Blips of note as of late {1st-11th}

-We decked out our house {okay, the fireplace area} for Valentine's Day and it looks uber cute.  I'm especially in love with the framed heart made from Instagram pictures.  Also made one with just grandkids pics for my mom's birthday & for Amber of us & the kiddos together.  Totally festive & cute.  So much that I'll keep mine up all year at this point.

-Grayson & Max have had two playdates this month.  The first time Courtney took Gray home after preschool with her {2/1}.  When I picked him up, he threw a bit of a fit about having to leave-even though he & Max had just gotten to that point of obviously having enough of each other-and I was kindly but firmly telling him he wouldn't get to come back if he was ornery.  He said, "Then I'll slap you."  {Yes, my child has an incredible attitude} I said, "Then you really won't get to come back & you'll get soap in your mouth." Max piped in, "I got soap in my mouth because I said Damnit!"  Both Courtney & I started cracking up-still makes me chuckle-and she said, "Max, don't say it, okay?"  He said, "Mom, I'm just pretending so I can tell Grayson's mom."  I totally love that kid.  He has such a soft spot in my heart. I dragged Gray out & later that night I asked if he'd acted the best way at Max's.  He said, "No, I was naughty... But I was feeling upset because you told me we had to leave."  We're working on identifying feelings & correct ways to react to them, so I was happy with that answer.  Baby steps.

We brought Max home with us on {2/8} and I just love watching and listening to them interact.  Max kept talking about space & the planets {totally impressive} and Grayson was a doctor with an Ironman costume on & a thermometer who went with Max {Captain America} to Mars {the kitchen} and they were talking to aliens or something.  They had a great time & did not want their time to end when Troy came to pick him up.  I was impressed with both big boys because they were pretty patient with Beckham.  He dressed up as Spiderman and just ran after them all afternoon. 

-Grayson had a bad dream about Gunnysack on the first of this month.  He came out the next morning and sat on my lap to do his neb treatment.  He talked throughout it and kinda nervously giggled while telling me this dream that I was upstairs and he, Jaeger, and Taylor were downstairs and Gunnysack was by them running in & out of all the doors and slamming the doors.  I laughed with him and told him that was so silly.  Throughout all that day and the next though, he was ULTRA clingy.  He stuck as close to my side {and Taylor's when he was there} as he could, insisted I go with him to the bathroom, would not set foot in the pantry {with or without me}, and kept saying he wished Gunnysack didn't live here.  I think we need to have Gunnysack come visit our FHE sometime soon and explain that he isn't a mean monster, he just tries to teach us to clean up our toys.  Sheesh.  I feel like I'm scarring him for life & we haven't even mentioned him in months!

-I had a chiro appointment {2/3} & Grayson got to go with me to run errands while Bex napped at Taylor's.  We happened to get there right as Grami was finishing with her therapy appointment next door, so she and Grandpa made Grayson's day by taking him home with them.  It allowed me to have my appointment, get a rock removed from the brakes in the pickup {it was making this awful & embarrassing screeching sound}, and run to the DMV-my least favorite errand.  Grateful he loves them so much and that he had some one on one time with them.  We played on the trampoline the first time this year. The boys LOVED it.  They were basking in the sun and what little warmth could be felt.  Love them.

-Grayson surprised me by taking the letter toy off the fridge that had been out of batteries for a while.  He got the toolbox out, found a "phillips" screwdriver, took the back off, put fresh batteries in & threw the old away, screwed the back on again, and put the tool away.  What?  He is growing up and getting to be such a little helper when he wants to.  His main "chore" is to use the kitchen vacuum to clean after each meal & as needed.  He takes it very seriously & is awesome at running it. 

-Later that same evening, I was worked up and rashly raised my voice and yelled.  I don't even remember now what I said or what it was about, but Grayson instantly burst into tears and said, "You yelled at me."  It made me stop in my tracks and realize what a difference it's made that I've been consciously not yelling {at least trying real hard not to} since November.  So thankful for his reminder.  I apologized and we moved on.

-Zac went to Talon's birthday xbox party & I had the house & the boys to myself.  They went to bed super well and I spent the evening shamelessly catching up on the Bachelor.  Taylor joined me about 11:30 and we went to bed an hour later.  The guys had a great time & I'm glad they were able to do that.

-Uncle Talon had a birthday!  {2/4}  Unfortunately, it was celebrated as a family on the 29th of January with an awesome Mustache themed party.  I was sick, so couldn't go.  But, everyone had a blast-my boys included.  I stole some pics for it.  Either way, we are SO glad Talon was born and that he is a part of our family.  He fits seamlessly into us and we are completely comfortable and at ease with him.  He is an amazing uncle and my boys adore him with their whole beings.  We love you Uncle Talon!  We met them & L,K&J at the new frozen yogurt place in Ontario, Kiwi Loco and told him happy real day. (:  We went to eat at Fiesta after with our littles and they loved the chips & beans. 

 -For the Superbowl {2/5}, we went to Rock & Julie's to chill with their fam.  It's pathetic because after Tom died we promised we'd all spend more time together and that's maybe the second time we've hung out in a year. (:  Time is crazy-but friends are great no matter how long goes between playing together.  The boys took off when we got there and we barely saw them the entire time.  We laughed, caught a few minutes here & there of the game, played Phase 10 Masters-so fun-and enjoyed each other's company.  It's comfortable together which is nice.  Toward the end, I told Grayson we had to leave.  Pretty soon all the kids came over near me and he said to Carson {8}, "hold her while I get her."  Huh?  Carson grabbed my arm and held it tightly and Grayson came around to my other side and attempted to slap my cheek!  I was laughing which wasn't the best response but I was completely taken aback by this behavior.  He's never done anything like that and I was just wondering how they'd come up with that!  Zac took him out and addressed the issues and after much coercing he apologized {for the record he is completely stubborn & getting him to apologize is like pulling teeth unless he's the one initiating it}.  Later I was glad he kind of listened as I sat by his bedside and explained why that wasn't an appropriate reaction to hearing something he didn't like.  I was also thankful I'd been able to laugh at the behavior instead of flying off the rocket and letting it ruin my night.  And, that R&J have had kids and are totally not judging when ours are acting up.  Overall it was a great night.

-Grayson is obsessed this month with Book of Mormon stories {the song & the movies-living scriptures} and with the Jesus Returns video {New Testament series}.  He even took the insert from the Jesus Returns video to show & tell at preschool twice.  I was a bit worried about that, but he was insistent.  I asked what the kids had said afterward and he said, "That's awesome!"  Haha!  He goes to church with 2 of the 11 kids in there & I'm not sure what the other kids believe, but he's a quiet little missionary, so they might believe in Jesus before preschool's thru!  {as a sidenote, he does NOT want to go on a mission at this point.  He's pretty adamant about living with mom for the rest of his life}.

-Miss Krissy had a birthday!  And, that same day {2/6} it was Pajama Pancake party day at Preschool.  Wow.  Talk about excitement.  Gray wore his Lego star wars jammies & we'd put together a little basket of stuff from the dollar store to give Miss Krissy.  He was cute standing back & then handing it to her.  He LOVES her.  When I picked him up on the 8th she said he'd told her at least 4-5 times randomly throughout their class, "I love you Miss Krissy!"  She's perfect for him at this point.

Later that night, I made stuffed peppers for the first time and they were yummalicious!  Taylor and Megan came over to eat and watch the Bachelor and we loved having them here.  

-Zac put Bex down to nap one afternoon while he was working from home & Gray was at preschool so I could run errands.  When I got home I noticed Beckham's pants by the wipes box & I knew there'd be trouble.  A while later {after not even beding down 45 minutes}, I heard him yelling "Mom!!"  I went in and saw his diaper on the floor and that he'd peed all over his blankets.  He was giving me the most mischievous smile & knew he'd been naughty.  Of course I laughed because he's so flippin cute, but I warned Zac about not putting pants on him at nap/bedtime.  He laughed too.  Grayson broke the strap on his glasses & Bex wore them while he was at preschool.  I was laughing so hard and he was just giggling and thought it was the funniest thing.  Such a cute boy!

-Zac took Gray to work on the farm with him {2/11} and Beckham and I had some one on one time.  I got lots of work done while he napped.  Zac grabbed him in the afternoon & took both boys to chill at his folks while I went to the worldwide training at the stake center.  It was a phenomenal meeting & I took home some much needed personal revelation.  So glad I made the effort to go.  Zac dropped the boys at Doll's and came in to be with me for the adult night session of stake conference.  It was by far one of the best meetings I've ever been in.  The spirit was seriously strong and the three speakers, Burdette Pratt, my mom, and Shane Wheeler, did an incredible job.  So much take away.  So many tender things shared and there were few dry eyes in the building because it was just an amazing meeting.  I'm still pondering, but may share notes from it soon.  Afterward we ran with T&T to get takeout at Fiesta and took it back to the family.  Jaeger had started puking, so they cut out early, unfortunately, but we ate & I got to talk to a friend from college, Jen, for a bit, and then we got home & put the boys to bed.  Felt very spiritually fed & thankful for the things I'd heard and learned.