Grant's first day of school

Grant loved his first day of preschool today.  His teacher is really nice, and the classroom is adorable.  He will finish out this school year and then start up again in the fall.  We have great hopes that this program will help him improve his speech so he'll be better able to communicate with more people than just mommy.  Because I can usually understand what he's trying to say, but I have to translate most of it for other people.  And he won't always have me around.  In fact today was the first day that I actually took him somewhere and left him all by himself!  Without me or another family member!  I was pretty sick about this up until we went to his classroom and he was so excited to be there and check everything out.  Then he went over and sat right down with the other kids.  After that I knew it would all be okay, and I really enjoyed my few hours of time with just Brett.

I think the best part was when I went to pick him up after school.  He was out with his class and he saw our van and got really excited and pointed at me.  When I got out, he ran up to me and gave me a big hug.  He said he had a lot of fun and that his teacher is really nice.  He even told me that they played on the playground and that he got sand in his shoes.   He is always good at making sure he dumps out his shoes when we come home from the park, so when we got home from school he sat down outside and got all the sand out of his shoes.

A week with Auntie Ann

When my sister, Ann, and her baby Hazel came we had a grand ol' time.  We took a lot of pictures...of the kids.  It's funny how that happens.  I need to get better at getting pictures of everyone.  We had yummy dinners, had girls time, went to the zoo, had more yummy dinners, got together with all of our family that live here, went to Bahama Bucks a couple times, and went swimming.  Ann even babysat for us on Keith's birthday so we could have our lunch date.  Grant had so much fun playing with his cousins, and he loved Auntie Ann!  Brett had fun hanging out with his pal Hazel.  I think babies appreciate other babies.

And then they had to go back to Wyoming.  Bummer.  It's sad to think that I will probably never get to live by my sisters again.  So weeks like this are priceless!

So you think YOU can dance?

Friday morning, we were getting ready to go to the zoo.  Brett was in his car seat and Grant was eating toast while we waited for my mom & sister and baby Hazel to arrive.  So I was reading singing a book to the boys and Brett started bobbing his head to the music.  It was so funny.  I called for Keith and he grabbed the video camera.  This is what we got.

I just can't get over how much personality is starting to come out of this boy!  I love it!

Happy Birthday Keith!

Happy Birthday Keith!  

I hope your day is as great as getting a hole-in-one!

Easter Sunday : A Recipe

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day around our house.  It seemed as if all the flowers in our little back yard were popping.  Even the grass behind our house was filled with bright yellow dandelions.

Grant had fun following the string I had strung throughout our house and back yard to find his Easter basket at the end, inside the TV armoire.  Our boys wore matching khaki pants, white shirts and green & navy ties.  We never got a picture of Brett (he must have been napping), so we will have to dress him up again. 

We had our family traditional breakfast of Creamed Eggs.  We started having this for Easter a few years ago.  It was something my mom would make when I was growing up and all of us kids loved it.  Very simple, very yummy.

Church was filled with beautiful music and thoughtful Easter messages about our Savior.  The sweetest was when Grant came out of his nursery class with a little paper cut out of Jesus and a tomb.  We were walking down the hall to go get Keith and somewhere along the way Grant's little picture of Jesus fell and was lost.  He was devastated.  Luckily his teacher was still at the class room and she had extra.  So when we got home and I was getting things done, I noticed Grant sitting by his room with his little cut-outs from nursery and he was talking to himself.  So I sat down by him and he went on to tell me, in his little 3 year old way, all about how Jesus died and then was put behind a rock and then after 3 days he was all better.  It was such a sweet moment.  I was so proud of him.   

Then we went to my brother's house for our Easter feast.  We ate outside at a long table in the grass.  We had traditional ham, funeral potatoes, salads, jello, rolls, and green beans.  I made mini lemon cupcakes to go along with a custard pie that we enjoyed for dessert.  We had an Easter egg hunt for the kids after dinner.  We even hid baskets for the "older adults" (our parents) that were there.  I was so busy that night that I didn't take any pictures, but hopefully I'll get some copies of my cousin's pictures.

Creamed Eggs
Put 6 eggs in water and boil for 10 minutes.  Let them sit in hot water while you make the white sauce.
White sauce:  melt 4 TBS butter in pan.  Remove from heat and blend in 4 TBS flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Stir until butter is soaked up by flour.  Slowly add 2 cups of milk, stirring constantly to avoid lumps.  Return to stove and cook on med/low heat until mixture is thick, stirring constantly.
Peel eggs and slice them.  Then add eggs to white sauce.  Pour over toast pieces.  (About 1-2 slices of toast per person, torn into pieces, works well).

Trip to the zoo : Family dinner

We had a nice little family trip to the zoo last week.  All of the animals were out enjoying the beautiful weather.

Monkey see... monkey do

Brett joined in the fun

 In other news, Auntie Ann and Hazel came into town last night.  In their honor, we had a lovely family dinner here at our house tonight along with celebrating my niece's 4th birthday and Keith's birthday (that's this week).  We enjoyed eating on the back patio and letting the kids run wild outside while we grown-ups chatted around the table.

Both of my sister's live in the same little town in Wyoming.  My sister Amber had been working on some adorable pajama pants for us and she sent them down with Ann.  She chose a cute flannel animal print for me.  They remind me of going to the zoo with my boys.  I put them on tonight and relaxed a bit in front of the fire while I chatted with Amber on the phone and tickled Grant's back.  I love moments like that.

Brett 6 Months

I can't believe Brett has been with us for 6 months...time flies!  We love him so much.  Here are some things he's been up to lately:

• sleeps 13 hours at night, two naps during the day
• 50% for weight
• 90% for head circumference and height
• Likes to play with mommy's hair while eating
• gobbles up solid foods (rice cereal, bananas, yellow squash)
• starting to have stranger anxiety
• loves playing with his older brother
• jumps, jumps, and jumps some more in his jump-a-roo
• laughs, sings, and jabbers
• enjoys bath time
• likes to watch himself in the mirror
• kicks his legs in the air really fast (just like Grant did)
• likes to face outward when being held
• sooooo happy and such a joy!

The day before Easter

The day before Easter we went to the annual Jackson Family Easter Egg Roll Party.  It was also Keith's Grandpa's birthday that day so we got to celebrate him too!  We rolled eggs against each other to see who could come out victorious with an unbroken egg.  Grant won this year!  We ate.  We played tennis.  We swam.  It was fun!  Grant was in cousin heaven.

To check out what Brett was up to this morning, click here.

Late night at the ball field

Keith really wanted to have Grant & Brett come out for one of his Elder's Quorum softball games.  So we pulled Brett out of bed last night and kept Grant up late and we went.  It was fun.  We were some of the few fans in the stands.  Brett & I kept score and Grant got to hang out in the dugout for one of the games.  He loved it!  There was even a foul ball that Grant was able to retrieve and bring it to the catcher.  He felt so important, it was adorable.  And Keith played oh so well.  At one point he was pitching and the guy at bat hit the ball straight at him! (That always scares me!)  But Keith is quick and he caught it!  After the game Grant got to run the bases over and over and over again.  He didn't want to stop when we had to call it a night.  It was a fun time.