The Grimes Family

Queeny Wave

2012-01-30T02:45:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to capture this on camera for the last month now. Olive waves like she's a beauty pagent contestant. Well, She's my beauty queen anyway.

I love this baby.

Woodland Dreams

2012-01-28T12:26:00.002-08:00

Finally the baby shower is over and I can post pics! I had no idea how much work was involved in planning for a baby shower but I had so much fun! I may have missed my calling as a party planner :)

Since baby Boysel's sex is going to be surprise I chose a Woodland type theme. I fell in love with these invitaions. So cute! This welcome table sat at the entrance to the room and featured a diaper cake and sign in book.

Here's the room fully decorated and waiting for guests.

Brenda was the mastermind behind the centerpieces. She found these super cute woodland creatures. We had squirrels, turtles, and bunnies.

Birdnest cupcakes & Acorn Cookies. Yum Yum

This was one of the games we played.

Each guest took a shot at guessing the following....sex, due date/time, height, and weight. After the baby is born we will review these to see who came the closest and they will be the WINNER.

The grandma's.

Here's Bre in all her 8 month glory! Whoa baby ;)

We here at the Grimes household are SO EXCITED for baby Boysel's arrival! I can't wait to run out and buy a cute little boy or little girl outfit and bee line it right to the hospital. I must get my hands on this little nugget. 6 weeks to go (I think).

It's Puzzle Time

2012-01-23T02:00:00.000-08:00

Dane puts his firetruck floor puzzle together and Olive helps.

*Baby shower plans are pretty much all wrapped up. I'll post pictures after it's over as to not spoil the surprise for the honored Breanna (cause I know she's reading this) Only real thing left to do is to get the food bought and assembled. I'll work on that this Friday since I have that day off work.

*Olive slept through the night again. It's just so hit or miss. She's blessed me 2x this month but it could be a month before she does it again. Oh well. I'm surviving I guess.

Bathing Beauty and A Beast

2012-01-21T10:41:00.000-08:00

Went upstairs to catch daddy giving Olive her bedtime bath.

Olive LOVES bath time! Especially now that she can sit up and play on her own. I think she's gonna be my little swimmer.

Check out that grin! She's a happy babe.

Of course big brother had to join in. To my siblings....Doesn't this remind you of something?

Here's the beast who MUST be wherever we are. Juno is now almost 4 1/2 months old and a total pain in the rear about 90% of the time. She sure is cute when she's asleep though :)

Did you know?

2012-01-18T03:30:00.000-08:00

Everyone comments on how much Brad and Dane look alike but did you know that they are also both the astrological sign of Sagittarius? I don't really follow that stuff but just kind of interesting because they are SO MUCH alike.

And even more interesting than that...... My little mini-me and I are also the same astrological sign of Gemini!

Kinda cool.

Olive Jumps!

2012-01-16T14:33:00.000-08:00

Just a little excercise for Miss Olive.

* We went shopping today for a few remaining items for a baby shower I'm helping throw at the end of the month. All went well until for the 2nd time this month Dane stole something from a store!! What the!?! I thought he learned his lesson the first time when he took a small cross at the carpet store. He got quite the scoulding about it. This time he took a small handful of tootsie rolls at the party supply store and must have slipped them into his pocket while I wasn't looking. Not cool.

Ooooo, I Love It!

2012-01-15T02:45:00.000-08:00

Yea! The new floor is installed! It's kinda nerve wracking to pick out flooring from a small sample. You always wonder if you've made the wrong decison but I'm thrilled! I went with what grabbed me first and I did not make the wrong choice. It's sooo me! I feel it's a ever so slightly modern take on a old school classic.

* Only a few things left to do.

1. Re-caulk around the shower and vanity

2. Frame the mirror....

Yup that's right, Either Brad's gonna do it for me or I'm gonna attempt it myself. How hard can it be?! Cue my laughter. I'm not much of a DIYer, I always have my super handy construction worker husband do it ;)

Just Before Bed

2012-01-13T11:01:00.000-08:00

Just a few snapshots of Olive just before heading up to bed.

7 1/2 months

Olive also cut one of her top teeth this week. The second one is super close to popping through as well. Then she'll have a total of 4!

* New flooring installed this morning in the bathroom :) So pumped! It looks awesome. Pics to come soon. Brad also installed the new toliet today, we have a big boy toliet now! The home builder must have been a midget. We had the tiniest toliets and vanities. We're working on that one room at a time. Out with 1994 and in with 2012.

Wow

2012-01-11T07:06:00.000-08:00

I don't know if I've ever went this long without posting something. We've just been soooo busy!

Brad is still working which is great. That also means that I'm super busy working outside the home, running the kids to and fro for childcare, and trying to keep the house functioning in somewhat decent order.

Something else we've been working on......A small bathroom redo. Just lipstick on a pig really. Starting with the flooring which is a must! A note to all building a home with a bathroom to be used mostly by children....DO NOT use the sticky floor tiles. The will not stand up to the rather playful and messy baths that small children like to take. I've hated this bathroom since the day we first viewed this house.

Man, Take a look at that awful flooring which is peeling up and yellowing from sunlight exposure. Yuck. Here are also the 2 samples we got narrowed down too. Brad liked the one on the left. I liked the one on the right.

Okay. Flooring selected. I won :)

Now to choose paint colors.

Painting done. We chose neutral tones. I want a calm and clean look. We also updated the hardware. A nice brushed nickel.

I also talked Brad into purchasing a curved shower curtain rod! He thought it was ridiculous at first but I think he's changed his mind. It's amazing how much bigger it makes the shower feel. LOVE IT!

I'm working on Brad to build me a frame for the bathroom mirrow. I think that will help alot and at some point I'd like to replace the countertop but this is a good start.

We're just waiting on the flooring to be installed now so we can put the trim back up. Can't wait!

Hi There

2011-12-30T11:26:00.000-08:00

Hello, My name is Olive and I'm 7 months old now! I think I might be the most photographed baby in the world.....My mommy thinks I'm GORGEOUS!

Besides looking cute, here's what I've been up to these days.

Eating baby food for breakfast and lunch. My favorite is pear and blueberries with oats for breakfast but I also love butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and zucchini. The jury is still out on the yellow squash and I still hate peas!

I giggle, babble and squeal ALOT and I said my first word a few days ago!!!

It was "Ma Ma!"

I contantly have my tongue sticking out as I'm trying to cut my 2 top teeth.

I've slept through the night for the last 3 night, not waking till 5 or 6am! I'll wake just long enough to drink alittle milk and then I'm back to bed for a few hours.

My mommy LOVES it!

Watch out world, I'm on my hands and knees and ROCKING!!!! I've almost got this crawling thing figured out.

It was Merry......VERY!

2011-12-26T01:45:00.000-08:00

Santa came and brought Dane a really cool Air Strike bike for Christmas!

Santa was even nice enough to stop and pick up some presents in Kentucky from Gram and Aunt Tam and put those under the tree too! Thank Gram and Tam, Dane loves his new headphones!

Baby's 1st Christmas. Merry Christmas doll face.

P.S. Let's not tell Dane what Olive's Christmas jammies say ;)

'Twas The Night Before Christmas....

2011-12-24T17:49:00.001-08:00

The Peterson, Boysel and Burrey clan came over for Christmas Eve. We enjoyed a yummy array of breakfast foods for dinner, French Toast casserole, Breakfast pizza, cheesy hashbrowns, etc. Yum Yum!

Before dinner, Grandma B and Olive.

Dinner

After dinner and before presents.... The Grimes Family :)

Look! It's mini-Brad and mini-Casey! These two are best present EVER!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Zoo Lights

2011-12-20T02:30:00.000-08:00

We hit up the zoo lights Sunday night. Seemed like it may be the last good time to go. It was decently warm (40 degrees) and NOT RAINING. Which seems strange to say in December. My parents met up with us for dinner before hand at City BBQ......yummy :) We had a good time and by "we" I mean everyone but Olive. Olive literally cried almost the entire time! I can't think of what could have been wrong with her other than maybe she was tired. Poor baby did NOT enjoy the Christmas lights.

Hotwheel Racing

2011-12-18T03:30:00.000-08:00

Dr. Himler's Christmas gift to Dane.

He's packed up this racetrack and brought it everywhere this week.

Christmas Program

2011-12-16T07:39:00.000-08:00

I've been slacking on my blog posts lately. We've been pretty busy here.

Tuesday evening was Dane's preschool Christmas program. The first of many school based functions we'll attend. This may offically make us "old".

Waving at us :)

My Singer/ Songwriter

2011-12-13T02:33:00.000-08:00

Dane made up this little ditty in the bathtub earlier this week. At the time I caught him singing it the song had more verses. Apparently he forgot some of it but I still thought it was pretty cute.

Dane Grimes, DDS

2011-12-11T03:00:00.000-08:00

Another cool birthday present, Play Doh Dr. Drill N' Fill!

I was equally excited about this gift I think.

Hot Wheels

2011-12-10T08:06:00.000-08:00

This is pretty slick! Dane got this Hot Wheels Wall Track for his birthday, it's pretty cool!

New Boots

2011-12-07T02:30:00.000-08:00

Dane got some new boots for the Winter. He's just SO EXCITED about them! As Brad and Dane were checking out to buy these boots the lady at the register said. "These will be good for the snow." and Dane then replied..."Yeah and they will be really good for hunting too!"

He ran right in the door of the house and put on his camo coat and hat, grabbed his shotgun and ran out the back door!

Man, He's so cute!

It's a party

2011-12-05T02:00:00.000-08:00

Dane chose a Tom & Jerry themed birthday party this year so we made cat and mouse cupcakes. I think overall they turned out pretty cute.

Thank you SO MUCH Catrina for coming over to help me make Dane's birthday cupcakes! Your the best!!

Can't believe Dane's going to be 4 next Saturday. It really did go fast.

He really is so much fun. He makes the best silly faces!

Loving his cupcakes.

Happy 4th birthday to my son. You changed my life and I believe you will do great things with yours. You bless everyone around you.

Santa Baby

2011-12-02T13:24:00.001-08:00

After the penguin photo shoot I needed to run to the candy store at the mall to pick up last minute items for Dane's birthday cupcakes so we stopped to see Santa!

Dane told Santa that he wanted a new bike and a dirtbike for Christmas. To which Santa replied...."Ok but I think I better ask your parents about that dirtbike first."

No, Dane is not getting a dirtbike for Christmas, but we did get him a new bike.

Olive & Juno

2011-11-30T07:14:00.000-08:00

Miss O loves playing with her vintage Fisher Price apple.

It used to be Brad's when he was a baby. I wonder, do they still make these? Such a classic.

Now 6 months old and HAPPY!

So busy here at the Grimes household. Perfect timing for Brad to get the laid-off for the Winter call. I need his assistance this week.

Getting amped up here for the super busy weekend, esp Dane's big party day. Can't believe my baby boy is almost 4! He's the coolest kid. Just this morning he was spinning donuts in the snow on his four wheeler!

I'm kinda experiencing some anxiety about executing the birthday cupcakes. On Friday after Olive's well baby check (p.s. She's actually not well and has a little cold) we're headed to Columbus so I can hit up the candy store. I need pink jelly beans and the pink Runt hearts. Plus a few other misc baking goods.

Olive Sits

2011-11-26T02:00:00.000-08:00

Olive learned to sit on her own :) Thanks goes out to my mom who practiced with her alot the last 2 weeks while I was working. This means I can get some super cute 6 month pictures of her next week :)

If you look real close you can catch a glimpse of those nubby little bottom teeth.

Olive will be 6 months old in 4 days. That went soooo fast! I think she may be teething again. She's been really biting hard and drooling more again......top teeth already?!? Could it be? I'm alittle sad about it, seems like the 'baby' phase is moving too quick.

Crazy Crazy Crazy

2011-11-25T03:00:00.000-08:00

Here's a video of Dane entertaining Olive.

How can something SO ANNOYING to one person be super funny to another.......somehow she thinks he's hysterical!

I know this is a terrible picture but I wanted to show you this dress. It's adorable. She wore it for our Thanksgiving dinner last weekend with a cream colored tights and black shoes. She looked like a living doll! I found it at the Easton H&M store. I didn't even know H&M had a baby section, but I guess in bigger ones they do. She came home with 3 really cute dresses for the holidays, tights and a cardigan.

I'm having way too much fun with this girl clothes thing :)

Gobble Gobble

2011-11-24T02:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving ya'll

Geez. Check out Dane's super crazy face.

Drooling Beauty

2011-11-21T06:55:00.000-08:00

Say hello to the cutest baby girl.......but I may be slightly biased.

5 3/4 months old.

We have another busy exciting month coming up around here. Next on our list is...

~ Longshore Thanksgiving. November 27th.

~The Lauryn Byrdy Photography Holiday Mini Session with REAL PENGUINS! The set will include real snow and baby penguins from the Columbus Zoo. Scheduled for December 1st. I need to assemble some warm, colorful, coordinated clothing for Dane & Olive suitable for a winter holiday session. Yea!! So excited!

~ Olive's 6 month well baby check....6 months!! Wow, How did that go so fast! December 2nd.

~ The family photo shoot done by photographer Chris Whitsett from Our Blessings Photography. Scheduled for December 3rd. These will also include some singles of Olive (6mths) and Dane (4yrs)

~ BIRTHDAY BOY turns 4! Big party on December 4th for Dane. Still need to figure out the cupcake situation...just not sure what to do.

~Office Christmas Party on the 10th.

~Longshore Christmas to be determined

~Burrey Christmas on Christmas Day.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Wipeout!

2011-11-19T03:00:00.000-08:00

Another video of Dane's bike ride that didn't go as smoothly as the last one posted. He just kept getting back up and trying again. I was so proud of him!

Happy 10th!

2011-11-17T02:00:00.000-08:00

Happy 10th Anniversary to my husband!

Photo taken at our afterprom party 1999. Who knew that these 2 high school sweethearts would get married 2 years after this photo was taken, make a wonderful life together, 8 years after this photo was taken we would have our first child and 12 years after this photo have our second!? Just amazing!

I know I personally had no idea that the boy I feel in love with would become a great man, a good husband and even less of a clue that he would become an AMAZING father.

Every year is better than the last. We are truly blessed.

Here's to the next 10 years, may they bring us many more blessings and much joy!

He did it!

2011-11-14T03:00:00.000-08:00

At the Peterson's house Dane rode his bike solo for the first time! He did so good! We need to practice more and I think it would help if he had a little bit of a bigger bike. I think he's out grown this one.

Cuteness Overload

2011-11-12T02:30:00.000-08:00

I love this baby! Ooooo, So cute!

Look how long her hair is getting?! What am I going to do when it starts getting into her eyes....brush it too the side? Use clips or bows to hold it back?

She's starting to chunk up alittle. See the start of a double chin.

The cuteness is just too much!

He jumps!

2011-11-10T03:00:00.000-08:00

This never fails to make me laugh!

Meet Juno

2011-11-08T02:00:00.000-08:00

Seriously cute huh?!

Juno is our new dog. She has pretty big paw prints to fill, but I'm not expecting her too. That'll be the hardest part, not comparing her to Zoey. She is her own self and I feel she will be wonderful in her own ways.

So far she's super sweet and not too much extra trouble. She's really quite content to sit at your feet (that's her favorite spot) and sleep.

Dane & Juno are fast friends. He's been great at helping me by taking her out to potty and run around the yard.

I know it's crazy for me to take on any extra things right now. I am busy enough. However, We really do miss having a dog around here. Brad will be laid off in another month and will be around to help more. It'll be fine. Plus I think Juno will be a great distraction for Dane and maybe he'll give Olive alittle breathing room.

Nutty Cousins

2011-11-07T02:00:00.000-08:00

At the October family birthday party.

Dane having some silly fun with his cousins :)

Olive Eats

2011-11-05T02:00:00.000-07:00

Now that Olive has reached the 5 month mark she gets to try some rice cereal made thin with breast milk. She reacted better than Dane did and toward the end was opening her mouth and reaching out for the spoon.

It was morning and she'd just woken up so she looks a little sleepy eyed still.

Not quite swallowing it down and pushing it out with her tongue.

She did manage to learn to swallow some of it down and give us some silly faces.

and the classic look....."Why are you giving me this crap?!"

Sillyness

2011-11-03T02:00:00.000-07:00

Dane making Olive laugh. This house is a complete zoo.......and I LOVE IT!

* Olive cut her first 2 teeth already. One on October 26th and the next one on October 27th, a few days shy of being 5 months old. Kinda early. I guess she's in a hurry.

Preschool Festival

2011-11-01T02:00:00.000-07:00

Dane also had a fall festival party the morning of trick or treat night. It was a busy fun filled day! Because of the rain we had gotten Brad didn't have to work and was able to take Dane to school that day and see him in the popcorn box costume I'd made him. He looked sooo cute!

Surrender Me Treasure!

2011-10-30T07:44:00.000-07:00

Trick or Treat night always starts with a stop at our neighbors house before we head into Zanesfield so that Dane can see Madi.

He was in serious shy mode and Madi had to tickle the pirate to get him to crack a smile.

Momo and Papa joined in the fun! This was the first time Papa was able to join us and now that he's retired he can come every time! We LOVED having him trick or treat too.

The favorite stop of the night! The Inn. The gorilla and chicken give out full sized candy bars and scare the kids with an air horn honk :)

Olive & Her Daddy

2011-10-26T02:00:00.000-07:00

She's a daddy's girl no doubt. These jeggings are my favorite article of clothing she has. They go with everyting and are comfortable for her. Plus, they are just SO ADORABLE! I hope that they still have them at The Children's Place cause they next time I am there I'm going to purchase them in the next size up :)

Dane diapered Wilson and then decided to breastfeed him. Ha!

Full Moon Festival-2011

2011-10-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

My pirate & My Cupcake

Dane let me put black eyeliner around his eyes and make it all smudgy! He looked VERY pirate like :)

@ 4 1/2 months

2011-10-22T02:00:00.000-07:00

Seriously she can't get any cuter! She's the sweetest little thing.

I'm completely in love with her, just can't get enough!

~She LOVES her two middle fingers and they are in her mouth most of the time.

~ She smiles as soon as Brad walks in the room and in the most bashful way. I think she's gonna be a daddy's girl.

~She's started to really eat.....finally! She's almost doubled the amount of milk she would normally eat in a day. Going from approx 8 ounces a day (while I'm at work) to 13 ounces! You go girl!

~ She drools all day long and loves to chew on teethers.....Working on some teeth already?

~For the the first time since born she's slept for 8 hours straight! Thank you lord! I got 6 1/2 hours of uninterruped sleep before she woke up to eat! and then another 3 before she woke up again. WOW, Amazing how 1 good night of sleep can make you feel.

Carve It!

2011-10-21T02:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday evening pumpkin carving :)

My wonderful, and most beautiful nieces Mariana and Catrina came over for the fun too.

Brad and Dane working on scraping out the goo. Brad was in no sort of spooky mood and couldn't concentrate so he quit shortly after starting. Marinana finshed his pumpkin for him. What a party pooper!

Catrina concentrating on carving. She chose a template with 2 ghosts.

Mariana was in charge of Olive's pumpkin, I gave her the design plan and she executed it perfectly. Thanks Mari!

Oh my! Can't stop laughing about this. She cracks me up.

Look at the smile! I think she likes her pumpkin :)

Since it wasn't quite dark out we close the doors and shut the lights off so we could see what they look like all lit up. Oooooo, So spooky :)

From left to right: Brad's pumpkin that Mari did, Olive's pumpkin, Mine, Catrina's and Dane's (Brad helped him)

Love this. Halloween 2011

Pumpkin Painting

2011-10-19T02:00:00.000-07:00

Painting the pumpkin that he picked on his school field trip. Notice the furrowed brow, serious concentration going on here.

Very, very serious when the tongue emerges during a project, he must not be interrupted!

What a cutie.

* Dane and I have had alot of quality time together in the last week. I had the week off work and Brad was working 11 hours a day 6 days a week! We've missed having him around but Dane has been so good and so much fun! In addition to the field trip I went on, I've arranged the bowling party, afternoon creative time, cookie baking, and a mother/son nightly soccer match in the back yard.

What Cool Cousins!

2011-10-17T02:00:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday night I arranged a little bowling party and forgot my camera!!! Can't believe it! What a bummer! Anyway, Cat and Mari came home with us for a sleepover and then stayed the next day to help out and play.

They had a little soccer game in the back yard.

Then Mari took my camera to have a little fun taking pictures of Dane.

Birthday Cookout

2011-10-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

Papa Peterson turns the BIG 50! YIKES :)

Dane playing with Ellie.

Papa Peterson's mom and Olive

After-dinner cards.

Breanna teaches Olive how to play Euchere.

Field Trip!

2011-10-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

Feeding the goats.

Dane loved the mini zip line! He rode that 3 times!

Pumpkin and gourd picking

Dane following Delilah and her mommmy

It was a busy 2 hours and we had a great time!

Homecoming

2011-10-11T02:00:00.000-07:00

For the first time in 11 years I went to a high school football game. My nephew is a sophmore and is on the football team and the homecoming court this year.

So here's the family that came to cheer him on....

From left to right: Olive, Dad, Mom, Claire, Dane, Elise, Mari, & Trena.

Second row: Brandon, John, Zeke, Stacey and Grandpa Peck.

Momo with 3 of her 5 granddaughters.

Kelvin & Briana

What a cutie:)

Pumpkin Pickin'

2011-10-08T09:58:00.000-07:00

Our annual pick a pumpkin that looks like you day at Wenger's Produce!

Brad was working and couldn't come this year so we invited some family/friends to come with us. Ellie and Dane had a great time!

They are sooo cute.

Plans are to carve them up next weekend. I have a special plan for Olive's :)

*Tomorrow is the preschool field trip to the pumpkin farm. Should be a good time.

So Wicked!

2011-10-07T07:01:00.000-07:00

She's so.....

Totally Wicked Cute!

I love, love, love October! I love the changing colors, the perfect weather, and there's so many fun things to do. Today we're headed to the pumpkin patch! Check back in later this week to see the pumpkins we've picked that resemble us and then later in the month when they get carved into spooky faces.

Also this month....

Dane's preschool field trip to Leeds Pumpkin Farm (I'm a chaperone)

Birthday party for Papa and Momo Peterson

Full Moon Harvest Festival

Birthday party for Dad, Grandma, Elise, Zeke

Trick or Treat Night

Wilson

2011-10-02T02:00:00.000-07:00

On Thursday Dane had his Teddy Bear picnic for preschool.

Wilson is Dane's teddy bear now but he use to be mine when I was a child. My Grandpa Slemmons gave me this bear when I was about the age of 7. He's special to me and now's he special to Dane too. I had never named him but Dane decided to name him Wilson and I think it suits him.

Sunday Best

2011-09-30T02:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm the crazy lady that whipped out her camera at church! Brad looked at me like I was a lunatic, but seriously we were one of the first people there so it wasn't that big of a deal. Besides, I HAD to. Look how cute my little family is?! and Olive is sitting on the bible :)

Olive @ 4 Months

2011-09-27T02:00:00.000-07:00

Yup, 4 months have gone by since this beautiful baby entered the world.

Hard to believe, time sure does fly.

I love her more everyday. There is nothing I wouldn't do for her. Climb a mountain to capture the moon? Sure no problem.

Stats: Olive had her 4month check up on Monday and she was 12lbs 14oz and 24inches long.
Running at about the 50% percentile for both. Maybe she's gonna be more petite like her mom. The Dr. said she's perfectly healthy :)

Campfire Night

2011-09-25T08:02:00.001-07:00

Saturday night campfire/cookout on the hill.

Hayride time!

Dane and his buddy Taylor.

Oooo, My handsome husband ;)

(Why do men get better looking with age?.....not fair)

The whole crew.

Me and my partner for the evening .

and she crashes.

The night started with a hayride, then potluck dinner, another hayride, a scavanger hunt for the kiddos, live music, and campfire. The best part is that this happens 2 houses down at our neighbor Kathleen's house so we don't have far to go.

Thanks for the invite Cori!

Snack Time

2011-09-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

For the 1st time I made Dane 'ants on a log' for snack time. How embarrassing that he's almost 4 and I've never made this for him! It's mostly because I HATE celery and I NEVER cook with it so it's not in the house. However, I did recently decide to buy some for a recipe and it did turn out pretty good.

So with the leftover celery I decided to make 'ants on a log' for Dane.

He wasn't so sure about it. Here he is with a furrowed brow putting on the ants (raisins)

Deciding to finally take a bite after some persuasion.

He LOVED it :)
Especially when he'd snap into the celery and the juice from it splashed out to hit me!

Hey There Sunshine!

2011-09-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

More lovin' by big brother.

My handsome boy.

On The Farm

2011-09-14T02:00:00.000-07:00

Just chillin at the Boysel Farm on Saturday evening.

Olive and I just relaxing in the grass.

Wow check out that head of crazy hair!

My Best

2011-09-12T08:24:00.000-07:00

My best friend with the best of me.....my children.

Ellen meet's Olive for the 1st time.

Dane takes her for a fourwheeler ride.

and Kirk is kind enough to go swing with Dane for a minute.

* We had a great time. I love when I get to see her and Kirk and now that they have moved a little closer it will happen more often :) I'm thinking we plan a trip after the new year to visit them!

My Dad Cuddles

2011-09-10T02:00:00.000-07:00

No other words necessary.

Bitter Sweet Moment

2011-09-08T17:50:00.001-07:00

Dane's 1st day of preschool was today. Many thanks to my dad for agreeing to take Dane to and from preschool on Tues and Thursdays since I'll be at work. I REALLY appreciate it and I know Dane thinks it's pretty special for him take the time to do it.

On the way over to my mom's this morning Dane said "Mom, Can you teach me how to spell my name again so I can tell my teacher." I got a big kick out of that, how sweet is he?! So all the way we practiced saying D, A, N, E.

I think it went pretty well. I was able to meet them over there and take some pictures but not able to stay for the whole time. He didn't cry and either did I so I'm gonna consider it a successful first day.

I snapped the above picture before walking in and then Dane said "Hey mom, I want you to take my picture over here too!" I think he was pretty excited.

Then he wanted his picture taken drinking out of the water fountain :)

One of his teachers, Miss Cande showing Dane the train table.

Then a few other boys join in.

My dad later told me that while the other boys were quite content to just sit there and play with the trains on the track Dane wanted to take the train track apart and reconfigure it. Yeah, That's pretty typical of him.

He is his father's son.

@ 14 weeks

2011-09-07T02:00:00.000-07:00

Our bed has turned out to be the backdrop to most pictures.

I guess we spend alot of time there.

Here's Miss Olive Lynn @ 3 1/2 months looking oh so cute!

*Dane starts preschool tomorrow. I hope it goes well cause I think it'll be really good for him. Still though, I'm a nervous anxious wreck about it. I am excited for him but it's hard to let go. Hard to see him walk off and into something new without me.

He's a Pro!

2011-09-05T12:56:00.000-07:00

All decked out in his racing gear.

Baby Babbles

2011-09-03T02:00:00.000-07:00

Olive sure has a lot to say these days.

I absolutely love her squeals, I think she's going to be a lot of fun.

Just Hangin' Out

2011-08-30T02:00:00.000-07:00

Just chillin' out in our jammies and snugglin in bed.

I was alarmed when I uploaded these pictures and noticed just how big Dane is getting! Wow. All stretched out and laying next to Olive he just seems very BIG now.

As always she gazes at Dane.

It's true love. For now ;)

*Dane went school clothes shopping with Breanna and Momo Peterson and now he's all set to go! I've blocked out about 40 minutes from my schedule on the 1st day so that I can meet Dane and my Dad over there and get some 1st day pictures. I hope it goes well.

@ 12 weeks

2011-08-28T02:00:00.000-07:00

3 months old already!? Sigh......Where does the time go?

In the last few weeks the hair on the top of Olive's head decided that it WILL NOT lay down. Oh, Geez. Her new nickname is 'Crazy Hair'. It used to lay so neat all the time, I don't know what happened.

Kinda hard to see in these pics, I'll try to get a better one to showcase the hair next time.

Boy does Olive just LOVE her big brother! All I know is that he will have to be present at all her photo shoots. Dane gets the best smiles outta her :)

Balloon Fest

2011-08-26T08:09:00.001-07:00

At the All Ohio Balloon Fest in Marysville last weekend.

I'm guessing the main draw this year was the Darth Vader balloon.

I'm not even a Star Wars fan but it was pretty cool. The major disappointment was that it wasn't launched with the other balloons :( Actually, It never was launched. It stayed tethered to the ground the whole time. Bummer

The sky jumpers were new to Balloon Fest this year and super cool.

Dane loved it!

* We got the call that Dane was being offered a position in the Marysville Methodist Creative Preschool (we'd been on the wait list for several months now) Wow. I'm still not sure whether I want to puke or cry but he's really excited about it. So starting on Sept 8th Dane will attend preschool on Tues and Thurs from 9-11:15. I think it'll be good for him.

My Best Friend Is A Snail

2011-08-24T02:00:00.000-07:00

One of the very first gifts for Olive was from my friend Ellen. Arriving in the mail was the cutest little yellow onsie with a snail riding on the back of a bird.

The brand is 'My Best Friend Is A Snail'.

Num Num Num

2011-08-22T02:00:00.000-07:00

Oooo, Look what I got! A baby bullet so I can make Olive super yummy baby food :)

So excited, Can't wait to try it out.

Thanks Momo and Papa Peterson for the belated baby shower gift!

Love it!!

A Pool Party

2011-08-20T02:00:00.000-07:00

A family get together and pool party.

This water gun was a big hit!

Cupcake time

Stacey, John and Olive

Aunt Diane with Olive

Done

2011-08-18T02:00:00.000-07:00

It's complete. It's got a porch now.

Bath Time

2011-08-16T02:00:00.000-07:00

Olive loves bath-time and I love Olive.

She's got the greatest head of hair! She and everyone who see's her has to run their hand through it. I'll be so sad if it decides to fall out. Which I think happens sometimes around the 3-4 month mark for some babies.

A Boy And His Toys

2011-08-14T02:00:00.000-07:00

I made Dane a garage for all his toys out of a box because I'm a super awesome mom ;) He also requested the 'stay out' sign so no one would try to steal his dirt bikes and motorcycles.

It's designed to look like our garage.

Today it's suppose to be getting a porch.

Movin' On Up

2011-08-12T10:10:00.000-07:00

Olive moves into a crib.

Coincidence or not she's also starting to sleep a little better as well and by better I mean every other night or so she'll sleep for 4-5 hours straight. Which means I'm sleeping alittle better. Which makes me slightly less crazy but just ever so slightly :)

* Totally just noticed a few days ago that Olive is flipping me the bird in the one photo of her on the activity mat practicing tummy time. Ha! Scroll on down to check it out.

Hello Diva :)

2011-08-09T16:22:00.000-07:00

Olive @ the fair waiting patiently for her dad and brother to finish riding rides.

Sunday Funday & Friends

2011-08-07T14:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning we got a call from The Banta Family inviting us to come along with them to Youngs Dairy for breakfast and then to the Urbana fair.

Sounded just perfect to me!

I've never been to the Urbana fair. It's so much better than Logan County's! The best part........The rides are included in the fairs admission!

Brad, Dane, Taylor, Lincoln and Jen aboard the Dizzy Dragon ride.

Dane waiting for Taylor to get her balloon.

Brad & Dane ride The Sizzler. Seriously can't believe this ride didn't make Dane puke, I had a hard time just watching it!

Still can't believe Taylor and Dane rode this!

Dane liked it so much that he and Brad came back for more later on.

(Thanks for asking us to come along, We had fun!)

Activity Mat

2011-08-04T02:00:00.000-07:00

Olive loves to lay on her activity mat.

It has a mirror she can gaze into and she's always smiling at herself.

A little tummy time to work those arm, neck and back muscles :)

Isn't she a beauty?

"Who me?"

and the truth is revealed...... She still hates tummy time!

But it's getting better everyday

She Rolls

2011-08-02T02:00:00.000-07:00

This is how I found Olive in the middle of her nap. She rolled from side to belly. What surprised me most is that she kept right on a nappin'! She had previously hated "tummy time" I guess she's changed her mind :)

Sand Play

2011-07-31T10:43:00.000-07:00

To keep Dane out of my hair one evening last week Brad ushered him outside to play in the sandbox. I had to take a picture of this because it cracked me up. You can tell that Brad's a heavy equipment operator, he had this sand graded to perfection! Perfectly level with 3 ponds and some sticks for trees. We decided that all that was needed was a few barbies to lay on the "beach".........Maybe next year they can borrow Olive's.

Morning Time Lovin'

2011-07-25T02:00:00.000-07:00

Early morning cuddle session between Dane & Olive :)

Alot of people have been commenting on how Olive looks just like Dane..... I don't see it yet.

I do know that she looks just like Brad did as a baby and when I get a chance I'll try to post a couple pictures to prove it to you.

Olive's eyes are of no particular color yet. How odd. They are neither brown, nor blue, nor green and are still a pretty gray color. I expected them to change and be dark brown already but what if they stayed this "no color"? Wouldn't that be cool!?

* Back to work in 2 days! (gulp)

8 weeks

2011-07-23T05:59:00.000-07:00

I wish I could remember who got her this cute little outfit so I could thank them. She looks adorbable in it. So if you did and your reading this, Thank You!

Can you guess why she has a big smile on her face? It's Dane, he was standing beside me. She just thinks he's the funniest.

* We've been practicing with Olive and trying to get her to take a bottle. She doesn't particularly dig it. I have concerns she may starve to death when I return to work. Seriously. Brad thinks I'm being irrational. He's probably right. I've been reading lots of articles with tips on how to make the trasition work and most of things we do. I'd been the one trying to give it to her and one of the articles said that babies can smell their mother within 20 feet! That's amazing! and some babies won't readily take a bottle if they can see or even smell their mother. So you know what happened yesterday? I left the house, went outside and sat on the porch and Voila! Olive took the bottle. Not a lot mind you but she did suck on it and swallow some of the milk. Thank god now she won't starve.

A Birthday Party

2011-07-22T02:00:00.000-07:00

Every year Dane looks forward to getting an invite to Wyat's birthday party. They always have lots of fun games to play and alot of other little boys to play with.

Happy 6th Birthday to Wyat, Thanks for inviting us!

Pinata Time!

Water Slide

Pin the tail on the donkey.

Musical chairs.

A minute to win it game where the boys had to walk a circle while balancing an egg on a spoon.

* Back to work in 4 days. I think I'm going to throw up. Lord give me strength. I'm not ready to leave my babies behind. God bless their grandparents for watching them while I'm at work. I'd never be able to leave them with strangers.

Big Brother Love

2011-07-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

Little Olive love, love, loves her big brother! Morning is Olive's happiest time, in that sense she must be like her father. I hate early mornings. Anyway, Every morning Dane says "Good morning Olive, Your so beautiful" over and over in the most sing songy voice ever and she just smiles and coos. She just follows him with her eyes everywhere he goes.

Dane can also be a "brother" out of the blue and do something completely mean like pull her hair, wipe a booger on her, etc. For that sort of thing, he of course gets scolded but I like to think that someday she'll pay him back for all that torture and I think for the first time 10 times or so I'll just look the other way. (smirk)

* Poor baby Olive had her well baby check today and 2 immunizations to which she did not enjoy and neither did I. She's currently 10lbs 8oz (50th percentile) and 23 inches (90th percentile) So just like Dane she's long and lean.

Lo. Co. Fair

2011-07-18T10:37:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that Dane had a fever we took him to the Logan County Fair last night. Yeah, He has a fever and no I don't know why. He seems fine otherwise. Anyway, I never would ordinarily take him anywhere when he's not feeling well but we'd mentioned the demolition derby and he really wanted to go. So we did.

While on the way to the stadium to watch the derby Dane saw this mechanical bull and wanted to ride it. I think Brad and I were surprised cause he'd been pretty quiet and shy-like due to being sick all day and I figured Brad would pay and then Dane wouldn't get near the thing.

Not the case though.

Here he is riding the bull!

He also enjoyed the Derby! What little boy wouldn't enjoy cars purposely crashing into each other :)

* Dane's fever just popped up yesterday mid-morning. He had told me earlier that day that he head was tired but I just giggled cause it sounded like another one of his silly things to say. I thought to check it when he came in from fourwheeler riding and laid down on the couch. Dane doesn't ever lay down so I knew something was up. It was 101.4. Huh? Otherwise he seems fine so we just alternated Tylenol and Aspirin. Today when he woke up the fever was gone and he was his normal mischievous self. However it started to creep back up toward 100 at lunchtime.

I'm wondering if he's getting an ear infection or something. We have done ALOT of swimming recently. He hasn't complained of an ear ache though.

Ahhh, That's better!

2011-07-15T07:07:00.001-07:00

Not everyone will find this post helpful or even interesting but I just have to say that the new Medela Softfit Breastshield is awesome! It's just so much better than the original. I don't know when they came up with this but if they had it available when I was pumping for Dane, I didn't know about it. It has a super soft silicone like cup that eliminates that pinching feeling that that the standard plastic ones can give you (at least to me)

Here's what it looks like.

The only thing is you have to buy a separate connector.
*As you can probably tell I started pumping a few weeks ago. I'm trying to save up for going back to work, 12 days left of maternity leave. Just the thought makes my stomach churn. Ugg. Not ready at all but truth be told I never would be ready. It's just never a good time to leave your precious baby behind.

It's really hard to work in something else during the day as well. So after I feed Olive I set up the pump and pump away. Usually while Dane is driving me crazy running a muck and creating all sorts of chaos. Which makes it super hard to relax and let the milk down. Which makes pumping take that much longer. Then the stress of thinking I won't have enough milk stored up for her, etc, etc.

6 weeks

2011-07-11T02:00:00.000-07:00

Little Olive is 6 weeks old already. Time flys.

Swim Lessons Recap

2011-07-08T15:02:00.001-07:00

Everyday for the past 2 weeks Dane has participated in swimming lessons at Scott's Pool in Marysville. It didn't start off too smoothly. Actually, For the first 3 days it was awful. He refused to get in the pool and the instructors had to physically rip him off of my body! I was in shock that he was acting this way. Afterall, he took lessons last year, and we'd been practicing everything he'd learned in the tub.

So when I over heard the instructor say "Dane buddy why are you so scared, Have you ever been swimming before?" and Dane responded with "No" I nearly fell off my chair!

Seriously Dane? Really?!

This next picture is from day 1. Notice the face he's making. That pretty much summed it up.

It did get better, thank god. Day 4 and 5 were much better and he was actually having some fun. Our trip to Kentucky where Dane and Brad played in the pool all weekend really helped cause when we returned to lessons that next week he was a changed boy.

Here he is with a look of determination before he hops on the diving board.

and takes a giant sized superman leap toward one of his instructors.

and a close-up of her face because she was not expecting that! I wish I'd kept on shooting because he hit her with such force it knocked her right off her float stick and they both went under! (giggles, so funny)

Her gave her a break the next time.

The following day.

Last day of lessons and all smiles!! Dane graduates to Level 2 next year!

Kentucky Fun

2011-07-07T04:24:00.001-07:00

We spent our holiday weekend in Kentucky visiting with family and having fun!

Despite the fact that it was super hot (around 90 degrees) I talked Brad into going down the road to a greenhouse so we could pick blackberries. Brad wasn't the least bit excited about it, but I thought Dane would enjoy it.

Then we headed back to Gram & Tam's to cool off by swimming in the pool.

Olive was just chillin' under the umbrella.

Up Close & Personal

2011-07-03T02:00:00.000-07:00

Look what Brad found in the yard! A baby (we think) hummingbird. It couldn't fly. How sad! I've never seen a hummingbird this close up before. I was still terrified that it was going to "come to" and fly up to peck my eyes out! Those beaks totally freak me out!

Can you feel it?

2011-07-01T02:00:00.000-07:00

The love that they have for each other is amazing, you can just feel it in the pictures.

Grandma Burrey's thing is to quiety sing 'A Bushel & A Peck' into Dane's ear. She's been doing that since he was born and everytime it's like for 1 minute the world stops moving. Dane's calm and quiet and just listens to her until the song is finished. Now that Olive is here Grandma B sings to her too with the same effect.

"I love you a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck"

"A Barrel and a heap, barrel and a heap and I'm talking in my sleep about.....Dane"

Great Grandma Burrey with Dane & Olive

Build N Grow #3

2011-06-30T02:00:00.000-07:00

Another Build N Grow @ Lowe's.

Dane and Brad build a 'waving flag' for the upcoming 4th of July.

-We start swimming lessons this week. Should be fun but challenging as this time I will be getting 2 kids ready. Luckily, I will have some help a few days where my dad and or mom will be meeting us there to help in case Dane needs or wants someone to get in the water with him.

-Dane still has a massive attitude problem but the 'trash bag' technique is helping the situation and I plan to continue to use it. He absolutely hates having a toy thrown away!

-Olive has had some good nights lately. Usually starts off with a nice 3 1/2 to 4 hour stretch and then follows with another 2-3 hour. She's becoming more vocal, making more noises than just crys and smiling more.

Already?

2011-06-28T13:31:00.000-07:00

Olive turns 1 month old.

Here she is modeling her swimsuit that Breanna bought her :)

She was particularly cheery this afternoon and I caught some of her 1st real smiles on camera! I was so excited, Isn't she cute!?

Summit Fun

2011-06-27T06:48:00.000-07:00

For the first time since Olive was born we loaded up the fourwheelers and headed to The Summit for some fun. For those of you who don't know, The Summit is a chunk of land that the Grimes family own together and is used for hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, fourwheeler riding,etc. Dane loves it there.

The boys rode the trails.

Then headed down the drive to play in the Mac O Chee.

Looking under rocks for crawdads.

So Blessed

2011-06-24T02:00:00.000-07:00

Just a little shout out to our family.

I am so thankful for each one of you. We've had some trying times here lately adjusting to a new baby and knowing that I can count on you to help me out is so priceless. I can't thank you enough. I wouldn't know what to do without you.

Look at these little miracles! Thank you god for these babes.

* I remembered a tip that a patient of mine gave me today regarding the attitude that a 3 year old can develop and different techniques to disipline them. Something that worked for her was a technique that I call 'The Trash Bag' I tried it this evening (wenesday) and it's worked so far. When Dane is bad, says something bad or is disrespectful I get to choose a toy and toss it into a trash bag. If Dane is good, he gets a toy back. So far so good. He has a couple toys in the bag right now and if he's good I'll give one back before bedtime.

Wish me luck ;)

Grimes Family 2011

2011-06-22T06:18:00.000-07:00

Just a few photos from our family photo shoot done by

Cindy Knull Photography.

Olive @ 1 week old.

* This is going to be a REALLY LONG day. Olive was kind enough to sleep for 4 straight hours before she decided to be up and fussy for 2 solid hours last night. Oh, I'm tired this morning. Then Dane woke up at 6 and wouldn't go back to sleep and his attitude leaves something to be desired.

I had plans to try and have some fun today, maybe take Dane to the pool but I'm not taking him anywhere. I'm entertaining the idea of pawning him off on somebody else so I can gain some sanity. He's good for everyone else! Why is he being such a brat? Where did I go wrong? I tried so hard to make this transition as smooth and easy as possible for him.

Makes me feel like a bad parent that I can't seem to handle this.

I'm sending up a S.O.S to god.

Father's Day

2011-06-20T09:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day Dad!

No Longshore get together is complete without a little goofing off!

Of course the kids had to try out the Lucy mask too!

Sleeping Beauty

2011-06-18T02:00:00.000-07:00

June 7th 2011

Family Day

2011-06-16T02:00:00.000-07:00

Scott's Family Day @ The Zoo!

The entire clan

(minus Morgan and Kelsey who hadn't arrived yet.)

Morgan and Olive

The petting zoo.

This poor goats fur never looked so good :)

Dane's 1st trip to the waterpark. He loved it, now I'm concerned we'll never be able to make a trip just to the zoo without him throwing a fit about not going to the waterpark.

from left to right: Catrina, Claire, Elise, Dane and Brad

Olive Meets 'The Greats!'

2011-06-14T02:00:00.000-07:00

Olive meets her Great Grandma Longshore!

Olive meets Great Grandma Slemmons!

Oh, Dane. Must you always be the clown? What do I expect?

He is part Longshore!

Water Play

2011-06-12T08:54:00.000-07:00

Last week was SO HOT. Not that I'm complaining, it beats the constant rain.

In an effort to keep my 3 year old with a major attitude happy I busted out the sprinkler, and it worked to keep him pleasant for most of the day.

In about 10 minutes he went from this....

to this.

Why do kids never leave their swim wear on? Makes me wonder why I even bother to put it on him in the first place. Oh well.

* Oh for goodness sake. Can I not catch a break? or rather I thought I had. After a long and not so pleasant pregnancy I was lucky enough to have a relatively quick simple delivery and a quick easy recovery and then 2 weeks later..........

-Fever

-Body ache

-Cramps

-Headache

-Abdominal pain

-a general feeling of death

Diagnosis: Endometritis or rather an infection in my uterus. Why me? Well, No particular reason my Dr. says... "just bad luck" Awesome. I'm feeling better though, a good strong round of antibiotics and I'm good to go again.

1 Week

2011-06-07T12:02:00.000-07:00

Olive @ 1 week old

How do you stop yourself from kissing this?!

Olive is a really good baby. She doesn't cry much. Maybe a handful of times a day and mostly because she is gassy or needs to poop. She doesn't just cry for fun. She's sleeping better too, only waking up every 3 hours or so and even 4 hours one time!

Now, if only I could get Dane to sleep in alittle and somehow stop the terrible attitude he's been having. It's absolutely unbeliveable! I can't even describe the last 2 days here. Just plain terrible.

Friends

2011-06-06T02:11:00.000-07:00

We had some visitors over to see Dane and Olive.

Rylee is Dane's friend. They have been buddies since she was born.

She is only 7 weeks younger than him and super cute!

They brought a big brother git for Dane.... A squirt gun! He's been eye balling these at the store and wanted one really bad, so he's pretty happy about it.

Here Birdie Birdie

2011-06-04T13:59:00.000-07:00

Our annual craft session of making bird feeders out of pine cones, peanut butter and bird seed.