JustJessie

What dat spells?

Grayson's reading skills have really taken off lately, probably encouraged by the competitiveness a classroom can bring.  At home he was the number one reader, so why try to get better?  At school he's good, but there are a couple who are better.  For my perfectionist son, that just won't do.  It is so much nicer to read with him now.  It used to be like pulling teeth to get him to sound out a word, and now he does it everywhere we go.  Anytime we are in the car, he is in the backseat reading words from signs or billboards.  He even read me Hop on Pop the other day.

With all the attention Grayson gets for reading, Grant is determined that he can do it too.  He always picks up a book when Grayson finishes and mimics what he can remember from it.  My favorite thing though, is when he comes to me with a book and asks "What dat spells?"  always followed by, "Oh! Okay.  Now, what dat names?"  He'll keep it up as long as I will continue to play along. 

By the way, the new banner is compliments of Megan at Fleeting Moments, because she loves me! 

The Family Rock Star

My big brother Andy is a great musician.  He plays guitar, sings, writes... he does it all.  He also happens to be the man when it comes to home repair.  He has always been there for us to paint, tile, build, whatever we need.  A while back he bought his first home, and he asked me to paint something for his den.  I thought and thought of how to portray Andy without doing a portrait, and this is what came to me.  I'm not 100% sure it's finished, but I think it is.  So here you have it... "Family Rock Star."

Grayson, 6 months old

the original:

This one's not perfect, but I'm finished.  I posted it once and deleted it to touch up a few things, but I think I've done all I can do.

Enthralled

The object of his adoration:

Lost bits

It seems like for most of us, becoming a mom means losing bits of yourself here and there.  I used to love paint, but I haven't touched a canvas since Grayson was born.  Part of that was because my paintings used to be dark and moody, and Grayson brought so much sunshine into my life I couldn't paint that way anymore.  Then there's the pressure.  I never quite feel like a painting is finished, so I keep touching up and tweaking it and am never truly satisfied with how it looks.  Seriously, my palms are sweating right now because I know you are all going to see this one. 

Thanks to the encouragement of friends like this one and this one I have decided to find this lost part of who I am this year.  This is the first of what I hope will be many paintings to share, and my first attempt at people EVER!  I'm feeling a little queasy about sharing it with the world, so I'm going to publish now, before I change my mind!

Grant's Blogging Debut

My mom says I've been tagged by Dante to tell you 8 random things about myself.  There's not much about me you don't know from my mom, so I think I will tell you 8 names I answer to around here. 

1.  Johnny G  - (my first name is Jonathan) This is what my mom calls me when she can't get my attention by saying "Grant."  I like to make mom say my name by doing things like standing on the back of the couch or balancing on the seat of the potty or my personal favorite, climbing into the refrigerator and trying to close the door.  The point is, she says "Grant" so much that sometimes I just stop hearing it.  If she switches to "Johnny G" sometimes I hear her again.

2.  Mr. Stinky-stinker-pants - I bet you can guess when she calls me that.  It has to do with stinky pants.

3.  Grant-potato, or potato-baby - I'm not sure why she calls me that.  She says it when she's smiling, so I know it doesn't mean I'm in trouble.  It's kind of embarrassing when we're around other people, though.  If she calls me that in front of other people, I smile and run away from her.

4.  Lil' Bubba - Grayson is the one who calls me that.  He's so great, I would let him call me anything.  He plays with me a lot even though I'm smaller, and even though I sometimes make him mad on purpose.  It's just so fun to watch people get mad sometimes.  It makes me giggle.

5.  Daddy's Boy - Only Daddy calls me that.  I love it when he does, because mommy pretends to cry.  Then I run to her and kiss her and say "Mommy's Boy!"  And then Daddy cries and I run to him... Get the picture?  It's a fun game, cause everyone is looking at me.

6.  Bull - My Dado calls me bull.  Usually he is laughing when he says it.  He mostly calls me that when I stand up for what I want (by crying, bossing, stamping my foot) until I get it.  Then he tells my mom I am "one bull headed young 'un."  Whatever that means.  It must be a good thing, because he laughs when he says it.

7.  Copper-dog - This one was my idea.  If I am crawling around the house and making puppy sounds, I won't listen unless they call me Copper-dog.  I really like it when momma gives me food and water in a bowl so I can eat like Copper-dog, too.

8.  JONATHAN GRANT KEITH - If I hear that one, I usually run and hide. Or work up a good cry.  It usually means I did something really sneaky,  and I better find my extra cute face and put it on quick!

So, now you know 8 random things about me.  Blogging is fun, I think I'll have one when I get as big as Grayson.  Now I have to tag some people... hmm.. How about Sparky and Zach and Adelaide.  I'm supposed to tag more, but the other blog babies I know have done it already!

Pitiful Alabama Snow

We actually had snow here last night.  It wasn't much, but it is more than we have had since we moved back from Kentucky.  The boys made the most of it, playing outside until dark.

Grayson trying to catch snowflakes for the first time in four years!  The snow was really sporadic at first, and it was so funny.  Every time we sang "Shakin' Down the Sugar" by Laurie Berkner, the snow fell faster.  When we quit, so did the snow.  A great coincidence, but Grayson was sure we were magic!

Making snake trails in the dust.

Asking our neighbors if they want to play catch.  They said "Moo."  He took that for a yes.  We drew quite a bovine crowd yesterday, actually.  All the cows in the pasture gathered at the fence, and the lead cow (that solid brown one there) parleyed with the boys for quite some time.  It was pretty funny.  Everytime they mooed, he mooed right back.  The boys were in hysterics by the time it was over!

Braving the chill

 

No More New Kid

{I couldn't help taking this picture.  The hoodie, the mp3 player, and the serious expression were just too much for this mama to resist!}

In the bath Sunday night, Grayson told Jeff, "I can't wait to go to school tomorrow.  I won't be the new kid anymore!"  Not that being the new kid was so bad.  He had a great first week.  Aside from one instance where another kid called him "girl's boy" because he was tiptoeing around with some of the girls (ladies' man would have been a much more appropriate term for Grayson), and the confusion over the boy sitting next to him in class, his week was perfect.  What was the confusion about his neighbor you ask?  Mainly that he was, in fact, a boy.  See, he has longish curly hair and a high pitched voice and his mom sends him to school in very babyish clothes.  Grayson kept telling me about the girls who sat next to him, and when he finally remembered their names, they were McKenna and John.  We had a little talk that night and set him straight.

So, fastforward to last night.  Grayson had been kind of quiet about school, not offering as much information as is usual for him.  Then, just before supper, he starts to cry.  No... wailing would be a better term for it.  As it turns out, there are an odd number of kids in Grayson's class, and all the learning centers are set up for two kids at a time (2 computers, 2 set of headphones, etc.).  Every week they draw someone's name out of a hat, and that person has to do the learning centers alone for the whole week.  The centers basically fill any free time they have in the class.  On the first day of Grayson's second week of school, his name came out of the hat.  So, in his own words, " I have to play alone EVERYDAY, and I don't get to talk to ANYBODY or have ANY FRIENDS and then when I get home Grant is sleepy so he can't play and I'll NEVER get to play with anybody and I have to be lonely for the WHOLE WEEK and a week takes FOREVER!"  All this punctuated with many sobs and hiccups and followed by a severe case of the heebie-jeebies.  I'm trying to be fair in this, really I am.  I explained to Grayson that by not being the new kid, he has to play by all the rules.  School is fun, but it can't be fun all the time. 

On the other hand, I would expect different from a kindergarten teacher.  She should see that he is still too insecure to be put in this situation right now.  I mean, for goodness sake, give the boy an adjustment period before you make him an outcast for the week!  I intend to speak to her this morning (don't worry, I can fake calm and objective really well).  I don't want her to give him special treatment which might cause resentment from the other kids; I just want her to be aware of what he's feeling (and a small part of me wants her to feel intense shame for causing it.  But I keep telling that part of me to hush).   

Sorry for writing a book rather than a blog post, I guess I had a lot to say!  Now tell me, what would you do in this situation: talk to the teacher, or leave it alone?

Seep-Ober

In all the hub-bub of Grayson starting school, I never told you guys about a big "first" in Grant's life.  Last Friday, he had his first sleepover away from home. 

To understand why this is such a big deal, you'd have to know a few things about Grant.  He is the kind of kid who loves his own bed.  He never naps on the couch, or in our bed, or anything like that.  Only his bed will do.  For this reason, and also because he is very much a momma's boy, no one has ever invited him to spend the night before. 

So Friday afternoon, I loaded up the boys and their suitcases, along with Grant's "Bears" (his blanket), his big dog shaped pillow, and his lullaby cd, and took them all to GaGa and Dado's.  Grant felt so big walking up to the door with a suitcase as big as he is, and telling everyone who would listen that he was going on a "seep-ober."