The Cube is Fun for Everyone

Howdy y'all!  I can say that, my sister lives in Texas.  Things went pretty well for us this past week, and we did manage to take more pictures!  So that must mean we had an even more exciting week, right?  One great adventure was finding/getting out the cube again!  The girls loved it when they were little, and Grayson (and the girls) LOVES it now!!  I really like when the girls play with Grayson.  It tends to make everyone happier.  Also, Grayson is doing pretty well sitting up.  We still put the boppy behind him in case he falls.  I think usually he just lays down, cause once he starts he does it over and over when you sit him up.  Still get's mad laying down though...

This was from last Sunday, but I think I wrote the blog earlier enough that I didn't get a picture of Jelly sitting on the kids chair on the table in.  If I did, sorry, but here she is!  Jelly isn't usually one to use objects the way we use them, but I guess kid chairs are different.  Maybe it's a sign she wants to start preschool too.

Here's a picture of Brooke and Grayson sitting in the recliner together.  Brooke wanted a picture with Grayson before he took his nap, and then asked if she could put him down.  Brooke held and rocked Grayson to sleep, and then Monica moved him to his crib.  What a great big sister!

Winry went to the eye doctor this past week.  This picture was supposed to be to shower her dilated pupils.  She did a really great job not constantly looking away....  Anyway, she needs glasses.  She has one eye that's good and one not so good, and they worry she'll get a dominant eye or something, so we're going to get her some glasses.  She's really excited, and Brooke was kind of sad when Winry got home because now Brooke is the only one without a pair of glasses!

We convinced Winry to wear some sunglasses while she watched TV a little later as her eyes were still dilated.  She said things didn't look too bright, but I don't always know that I can trust her about things like this.

Grayson hit 6 months this past week.  The girls got their month pictures taken with flowers arranged in a number, Grayson got plopped on the floor with 6 toys.  I believe Brooke helped with the photo shoot.

Just look at this happy little boy!  What a cutie!  He is so great.  He is always happy and always brings a smile to everyone!  He's playful and energetic and a super CHUNK!  Like, his knee caps are innies.

Monica got to get her second vaccine shot this past week.  She didn't get any headaches or anything from it, which was the big worry, so that was really good!

That same day Grayson also got some vaccines at the doctor himself.  For dinner he ate banana and grapes (which he'd never had before).  Monica went to book club, and at around 9:30 Grayson started to cry.  I went to check on him and give him his pacifier and he was all wet... He had thrown up all over himself.  So I changed his clothes, diaper, sleep sack and sheets.  He was super tired and fell right back asleep after, so I laid him down just to be back in 5 more minutes to him having thrown up all over everything again.  Poor little buddy.  So his chair got towels for just in case, and fortunately we didn't have to clean him up again.  He ended up sleeping great the rest of the night and seemed fine the whole next day.  He threw up on me again on Saturday during the day, so not 100% sure what's going on, and if it was the vaccines or what, but hopefully this little buddy is doing well.  It hasn't seemed bad yet, but if it continues we'll have to take him to the doctor.

Saturday was vey warm, and the girls really wanted to go to the spiral rocks.  We had a lot of fun walking the path and after did somersaults and head stands in the grass.

Today we went for a walk, and when we got home the neighbors were out, so the girls went to play with them.  They had a lot of fun.  We got to try their swing in their front yard, and did chalk together, and Monica and I got to know the neighbors better too!  We ended up being out there with them all the way until Monica finished dinner.

Speaking of Monica coming in to cook, not all was well in kitchen-paradise.  The chia seeds tried to make an escape, which resulted in the loss of thousands of them.  But hey, Monica did what she needed to in order to quell rebellion!

All in all we had a fun week and are looking forward to more warm weather!  We're also looking forward to be vaccinated!  Just one more adult to go!  Hope everyone has a fantastic week ahead!

Quick Take

Well... this is embarrassing... neither Monica nor I really took pictures this past week.  This will end up being a pretty short post I guess.  I'll try to fill in with any extra stories I think of while I go.

Brooke has been loving helping in the kitchen.  On Monday she even made my lunch!  She made grilled cheese for everyone!

Tuesday I had a day work trip down to Colorado Springs.  I went down to test some parts and we got through all my stuff in like 3 hours and moved on to some other tests.  I know I often put in a picture from tests, but I honestly never even thought about it on this trip... The trip went well, and I'm sure I'll be down again sometime, so maybe I'll remember to take some pictures next time.

The girls always love to have an interesting way to head down the stairs.  This past week Winry slid all the way down.  It reminded me of when I was a kid.  When I'd go to Tyler Farrell's house we always used to sled down his stairs in sleeping bags.  They slid down real nice.  We'd grab futons and cushions and whatever padding we could find under the stairs to pile up at the bottom because the stair case ended at a T in a hallway, so it was straight down the stairs and into the wall.  We had SO much fun!  I'm not sure how his parents didn't mind us slamming into the wall off and on all day, but I'm glad they were chill about it because it was a TON of fun!  Anyway, I fought my first impulse and did NOT tell the girls about sledding down the stairs in a sleeping bag, as there was only one way that would lead... and I'm not as cool as the Farrell's parents quite yet...

I've been doing Pokemon Smile with the girls, and Brooke finished up catching all 151 pokemon this past week!  She got this cool hat to celebrate, and she got to decorate a picture of her in it (She added that Wigglytuff).  We've still continued to use it while brushing, though recatching pokemon doesn't seem to do anything.

Grayson has been a hungry chomp!  He's been loving eating solids.  He always joins us for dinner, sometimes having the same stuff as us, usually having his own thing.  He's adapting well to solids, and has definitely found things he likes a lot more than butternut squash.

Somehow one of these little chairs we have has found it's way onto the coffee table, and Jelly loves to sit on it.  I think it's really funny, because it's basically her size.  It just looks a little funny to me whenever she sits up there.

And with that, I wrap up this post.  It was a bit short, but still great (I hope)!  Have a great week ahead!
 

A Visit from Friends

America!  Hi, I didn't see you there!  It's me, Sam Sparks...err... I mean, Alex Harding... (hopefully anyone got the reference...)  Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well.  We had a pretty good week, and even had some friends over yesterday and today!  The Fraziers used to live out here, and were coming back to visit and stopped by for a day.  It was a lot of fun, and the girls had an absolute blast playing with their girls!

On Monday I was able to get my first dose of the COVID vaccine!  The first appointment I could find was in Colorado Springs, but work let me charge sick time for the drive, so I didn't really mind.  Just glad I'm getting things going!  My head felt a little off for two or three days, but I didn't really feel bad at all, and it wasn't ever severe enough that I couldn't do something I wanted or needed to.

Brooke got her recital costume in dance class on Monday.  She was very excited and just had to put it on right away.  She's doing her best flamingo pose!  It's a lot of fun to watch her do her dances at home, and I'm excited to see her on stage again!

I know this happened before, but Grayson has taken up solids!  I think last time it was a bit of a false start, but he's been doing much better with it lately.

Winry drew a picture of a Bruni (the fire lizard from Frozen 2) all by herself!  It turned out pretty amazing!  This picture is reminding me that I haven't seen her Bruni legos for a few days... maybe I'll pull them out for her tomorrow and restart the craze!

Brooke REALLY wanted to make dinner this past week.  She wanted to do it all by herself, so we took some time to think of options.  In the end she made chicken nuggets and tater tots and a fruit salad.  Monica even showed Brooke how to use a knife and she cut up the fruit.  The only thing we did was take things out of the oven when they were done since it was very hot.  Brooke was so excited, and said she wants to cook every day.  She made us all parfaits for a snack today too.

I was playing with Grayson this past week and he was laughing a whole lot.  But, of course, never for the camera...

In other news Grayson has started sitting!  He can't get there on his own, but he's starting to do okay with balancing on his own.  We usually wrap the boppy around him to help keep him up.  He loves to sit at his activity table and play with the things on it too.

He even sits outside.  The weather was pretty nice this past week, and so Monica and the kids spent time out in the yard quite often.  They did gardening and playing mostly.

Here's Grayson slamming a slice of mango in his mouth.  The hope was that he'd gnaw on it a bit, in reality he ended up breaking it off at the top of his grip and it fell on the ground...

On Saturday the Fraziers came by.  Evelyn had so much fun with Brooke and Winry.  They spent a lot of time playing out in the backyard.  I even filled up the water table for them as it was a rather warm day.

They also played on the swing.  When we first went out I was pushing all three of them together, and later they ran and laid under it.  They also took turns pushing each other.  It was a bit funny to watch.  At first Brooke would push the swing really hard, and it would swing far enough. Then, when it came back and she tried to push it again, it would knock her over.  She never got hurt, and it was really funny to watch.

Eventually I came back out and pushed all three of them on the swing together again.  This time Evelyn and Brooke were a little more "risky."  They were leaning over the side and reaching down and grabbing sticks and running their hands through the grass.  Winry also "joined in" by "leaning back."  She never loosened her grip on the ropes and more arched her back, but at least she was brave within her limits.

Jelly had a pretty scary moment today.  She was laying in her cat hammock thing, playing with the balls that hang down the side.  She's done this a bunch before, and it's always been fine.  In fact, that video is from earlier this week.  Well today she was up there and suddenly was letting out pretty crazy screeches/meows/yowls.  Call it what you want.  Anyway, she sounded in pain.  When I got over to her it looked like she'd wrapped the string from one of the balls either around her paw or neck, and than while playing had slipped off and half her body was hanging from the hammock.  She was being held in place by the string wrapped around her.  I quickly flipped down the hammock so she was on the ground, and she kept making the noise and fighting for a few more seconds before she got free.  She hid behind the couch for a few minutes after and seemed scared, but she came back out and seemed fine.  She climbed up into my lap and took a nap there too, so it seems like everything's okay.  We've since taken off the balls and thrown them away!  It was a pretty scary moment, and her yowling made the girls both cry.  It honestly sounded like she had suddenly been attacked by another animal.  Anyway, glad she's well now, and glad it didn't happen when we were at church.

Tonight when we were corralling for FHE Winry was playing with a harmonica.  She really wanted to play the opening song, which meant that Brooke had to play something too and ran and got her ukulele.  It was a mighty fine musical accompaniment.  

I think that's all the news here this week.  Things are going well, and with the vaccine we're starting to see the light at the end of the COVID tunnel!  Have a great week ahead everyone!

Grayson's Baby Blessing and Easter

Oh boy... last week was a bad week to miss...  I guess in all honesty, I'm pretty sure this week contains well over half of the stuff for this post, but  still.  It would feel more manageable if this had been two posts.  However, last week we had Grayson's baby blessing out at my parents house.  It was a bit of an event, and took much of the evening, and honestly, I just didn't even remember the blog the whole day...  Here's all of the happy attendees!  I've got more pictures, etc. but we'll get to those when we get to last Sunday.

My work trip was decently interesting.  We may have accidentally lit some of our equipment on fire... It was a happy fire though.  When I saw the fire my first thought was to grab a camera for pictures.  I've developed very good blog habits!

We went to WinCo a few times on our way in to grab some groceries and I noticed a bulk bin of scoops!  These things were going for a steal of a deal.  I didn't grab any though, I didn't have space in my bag.  (Yes, I know why they ACTUALLY had a large bin of scoops)

I also had a call with the family every night.  I guess this picture is proof.  I don't remember anything particularly funny about this picture.

Despite our setbacks, testing went very well and we were actually able to finish up about half way through the day on Thursday.  So after we picked up I headed out a day early to go back to see my family.  I made a stop that night to go see Jordan Morley!  It's been a long time, but now he lives pretty close to Woods Cross High, and consequently, my parents, so I think we'll be meeting up much more frequently in the future.  Also, his oldest daughter is the same age as Brooke, so I think they'll have a lot of fun together too.

On Friday morning I caught my mom while she was on her way out for her mission.  She's doing a family history mission (I believe this is her second) and seems to be enjoying it.

On Friday morning I drove back down to Provo to get back with my family.  While I was heading out there was a cloud down in the valley by my parents house, and it looked really cool.  I like that you can see the mountains above the cloud.  Also, of course it snowed!  That's okay thought, it was really pretty.

On Saturday we headed up to my parents house.  When we got there the girls were surprised with a huge Pikachu balloon and a Pikachu stuffed animal that my dad made for them at build a bear!  The girls were very excited, and took turns sleeping with Pikachu for the rest of the trip.

Monica and I had to run and grab some diapers for Grayson because we left all ours in Provo, and while we were out I drove Monica by the Wood Museum.  I have never been in this building, but it used to be pretty close to my house when we lived at the bottom of the hill.  It has always existed in this state since I've known it.  I'm incredibly interested to see inside, but the roof does look like it's a rain drop away from caving in.  I've been meaning to get a picture every visit, but don't think I have before.  I really wanted one because I'm afraid the building will fall down before the next time I come out.  I can remember this building from when I was 6!  Again, no cool stories, just remember passing it a lot.

The girls were both very excited to get to sleep in their own little beds.  They shared a room, and Monica and I slept in the room next to them with Grayson.

On Sunday, Winry went a little wild and had to cool off with some laps in the back yard.  The thing is, sometime earlier, she used the potty and in that process took off her dress.  Post-potty she was willing to don everything but the dress... so that's how we went out to burn some energy.

Shortly after, everyone came over for Grayson's baby blessing (great news, I did get Winry back in her dress before everyone arrived).  Here's the circle forming!  I think the lesson learned from Grayson's baby blessing is that I get why you don't wait until 5 months.  He was BIG, and heavy, and hard to rock up and down.  He did great though, and never screamed!  Also, you can see that we had a zoom to let all the family attend!

And here we all are after the blessing!  Thanks to everyone who came and showed their support!

The next day I was cleaning up something and putting it in the game closet, and when I closed the door it closed on a stuffed animal's wing.  It was no ordinary stuffed animal.  It was a witch-chicken that played the chicken dance!

The girls loved spending time with their aunts.  On Monday night my sisters helped get everyone ready for bed.  Effective.

On Tuesday my sisters took the girls for a full day of fun!  Brooke and Winry had a blast!  There was some sweet bingo action (with candy hearts!)!

And shrimp friend rice for lunch!

Some amazing games of pictionary air!

A visit to Jerusha's front room zoo!

And helping Jerusha get her work done so she could play!  Well, Brooke stayed to help with work and read Jerusha numbers, Winry took off with Niki...

... and plugged her toilet!  Number 1 toilet clogger in our family!

Meanwhile, my parents were busy playing with Grayson!  Grandpa even bounced him on his freshly replaced knee!

And grandma gave him a talking about all that finger chomping.

And what did Monica and I do?  Probably nothing, so it was appropriately documented.

Tuesday night Alyson came to visit as well!  She was out of town visiting Oriah, so she couldn't make it to the baby blessing.  She was so excited to see the girls and meet Grayson.

Also, my mom is enjoying her birthday present!  I dug up Hoyle Classic Board Games for her, which is a game she used to play a bunch back when I was a kid.  Great news, she plays it a bunch again!

On Thursday we headed back home.  At that point we'd been gone for 2 weeks, and that's a pretty long time for Jelly.  She has been incredibly cuddly since we've gotten back.  While we were in Utah we wanted to get some good bread, and we love the Aspen Mills Honey Whole Wheat bread, so we snagged some.... 10 loaves to be exact!

The weather has been very warm since we got back.  Friday after I finished work we headed to the front yard to ride bikes and scooters.  We also played some soccer, which Brooke loves.  Winry only wanted to throw the ball into the goal, so I went and got the basketball hoop.  The girls had a ton of fun, though we're still working on our jump shots... and dunks...

Jelly found a new nap spot, perched on the precariously balanced bassinet that has no legs on it.  We've since moved Grayson into the crib, and put the bassinet in the basement, and every time Jelly goes down she gives it a sniff for old times sake.

This morning was Easter!  Happy Easter!  Grayson got to go through his own Easter basket!

The girls had fun seeing what they got, and were very excited about some things, like the little Lego Pokemon they got!

Once baskets had been looked over it was time for egg hunting.  We had eggs both in the house, and out in the back yard.  Brooke was a super champ about it, and left eggs behind for Winry to find.  In the end Brooke did find over half, but it was pretty close.  They both had a great time on the egg hunt.

We had Easter inspired pancakes for breakfast, thanks Monica! (and don't burn your finger holding the rabbit's ear on next year!)

And the girls emptied their eggs into a ziplock bag for safe keeping, storing, and parental sharing (which is the opposite of safe keeping, I am aware).

The girls also got jump ropes in their Easter baskets, which they had a lot of fun with today.  No one quite managed the art of jumping a moving rope, but ALSO no one got whipped in the face with a plastic jump rope handle, so win win I'd say.

I don't think I've put this picture in yet, but when we were out in Utah, Brooke and Audrey did a painting class thing together.  I think Audrey has some painting videos, and they did one of a horse (turned unicorn) together, and I LOVE this picture.  I think this is incredible!  Brooke did the whole thing completely on her own!  I'm very proud of it, so you can pretend like you're looking at my fridge!

To close out this week I'd like to share my testimony about Easter.  I am so grateful for Jesus Christ, our Savior.  I am grateful for the atonement, and that we can live as families in the eternities.  I am grateful that we will all be resurrected, to have perfect bodies, free from pains and ailments.  I am grateful for the time we got to spend with our family, and am grateful the bonds we share extend beyond this life.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.