Reuniting With An Old Friend...

Last year

Do you see that white plastic ghost in the baby swing?  I bought it as a gift for my daughter, Brandy, many years ago.  Brandy had recently moved out, and was living on her own.  She didn't have much money left to spend after paying her bills, so sometimes I'd buy her a few decorations around the holidays.   This ghost was one of those decorations.

Last year, when Brandy brought out the old ghost for Halloween, her daughter, Madison, became quite attached to it.  She carried it all around the yard and pretended that it was her best friend.  We found this so amusing, that I took a photo and blogged about it.

This year

Last week, Brandy got out the Halloween decorations again.  Nothing has changed!  Madison grabbed the old ghost and off the two of them went!  They played on the swings, they slid down the sliding board, and Madison even drop-kicked the poor old ghost a few times.  We had to caution her about being so rough with her "friend".

Madison's mom captured the above photo while the "friends" were resting...Isn't it wonderful to know that some friendships can withstand the test of time--and being packed away in a box?!

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Madison, Brandy, and Me (on Brandy's recent b'day)

The weather here in southeastern Georgia has been near perfect this week, so "us girls" (my daughter, granddaughter,Madison, and me) have been trying to spend some time outside each day.  Madison walks over to my house to get me after lunch each day, then we all spend an hour or two sitting under the shade trees.

Today whenever Madison and I reached the chairs under the trees, Brandy handed us each a piece of Dove chocolate.  She said her father-in-law had given a bag of the chocolate to her, and she wanted to share some of it with us.  She and I then began discussing how much we loved Dove chocolates.

As the three of us sat savoring the smooth, tasty chocolate, Madison spoke up and said, "Oooh, this is so good!  That's why I have to sneak some!"  Brandy and I looked at each other... Then we asked Madison what she did with her candy wrappers from the "sneaked" chocolates, and she said she put them in the trash.  We both laughed, because we both remembered something from years ago...

You see, there was once another little girl, about 30 years ago, who loved Hershey's kisses...She  loved them so much that she " just had to sneak some" . But this little girl didn't put her candy wrappers in the trash, instead she hid the papers behind the couch (a pile of them), and she eventually got caught when her mother moved the couch!  Whenever she got caught, she was punished for stealing the candy.  It was one of the few times that Brandy ever got into trouble, so we still remember it vividly.

I looked at Brandy and said,"Like mother, like daughter!" , then I quickly added, "but at least she was smart enough to put her papers in the trash."  To which Brandy replied, "Yeah, but she wasn't smart enough not to tell on herself!"  To that, I had no reply!

 

Changes...

I'm still alive and kicking, although somewhat missing in action over here.  I guess my age is beginning to catch up with me, as I don't seem to be able to juggle quite as many things these days!  Sometimes, some things just have to go undone, and sometimes it's this blog.

I never did remember to write that Madison successfully gave up sucking her fingers, and she managed to do it in just a few days!  I was so proud of her--and impressed!  She enjoyed her reward this past Saturday, when she and her family attended Disney On Ice.  Madison's mom reported that the show was fantastic, and that the entire family enjoyed it very much.  They took some pictures, but I haven't seen them yet.  

Cade continues to grow, has learned to play by himself.  I love watching his imagination at work.  He sits in the floor by himself, and talks with his toys  He scoops, and mows the rug--and borrows the decorative rocks out of MiMi's fountain.  He continues to love trains, tractors, and trucks, but seems to have the most fun exploring the great outdoors!  Nothing seems to be more fun than tossing rocks into my barrel fountain!

Unborn baby Chase is growing like a weed.  He's been making his mom uncomfortable, and keeping her awake at night.  They sure start doing this early, don't they?  Christina says she does her best sleeping on the couch lately. I've been there, and done that myself.

On Saturday, Brett and Christina officially cleaned out their third bedroom, which was formerly used for storage and as Brett's "man cave".  The couple purchased a storage house for their "extras", and as for Brett's man cave...well, soon there won't be much time for such a thing anyway!  Lots of changes going on in Cade's household, for sure, but they are all changes of the very best kind!

The Prize Box...

In the play area at school

Madison is progressing nicely in school.  She LOVES going!  In fact, she's sort of sad when it's not a school day.  She has a hard time figuring out what to do with herself.  She still wants to rise and shine at a ridiculous hour!

We're pleased that she is apparently on her best behavior at school.  Every day she has been receiving a piece of candy as a reward for good behavior.  On Fridays, the students who have been on their best behavior for the entire week, get to choose something from "The Prize Box".

I don't know exactly what all is in the prize box, but one week Madison came home with an Easter prize, then the following week she had a Christmas prize.  Last Friday she brought home the most unusual prize so far!  It was a Snack Pack pudding cup!

Madison was at her Nana's house for lunch after school on Friday. After lunch, she announced that she had a dessert in her bookbag!  Sure enough, there tucked among the school papers was the cup of pudding that she had chosen as her weekly prize.  She enjoyed every delicious spoonful, I'm sure! 

How can you top that?  I can hardly wait to see...By the way, in case you haven't guessed,  Madison loves pudding! 

Our Little Boy Enjoys Big Boy Toys...

Cade's mom snapped this photo on a recent trip to Lowes.  I laughed out loud when I saw it!  Christina commented that Cade loves Lowes as much as he loves Toys R Us.  From the look on his face, I'm inclined to agree with her!

I wonder if Cade will be this excited over a lawnmower in a dozen more years....If he follows in his daddy's footsteps, the answer will be a definite NO!  We can always hope!

Look Who Used To Be Small...

Seeing those 4D pictures of Baby Chase the other day, reminded me so much of a little baby boy named Caden! I'd almost forgotten how tiny Cade used to be!

Then I found this little movie on my computer! Seeing this little clip of video brought back some very happy memories of some special times! I can't help but wonder if baby Chase will love this toy as much as Caden did.

Time will tell...

A Sneek Peak At Baby Chase...

Today was a special day for this MiMi.  Daughter-in-law, Christina, had a doctor's appointment this morning, and she invited me to go along.

She had to drink that yucky sweet orange stuff, then have her blood drawn to check for gestational diabetes.  She also had a 4D ultrasound done, which is why she invited me along.

I'd never witnessed a 4D ultrasound before, so I was very excited.  My excitement peaked when I looked up at the television screen and saw the first images of little baby Chase.  Even though I've seen sonogram pictures, and a dvd of Christina's last ultrasound, seeing the baby on tv, in 4D, really made reality set in!

At first little Chase was doubled up, with his legs in front of his face!  Ouch!  That looked very uncomfortable!  I guess the yucky sweet stuff finally got to him, in the middle of the ultrasound, because suddenly he started jumping all around!  At one point, he had a loop of cord around his knee, then he showed his "manly parts"!  He's definitely a boy!  In one picture he even appears to be resting his chin on the bottom of his foot!  What a show he put on for us, and we enjoyed every minute of it!

The technician was able to get some good pictures, and it appears that Chase bears a strong resemblance to his big brother, Caden!  Christina says his cheeks appear a little fuller than Caden's were, but the nose and forehead definitely look the same to me.

Christina's sister was also there for the ultrasound, and we both agreed--seeing baby Chase just made us want to hold him that much more!  Only ninety-something more days to go, and we'll get our wish!