So Smart!!

Gray and I were playing with letter magnets on the fridge today -- I'd hold out a letter, ask him what it was, and he'd tell me. Which in itself is pretty darn smart, I think! He knows all his letters! But then he totally baffled me: he pointed to the 'L' and said "Lion! Roaarrr!"; pointed to the 'H' and said "Hippo!!!!"; pointed to the 'Z' and said "BraBra!"(that's how he says 'zebra'!); pointed to the 'E' and said "Ele! phhhhhhhbbt!"(that's the sound elephants make, if you didn't know). I just sat in stunned silence. Are you kidding me? HE'S TWO!! And he already correlates animals with the letters they begin with?!? I think I learned that in 1st grade........... :) Sheesh this boy is a smarty pants!!! :D

Bedtime Routine

So, I just have to document Grayson's bedtime routine, because I LOVE it, and I know someday I'll forget it...
Some days we start with a bath, which he loves. Then we brush his teeth (while I sing the "brush your teeth" song -- makes him laugh so I can brush all his teeth), and wash his face. He usually has to wash Ele's face too. Sometimes he gives himself a goodnight kiss in the mirror :). Then we change his diaper, put on his PJ's (he's usually holding one or two toys, so I take one and put it in my mouth so he can put his hands through the sleeves. He thinks that's so funny, he usually shoves the other one in my mouth too.) Then we jump over to his crib, where he and daddy usually have a tickle fight -- Gray likes to tell him which parts to tickle -- "Knee!!" "Hippo!"(elbow) "Chin!" "Cheek!" "Tum-my!" -- it's so cute! It probably only riles him up, but it's one of their daddy/son bonding times, so I let them do it :). Then we say our family prayer (and Gray always shoves a stuffed animal into the arms of whichever one of us isn't saying the prayer -- no idea why, but he always does it). He says "Amen!" at the end. Then he usually asks for a cracker, and takes an inventory of what he has in his crib. He has three different blankets that he HAS to have in there with him, and about 5 stuffed animals as well. And he KNOWS when one is missing. Sometimes he also needs some of his Fisher Price animals, and sometimes some of his cars. And of course he always needs Ele. He also gets a few books to read before bed -- lately he's liked to read them by himself -- guess I'm not very good at telling stories :) It's quite comical how many things he amasses sometimes. (When he falls asleep, I sneak in there and take most of it out, or at least move it all to the edges so he has someplace clear to sleep.) After he makes sure he has everything he needs, we sing the "Goodnight Grayson" song, give him hugs and kisses, then say "Nigh Night!" -- and he says "Night Tight!" -- his own version of 'sleep tight' I'm assuming :) I love it! He then reads/plays/jumps around/talks to his toys until he falls asleep. He sleeps with his bum in the air, his arms tucked underneath him, feet crossed at the ankles. Sometimes he bunches up a blanket under his tummy, and/or uses a stuffed animal as a pillow. He talks in his sleep. A lot. Mostly about cows, elephants, or hippos. Sometimes about Mom and Dad, Nana, Poppa, Gram, Grampa, Ollie, or Henry. Lately he's also included dinosaurs (currently obsessed with watching "The Land Before Time"). Mostly he just talks in jibberish that I can't understand. But he gets very animated, and talks very loudly, and very clearly. Sometimes he giggles :) I love that our room is right across the hall, so I get to hear it all. I love this little guy! :D

Happy Birthday, Steve-o!!

Yesterday was Steve's 28th birthday! (I have to put the number, because I tease him every day that he never knows how old he is -- "How old are you, Steve-o?" "Uh................." "28, baby. You're 28." hehe) He celebrated by going to work, and having meetings all day long. Sounds fun, huh! While he was gone, Gray and I decorated a cake for him! Steve loves funfetti cupcakes, and he loves turtles, so we made a turtle cake out of funfetti cupcakes!!! :D Gray helped by picking out all the orange M&M's (and all the blue ones -- they're his favorite -- but all of those got eaten -- barely managed to keep two for the eyes).



I didn't take any pictures of Steve, but here is one of Gray enjoying one of the cupcakes (ate the M&M's first, then ate all the frosting, then the cake)


Steve got some cologne from me (he's been wearing Polo Sport since high school -- I thought it was time for a change!!) -- I LOOOOVE the scent and I just have to nuzzle his neck now when he wears it. He also got a Superman graphic novel from Grayson, and he is very excited about that. And a subscription to Wired magazine from Ollie -- also excited about that!

I made Steve's favorite foods for dinner (lemon apricot chicken, fried rice, and green beans). Then Steve played Final Fantasy for a while (I told him he could do anything he wanted), then we watched some TV and snuggled! Steve said it was a good birthday, and he had fun. We're going out to dinner with his family tomorrow, and hopefully we'll go out together on Saturday to a movie or something.

I love you, Steve-o! Happy happy birthday to you!!

Counting Stairs

As Grayson and I were going down the stairs today, we were counting the stairs (as we always do), and here is how Gray counted them: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 13, 14, COOKIE!!" I submit that 'cookie' SHOULD be a number from now on.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Well, I don't really have much to say about St. Patrick's Day. Never been a huge holiday for me. I didn't decorate. I didn't do special treats delivered by leprachauns. Maybe next year :) -- it does sound fun! But we did wear green. And I made green pancakes and green milk for breakfast. That's about as festive as we got :) I tried to take pictures, but Grayson is a moving target, and it is darn near impossible to get a good picture of him lately! Sheesh! We also took a fun trip to the library (one of Gray's favorite places), where we looked at books and played with blocks and puzzles. Gray was a very good boy and actually used his quiet voice, like I always tell him to when we're in the library! And after he was done playing with the animal toys, he put them all back in the bin, closed the lid, and put the bin back on the shelf! All by himself! I didn't even have to prompt him at all! I was insanely proud of him :) Here is the best picture I got of him that day (sorry, it was taken with my phone, in front of the window):

Grayson Lately

(SO not a good picture, but this kid is in near-constant motion -- it's darn near impossible to get a good picture of him!!!!!)
(The yogurt junkie)
Grayson had his 2 year check-up with his doctor today. He is just over 28 lbs (in the 53%), and is just over 34 inches tall (43%). So he's just about exactly average! It's good to hear that he's healthy and growing as he should! Especially with his picky eating habits :)
Gray has a very limited amount of foods he will eat. No matter how much I try to make him branch out, he sticks to the same things! He'll eat pizza, spaghetti, chicken nuggets(sometimes), pb & honey sandwiches, cereal, and yogurt. And anything sweet, of course -- he is constantly asking for cookies, treats, 'nums' (M&Ms), and ice cream (he says 'ice keem' now instead of just 'ice'). So I have resorted to sneaking healthy things in with his favorites -- spinach/carrots/squash etc pureed and mixed in with his pasta/pizza sauce, etc. And since he asks for ice cream every morning for breakfast, I freeze his baby yogurt, and call it ice cream when I give it to him :) And the list of what he'll eat is getting smaller! He all the sudden won't touch a few things that he USED to LOVE! So frustrating. For example: He used to LOVE peaches and bananas. Now, he won't eat a single bite. And FORGET about trying to get him to eat veggies -- which he also used to love! (well, green beans, corn, and peas at least).
Grayson is well in the midst of his terrible-twos. He thinks he has to SCREAM every time he needs something/doesn't get what he wants/gets frustrated/he blinks......etc. We are working on it, and I am trying to be strong and not give in to him. I think he is just starting to grasp that I really am serious about the time-out thing :) and will sometimes stop screaming/whining the first time I warn him (he gets two warnings before a time-out).
He really is a very very sweet child, and is very tender-hearted. Where most kids laugh at physical comedy on TV (a character getting hit, falling down, etc), Grayson gets concerned and has to ask if they're okay. It's cute, but you have to be careful what you watch -- he can get VERY upset if he thinks someone actually got hurt.
Gray is also very affectionate -- loves to give hugs and kisses, which I LOVE :) That is, if you can capture him in the midst of all the running amok. He loves running, jumping, and climbing, and barely ever pauses for anything (I have to chase him around shoving food in his mouth most meals).
He still loves everything animals, and everything cars. He can count to 12 by himself, knows all the colors of the rainbow, knows most the letters of the alphabet (just not in order quite yet), and talks in sentences. It totally baffles me how big he is all the sudden :) I'm sad he's not my baby anymore!!! But I think this age is the most FUN of all!!! Even with the tantrums :) It is SO much fun to see him learn new things every day -- and hear the new words he can say, or the old words he can say more clearly now.
I love every day I get to spend with this little stinker. Which is literally every single day :)
Love you, buddy!!

Latest Creations

Here are some of my latest crocheted creations! You can find these and more at the Simple Gifts Boutique!
3660 Lincoln (behind Costco in Ogden)
Mondays - Thursdays:
3:30 - 7:30 pm
Fridays & Saturdays:
12:00 noon - 5:00 pm
Closed: Sundays

Tic-Tac-Toe game $10 (the board is a pouch -- the pieces fit inside -- and the pieces have velcro on the back, so they stay on the game board) Perfect for church, the car, doctor's offices, etc etc etc!


Cupcakes -- sold in a set of 4 for $7, or individually for $2 apiece
They're weighted with beans on the bottom, and the bottom is flat, so they stand up by themselves really well. I use one as a pincushion, but they're also great as play food -- how cute would these be with a little girl's tea set?!!!


Robots -- $10 each. I actually gave the green/blue robot away, but the navy/red one is at the shop. There's also a WAY cute girl one in pink/green, but for some reason I didn't get a picture of her before she went to the shop. She also has a pink heart button sewn on her.



Booties -- I also gave these away, and there aren't any in the shop, but I wanted to share :) Cute, huh!


Little plane -- I think I will keep this one and give it to my nephew for his 1st birthday (Shh, Sarah, don't tell Row!); but I'm thinking of making more.


A bunny and matching hat I made for my friend's baby girl. I will be making lots of these bunnies in various sizes/colors for Easter!



So there ya go -- my most recent creations! :)

Favorite Deal Sites

Ok, so I keep telling people about these awesome websites, and I thought I should put them all in one place. I check all of them every day :) So here they are, in no particular order: (click on the words in CAPS to go to the website)

PEACHY CHEAP -- a new scrapbook-related deal every day (changes at midnight)
BABY STEALS -- a new baby-related deal every day (changes at 9 am -- and if you're in the Murray, UT area, you can even go pick it up yourself and not pay for shipping!! ditto for all three of the "Steals" sites -- babysteals, kidsteals, and scrapbooksteals)
KID STEALS
SCRAPBOOK STEALS
WOOT -- a new deal every day -- can be anything really -- I've gotten a Dyson vacuum, a screaming monkey toy, a humidifier, etc etc -- no real theme to this one -- just great deals! Lately, they've had mostly electronics like laptops and cameras. But I check it every day just because when you find a great deal, it's a GREAT deal! (My vacuum was $200 cheaper than retail) -- new deal every day at 11 pm
KIDS.WOOT same as Woot -- just kids themed. Usually toys, but sometimes great gear (car seats, high chairs, etc), or educational material (baby signing time DVDs, language books, etc)
FREEBIES 2 DEALS This may be my favorite site of all. It's not a store -- it's a blog about current deals going on -- where to find free samples, where there are super-good sales, how to make the most of coupons, etc. I have this site on my google reader, so I get updates as soon as they're posted :) You can also sign up for email updates.

Ok, so there are my favorite "deals" sites! I hope they're helpful to someone else :D



***************ALSO: The gal that runs the Freebies 2 Deals website is having a Coupon Conference in a few weeks (read all about it HERE) which I am super excited about! I'm new to the whole couponing thing, and I feel like I need some help -- she's got tons of tips and tricks she's going to be sharing. And it's not just the clipping kind of couponing -- it's how to get the best deals on EVERYTHING you buy/how to get things for free -- in stores and online! It's March 20th from 11am-1pm at the SLCC campus. It's completely sold out, but *I* got 2 tickets! Two, because I HATE going to these kind of things alone. SO! My question is: WHO WANTS TO COME WITH ME?!?!??! I bought them early, and with a coupon code, so your ticket would only be $5! Wa HOO!! Anyway, if you're interested, send me an email!!*****************