Happy Holidays!

I feel like I have not stopped eating since early November ! The eating won't stop either until we return from Florida on Jan 10th. We have been having a huge holiday season so far, around 20 people for Thanksgiving and Christmas eve was even crazier with around 25 people! It has been family dinner after family dinner and eating candy/cookies in between. A weird domestic side of me decided to show itself. I made split pea soup, buckeyes, and peanut butter cookies with the Hershey kiss in the middle. We actually had to skip leaving the chocolate chip cookies for Santa this year because neither of us could stomach the sight of another cookie! Here is our Christmas day in short: Pancake breakfast, presents, skype with family, Hawkins house for more presents, nap, and then dinner at Uncle Hanks. It was a day filled with joy and warmth. I hate preparing for Christmas but I must admit Christmas day is one of the most wonderful celebrations in life. I don't think Grady has fully grasped the concept of it but watching him open gifts was so much fun. Nearing the last few gifts, he really got into opening them and it was so cute. Being on the other side of things for the holidays is a whole new experience and I must say I love it! Christmas kind of got lost for a few years but now that Grady has joined us, it is back. I get to relive the holiday through him and it reminds me of how exciting it all used to be! This video says it all :). Thank you family for making Christmas so special for Grady. He loves all of his gifts. Happy Holidays!

Moments like these

I have been away from the blog for awhile because this time of year is always so crazy! I am half expecting to look in the mirror and see that my head is on backwards. To add on to the holiday mumbo jumbo, hurricane Grady hits our house every day! When he is finished drinking he dumps his sippy cup upside down and shakes the contents out. Then he plays in the mess. Once I realize what he is doing, I stop him but then he is off to the pantry and unloading it! He must think I am always hungry as he is constantly bringing me snacks. When the day is done the destruction of Grady is impressive. I would categorize him as a level 5 hurricane. keeping up with him is quite tiring and right when I think I just can't do this whole "mom" thing he goes and does something so cute and heart melting. It's moments like these, that keep me in the game. It's moments like these that erase every annoyed fiber in my body. Having him run up to me and say, "Momma" with a huge smile is all it takes. There are so many of these moments that I can't keep count. I recorded one of my favorites. I don't know why, but something about a baby pointing out their belly button is one of the cutest things ever to me!

Our pets

Our pets are a HUGE part of this family. With four pets, two cats, and two dogs, our house is not nearly as clean as I would like it to be. I sometimes get embarrassed actually because the walls are a mess due to slobber and eye goop. Hair balls can be spotted under the couch, and other places that I refuse to even look at. Our carpet upstairs has many stains, and if you walk by the designated litter box room you will get whiff of something special. The door frame is scratched up and corners of some window frames seem to be mysteriously missing. Would I trade our pets in for a sparkling clean house? Absolutely NOT! It's a small price to pay for the unconditional LOVE a pet will always give you. We recently found out that Dante our 6 year old boxer has lymphatic cancer. This is the beginning of our hearts breaking. I have been mentally preparing for our cat claude who is 13 yrs old to be the first of our pets to go. NOT DANTE!! I am not ready for this. We got blind sided with this sad news. With Chemotherapy he may get a good two years in, but I am hoping/praying that he will be in the small percentage that beats cancer! He is a strong dog, I know he will fight! Dante is so sweet in nature and hands down the best behaved out of our pets. He slobbers and kisses the most, and just wants to love, love, love! The best part of my day is when I get everyone out for a walk. I love it so much because it makes them so happy! Grady's first word was, "dante". He calls and looks for him in the house when he is not around. He will call out, "dante" as he goes up the stairs to Dante's bed in search for him. THIS is what is going to make this all the more sad. I don't think I can handle this! I am already picturing Grady searching the house for Dante, and he won't be there. OH this hurts so bad. I keep periodically breaking down. How do I stay strong? How do I stay positive! I don't want these thoughts. Ok.........breathe.....breathe.......I have to pull myself together and start focusing on the good things. We caught Diesel on film doing one of his, "spazz outs" which Grady finds absolutely hysterical!

One is fun!

Grady has reached such a fun age! He is becoming more affectionate and giving us hugs/kisses. Well the kisses are kind of scary because it looks like he is going to bite you but then he just presses his face to yours. He is able to learn and repeat things, which is so fun to watch. Finally he responds back to things instead of staring at me like I am one crazy lady. His separation anxiety continues to be an issue but he will out grow it one day. I just hate that others mostly see him as fussy because he is so clingy to mom and dad. Glad I have video now to prove that he is not always serious and cranky. I hope the terrible two's are a horrible myth because I love things the way they are, and just want more of the good stuff! Wishful thinking.

Pumpkin Chuck

What did you do with your pumpkins after Halloween? Did you just throw them out or let them rot? BORING! We chucked ours at a really neat fundraiser event held in Mt. Washington at Stanbery park. Ok busted, we actually never even bought pumpkins this year. However for $2.00 you could catapult your pumpkin, or for $5.00 you could buy one to launch. Or you could have done what we did this year, and just watch everyone else chuck their pumpkins. Not only is this a fun way to get rid of your pumpkins but it also feeds the deer. There was face painting, food, and it was a gorgeous day to be at the park. It was a great way to spend a Saturday, we had so much fun!

The Iphone really can do it all!

The iphone can perform many tech tricks. I was very impressed to see it's latest app called, "Magnetism" When downloaded the app will act as a magnet to your child. I decided to give it a go, and, "Wow it really works!" The second I turned the app on, Grady walked to the iphone. It was the strangest thing. I encourage everyone with iphones to use this app for redirecting their child. Now I don't have to tell Grady, "No" when he is splashing around in the dog bowl. I can just place the iphone where I want him to be and turn on, "Magnetism". Don't worry the app is encoded so only your iphone works with your child. I know you were worried about strangers stealing your tot. Have no fear it is totally safe! Watch how it works, amazing!

Grady Stahl is the new Edward Cullen

Watch out Edward Cullen, there is a new lil vamp in town! Well at least for a night there was a new vamp making the ladies swoon. Oh and by ladies I probably really just mean, "His Mama thought he was adorable!" We are lucky to have friends who have a better neighborhood for trick or treating then we do. For the past couple of years, Mimi and Dave have been having an open house type deal on Halloween. They make chili and people come and go as they please. It is a great way to spend Halloween, we always have so much fun! Their son Oliver dressed as Elmo, it fit him perfectly and was a great costume! Our camera battery was not fully charged so I barely got pics. Perhaps I should just hire our own paparazzi? Wouldn't it be great if you never had to worry about getting pictures? Maybe for special events I will just hire Kim M, to stalk us :). On our way to the Gerwins we stopped off at the new Walmart off Redbank and picked up a wagon to pull our lil vamp in. It was one of the best decisions we ever made! He absolutely loved riding around town in a fun red wagon! Grady did not get the concept of free candy at first but by the last house he caught on. He tried his first sucker which he did not enjoy all that much, probably because it was root beer flavored. Ooops should have given him a better flavor to try. Although we don't really want him to like it anyway because that means more for us! Not sure how many more years we can get away with eating all his candy, this might have been the last one. Grady, "candy is gross." I just spit out the mini snickers bar you gave me because it was disgusting. I will have to continue to see how yucky it is before you eat it. It is for your own good, I promise.