February 17, 2009

SURPRISE.........SURPRISE

I spent my 3 day weekend (never, ever have had President's Day as a holiday before....a holiday in February...wow!) in Fort Myers. On Saturday night I babysat all 3 of my little grands while their mamas and papas spent some alone time for Valentine's Day. Since I decided we were all going to sleep in the same room I had to strategize the "going to bed" process. First I put little Z down in the pack-n-play and he dropped off to sleep. In the meantime Kyle and Todd were watching a movie in "mama's" bed. Todd fell asleep so I picked him up and put him in my bedroom. Kyle continued to watch the movie until he finally said "Pappi I need to go to bed now........." so I took him off to the sleeping room. Amazingly enough we all slept very well. No one stirred until Todd fell off the bed about 3:00 am. I got up and took Todd to the bathroom and checked him for goose eggs on the head or broken arms/legs. All was well and we went back to the room, climbed back in beside Kyle and fell back to sleep. I can tell you it was so much fun to have all 3 of the boys together. They played and had so much fun.

On Sunday I got the great news (from Ashley & Kevin) that we are going to have another baby in the family come August. What a wonderful surprise. Boy am I glad I opted for the CX-9 instead of the CX-7. With 4 baby seats the car is full now!

Monday was a holiday for Kyle so it worked out well that I was in Fort Myers. He, Todd and I had a fun day. We made a run to Costco first thing to pick up some "stuff" and then met Ashley & Kevin at the "Sun / Fork" aka First Watch for lunch. (Has anyone besides my grandson actually noticed the logo is a sun over a fork?....not me) After lunch we went to the park for a while and then home so Todd could take a nap. Kyle rested, played video games and he and I made hot chocolate while Todd slept. Once Todd was awake we spent some time outside in the race cars until Ashley got home. She stayed outside with us for a while and then made a fantastic pork chop dish for dinner.

I hated to leave but will be going back down on Thursday night. Kyle's school has Grandparent's Day on Friday. I get to go back to school...!!!

February 9, 2009

Artshow Weekend in Fort Myers

It was my weekend to stay with Paige, PG and Zane. Paige made a great dish on Friday night that hit the spot as I was HUNGRY when I arrived. Saturday Zane had a birthday party to attend (his friend Hayden is now 1 year old too...) so I went to the artshow with Ashley, Kyle and Todd. Lots of people which is great for the artists. The weather was just perfect for being outside.

Now, if you have ever been to an artshow with 5 & 3 year old boys you will understand me when I say they were bored once they figured out that Pappi & Mama wanted to actually walk along and stop and gawk at everything. Given the number of people sometimes it took a little bit to manuever your way into the booth. Sooo...they decided this should be a little like the State Fair in that eating would help with the boredom. They wanted to eat something at every food booth, then they were thirsty and then hungry again. Finally Ashley got them some ice cream cones, chocolate.....our favorite. Kyle does well with a cone but Todd not so much. He eats the ice cream out of the cone with his fingers which makes a huge mess on the boy. They did get to visit the kid's arts & craft tents and they had fun making some artwork for us. We didn't make them stay much longer after that....had mercy and took them home.

Zane and I spent Saturday night together while Mama and Papa went to Cape Coral for Bike Night. We had a great time and I think M & P did as well. They even stopped on the way back for a late sushi dinner.

(Secret: my big kids don't know just how much I LOVE taking care of the little ones while they take a break with a date night....shhhh)

Sunday I was back at the artshow with Paige, PG and Zane. Still crowds of people but we had a great time walking around and checking out all the booths. I saw some things I missed the first time around. Not many pottery booths this year which was disappointing as that is my favorite craft. I think I might have to take some classes on pottery making one of these days. We thought Zane might go to sleep as it was nap time but oh no, he would have missed too much. Sleepy boy got to take a nap when we got back home.

It was a wonderful weekend. The trip back last night was uneventful and the traffic was almost non-existent so it was quick. It's always good to spend time with my family.

February 2, 2009

UPDATE ON THE GRANDS........

My little guys are growing up so fast. They seem to grow inches and put on pounds between every visit. I had the pleasure of taking care of Zane last Thursday night while mama and papa attended the Eagles concert in Tampa. Then I was in Fort Myers this past weekend and spent time with Kyle, Todd and Zane.

Kyle is 5 years old and a smart little boy. He seems to just absorb everything he hears/sees. He needs to know how everything works. He is now riding his two wheel bike all by himself. The last hurdle was learning to take off by himself but he mastered that on Sunday. What fun to watch him....he was so excited.

Todd is 3-1/2 years old and he is just the sweetest little boy. He grabs your heart and will not release it. He still likes to cuddle and when it's naptime he will crawl up by you and go to sleep. He still loves his blanket when it's time for sleep. He and I had fun with his skateboard on Sunday. Of course he rode it and I held his hands so he wouldn't crash and burn.....he started doing wheelies before we finished.

Baby Zane is now almost 14 months old and weighs in at 25 lbs. He is walking (at times almost running) and is delighted that he can now reach up on tables and grab things he could not before. He loves to play peek-a-boo and have his tummy tickled. Smiles and laughs all the time. He gives me sweet hugs when I pick him up. It's so much fun watching babies as they learn. He is a sweet baby boy.

It seems that it was yesterday that Kyle was born and now I have 3 grands to love. They keep me young with all the laughter and fun they bring to my life. I am blessed to have these little guys.