priceless

I ran across this image last night while I was editing some pics. It was taken back in August of last year. It may not seem that precious to the average person, but to me it's priceless. I can just hear his little voice making flying noises and saying "to infinity and beyond!" Definitely my favorite kind of photos.

my new favorite age

Tate's three now. My favorite age. Last year, two was my favorite age. The year before that, it was 1. But now, it's definitely three. He is jabbering so much that I can't even keep up. I try, but his brain is working three times as fast as mine. And when his imagination crash lands, and exhaustion sets in, I snap a photo like this... just to help me remember my favorite age is three. (Unless we are talking about Luke, then it is definitely 2 months...)

single shot saturday

little things :: 3

This is how I see my grandson. At least when I'm nonchalantly walking past him while he's playing with his "toota heads". I love to watch him play, but it's the way he sits that I love most. Only little children can sit like that for hours on end. It's precious, and I never want it to change. But I know he will eventually outgrow it. Literally. Those little legs will someday be unable to bend like that for very long. So, until then, I will just smile every time I see him doing it. Precious.  

busted

My Chapstick is all caved in. I've been trying to figure out how it happened. I don't remember dropping it or sticking it in my purse without the lid on. It's been a bit of a mystery... until today. I was cleaning my home office and stumbled across these guys. 







That's right, Professor Zundapp and Francesco Bernoulli. They are characters in the Cars 2 movie, and happen to belong to my two-year-old grandson. I didn't think much of the cars at first glance. But then, on closer inspection, I noticed a little smear of a "chapstickyish" substance on both of their "mouths". It was especially noticeable on Francesco. My conclusion? Well, I'm pretty sure that is obvious. Their lips were chapped and Tate had to give them a little lubrication. What a good little boy :) He's obviously a future auto mechanic. 

one moment

It was just one little moment in his life. He stepped on a sticker while he was 'mowing' grammie's patio. He decided the best way to get it out was with his bubble blower. So, he dipped it in the bubbles and then blew in on his foot. Then he blew some bubbles in his mouth, poured the rest of the bubbles into the mower and continued on his merry way. It was just one little moment....captured forever.

pedal pusher

Breaking News!! We bought our grandson this bike in the Spring. He couldn't touch the pedals, but he still had fun scooting himself along on our back patio. Every week since then, Grammie and Tate have performed a ritual. 'The measuring of the legs' ritual, to see if he can reach the pedals yet. This past week he could finally reach!! We threw our hands up in the air and shouted out "you can touch the pedals, you can touch the pedals". It seems silly, but Tate felt like such a big boy :) The funny thing is that his toes are holding on for dear life and his lower body was stretched out as far as humanly possible. But he still did it, and now he's my little pedal pusher!  

to infinity and beyond

I took my grandson for a walk around the lake today. I wanted to take some pictures of him, but he had another idea.

He had brought two friends along, and he wanted grammie to take pictures of Buzz and Woody instead. And so, like every good grandmother, I gave into his every whim.

At the end of the day he decided that Buzz and Woody needed a ride in the stroller (along with his rocks and his sipee cup, of course). Best part of the day?...seeing how excited he got when he looked at the pictures on the back of the camera. Priceless!

Never Can Say Goodbye

Why are some things 

so hard to get rid of?

Being the clutter-free person that I am,

you would think 

that I would have boxed these up

years ago.

Well, at least months ago,

since my adult children STILL play with them.

(I'm not kidding)

They are just sitting on a bed

in a spare room that nobody uses.

And yet, 

they make me smile 

every time I enter the room.

I think it's the memories attached to them.

Memories of a simpler time.

A time when

the most complicated issue of the day

was what to have for dinner.

A time when I thought

getting the kids in bed a little late

made me a bad mom. (ha, ha)

A time I would go back to

in a heartbeat.

I thought I might box them up 

this weekend.... but,

I'm not ready to let go.

Not yet, anyway.

Maybe next year.

Or the year after that....

Why I Love Him Today

There's a million things I love about him.

Today

it's the way he sits when he plays :)

(He would so rock the shell game

on The Price Is Right!)

Getting An Education From Mr. Po"Tate"o Head?

There are a lot of educational toys out there.

You would think Mr. Potato Head is not one of them.

But you would be wrong.

Case in point:
I have a pirate Mr. Potato head in the spare bedroom.

It happens to be the only "toy" left out
 since Brooke left for college.

I've told myself a hundred times to put it away.

I would give it to Tate, 

but clearly it's too advanced for a baby.

A few months go by. . .

I walk by it again. 
It's sitting on the nightstand.

I should put that thing away, I think to myself.

A few more months go by. . .

I'm dusting one day,

wishing I didn't have to dust a pirate Mr. Potato Head.

I should put that away. 

A few more months go by. . .

Tate walks in the room one day,

notices Mr. Potato Head and wants play with him.

I bring him down to the floor
so Tate can get a closer look.

Tate points to his eyes.

Grammie says "eyes."

Tate points to his nose.

Grammie says "nose."

Tate points to Grammie's eyes.

Tate says "eyes."

Tate points to Grammie's nose.

Tate says "nose."

The game goes on,

ears, mouth and hair included.

Grammie asks Tate where his eyes are . . . .

Hmmm . . . .

I may have underestimated Mister Potato Head.

Ansel Jr.

I think I may have an Ansel Adams Jr. in the family.
I figure, since Tate is 18 months old now,

it is time for me to start teaching him

how to take pictures.

With a little help from grammie,

he is a very capable photographer.

He can push a button like no other.

As his grandmother, 

I feel it is my responsibility to sponsor his first showing.

And so,

without further ado,

I present "Photos By Tate" . . .

I think he shows real promise.

Now I just need to teach him what the lens cover is for!

All In A Day's Work

 I tended Tate for a couple of hours today.

It was such a beautiful day outside. 

I just couldn't resist taking him out to play.

I decided to rake up all of the leaves 

that had fallen while we were away for Thanksgiving.

It didn't look like much from inside the house,

but when I got outside there was a lot more than I thought. 

Tate started out just playing with his mower

while I was raking.

Then he found some dirt . . .

 some rocks (he tried to lift them). . .

and some berries from the trees.

he tried to eat them.

When grandma said "no, no". . .

 

. . . he just gave me that charming little smile of his.

                 

Next up were his animals.

He had fun standing them up on all of the big rocks.

He went into the garden . . .

and checked out the empty beds.

He even went in the front yard . . .

and checked out grandpa's Christmas lights.

Such a busy body!

He watched the birdies and the airplanes.

About an hour in,

 he grabbed my rake and started "helping" grammie.

My piles had little trails through them 

where Tate decided to "relocate" some of the leaves.

He thought it was so funny 

when grammie put him in the garbage can 

with the leaves.

How did I know he would toss the leaves out?

The highlight of the day 

was when he heard the garbage truck

coming down the street.

He raced to see it go by.

Grammie raced to get the can to the curb 

before the truck was on our side of the street.

He was absolutely giddy when the truck picked up our can

and dumped all of the leaves in the back of the truck.

He watched the truck the rest of the way down the street.

What a little nugget!