Cornhole!!!

One of our favorite summertime games is Cornhole...introduced to us by my wonderful sister-in-law, Elizabeth, from Cincinnati :) It is a game they play all the time back there, and we have had a blast introducing it to everyone out here. It is a beanbag game where you toss the bags onto a board and get points for landing it on the board or in the hole. It sounds really simple and kind of boring, but it is tons of fun! Grant has recently discovered how much fun it can be. He loves walking back and forth between the two boards, throwing the bags, and climbing up the board to drop the bags in the hole. It makes the game a tad bit difficult to play with him in the way though...Grandma accidentally hit him with a bag, but he was tough and didn't even stop for a second. We can't wait until Grant is old enough to play for real. He will have some tough competition from Mommy and Daddy though!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to a wonderful Daddy! Paul got to spend his second Father's Day weekend all by himself with Grant. (Mommy took a mini-vacation for the weekend.) They had lots of fun going to a birthday party, BBQ, and hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa Caswell. Mommy got home in time for a nice dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house on Sunday. Grant had lots of fun playing outside and with his little cousins.

Happy Father's Day!

Yikes!

The Dad's with their kids

The Dads

Three generations of Caswells

Blake and Grant

Grant and Hailey

The kids retired to the living room to watch Baby Einstein while the adults ate dinner.

My New Ride

Taking bike rides is going to be the best activity of the summer! Grant loves it! We've only done it once, but he was so happy the whole time. When we were done he didn't want to take his helmet off. He wore it around the house for the next hour. It is going to be such a fun thing to do as a family. Now if only we could get Mommy's bike to work...then we would really be having fun :)

Just Being Honest

Being a mom has been hard for me this month. I think I have been spoiled by having the best baby in the world. In general, he is smiley, happy, friendly, independent, and lovable all the time...not this month. Grant has had a continuous bout of being sick with one thing or another. It's hard to remember all the exact details, but I think it started out with a cold that led into an ear infection. Being a new mom I didn't know what to do when all of a sudden my usually perfect baby became clingy and fussy. I thought that maybe he was going through a new phase, and I was being whiny and spoiled and wanting my perfect baby back. Come to find out...he had a reason for being that way. He didn't feel good. So once he got on medication I assumed that things would get back to normal. When they didn't, I questioned whether something was wrong again, or if I was just being a complainer...I wanted my baby back that doesn't fuss! I ended up taking him back to the doctor...nothing was "wrong" other than maybe a case of being used to getting whatever he wanted while he was sick. I started to think that I had created a monster who always wanted to be held and screamed if he didn't get his way. Things seemed to get a little better, but not all the way. Then they started to escalate again...we were back to screaming whenever I put him down and sometimes even while I was holding him. I know that I can't expect to have a perfect baby all the time, but something had to be wrong! Sure enough...a double ear infection! Back on medication, only this time he developed a rash and we discovered that he is allergic to penicillin. So we had to take him off the medication, which the doctor thought would be fine since his ear infection seemed to be gone. Just a day later he got the flu! I'm telling you...the poor little thing! I gave him some time to be clingy and fussy again while he got over the flu, but soon started to wonder why he wasn't his normal self after a while. Did my happy, lovable child become something new because of all of the attention he has been getting while being sick. Was he never going to be independent and happy on his own again? Once again we took a trip to the doctor. I am starting to really feel like a terrible mother who can't handle a fussy baby (I mean, what do other mother's do who have had fussy babies from the day they were born?). Fortunately (for my sanity at least, not for Grant) his ear infection had come back, most likely because he hadn't finished the medication from the last one due to his rash! So now here we are...on another round of medication and my baby is still fussy. I want to believe that maybe the medication hasn't fully kicked in and that is why he still wants to be held all the time, but then I think...what am I doing wrong? The medication has surely taken the pain away by now! There are sweet moments when he cuddles up with me when he isn't feeling well, and I love those, but I am tired of the screaming and seemingly temper tantrum throwing times. Are they really temper tantrums because he isn't getting his way, or does he just not feel good? Anyway...I feel like I am rambling on and on, but it feels good to get it out. So thanks for reading. I pray if he doesn't feel good that he will finally and completely get over his sickness, but if he truly is going through a difficult stage that the Lord will give me patience to endure the tough times.

Spending Time at Gammy and Bop Bop's

Grant spent a totally unplanned week at Gammy and Bop Bop's (Grant can say Pop Pop now, but it sounds like Bop Bop...so Pop Pop gets a new name!). Mommy and Grant were in Florence for Memorial Day Weekend while Daddy was guiding a rafting trip in California. We decided to see how he would do without his parents for a while (and how they would do without him!). So, Mommy left him in Florence with a very excited group of people, Gammy, Bop Bop, Auntie Katelyn, and Auntie Allison. He had a great time, of course!

Oh...and Mommy and Daddy had a very nice week together. Lots of time to spend doing kidless things and being able to relax. Thank you Gammy and Bop Bop!