Foster Family Frenzy

9/25/11

Today was teacher appreciation day at the zoo where all teachers and their family got in for free and got free ice cream. The perfect day for us to go! The weather was perfect too. So, we skipped naps today and headed out for our first family trip to our zoo.

Our zoo is one that really tries to provide a natural enviroment for the animals. So, that means it's really spread out and there's LOTS of walking.

There is a swinging suspension bridge that is quite difficult to walk across. We had both boys in the stroller on the way over, but on the way back we let Grayson try it. He made it without falling over and when he got off he kept saying "bridge go back and forth, back and forth"

Nikita the polar bear found his toy

September 23

We had dinner with friends tonight and then went back to their house for dessert. Grayson picked his own spoon! (seriously)

So, all of the other boys ate with normal spoons and Grayson took down his ice cream with a huge serving spoon!

September 22

Tonight I participated in a Mom's Night Out at a Carter's outlet. I had a Mary Kay table. With the weather getting cooler, we have pulled out some warmer pjs. We have a couple pairs of fleece footed jammies in Grayson's size. We have tried for several nights to put them on him, but he freaks out and says "I don't want. Off, off"! I'm not sure what it is, but maybe it's the feet. I guess he's growing up and getting too big for footed jammies (sniff, sniff). So, since I was staring at cute clothes all night I did a little shopping. I bought 2 new pairs of winter fleece pjs. One two-piece set with the footballs and numbers, because those are favorites right now and the other one-piece set (although it's not really jammies) WITHOUT feet! We'll see if he will allow us to put these on him. Maybe if it's cold enough!

9/23/11

September 21

When we got out of the car after coming home from daycare today and Grayson immediately lays down on the garage floor. I came around the car and said "what are you doing, Grayson?" He said, "I see a bug". After pulling out my phone to capture this cute moment, I went for a closer look. Sure enough. The teensiest, weensiest ant was crawling on the ground. No vision problems here!

September 20

Finally! The boys got to enjoy their birthday cake cupcake after dinner tonight

9/20/11

September 19

The human tower (only dads would ever think about doing this with their kids)

Adam came home saying that he never got to go out for his birthday and he needed dinner at our favorite Mexican place. Lucky for him we had a gift card (especially since I had drug myself and 2 kids in and out of 3 stores gathering what we needed for dinner tonight). Then he said that he needed a cupcake from the cupcakery next door. And since we had used a gift card for dinner, we could splurge!

The lady told us what each one was and Grayson immediately asked for the birthday cake one. Adam let him get it to share with Neylan and got himself something different.

On the way home Grayson says "Happy Birthday Daddy again and again and again and again". It was hilarious. I think he's caught on that Daddy is trying to milk it for more than it's worth!

September 18

In an effort to keep my sanity and my time managed well, I am giving up my pretty table for this stage of life. The spills and mess was putting me over the edge, so we went shopping for a vinyl tablecloth. I was surprised to find one that wasn't hideous and actually matches our colors perfectly. So, no more worries about drinks spilling through the cracks and dirty fingers grabbing every spot of surface area on top, underneath, and anywhere in between. Adam spent about an hour cleaning/scraping the food off of the table before we put the tablecloth on. If this makes cleaning easier and the messes less noticeable, it was well worth the $5 we spent on it!

9/17/11

September 17

After last night's dinner, which included dessert at the restaurant, followed by more dessert from the Cheesecake Factory, we all needed a little exercise this morning. We got up early to support one of our Steering members, Laura, in the walk/run her family put together to support her father-in-law, who has brain cancer. We only did the 1 mile fun run and had a great time. Unfortunatly, doubt we burned enough calories to not feel guilty about the Starbucks we consumed once back on the Plaza!!

September 16

Started our Renew Steering retreat at PF Changs on the Plaza for dinner!! What a great way to start a girls weekend with great friends.

September 15

Had to make a snack for bunko tonight, so I chose to make my new favorite, healthy (or not so bad for you) cookie. Chocolate chip chickpea cookies! The recipe is in our cookbook we did for the adoption if you want it. Only 87 calories per cookie. Really, how bad can anything be when it's covered in chocolate! They are delicious and slightly addicting

My taste tester/garbage disposal approves! (Shocker!!!)

September 14

I moved the boys' chairs next to each other today (not really sure why) and so Grayson thinks he need to take over my job. (He is sitting where I used to sit) So, he tries to feed Neylan, even modeling how to open his mouth wide enough for the spoon. Neylan doesn't seem to be too annoyed with his new "helper"

9/16/11

September 13

Restocked the milk this afternoon. By bedtime, the boys had drunk half a gallon!! We are now buying 4 gallons a week! Instead of a pet dog, we may as well get a cow

September 12

A beautiful day calls for lots of outdoor time at the park!

September 11

Grayson's favorite part of going to church on Sunday mornings is parking off site so he can ride the bus, which also happens to have doughnuts!! This morning, he refused to keep walking down the aisle to his seat until his doughnut was in hand.

9/11/11

September 10

Our church has recently become two campuses and tonight was the 2nd annual Freedom Run for our new campus. It was a 5K through the neighborhood around the church. We all participated- some just had a more relaxing race than others.

The race was followed by a fireworks show. Grayson had been looking forward to it all day long, so he parked himself on the blanket with his hotdog and sat in awe for 20 minutes. I don't think he has ever seen fireworks before. But, he will be talking about it for a long time. He loved it!

Neylan did a good job too for his first fireworks experience. He was much calmer with a mouthful of hotdog and crawling on my lap.

9/9/11

September 9

There are certain tricks boys learn early on and they are just so darn cute when they figure this one out.

And then they attract more boys!

September 8

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Grayson helped make a red velvet cake from scratch. We used my grandma's recipe, which as hard as I try, cannot seem to perfect like she has. So, I must keep traveling to visit her to get the best piece ever.

Neylan approved!

9/7/11

September 7

We had a little visitor for dinner tonight. He just stayed right outside watching us eat.

Pools are great in the summer, but they leave a nice dead spot in your yard in the fall!

9/6/11

September 6

The weather was perfect today, so we went outside after dinner. We drove to a neighborhood park to feed the ducks and play on the playground.

Ducks can be a bit fiesty if not fed fast enough. Both boys got their fingers nipped becuase they didn't release their bread on time.

Once the bread ran out, we were off to the playground. This adapted swing is the perfect size for two. Think they had fun?!

There were a few hot air balloons out tonight. We pointed them out to Grayson and talked about how they were not scary, but nice. His heart was pounding out of his chest, but he didn't hide or run away. He just kept on playing or riding. Whew! Thank goodness

September 5

He found the backpack in his closet and wanted it on. Then found his sandals and wanted them on. Asked for his sunglasses, which he put on upside down, and said "I go to almart". He grabbed his puppy and told me he needed cucumber, apple, and chicken.

So, I packed up Neylan in the stroller off we headed. It took a LONG time to get to walmart, but we made it eventually. His dog wasn't the most cooperative on his walk. He kept falling over.

September 4

We came home from TN with a couple of plants from Sissy's funeral. One being this mum that I wanted to plant outside for the fall. It's large and full of color and will be a great way to remember her.