2009...The Year With Two Grandbabies!

What a difference a year makes...and what a year it was! This photo of Madison was taken in January right after her parents caught her trying on hats in bed when she should've been sleeping!

Madison has grown and changed a lot this year--going from a toddler who spoke in broken sentences to a completely potty-trained pre-schooler who can carry on an interesting conversation with you!

The thing that Madison does best is singing. She can pick up a tune with ease. If she forgets the words, she's great at improvising! I still call her the "toddler of 1000 tunes".

In January of 2009, Caden was still practically a new-born. This picture was taken the first time that he ever smiled and cooed at me.

He's gone from that cuddly baby to a sweet little fellow who has learned how to walk, but not without falling yet.

Cade's vocabulary is growing daily. He can say several words. The funniest thing that he says is "Brrrr" (explaining that it's cold outside). He can also tell you what sound the monkey makes--and he calls his "monkey lovie" his "key".

His "monkey lovie" is the top part of a monkey sewn into a small blanket. Cade sleeps with it and loves it very much.

2009 has been a very special year for me. Spending time with these two adorable grandchildren and watching them grow. I can only hope that 2010 will bring more of the same...Happy New Year everyone!

Ho Ho Brought Everything!

Madison woke up early Christmas morning and found that Santa Claus had been to her house during the night. She not only found the two items that she had asked Santa for (a kitchen and a princess castle), but several other gifts as well. She proudly exclaimed to her mother " Look! Ho Ho brought everything!"

Ho Ho is what Madison calls Santa Claus. Last year she couldn't remember Santa, but she could remember Ho Ho. We all liked it, so the name sort of stuck.

We are so blessed to live next-door to Madison so we could just walk across the yard and share in her joy on Christmas morning. There is nothing more special than watching a child find their gifts on Christmas morning.

Ho Ho wrote Madison a note to tell her that he was proud of her for learning to use the potty by herself. Madison's mother says that having Madison learn to use the potty was her best Christmas present! I'll agree with that!

So now that Christmas is over, next comes the task of taking down the tree(s) and packing up the decorations. Madison's mama is working on those tasks. She's also working on the task of what to do with some of the old toys now that there are many new ones to put away...I remember those days...it doesn't seem that long ago.

Christmas Photos

This photo of Cade was taken on Christmas night--after the presents were all opened. That's why he's standing in a pile of "stuff". I loved his Christmas shirt. It depicted a little boy trying to "catch" Santa.

Madison poses for a pic in the penguin hat--which matched the penguin on her dress.

We actually caught Cade wearing his Santa hat long enough to snap a photo. Oddly enough, he kept it on for several minutes on Christmas Eve--long enough to pose for 4 family photos!

This is the most treasured picture of the season. After 4 years of trying, we finally got a picture of Madison with Santa--with a smile on her face! She's always been terrified of Santa.

Thanks for hopping by and sharing my Christmas photos...Have a great day!

Not Me Monday! Grandma and the Reindeer Feel Like They Got Hit By a Truck!

This picture says it all...these poor reindeer kept getting run over by various toy vehicles all during the holidays at MiMi's house! First, it was a tractor pulling a trailer that plowed into them...followed a few days later by a dump truck--ah, the joys of grandchildren!

Seriously, I have to brag that I have the best grandchildren, for a whole month neither one of them really bothered any of MiMi's Christmas decorations--and there were many of them that they could've bothered. Those reindeer were on the floor and just happened to get involved in "floor play", which I thought was funny.

In addition to the reindeer getting hit by various vehicles, the rain wreaked havoc on MiMi's outdoor decorations. It rained so much that water got in the plugs and tripped the circuit breaker! We were without outdoor decor for nearly a week while everything dried out.

Once things dried out, we plugged our outside decorations back up--only to discover that the blow up penguin and snowman were rather dirty from laying in mud for a week! I tried to brush off the poor things with a dry paint brush, but on my second attempt Mr. Penguin went flat!!! I guess the pressure was just too much for him...my hubby, Mr. Ed, finally got him working again--but I don't dare touch him! Dirty decorations are better than no decorations!

We also had a wind storm that took out one of my three spiral trees...and our daughter-in-law bogged her car down in the yard on a Friday evening...while trying to get home .

Christmas Eve found poor MiMi and E-pa wrapping the last of the Christmas gifts until 1:00 in the morning. So much for getting ready in advance! The gifts were purchased weeks ago--just never wrapped!

Christmas Day found Cade's parents having a bit of a spat which caused them to miss out on MiMi's Christmas lunch and gift exchange, but these things happen in every family, as we all know. Unfortunately, they don't always happen at the best of times. We missed them--their empty places at the table were a sore reminder, but they did eventually show up later in the day.

The day after Christmas found poor MiMi in the bed until 12:00pm. She was exhausted! She also took a three hour nap that afternoon. Her poor body felt like those poor reindeer must've felt when those vehicles kept plowing into them...and that was our Christmas of 2009!!!

Cade Gets A Big Boy Haircut...

On Tuesday evening Cade came to visit and show off his "big boy" haircut. His Aunt Lisa cut it that day. He looks so cute! No more long hair in his eyes...I know I am partial, but I just think he's the cutest thing! Spoken like a true grandma...

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but Cade is walking now! He's up to several steps at a time now. I counted him taking about a dozen or so steps last night before he finally fell. He's been taking steps for a good while.

Cade's favorite activity seems to be pushing something while walking. He'll push our little John Deere ride-on tractor until it runs into something, then go around to the other end of it and push it back the other way. So cute!

It's so hard to imagine that Cade was just a tiny little thing last year this time--less than a week old. Now here he is walking, talking, and making us all laugh. What a difference!

I won't be having a giveaway for the next two weeks, due to the volume of mail and the busy time of the season. I may also take a few days off from posting so I can have more time to enjoy the approaching holidays. I'll be back soon with more giveaways and tons of new stories, I'm sure! I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas--I'll be back before the New Year!

Two of God's Greatest Gifts...

We had our church Christmas program last evening. It was Madison's first time being in a program. She sang her little heart out and had a wonderful time. She was way in the back of the stage, but her performance was so compelling I think she sort of stole part of the show! She was the youngest one in the program, but she out-sang everyone around her.

I can't tell you how many people commented on how good she was singing. I kept thinking--imagine what she would've done if she'd had the music CD for more than 5 days...she may have taken over a solo!

After the program, some of the children were having their pictures made with the scenery of the program. We waited around and snapped a few pictures of our grand babies. They are so sweet and special to us, truly they are two of God's greatest gifts.

Madison, Our Little Songbird...

Madison has loved to sing for as long as I can remember. Even when she couldn't say the words, she could hum the tune. I always called her the toddler of a thousand tunes.

Our church is having a children's program tonight. At first, they sort of over-looked Madison because of her age, and didn't invite her to be in the program. Finally, they did put her in the program, but never gave her a cd of the music. On last Friday, Madison finally received her copy of the music for the program.

It is now Wednesday, and Madison has learned the music! On Sunday, the children sang one of the songs from the program at the morning service, and Madison sang along with them perfectly. Never under-estimate a child...

I was on the phone with Brandy, Madison's mother, this morning and I could hear Madison singing in the background at the top of her lungs. I asked what Madison was doing. Brandy said, "Oh, she's having a Christmas Program with Captain Hook, Snow White, Tinkerbell, and a Polly Pocket doll!" It sounded like they were all doing a great job to me! Have a great day...









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Christmas 2008 In Photos

Ed and I had the pleasure of being at Madison's house when she walked into the living room of her house and found what Santa had left for her. I love the sleepy look on her face...she hadn't realized what was happening yet!

Of all of the holiday gifts that we received last Christmas--this little fellow was the most special...Making his appearance just 13 days before Christmas, little Caden Wesley joined our family.

All of the hustle, bustle of the holidays just wore me and "Bobs" out! We had to take a little rest sometimes! "Bobs" is always ready to rest and snuggle.

Madison calls Santa Claus "Ho Ho". She wouldn't have anything to do with the real "Ho Ho", so we had to settle for having her picture made with a fake one!

Happy Birthday To Cade!

It's official now! Baby Cade has turned one. Despite the weather not cooperating with us, Cade's family and friends came together to help him celebrate his big day!

Cade seemed to wonder what all of the fuss was about...At one point he just sat in the floor and looked around at all of the people...

Of all of the party foods, his favorite seemed to be the Cheetos. He did "dig in" his party cake--but from the looks of the picture above, he really had an eye for that chocolate chip cookie!

There were lots of people, gifts, and the cake was awesome. Cade's mama did a fantastic job decorating the church annex, too. I have pics that I will share later this week!

Cade received the most unusual birthday gift that I've ever seen, from his Aunt Lisa--who has a good sense of humor! She gave him a small laundry basket full of plastic hangers, because she says that's his favorite thing to play with at her house! I must say, he immediately began playing with them! Enjoy those hangers Cade, in a few years your mama will teach you what they are REALLY for!

The winner of this weekend's giveaway is Amanda! Congratulations to her! Have a great day! Kathy

Cade and the Christmas Decorations...Friday's Giveaway

I spent a full six hours visiting with Cade on Wednesday. That was our longest visit ever, I think. Usually his visits are more in the two hour range. His mama needed time for some party preparations.

I was curious to see how Cade would react to my Christmas decorations, but he did really good. He just kept pointing to the tree and saying"Wazzat?" Only once did he go over and try to pull the roping off.

He was most amazed by the fake snow (fluffy fiberfill)on the carpet. He got a handful and pulled it all apart-- looking at it carefully. It stuck to his fingers and he wasn't so sure about that!

He hadn't been for a visit in a little over a week and a half, so he was more than ready to play with his toys! He went straight for the Handy Manny musical tool box. By the time he went home, he'd played with everything at least twice.

My favorite part of his visit was taking a nap with him. It's so sweet to cuddle with a sleeping baby, and he was so cute when he woke up! His hair was standing up all over his head! I should've taken a picture!

Now, for Friday's giveaway...The prize this weekend is a paint book and paints. I love watercolor paints, as do most children. Painting was always a very popular activity with my first grade students.

To have a chance to win this prize, just choose any number between 1 and 55. Whoever comes the closest to the number chosen by Random.org-- without going over-- will win. You may choose up to three numbers, and leave your guesses in the form of a comment. Contest ends on Sunday night at midnight EST.

This will be my last giveaway for the year 2009. Good luck to everyone!

Click here to see the entire Giveaway Blog Hop List....

Cade's Coming To Visit MiMi

I am up bright and early this morning in anticipation of a visit from my favorite "little man" Cade! It's been almost a couple of weeks since he visited our house. I believe it was the Friday after Thanksgiving when he last visited.

Cade hasn't seen any of MiMi's Christmas decorations, so I think he will have some big eyes when he enters the house. It will be interesting to see his reaction!

I did have a brief visit with Cade last Friday night during our 4 hour visit to Chili's. That is one good child! Anytime you can keep an eleven month old in a restaurant for 4 hours without a "meltdown" is a miracle--and we did it!

I have purchased an "elf on the shelf" for Cade, but haven't given it to him. He's too young for it this year, but will probably enjoy it next year. I wonder what he will name his elf...

There's a good chance that today will be the last day that I will see Cade until his birthday. Ahhhh..The little man will be turning one on Saturday. It's so hard to believe that he's been with us for a year already.

I hear that he's taking steps, but I've only seen him take two. Looking forward to seeing that! Guess I'd better go and make a final check to make sure everything is secure before he arrives. I'll have a full report tomorrow...Have a great day, I know I will!

Tuesday Blog Hop...Favorite Ornaments

Today's blog hop is supposed to be about my favorite ornament, but I found that an impossible task... I don't have just one favorite--I have many! I've chosen to share the ornaments of my grandchildren and their parents.

I ordered this ornament for our tree the year that Madison was born. I put her hospital picture in the frame. This is the fourth Christmas that it has hung on our tree.

It was hard to get a close up picture of this angel ornament because it hangs near the top of the tree, but this was my daughter, Brandy's, ornament on her first Christmas. It's been hanging on our tree for 31 years. Brandy is Madison's mother.

I bought this sled ornament for my oldest son, Brett, on his second Christmas. It's been on the Christmas tree every year since then. The ornament is about 25 years old. Brett is Caden's daddy.

This was Caden's first ornament on my tree. I bought it and put a picture of Cade and his family in it. The picture was taken on the day they brought him home from the hospital. This is the second year that I've had it on the tree.

There are so many more ornaments on our Christmas tree that I love. I can look at the tree as it slowly rotates in it's stand and see bits and pieces of my life on that tree...

I see some of the ornaments from mine and Ed's first year as man and wife...there are our baby's ornaments with dates of birth and weights on them...I see ornaments from work...we have ornaments from friends...I see ornaments from our vacations...there are ornaments that people made...I see ornaments that I made...I have a bird on the tree that came from my mother's funeral arrangement...I have a bird's nest in the tree that a relative (who has now passed away) gave us many years ago...there are 2 ornaments that hung on my mother's Christmas tree when I was a child...each ornament means something to me. I remember where I got most of them. I love each and every ornament on our lovely rotating Christmas tree...

Click here to enter your link in the blog hop and view the entire list of entered links...

Not Me Monday!

Yes, it is actually Monday again, and time to tell you what Madison did not do this weekend! This blog carnival was created by mckmama at http://www.mycharmingkids.net/

She did not wait all day Friday with great anticipation to go to the annual night-time Christmas Parade...only to get disappointed when it began to rain 2 hours before the start of the parade!

Madison did not have to settle for a shopping trip to Big Lots instead of watching the parade in the rain. Madison did enjoy the toy aisles--but it wasn't a parade!

After missing the parade and shopping at Big Lots, Madison did not wait in line at Chili's restaurant with her mother's entire family--for 2 whole hours just to get a table! Madison is thinking: What in the world were those people thinking? Hello--McDonalds was open with no wait! Daddy, they have birthday parties at McDonalds, too...

Madison did not go with her mother to pick out a birthday cake for her daddy...then spoil the secret by telling him that he had a cake! Madison's mama did not declare that the curse of the ugly birthday cakes had rubbed off from me to her! (When I order cakes, I always get stuck with ugly cakes for some reason) She was less than pleased with the cake.

Aunt Nina(Cade's mama) told us that there was another night-time Christmas Parade on Saturday night in a different town. Madison's family did not wait all day Saturday, then decide at the last moment to load up in the van and go to the parade!

MiMi and E did not tag along with Madison and her family when they went to the parade. We did not drive up to Sonic and order our meal before the parade. E did not order from one speaker, while Clint ordered from another...Sonic did not try to cheat Maddie out of her banana--her favorite part of the kid's meal...

Maddie and family did not find a nice spot to watch the parade, then have several boys invade their territory and begin spitting on the pavement beside us every 3 minutes during the entire parade! We were not very disgusted by this process.

E, who was not sitting beside the "spitters", had problems of his own. He did not have an aggressive lady who kept getting in front of him with her video camera...until he got in front of her camera a time or two and she moved on down the line...

All in all, it was a great parade. Madison's favorite part was at the end when "HO HO" (her name for Santa) came riding by with his reindeer. Santa and his reindeer were perched on the flatbed of an eighteen wheeler--what a way to travel! Have a great day...

Getting Ready For Christmas...Friday Giveaway

Tis' the season to be jolly...and busy! Madison and Caden have Christmas trees up at their houses.

I haven't had a chance to ask Christina if Cade is bothering the tree very much, but I have a cute tale to tell you about Madison and their Christmas tree.

Brandy has all Disney ornaments on their Christmas tree. Madison loves anything Disney, so the tree is that much more appealing to her. Once Brandy caught her holding two ornaments and making them "talk" with each other. Madison likes to pretend.

Several times Madison has been caught playing with and touching the ornaments on their tree. The other night she was touching them and her daddy told her that if she didn't stop, that she was going to break something. At that precise moment the timer shut the lights off of the Christmas tree. Madison got a scared look on her face because she just knew that she had broken something and was in big trouble! Her daddy said to her, "Uh oh, now you've broken it! Go tell your mama that you broke her Christmas tree!"

Madison went to Brandy and confessed that she had broken the tree. Brandy pretended to be upset. Madison patted her shoulder and said "It's okay mama, daddy can fix it!"

They sent Madison to bed shortly after this tree incident, without telling her that she hadn't really broken anything. The next morning when the timer turned the lights on again, Madison exclaimed, "See Mama, Daddy fixed the tree!" All is well once again...

This weekend's giveaway prize is a magnetic farm set. Perfect for playing with on the front of the refrigerator or any other magnetic surface. To have a chance at winning this set, just browse through my blog and tell me a fact about one of my grandchildren. Your answer must be different than any comments before yours, or it won't count. I'll put the names of all commenters in a basket and draw the winner on Monday morning. Feel free to comment as many times as you wish, with one fact per comment, please. I'll enter your name in the drawing each time that you comment. This contest will end at 6:00 AM EST on Monday, 12/7/09. Good luck! Kathy

Click here to see the entire Giveaway Blog Hop List....

Getting Excited and a Little Sad...

I haven't seen Cade since the Friday after Thanksgiving and I have "Cade-itis". I miss the little fellow so much after 3 or 4 days...I usually get to see him that often or more, but with our family sickness and death this past week, normal life has been interrupted.

I got the cute little invitation pictured above in the mail the other day. Yep, it's almost time for Cade's one year birthday! I don't know where the time has gone. Plans are in full swing for the big day...

Don't you just love the monkey suit? Oh the fun that we can have with this picture when Cade grows up...

I am excited because it's his birthday and I know he'll have a great party, but I am sad because he won't "officially" be a baby anymore. I think one of the first "orders of business" following that milestone birthday is to get Cade a haircut. Ahhhhh...no more baby-fine hair. This will be just the first of many steps into toddler-hood and growing up. Sniff, sniff.

I've bought Cade a recliner for his birthday. I can just picture him sitting in that chair in the years to come--watching sports on television with his daddy. That's a funny thought! I wonder whose NAASCAR driver he will root for--his mama's or his daddy's...

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by...

Tuesday Blog Hop...Christmas Traditions

Madison, Brandy, and MiMi--waiting for the nightime Christmas Parade

Christmas is the best time of the year to me, and I think my daughter, Brandy would agree. The older that she gets, the more like me she gets. We both LOVE Christmas! Hopefully, Madison will grow to love Christmas as much as we do.

One family tradition that we started with Madison is going to a Christmas Parade that is held at night. It is so pretty! There's just something about all of those pretty twinkling lights on the floats... We bundle up, take our chairs, and drive about 30 miles to where the parade is held. By the time the parade is over, we are frozen, but it's so fun! Following the parade, we go and get a bite to eat and warm up. It's supposed to be really cold this Friday night, so we may need to take some hot chocolate! If it's not too cold, Cade and his family are planning to join us for the parade this year. I hope in years to come, to be able to enjoy the night parade with both grandchildren.

Another tradition is going on an out-of-town shopping trip with Madison and her parents. We usually spend the day shopping somewhere, then look at Christmas lights on the trip home. I believe that we got stopped by a state patrolman last year on the way home because our tag light was burned out...then he began to fuss at us about the type of carseat that Madison was in...talk about putting a "damper" on a holiday trip!

This past weekend my husband took me to see a live performance of The Nutcracker. I thoroughly enjoyed it! The sets and the costumes were beautiful, and I've always loved the music. There were many mothers, daughters, and grandmothers there. Next year I'd like to take Madison and her mother and go to see it again. That would make a nice holiday tradition!

This year I decided to help start a new family tradition at Madison's house this year, so I ordered an "Elf on the Shelf" and had it sent to her. The package arrived marked From the North Pole and it had a note from Santa on top of the box. There was a little pixie elf in the package, along with a book telling about him. The story goes...the elf is sent-- by Santa to keep an eye on boys and girls from December 1 until Christmas. Each night the elf returns to the North Pole and gives his report to Santa. By the next morning the elf has returned, but has found a new spot from which to watch. Part of the fun is that children are not allowed to touch the elf or he will lose his magic, and each morning they have the pleasure of searching for him in his new resting place. I was so intrigued by all of this, and I had a great time playing on Santa's website, too. If you're interested, check it out at http://www.elfontheshelf.com/ It's fun just to check out the website.

Santa didn't send an elf to spy on Caden this year since he's so little, but I'm having mixed emotions about that. I just may have to have a talk with Santa!

I hope that you have enjoyed reading about my Christmas traditions with my grandchildren. Thanks for stopping by...

Not Me, Monday...

Hello everyone! I have survived the week from heck! I'm actually more happy than usual to see this Monday...perhaps this week will be more normal than the last, but it's not looking very good...

Let me begin by saying congratulations to my weekend giveaway winner, Hayley. Hayley won a Christmas puzzle, which will be in the mail as soon as I get her address. Thanks to all who participated! Another giveaway is in the works for Friday, stay tuned...Now for my weekly Not Me, Therapy!

I did not arrive home from doing my Thanksgiving grocery shopping, to see my mother-in-law's car driving up behind mine. The lady who stays with her during the day did not drive up and tell me that she thought my mother-in-law had suffered a pin stroke! They had been out shopping together when my mother-in-law started to act "funny".

I did not ask my daughter to put away my cold stuff, grab a peanutbutter sandwich, and proceed to drive my mother-in-law to the hospital emergency room. She did indeed have a pin stroke and was admitted to the hospital for observation. (she's out now)

I did not buy a 20 pound turkey to cook for Thanksgiving. It was so large that I could hardly pick it up! It filled up a very large space in my refrigerator, as well as my oven!

I was not in the middle of cooking Thanksgiving dinner when the hospital called and said that they were releasing my mother-in-law and that someone needed to come and pick her up...I did not send my husband...

I did not get a call on the evening of Black Friday that my uncle had passed away...just after I had gotten my Christmas tree out of the box and in the stand.

My Christmas tree is not still sitting in the corner undecorated...my house does not look like I am moving due to boxes of Christmas stuff everywhere...

In the middle of dealing with my mother-in-law after her stroke, my uncle's passing away, and my house in shambles due to Christmas decoration boxes, we did not have to travel out of town to see "The Nutcracker" because I'd bought the tickets a month ago for my Christmas present...

I did not thoroughly enjoy viewing The Nutcracker for the first time...It was not a beautiful show...All of the men in the family did not give my husband a "hard time" for going to see The Nutcracker! My husband did not say that the men in the show needed a few more clothes on, while the women needed a few less...Those were not the tightest tights on men that I have ever seen...they appeared to have been sprayed on.

My front yard does not look absolutely beautiful because I took time to put up the outside lights and decorations before we went to see The Nutcracker. I can not believe that I decorated the yard before the house this year...

That's going to do it for my Not Me Monday post. Be sure to have a great day--as for me, I'll be putting up Christmas decorations until time to go for my uncle's viewing tomorrow evening...

Madison Has a Christmas Visitor...

This week's giveaway is a 24 piece Christmas puzzle in a box. A little something to keep the children occupied during the Christmas season. Scroll down to the end of this post to find out how to win it!
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The Visitor

Yesterday, this cute little pixie elf and a book telling about him arrived at Madison's house--straight from the North Pole!

It seems that Santa sends out these little elves to stay in children's houses and "spy" on them during the Christmas season.

The first order of the day after receiving the special elf, is to give him a name. Then he is to be placed on a shelf or similar spot so he can "keep an eye" on the children of the house. Children are not allowed to touch him or he will "lose his magic". They may talk to him, but not touch him.

At night, when everyone is asleep, the pixie elf "returns to the North Pole" and reports on the behavior of the day to Santa Claus, then he returns to a different spot in the child's home to get ready to begin the next day's "watch". The pixie elf is there as a constant reminder to "be on your best behavior".

As each new day begins, part of the fun is to get out of bed and try to find the elf's new spot for the day. Each day he will be sitting in a different place "keeping watch".

I love this little visitor that is staying at Madison's house and found out about him through another blogger. If you'd like to know more about him just visit this site http://www.elfontheshelf.com/ There are some cute games and activities for children on the sight.

Now, here's the interesting part about Madison and her visitor...she's afraid to go look for him because he moves around her house! It sort of freaks her out! That's my Madison!

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To have a chance to win the puzzle, just choose a number between 1 and 100. Whoever comes closest to the number chosen by Random.org without going over will win the puzzle! You can choose up to three numbers. Just leave your number choices as a comment. If two people choose the winning number, the person choosing it first is the winner. Contest ends at midnight Sunday night.

Click here to see the entire Giveaway Blog Hop List....