Me and Piggy...

more fun

We let Grant and the boys blow out the candles about 5 times, because that is the best part!

more bday....

Thanks Jenny and Tori for the great pics....

Grant's 3rd BDAY!

We had a really fun day for Grant's 3rd Bday! We started off with pancakes for breakfast, because Grant has a love for anything with "cake" in it. Then we headed out to the park where we met his 2 cousins- Barrett and Caydon! We came home and he helped me bake his favorite chocolate birthday cake. We watched Toy Story 3 and then decorated his birthday cake with lots of fun balloons and candy fish. He then helped me blow up 10 balloons for his birthday party. I let him open up a few presents early because he pooped in the potty for the first time (TMI- sorry)!!! Yeah Grant.... then we ordered his favorite food- pizza and had Barrett and Caydon come back over to play outside and eat yummy food! He then went back to Caydon's house to play after his party! He was a very happy 3 year old and is finally asleep!!! We had a great day :) Enjoy the pics...

this is what happens when i fall asleep on the couch....

I think Grant inherited my love of beautiful china :) He pulled out my christmas china and set up a tea party. Good thing little piggy was sound asleep for this one!

Bday party...

I am still having problems uploading my MI pics, which are sooooo cute! So I will keep working on that. Cathy gave me some good tips :) Here are a few from the pizza / cake party we had with John. Grant really got the hang of blowing out the candles- he did it like 10 times! I think he is ready for his 3rd bday party in 6 days :)

Thanksgiving in Michigan

Me, John, and Grant made the trip to Michigan for the Thanksgiving holiday. This trip was one that was filled with lots of family, friends, and good cheer. We arrived in Detroit Thanksgiving afternoon at 1pm and Paul F . was kind enough to pick us up in their very stylish 18 passenger white van. I was excited for this especially bc I knew there would be at least 3-4 of Al's kids greeting us. And I was right. Our welcoming committee was Clara, Mary Anna, and James. Grant was so excited to see the other cousins. He just listened to Mary Anna and Clara chat back and forth. I think he learned about 50 more words just from the car ride to Al's. We made a few random and fun stops and eventually ended up at Al's house aroun 3pm. Grant just ran inside and started playing with all the other cousins. He fit right in. He acted like he already knew everyone :) I don't think I even saw him again for another 2 hours... Al and I hit the kitchen and finished some last minute cooking for the big feast at 5pm. Then Mary, Mark, Bryan, and Kristina show up with all the other kiddies. The food was great and so was the entertainment. My favorite part of the whole night was during the Thanksgiving play put on by all the cousins. Henry was dressed up like a fat turkey and the pilgrims were trying to eat him for the Thanksgiving dinner. He was the best looking turkey I have ever seen and very fast! We had so much fun eating and hanging out with everyone. It was a great night.

Then we headed over to Bloomfield Hills to Mark and Mary's house. They were nice enough to let us stay with them for the few nights we were in MI. Their house was charming and cozy. Kate and Grant ran around the whole weekend playing with dolls and strollers. John was actually a little worried about Grant's sudden interest in dolls and Mary kept reassuring him that this was a normal behavior :) I don't know how much that helped John. By the end of the trip Grant knew how to feed, stroll, and put a baby doll to bed. When we would go down in the basement Grant would tell everyone "SHHH" babies sleeping and point to the baby in the bed. Kate would just nod her head too. Kate had him trained good. I think she is a much better teacher than I am! It was so fun to see them play together! We had some more good food- doughnuts and cider.

We spent a day at the Ford museum with Kristina and the kids- so fun! The trains and airplanes were amazing. Grant loved everything about it. We went to John's high school reunion at a very exclusive nightclub- hehe. It was so nice to see all of John's friends from high school. He had such a great group of friends and everyone was so excited to see him. Reunions are fun and funny! It is nice to feel young again for a night! I know I did at least...

What made this trip extra special was taking Grant to see Julie's grave for the first time. We really wanted to make the trip out to John's high school reunion because of the date and location. There is no better time to visit Julie than right around John and Julie's bday...(a week before). That was one of John's bday wishes.

We had a great time in Michigan- thanks to all the family and friends! Happy 29 th Bday John! We love u! You are a wonderful husband and father... luv me, little guy, and piggy