Surprises

On October 10, 2007, I was admitted to the hospital to deliver my third child.  The thing that made this baby a little bit different from my first two children, was that I didn't know if I was having a little girl or a little boy.  THIS baby was a surprise.

In a few short hours, HE was here: Greyson.

Of all of my children, I'd have to say that Greyson has surprised me more than any of them.  He was born with black hair that turned very blonde in the first year of his life.  Surprise!  He had ten teeth by the time he was nine months old.  Surprise!  He didn't talk until he was three and  half.  Surprise!



I've been saying for the past six years that Greyson is wild and crazy and so full of energy and giving me gray hair.  And while he's still wild and crazy and so full of energy, somehow he's figured out what to DO with all of that.  Surprise!

He helps with dinner:



He helps Papa at the cabin:



He paints with Dad:



He mows the grass:



He pulled staples, getting ready for new carpet:



He road-tripped with the men to help move us back to Michigan:



He helped a baby bird who was lost in the yard:



He is an excellent big brother to Nash:



He helps put the boat hoist up and down at the lake:

 
 
Bottom line: This boy knows how to get stuff done.  Grey is always willing to help out and he is always prepared.  He even gets dressed and ready for the day as soon as he wakes up, so he doesn't have to "waste time " going back upstairs later.   Every day, he wants to know a detailed list of exactly what I have planned for him, AND IT BETTER NOT BE NOTHING.



There's another side to Grey, though.  As much as he loves working and helping out, he loves having FUN. 



He steals my camera quite often to take his own pictures:



He loves the lake:



And the park:



And the ocean:



He loves to read:



But if you ask him what his favorite thing is, Grey will tell you that it's spending time with his favorite cousin, Braden. 

Today, Greyson turns seven.  Do you know what he asked for as a birthday gift?  Cologne.  Surprise!

 Every day is an adventure with my Greyson.  I am quite certain that I will never be able predict all of the surprises he has in store for me, but after seeing the things he is capable of at the age of seven, I am very excited to see what his future holds.



Happy 7th Birthday, Grey!  I love you!

Five

She's the girl who puts on a dress, paints her nails, and goes outside with a shovel to dig for worms.



She's the girl with the naturally curly hair (that she says makes her look like a lion) who begs to have it straightened daily.



She's the girl that will tell you that her brother is allergic to not just milk, eggs and nuts, but also ice cream and butter and yogurt and cookies and peanut butter and everything else on the PLANET that contains milk, eggs and nuts.



She's the girl who shows up on the side of her mom and dad's bed at 3am for no other reason than to be taken back to bed.



She's the girl who shows up in the kitchen at every meal time, asking to be allowed to sit on the counter and "help".



She's the girl who stares woefully at the food on her own plate, but will gladly eat all of the food on yours.



She's the girl who will steal your hat or your skirt or your glasses, and totally rock them.



She's the girl who insists that she can do everything her older siblings can, and usually CAN.



She's the girl who wants a dog, a cat or a BABY for her birthday this year.

 

She's the girl who turns five today.



You can read all about her birth and her fourth birthday here. (Click the link!)

 Alayna is so full of life.  She is thoughtful and considerate and unique and downright funny.  Her laugh is the best sound in the world, and her hair?  Well, it speaks for itself.  She might come off as a little shy when you first meet her, but once she's warmed up to you, you've got a friend for life.




Alayna seems to be growing up in a hurry, and I'm not sure I like it.  So what if I let her fall asleep in my bed and carry her up to her own bed late at night, or if I let her have little sneaks of my pop when no one is looking, or if I give her extra "licks" of the cookie dough I'm making?  I know that soon enough she'll be on her way and those precious moments will be gone.



 Right now, though?  Right now, we are celebrating FIVE.
 

A Funny Thing

A funny thing happens to kids when they hit third grade: They finally get it.  They've finally had enough life experiences to have a few things figured out.  They have a firm grasp on what's right and what's wrong.  They don't just laugh at jokes, but actually understand humor.  They're finally coordinated enough to be good at sports, rather than just being on the team. They are aware of their environment and the people around them.  They just get it.  My girl is no exception.  I'm not sure when it happened, but somewhere between the end of second grade and the start of third grade, Emerson changed.  She went from little girl to big girl.  If you think I'm exaggerating, take a look at the two photos below.  A mere three months separate the two.

A year ago, I wrote about Emerson transitioning from seven to eight.  You can read that story here.  Last year was all about friends,, both new and old.  This year, it's all about doing things.  We are finishing up our second year here in Ohio, and while this state hasn't exactly grown on me, I can't complain about the school district we've chosen and the wide variety of activities that are offered. I don't think Emerson would complain, either.  Since the spring of last year, she has participated in six different sports.

Gymnastics, with Alayna:

Swimming with Owen and Greyson:

Cheerleading:

Basketball:

Softball:

And a track program called Girls on the Run, which is all about empowering young girls and keeping them active.


 In addition to all of her team sports, she also enjoyed various other activities:

Playing at the park:

Fishing:

 Swimming, both at the lake and in the ocean:

Nature walks:

Picking pumpkins:

And snowmobiling:

You'd think that would completely occupy all of her time, right?  Of course she was able to squeeze a little bit of silliness in anywhere she could:

Even at her birthday party:

 Academically speaking, she's still a straight-A student.  Her teacher stated that if she had 25 Emersons in her class, she'd be the luckiest teacher in the school!  There is one thing that needs to be straightened out: When asked what she'd like to be when she grows up, Emerson cannot decide if she'd like to be a teacher or one of those awesome roller skating waitresses at Sonic!

  Today is Emerson's ninth birthday.  NINE.  These past nine years have flown by.  Do you know what will happen in nine more years?  She'll turn 18 and she'll be graduating from high school. My time with her here, as a child, is already half over.  That's some scary stuff right there. I've had glimpses of her teen years already.  This girl has attitude.

 

But right now, she is nine.  She's not too cool to kiss her baby brother.

She's not too grown up that she doesn't crawl into bed next to me from time to time.

She waits for me to kiss her goodnight every night, and she misses me terribly when I'm gone for too long.  She's at that age where she needs  little more freedom, but at the end of the day, she still needs her mama, too.  She gets it.