Fire Station Tour

Our MOMS Club put together an awesome tour of our local fire station. The kids started out by watching a video on fire safety. Afterwards, they practiced "Stop, Drop and Roll" and got to hug a fully outfitted firefighter!

Trying to get Grant to pay attention to the safety portion of our tour... ...but he wasn't having any of it. He just wanted to go outside! Firefighter Chuck came over and took an interest in Grant. He asked me a few questions about him and then picked him up. As you can see, Grant took a liking to him!

We were supposed to be walking in line looking at all the fire trucks, but Grant made his own tour.

"Look, mom, I'm on a fire truck!"

Maddie and Elijah held hands the whole time. It was too cute!

Grant sitting in the fire truck.

"Oh, what can we touch?"

"Hey! Can I hold the hose?"

Me, Grant and Sparky. He wouldn't take a picture with Sparky by himself, so I joined in. We had a great time! And will get to have even more fun later with our new fireman's hat and coloring book! A great big thank you to our Volunteer Firefighters!

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a busy (and fun!) Memorial Day weekend. On Saturday we drove up to see my parents and Michael and Robin. We had a yummy lunch together, but Mom and Dad forgot they had 'Stros tickets for an afternoon game. So, they offered to keep Grant while we went to the game with Michael and Robin.

Gary and I enjoying the game! Me and the bride! Robin asked me to be a bridesmaid. I can't wait to start hearing more about the wedding! Believe it or not, this is the first time I have been a bridesmaid. I'm up to the challenge! Gary will also be a groomsman and Grant is the ring bearer.

Our seats were phenomenal! If only we had these seats every time!

On Monday, we headed over to the Scogin's house. The boys went swimming (even if a little begrudgingly), we played Wii and had a wonderful meal.

While we were there, Tippi and Pawpaw gave Grant a backpack they had bought during a vacation to Canada. He loves this little backpack. He kept bringing it over to me today, so that I could put it on him. I am seeing flashes of his first day of kindergarten! He will be so cute... maybe I'll home school! :)

It's A Bird!

Grant and I just spent almost 45 minutes pointing at every bird that flew over our backyard. He loves to watch the birds. And it is so cute because every time he sees one, he points and says, "bir, bir."

Toilet Paper Anyone?

Grant has a new hobby:

He loves playing in our guest bathroom. Since the cabinets are babyproofed, I normally don't mind. He hasn't figured out that the toilet lid opens, so he doesn't get into any trouble... until now! If anyone has any tips on babyproofing bathrooms, please let me know!

Turtle Watching

Our MOMS Club set up a trip to a local nature center where our toddlers could learn all about turtles. Grant was the youngest toddler there. He might not have quite understood everything, but he really enjoyed being outside and playing.

When we first arrived, there was a green turtle sandbox filled with balls. The balls were supposed to represent turtle eggs and the children were supposed to bury them in the sand so they could "hatch." Well, it was very apparent that my child doesn't understand abstract themes yet. He dove into the sandbox and tried to throw all the balls out. All the other children were standing nicely at the edge and burying their "eggs." In Grant's defense, we have the same sandbox in our backyard and he is allowed to get IN it.

A small rest for two very active little boys. This little pond was home to many turtles. I think they were a little far for Grant to see, but he sure does seem thoughtful. I wonder what he was looking at?

Grant pointing out which turtle was his favorite.

After our turtle extravaganza, we all met at a nearby park for lunch and some playtime. Erica and I split picnic duties... she brought her yummy chicken salad sandwiches and I brought some dips and chips along with my apple cinnamon muffins. Lunch was so good!

Grant wanted to play afterwards. Like I said before, he was the youngest toddler there. When he was on the playground, he wanted to do what the big kids were doing. That meant climbing up stairs and going down slides. So, I picked him up and did it with him. After our first ride, Grant insisted on going again and again. He wore me out!

500 Cupcakes

My sweet mom-in-law gave me the ultimate guide to all things cupcake for Mother's Day. Not only does it have some delicious looking cupcakes inside, but it shares some wonderful ideas for muffins! Goodies such as carrot and zucchini muffins, apple and cinnamon muffins, and lavender and honey cupcakes look to be a few of my faves.

Grant and I are going to a toddler class all about turtles tomorrow with MOMS Club. Erica and I are splitting picnic duties... she's making her yummy chicken salad sandwiches and I am making some fresh homemade dips and (what else?) apple and cinnamon muffins. I'll let you know how they turn out!

Art Supply Recipes...

...from Please Touch Museum. Moldable Clay: 2 cups flour 2 cups boiling water 2 pkgs powdered drink mix 1/2 cup salt 2 Tbsp oil Instructions: Boil water. Mix flour, drink mix, salt in separate bowl. Add oil to dry ingredients and mix carefully. Add water to dry ingredients and stir with wooden spoon. Let cool. When cool enough to touch, knead mixture with hands. Silly Goop: 1 cup liquid starch 2 cups glue food coloring (optional) Instructions: Start with liquid starch in bowl. Add in glue. Mix with hands. Add food coloring and mix well. Oobleck: 1 part water 2 parts corn starch Instructions: Mix ingredients well. Mixture should change between a liquid and solid when handled. Experiment with ratio of water to corn starch to see which consistencies you prefer. Chalk: 1 cup plaster of paris 1/2 cup water Popsicle, ice cube tray, paper cup, or other mold powdered tempera paint or liquid craft paint Instructions: Mix plaster and paint. Add water and mix. Pour mixture into mold and let dry. Finger Paint: 1/4 cup corn starch 2 cups waterfood coloring Instructions: Mix corn starch and water in saucepan. Boil mixture until it thickens. Let cool. Once cooled, pour into jars and add desired colors to jars and mix. Glue: 1 part water 1 part flour food coloring (optional) Instructions: Mix water and flour in bowl. Add food coloring to color your glue.

Stirring

Grant loves to help me stir when I am making dinner. To keep him entertained while I'm cooking, I will give him his own utensil and a pan.

"Look what I'm making, Mom." Apparently, he thinks he would make a gourmet dish as well, because he always wants to climb into the pan. Silly boy! In other news, Sadie is visiting us for a little bit this afternoon. Both Grant and Sadie are asleep... man, I'm good! Ha!

Dirty, Dirty Diaper

Grant has started to pull on his diaper when it gets dirty. He hadn't quite figured how to get it off entirely, but you can tell that is what he wants to do. Tonight during dinner, Grant walks up to me and hands me a dirty diaper. All I have to say is at least he knew to give it to me. It didn't end up smashed into the carpet, smeared on my foot or hidden in some obscure location (later to be found only by sniffing it out). Maybe now we can work on waiting until after Mommy has finished her dinner.

Frontier Day

We went to the annual Frontier Day a few weekends ago. They have a great car show, craft fair, and carnival. All the town dance clubs get to perform (we watched just the cutest little girls in tutus and ballet slippers - so cute) and it is a great local event. Other than being a little warm, we really enjoyed it.

Gary and Grant in front of a 'really cool' engine. That's as technical of a descrition as you are going to get from me. I just loved looking at these cars. Such a neat hobby.