Growing Pains

Anyone who's read the checklist of symptoms for Asperger Syndrome will find that poor gross motor skills are common.

However, that is not the case with The Professor... turns out he's got great gross motor skills - which leads to being a daredevil... which leads bumps & cuts...

and a kid who's out there trying the same crazy stunt the very next day!

(I try to blame Handsome Hubby for this - but if you look at pictures of me as a child - it's hard to find one without a scraped knee or scarred elbow... I know Handsome Hubby, I know... it's all me!)

Closest Living Relatives

Handsome Hubby and I flew the coop and never looked back - okay we've looked back, but moving back to Idaho or Utah has just never felt like the right thing for us to do. So, as an alternative we've tried to convince family to move to where we are. Our only success has been Uncle W - and we're glad he came. Now he's married to Aunt K and all of my boys have the cutest little GIRL cousin to play with! Give us a year and Junior and Cousin B will be running all over the place causing all kinds of trouble!

Are You Listening?

I'm listening to every word you say!

Yesteryear

A few weeks ago OTG boy participated in the annual "Yesteryear" celebration at his school.

He dressed in his "western wear" and borrowed Handsome Hubby's fox tail hat, participated in many pioneer type activities and he had a great time.

His favorite activities included eating buffalo stew, buggy rides, sack racing, three-legged racing, kick the boot, shaving (with a butter knife - TWICE), making a drawstring bag, getting his picture taken while holding a gun, and one of his favorite parts of the day was that his Florida Grandparents were able to stop by and see some of the activities. For us, that's a big deal - we rarely have grandparents around when grandparents are invited to school celebrations... so to have some show up is very exciting!

And for any grandparents interested - OTG Boy recently passed the 6th grade Math Blasters test, so now he's working on passing the 7th Grade test.

That's OTG Boy always on the go!

It's Always Fun!

Grandpa & Grandma arrived just in time - two days before Junior made his big debut!

Bubba's latest craze - "monster pictures" - every time the camera comes out he insists on posing like a monster - what a cheese!

Thanks for all of the help Grandpa & Grandma - we're glad you could come!

The boys miss you - and to be honest, they miss your cakes...

Delicious!

AKA...

Junior!

Okay... he's not officially a "Junior" - but part of his name did come from Handsome Hubby - so he's the closest thing we've got to a Junior.

His talents include - eating, sleeping, dirtying diapers and escape artist.

He hates having his arms swaddled into his blanket - if you wrap to tight he'll twist and turn his little arm until he pulls it out of his sleeve and pushes it up through the neck of his clothes until he is happily situated with his bare arm right next to his head... just where he likes it.

Beautiful Moments

(Actually, I have a ton of very awesome cousins - this is just one... and our Grandma had the best box of dress-ups!)

Remember when you were little and you dreamed of being a beautiful princess?

It turns out some of life's most beautiful moments don't involve gowns, fairy godmothers or meeting the handsome prince at the ball...

they involve splotchy skin, messy hair, sweat, & tears...

and yes...

dreams do come true!