Ahem....an Announcement.

TWO very excited BIG BROTHERS are excited to announce that they're getting a new baby brother or sister in June!!! We couldn't be happier! :)

The Treehouse is always fun :)

Some funny pics from our recent trip to the Treehouse that Nani took. Sarah and her kids were in town, so the whole Lowe family went for a little Treehouse outing :). Nani, Poppa, and JD and his girls all came, too! What a fun day :)

"Charge!"

Gray proclaimed this to be a Ninja Turtle.

JD with Kailee and baby Dee.  ... and a donkey.

T of course found every car in the place and declared it to be his.

The trains were also "cars"

Gray said "Look, Mommy! I found a new sword!" and tried so hard to get it out -- he was quite disappointed when he couldn't, and even enlisted Uncle JD's help to pull.  No luck, unfortunately.  He finally gave up when I told him that if he pulled it out, he'd have to be the king.  "I don't wanna be a king, Mommy. I'm just a kid!" :D

T busied himself with throwing the big chess pieces around the room.

Gray and Row "playing" a game of chess -- which entailed of knocking the pieces over with Gray's sword.

Playing the big drum

The cutest little firefighters ever

Black Island Farms

Grayson's preschool just had a field trip to Black Island Farms, and he loved it! He loved the tractor ride, and was so excited when he got to pick out his very own pumpkin!

It was very serious business, picking out the right pumpkin!

He loved this slide, and would do nothing else for about a half an hour!

He was a bit nervous about going on the little train ride by himself, so he kept his eyes on me as long as possible, and waved the whole time.  He said it was "amazing", though, so he must have had fun.

He also loved the corn box, and wouldn't get out once he got in :)

He was quite amused that his feet got buried in the corn.

A kid with SPD's dream, right here :)

Gray also really, REALLY loved the bouncy house pumpkin. He had a very hard time waiting in line for it at first, but after he did it once, he kept just running right back to the end of the line to go again, and again, and again.  Silly kid!

We had a great time, and are planning a return trip soon so we can take Daddy and Thatcher, and maybe Nani and Pop, too! :)

Grayson's Diagnosis

I just wanted to share some information about Grayson -- I figure if you're reading my blog, you must care enough about our family to know :) .  He has just been officially diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome and Anxiety Disorder with OCD tendencies and Sensory Processing Disorder.  Aspergers is on the high-functioning end of the Autism spectrum.  This diagnosis has given us a lot of answers as to why he acts the way he does, and we are getting him into some therapies soon.  There is no "cure" for Aspergers, and he'll have to deal with his challenges his whole life, but since we're getting him help early on, his prognosis is good.  If you'd like to read more about what Aspergers is, what it's like to be him, the specifics of his disorder, etc., I'm including a link to a fantastic website about those very things:

http://www.autismspeaks.org/family-services/tool-kits/asperger-syndrome-and-high-functioning-autism-tool-kit

(go to this website and click on the blue links)

I hope this gives you a little more insight into what Grayson is going through, and that you will be patient with all of us as we help him with his challenges.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Thatcher Arie is 18 months old!

This sweet little guy is already 18 months old! I can't believe he's this big already. He's just this little PERSON now! He is so darn fun!! Here's a little about him at this stage:

Thatcher LOVES balls -- they're his favorite toys. He's really good at throwing and kicking, too -- better than Grayson! He also loves bubbles and cars.

T talks up a storm now -- he has the sweetest little voice -- everything he says is the cutest thing you've ever heard. He has a fantastic vocabulary, and can usually make his needs known quite clearly (between words and signing).  He even speaks in sentences -- "Want more juice, pwease". 

His favorite foods right now are goldfish crackers, apples, string cheese, and pretty much anything he sees on someone else's plate. He's a fabulous eater and eats almost everything he's given -- the exact opposite of his brother :) You'd never know it by looking at him (skinny boy!), but he loves to eat.

He thinks he needs to do everything Grayson does -- if Gray is doing something/getting into something, you can usually find T right behind him. Climbing, running, dancing, jumping, throwing, etc etc etc.  He thinks he's a big boy and can do everything his big brother does. 

He loves Baby Signing Time, and frequently signs for and says "Baby Time, pwease" 

He also LOVES the TV show Blue's Clues -- he asks for "Boos Coos" every day -- he "signs" for it, too -- opens and closes his hands like they do in the show.  He knows all the songs and tries to sing along, too.  It's very cute.

He has successfully transitioned to sleeping in his own crib. He shares a room with Grayson. He's mostly weaned now, but he's not giving up his before-bed nursing session. Which is fine by me -- I love the snuggle time :)

He loves his binky blankets -- he has two -- and needs both of them to sleep. He calls them his "dee-dee"s

T loves a little toy we have that plays the alphabet song -- he sometimes goes around the house singing "Y an' Zeeeee".  It's adorable.

He has the best little laugh -- this deep belly-laugh that makes everyone that hears it smile.

He's pretty much the happiest, sweetest little guy ever! He is such a wonderful part of our family! We love him so very much!

Carver's Cove

My mom heard about a fun little farm in Eden called Carver's Cove that lets you pet and feed all the animals. So we checked it out today! It was really hot, so we didn't stay too long, but we did have a great time while we were there! The boys loved all the animals! So cute and so fun!

Me showing Gray how to hold his hand to feed the goats (P.S. Goats kind of freak me out, so this was me being quite brave, I'll have you know!)

Gray was very brave also, and ended up loving it! Whenever we've gone to petting zoos before, he's never gotten even CLOSE to the animals. I was proud of him :)

T loved the chickens running all over the place. 

I loved the tiny little pygmy goats! They were just one day old!!!

The baby pygmy goats with their momma

This horse was so pretty -- it had blue eyes! I've never seen a horse with blue eyes before!

Llama llama llama!

The baby llama and baby T had quite the connection :)

Gray kept going back to feed the goats. They were his favorite :)

He always giggled when they licked the food up 

Following the chicken again. (hehe -- T gave my mom his hat, and she wore it most of the time :D)

T wasn't so sure if he liked feeding the goat...

He just went back to chasing the chicken.

He sat right down in the grass next to it, and hung out with it for a bit.

Nani and T snuggling a bunny

Nani and the bunny :)

Baby turkeys

These little piglets were so funny! These ones are bottle-fed, and they were hungry, so they kept nudging everyone. Gray thought it was funny that they thought Daddy was their mommy! :)

Their little noses were surprisingly hard! They meant business!

They even let the boys climb all over the tractors. Little boy heaven! :)

And here it is -- the cherry on top! Grayson actually RODE ON THE HORSE!! I could not believe he actually did it! He needed me next to him, but he did great! 

What a fun little place! I think we'll be going back! :)