Making Cookies With Gran

While on vacation at Gran's, she and Taft decided to make us all some cookies.  Taft loves sugar cookies.  Gran cut them and he placed them on the cookies sheet.  He had to smell them all as the went on the cookies sheet and tasted a few to make sure that they were good.  He even got to put sprinkles on some.

Birthday Weekend Fun

This is just a little peak at our weekend.  It was Taft's birthday on Saturday and his party was on Sunday.  My MIL, BIL and his wife, and Taft's cousins Izzy and Evan, got to our house on Thursday night.  We loved having them all there.  Gran is still with us until Wednesday so Taft is getting a little more time with her today.

We had two birthday parties, did a lot of cooking, and are pretty much dead tired.  Hopefully I will get the Dinosaur Party pictures up later this week.  There are so many to go through and pick from.

Trevor enjoying a nice glass of water from his SpongeBob cup.

Evan became good friends with Gilbert while enjoying

My new Hispanic spices for my Puerto Rican Style Pork Shoulder.

Taft loved "making Izzy pretty" with pretend make-up.

He even brushed her eyebrows.  And then he broke the eyebrow brush. It was Chelsea's, and she was very nice to tell him that it was okay because she has others.

Taft also enjoyed Izzy "making him pretty".

Taft went into Chelsea's things and found her sparkly shoes.  He said that they are magic.

He could not get enough of helping and watching Izzy get ready.

Evan helped me blow up 12 dino rings and 6 dino beach balls to decorate the pool.

Taft got some small gifts on Saturday since it was his "real" birthday.  He loved his pink pig for bath time.

He was also happy to get "gas for his lawnmower"  aka bubbles.

His bag was full of bubble bath and shampoo and body wash.  He loves soap and had to smell everyone.

Today I am linking up with The Things We Find Inside for I Love My Online Friends.

More Gran and Aunt Rejene Fun

As mentioned before, Gran and Aunt Rejene came to visit over the weekend.  Monday was pretty calm.  Taft stayed at home and spent the day with Gran.  Gran, Taft, and Shane came to eat lunch with me and my co-worker, Yvette.  Then they went shopping and I worked.  Later - we just ordered a pizza, ate, and relaxed.
The only major event was Gran giving Taft his piggy bank money.  She keeps a little pig at her house and puts change in it.  She has one for Jenna, Izzy, Evan, and Taft.  She emptied it out for him and he was able to load up his pig we have here.  I think that there is almost, or even enough, to get a bike before long.

On Tuesday, Taft went back to Preschool.  He needed to get back into a bit of a routine and I am pretty sure that Gran enjoyed being able to stay at the house and get some sleep and rest herself.
Aunt Rejene made it back to our house before time for dinner.  The adults came to pick me up from work and then we went to Taft's school.  He was very excited that Gran was going to come pick him up.  We met his teacher on the way out and went to the room where he was waiting.  It was great that the kids were already out of his main classroom so he could take Gran there and show his room all alone.  He then took her out to see Miss Phyllis, the music teacher, on the playground.  Miss Phyllis had a surprise for us.  She had taught the kids a new dance and song about the Number Rock.  The two of them preformed it for us.

Then we drove across the bridge to eat on the beach at The Golden Lion.  It is one of Gran's favorites down here.  Everyone loved their food.
We decided to drive down the beach on the way home and show Aunt Rejene some of the sites.  We went through Hammock Beach, the old side of town, drove by our old house, and then to get ice cream.  Taft was still short enough to get a free baby cone with sprinkles (which he loved).  And I think that by the photo, so did Gran and Rejene.

 We really enjoyed the visit and hope that they can come again soon.  Hopefully at a time that I can take off work and spend more time with them.

Zambi the Baby Elephant

Gran was here to visit over the weekend, and as usual, she brought Taft a few treats.  One of those was a baby elephant.

Taft and I decided to name him Elbert.  He makes noise and kisses, and likes to be petted.  One of the best things about him though is that he is part of ProjectZambi.com.  They are made by Hasbro and are part of the FurReal Collection.  Each elephant that is sold goes to help the children in African that have been orphaned due to the AIDS crisis there.
Here is the video from Hasbro:

We think he is pretty special and adorable to boot!  Thanks Gran!

Belton Family Visit

Last weekend, Shane's family came to visit.  They got here on Thursday night  after we got home from work and school and Taft was very excited.  In fact, he talked about them coming all week.  He even helped me get Gran's room ready and insisted that he was sleeping with her.

 Taft and Evan enjoyed Gran reading books to them before bedtime and Izzy got in some computer time.

Friday morning I went to work for half a day.  I cooked some pigs in a blanket Thursday night for them to heat up with there yogurt, cereal, and Pop Tarts.  I also put our Five Spice Ribs in the crockpot before leaving the house for our dinner.
The kids all enjoyed the pool every chance that they got (which was hard to get with all the rain we got).  When Taft would take naps, Scott would take Izzy and Evan out to the beach.

 Shelby enjoyed everyone being out at the pool so that she could get some sofa time.

Taft loved taking pictures while his cousins were here too.  He also loved getting Evan to play with him and go with him places.  Poor Evan.  I know that Taft drove him crazy but he just played with him and did what Taft told him too.  He also loved getting Izzy to go to the playroom and eat pretend pizza.  And he came up with his own name for Scott.  He calls him Uncle Daddy.

While Scott and Izzy where out at Wal*Mart one night, they picked Taft a couple of gifts.  One was Toy Story Vitamins.  Taft had made sure that he shared his vitamins each night with Izzy and Evan.  He wanted them to grow up big and strong too.  They also got him a Toy Story flashlight which he loves.  He and Gran used it to make a moon on the ceiling each night while they read in bed.
We have a great time and lots of lazy time at the house. 

New Year's Weekend/Gran Visit

 For New Year's weekend, Gran came to visit.  She flew in on Thursday night and arrived after Taft and I went to bed.  Taft quickly found out the Gran was here and which room she was staying in.  he would knock on her door and try to break in.  We heard, "Gan, dum ear!" a lot.  He wanted to make sure that she knew everything that was going on in his life.  She showed him all his new toys and gave him a tour of his room multiple times.
We mostly stayed in and rested.  We cooked big meals each night and had leftovers for lunch.  In fact, Taft, Gran, and Shane did a lot of sleeping over the weekend.  With the exception of myself going to buy groceries on Friday and Taft and I going to a playdate on Sunday, no one even left the house.
Taft loved telling Gran about his friend, CJ, and making sure that she was with him 24/7.  Gran left on Monday, and Taft was looking for her.  He wanted to go in "Gan's room" and look for her.  He told me that it was "Gan's bed" and "Gan's anket".  And last night when it was time to go to sleep, he wanted to lay on the sofa with "Gan".  I think that it is easy to see that he enjoyed her visit and I am sure that she enjoyed time with him just as much.  We did too.

 Taft and Gran enjoying a mid-morning nap.

 Trevor even joined the sleeping crew every chance he got.

 Taft enjoyed fixing Gran's hair with his little beauty shop set.