One Brave Day

Cade had to get a little dental work done yesterday. As usual, he was his brave self and let them do their job. He's such a funny kid, he loves going to the dentist. Sometimes when we pass the dentist's office he asks to go see Dr. P. She would be so flattered if she knew!! Haha!!  When he was done I asked him if it hurt, and he kinda huffed, like "seriously?"  He said, "Nope, I didn't feel a thing. Just a little pinch."

Love that guy!  And doesn't he look great with his shades and "pig nose?"  LOL!

Homemade Christmas

I know, I know...Christmas was a LOOONG time ago (at least it seems that way, doesn't it??) It's taken me this long just to get all my pics uploaded on the computer, organized and edited.  There are so many pics it will take me several posts to fit in all of our holiday fun.

But, the winner of the first post of the Christmas season is...... {drumroll, please}....Christmas with the Grubbs!!!!!!!

Curt's parents came down the Wednesday after Christmas and stayed until Friday. We had thought Mark and Mandy and Sarah and Jeff were going to come down also, but other things came up and circumstances changed so they weren't able to make it. Let me tell you, it was not easy telling the kids that their aunts and uncles weren't coming. They were NOT happy!!  But Pops and Grandma Bets made it which makes everything a little bit better.

I had to work at Walgreens on Wednesday evening when they arrived, so I was surprised when the kids came running into the garage to meet me at 8:30 when I got home. I figured they'd be having so much fun entertaining Pops and Grandma Bets that they wouldn't even hear me come in. Little did I know they'd been waiting for me so we could have our second Christmas! It was all I could do get my jacket off and hung up before they were pulling me into the living room.

I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but somewhere in the past few years it seems that most of the presents for the Grubb Christmas are handmade with LOTS OF LOVE! Sure, we still buy presents, but I usually try to make something scrapbooky for them and you never know what they will come up with ;)

I LOVE Cade's look on his face. He was sooooo excited for Keira, although I'm not even sure he knew what it was at that point. I think he just saw purple, or maybe even Tinkerbell, and knew she'd love it!

Keira's Tinkerbell blankie, fleece on one side and Tinkerbell silky on the other. Even embroidered with her name, which was Keira's favorite part!!!! PS I'm not sure why she is wearing a ballet outfit. She got it for Christmas and apparently had decided that night was a good night to try it on. She's so silly!

Caden got several puzzles that turn from people into cars if worked just right, kinda like a Transformer

This is absolutely hysterical. I wish I had a video of him opening this present. The look on his face was priceless. Yes, those are jeans turned into oven mitts!  Curt was very confused at first thinking "um, not exactly my size." Then he pulled them out and realized what they were and started dying laughing. Then the silly posing started. Oh my, what a guy!!

The reason they custom made him some jean oven mitts were for the campfire dutch oven they got him. They didn't want him to burn his hands, so they came up with an ingenious way to make heavy duty oven mitts. Those in-laws of mine, they're pretty smart and resourceful!!

Caden with a game of spoons. If he's anything like him Daddy he's going to be ruthless at it! Anybody else remember the time Curt almost broke Amanda's leg in a fight over the last spoon?? Ahhhh, good memories of card games in the lobby of Sears Dorm at Harding!

Not only did Pops and Grandma Bets come with their own gifts, but brought gifts from the rest of the family as well.  Cade loved his Star Wars towel from Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jeff.  Anything Star Wars is generally a GREAT gift for Caden.

 Keira also got a sock monkey (which kinda freak me out alittle - not gonna lie) with custom made hat and scarf from Grandma Bets. Keira now thinks she needs a matching set {{hint, hint}}

Grandma Reed made aprons for all her grands and great-grands. Awesome! I've definitely been needing an apron. Can you believe I didn't have one??

Keira got a cute purple sequined purse with stencils in it from Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jeff. Totally Keira, no doubt about it!

Sweet snuggle time!! Luv this pic!

Of course, as the photographer of the family there are pretty much no pics of me, but that's just as well. I was spoiled with 2 bags from thirty-one and some new gloves. The large one is red with blue flowers and has been PERFECT for toting my stuff from Little Rock and back. It's just the right size for what I usually carry. The other is brown with lots of pockets that I think will become stored with scrapbooking paraphenalia.

However, the best gift of the night didn't even get photographed! What was I thinking??!!  Pops and Grandma Bets made a wood dice game with numbered "tabs" on it that can flip up and down. The whole point is for it to be a math game without the kids realizing they are learning math. It is addicting!!! There's a little prize corner in it for a little treat or reward for the winner. Cade had a LOT of fun coming up with rewards. 30 minutes free TV, 1 hour extra sleep (I worked hard to win that one!! LOL), even trying to pull a one week control of the remote. Yeah right, like that was going to happen. He's a sneaky one for sure! I'll try to remember to take a pic and put it up so you can get a better idea what I mean.

I made a wreath with a hemp "clothesline" going across it and canvas tags that said "The Grubbs" on it for my in-laws. I think they really like it. All my sisters-in-law received....oh wait, Bonnie and Mandy haven't gotten their yet, so it will still have to be a surprise. Hope you like it!!!  Merry Christmas everyone!!

Sentimental sweetie

This afternoon when I went in to check on Keira during nap time, I found her sleeping on her floor, laying on top of the quilt Grandma Willis made for her when she was a baby, with the blanket Grandma Bets made for her for Christmas on top of her. It was stretched out perfectly with barely a wrinkle in it as she lay under it like Sleeping Beauty.

Keira spends a lot of time looking through her scrapbooks I have made for her. She loves looking at the pictures and asking questions about what was happening or what she was like then. On Monday, Keira was looking at the page from my baby shower and saw the picture of me opening a quilt my mom had made for her. Keira brought me the book and pointed to the picture with wide eyes. "Do I still have this blanket Mommy?" "Of course, Keira. It's in the closet."  She ran to the closet and dug it out and held it to her chest like it was her most treasured posession.  (In a side note, her class had been learning about the letter Q and quilts ALL last week, so quilts were forefront in her mind at that time.)  "Oh Mommy, it's so beautiful! I love it sooo much!" 

She's always been so particular about handmade gifts, those things made with her in mind. She sleeps with about three or four blankets and "stuffies" every night, usually ones that were made for her or given to her from the most important people in her life. I hope this is something she never outgrows and as she gets older that she continues to want to make special cards and gifts for those that she loves the most as well. If you have ever received one of her precious cards, you KNOW they are made with love ;)

Just wanted you to know how much she treasures your gifts Mom and Grandma Bets! I only wish I would have thought to take a picture.

Ice skating!!!!

Today Cade's Cub Scout group had reserved the local ice skating rink for the kids, so we bundled up and headed on over to the rink. The kids have been DYING to go since this is a new rink for our town and they've never been ice skating before. It was a beautiful day, very cold but sunny, so we just couldn't pass up the chance.  Cade is a pretty good roller blader, so I had no doubt he'd do fine once he got use to it. Keira on the other hand still has a hard time keeping her balance on roller skates so we wen't sure how this would go. Luckily, the skating rink has kid size "walkers" (or should I say "skaters" HAHAHA!) to help the little ones keep their balance (and helped save Curt's back).

Here are a few pics and videos of the event.

Keira and her "walker"

Cade still learning but doing great

My handsome man and Keira getting brave.

Hard to believe that 13 years ago Curt and I went skating for one of our first times to hang out as friends and here we are, married for 11 years and 2 kids later still having fun together!!!

What a great looking bunch!

Keira first learning to skate. This is the BEFORE video. She is such an independant little thang. If you listen closely you can hear her fighting Curt, not wanting him to help her. And she had just got on the ice for the first time!! Soooo stubborn!

AFTER.  Look how much better she's doing!!!!!

Caden cruising around the rink. This is still pretty early in the day (I can tell because he still had his jacket and gloves on. He got soooo sweaty after a little while, but he's still taking antibiotics for strep throat, so I didn't want to push my luck. He eventually talked me into letting him take off his jacket, but the hat had to stay. I'm such a mean mom!!) His skating got even better and he was much more confident by the end of our time skating.