It's about time, yes?

My only reader must think I've been abducted.  I so admire real bloggers and facebookers who record every event as it happens.  I want to be one of them, but instead I simply enjoy the events and put "reflect on nice life" on my list of things to do.  It has been a pleasantly busy time, this summer thing.  Check out this rare shot of all four baby Corns, all in the same boat, so to speak:)




Brady and Ada watering whatever gets in their way -



The boys don't seem to notice or care about dirty feet, but Ada is a true princess.  Dirty feet are certainly not for royalty.  For some reason, my little 2-yr. old looks like she's about 4 in this picture.  Must be the bonnet. 



This little trampoline was headed for the dump because the legs fell off.  Well.  I had a simply brilliant idea to dig a hole in the field and make it a ground level jumping spot.  My idea also included having someone else do the digging.  It worked!


So then one day, I accidentally took delivery of 8 baby chicks.  At the time of this photo, they were in the house, but that didn't last long when I quickly discovered that the house was starting to smell like the Clark County Fair.


Ada loved to pet the babies.  One cute chick to another:)


So then we had to build a state-of-the art chicken resort.  Ben was the engineer and the builder.  The chickens were impressed:)


I taught Jude & Ada the "here chickie chickie" drill using some cracked corn.  They got the hang of it immediately and I think they threw about 5 lbs. before the chicks fell asleep from carb overload -



The sun is shining!  Everybody out!


Everybody IN


Jude rises with the chickens and ran out to feed them -


Ada doesn't rise with the chickens, and will feed them when she's dressed and ready


We left the chickens in the capable hands of dear friends, threw together everything we owned and went camping for a week at the Hood Canal.  It is so beyond beautiful up there, especially at 4:00 a.m.


The crab like to jump in the traps at 4:00 a.m., I guess


Then back home for a date with Brady & Drew.  It was so unusual for Brady to go into the enclosure and feed the chickens from his hand.  Typically, he cajoles Drew into anything that might have a negative outcome.  "Stick your finger in there, Drewey, and see if they bite".  But not this time.  He's not a chicken anymore:)


Then, another accident:  Since there were a few things left around here that the kids hadn't destroyed, this little puppy face showed up.  Her name is Blue but the only word she ever hears is NO!!


Then......look who turned TWO YEARS OLD on Aunt Ginny's birthday.  Drew Taylor woke up to a whole bedroom full of balloons (an additional 20 helium balloons were on the ceiling). 


Drew was in balloon heaven and had to be coaxed outside to the PARTY


It was a Superhero theme party, complete with obstacle course, all in his own front yard.


And a Superhero he is.  Drew is a smart, perceptive, curious, rascally little red-headed bug stomping, no holds barred two year old.  And cute?  OMG. 

The beat goes on

It has been another three months since I updated the mug shots in the stairwell.  Jude's face has thinned out, Brady still has the same smile that cracks me up, Ada has changed wildly, and Drew continues to look like the little imp he is. 



Jude Alexander, my brown-eyed boy



Brady Michael, Mr. Imagination



Ada Linden, little Miss Muffet



Drew Taylor, Mr. Messy

So here they are.  The gallery is open.  These kids are sunshine on a cloudy day...... although I must admit sometimes they bring clouds to a sunny day!! 

The Queen of Everything turns TWO

Ada just turned two years old.  I still love my old pictures of her with Albert Einstein hair but now her hair is long and very silky and her tails stay put for hours.  This beautiful picture was taken at her little family birthday party with cousins Brady and Drew.




Ada & Drew waiting for the popcorn to pop......(while I was taking this picture, the popcorn turned into a smoke bomb and the house had to be evacuated)


Here they are........the Queen of Everything holds court and Jude is reading the 'happy birthday' sign to his attentive students


Unlike the boys, Ada is very cautious.  I love this about her!



Ada recently spent a good deal of time placing and arranging the four little plastic chairs in the new clubhouse.


Ada displays brief moments of typical 2-yr. old behavior, but for the most part she is a totally engaging girlfriend.  Her language skills seem way ahead of her brief years, with full sentences and long stories.  The other morning I went upstairs to get her out of bed and she told me about her night.......It get dark and read stories and listen to Raffi and Raffi go off and then sleep and now it's BRIGHT. 

Ada is a very girlie little girl.  She has definite ideas about what she wants to wear, down to the socks and the clips in her hair and the color of the twisties that make her tails.  She walks and talks and runs like a girl.  Her actions are very dainty.  She is happy all the time and is always singing.  When she does cry, she can often do a 180 and turn  it into a smile in no time flat.  Ada loves to draw and can occupy herself with a small pile of markers and crayons.  She's just so different from the boys and I'm constantly in awe.  The other day she was in front of a full-length mirror, and she looked back over her shoulder to check her backside!

Ada loves her cousins, and she talks about them often.  When she's sharing her Cheerios with her stuffed animals and dolls, she always includes a little pile for Brady and "Drewey".  The perfect little hostess:)

So.  Ada, The Queen of Everything is now two years old and truly, she rocks.  And she reigns.

Boy oh boy

My little boys are so darned much fun.  They are a constantly changing bunch of surprises.  Having raised boys, I thought I'd seen in all.  But the mind plays tricks and luckily makes it possible to forget!  In the meantime, my grandsons are cracking me up:

Brady was in trouble and had to sit on the Time Out bench.  Doesn't he look miserable?



This is Jude, 6:00 a.m., complete with backpack and binoculars, checking to see if Ada is awake yet. 


When Drew spots a puddle there's no stopping until we can get IN it.  I have to admit I'm a sucker for puddles, as well -


Brady wanted his picture taken while going in reverse on the little 4-wheeler.  He explained later that he can't go backwards AND smile at the same time:)


Happiness is one puddle, two boys, two sticks.  Nuff said.



BUG!!!  I love this picture.

Jude can go backward, forward and through the daffodils while smiling!


Yesterday there were 2 ladybugs swimming in my coffee.  There was also one little guilty face peeking out from behind the chair.  I provided the expected response, but truly, there's nothing like a couple of little arachnids (?) to give you a morning kicker. 

Brotherly love, what's up with this???

Brady and Drew are like peas and carrots.  I snapped these pictures one rainy morning while Brady was reading stories to Drew.  It was a stitch.  Plus, they sat there for the longest time and I snapped a new picture each time I checked on them.














Ever since Drew was a tiny little thing (as you can see, he's a real boy now) Brady has treated him as an equal.  He includes Drew in every discovery and every conversation.  Often times it's a bit frustrating when Drew doesn't pay attention or has another project in mind.  But for the most part, they are like BFF and it's a kick to watch them interact.  They do so well together 90% of the time and I often think they are an unusual team, one for the record books.  In fact, on the rare occasion that Brady tackles Drew from behind, I have to smile because it seems like a more normal form of brotherly love:) 

Brady is very protective of Drew and is always watching out for his safety.  Oh, Ter-Ter......you'd better move that up or Drewey is going to get into it!  Oh Ter-Ter......you'd better move that higher!
Drewey, hold on to the railing, what are you thinking?? 

Yook what I found, Drewey!  Yet's play this game, Drewey, you can be the girl.  Drew, yet's wear one green boot and one yeyyow boot and it will make Ter-Ter yaugh. 

It's impossible not to laugh around these two, together they are candidates for a comic strip!

A matter of life and death

Jude is quite the little thinker.  We were in the kitchen recently baking Pizelle (again) and he wanted to talk about dying. 

I think he first learned about dying when he was being prepared by his parents for his great grandmother's funeral last summer.  At the time, he was not quite 3 years old.  I remember the day of her service so clearly.  Jude's great grandmother was my mother-in-law, a woman I had learned to love, respect, and appreciate;  Ben was going to eulogize her and he's such a wonderful speaker, I wanted to be there with him;  Jude did not respond well to the scene in the funeral home, so I kept him with me in the very last row of the chapel. When Ben got up to speak, Jude escaped my grip and ran up the center aisle, DADDY!  Ben, the consumate teacher, handled the situation beautifully.  And this is Jude, my Oma's great grandson.  I'm glad you came up here, Jude.  Jude was then escorted OUT by his mother before he could take over the microphone.

Anyway, I digress.

Our recent conversation in the kitchen, nearly six months later, was not a matter of life and death.  It was much more important than that.



Jude:  Nini, what happens right before you die? 

Me:  Well, first of all, dying is not a bad thing, Jude, everybody gets to do it.  And the BEST way to die is after you've lived a nice long life and have lots of stories to tell.  You want to live a good life, too, so you don't feel bad about anything when you die.

Jude:  Oh.  But why do you die? 

Me:  Well, it's because your body wears out.  Like some of your toys that get old and don't work anymore. 

Jude:  Oh. 

Me:  Do you think you will come to visit me when I get old?

Jude:  It might not be a Nini-day on the day you get old.  But maybe Brady can come. 

Me:  Ok. 

Jude:  I want to die on the same day you die, Nini. 

Me:  That would be perfect, Jude, because I don't think I could live without you.

Where have we been???

Well, I'm not sure what happened to most of January and all of February, but now it's March, for heaven's sake.  Because I don't want any of these amazing days to blur in my head, here's a little catch-up pictoral of life at Grammy Camp in the dead of winter.  I should mention that nobody calls me Grammy, but, whatever:)



There was enough snow ONE DAY to get out there and pretend we lived in Anchorage.  Drew wasn't too sure about this stuff......


Brady really loved the scene and hiked all over the field -


This is Frosty the Leafman


Jude and Ada settled in on the counter for a long discussion of something important, no doubt.


Ada is riding the rocking camel, side-saddle, very ladylike:)  This camel was a gift from their great grandparents to Jackson Grove who outgrew it about 15 years ago. 


Jude is helping make Pizelle.  Typically, we only make Pizelle at Christmastime, but now it seems we make it on request:)


Brady is swimming in a small sea of wine corks!


Drew stood at the window one entire morning, watching the arborists trim the fruit trees -


Jude, the Paratrooper


Don't jump, Jude!


I love it when a little one is old enough to sit happily on the kitchen counter.  This is Ada, so busy with a pen and a scrap of paper. 


January was rather action-packed, actually, now that I think about it.  Ben and Linden moved to a new home which created a alot of activity leading up to the blessed event:)  Not to mention the activity around the settling in process.  I had the kids here in an attempt to keep them out of harm's way during the move and it was interesting to talk with Jude during that weekend.  He was nervous about the process, "But my bed won't fit in Dad's car.  And my dresser, Nini, it's so FRAGILE."  I took them home to the new house the day after the move and all his fears were aleviated when he saw his NEW ROOM with all his familiar things in it.  Linden must have really scrambled to get Jude & Ada's rooms in perfect working order before we got there. They nailed it. From that moment on, both children were so jumping-up-and-down excited about their new home. 

Anyway, so far the weather hasn't been so bad that we have started feeling like a bunch of compressed molecules.  And spring is in the works.  Yesterday was a glorious teaser but today feels like winter again.  The daffodils are running late but promise to be a real photo op when they all bloom.