R.Y. I forgot how dry it can get because we've had such a wet May, June, even July. And then August hit and the dried Boogers clung to the inside of noses everywhere.

Including Greysen's nose. And it's for this reason alone that he has become a nose-picker. Right? Okay, maybe truth be told, the whole family has been witnessed picking boogers in these dry times. Can't leave those dry nasty things to interrupt the flow of good ol' (forest-fire-filled) mountain air into the lungs.

The other day Greysen was picking voraciously. He stopped and said, "Help. Nose." I responded, "Do you have boogers?" "Yeah," he responded. I asked, "You need help getting them out?" He said, "Boogers. Out." So, like the good Mama who will also be witnessed one day wetting my hands and pasting down his hair (or encouraging it to stand taller, as it is these days), I picked his booger.

It took some wrangling but in the end I produced a HUGE ball of green, dry booger. I said, "Is that better?" Greysen responded, "Better. Da doo (thank you)." And he went about his merry way.

Adjectives of Adoration

Greysen is Amazing. An amazing little boy that can't get any cuter. I will unabashedly say that he is likely the cutest thing I've ever seen. How crazy is it that we just happened to have, of all the babies in the world, the cutest baby ever? Behold:

From henceforth, I do hereby declare that, this, the beginning of September (or thereabouts), is the beginning of the September Blog Challenge. (Insert official-sounding english accent...)

I will follow the difficult-to-fill footsteps of my sister, JDoc, who is nearing the end of her August Blog Challenge. This consisted of, nearest I can tell, theming your posts with a word beginning with the first letter of the alphabet and progressing through with a blog about a word beginning with the rest of the alphabet by the end of August. I will do this for September. And because there is no time like the present, I will get a head start.

Greysen is Astonishing. At a year and 5 months old, there isn't a day that goes by that I am not amazed by the things he can do, say and understand. Recently, he lifted his arm and asked me to tickle UNDER his arm after I'd tickled the top of his arm. "Arm. Tickle. Under?" How does he know what UNDER means? And though I could be Astounded by the three-word sentences, it is such a common occurence nowadays that I have forgottem to be suprised that my not-even-year-and-a-half-year-old can speak in complete sentences.

He has entered another phase of separation anxiety and mostly likes to be around his Mama and Dada. Yesterday Andrew went to visit him at Cassie-care in the middle of the day. He cried and cried and cried after Andrew left him there. He would finally stop crying and then look at the door where Andrew exited and start crying again. We decided that there will likely be very little midde-of-the-day visits so that we don't have to leave Cassie with a blubbering toddler.

I have no doubt we will continue to be amazed, astonished and astounded by the Little Mister. I really can't imagine, though, that it can get any better than this. And yet, many more in-the-know parents promise that it most assuredly does. P.S. For you arbiters of the blog challenges, shouldn't I get extra credit for multiple uses of the letter theme? I do hereby declare ...

Four-legged, Furry Friend

The plan for our Memorial Day weekend is to work in the small bathroom off our sun room. And to work in the yard. Today was potentially the only dry day in our plan so we were in the yard. Greysen loves to be outside and especially loves when the dogs are out there with him. Sake can entertain Greysen for hours just doing what Sake does - chase the ball, drop it at his feet and chase his own tail. This particular reaction resulted from Sake throwing the ball to himself and running after it. How hilarious this was to G... It's fun to see Greysen with the dogs now that he's walking around. He, of course, sees eye-to-eye with Sake. Sasquatch is not as interested in Greysen - she'll learn when he has food around and she can manipulate the situation for a few nibbles. For now, she'd rather mingle with the mature population. Every now and then Sake slaps a wet and slimy kiss on Greysen's cheek. Luckily Greysen thinks it's funny. I hope they continue to be friends ... can't hardly beat a four-legged, furry friend in your life.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

These are three of the cuties at CassieCare. Greysen is the one closest to the video with the tie-dye shirt on.

Hippy Shorts

This is my little hippy. And it's blurry cuz you really canNOT get him to stand still for a second to snap a shot...

Happy Weekend, Happy Mama

I had a whole weekend of wonderful time with my Hubs and Greysen ... and even a little me time. Friday night I spent the evening with dear friends that inspire me on so many levels to be better people, better women, better Mama. Andrew stayed home that evening with Greysen so that I could spend some much-needed time at the Wine Bar.

On Saturday, we made it out to the Archie Bray for their annual Mother's Day event - sunny day, ceramic artists, wood-oven pizza, clay arts for kids, face-painting and flowers and plants in beautifully made ceramic pots/vases.... I love the beautiful vase and flower we brought home. I hope to get a variation of that gift every Mother's Day (hint, hint). And then we had a picnic in our nearby little park. The day was perfect.

On Sunday, Mother's Day, Greysen slept in late, so I slept in late ... what a great gift. Hubs made us breakfast, local delicious bacon. Mmmmmm.... bacon. I went for a run in the hills for a good hour. Sweet me time. Then we went for a hike in the hills to get Greysen outside. The rain even held off until we got back.

Then I planted the seeds we'll be putting in our garden while Greysen took a (short) nap and Hubs aerated the lawn. Then, Hubs made us another delicious meal. I didn't cook once today. Now, I'm watching Hubs and Greysen play. Hubs reads the Forest Tracks books to G and he imitates every sound the forest animals makes: Rat-A-Tat-Tat - Greysen imitates in a whisper: Tat-tat-tat. And it repeats with the SPLASH of the racoon and the GRRRR of the bear. I could watch them all night.

I've had a rejuvenating, wonderful Mother's Day weekend. I think EVERY weekend should be like this one. Thank you Hubs and Greysen for making my whole weekend special; and making my every day and every moment special. I love you both so much.

Random Acts of Cuteness

I feel like I've been missing out on some of his random daily cuteness. So I'm trying to take regular photos of G. These are some of the random captured moments ...

Kissing babies in the book (a future in politics?)

Protesting

Hoping there is something in the egg

Cuddling with every cushion, pillow, blanky, and stuffed animal in sight

Easter egg hunt

Sitting in the "Tot Spot"

Drooling

I keep thinking that he's maxed out on cuteness and then he surprises me with more. More to come ...

Silly LIttle Mister

Do you think he has a future as a clown?

Waddle

G turns 13 months today. And as I guessed, he learned to walk before his 13 month milestone. Here is a cute video of his waddle and the fun he has while doing it:

(Sorry - couldn't figure out how to turn it around ... )

And another one (can't just have one!) ...

Cute Little Mister is upright!

ONE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GREYSEN! He turned ONE! on March 22, 2011. Cassie taught him to show us how old he is...

We celebrated first with Uncle Dave, Aunt Jessie and Cousin Sam. They flew in to celebrate with G for his first birthday. Very sweet. I'll post pics when I can get them.

The family photo which includes the cake I made for G. It's an applesauce cake. He loves bread and he loves applesauce. How could I go wrong? Well, I forgot to take into consideration that he already has a mind of his own and it is manifesting itself in an eating rebellion. There are no rules that apply to this kid's meal choice (not even mac-n-cheese entices this guy).

The cake was a hit with the adults, but G had another idea about what to sink his gums into... the whipped cream topping.

Then we began to open the mountain of gifts. Thanks to Oma, Opa, Cassie, Uncle Dave and Aunt Jessie, and Granny Jingles for all the great gifts. Naturally though, he loved the boxes the most.

Greysen,

Week by week and month by month you delight your parents with your sweet, loveable personality and your adorable little being. Every stage of your development is our favorite. We have had the best year of our lives with you in it. And we are excited about the adventures we'll have together as a family in the future. We take every moment in and revel in its glory as we know that tomorrow will be a new milestone and another step, literally. Your newest milestone is to walk a few steps and while you still choose crawling as your mode of travel, it's a glimpse into the busy lives we have ahead of us. Your little waddle is as adorable as we've seen from you and you are so excited about the progress you make as you take 2, then 3, then 4, then 5 steps to reach us.... a little more each day. Thanks for making our year an utter delight with you just being alive. We love you more than anything Sweet Baby Grey.

Mama & Da-Da