Happy Birthday Cake Grama!

Today is MY Grama's birthday. She has more wonderful qualities than I can really list here, but I'll just say she's always loved us more than most people do, and more than we ever deserved. Haha. She's ALWAYS been there for us, in big and little ways. If we needed a ride somewhere, she'd drive us, AND she'd stop at a gas station and buy us a snack. Or two.

She's there for lots of people, actually, and is understandably popular. You better give her some notice if you want a lunch date, because odds are somebody's already claimed her. She has more friends than I ever have. Haha.

She even thinks all her grandkids are smart, talented, AND good looking. No matter what we REALLY look like. Even Michael. Haha, just kidding. She knows he's not any of those things.

Anyway, there's lots I could say, but I have to stop some time. Thank you for everything Grama, we love you so much. Happy birthday! (I forced her to pose for pictures today, but they were blurry. So here's one from a few years ago)
Tyra and I made her a peach cobbler to bring to her today. When we drove it over there, Paige was pretty pleased with the music in Aunt Teetee's car, so obviously we had a dance party during the drive there.
She wanted the windows DOWN so she could feel the wind in her hair when she danced. :)
Cason's not that into dance parties. YET.

Paige thinks birthdays are about cake. Mostly because they ARE. So she told Grama "Happy birthday cake Gama." She sang that to Lily on HER birthday too. Ha.

Falimies

Paige likes to talk about how she and Cason and Mama and Daddy are a "falimy". Cason's her "little brudder" too.

She's also into impressions all of a sudden. She was walking around the backyard with her baby in a stroller and talking in a weird, deep voice. Then she looked at me, pointed to her chest, and said "My daddy." still in a deep voice. (She says "my" sometimes, when she means I'm)

Later on I said "Hi Paige" when I walked into the room, and she shook her head and said "My daddy." She was also mama a few times, with a higher pitched voice.

In case it isn't obvious, this is Jess:Cason took the baby for a stroll today too.
Oh, and he was also a cherub.
Just because I like her expression:

Sleepy Ones

Paige was SO tired last night. She didn't nap, and played like crazy at the party. She fell asleep in the middle of one of the stories I was reading to her.
Cason went to sleep kind of early too. So Jess and I stayed up late watching Stranger Than Fiction. Around 11:30 or so we heard Cason cry. Usually he'll keep crying until I come get him, but this time he got quiet. So I looked on the video monitor to see if he'd gone back to sleep, but he was sitting up. So I went in and he was sitting upright, perfectly quiet, staring at his sea turtle sheets. He also had an incredible mohawk. I took him to our room to feed him while watching the movie. He looked so cute with his hair and his "not adjusted to the light yet" face, so I had Jess get the camera. By the time he came back he was a bit more adjusted to the light, and some of his hair had gone back down, but he still looks awesome.

Lily's/Great Gram's Party

Today Veronica and Dan threw a little 2nd birthday party for Lily and Great Grama T (Whose birthday is today, but more on that later) at our house. It was a lot of fun. Veronica did a really cute job decorating, in black and pink:
There were squirt gun battles.
Tattoos, obviously, on the bods of many of the party people. Including Jess:
(That would be a mouse tattoo on his wrist.)

Lily:
Barby:
Paige:
Also, there was a bounce house, much to the delight of certain little ones.
Porch swing naps.
Gifts, of course.

Oh so much cake.
Lots of people who love the birthday girls.


And just plain happiness.

In other news, Cason is VERY nearly able to climb to the top of the slide now.
And Gia enjoys the scent of fresh air in the evening.


Now then, on to Marguerite. Great Grama to our kids, Grama to Jess. Or GraNDma if you want to get all technical. But I don't.

Anyway, here she is with a week and a half old Paige. (all the pictures of her from the party today came out blurry, unfortunately.)
She and her husband Tom introduced Jess and I to Flancer's, one of the tastiest little places to eat EVER. The best sandwiches on planet Earth. That alone is enough to make me love her. She herself is a fine cook, Jess tells me. I haven't been fortunate enough to eat her meals, but I have tasted her chocolate russian rum cake, and it is a DELIGHT.

Jess also says she's always been very giving, and patient (playing card games with him all day long when he was a lad, no matter how bored she must have been). She's a beautiful, sweet and loving Christian lady. She is truly loved. Happy Birthday Grama/Great Grama!

Cycling, Swimming, and a Potential Birthday

I don't really know why I'm slacking so badly with the blogging this week. Sorry folks. All 2 of you.

Paige has pedaled by herself on her bike before, but the other day she was really cycling all over the back porch. She threw her hedgehog and her "gew" (girl) in the back, and took them for a ride. I just have to help when she turns around, because it's slightly uphill on the way back.
The same day, she was pleasantly surprised when Alex and Faith came over, and Faith was willing to swim with her.
Dan, Veronica, and Lily babysat for us last night so Jess and I could go on a date. We rode our bikes to my beloved Cracker Barrel. Lily and Paige were NUTS. They were screaming like crazy children at eachother, and Paige was laughing about as hard as I've ever heard her at everything Lily did. They're funny. I guess Cason kept trying to keep up and play with them. Poor fella.

Speaking of Cason, as always he loves to put things in his mouth. I mean more than any baby I've ever seen. Paige likes to bring flowers in the house. We have oleanders out front, and lots of them. I wanted to pull them anyway and plant something else, because I hate them and all, but now we're definitely pulling them. So say goodbye to our lush front yard, those of you who care. But take heart, we'll replant something that WON'T poison babies.

Anyway.....my friend Megan has a birthday. I just don't know it. I know, I'm a horrible person. But something about hers is hard to remember for me, I don't know why. I feel like it's June 11th. But I'm probably wrong. Maybe it's September 19th. But I'm going to say it was yesterday, and say happy birthday to Megan! I met her when we worked together at Lifetime Fitness. KIND of together anyway. By that I mean I was a personal trainer, and she was a dietitian on our same floor. So Ashley and I would sneak off to her office to hang out instead of having to try and make sales. Oh how I hated that job, except for those girls. We had so much fun. Megan's a weirdo, and we had lots of fun quoting stupid, hilarious movies, like Napolean Dynamite. Now Megan has moved FAR, FAR away, and has 2 babies! Lauren is a few months younger than Paige, and now Lincoln is a few months younger than Cason. I SO wish they lived closer, it would be so fun for our babies to be friends. Anyway, Megan is so nice, and hilarious, AND beautiful. I can't prove that last one, because I can't find a dang picture. But it's true. Her kids are probably pretty awesome, and I hope we get to meet them one day. Happy possible birthday Megan! Hope it was/is/will be wonderful.

And Belated to Delaney!

Posting about Lily's birthday reminded me I'm a big jerk and forgot to give cute little Delaney a birthday post! (Actually, I was just distracted that day by Paige's stovetop incident.) :(

Delaney is my cousin Cullen's and his wife Nicole's little girly. She turned a year old just over a week ago. She's another petite one, like Lily. She's also beautiful, and if her parents' genes have anything to do with it, she'll be a genius. Happy belated birthday sweet girl!
Sorry, we missed your party too. Vomit incident that time.

Happy 2nd Birthday Lily!

This petite and cute little lady is Lily...
..and she's two years old today.

She was born 7 months after Paige.
They've been great friends ever since. (With a little fighting mixed in here and there.) They are opposites, in every way, it's so fun to watch them together.
Lily is a wild woman. She does everything fast, and on her tiptoes. She's also a smarty, and talks really well for her age.

Paige talks about her all the time, and they get so excited when they have visits. They used to just scream at each other when they first got together, as loudly and in as high a pitch as possible.

We're so glad Paige has a cousin so close to her age, and she is too. We love you Lily, happy birthday!