Milestones...

Milestones.  These are the things we sometimes use to measure our children's growth by, or, in my case, our grandchildren's growth by.  Both of my grandsons reached two milestones last week, and I wanted to record them before they slip my mind.

First of all, there's Caden, who's four.  He always goes to the bathroom by himself, but needed somebody to turn our bathroom light on for him because he wasn't tall enough to reach the switch.  All of that changed last week, when he proudly announced he could reach the switch by himself!  I knew the boy was growing taller!

Next there's Cade's brother, Chase, who turned one on December 27th.  Chase got his first "big boy" haircut last week!  Gone is the "baby look", replaced by the new "I'm a big boy now" look.  I kept having the urge to rub his head all weekend!  There's just something about that first haircut...

These little grandsons of mine are growing like weeds, and I love it!  They are constantly growing and changing, and life is anything but dull whenever they are around.  I wonder what their next milestone will be...

A Birthday Surprise For Madison...

Although her birthday wasn't until October, Madison's parents presented her with an early birthday surprise, in September.

At the time, Madison was a big fan of "The Fresh Beat Band". Way back during the summer, Madison's mama purchased tickets to one of their concerts, but didn't say anything.

When the big day finally came, Madison's parents drove to the city, without telling Madison where they were going.  As they were unloading in the parking lot, Madison's mom broke the news of the surprise.  Madison was one excited little girl!

Taking Time To Catch Up...

When I last posted, the boys, Caden and Chase, had just celebrated their birthdays with a joint birthday party.  Christmas quickly followed on the heels of their birthday celebration.  December is a very busy time at their house!

It's amazing how quickly these boys are growing!  Caden is growing taller by the day, and since Christmas, Chase has been walking all over the place!  He's anxious to get going and join in the fun! The most exciting thing for me, lately, is hearing Chase say several new words. He's been quiet until recently.

Madison is doing lots of growing and changing, as well.  She attends kindergarten from 8 until 12 each day, and it's amazing how much she is learning in those four hours. Reading, counting, writing, memorizing Bible verses, and her newest challenge--addition!  Madison's blessed to have a patient and loving mom who works with her daily at home, too.  My heart swells with pride each time I hear Madison read!

Due to my on-going health issues, I haven't been able to spend as much time with the grands as I once did.    Fortunately, they'd rather spend time with each other anyway.  There's nothing Caden and Madison love any better than visiting each other's houses.  I'm glad they are close.  It won't be long before they'll have another little fellow joining them in play, too.  Time marches on...

Guess Who Turns Four Today...

It's almost impossible to believe that four years have already passed since grandson, Caden, entered this world!  It seems like it was just yesterday.

I still remember the day well.  I was in the middle of hosting a Christmas luncheon for Ed's co-workers when I received "the call".  I hastily left my food in the care of others, and my daughter and I headed to the hospital.  We were able to make it to the hospital about an hour before Caden arrived.

These days, Caden is a typical, active, little boy.  He spends his days playing with his farm toys or his Thomas the Train play sets.  He still enjoys driving the tractor he received for Christmas last year, and looks forward to hitching a ride on "E's" big tractor whenever he can.  Riding in Grandpa's old pickup, on trash day, is also something Caden often looks forward to.

Caden now spends his days in the company of his baby brother, Chase, who will celebrate his first birthday later this month.  Caden's a very loving and protective big brother to Chase.  I hope this will always be the case.

Happy Birthday, Caden!  Mimi wishes you lots and lots more happy days ahead.

Guess Who Is Learning How To Read...

Things are certainly changing around here.  Some days I look around, and wonder where time went!  Wasn't it just yesterday when our little "Maddie" was toddling around the living room watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse?  I spent a lot of time with little "Maddie" back in those days, but these days--not so much.  As I mentioned, things are changing.  It's a bit sad, but it's just the way life is.

First of all, our little Maddie isn't so little anymore!  She's growing into a beautiful young girl, and these days she prefers to be called "Madison"!  Madison has a very busy and fulfilling life of her own these days.  She has Alex, the little boy her mama keeps, to play with and keep her occupied whenever he's there.  She is also attending a private K-5 program, and goes to school from 8 until 12 five days a week.  Then, of course, there's AWANA on Wednesday nights, and some homework to do, too...Oh, and did I mention that she has a new puppy, too?

The other evening I had the pleasure of hearing Madison read to me for the first time!  She did an excellent job, and I was one proud MiMi.  My mind couldn't help but wander back to my old days of teaching reading in first grade. I've listened to scores of first graders reading out of the very same book, but none of them made my heart sing quite like Madison did!

Madison has always loved books, and I hope she always will.  I'm a firm believer that if you can read, you can do anything!  Way to go Madison, keep up the good work, and come back and read to me anytime!

Trick-Or-Treat - They Sure Are Sweet...

All three "grands" posing together

Chase the duck, with his brother, Farmer Caden

Madison, the cowgirl

Ed and I only had three trick-or-treaters come our house on Tuesday night, but I happen to think that our three little visitors were the best of the bunch!  That's probably because they are my grandchildren!  As usual, I had a "goody bag" waiting on our little visitors when they arrived, which they promptly tore into!

This year, our little ones came dressed as a cowgirl, a farmer, and a duck.  All were equally precious, but that little duck with those striped legs just stole my heart!  I couldn't help but think about the year his brother showed up dressed as a skunk!  Then, of course, there was the year his brother was dressed as a monkey, too...

Our visitors didn't stay long, but they did take a moment and allow me to take a few photographs.  Some of them were more willing participants than others, but all participated.  What can I say, except "Like father, like son.", his daddy was the same way, when it came to having his picture taken.

I'm told that all three "grands" now have lots of candy, which they will enjoy munching for the next several weeks.  Oh the joys of being a kid!

Male On The Move...

It's official, as of last week, our little Chase became a "male on the move"!  He's learned how to crawl.  Almost overnight, it seems, Chase went from scooting to crawling everywhere.  Last Friday evening, Chase kept all of us busy keeping him out of trouble!  It's been a while since we had an active baby in the house.

Why is it that second or third children seem to grow up so much faster than first ones do?  Judging from the gleam in Chase's eyes, I'd say it's so they can keep up with older siblings!  Chase seems to adore his older brother, and Cade feels the same way.

Chase seems to have outgrown his "cranky phase", and is now a happy, busy little boy.  He also loves to eat.  Now, if those first aggravating teeth would just come on through so he could chew!

Chase's dark brown eyes just sparkle with excitement, these days, and one of his favorite words seems to be "Yay".  He understands praise, which tells me he gets a lot of it.  This speaks volumes for his parents, and makes this MiMi happy.