When it all catches up to you...

Last Sunday started a long week off sleepless nights and napless days. I thought the reason Aubrey didn't sleep last Sunday night was because she was so excited for school Monday morning: new teacher, new school, new dress, new shoes, and new head band. But Monday night she was up all night, Tuesday Night, Wednesday Night, Thursday Night...etc. The reason ranged from nightmares to knee pains. Sleeping in Aubrey's bed with her is awful. At night when I would go in her room to comfort her I would lay next to her only to find there was a PARTY in Aubrey's bed...every barbie, doll, necklace, lego, and book she has are all in her bed.
Well, today after church (2pm) I put her in bed for a nap (crossing my fingers). It is now 6:30 and she is still asleep. I usually would have woken her up at 3:30 or so but I decided not to. How long will she sleep? Will this be the end of Aubrey's napless days/sleepless nights? That would be wonderful! I would love some sleep:) I am ready for bed right now but Caleb is still awake and Clark FHE is at 9 on the skype.

*Something funny...I went to get Caleb dressed for church today and I noticed his pants were a little baggy! I was very excited! When I went to put on his shoes, well, that was a challenge. I just could not squeeze them on. After 10 minutes of Andy trying we successfully squeezed them on. Poor Caleb.
*Oh and yes those are socks on Aubrey's hands. She did have Cinderella Gloves at one time but Caleb got a hold of them. Enough said.

When it rains.... it pours...
(Andy let the kids play out on the deck in the rain last night)Yesterday when I woke up I had a feeling it was going be a challenging day. No reason, just a feeling. Within the first 2 hours of the day Caleb spread all of my pots and pans throughout the entire house, dumped all of the clean newly folded clothes out of the basket and onto the floor, and was caught running with scissors(he pushed his little table over to the counter and put his little chair on top of the table, stood on the chair and grabbed the scissors). When I went to put the scissors back I notice a brand new bottle of infant Tylenol (never used but open with the intent to give some to Ainsley because she had the flu)empty.
I ran to Caleb..."Where is the medicine?"
"In my tummy...I didn't feel good. I feel better. Don't be mad Mommy."
Almost in tears and getting very sick to my stomach I said, "All of it?"
"Yes, I am all better now!"
I tried to call Andy but he was busy... I called the Doctor and they had me call poison control(this would be the 3rd time this 2008 year I have had to call them....all because of Caleb 1st he ate the black colored berries from Uncle Nate's bush and spent the afternoon throwing up, than he ate Grandma's plant, and now...). The nurse kindly said that with his weight he was okay but he would probably have some side effects...
1. sleepy
2. vomit
3. cranky.
She said it just depends on your child's temperament. Well, it was quite obvious which side effects Caleb was going to have....and it wasn't the sleepy one. All in all...Caleb is doing fine, CRANKY, but fine. He said his tummy still hurts today but I think it is from him eating too much.

Caleb eating too much is putting it lightly....he had 3 pieces of toast with pb&j, 2 bowls of fruit loops, and then I caught him steeling Ainsley lunch. By the way... I mentioned that Ainsley had the flu yesterday and the weird thing is I would never have known because she is always so good. I tried to put her down for her nap and she wouldn't lay down so I picked her back up and she threw up. She is feeling much better today. Fever down and sleeping normally!

The past couple of days I have got to spend a lot more time alone with Ainsley. I love it. She is very easy going and always happy. She always wants her blanket and I often find her dragging it as she crawls. She has me on pins and needles in anticipation for "MAMA!" I practice everyday with her. Please don't say "DADA!"

**notice that our grass is green and the "grassless spots" are almost gone!! Point One for the Griner's! On the VERY LONG road to making our house and home!

Caleb is 3.Three years ago at age 20 I could have never foreseen my next couple of years. The trials, laughter, and endless cleaning all because of a little 5 week early 6 pound 2 ounce little boy!

Caleb started out a little baby and a week later gained a pound and then kept gaining, gaining, and gaining. He was such a cute little colicky chub. He was completely different from Aubrey and challenged me more than ever before. He also made me laugh. He was tough and very ticklish!

With Caleb I had the opportunity to see all of his first...crawls, claps, steps, and words. I seemed to never be able to rest, sleep, relax, or think without him finding me or being with me.

With Caleb life has always been full of "What's that?", "Ball", and "MOMMY!"

When Caleb started to get a little older he became Aubrey's best friend. If Aubrey was the princess he had to be the Prince, if Aubrey wanted to watch Dora so did Caleb, and if Aubrey was too full to finish her sandwich Caleb would finish it!

When Ainsley was born Caleb changed. He became gentle, kind, and more willing to be independent. But with independence came messes, messes, and more messes!

In March Caleb scared me. The little boy that had never left my side, the little boy that always wanted me and needed me was very sick. In the blink of an eye life became fragile and I wanted nothing but for him to cry, hang onto me, and yell for me. I am so blessed to have Caleb in my life and I am so thankful for everything that he has taught me. Without Caleb who would make me strong and tough?

Caleb is a funky addition to the Griner Clan. Always interesting, loud, and never clean is the way I like it!! Happy Birthday Caleb!

Happy Birthday Caleb!

We started out Caleb's Birthday Celebration by going to T-REX out at the Speed Way. So fun and perfect for a 3 year old! T-Rex is like Rainforest Cafe but all Dinosaurs and Prehistoric stuff.

We had to give Ainsley her first lemon. She loved them!

They sang happy birthday to Caleb and he received Ice Cream!

Surprisingly, Caleb wasn't scared at all and seemed to be completely intrigued by all of the dinosaurs!After lunch the Batman Party began! Aunt Judy, Paul, Marlene, and our neighbors Bud/MaryLou came over for the celebrations. The kids seems to like the games...pin the eyes on the bat and smash the bad guys (Caleb and Aubrey had a lot of fun bouncing on the balloons until they popped and candy fell out)!

Toys , Toys , and Toys! Aubrey was kind enough to speed up the "Opening Presents" process by helping Caleb.Caleb loved his bat machine, bowling pins, books, cars, sword, dvd, and truck. Thank you Paul, Marlene, Mom, Dad, Aunt Judy, and Grandpa Grayson. Caleb also loved his BYU t-shirt from Spencer and Kristen. I have to say that Caleb is a chub for his age but not that chubby!!:) Thanks you guys. Marlene made a Batman Cake! Chocolate and very yummy! Aubrey helped Caleb blow out the candles. 3! I cant believe Caleb is 3. What a fun day to celebrate a fun boy!

AINSLEYThe things I love about Ainsley....
I love that she is always wonderful, patient, and up for anything.
I love that she is teething and her behavior is still happy and content.
I love how when she is hungry she will sit up to Aubrey's table and wait for food!
I love how she always lays her head on my lap!
I love how she never gets tired of clapping, waving, and giving high fives!
I love how easily she can go from sad to happy just by hearing a silly song.
I love all of Ainsley she makes my bad days bright and my "Caleb" days bearable! I feel like I do not take enough pictures of her or talk about her enough. She is wonderful and I am so glad she is mine!

I had to add this picture of Aubrey because she is "out wearing" all of her princess clothes. She will only take them off to go swimming or for a short trip to the store. I think that they should be more durable like a football jersey or towel. Today I hid all of her princess clothes in hopes of her wearing a cute summer outfit. Nope, she came downstairs in one of her fluffy church dresses. NO WAY!!! I revealed my dress up clothes hiding place in less that 5 seconds and she happily changed. I think she tricked me:)

WEIRD

Recently Aubrey has been making up to 5 wardrobe changes during the day. I have talked to her about the importance of only getting one thing dirty during the day and her replay is "MOM! I do not get my clothes dirty. I am careful!" Yesterday I guess she found an alternate to multiple clothing changes...just put them all on at once. What a weird little girl.
The kids really have put up with a lot this week. We have been running a lot of errands and doing a lot of "not fun" kid things so we finally let them pick out a surprise. The minute we let her out of the car she hurried to the table and started coloring.

I added this picture because we have been spending a lot of time at the pool. Caleb has to swim all by him self but will not use his arms. Weird! It takes him forever to get from one side of the pool to the other put he loves it! I love it because it wears him out! Win Win!

QUIET TIME

Today during nap/quiet time Caleb was SOOOOOOOO loud. He wouldn't settle down so I quickly needed to come up with a plan. I needed to find something for him to do that was quiet and relatively clean. MAKING COOKIES! He was such a proud little boy and did everything by himself. It was really enjoyable for me to spend time with him alone and quietly.
When it came time to scoop the dough onto the tray most of it ended up in his mouth. But I consider this a wonderful mother/son time!

The cookies did not turn out so good but according to Caleb they look "handsome yummy and oh so very good". In the very top picture if you look closely enough you can see Caleb's, rather large, bald spot.

Question of the Week: Who is going to take care of Ainsley?

This week Aubrey and Caleb have been "taking turns" taking care of Ainsley. For example: When Aubrey is done playing barbies or peek-a-boo with Ainsley she will lift Ainsley up onto a little padded seat and go get Caleb to tell him it is his turn. Ainsley sits and waits patiently for Caleb to show up and then he lifts her down to play. Yesterday, while I was in the kitchen cleaning/cooking dinner I watched this go on for over an hour. Aubrey and Caleb would each take about 7 minutes and each time after their turn was over they would place her right back up onto the padded chair! Ainsley is such a trooper! What a good sister!

Ainsley loves the little cheap plastic wagon. Caleb was thrilled when he saw Ainsley sitting in his wagon yesterday. He was very careful to make sure she didn't bump her head on anything then he pushed her all around the house. He had a blast!

If at anytime Caleb saw Ainsley try to stand up he would stop pushing and get right up in her face to say "Ainsley, that is not safe...buckle up so you can be safe." As soon as she was seated correctly he would continue pushing!
Aubrey, Caleb, and Ainsley have so much fun together. I love watching them play. They are so funny but they take "play time" so seriously. My couches are still stain free, which makes me happy and the kids seem to enjoy life without the big tv!

Note: Aubrey is wearing her swim suit in the top picture. She puts in on right after "quiet time" in preparation to go swimming when dad gets home from work. For 4 hours all she takes about is going to the swimming pool to play with Sydney, Nathan (middle name Andrew....how about that?!), and Ava. Given the choice I think she would choose her swimming suit over her princess dresses. UNBELIEVABLE!

SUNDAYS START TO A NEW WEEK!Sunday was an exciting day for The Griner's. We went to our new ward, in our new building, at a new time! Sacrament went smoothly and the kids went strait to classes with out tears! Aubrey's new little class members name is Aubrey (how about that!?). After church Andy went and met a man who bought our ENTERTAINMENT CENTER. As he was helping the men move the BIG HEAVY structure a piece fell on Andy's foot. Ouch!

MONDAYS EXCITEMENT
Monday was a day full of visitors. Two neighbors brought us tomatoes, the framing guys came, and the wood guys came. In anticipation for a busy day I wanted to mop the floors first thing in the morning. The kids quickly found an activity close by....Super Batman and Tinker Bell. The goal was to see who could "fly" the farthest. I thought it was pretty harmless since I was only one room away and I would still see them. I was almost done moping when I heard "Come on Ainsley...you can do it!" I dropped the broom and ran. Ainsley had climbed her way to the top. Oh my goodness!

This evening while Andy took Aubrey and Caleb to the pool I stayed home with Ainsley. She loved the little wagon. Every time she would climb in it I would take her out finally I just gave up and let her stay in. She is lots of fun and is always climbing (ALWAYS CLIMBING)!

FOUNDATION DAYYesterday while I was working on my blog Caleb was sitting on the floor next to me eating popcorn (It was suppose to be nap time but he will not take a nap). All of a sudden he was really quiet and I looked over at him and he was asleep. Moments like these are wonderful. I gently placed him on the couch and grabbed the camera.
With moments like those I also get moments like these. Caleb had gum in his hair this morning. When I went to get it out (trying to do the least amount of damage to his hair as possible)he screamed and moved. Now he has a bald spot. So sad:(
Over night Ainsley has learned to quickly go up the stairs and cautiously/quickly climb down the stairs. Aubrey/ Caleb did not master going down the stairs until they were at least 14 months old. Very exciting!

This morning Pat "The Foundation Guy" showed up with his crew. I guess you could say I was not prepared for the mess that would be made in my front yard. Caleb was thrilled!!! It might possible me the Best Day of Caleb's entire little boy life. Dirt everywhere...mini tractors, shovels, and big equipment filled the front yard.
Without getting permission from the mom (ME) the workers invited Caleb to help. I saw this as a major disaster! Jokingly one worker tossed dirt on Caleb. That gave Caleb the notion that it was okay to throw dirt. And so the mess began....... "What are you doing Caleb?" I asked.
"Making a snow angel!"
Ainsley wanted in on the fun.
Aubrey wanted to play in the "Florida beach" too but did not want to get dirty.
"Look at me Mommy. I put dirt down my shirt!"
"Why?" I asked with a very big frown.
"Oh, Mommy it is so much fun! I love the dirt so very much!"

During all of Caleb's dirt pictures Aubrey ran upstairs and put on her swimsuit. The perfect solution to keeping her clothes clean.

Well 8 Men, a new/moved sup-pump(?), apoxy, grading, and 5 hours later they are still working hard. The kids (excluding Caleb) are taking a nap and I am trying to get all of the dirt out of my entry way. Oh the fun we will have today!