Let's hear it for the BOYS!!!

I returned this morning from a visit with Katie and fam. After a few days of visiting, I can see why she refers to her boys as the CRAZIES. There is a lot of energy in their house but also loads and loads of fun. Here's a little run-down of my adorable grandsons.

PARKER


Parker turned 4 last week. He is one smart cookie--in fact, I'm not sure how Katie is going to keep him busy this next year since he already seems so ready for kindergarten. He has 2 main interests right now: coloring and playing super heroes. The minute he gets up in the morning, he is coloring and boy does he color well. He uses the right colors in the right places and stays in the lines. Each day, he is a new super hero and wants to be referred to by that name...He was Magneto, Spider Man, Ice Man, Indiana Jones, a Transformer, and many others that I had never heard of nor can I remember. Parker also enjoys playing games and can play quite well. We played CandyLand and Yahtzee Jr. He understands the concepts of taking turns, counting, matching, and sequencing. The new picture at the top of my blog page was taken by Parker. After me taking so many pictures of him, he wanted to use my camera to take a picture of me.

Reid
Reid is now 2 1/2 and is one mischievous little buckaroo. For instance, last night during dinner preparations, while all of our backs were turned, he opened up the jar of garlic salt that was sitting on the counter and started sprinkling the kitchen floor with it. Earlier in the week, Spencer had just taken hamburgers off the grill and brought them inside. Reid and Parker were outside and somehow Reid's prosthetic came off so he decided to put it on the barbecue. Luckily, Katie saw that one right away and saved the leg. Crazy kid! Reid is also a joke teller. His jokes go something like this--Reid: Knock knock. Who's there? Grandma: Who's there? Then he would say any random thing he could think of and just laugh and laugh until he could hardly breathe. That would make me laugh and so he'd tell me another one just like it. Reid copies anything Parker does. If Parker says, "I'm Spiderman", Reid would say, "I'm Spiderman too!" While playing outside with the boys, Reid got on his tricycle but couldn't pedal but after a lot of encouragement, he learned to keep his feet on the pedal and push his feet until the bike moved. He was so excited! When Reid wins the Tour de France, I want it documented that I helped him learn to ride a bike.

GRAYDEN

Here is 9 month old Gray. He is such a good little guy. He is content to explore the house on his own. Whenever he gets the chance, he B-lines for the stairs. It's a good thing they keep a gate in front of it or there would be a lot of nasty falls. Grayden is quite good at copying facial expressions. He can blow raspberries, shake his head, wiggle his nose, and then he claps his hands when he has done a good job. There's nothing quite like the giggles of little babies and I love to hear the ones that Grayden produces. Grayden's bedroom was right next to the guest room so I was often the first one to hear him in the morning. I would get him up and take him in to bed with me for a few minutes so we could have some Grandma/Grayden bonding time (those pictures will DEFINITELY not be posted.)

It was a good visit. Katie and I always have so much fun when we're together. We can never get enough talking in...or singing. When there's music playing, we're both singing and harmonizing (annoying, huh?) I am in awe of her when I see her with her little family. She is such a fun mom and is extremely creative with her boys. She is so far above where I was at that time in my life. AND she always makes good things to eat while I'm there.

I am so glad to have Spencer as a son-in-law. He is the perfect husband for Katie and perfect dad for the crazies. How many dad's put on a cape and play super heroes with their sons? He even made me breakfast this morning...well actually, he didn't make it for me, he made it for him but it was ready when I came downstairs this morning so he gave it to me and made himself more. He too is a good cook...especially when it comes to making chocolate cake from scratch. I live for his cake.

Here are some random pictures from the week.

Parker and Reid were exploring in their front yard. They had a magnifying glass and were looking at their cool finds.






Ummmm. Otter Pops!


Feeding the ducks at the neighborhood park.

Evidently this is what a super hero looks like

Happy Grayden

Katie and I took the boys bowling. What a fun experience. Sadly, Parker beat me (no, I didn't LET him win, he really did beat me...and we were even using bumpers.)

Reid's happy dance after rolling the ball down the lane. Look how cool he is...he is wearing his sunglasses inside.

I realize this isn't good photography...I cut off his head...but look at those beautiful blue eyes!

Grandma's little heartthrobs