Odds and Ends

First of all, I have to say I am so ashamed of myself.  Nana B. came out for a visit at the beginning of April and do you know what happened to the pictures of her trip?  Nothing...because I didn't take any!  That's right, zip, zero, zilch!  What was I thinking?  We might not have pictures to document the fun, but Grant is still talking about all the fun stuff he got to do. One of his favorite things was bird watching.  He loves to carry around the bird book Nana bought him and he enjoys telling everyone about all the birds he has seen. 

In other news, a few weeks ago, we taught Grant how to mow the lawn.  He did a pretty good job and seemed to enjoy himself.

I started out showing Grant how to mow
then daddy came out and fine tuned the process.

Look at him go!

What a big helper!

 Little Miss Grace might have lost her "Princess" status at school today.  I have been worried that as she gets more comfortable with her teachers, she might start to misbehave like she does at home.    I am hoping it wont be as bad as it is at home.  Here she kicks, bites, scratches, screams, throws things (especially her food, milk, etc), pulls hair, pushes, tries to climb shelves in the pantry and hall closet, climbs on tables, you get the picture.  Last week at school she wouldn't really do what her OT asked her to do.  And today, she wasn't listening to her teacher so she got put in time out.  It broke my heart when I heard that.  Hopefully it will not happen again.

Amelia Jane is on the move.  I haven't been able to get a great video of her but here is a little video of her scooting around.  She is pulling her legs up under her and is also known to hang out in the plank position.  She doesn't like baby food.  She LOVES finger foods though and prefers to use her left hand over her right.  Daddy says we need to change that.  It is fun to watch her learn new things and it seems like she is growing up before our eyes!

Special Olympics

Last week, Grace participated in her first Special Olympics.  It was cute to see all of the kids so excited to be involved.  Grace and her little classmates did "events" like: red light/green light, a bean bag toss, racing across a tennis court, jumping from start to star, and throwing a ball at a target.  However, before any of the events started, there was a parade for the athletes.  It was held at a private school and the kids from the school were out in the bleachers cheering the participants on.  It was a little overwhelming for Grace at first but she eventually waved a little and blew some kisses.  It was also very overwhelming for me.  Emotionally that is.  I don't know what is wrong with me!  As soon as we pulled in to the school and I saw the sign for the Special Olympics, I started to cry.  Then, when I saw all the kids in the parade, I cried again.  And then, when they repeated the oath:

"Let me win.  But if I cannot win,

 let me be brave in the attempt."

I cried again.  All Adam can say these days is, "Oh, mama!"  He jokes that I would cry over a Walmart opening.  If it was a Target opening, he might be right.  :-)  Anyway, Grace seemed to have a good time.  She was excited that Daddy was able to break away from work for a while to watch her.  And of course, Amelia Jane was a great cheerleader.  The only sad part of the day was that Grace kept signing 'brother' and would search the crowd for him.  We debated on taking Grant out of school but decided against it.  Maybe next year.  It was cute, Grant asked if Grace won.  We said that she did and he was SO excited for her.  "Way to go Grace!  I knew you could do it!" he exclaimed as he gave her a hug.  He gets the award for being the BEST.BROTHER.EVER!

Grace lovin' on her sister

Grace and her teacher Miss Kelsey

Grace and her other teacher, Miss Toni

Yay!!!  Daddy came!

"What's going on?"

Grace's school in the parade

Throwing the ball at a target

Jumping from star to star

bean bag toss

Run girlfriend!

And she wins!!!

Easter!

 The Easter Bunny comes to our house on Saturday.  That way, the kids can focus on Christ on Easter Sunday.  It was cute this year to hear Grant talk about Easter.  He totally grasped the concept of why we do it the way we do.  He did ask why the Easter Bunny goes to some of his friends houses on Sunday.  I explained that I was able to talk to the Easter Bunny and ask him to come on Saturday.  Grant told me he liked it that way because he enjoys eating candy on Saturday's and thinking about Jesus and the resurrection on Sunday.  He is too cute!

 Last week, I ran in to the Easter Bunny and he gave me some magic jellybeans to plant.  So, Friday night after we watched HOP, Grant went out and planted the magic beans.

 He was so excited when he saw that lollipops had grown overnight!  He found some of the jellybeans in the dirt and tried burying them in a different location Saturday.  To his dismay, the jellybeans were no longer magic.

 The Easter Bunny loaded up Gran't basket and he even got K. Croc to go with his Batman set.  Grace got a 2 trains...and Amelia...she got a kiss from mommy and daddy.

 Don't you love the crazy hair and the big smile Saturday morning!  Grace loved finding eggs and could care less what was inside of them.

 Bug woke up at 4 in the morning and sneaked in to the living room and discovered his basket and toy.  Let's just say it was a long day because he did not fall back asleep when we forced him to lay in bed with us.

 Miss Amelia was all smiles as usual.  She had no idea what was going on but thought it was hilarious to see her brother and sister running around looking for eggs.  Grace has been very kind and has tried to share her jellybeans and treats with Amelia.  It's a good thing Grace is never really left alone with her sister.  :-)

This is when Grant discovered the lollipops.

 Grace was not thrilled that there were suckers growing near the flowers.

 So she took off and went to look for more eggs.

Trying to get them all to look at the camera and smile before we went to church didn't go so great...

 As you can see here

 And here

 And here

 Yup, here's another one

 C'mon Bug, you can do it...

That's as good as we are going to get!  We hope you all had a wonderful Easter!  We are so thankful for the sacrifice that Christ made for us and for the knowledge that He was resurrected and that He lives!

All Grown Up

Isn't he so handsome?  I could eat him with a spoon!

Tonight Grant felt all grown up!  His friend, Bella, has been attending a track-out acting camp and was going to be performing Pinocchio tonight.    

                                   

Bella requested the presence of Grant.  She made a really cute invitation, too.  Her mom called and asked if she could pick up Grant and take him to the play and then out to eat afterwards.  Grant has been super excited! There were a few moments today that he was feeling anxious and he said he had a cough so he couldn't go; however, I reassured him that he was fine and talked about what a great time he would have.  When it was time for him to be picked up, he was waiting by the door with a smile.  

 

 He was also excited to give Bella a flower for doing a great job in the play.  Last night, Adam made a joke that it was Grant's first date.  That did not go over well.  After all, he does already have a girlfriend in Utah.  I will be surprised if anyone will ever be able to take the place of "Hadlie Girl".  So. I am anxiously awaiting his return so I can hear all about the play and dinner!

World Down Syndrome Day

That's right...it is March 21st...3/21...which means it is World Down Syndrome Day.  The date represents the 3 copies of the 21st chromosome which is unique to people with Down Syndrome.  So today, do something fun, spread awareness about Down Syndrome, and enjoy looking at our angel who has designer genes.   We love you baby girl!

Trickery

Those tricky leprechauns have been up to no good at our house...

Grant decorated a box and left it out "under the moon" to see if the leprechauns would take the bait.
We got this cute idea from our friend, Tiff's, blog.  She is SO creative and talented!  It looks like they did indeed leave gold, jewels, and gifts for the kids to find.  Those silly leprechauns were even nice enough to leave the treasure in a pretty easy hiding spot. 

Those blasted leprechauns!

At least they left a yummy snack...
mmmmm, popcorn covered in white chocolate and sprinkles with m&m's.

Let's just hope their footprints (aka washable paint) disappear easily.  Adam is skeptical and I am hopeful.  Very, very hopeful.