Freedom of Speech

Yes, there is a point to the boys having colored-cotton-ball-straw-races...Gunner's speech therapist is always giving us ideas of how he can gain better muscle control with his mouth, lips, tongue, etc. Gavin is always game for anything competitive, so this works for both of them! The other picture shows another "tongue awareness" activity...if only they were all so fun & delicious!

Snap, Cracle, Pop

Last night as we were eating supper before Gavin left for Cubbies, I told him that if he ate all of his peanut butter & honey sandwich & peas that he could have some chips. Once he had devoured both of them on his plate, he COMPLETELY surprised me & asked, "Mommy, may I please have some more peas?" He ended up requesting five helpings & finished off the bag. He then told me was too full for chips. Unfortunately, Gunner did not follow suit as he ate his chicken, left his peas untouched, & licked his plate clean of ketchup. His request..."More ketchup, mommy!"

This morning I thought I would suprise the kids & give them some Lucky Charms that I had gotten on sale. We usually eat Pop Pops (aka Rice Krispies) or Honey Kix, so I was thinking this would be a really cool treat. Didn't go over as I had planned. Gavin was intrigued by the shapes so he ate a few bites. Grace enjoyed about 5 marshmellows, & Gunner just kept screaming "Why you cook this?" I ended up dumping three bowls of Lucky Charms & pouring three bowls of the good 'ole Pop Pops.

As a bonus, I 've added this pic of Grace....I heard her whining for me yesterday as her brothers woke her up early from her nap. I wanted her to get some more sleep so I thought I'd give her a few minutes to go back to sleep. The whining stopped so I thought my plan was successful. Lo & behold, I hear a sweet little voice reciting Goodnight Moon. I keep a copy of the book on the dresser beside her rocker which is not reachable from her crib. I crept into her room & found this. She had climed out of her crib, turned her light on, put on her mouse ears, & grabbed her favorite book. Love her!

Cherry Baby

Since today is President's Day, we created cherry trees in honor of George Washington. I tried to explain who our President is & what he does...not sure if they really understood. I ended up comparing him to a king & they seemed to be able to make a connection. I drew a trunk on a piece of construction paper & had them paint it with brown paint. They then dipped their hands in green glitter paint to make the leaves, and used a cotton ball dipped in red paint for the cherries. As usual, Gunner was more meticulous in his painting. I was very impressed with his trunk and leaves, but he didn't quite get the "dabbing" part of the cotton ball for the cherries. He tried to smear the first one & became very upset when he couldn't make an exact circle, therefore, quickly losing interest in the project. The rest of the day was spent putting away the last of the Christmas decs while the boys continuously tangled their fishing poles that Daddy let them bring inside. I either need to learn how to fix & tie the line when this happens or invest in several poles for both of them that I can swap out.

Monster Truck Madness

Since the boys are really into monster trucks right now, I found the PERFECT craft for us to do on a cold Tuesday afternoon. First, they decorated the body of their truck with crayons & markers. Then, we took an old tractor tire & dipped it brown paint to make the monster wheels. Cute & simple!

My Little Shortcake!

Although these pictures don't do it justice, Grace got tons of compliments on her outfit today. One lady at Wal-Mart told me to send her picture off to magazines because she looked like Strawberry Shortcake. As her mom, I obviously think she's adorable, but it's her personality that makes you fall in love with her!

Grothaus-isms!

So, I am always meaning to write down the funny things that the kiddos are saying but never get around to it. I thought I would try to compile a list right here on the 'ole blog. I'll just title each post the same...Grothaus-isms. Get ready to LOL! ;)

This one isn't all that funny, but oh so Gavin...
G:Mommy, I wanna go the Congo & catch a Tiger Fish.
M: I think you're a little too young to travel all the way to Africa to go fishing. I hope that one day you have the opportunity to fullfill that dream, though.
Later at supper
G: Daddy, when I"m like 32 I'm gonna go to the Congo & catch a Tiger Fish.
D: Ok, buddy, we'll do that someday.
G: Is Africa farther than Ohio??

And I'm going to cheat and go back to something Gavin told me about a month ago after Grace hid from me in a closet & I couldn't find her...(yes, again!)
G: When Jozie & I get married & have a daughter I'll never lose her like you do Gracie!

Moving on to Gunner...he has recently become interested in reading their picture Bible. Every time I read the story of the birth of Jesus, he points to Mary in the manger scene and says...
G2: and she poops him out.
M: who poops what out?
G2: Mary poops the baby out.

Spring is Just Around the Snow Drift!

Today Punxsatony Phil said spring is around the corner...kind of hard to imagine when we were hit with a blizzard overnight. The tri-state area had snow accumulations from 12-18 inches, with snow drifting as high as 6-8 feet. It wasn't quite the record-breaking storm that was predicted, but it kept the area deserted for about 24 hours. Most restaurants, banks, & shops closed Monday afternoon and will not re-open until tomorrow. I was very surprised to hear that I-70 was shut down in Missouri overnight. After getting stuck in the drive, Dad walked to the end of Charleston Lane & had Brian come pick up so that he could open the DQ. Clint spent the morning shoveling out our drive & then headed to AmFam to make a path to get in the door. Unfortunately, I don't have pics of the kids playing in the snow as I was afraid I would lose them in the drifts! They were aware of the snow but had no interest in going out. We did make some use of the snow last night by making snow ice cream. As I stated on FB, the Gavin & Grace thought it was ok (after smothering it in DQ crunchies), but they definitely didn't go back for seconds. I had a small taste but wasn't too impressed with the taste either. Just good for memories I guess! ;) Tomorrow we'll start packing for our trip to Jeff City this weekend to visit Lance's family & watch Cael wrestle. Gavin is soooo excited!