4 Months

It's time for another update on our little man Grant. At 4 months, he's starting to show us a little more of his personality. Like his big brothers, Grant seems to be a tad impatient when it comes to his physical abilities. He's able to roll over in both directions now, but he hasn't figured out how to attempt forward motion. Instead, he has mastered rolling across the floor to get from point A to point B. We've also reached that phase where anything & everything goes into his mouth. The drool is also constantly flowing which tells us that we could spot teeth any time now.

Grant might look all innocent and sweet, but trust me. You don't want to be a bib or a baby toy in this household. Grant is vicious when he gets ahold of anything suitable for chewing!

 We've also established with 100% certainty that Grant is our first thumb-sucker. Both Jaxon and Baylor briefly sucked on their fingers, but they quickly abandoned the habit. Grant, however, has his thumb in his mouth any time he's relaxing or trying to fall asleep. Apparently, he finds it quite soothing. Anh & I just think it's cute. We'll wage war against the thumb in the future if Grant doesn't abandon the habit on his own.

At the moment, we don't want to do anything that might interrupt Grant's wonderful sleep schedule. Every evening around 8pm, he'll become a little irritable. Considering that this is the only time during the day that Grant is anything less than delightful, we cut him some slack. It's just his way of telling us that he's tired. As soon as Grant gives us the clue, we start the bedtime routing: Bath, Bottle, Burp, Bed. We're rewarded with 12 straight hours of sleep. Yes, Grant is the PERFECT baby. We've decided we're leaving him EVERYTHING. Sorry, Jaxon & Baylor.

Aside from fussing a bit before bedtime, Grant's only other true compliant against a life injustice, is when he's strapped into his infant carrier car seat. Luckily, he's usually a happy passenger if he has one or both of his brother's to keep him company in the back seat. Jaxon has proven to be my right-hand man since Grant arrived in January, and Baylor...well...he occasionally agrees to help. Take for example when Grant starts to fuss in the car. Baylor consoles Grant for a few minutes by telling him, "It's okay, Baby Grant. It's okay." Baylor will repeat this statement several times, and then declare in frustration, "Okay, Baby Grant. You're being annoying!" Oh my! Now, maybe Baylor knows how Jaxon feels from time to time about annoying little brothers.

The most exciting news regarding Grant's 4-month milestone came courtesy of Dr. M, Grant's pediatrician. First, we learned that our "little" man now weights 15lbs, 13 ounces and is 25 1/4 inches long. That places Grant in the 75th percentile. Still delightfully above average! After the measurements were taken, Dr. M gave us permission to start slowly introducing Grant to baby food. Yay! As if he understood Dr. M's conversation with us, Grant promptly started fussing anytime we decided to eat in front of him. Our baby is truly a genius!

Zap

10 days. That was the length of Zap's stay with us. Who is Zap? He was the 15 cent feeder goldfish that Jaxon won at the school carnival. Yes, I said WAS. Zap has gone on to the that big aquarium in the sky. Poor Jaxon was the one to discover him this morning. As he reported the news to me with tears in his eyes, I asked "Are you sure Zap is dead? He's not just sleeping?" A tear escaped one of Jaxon's eyes as he responded "He's stuck to the tube." The tube is the aerating filter, and yes, that would indeed mean Zap is dead.

I did my best to convince Jaxon that Zap's passing had absolutely nothing to do with the quality of care his proud owner provided. I'm not certain my sad little fellow believed me, but Jax seemed relieved when I told him I would bury Zap in the backyard and not flush him down the toilet. I knew Jax was really shaken by Zap's passing when he told me he would have to think about whether he wanted a replacement fish from the pet store. Wow! Maybe we won't be getting a dog or cat in the future if losing a fish is this distressing. Luckily, Jaxon came around by this afternoon and told me he does indeed want to get another fish. Wait...Did I just say "luckily?" Maybe the boys aren't the only ones that like having a fish.

Tonight as the boys were upstairs with Anh getting ready for bed, I realized that both Anh and Baylor were unaware of Zap's passing. I forgot to mention it during our busy day. I listened as Jaxon filled them in on the empty aquarium and his disheartening discovery this morning. Then I heard Baylor exclaim, "Oh man! What happened?" Jaxon repeated my explanation from this morning about how "Fish just don't live that long." and "We did everything right. It didn't die because we did something wrong." Thank goodness! Jax was actually listening and obviously feeling better about the loss.

Baylor, however, might want to work on his listening skills because as soon Jax finished explaining every last detail of the morning's sad event, Baylor marched downstairs and asked me, "Why did you kill the fish?" Ummmm...WHAT?! Why did I kill the fish?! I'm the one that bought an aquarium for a 15 cent feeder goldfish. If anybody wanted that freakin' fish to live, it was ME! Ugh! I calmly asked Baylor, "Why do you think Mommy killed the fish? I didn't kill the fish. He just died." Baylor looked at me with doubt and blurted out, "Jaxon said you did something to the fish!" What?!

Surely Jaxon doesn't believe I offed the fish? No, he doesn't. Baylor just tuned out after hearing, "The fish died." He heard Jaxon say, "Mom did something with the fish," but missed the part of the story where Jaxon explained that I buried it in the yard. It's good to know that Baylor thinks so highly of me. Well...I am Mean Mommy. Let's see how mean they think am this weekend as I fork over the money for the replacements. Yes, replacements. You know I'm not going to get away with just one replacement, and you know the boys aren't going to settle for 15 cent feeder goldfish either!

Beautiful Bounty

Our hometown is one of the State's major tourist destinations. To some, that's a negative because of the seasonal tourist invasion, but we consider it a huge PLUS. We're surrounded by natural beauty, and there's always something to do on the weekend. In addition to all the "permanent" fun, we occasionally have visiting attractions.

This past weekend, Her Majesty's Ship Bounty was in town for a brief visit. Does the name sound familiar? That's because she's famous! The abbreviated bio below is from her website.

The HMS Bounty is one of the most famous ships in the world. Known for the storied mutiny that took place in Tahiti in 1789 on board the British transport vessel, the current Bounty, a replica, has survived to tell the tale. Built for the 1962 movie “Mutiny on the Bounty” with Marlon Brando, HMS Bounty sails the country offering dockside tours in which one can learn about the history and details of sailing vessels from a lost and romanticized time in maritime history. Since her debut in “Mutiny on the Bounty”, HMS Bounty has appeared in many documentaries and featured films such as the Edinburgh Trader in Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Mans Chest with Johnny Depp. 

We simply couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet a true celebrity! The experience was exciting for all, but exhausting as well. This little buccaneer fought to stay awake so he wouldn't miss a moment of fun, but the battle was eventually lost. I'd say that's better than the alternative of being forced to walk the plank due to crankiness!

It's fun afternoons like this spent with friends that make me want to share a little bit of wisdom with the other locals that complain about "tourist season." If you can't beat them, join them!!! You're the one missing out on all the fun!!!

Carnival for a Cause

It's that time again...Time for annual school carnival! The entire city comes out to meet up with friends and enjoy the thrills of the Midway: rides, games, music, junk food, and fireworks. It's a guaranteed good time, and the fun benefits some incredible kids and dedicated teachers.

I enjoyed my time on the rides with the boys. While Jaxon is tall enough to ride alone, Baylor is still an inch or two shy of being parent-free. It's sort of sad to imagine that they'll be riding alone next year. Goodness, they're growing up fast! At least I don't have to worry about them boarding the super scary rides like these high-flying swings for a few more years!

Nope, for now, the biggest carnival-related worry is whether we can keep the goldfish that Jaxon won alive for more than 24 hours! Willing to give it a valiant effort, we stopped off at Walgreens on the way home hoping to pick up some fish flakes. Imagine our surprise to discover that Walgreens was complete sold out of all fish supplies. I guess we weren't the only "lucky" winners that evening!

Meet Zap...His days are numbered, but so far he's proving to be a fighter. He survived the first night in this bowl filled with bottled water. For food, he had to settle for bits of hotdog bun since there was a shortage of fish flakes. Maybe he'll amaze us and be a survivor...

Remember those swings? Yeah, Aunt Kelly joined us during our second day at the carnival, and somehow, she convinced me to ride them. I was terrified! It's not the ride itself that is scary. It's the thought that you're life depends on the carnie that assembled the ride. You have to trust that he was competent and sober when he did it. Otherwise, you'll go flying through the air to your death. If you've ever seen a carnie, you know what I'm talking about!

After the swing experience, I swore off carnival rides that soar more than 2 feet off the ground. I value my life! Besides, the real fun is having Jaxon or Baylor by your side. Their smiles and laughter are thrilling enough.

Birthday Boating

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, 

A tale of a fateful trip 

That started from this tropic port 

Aboard this tiny ship.

The mate was a mighty sailing man, 

The skipper brave and sure. 

Five passengers set sail that day 

For a three hour tour, a three hour tour. 

Luckily, that's where the similarities end. The weather never turned rough and the ship was never tossed. Okay, allow me to explain. Aunt Kelly had the brilliant idea to celebrate her 27th birthday on the open water. I won't lie, the plan made me a bit nervous at first. The idea of celebrating on a boat with 3 young kids and without an experienced captain had my brain working overtime. Luckily, our dear sweet Kathryne decided to join us for the outing. She's a true Floridian and spent a great deal of her childhood on a boat with her dad. Captain Kathryne saved the day & my nerves!

The sun was shining, and the gang was all smiles as we set out for our 3-hour tour. I packed a picnic-style lunch for everyone to enjoy, but I was especially excited to reveal a little edible birthday surprise.

Jello shots...the prettiest jello shots I've ever seen. Yes, I'm patting my own back. I thought using fruit rinds was a brilliant idea. Too bad I can't claim the idea, but I will credit myself with great execution. Ha! The adults were treated to mojito, lemon drop, and sunrise shots. Knowing that Jaxon and Baylor wouldn't want to be left out of the birthday toast, I made alcohol free Arnold Palmer jello shots (Lemonade & Sweet Tea) for them. The surprise was a big hit! Something tells me these little gems will be my contribution to many future parties.

Also on the menu...Individual 7-layer dips, taquitos, and of course birthday cupcakes. All the essential party foods!

I dare say the afternoon was perfect. The food was good. The scenery was amazing. The company was even better. Really, what else can you ask for?

The birthday girl even scored a few gifts...seriously, it was the perfect party. I say from this point on, a birthday boat party needs to be scheduled each year. The guest of honor can vary!

I know 2 party guests that won't object. Jaxon and Baylor had a fabulous time, and their excitement peaked when they got the opportunity to take over the Captain's chair and drive the boat...under the watchful eye of Captain Kathryne.

I even took a turn, but I quickly returned the responsibility to Kathryne. I'm more than content with my role as passenger. Check out the boys' attempt to "look scared" for the picture!

The water was a bit cold, but I couldn't keep the boys out of it. Jaxon is a little fish and would rather risk hypothermia than remain on the anchored boat. Baylor didn't last quite as long in the water as Jaxon, but he made the most of the experience.

Great idea, Aunt Kelly! I know you enjoyed a wonderful 27th birthday. Thanks for sharing the experience with us. I think we're all looking forward to your 28th...even if you aren't.

Egg Hunting Extravaganza

The Easter Bunny was good to us this year. Of course, he's pretty thoughtful every year, but the Easter Bunny must have felt particularly generous in 2012. Maybe the Bunny was feeling extra festive because it was Grant's first Easter...or maybe it was because 2012 marked the return of Aunt Kelly as a participant in the annual family Easter egg hunt!

Aunt Kelly's return to the competition definitely brought out the gang's competitive spirit. There was a healthy level of pre-hunt smack talking, and somehow I found myself as the target. Everyone seemed determined to take me down. I had to remind the family that I don't typically come out on top when it comes to egg hunting. Last year, it was the Asian siblings that took the grand prizes. The Asians aren't to be discounted. Especially, Aunt Nguyen! She was also a part of the winning Asian duo in 2009. If there's anybody to single out, it's Uncle Travis that needs to be "taken down" at the starting line. He's the only family member to take both the gold and silver eggs in 2010! 

Sadly, the "official" records are incomplete and the rest of the years are somewhat hazy in everyone's memories. Egg hunting was an annual event growing up, but the adult hunts began in 2006. Looking back through old photos, I discovered Uncle Al took the golden egg that year. We didn't think to photograph the winner or winners in 2007 or 2008. So, it's possible I won at least one of those years. Regardless, I think the documented recent years prove that I am hardly a threat.

That argument worked to my advantage! I flew under the radar and managed to uncover the silver egg early in the hunt! I almost took the gold as well, but Aunt Kelly swooped in behind me hot on my trail and scooped up the top prize. That's okay...she'll be the one taken down next year. Watch your back, Aunt Kelly! People will be gunning for you in 2013!

The Final Results

1st Place - Kelly ($213)

2nd Place - Shannon ($163)

3rd Place - Baylor ($101)

4th Place - Travis ($71)

5th Place - Jaxon ($17)

6th Place - Anh ($0)

I'm sure a few of you are wondering why Jaxon's grand total was so low compared to the other's. Well, it's not because he's a lousy egg hunter, and Jaxon isn't lacking in the speed department. In actuality, Jaxon wasn't focusing on the eggs. He was busy snatching up the Skylander figurines that were scattered throughout the yard. To him, those were worth more than any gold or silver egg! In less than an hour, Jaxon's Skylander collection went from 3 figurines to over 30! Not too shabby. If you assigned a dollar amount to the Skylanders, Jaxon would actually claim at least 3rd place possibly even 2nd. Now...what's Anh's excuse for his performance? At least he knows his kneecaps are safe in 2013. The rest of us will have our guards up!