Build-a-Bear birthday party

On Thursday evening, Grayson went to his friend Ellie's birthday party, which was held at the Build-a-Bear store. It was so cute! Here are some pictures from our fun evening.All the kids had to pick out two hearts: one for their own bears and one to put in Ellie's bear, since it was her special day.
The lady is stuffing Grayson's bear -- he got to push a foot pedal which blew the stuffing in his bear!
After his bear was stuffed, it was time to take him for an air bath and some brushing!
Ellie's mom had made shirts for all the bears. Here's Grayson with the finished product. =) Grayson decided to name his bear Grayson. Of course.
All the kids in the front of the store with their bears... (G is 2nd from the right)And, cupcakes and juice for dessert. Yum! The end to a perfect party!

Random Quirks, OCD, or just Type A?

Okay, I must confess, I am a very scheduled person. I think I thrive on a schedule. I probably have a few (maybe several...) OCD tendencies. And, I'm definitely Type A. Jerry is, too. He would even tell you that! We joke that when we've tried to "plan" out our lives, God just chuckles at us. That whole control issue is one that we both struggle with. So, here are some of my random quirks... do you have any?

• I never leave the house without making my bed
• I always order the exact same things at restaurants
• In the shower, it's shampoo, wash, condition, shave, rinse. Always!
• No crumbs are ever left on the counter
• I can't sleep without a ceiling fan on and I must be on my stomach
• I almost always do my grocery shopping on Mondays
• I read the paper every morning while eating breakfast
• I must have a diet Coke at lunch, but not before
• I can't leave to go on a trip without a completely clean house

Okay, enough about me. You're probably starting to think that I'm just nuts. What are your quirks? =)

Deep questions

A sampling from today's questions, asked to Mommy and Daddy from Grayson's little inquiring mind. And, no, I did not just make these up!

G: "When am I going to get big boobies like yours, Mom?"

and

G: "When am I going to be a Daddy?"

Honestly. How are we supposed to answer these lovely questions on a three-year-old level?? =)

Dinosaurs and more dinosaurs!!

**Disclaimer: To my faithful Kansas City area readers, PLEASE do not take offense that we did not get to see you during this very quick trip. The purpose was to meet up with David and Kristen, and therefore we were not able to see many of our wonderful friends. We are so sorry, but still had to blog about the weekend. No hard feelings, okay?? =)


Last weekend, we headed up to Kansas City to meet up with my brother David and his fiancee Kristen who flew in from Ft. Worth for a wedding of one of David's buddies. My brother, Brett, surprised all of us and flew in with Kristen and Dave. We had lots of fun hanging out, eating, shopping, and swimming at the hotel.

One fun stop was the T-Rex Cafe located in the Legends shopping area for lunch. We had never been there before, but had heard great things from others who had. Outside the restaurant there were dinosaurs and fountains. Grayson was right at home...

Our waitress told us that this is the ONLY T-Rex Cafe in the U.S., but they are currently building a second one in Downtown Disney in Orlando. Cool!

Can't say that our food was the greatest, but I guess you pay for the dino-atmosphere!
We walked all around and saw all kinds of dinosaurs... names I had never heard of. They did move, which made Grayson think they were really alive. (He's trying to feed this one...)The cool Triceratops and her baby

Giving Dexter the Dinosaur a high-five at our table

David, Kristen, Mom, and Dad all dressed up!

It was a fun, fast weekend!! David and Kristen's wedding will be here before we know it!!

Three is definitely more challenging than two...

When Grayson was two, I would hear my friends comment on how their three-year-olds were way more difficult than the terrible twos. I wasn't so sure...

Well, I'm here in total agreement. This three-year-old business is just nuts. For instance, the last two months or so, Grayson is refusing to eat breakfast. I've offered (and cooked) him almost everything, from waffles to oatmeal to scrambled eggs. He just looks at me and says (in an awfully pitiful voice), "All I want for breakfast is milk." Then, with a little perky smile he'll reply, "But can I have some candy, Mom?" Heck no... eat your breakfast first! (I soooo wish that someone had to tell me that I needed to eat!!)

Today at lunch, Grayson refused to talk to my Mom. Usually she is his best friend. He just hid under the table, or layed on his stomach across his chair and stayed silent. I decided not to make too big of a deal about it because we were able to talk without interruption!

Instead of being the first-born people pleaser that all the birth-order books predict he will be, he has really tried to blatantly disobey our rules. Like tonight... I saw him pick up a decent sized rock and just chuck it at our 3rd car garage. I said, "Grayson! No throwing rocks at the garage, please!" He looked at me and did it again. Right then and there. So, off to time-out he went. Aarrrgghhh.

He truly has a heart of gold and I love our snuggling, book-reading time before bed... I love all the times he grabs for my hand as we walk in a store... I love watching him jump and play and splash fearlessly in the pool for hours... I love listening to his thoughts and questions... I love how each morning he walks over to Zoe's crate and says, "Good morning, little dog!"... I love how he always knows if something is different or missing or not how he left it...

But, oh my, these three-year-olds are definitely more challenging!

Swimming

This past Friday night, we got together with our friends, Katie and Tanner, and their girls, Elyse and Delaney. We ordered pizza and had it delivered to the neighborhood pool, and the kids swam while the four of us enjoyed some adult conversations! =) It was a beautiful evening, and Grayson, Elyse, and Delaney swam for over 2 hours. It was a great way to hang out on a Friday night.Grayson and Elyse are only one day apart in age -- they are virtually twins -- and have played together at least weekly since they were born.
The Spiderman floatie was one of my best Dollar General finds this summer =)
They entertained each other with a keep-away/chase the ball game in the baby pool for quite awhile. We love that pool because they can stand up in it!
Grayson is definitely a fish!! Happy Summer!!

Do the Right Thing

So, once again I have been challenged by our weekly women's Bible study. We are still studying the book of Ecclesiastes, in a series by Tommy Nelson called A Life Well Lived. Here's a sample of one of our last lessons...

From Session 7: Do the Right Thing (Ecclesiastes 8:1-9:1)

One man aptly noted, "Sow a thought, reap a deed; sow a deed, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a lifestyle; sow a lifestyle, reap a destiny."

Little choices will define our long-term legacy for good or ill. C.S. Lewis stated, "With every choice you are either becoming more of a heaven-like or hell-like creature." Listen to the great coach Vince Lombardi's challenge, "The quality of a man's life is in direct proportion to excellence, i.e. excellent choices."

So it begs the question, who are we when no one is looking? What thoughts are we sowing? What habits are we forming? What desting are we building?

Solomon will show us that one key to a life well lived is simply doing the right thing over a long period of time.

Wow... that book of Ecclesiastes sure is powerful. We've commented almost every time how amazing and prophetic it is that Solomon's wisdom is so pertinent in our everyday lives. They struggled with the same things I struggle with. Tommy Nelson encouraged us that while life is unpredictable, we must rest and trust that we are in God's hand. Yes, we might have to wait on His answers, but He is ultimately sovereign.