This Little Piggy

Bryce's rendition of "This Little Piggy" as told on Davis' toes:

This little piggy went to market,
This little piggy went to Wal-mart,
This little piggy went to Target,
This little piggy went to the grocery store,
And this little piggy went...
(big inhale)
"wee wee wee" all the way home.

...hearty chuckles from both boys....

Girls Weekend

Recently I was able to get away for a girls weekend. Woo-hoo! I met up with my college friends, Melissa and Jennifer, at Jennifer's house in Charlotte, North Carolina. We have remained close friends from those good ol' Tech days almost ten years ago now. Melissa is expecting her third little boy and Jennifer has a little girl that is just a few months older than Claire. It was a fun time of hanging out with the girls, shopping, and relaxing.

Melissa, Gretchen, Jennifer

(Gretchen holding Claire and Jennifer with Piper--notice their matching outfits)

Gretchen and Melissa

A big thanks to my mom for your help with the boys while I was away. Brian was super-dad for the weekend. He and the boys had a lot of fun together. I don't think I was missed at all!

Brotherly Love

While I am immensely enjoying the new experience of being a mom to a little girl, I still love being a mother of boys. It is especially fun watching the interaction between my boys and seeing the special relationship of brothers.

Recently Grant had a rough day at school. He usually loves going to school but on this particular day came home upset about the way another child had treated him and all around had just had a bad day. We talked about it and he cheered up quickly but Bryce took notice. Later that afternoon Bryce whispered in my ear that he wanted to write Grant a note that said "I love you" and hide it in his backpack. The next day, all on his own, Bryce cut out a piece of paper, found a pencil, and wrote a message to his big brother. He then had me put the note in Grant's backpack.

When Grant found the note he gave Bryce a tackle and tousled his hair, which (now that I am somewhat familiar with boy language) I interpreted as "I love you too."

Two Months and Too Cute!

Here are some recent photos of our Little Miss. Two months old now...

School Days, School Days, Dear Old Golden Rule Days

Grant did not give me his usual smile when he got off the bus yesterday after school. After saying hello he complained of a headache.

I told him I'd give him some medicine at home and casually commented that I hoped he wasn't getting the stomach virus.

"It's not the stomach virus, Mom," he told me. "It's the math virus."

Career Day

This past week Grant's school had "Career Day" where parents of students at the school came in and spoke to the kids about their respective occupations. It was a fun morning of hearing several moms and dads share about what they do at their jobs. There were a broad scope of careers represented from a doctor, to a chef, and to top it off a soldier flew in a Black Hawk helicopter and landed at the school! This, as you can imagine, was a huge hit with the children. They got to watch it take off from the field behind the school. Grant excitedly told us about how much wind the blades made and quickly found his toy helicopter and "flew" it until dinner that night. Brian had considered going in to talk to the boys and girls about engineering, but was relieved that he hadn't been one of the speakers. "A Black Hawk? How can you top that?" he asked.

Choices, Choices, Choices

We have been working with the boys lately on making good choices, reminding them that attitude and obedience are a choice that they have to make. During a recent visit to Chick-fil-a (our restaurant of choice these days) we were able to evaluate our parenting strategies.

Grant and Bryce were sitting together at their own table (our family no longer fits into a single booth) when all of a sudden Bryce yelped out for help. Brian rushed over to find Bryce's cup busted open, ice water spilling all over the table and all over Bryce's lap.

"Bryce, why did you smash your cup?" Brian questioned.

"Grant told me to!" answered an unhappy Bryce.

Grant quickly responded with, "You have to make the right choice, Bryce."