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.

Time Is Passing...

Where has this summer gone?  It's nearly over, and I don't think I've posted but two or three times!

The grandchildren have had a busy summer.  Madison and Caden have both been on fun vacations with their families, and have been involved in various summer activities throughout the summer--including VBS and swimming lessons.

Chase has spent his first summer learning how to navigate.  He's gone from rolling to pulling up.  He can scoot, but hasn't quite gotten the hang of crawling yet.  I suspect it won't be long, and he'll be trying to keep up with the other kids.  It seems as if he's growing up more quickly than the others.

Summer is nearly over, and soon Madison will be beginning her second year at "Busy Little Beavers".  She'll be attending their newly-formed Kindergarten class.  She'll be attending school five mornings a week, instead of four.  She's lucky that she's already familiar with her teacher and her surroundings.  I hope it will be a happy and productive school year for Madison.

Caden will be enjoying another year at home, in the company of his mom and little brother.  He won't turn four until December, so he still has some time...He started attending "Storytime" at the library over the summer.  "Storytime" is when the librarian reads several books out loud, all with a common theme, then follows up with a craft project.  She also teaches the children a few "wiggles songs".

I'm so happy that my grandchildren have been able to spend all of their early years at home with their mothers.  What a blessing for them!  I don't regret a single day that I spent at home with my own children.  Time passes too quickly, and children are just too precious give up, until you don't have a choice!

I haven't posted here as regular as I once did.  I keep telling myself that I need to get back into the routine of posting regularly, but the truth is--I just don't have the time and energy anymore.  What a difference a year or two can make when you are older, especially when you have health issues!  It takes me twice as long to do half as much as I used to do :)  Gotta' love growing older.  Until next time, here are a few grandchildren pictures...

Caden at the library

Chase up on his hands and knees

Chase and Caden going for a wagon ride

Madison and Caden playing at the park

Caden and Madison roasting giant marshmallows

Take Me Out To A T-Ball Game...

Last week Ed and I shared a new experience!  We went out to our local Rec. Dept. to watch our first T-ball game!  You may be wondering how in the world we've lived all of these years without watching T-ball, but it's true, we'd never watched T-ball, until last Tuesday!

Grandson, Caden, is playing T-ball for the first time this year, so we went to watch him play.  Grandchildren have a way of getting us to try new things sometimes!

My first thought was where in the world has time gone?  It seems like just yesterday when Caden was taking his first steps...But there he was, all dressed up in his little ball uniform and cap...So cute!  In fact, we had to wait while the teams finished taking pictures before the game could get underway.

I was busy having a little "MiMi Time" with baby Chase during the ball game.  That meant that Ed was left to do "camera duty".  (I'm usually the photographer of the family.)  While Ed's camera skills could use a little improvement, he still managed to capture Caden batting and then running the bases (and also doing a few other things along the way...)  Ed also filmed Caden's turn catching and throwing the ball...Such cute and precious moments, I just had to share...By the way, Caden is #3 (in red).

 

More Valentine's Day Gifts...

I didn't get to see Chase or Caden on Valentine's Day.  Both were busy with their mom, doing other things on that day.  When I did see them on Friday evening, however, they came bearing belated Valentine's Day gifts.

Our candy and two cards from the boys!

This is the inside of the hand-made card--decorated by Caden.  We laughed and commented that the drawing of "E" resembled the old SNL playdough character, "Mr. Bill" :)  He seems to be saying, "Oh no!!!"  Love the flower sticker for me, and the tractor for "E"...Oh, I forgot--Caden corrected me and said, "That's a backhoe, not a tractor!"  I stand corrected.

And here's the other valentine.  One of the cutest that I've ever seen!  It may have something to do with that picture on the front of it!  Thanks, guys.

Simple Pleasures...

When I saw this photograph of Caden on his mom's facebook page, I just had to borrow it!

That's the biggest grin I've ever seen on his little face--and it's there because he's getting to ride in the back of his E-pa's old pickup truck! Remember those days???

Don't worry...we don't go very fast or very far, and we don't ride on the highway.

It's nice to know that sometimes life's simplest pleasures still bring the biggest rewards--like a great big grin!

A Night At The Fair With The Grandchildren~Part One...

Last week the fair was in nearby Statesboro. My husband and I rarely go to the fair anymore, but we decided to "tag along" and watch our grandchildren experience the fair.

I'll write about our fair experience in two parts, so I can give equal coverage to each grandchild. Today's post will be about Cade's experience.

First of all, it was interesting trying to get three different families coordinated and together at the fair. We all came separately, from several different locations. Ed, Christina, Cade, and I came from home, while Brandy, Clint, and Madison came from Madison's dance class. Brett works in Statesboro, where the fair was located, so he just met us there after work. Thanks to the modern marvel of cell phones, we were all able to find each other in the fair parking lot!
I took this photograph of Cade and his family while they were walking up to the fair gate. I thought they looked so sweet together. Cade has a ways to go before he reaches the height of his parents...

The first ride that we tried Cade on was the carousel. It was a chore to get him on the thing! He wasn't sure about it, and refused to sit on the horse at first! Finally, his mama got on the horse with him, and he sat there...then the carousel man came by and made Cade's mama get off! The ride finally started, and Cade stayed on the horse--but he looked less than thrilled about the whole thing!

One thing that Cade was thrilled about was the duck and boat ponds! You know how little boys are around water, and he is no exception! These booths were like a magnet for Cade! He won a prize--a blue guitar. He didn't especially care about the prize--he just liked playing in the water!

Unfortunately, there weren't many rides that Cade was tall enough to ride on. Fortunately, he didn't seem to care! This was one of the few rides that he was able to ride on.

Eventually, Cade stayed with E-pa and me for a while, so his parents could go and catch a couple of rides on their own. He was perfectly happy running around, climbing, and just exploring. He's easy to please.

I really enjoyed watching Cade's first fair experience. Hopefully, next year he will have grown taller, and developed more of a taste for adventure--but if not, he can always just play in the water of the duck pond!