Another visit to our newest grandson

Yes, it's another gushy baby post!   Can you blame me? He gets more and more handsome every day, and he's only on his second day of being in this world!

First off though, we woke up to SNOW! ARGGGHHHHH!!!!

We got about 4-5 slushy inches of it, and it's still there tonight as I write this. Hopefully the temps will warm up this weekend to melt it all GONE!

Allegra and I trekked through it this morning, on down to Green Bay.  Our first stop was at the little florist shop on 9th St, (Parmentiers) as we try to keep our business local with small owners, rather than big chain stores.  While they were making up some pretty blue flowers and balloons, the nice lady gave little Allegra a pink carnation of her very own!  Now THAT is caring about your customers!

Allegra wrote a letter to her baby brother, Mason.  She put it in an envelope, licked it shut and decorated it!   Here is Daddy reading the letter to Mason, with Allegra proudly looking on.

Mommy gave Allegra a ride up and down on this crazy hospital bed!! Don't ALL kids love to do that? (and some grownups too?)

The little guy's toes are very very long, as are his fingers too.  Allegra had to check them all out, and count them, making sure there are 10 of each.  Daddy Dan is showing the keepsake footprints on the back of the hospital birth certificate.  How cute is that?

Allegra got to goof around in the baby basinette, 

doing a bit of luge racing.  LOL 

(the nurses let her do it!) 

And of course she got in some kisses for her baby brother too.

 And yes, Granmuddah never would pass up a chance to cuddle a sweet new baby....

After we said our goodbyes, Allegra and I went over to see cousin Jameson.  He needed a babysitter today for a couple hours because his regular sitter was on vacation.  Allegra and Jameson were learning new dance moves on some video game.. which worked them up into a frenzy before nap time.  Heather left for work and I had to calm down two crazy pre-schoolers.   (Thanks Heather, for doing that!) 

But Granmuddah worked her magic and soon had them BOTH napping, 

and the two cats too!  Whew what a day.  

Tomorrow Allegra goes back home to join up with 

her Mommy, Daddy and new baby brother!

Then waiting any day for Erin and Mark to go into labor next,

while Chelsea gets to come and hang out with us too! 

The carpeting is DONE!!!! and Jameson the Baker Boy

Wheeeheee is all I can say!  The disruption of moving furniture from room to room, prepping and replacing, and yes, even paying for it all.... well, it's worth it!

The house looks great and it feels so good to have it all done on the main and loft floors.  (we are going to lay the extra piece from the loft into the extra bedroom downstairs later this week)

The carpeting guys came over Saturday afternoon and finished up the loft. Here is Steve giving it a good vacuuming to pick up all the loose fuzzies.  We are very pleased with the finished result.  Except they accidentally covered over a floor flush electric outlet, but we were able to locate it and cut it free.

The afternoon activity proved to be too exciting and exhausting for the little guy.  All those fascinating tools and supplies, watching the guys go up and down and up and down the stairs.  We kept him out of the way, but he was immersed totally in what they were doing. 

I think he was really sad to see them leave, but liked running around in circles in the big open loft with no furniture.   I remember his mommy doing the same thing when we built this house 15 years ago.  She was 12 at the time and she was rolling from one end of the room to the other, relishing in the new soft carpeting and padding.  I have video of it to prove it! 

As for the little guy, he was busy playing on his *drums* while Granfaddah was doing the droning vacuum cleaner.  I snapped the first pic of him playing, and I kid you not---  within one minute I snapped the second pic.  (note the angle of the sunshine and you will see they were taken one minute apart).   He slowly slid to the side and PLOPPED fast asleep on the floor!

  It was like he just melted, all liquidy and smooth.... and was fast asleep!    

He slept for over 2 hours, so I guess his little 3 year old body needed some rest.  

While he slept, Steveio and I quietly carried up all the things to go back in the loft... the tv, the bedside tables, the lamps, the quilt rack, and even my favorite plant.   (I have kept this one going since my surgery in 2005 -- it came from my wonderful inlaws, Paul and Mary Ann)   Here is a shot from the steps going up into the loft. 

AND----  the bed!  Yes... Steveio and I hoisted this humongous king-sized mattress up those stairs!!!!  Just him and me.  What a job!!!   Along with the 2 piece box springs and the frame and the headboard.  Ahhhhh all together again.  

We set my steamer trunk at the base of the bed where I can keep loading it with treasures to be stored once we hit the road.  It's only about 1/3 of the way full now, and I have more things earmarked to go inside.

We got it all put back together before the little guy woke up.  Once he got up, he gave it the good ole boy BOUNCE TEST.   Yup, it's all set up right.

I dragged the rest of the dusty vines from the bathroom valances through the freshly fallen snow.  That sure cleans them up nicely, and I hung them all back into place above the windows.  Steve did a few little repairs here and there, and little Jameson followed him around with some tools poking out of his pockets.  Granfaddah's Little Helper, for sure.

We got a few more projects done during the evening, and played a few games, read a few stories and had a few cuddles before bedtime.  Jameson cozied up on a pile of quilts on the floor next to our bed, and slept like a log till 8 a.m. this morning.



This morning we had a little project to work on.  Jameson needed to bake some little heart cakes, with the same recipe we blogged about the other day that our granddaughter Chelsea used.

Our Little Baker Boy went to work and stirred that batter up.  He was pretty excited to make them, and it went fast.  The licking of the spoon was important too.

One minute and 10 seconds in the microwave... oh my how hard it is to wait impatiently when you are three years old.   Soon the hearts went PLOP on the parchment paper.  DONE!

We had to cool them off first, 

and then he really helped with the decorating. 

Can't you tell?

Those three hearts were sent home for Valentine's Day.

One for him and one each for his Mommy and Daddy.  

Of course, we baked FOUR hearts..... 

the last of which he shared with his 

Granfaddah and Granmuddah Pfun

This upcoming week is some more straighting and sorting in the loom room.  I have a few ladies coming to look at some supplies and looms.  Next we will attack the storage room and some painting down there.  The second bathroom could use some new vinyl flooring, and I know the closet in Heather's old bedroom has her friends names painted on the wall inside!  10 years ago, we let three teenage girls paint the bedroom, and they all signed their names in the closet with big fat brushes.  I will have to snap a pic before I paint over them....



Heather and Jesse came and stole the little boy from us.  They were on their way back from their weekend in Marquette....  Heather cut 2 tracks on a CD that was being released at a Charity Ball.  The event was benefitting Alzheimers, which has struck a relative of her nearest and dearest 4th-5th grade teacher.  He made the CD and invited Heather to sing some duets with him.   They have been coordinating schedules for the last few months to meet at the recording studio to get this done in time for the Charity Ball.

Also she was featured as a vocalist during the ball, to be part of the entertainment for the event.  She has a GREAT voice (she didn't get it from ME)  and sounds professional and adorable.  Today they had a signing party as part of the release, and they even signed one for me!    I smiled through my tears as I popped in the CD to listen.  That was my payment for the weekend of babysitting, a free CD.  I am sure to wear it out.  Heh heh.

I will release more details on the CD once she gives me the links.


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House Stuff - last day of carpeting installation - Jameson came for the weekend!

The snow kept falling and the winds kept blowing.  The temps went down in the single digits last night and the wind chills were well below zero.  Little critters are coming to the feeders and this silly squirrel was right up to the patio door, asking to come in!!!

We had planned to take little Jameson for Saturday night, but then on Friday his mommy called and asked if we wanted to steal him a day early.  OF COURSE WE DO!    

So we trekked on down to Green Bay to get him,  first a quick stop at Erberts & Gerberts for a sub (my favorite is Boney Billy)   http://www.erbertandgerberts.com/   Whenever we go to Green Bay, this is the only place I am even interested in getting a sandwich from.   Yummmmmmm

.... and next stop was Menards on the west side of Green Bay. It is closing up in preparation for a move to a new building.  We needed new cabinet knobs, so we popped in. LOTS of stuff on sale, some things even 50% off or more.  Got 30 nice cabinet knobs that were 3.39 each down to 1.42 each.   And a whole bunch more odds and ends we needed to grab too for final house fixups.  

Then we grabbed the little guy for the weekend.  Loaded up his bag and booster seat in the Tracker, he was so excited to see a NEW Tracker for Granmuddah and Granfaddah!   We stopped at our son's house to drop off Valentine treats for them and Allegra--- our son Dan cut us a new mirror for the downstairs bathroom so we picked that up too.

With all of our errands completed, we headed on back home, through the cold and ice and blowing gusting winds.  Whew!  But the Tracker was good in four wheel drive, especially on the icy country roads.  We made it home safe and sound.  

The Bestest Little Helper Boy was eager to learn about putting on cabinet knobs.  He figured it out right away and was screwing them on in the right direction.  He helped put on every single knob of the lower cabinets with Granmuddah, while tall man Granfaddah did the top cabinets. What a good little handyman!

After a hard evening's work,

Granfaddah decided that someone needs to learn to make popcorn. 

Jameson declared that he "baked popcorn"    Okayyyyyyy????

Soon they were gobbling it down together... and they ate it ALL!!!  Yup, every kernel was gone.  Guess putting in cabinet knobs is hard work, eh?

Before we knew it, I was popping Jameson into his jammies and he was konked out, and so was Granfaddah.  Guess all that popcorn really filled up their tummies.   Jameson was up bright and early at 6am, snuggling in for a cuddle before finding more fun stuff to fill his morning. 

At 1 pm this afternoon, the carpet guys are coming back to finish the loft.   They already got the pad down and the tack strips, but waited on bringing over the carpeting in the snowy blustery winds yesterday.  It's a big section to be seamed into a 24x19 piece.

Jameson is going to have a blast watching the carpet guys do their thing!


In answer to a comment on yesterday's blog, yes, they have to bring in the rolls and cut and space it out inside the house because there is snow and ice outside.  That is why we had to move every stick of furniture out of each room during this process, room by room.  Cramming it into the next room because there is no other place for it to go.  If it were summer, we could pile it all out on the decks and patio, covered in a tarp.  But I don't think that would work so well in the winter either.  LOL

Steveio is starting up some pancakes for breakfast.  I guess it's time to refill the coffee cup and find some fun things for this little guy to do today.


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Gooshy Grandchild Post!

Our little guy Jameson needed a weekend away from his parents (his mommy was standing up in a wedding 100 miles away)  so he ran away to his grandparents' house for the weekend!  LOL

Actually, I picked him up on Friday morning and we did our grocery shopping, letting him pick out all his favorite treats.  Heh heh    He asked a zillion times "What's this??"  and we explored the skin on a pineapple, the netting on a frozen turkey, why yellow squash are not bananas and best of all, WHY would Granmuddah buy GREEN APPLES!!!!???  He was insistent that apples are RED!  But I wanted some green Granny Smith ones to bake into a pie.  That just didn't settle right in HIS world.  haha

We got home and he helped put them all away.  Soon his Auntie Erin stopped by with cousin Chelsea!   They played and played--- coloring, chasing, running, teasing, and eating supper and snacks.   Chelsea devoured her chicken stir fry, but we could not pry a single green bean or carrot into Jameson.  Whew... what a kid, he has decided he hates vegetables!

Both kids are excited about Trick Or Treat coming up soon.  They have decided on their costumes and will be here all dressed to the nines with their third cousin Allegra on Halloween (my birthday!)   Pictures of all them will be posted right afterwards.  Of course.

All of the grandkids have become enamored by Grandmuddah's fun weaving toys.  They belly up to the loom and love to do a BEAT BEAT BEAT of the beater, and flip the levers to make the harnesses go up and down.  Here I had my lap full, and both of them HAD to have a boat shuttle.  I agree, these are fun toys!

Here we were just getting started on a dishtowel.  All three grandchildren have *helped* with the last one, and it came out pretty good, even with a few skipped wefts and warps.  It was made with love, and that makes it even more precious.


 Lucky boy Jameson is going through the new Fleet Farm Toy Catalog.  He was choosing and looking and pointing out things he already has.  I swear we went through it, page by page, 17 times before the weekend was over.  I am not exaggerating, he really made me turn them page by page, each time asking "What's this?"  "What's this?"   Just look at that little crooked finger pointing out item after item.

 Friday night playtime was ended abruptly when he declared: 

"JAMESON IS SOO SWEEPY, I GO NIGHT NIGHT NOW?"  

He got all snuggled into bed and wanted me to write an email message to his mommy and daddy.

 So this is what he dictated to me:

I am going to sleep
You go to sleep?
Send a message to Jameson?
Go to sleep

Granpa is wearing SpongeBob jammies !

Jameson loves his mommy and daddy

(doesn't that just melt your heart?) 

 He re-charged his little boy batteries overnight, and by 8 am he was up and bouncing on our bed.  Please note, both Granfaddah and the little boy are wearing matching Sponge Bob jammies!!!!  (Steve is gonna kill me when he reads this)  

The day was sunny, but still very windy, blustery and cold!   The boys got themselves occupied with a big tub of Lincoln Logs.  It was a very busy morning on the floor, with both of them in their jammies till after 10 am!  Must have been the required work uniform for their log home building business? 

Steveio wanted to get out to the motorhome and work on the switch timer that I wrote about in the last blog, so that was the only way to get the little guy dressed, by promising him he could come out and watch cartoons in the motorhome and "help" us.  

The rest of the day was spent down in my Loom Room, where he was helping me weave a Birch Tree Rug.  He wove almost a foot worth of rug with me, and was fascinated (as usual) with the big looms too.  He helped me unroll four finished rugs off the little Union, and the unrolling and ratcheting of the take up beam was entrancing to him.  I showed him the ratchet and pawl device, and then he explored the treadles which make the harnesses go up and down.  He was figuring it all out and examining it very seriously and understanding it all.  The feet on the treadles do the same thing as the levers do on the table loom!  He wanted to know why the roller on the take up beam only went one way, and not the other.  I showed how the pawl locked it into place.  Then I let him advance the rug we wove on the big Union, and he was soooo excited to be the one to pull the lever up... click click click and make it move the takeup beam.  I was careful to make sure we didn't have any pinched fingers.  He sure enjoyed exploring those big machines and making them GO!

After supper, we did some cookie baking!   I cheated and bought rolls of premade dough--- all we had to do was slice and bake.  It was a good thing, because this impatient little guy wanted those cookies FAST!  He helped line them all up on the trays...   WHY do they take so long to bake?  He watching the numbers on the digital timer count down to DONE!  He proudly brought one cookie to his Grandfaddah for  approval.  How adorable! We set aside a dozen to take home for his Mommy and Daddy too. 

We were spending the rest of the evening in front of the tv, with the guys watching NASCAR.  (I find it totally boring)   I was weaving nearby on a towel and he came over from time to time to help throw the shuttle or pull the levers for me.  

For the race, they each picked out a car to *be* and were discussing who was winning and who was passing who.   A big bowl of popcorn is necessary for NASCAR racing, I was told.  Then I picked a car to *be* too, and I passed them both!  Whew, they didn't like that.   I was sent back to my weaving.  

Suddenly, just as surprising as the night before, Jameson announced he was going up to bed, and started climbing the stairs to the loft!   I think we were wearing him out! 

Sunday morning found him wolfing down three of Granfaddah's homemade Belgian waffles, and then it was play play play some more with the Lincoln Logs, Legos, ABC letters, colored pencils, and back and forth to my looms.  It was a Packer Game day, so his mommy and daddy drove on up after the game started, as they only live a few miles from the stadium.  This way they avoided all the traffic because everyone was at the game by 11-12 oclock ish.  We sadly said good-bye to Jameson, as he was buckled into the car, clutching his goodie bag of cookies and treats to take back home.  

Good bye, little guy.... see you soon! 

Oh, and I took a cookie over for cousin Chelsea this morning 

so she could try out her big cousin's baking talents.  

Jameson's Excellent Adventure - Camping with Granfaddah and Granmuddah Pfun

Hello.

My name is Jameson. 

I am 2 and 3/4 years old. 

I am smarter than Granmuddah thinks, 

and I swiped her computer to make this blog post.  

Shhhh don't tell her. 

These are my Best Friends: "Monkey" and "Puppy" 

We are all set for Jameson's Excellent Adventure!

Granmuddah picked me up in the car. 

We drove to their house and got in the motorhome.

Granmuddah and Granfaddah Pfun took me CAMPING! 

All I know is that Granfaddah BROKE the motorhome.  

"Granfaddah, can I help you fix it?"

Granfaddah parked the motorhome wayyy up in the woods

I got to be on Skeeter Swatter Patrol. 

I am a good Skeeter Swatter Boy.

I got to play in a REAL tent! 

But I slept inside the motorhome with Granfaddah and Granmuddah

And I got soooooooo dirty I even got to take a bath in the motorhome! 

Both of my grandparents are very good at reading me stories

Every morning I got to jump on their big bed in the motorhome

I am a very fast jumper! 

Granfaddah bought us little boxes of cereal. 

Each morning I could pick out a different kind.

My Auntie Schmoo brought out a fun game with things to throw

After she taught me how, I taught a little boy named Braydon.

I kept all the blue ones.  He got the red. 

 I took lots of walks, and got to spend all of my time outside when it wasn't raining. 

My granfaddah went out to the lake in a big boat, 

but it was too windy for me they said.

He caught a BIG fish. 

My Uncle Matt threw some big rocks in the lake with a HUGE splash! 

My friend Braydon threw little rocks

We saw a Daddy, a Mommy, and five little babies---

AWWWW it's a Little Snake!   (Granmuddah said it's a "worm"???)

I had my own special dining area.  

Granmuddah said this camping chair  used to be 

MY mommy's chair when she was little! 

I ate watermelon! 

and Do-Do's (donuts) 

It was time to jump on the bed---- again

I spent a lot of time watching the "fireworks" 

 I LOVE TREES!!!!

After five days, I had to gather my Best Friends and go home.

I helped Granfaddah find the way home. 

He likes it when I help him. 

Granmuddah said I came home very dirty, 

with a collection of mosquito bites, 

and full of junk food.

I sure had FUN! 

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