Here are my cutey patooties all dressed up for Halloween. We have Shirley Temple, a Super Hero and a real Cowgirl.
Lexi is Shirley Temple "On The Good Ship Lollipop.” She, of course is clueless as to who Shirley Temple is, and since her petticoats made her dress really bouffant, she announced that she was “The Bubbler.” No amount of persuasion could get her to say that she was Shirley Temple, she was The Bubbler!
Ben was Super Hero and a scary one at that. He was flexing his muscles, cause that’s just the way little boys roll.
Abby announced that she didn’t want a costume, she wanted to be an authentic cowgirl and that she was, complete with vintage chaps, neckerchief and belt buckle riding a horse on a western saddle.
It’s so much fun now that the grands are older, they really get into the Halloween experience. Just had to share this morning, pictures are too cute to keep to myself...
Abby’s summer visit was last week. She’s almost seven now, and it’s all about silly faces, giggling and nicknames.
P-Pa is now “Peeps"
Grammie is now “Grams"
Maggie is now “Mags"
And finally, Boo-Boo Kitty is now “Boobs"
We had a great visit, she built a horse at Build-a-Bear, we went to see The Secret Life of Pets, which was a huge hit, we went to restaurants, she played in my office and was on the computer Googling everything she could find out about horses. She now drives the golf cart by herself, with Peeps behind her, those little legs are so long she can work the gas and of course that was an absolute thrill for her to be able to do it.
She’s also brutally honest, here is a snippet of one of our conversations:
Abby: Grammie, you look really pretty today Me: (warm fuzzy feeling) Thanks, Abby Abby: Ya know all those wrinkles around your eyes? Me: (warm fuzzy feeling quickly evaporating) Oh-oh, here it comes... Abby: When you smile your wrinkles are really, really deep and they kinda turn up and it looks like you have extensions on your eyelashes Me: Uhhh.... Abby: You really should look in a mirror Grammie, you have lines all over your face, not just around your eyes
I just cracked up when she said this, there is no filter at this age and it’s so refreshing.
Visits are too short, families live too far apart, but we appreciate every single moment we have with our grandkids. They are all amazing little souls and the joy of our lives...
Ben is three now, he loves anything Thomas the Train. He’s taking Karate lessons, mimics everything his big sister does and is just a bundle of giggles.
Lexi is eighteen months old, talks non-stop, runs instead of walks, and is a little ray of sunshine. Lexi is the happiest little girl you will ever see, and like the other two, just adores her Pa-Pa.
Abby is six now and is our little equestrian. She’s taken horseback riding lessons for a year and a half, and does a great job controlling her mounts. She’s a reader, and wants to know everything about all things science oriented.
Hubby had the big 7-0 birthday this past weekend and the family was here. There was also a surprise party, but that story is for another day.
Lexi has gone from being a baby to a toddler at warp speed. She has changed so much this summer, it’ shocking. The kids all played together so well, she was such a big girl, right in the middle of everything. Ben, especially, was good with Lexi. He was very gentle and patient with her, he’s the sweetest little boy.
I love the picture of Ben and Abby with the iPad, they look so angelic. Sweet, sweet little souls, my grandchildren. I truly am blessed!
Abby was here last week for her annual summer visit. We had a wonderful time, almost six year olds are full of joy and their giggle is infectious. We had lots of activities planned, and while she enjoyed them all, at her age she was content just playing in the house.
We had a rainy week, so we were indoors a lot, and her favorite thing to do by far was playing in my office. She sent her Daddy emails, which by the way, she pulled up, addressed, and typed by herself. Grammie is so proud of the things she does, sometimes she just amazes me. We bought her safety scissors, her idea, since we didn’t have kids scissors to use, and she printed off things that interested her. She cut them out, glued them together and by the time she went home she had a big envelope, on which she had typed her name and printed in Photoshop Elements using fonts and colors, another first, she had never used a graphics editor before, just stuffed with her papers.
But by far, the thing that intrigued her the most was my stapler. I have an old retro one, the big one with the round knob on the top. She must have gone through a whole row of staples. I showed her how to use it, hovered over her and kept telling her over and over to keep her fingers out of the way, and she had a blast!
I have lots of colored pencils that she enjoyed, she loved my paperweights, too, and my markers, it was a little girl’s delight, my office. And now that she’s gone, I look at my things and smile, remembering how much she enjoyed using them.
And the flurry blob behind her, that’s Boo-Boo Kitty, a recent family edition that I need to tell you all about in another post. Boo-Boo and Abby were the best of friends, wherever Abby was, kitty was. She was absolutely crazy about Abby. Is there anything sweeter than children and animals? Nope, absolutely nothing.
To be repeated, same time, same place, next year, Grammie can’t wait...
Today was Abby’s first day of school. She’s thrilled to be going, Ben, not so much.
Here she is with her teacher.
And, Mr. Ben had a birthday last week complete with a Thomas the Train party. Little boys and trains, and cars and construction equipment, if it has wheels, he’s playing with it.
Just taking a minute out of a busy week to share a couple of pictures of these sweet little grandkids...
The grandkids are all ready for St. Paddy’s Day, such a cute picture, just had to share.
I’m baking corned beef and cabbage this afternoon, it’s a blustery St. Patrick’s Day in Heavensville. This isn’t the normal year for sure, March 17th is always my marker, usually the crabapple trees are in bloom, my neighbor’s Mary Jane Magnolia is starting to pop, but not this year.
I do have crocus blooming, and my daffy’s are budding. Temps down to 25 degrees next week, that should nip everything. Grrrrr
Mother would have been planting peas today if she were in her prime. She always had a big garden and planted her peas on the 17th. Peas and new potatoes, oh my, what a treat that was. So wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, Happy St. Patrick’s Day...
Friday, February 13, 2015
Abby came home from school today with this Valentine Card for mama. She’s the only girl in a class with all boys, and her teacher has two sons. Looks like the teacher had a lot of fun dressing her up for this picture. Love the camera!
She is such a darling little child, our Abby. My grandchildren are all the sunshine of my life.
With every age, grandchildren are a delight, and none more so than last weekend when Abby competed in her first horse show. She was simply amazing, this little girl on this huge horse. She was so excited, no fear, no nervous tummy, she just wanted to “do it."
Here’s her day in pictures, Mom and Dad were so proud of her and Grammie and P-Pa were front row center, cheering her on...
Little brother, Ben, giving her a big hug before we left for the show...
Her trainer from Windswept Farm, where she takes riding lessons, giving her instructions.
Not only do the horses have to be prepped, so do the riders. They’re gathering her hair up into a show bun.
She looks darling, with her netting and sparkly barrette.
It’s time to attach her number and finish getting her ready.
All of the ladies from Windswept Farm love Miss A. She has lots of help with the gloves.
It’s almost showtime, her trainer is giving her a leg up.
She’s checking her tack and making a few necessary adjustments to the stirrups for those short little legs.
And she’s off...
She controlled her horse so well, she was the youngest rider in the competition, riding without a lead line. You could just see the excitement in her face. She walked, trotted, reversed her horse, it’s so shocking to see this little granddaughter do all of this. When she came into the arena, she came in at a gallop and Grammie’s heart was in her throat!
The judging is over and she is proud of placing. She did so well, she’s only five years old.
This is our favorite photographer, the amazingly talented Adam Brennan, who volunteered to come and take pictures of her debut. His photographs are below, the man has an amazing eye, and he had a wonderful little subject to work with.
And finally, here’s a small video of her as she leaves the practice area for the arena...
It was such a special day, and I count my blessings that I live close enough to be able to share in the memories… You’re just the best, Abby Leigh! Grammie is so proud of you...
Hubby decided that Abby needed an aquarium for Christmas. And Grammie knows that she loves Ariel, The Little Mermaid, and since five year old girls adore castles and pink, we put this Little Mermaid themed aquarium together for her.
It was so much fun finding the castles and the decorations, after all her Grammie and P-Pa do love to decorate, and she was thrilled with it, jumping up and down, screaming and telling us, “this is the best day of my life."
Mom, Dad and Ben all trudged to the pet store yesterday to pick out her new fish, Bubbles and Goldie, and they are now in residence. If you look closely at the fish on the right, her belly is very distended. Grammie is wondering if she might be “with fish.” She looks suspiciously preggers to me. I’ll keep you updated...
The grandkids looked so cute this Halloween, Olaf and Elsa, and our little lamb, Lexi with Izzie the Wonder Pup Lamb and I thought they were all just perfect. What joy these little souls bring to my life, oh little ones you are all too cute for words.
That’s our Miss A in the white helmet, riding her horse out of the barn.
And she’s off. Her Mama posted a video on Facebook last week of her cantering her horse. Grammie broke out in a sweat watching it, but Abby did great!
We’re all so proud of her, this is quite an accomplishment for a not quite five year old with an overprotective Daddy and a not much better Grammie. What a wonderful thing for a little girl to do, especially one that lives in horse country. You’re living Grammie’s dream Abby, I’m so excited for you...
I look at these precious little children and sometimes I can’t believe how lucky I am. Oh, what sweet little souls they are. It’s hard to believe that Ben is two and Abby will be five in October. Time passes so quickly and having baby Lexi brings back so many memories of Abby and Ben as babies.
We were in Nashville last weekend, Lexi is four months old now and she’s just the sweetest little puddin’ pop. She babbles non-stop, crows like a little rooster, laughs out loud, and loves her bouncy chair. It was Abby’s when she was a baby, and I have such wonderful memories of Abby in it, and now Lexi.
Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. How did I ever get this lucky...
I continue to be a huge, huge fan of HGTV’s The Fixer Upper with Chip and Joanna Gaines, and of course I love her blog. She had a post this week about celebrating family and one of the things they did at the dinner table was to talk about their favorite summer memories.
And now that summer is almost over, I have a few of my own and of course most of them revolve around grandchildren.
So let’s gather around this picture of Joanna’s table and I’ll tell you a few of mine.
Baby Lexi visiting us for the first time at at a month old, and early mornings when John would bring her and put her in bed with me so Mama could rest. I would feed her and lay her on a pillow and just watch her sleep.
Abby’s annual summer visit. Watching her excitement at finding pirate treasure every day she was with us, seeing her interact with my friends, introducing her to Grammie’s favorite place, the river, taking her to Burdette Park to feed the ducks. After she left hubby and I relived her visit over and over again.
Ben, our sweet, giggling, laughing little boy who loves to ride on the golf cart. Saying the phrase “cock-a-doodle-do" and hearing him always repeat “Bob” afterward and then bursting into laughter every single time. Watching his love of the outdoors, playing with a ball and running full steam ahead, his short little legs churning as fast as they would go.
Our “summer project" landscaping our walk and watching the flowers grow. It has been so much fun, having early breakfast outside most mornings, just sitting at the little bistro table, drinking my coffee, watching the butterflies and honeybees flitting around and the finches lighting on the coneflowers, it’s just so pretty and serene.
Spending as much time as possible outdoors because we’ve had such wonderful weather. Lots of evening rides on the golf cart, talking with neighbors, just doing the simple things, living in the moment and enjoying nature.
And summer’s not over yet, there’s still time to make more memories. Make every day count ladies, we never know what tomorrow will bring...
I gush about the grandkids, post strange, rambling erratic thoughts, embarrass my family and friends and often I sit in the sunshine, drink diet sweet tea and try my best to live in the moment every . single . day . Did I leave anything out? Hey, I'm old(er) now and wiser too. Now if I could just remember what I'm talking about and whom I'm talking to...
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