He's got the moves

Gray is really getting into dancing lately. He has a magnet for the fridge that plays, "I've Been Working on the Railroad" which gets him going. But it is the pink monkey he got for Valentine's Day that is a favorite. He is picking up some new moves everyday. Enjoy!

The way you say it

Griffin is really picking up on the way he hears people saying things. So today he was talking about his friend, Matthew, from church and what Matthew says. Griffin saw something on tv and said, "Oh Man!". Then he said, "Mama, Oh man is what you say after you say, Holy Cow".



He has also gotten interested in infomercials. I was watching my soap this afternoon and he says, "Mom, you don't need your watering can anymore. You just use your aquaglobe". I have to admit, I do want an aquaglobe for some reason.

Family movie night

Last Friday night we had our first family movie night. We got out the sleeping bags, popped some popcorn, and watched Madagascar. Griffin paid attention for about half of the movie, but Brent and I really liked it a lot. I think this week we may try to watch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Soccer camp and losing my mind

Griffin has been quite a character lately. I just don't get the almost 4-year-old male psyche. He has had soccer camp from 9-12 most mornings this week. He loves it and is pretty exhausted when I go to pick him up. But instead of resting when we get home, he gets aggressive. Walks up to me and headbutts me in the leg. Throws things. He is extra sassy.

He's just so weird about everything lately. He put his shorts on inside out this morning and refused to change them. He wants to be "first" in everything and will almost trip me to run ahead of me. I have almost zero patience for him.

Round Two

I guess yesterday was round 2 for the Belding house. Griffin started feeling bad at church yesterday and was laying on one lady's lap when Brent went to pick him up. He came home and went right to bed (so unlike him). Then after his nap, he proceeded to get sick all over the house for the next few hours. He was pretty sweet about it saying things like, "Mommy, thank you for teaching me how to throw up in a bowl like a big boy". My Pleasure.

So now he seems fine but we have a down day. Maybe tomorrow he will be much better and can head off to soccer camp as planned.

Gray is talking a bit more. This morning he said, "yum" and "thank you". In the past few days we have had approximations of "cup", "car", "shoe", and "juice". Then he is starting to call Griffin, "guhguh". Kind of sweet.

Not feeling well

This is how Gray looks when he is feeling sick. I took him to the doctor today and he has an ear infection. He hasn't been sleeping well, so now he pretty much just lounges around and lays on the floor. We just got back from a walk in the neighborhood, and this is what I found him doing when I was putting the stroller away.

Tuesday

Kaleigh and Meghan came over on Tuesday for the afternoon. Joey watched the kids while I did a house hunting trip. Then I watched them so she could go home and pack clothes for their vacation. This is what the big kids ended up doing on my watch. I had them paint with shaving cream and clean the kids table and the big table. They had a blast and we have clean outdoor furniture once again.

He means NO

It took me awhile to figure out what he was doing. But we think this is what Gray does when he is trying to shake his head, "no".

Ballgame with Daddy

For an early Father's Day gift, we took Brent to a Braves game last night. It was a lot of fun. We sat in the cheap seats with plenty of room (no one goes to these games which might explain why the team is leaving town soon) so the kids could run around. The highlight was eating hot dogs, nachos, and Cracker Jacks. Griffin FINALLY ate a hot dog with the bun. No ketchup or mustard of course, but maybe someday we will progress to that.

Gray was in complete awe of the game. He just pointed to everything in the stadium and was so excited.

Some pics of the stadium. You can see downtown.

We didn't catch any fly balls but we put the glove to good use anyway.

Gray LOVED the music that they played and was content to do his "gorilla dance" the entire time. Here is a short video clip.

Thank goodness for Science Camp

It is no secret that last week with Griffin was a little challenging. So this week he is attending a preschool Science Camp every morning. I was so excited to take him this morning, and he was excited too. Today went much more smoothly with him having something structured to do in the morning. He had fun and was a pleasure to hang out with. One of today's projects was they made a bracelet with beads that change color when you get out in the sun. I never got a good understanding of what other things they did- that does not matter...at least he had a good time.

Welcome Sam

So on Saturday Joey and I had a little get-together for our friend, Carrie, and her son, Sam, that she recently adopted from Russia. He is such a sweet little guy so we thought it only appropriate to have a little party for him. Nothing big but just a little something. Here are some pics of the morning. Carrie was super worried about how Sam would behave, but he was perfect. He begged for food a little (and approved of the sausage casserole), opened some gifts, and played with the paper and bags. He even waved goodbye to his guests.

Freaking HOT

I don't have much to post, but the weather here is horrible. We have had our 2nd or 3rd day of 100 degree heat. Sticky super hot days. It is hard because both boys want to be outside, but I feel guilty having them outside with all the heat advisories rolling across the tv screen. Maybe the heat can explain Griffin's heinous behavior lately. All temper tantrums, sassy mouth, and just general disobedience. Yesterday was the worst- whenever I put him in time-out, he would try to hit me or half-heartedly "spit" at me. He is so strong-willed. I lost it finally, so he skipped dinner and went to bed by 6:30. I was DONE. Today was better but we still had a few battles.

Mr Responsibility

Yesterday I was folding laundry and was about halfway done. Griffin comes up to me and says, "Mom, you are folding my underwear. That's MY responsibility". Maybe he is on to something...

Smells like summer

Our backyard is finally smelling like summer. I have three dwarf gardenias that have never really bloomed much at all. But this year we finally have some progress:)

Fun weekend

It was a fun, but hot hot hot weekend. Griffin had his last soccer game of the season. He is doing much better. He just runs after the ball or runs after his teammates, but he really has no intention of trying to get the ball or kick it. I think he figured out that as long as he got out there and kind of participated, then it made everyone happy. At least he is not crying about it.

Gray in his ball cap that he won't keep on for more than a second.

Griffin loves doing the team Fusion cheer.

After the game, we went to the Greek festival. The food was so good. But it was super hot and the kids were grumpy. I think next year it might be better to do it as a date night and just set and eat and drink some wine.

Bo Diddley

This morning when I was reading the paper, Griffin looked at a picture and said, "hey Mommy, look! It's a pirate with some spatulas". He was looking at this picture of Bo Diddley. What do you see? It puts a whole new spin on the "cloud game".