He's so proud

Cooper has been working on his motor skills at school - he struggles with writing letters and coloring sometimes. His teacher, Mrs. Eddy, emailed me this picture of him today. She said he worked so hard on his drawing to color in the lines and that she was so proud of him that she took his picture. Can't you just see how proud of himself he is? I love this boy.

*shaking head*

I don't understand Al all the time. He's such a low-key, laid back, easy going guy. And then he'll do something absolutely crazy and it makes me think "WHO ARE YOU?" Are all men this way?

I came home from work on Friday and found Al and the kids riding bikes. But I noticed Al acted like his knee hurt. Here's how our conversation went down:

Me: What's wrong with your knee Al?

Al: *dodging eye contact* Oh, well, it hurts a little....I fell off my bike.

Me: You fell off your bike? Are you ok? How did you fall off your bike?

Al: Oh, I tried to show Cooper how to do a wheelie and I fell off.

Me: *holding back laughter* You SERIOUSLY fell off your bike?

Al: Yeah.

Me: *laughing* You are such a show off! Was there anyone around?

Al: *pouting* No.

This isn't the first time folks....my husband does stuff like this all the time. This is an awful lot like the story he tells me about wrecking his motorcycle....so I'm just saying. :) But I tell ya, the mental images of Al doing a wheelie and falling off his bicycle has made me giggle all weekend! :)

Niece #2

Congrats to Amy and Jay! Amy had our little niece, Josie Leigh Griggs yesterday around 4:21 pm! Al and I went by and saw her today and she is beautiful and perfect. Mother and baby are doing great.

Welcome to the family Josie!!! We love you so much already - and you have the best big brother EVER!

Never Liked a Bully

I hate bullies.

Growing up, I never really had a problem with a bully at school. Of course, I had a permanent one at home with my older brother. :) I would like to think I was just too, too cool for anyone NOT to like me but the truth is - growing up, I was protected. And her name was Tommi Lynn Lloyd. TL was tough (still is!) - we were BFFs and lived next door to each other - so, no one messed with ME....because they'd have to mess with HER.

So....I don't really know how to handle O's bully situation at school. She comes home almost daily telling me X has been mean to her, stomped on her feet, poked her with a pencil, told her she's fat (which I absolutely could SCREAM about), and told her she "hated" her. It seriously makes me want to cry. This child has made my perfect little Olivia so self conscious about herself that she ordered a SALAD for lunch today. SERIOUSLY???? Yesterday O wanted some V8 because "it's healthy and it'll help me become skinny." I saw RED....I was so close to calling X's mom and giving her an ear full about her kid. And that probably wouldn't have been a very grown up thing to do.

Instead - I told her to ignore X.....to not say a word to her, to turn away and walk in the other direction when she comes over. But it's hard for Olivia. X was her BFF last year - so this has been so hard on my girl. And O can not stand for someone NOT to like her. I can see how it bothers her - and that makes it bother me too. I know I'm her mom and all - but who couldn't love my kid? She's my best friend and she's only 6, almost 7.

Sometimes being a grown up sucks. I'd like to tell O to be mean to X back, but I know that's not the message I need to give my kids. Al and I make sure we tell her every day how perfect she is, how beautiful she is, and how we love her just the way she is. I just hope that's enough.

I hate bullies.....it's even harder from this point of view.......

Easter Pictures

I herded the kids to Prestwood today to take some pictures of them in their Easter attire. I found O's dress at Target and it so stinking cute! I love it - she loves it. Cooper wasn't happy about wearing a pink shirt but when I told him that Daddy had one too, he had no problem with it! :)

I'm not the best photographer in the world, but I think some of my pictures came out really well. The CD alters the quality of the pictures a little, the actual photos look amazing.

Daddy, Olivia and Cooper

Griggs kids 2010

My almost 7 year old Baby Girl



My sweet Little Man!


Olivia and Cooper - March 2010

First Day of Spring!!!

It's the first day of Spring! Yay!!!! The weather is supposed to be SUPER nice - high 70s. I am sssssooo excited! It was really nice out yesterday too, so when I got home from work - the kids and I rode our bikes and then rode the golf cart for awhile. It was so much fun. I love spring!

Nothing to do with Spring, but New Moon came out on DVD today. I'm going to force Al to watch this movie with me tonight. I read all the Twilight books and they were wonderful. Al would keep up with me because when I finished a book, I would tell him what happened in it. LOL He wouldn't go with me to the movies to see New Moon because of football, but he does secretly like this stuff. I came home from work one Friday and caught him watching Twilight.

Oh, and we will become an Aunt and Uncle again by Tuesday! My SIL Amy is going to have her little Josie Leigh in a few days. We are so excited about meeting her and love her so much already. So please keep Amy, Jay and little Louis in your thoughts and prayers.

Brusters

Saturday me, Al, Cooper, and Louis rode over to Florence while Olivia was at a friends house for a playdate. Cooper loves spending time with Louis, so even though we went to Target and then out to get ice cream - the boys had a blast and enjoyed each other's company. Louis is the best nephew EVER and we love him to pieces. And it's so fun for Cooper to have some "boy" time away from his bossy, older sister! :) Amy's about to pop with our baby niece any time now and I thought it would be nice break before she's officially a mommy of a toddler and newborn. :)~

I love this picture! The boys were totally cutting up while Al was trying to snap a picture of them smiling. It looks like Cooper is laughing hard at something really funny that Louis has said!

My sweet Little Man! And how cute is that sundae with the Dinosaur cookie in it? It was a hit with both boys!

More Proof

Cooper has learned to ride his bike - which is NOT this bike, by the way - so he wanted more challenge. He's a boy after all and Al encourages him to be as rough and tumble as possible. Al moved Sissy's seat all the way down on her bike so Cooper could try it out. And guess what? He could totally do it! So...now I know what Cooper might be getting for his birthday in August! A NEW, BIGGER bicycle!

And this is more proof that they are growing up too fast! Isn't he just the sweetest thing even a girl's bicycle? :)

Believe it

Olivia turns SEVEN in a few weeks. I just realized it while working on her birthday invitations.

SEVEN. Didn't I just have her a few years ago? Wasn't she just a toddler when her little brother joined our family? Wasn't she just in pre-school? Why is she so tall that I have to get her pants hemmed now?

Olivia is so opinionated - no birthday cake this year (which makes me sad because I enjoy making the kids cakes), she wants brownies. She's on a brownie kick right now. Al and I don't get the pleasure of picking out what WE want to get her anymore - she specifically shows us what we are to buy her now. Mommy and Daddy can't decide who comes to her party anymore - she gets to make out the guest list. Wow, she's grown at seven. LOL

SEVEN. Believe it folks......and her little brother is fast behind her too....

Edventure

We took the kids to Edventure today in Columbia - OMG, it is sssssooo much fun!!!! I highly recommend anyone with kids to check it out. I think we spent about 3 1/2 hours there and even then, we had to FORCE the kids to leave. Ha ha! So, I think we'll definitely be going back. And to make it even better - Olivia ran into her boyfriend Logan! How crazy - but man, it made her day! She was sssssoo happy to see him - and even told me later at dinner, that he said she was still his girlfriend. Those two crack me up!

The kids at Eddie's shoe - he's the tallest "10 year old" structure in the US - or something like that! :) He's very neat though because the kids can climb all up into him and check out his brain, his stomach, his spine, etc.

Playing the giant Operation game. Is it bad that they were able to do this with no problem but when I tried, the buzzer went off each time? I was never good at that game anyways!

There's a cool section at Edventure called "Snowville" - I don't think it's permanent but it was still up. The kids were able to play hockey, make snow bubbles, pretend they ran an Inn, see a Polar Bear, and build an igloo. I think it was O's favorite part.


O's smile is not fake at all....ha ha!


Eddie

Cooper now says he wants HIS birthday party there....which of course I told him probably wouldn't happen. But I know we'll be back, it was just too fun NOT too. I'm very glad Al and I decided to check it out. Next time, I'm not taking my camera so I can "play" too! :)