We're full

Megan, Andy, Drew, Kayley and I were invited to Sharon and Arne's for dinner. I brought the turkey and stuffing and Sharon made all the sides. I don't think anyone left starving. Sharon's daughter Lisa and sons Erik and Aaron were there along with her grandsons Taylor and Nick. Weather was cooler due to clouds and a big rain last night but Drew spent a lot of time outdoors at their home. Taylor, Sharon, Drew and I jumped in her golf cart and we drove to a pond to feed the ducks some bread. Sharon said they usually go crazy for the food but today were a bit uninterested in the morsels. We decided they had already been fed Thanksgiving dinner by someone else! Drew seemed more interested in throwing rocks into the pond.

The picture is Kayley and Erik. The videos are today at Terravita.



Arriving at the Swensen's



Let's go for a ride!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving feast and a great time with family or friends. I am not going to Iowa for this holiday as the air fare was ridiculously high for such a short stay. I hate leaving Mark and Matt alone on the holiday but they understand. My biggest regret is not making my two guys their favorite meal, Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing. Mark is going to feed Matt this holiday and I would assume it involves the grill. :-) I have no doubt it will be very good. I will make them both a turkey/stuffing dinner for Christmas when they get out here. (Matt is coming here sometime around Christmas to meet his new niece.)

We are invited to Sharon and Arne's tomorrow. I am bringing the turkey and the stuffing and Sharon is doing all the side dishes and dessert.

I am having a good time watching my two grandchildren. I am definitely more tired when I get home than I was just watching one! Kayley seems to be growing before our eyes and is very alert and happy. She takes after Drew in the napping department (awesome) and the night time sleep: all night, every night. Megan and Andy do know how to produce children that are cooperative about napping and bedtime! Drew is such a charmer and definitely has grandma where he wants her. I am trying my best not to spoil him but that is the hard part about being babysitter/grandma....conflicting roles. :-)

I love tummy time

A good day for tormenting

Back to the grind

Megan's family leave came to an end this morning as she went back to work today. I am sure she is missing her cute babies so here's a quick video just for her!

Lots of visitors for Drew and Kayley

Megan and Andy had guests last week-end (Megan's college roommate Brooke and family). This week-end Andy's brother Chris and his wife Jenny and daughter Macie are visiting. During all this Drew caught some bug from someone and spent one night in mommy's lap vomiting and then had diarrhea for a few days. Megan then caught a slight cold so we decided that I would strictly watch Kayley for the week and Megan and Drew would stay as far away as possible to do our utmost to keep her from getting this stuff, especially a cold. We succeeded on the cold part but she did get some diarrhea but it didn't seem to phase her much and was always happy and usually ate well. So, we think our plan was pretty much successful. The scary part about a cold is Kayley's delicate lungs....they were told in the NICU that a bad cold would most likely send her right back into the hospital. That is not an option any of us want to experience!

Sharon and I hiked Black Mountain by her home yesterday morning. It was another beautiful day (surprise) and we really enjoyed the climb. Sharon and Arne are seriously considering moving to The Villages in Florida if they can get their home sold soon. Not everyone is as excited about their move as they seem to be. :-) I will certainly miss hiking with her and seeing her occasionally on week-ends, holidays, etc.

Mark is having a terrible time harvesting the corn this fall. The weather continues to bring lots of moisture to Iowa as it has done all spring, summer and now fall. He thinks he will have to wait for it to really get cold there so the ground is frozen and he can take the combine back into the fields without getting stuck! Such a year '08 has been, both personally for our family and also nationally. One can only hope that 2009 is a better year for everyone!

Some pics from the week and week-end:
1. Drew sleeping on mommy's lap, still feeling a bit under the weather
2. Drew helping grandma Clorox LOTS of stuff in the house!
3. Kayley in a new bib purchased by.....guess who.
4. Drew stole her pacifier and wanted to try it out for himself. This is particularly amusing because he never used one himself. His trusty thumb tasted much better.
5. Kayley is relaxed.
6. Drew with his aunt Jenny and cousin Macie.
7. Drew and Macie getting ready to go out to dinner on Friday night.

A conversation with daddy

An oldie but a goodie

I was going through old videos today and came upon one of my favorite Drew/Andy videos....daddy feeding Drew his very first "chunky food:

Breast Cancer Walk today

Megan and Drew picked me up at 6:45 a.m. for the walk around Tempe Park. It was cool when we arrived as we waited to meet the other gals from Megan's firm but the sun warmed us up rapidly as we walked. I haven't a clue how many people participated in the event but we had many "slow downs" in the crowd. At times it was like merging onto the freeway! I can't say the walk (three miles) got our heart rates up at the pace the group moved but it was certainly for a great cause. Drew was very good and never made a peep from his jogging stroller....just looked around and took it all in with great interest.

When I got back from the walk I planted geraniums in my pots and even planted some petunias. I still feel weird planting flowers in November but now is the time to do that in AZ. When Mark comes for the winter he is bringing canna bulbs to plant. They did exceptionally well last winter and people always remarked about them so we're hoping they do well again this winter.

Speaking of winter, Mark said it was freezing today in Iowa. That just sounded horrible to hear! I cannot wait until his crops are out and he can get his cold body out here to warm up for the winter!

A few pics from today's walk and also one of Drew combing his hair with the dog's brush and one of him lounging in Kayley's seat.

Can we talk?

Kayley has been making lots of sounds lately but every single time I turn on the video camera she gets really "shy". :-) Actually, she is so mesmerized by the red light blinking from the camera that she just stares intently at it....usually in dead silence. But, I will keep trying to catch her talking!

Then and now

I was browsing through my pictures and came across one of Kayley's very first pictures and was just amazed at the "then and now" difference. Kayley has come a long way since June 9th!

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Sunday afternoon fun

Niece Lisa and her son Taylor visited Megan and Andy yesterday and met Kayley for the first time. We had a good visit with her and Drew had a great time with Taylor!