Maisey Moments

* Maisey loves to sing the song "I love ____, he loves me. We love ____, yes sir ree! She loves us and so you see, we are a happy family!" Maisey fills in the blanks in the song. Sometimes it's brother and sister, or mommy and daddy, like they learned in nursery. But lately she has been filling in the princess names. Her favorites are Ariel and Cinderella. Well, a few days ago we were singing it before nap time and she started saying Princess Maisey. I thought it was cute and we kept singing a few more rounds of the song. On the final round for the first blank, she said Princess Mommy. I thought it was really cute and I kind of laughed a little but I continued to sing. For the second blank, she said Princess Daddy and then she just started busting up laughing like she knew what she said was SO funny!



* We have a play group at the park every Thursday. I also babysit on Thursdays so I bring the girls with us! We were all sitting on a blanket eating our lunch a few weeks ago, and Hannah (one of the girls I babysit) was done with her lunch so I gave her a cookie and let her go play. Her empty plate was still sitting on the blanket. Maisey kept asking me for her cookie, but I told her she had to finish her lunch first. She thought she was being sneaky and she put her sandwich and the rest of her lunch on Hannah's plate then said to me, "All done Mommy. Cookie please?" and I couldn't help but laugh! I pointed to the plate and said, "You're not done" and Maisey said, "That Hannah's lunch" What a little sneak! I better be watchin out!



* My mom had to go to the dollar store earlier this week to get something for her classroom at school. I was babysitting my cousin's little girl, Madi. When we got there I gave Madi and Maisey each a dollar and told them they could pick out one thing! Madi picked out playdoh! How fun! Maisey picked out a calculator! Not exactly what I had in mind, but surprisingly. . . she has played with it ALL week!


*This morning I went in Maisey's room to get her out of bed and the very first thing she said to me was. . . "Is Daddy at Chuck E' Cheese?" "No honey, Daddy's working!"


*Also this morning, she was going around taking pictures with her princess camera she got for her birthday. She took a picture of me and said, "Mommy, you're as pretty as a princess!"

I don't know where she comes up with this stuff, but this girl is a CRACK UP!

Watch for more Maisey Moments to come!

Back to Reality

I just did my dishes, straightened up my house, took down Maisey's play tent that has been up since Friday, did a load of laundry, put clean sheets on my bed, and cleaned all of the moldy old food out of my fridge.

Why so much in one evening?

Well because since Sunday night, I have been living on my couch, my mom's couch, or in my bed with my FIRST ever migraine! And let me tell you it was so debilitating! 3 days of extreme head pain. I couldn't even take care of my kids! Good thing Grandma lives close and Daddy is so awesome!

-Sunday I tried Tylenol! No help!

-Monday I tried Ibuprofen! Nada!

-Tuesday I tried Excedrin Migraine! Helped for a few hours, then WORSE than ever! (Also... home teacher came over for a blessing.)

-Wednesday I went to the doc, he gave me a nice fatty blue pill, and I'm back to normal! Just so exhausted from not sleeping for 3 nights!

At least now I know what a migraine feels like so when it hits I know what to do... instead of waiting 3 days to get relief!

Another benefit from this experience--I now know that my husband is capable of semi-running the house. My kids got fed, got put to bed, and the house was clean every night! It may not have been the way I do it, but at least it got done. Now I can expect more from him right? :)

4 Months

I can't believe Gage is 4 months old already! In another 4 months it's going to be Christmas time! YAY!!! I know it is so cliche, but the time goes by SO fast, especially when the days all blur together!

Gage's 4 month photo shoot

What a handsome boy! I am a SUCKER for little baby boys in Polo's and plaid shirts!

At 4 months Gage likes:

* His new vibrating teething toy

* His cowboy jumperoo

* His exersaucer

*Staring intently at his sister (not sure if he is just fascinated by her if he is scared that she will jump, sit, lay, or step on him.)

*Giving big wet slobbery kisses on our cheeks

* To be tickled

*To be outside

Gage's does not like:

*Loud noises, particularly when Maisey screams in his ear

*When you are sitting down and holding him (although, he is starting to tolerate it more and more)

*Maisey dressing him up like a princess

Other things about Gage that I would like to record (but I hope I'm not jinxing us!):

*We changed the sleeping program that we started a little bit to fit Gage and his sleeping patterns. The last 3 nights he has only woken up twice, which is much better that the 5-6 times he has been over the last month. We are hoping to get it down to once by 5 months!

*Also in the last week or so he has become a lot less fussy. We changed the time of day that we give him his medicine, and that seems to have helped a TON! We are really starting to enjoy our baby boy and feel like we can take him places with out it being a complete disaster.

*Gage never pees with out his diaper on! I know this is silly to record, but ever since I found out I was having a boy, people with boys always told me that changing their diapers are so much harder because they always pee! I've even seen pee pee teepees before at specialty boutiques. But since he was like 2 weeks old he has not peed with out his diaper on. He loves to air out so some times I leave his diaper off for like 10 minutes and he still doesn't pee! Hopefully this is a good sign for potty training in the future!

*Gage has really developed this month. He discovered his voice and now screams a lot! At least they are HAPPY screams now! He also has some pretty awesome hand-eye coordination. He can take his paci out of his mouth, and then switch hands with it, then switch back hands, and then attempt to put it back in his mouth. He has actually gotten it in twice in the last 2 days.

Maisey is such a big help! She is holding his new teething toy in this mouth for him!

This dude loves hangin at the park!!!

Indulging his sister in a game of dress-up!

Gage's Baby Blessing

We blessed Gage like a month ago, but I am just now getting around to posting it! He was 3 months old when we did it, but we wanted to wait til the weekend of my sister's wedding so we would have most of our family in town!

For our records, the people who participated in the blessing were: Shaun Grimmett, Ralph Grimmett, Richard Grimmett, Scott Olsen, Clayton Curtis, Blair Rhodeshouse, Bishop Doug Haycock, President Brent Nelson, and Bishop Neil Nelson.

Look at all those Grimmetts!


4 Generations of Grimmett Boys!



4 Generations of Grimmett Girls (Even though we are all inlaws -- except Maisey!)



The Olsen side (minus Derick, who was asleep in the car!)

The Family of Four!

One of the benefits of waiting so long to bless him was that he now has the CUTEST smile I've ever seen!

What a handsome man!

Gage's Aunt Kelsey brought Gage a special blessing blanket back from Jerusalem!

So EASY, So CUTE!

I made these ice cream cone cupcakes for Maisey and her Nursery friends today. They are just as EASY as traditional cupcakes, but they are way more CUTE, and they don't make as much of a mess!

Along the same EASY and CUTE theme, let me share an experience from today!

On the way home from church Shaun wanted to stop by a family's house. This man's records were recently moved into our ward, but no one knew who he was. So we drove over to the address, and the address didn't exist. Shaun knocked on a door that was close to that address (while the kids and I sat in the car) and the person who answered the door said we didn't know the man we were looking for. So Shaun decided to knock on the next door and that was the right house! He went in for a few minutes, and like 3 minutes later he came back out. I have to admit, I was excited to see him be so quick (Shaun likes to talk!) because I really just wanted to get home, put Maisey down for her nap, and take a nap myself! He opened the driver's side door and turned the car off and asked if we could all go in!

So we unpacked both kids from the car and

Maisey asked, "What doing?"

And Shaun said, "We are going to do some church work."

And Maisey said, "YAY church work, I do it!" in the most excited and enthusiastic voice!

It was so CUTE, and if it were only that EASY for adults to get that excited about church/missionary work!

I'm so glad that Maisey is such a good example to me!

To finish the story:

The man and his wife have both been members of the Church at some point in their lives, but neither one are interested now. They both said that they would allow Visiting and Home Teachers to come a visit and they do have an 11 yr. old girl who is friends with one of the member's of our ward. So there is HOPE! And we are EXCITED! They were very nice!

Anniversary

Happy Anniversary Hun!

You are the LOVE of my life!

We spent the day working/babysitting and the evening at swimming lessons and Dairy Queen. (We bribed Maisey with Ice Cream if she would go down the big slide at swimming!)

How ROMANTIC, huh?

We are going out this weekend on a much needed, kid-free, date!

I can't believe my baby is 2!

Maisey turned 2 years old today and she is as funny and cute as ever! I love seeing her BIG personality emerge from her little body! She is very energetic, sassy, spunky, girly, silly, strong willed, and funny. She comes up with some of the funniest comments, and she is a great big sister to Gage!

*Maisey LOVES to read books! She has like 10 favorites, and will pile them all up next to her on the floor and sit there for an hour reading them. Sometimes, she parks herself next to Gage's bouncy and reads to him! So cute!


*Maisey is totally loving nursery now! She loves the nursery leaders and loves to wear dresses to church. She always asks me if she can play with Sister Francis!


*Maisey is really good about expressing what she wants. Every once in a while she gets really whiny and I have to remind her to use her words but for the most part she tells me what she wants. And her favorite saying is "No, I don't want it!" That's what she says to everything. She says pretty much anything. Like today, we were getting ready to leave the house and she wasn't putting her shoes on like I asked. So I said, "Maisey, we are late. You need to hurry!" Well, we were walking in the parking lot toward the movie theatre this afternoon, and she said to me, "Mommy, we are late. HURRY!" She picks up on things so fast!


*Maisey has started showing some interest in potty training. She pooped on the toilet today and a few other times. I think I will start putting more effort towards it soon! It will be nice to only have to buy diapers for one kid!

*Maisey loves to sing songs. Her favorites: Poker Face by Lady Gaga, The Ho Ho Song (Santa Claus is Coming to Town), Little Red Wagon, Old McDonald, and all the Primary songs.

*Maisey's whole world is revolved around food. She loves fruit snacks, Mac N' Cheese, chicken nuggets, french fries, cookies, and fruit. You can bribe her into doing just about anything with food.

*Maisey can count to 20 -- 15 with no help, but 15-20 is pretty skecthy. She randomly starts counting, especially if she is frustrated. That's right. . . some kids throw tantrums in the middle of the grocery store, but Maisey starts counting! It's really funny.

*Maisey has to have things very organized! (Sound familiar?) I often find her organizing her toys, then messing them up just so she can organize them again! She was just doing this with her birthday cards on the coffee table tonight. She also loves to do this with the shoes on her shoe rack in her closet.

*Maisey is really into possessions right now. Everything is "Mine" or she will say "My ____" She calls everyone "My friends" or "Mommy's friends" depending on their age.

*Maisey calls anyone with a beard "Ho Ho" including Santa, Jesus, and the new convert in our ward who bore his testimony last fast Sunday. (That's right, Maisey yelled out "There's Ho Ho Mommy!")

*Maisey is very caring and sensitive. She is always so concerned when Gage is crying and she doesn't like to see people get hurt. She is always the first person to help comfort someone who is crying. She loves to give hugs and kisses.

*Maisey loves to help me around the house. She helps with the dishwasher, the laundry, and the vacuuming. She also likes to help me cook!

Maisey, we love you so much and we are so happy you are part of our family! I can't believe how fast you have grown up, but I've enjoyed watching the little girl you have become. I love to tickle you, I love to cuddle you, I love to read to you, I love to spend special mommy-daughter time with you, I love to shop with you, and I love the happiness that you create in my life. You mean everything to us! Happy Birthday my Beautiful Princess!


We went to Red Robin for a Birthday Lunch today! Maisey enjoyed her Mac N' Cheese, and she didn't cry when all of the waiters sang to her! She's really making improvements!

We had swimming lessons tonight, then we came home and had Grandma and Uncle Scott (also his birthday today) over for a BBQ, presents, and cake!


Maisey is so excited to have her very own shopping cart! Thanks Grandma!


Look at the face! Daddy is helping her open a Sleeping Beauty Princess Throne. . . and she can't wait to get it out of the bag!

The theme for her birthday this year was kitchen stuff. We gave her princess dishes, play food, and a play kitchen! She was in HEAVEN and we had a hard time getting her to settle down for bed tonight!

Happy Birthday Maisey and Scott!

Swimming Lessons

Maisey and I have been taking a Parent-Tot swim class the last 2 weeks! We have both had a lot of fun!

That's us in the middle if you can't tell!

Mais is cheesin' it up for Daddy!

Look at her swim!

Maisey and her buddy Porter!

A Birthday Weekend Full of R&R

My birthday was last Thursday, so we decided to take a mini Vacay. . . and it was exactly what I needed! We headed to Sunriver (a resort in Central Oregon) where my aunt has a house, or should I say mansion! The place was huge, and SO SO SO nice! We had so much fun just hanging out and the nice part was there was no where that we HAD to be! It was so nice to leave the busy-ness of our lives here and go somewhere where we could just focus on family! Here is a recap of what we did!

We bought Maisey an all-day pass into this inflatable farm! She LOVED it!

We ate YUMMY homemade ice cream from a little candy shop! (TWICE!)

We Swam. . . even though it was only like 70!

(If you look real close Maisey is raising both of her pointer fingers. Shaun told her to do thumbs up and this is what she did!)

We saw several deer.

Shaun and I played tennis while my mom babysat the kids! Thanks Mom!

We went on bike rides. . .

. . . and played basketball!

And when the kids went to bed... we rocked out on Guitar Hero!

We also picked up a few extra friends on the trip! Maisey already had Dora, but we found her counterparts, Boots & Swiper, and Mommy couldn't resist buying them for her!

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Don't worry. . . I went on my own birthday vacation too, even though I am not in the pictures! My family sure did spoil me! My greatest gift--A GC for a massage! Thanks Hun! I totally need one!

Am I Doing the Right Thing?

Our desktop isn't connecting to the Internet for some reason and that is where all of our pictures are (I still have catching up to do!), so instead I'm going to write about a dilemma I've been having this morning.

We moved Gage out of our room and into his own room last Monday. Since then he's had some rough nights and some VERY short naps. When he was sleeping in our room, we would sleep and nap pretty well. I gave him a week to try to adjust to his own room and his BIG BOY crib. Things continued to go down hill! So on Monday, I decided to start a new sleeping regimen that we used for Maisey when she was 10 months old. (And it worked like a charm!)

In this book, the chapters are divided up into age groups, so Shaun and I read the appropriate chapter for Gage for FHE Monday night, and we agreed on a plan of action. The first step was to get him to stop sleeping with his paci and to put him down drowsy but awake (which we tried to do since he was just a few weeks old).

The proposed schedule was:
7:30 pm - bath, lotion, jammies, bottle, songs
8:00 pm - bed
10:00 - 11:00 pm (dream feed) - wake him to feed him right before we go to bed
6:00 - 7:00 am - feed him upon awakening

We are not supposed to feed him between his "dream feed" and 6:00 am!

Night one went pretty well. He woke up at 4:00 am and cried for like 20 min. as I sat by his crib and patted him every once in a while. He fell back asleep until 6:45 am. (All with out a Paci) Naps weren't very good. . . the longest one last 4o min.

Night two (last night) - A COMPLETE DISASTER!!!!! We put him in bed at 8. He cried FOREVER as Shaun and I took turns going in to pat him and calm him down. He finally fell asleep sometime around 10. I went in to feed him at 11 then I went to bed. He woke up at 2 am and I went in and patted him and reassured him, then I laid on the bed in his room until he fell asleep again at 2:45 am. He woke up again at 3:45 am and SCREAMED until 5:59 am. I picked him up every once in a while when the patting wouldn't calm him down. I put him back in his crib at 5:57 so I could go make a bottle and feed him at 6:00 am. I made the bottle and when I went back in the room, he was asleep! I crawled back in to bed with Shaun as I told him about our HORRIBLE night only to be awakened again at 6:45 for the day!

He's had 2 naps today that were both VERY short.

So my problem is. . . I read Shaun's friend from High School's (Tammy) blog this morning about her son choking on a banana and she had a link to this BLOG. I sat and read it this morning with tears running down my face and then I ROCKED Gage to sleep WITH his paci.

Life is so precious and can be so short. We never know when our time is coming or when our loved ones will be departing this earthly life.

So my dilemma is:

Do I continue with this sleep program

-OR-

Do I savour every moment with my 3 1/2 month old but continue to have sleepless nights and short naps, and start the sleep program at a later age?

-OR-

Is there a HAPPY MEDIUM out there?

All I know is that I will hold my kids a little bit tighter, give them more hugs and more kisses, and try to be a more understanding and patient mother.