A Ray of Sunshine

What a beautiful little girl. She is a ray of sunshine in our lives.

Two...and good at it!

I will not speak the "Terrible Twos" into existence. I won't, I won't, I won't.



Have you ever looked up the synonyms of "terrible"? Some of my favorites are:

• Appalling
• Awe-inspiring (that could be good or bad)
• Beastly
• Dire
• Frightful
• Loathsome
• Shocking
• Unnerving

And might I add uncooperative to the mix?

We tried to get Jayden and Abbie's pictures taken on Saturday. Notice I said, tried. We actually scheduled an appointment, got the kiddos all dressed up and loaded in the car, drove all the way to Sacramento and paid, yes paid, for a someone to take their pictures while they cried, cried harder, refused to look at the camera, and, well, you get the picture. No pun intended.

Again, I will not speak the "Terrible Twos" into existence.

I will merely sit back with my cup of decaf and laugh at the fact that our favorite little boy does so many cute little things, has the best, most dimply smile on the planet, and used to love getting his picture taken but has decided that his word of the moment is simply, "nuh-uh" (translation: not gonna happen and you can't make me.)



So while I don't have a whole lotta dimply pictures to show off at the moment, there are a few. As for the rest, just know that we had a blast playing peek-a-boo this day.

I see your smile.


Oop, now it's gone.


Oh, there it is again.


Now it's gone again.


But whether smiling or not, he's still our favorite little boy. He's just 2...and good at it!



And by the way, some of my favorite antonyms of terrible are:

• Awe-inspiring (this time in a good way)
• Divine
• Enjoyable
• Groovy (for my hippie mama!)
• Peachy
• Pleasant
• Sensational
• Wondrous

Have a wondrous day!

What a Smile!

Baby Abbie is 2 months old now and her latest heart-melting move is to WOW us with her lovely smile. I think you'll agree that she is getting more and more beautiful every day!




She puts up with me clicking away (that's what she gets for having a mom who's a scrapbooker!), but she likes to stick her tongue out at me when she's had enough!




And here she is after a long, hard photo shoot. Pooped out (literally)!





I just love, love, love this little girl!!

Happy New Year!

Our New Years rocked. Literally.




We had a group of friends over to help us ring in the New Year and ring it in we did. Our friends Scott & Brandi brought the Xbox phenom "Rock Band" with them, complete with a drum set, 2 electric guitars and, much to Jayden's delight, a microphone. So the guys (and Ashlee :)) rocked out to 80s hits all night. It was a blast!



Of course, no party is a party without food. Specifically, chocolate...




When we weren't laughing too hard at the guys, we girls caught up on the latest and just enjoyed hanging out.



Jayden's little buddy Jace came ready to rock too. And he brought his mom and dad, Jake and Lori, to help him get down. You'd have to hear it to believe it, but Lori does a mean Louis Armstrong. Seriously.



We had a great time ringing in the new year with friends and family and hope you did too. We pray your 2009 is all you dream.


Happy New Year! 2009. Can you believe it??

The Magic of Christmas!

I love Christmas morning bed-head!

What fun we had watching Jayden bound down the hall to see if Santa made it down the chimney the night before. He didn't disappoint, both Jayden and Abbie made it on the good list this year. No coal in these stockings!

And while Corey came close to getting a lump of coal, a fishing license, among other things, made its way into his stocking this year. Just in time for his New Years Day fishing trip. Phew!

After opening our stockings, we dove into the presents under the tree. Jayden made out with nw clothes, tools, cars and the like and Mindy and Abbie weren't disappointed either. A new bag and some cute clothes for the girls in this house, just what was on their lists.

After presents and coffee, we got in our Christmas best and headed back to Me-maw and Papa's for more food, fun and of course basketball.

We hope your Christmas was as blessed as ours this year. I love the joy and cheer that people share this time of year and we pray that you and yours had a very Merry Christmas.

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great joy!

We certainly rejoiced at the birth of our very own star this year. Our friends John & Anna Hunnell got Abbie this adorable outfit. Isn't that about the cutest thing you've ever seen?

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

There's nothing like a Christmas with a new baby. Except Christmas with a new baby and a 2-year old, who (kinda) gets the whole Santa thing. What a fun Christmas this was in the Grant house this year!

Not only did we enjoy celebrating the birth of our Savior, we had a wonderful time rejoicing over the birth of our own precious baby girl, Abigail. And oh, the wonder of a child! Jayden had a blast digging into the presents under the tree that he had been longing to open. That we made it to Christmas morning with them still in tact is amazing!

This was our year to be in California with Mindy's side of the family so we spent Christmas Eve day at "Me-maw and Papa" (as Jayden calls them) Souza's house with all the cousins. This is a very special time, not only because we get to spend time as a family, but because the kiddos get to open their presents a little early!



Much to Corey's delight, Jayden got a basketball hoop, among other things, and it came with the 3 words dreaded most by fathers all around the world this time of year...

Some Assembly Required



Once they got it put together, the boys had a blast helping Jayden "dunk it" all afternoon.



After a fun day with the cousins, we went to the Christmas Eve communion service at our church then off to Great Grandma Souza's house for more family celebration...and presents for the kiddos. Jayden got his very own Lightning McQueen chair. How cool! (He actually carried it around the next day so no one else could sit in it. We're still working on the concept of sharing!)



After a full day of family and fun, we went home to wait for Santa. Jayden gets to open ONE present Christmas Eve from Mommy & Daddy - a pair of Santa pajamas to keep him warm as he snuggles into bed to wait for Santa to shimmy down the chimney. Better make sure Daddy puts the fire out before bed tonight!