Friday, November 15, 2013

Gurls, Gurls, Gurls

Greyson’s latest bedtime request is to ask me to ‘talk’.  This is his most effective stall tactic yet because I’ll give my right arm to listen, and give advice, to my little boy.  We’ve had grand conversations about life, sometimes about death, always about his friends.  He is now listing, on paper, his best friends, enemies (yep) and gurlfriends (sic).  And on the latter, this includes pairing up his best friends with specific girls in his class with a heart next to each couple.  Greyson’s girlfriend, to no one’s surprise, is Linda.  I wrote about Linda last year. She’s from China and has had a crush on Grey since the first day of Kindergarten. She wrote him a valentine that said simply “I love you Greyson” and at the end of the school year, she signed his yearbook “I want to marry you”.  So, he’s following in his Uncle Nate’s footsteps whose first crush was my amazing Asian best friend Tina. 

We took the boys to their 2nd “Boo to Boot” at the school – a safe, fast but frenzied trick or treating event where they go from car to car collecting as many sweets as they can.  This event gives me a chance to catch up with the moms that I never see.  These moms think Mike is THE best (I already know this) but I did have a mom tell me this year that Greyson is apparently the talk of the 1st grade- for the girls anyway. Her daughter Taylor told her that all the girls like Greyson and this mom rambles on about how cute he is and all of that and I’m smiling and giving the obligatory ‘aww, that’s nice’ but thinking to myself ‘how is this possible, that 6 and 7 year old girls are already talking about boys in this way?’ and I know Greyson’s daddy well enough to know that when you combine Greyson’s list of ‘gurlfriends’ with the feedback from Taylor’s mom, that we’re in for it where girls are concerned. 


Grey has taken to blushing when he sees kissing on TV and if he’s reading a book that talks about a ‘beautiful girl’, he stops, gets a little sheepish, and then reads the sentence or paragraph with a catch in his throat. Graham is blissfully unaware but as is the case with all little brothers, follows Grey’s lead by covering his face at the kissing parts or burying his head under a blanket. 
Graham isn’t ready to tell me all of life’s little secrets yet but we are having great fun. Both of the boys have taken up tennis this term and Graham’s coach Pippa is usually one-to-one with him. He talks about his tennis lessons a lot and it’s obvious he’s really taking to it. Between tennis and golf, we’re taking a different direction than Mike and I did as kids but hoping that we’re forming a team that will play together into our golden years.  This is one thing that American football can’t do.

 
I’ll close it off by plugging my upcoming “Survival of the Fittest”, a 10k that I’m running on Saturday for two worthy charities. I’ve raised £1600 so far for CLIC Sargent in the UK. CLIC benefits children with cancer and I decided to take it a step further by personally donating $1 for every £1 raised to The Paxton Andrews Foundation, based in Wisconsin.  Paxton’s story is equal parts heartbreaking, uplifting and maddening and if you don’t know it, I plead with you to read his momma’s letters to her son – www.warriormomma.com.  She lost Paxton last year, when he was 5 months old, and her fight to raise awareness, to cry out in unspoken languages that demand you listen, is changing the face of childhood cancer forever.  I know Paxton’s momma personally and a few months ago I read every letter and was moved to action.  £1600 isn’t enough, but it’s a start. Join me.  http://www.justgiving.com/JessiGuenther

             GREY*isms*
G: “Have you ever had cancer mom?”
Me: “No, but Papa has – he had colon cancer when he was 50 years old”
G: “What’s a colon?”
Me: “It’s the large intestine – it digests your food”
G: “I hate digesting – especially in the mornings”

Monday, October 21, 2013

Grahamalama Ding Dong

Our boys are different, yet the same. My memory is doing an OK job of recalling images of the things Greyson was doing at this age and his 4th birthday is very vivid for a number of odd reasons; none of them particularly meaningful, but vivid all the same.  Greyson was really into Spiderman at 4 - his birthday party was Spidey-themed from the bouncy house to his birthday cake and choice of Tshirt - a very gaudy blue and red thing that bled in the laundry.

Graham hasn't caught the Spiderman bug though he'll certainly sit with his brother and watch the movies followed by a chase around the house shooting webs and attempting to fly.

Graham's 4 year old self is all about Scooby Doo. He caught the bug last year and it really hasn't waned though he does alternate with his love of Lightning McQueen. So we've given him a bit of both this birthday. He's easily pleased, this one. He didn't care about a party either so we're taking advantage of the half-term break again and this year piling onto a business trip to Paris. The boys will meet me there and we're taking them to Paris Disney for a couple of days. We've been told it's not as exciting as DisneyWorld or Land but they've never been to either so it will be better than Christmas for them. We'll be sure to take pictures of Disney a la France.

Graham Roman (October 19th 2013)

Since we're leaving for Paris on his birthday, we celebrated this past weekend with a very fun and low-key day. He opened his gifts, we ate some cake and the boys spent the rest of the day and night playing with Shaggy, Scooby and the gang. Near bedtime, they went upstairs, changed into school clothes and raided the refrigerator. Graham is his brother's shadow right now and aside from a few spats over toys that won't be shared, they are inseparable. 




Happy 4th birthday to an unbelievable little boy - so full of life, milkaholic, grumpy in the morning, out of his mind crazy before bedtime, obsessed with private parts and as sweet and silly as he is cute and snuggly.  We are so in love with you, Graham. You've rounded out our little family of 4 and life would be dull and gloomy without you.




GRAHAM*isms*

G: "Dad, can we listen to Pearl Jam?"
Dad: (beaming and proud; no words necessary)












Monday, September 16, 2013

Fall 2013

Greyson is halfway to age 8. Half a year can go by in the blink of an eye, can't it?  Graham turns 4 next month. I don't need to lament this with all of you - you, my friends and family, are experiencing time passing too and I enjoy listening and watching as you experience the day to day. I read somewhere that there are 962 Saturdays (or something like that) before your children go to college with the message to make the most of each of those days before the kids leave and I thought, 'ok, sure' there will be Saturdays where fun and games are planned and every minute is filled with wonder and joy, laughter and memories. But more often there will be Saturdays where the laundry gets done, the house gets cleaned, errands are run and we shoo our kids out the door for some peace and quiet and I see no reason to feel bad about that. Is that making the most out of a Saturday between now and college?  I think it is or the kids would stink and we'd lose our minds.

I'm frustrated with the age of Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook not because these vehicles allow us to share but because they feel like the scoreboard of a game. And although we don't necessarily see the points tally up, we keep track because to compare is human. And validation feels good.

We, the Guenthers, are doing the best we can and I've not written about it lately because, well frankly, I'm tired. And the snuggle time on the couch with the boys or the quiet times to sit when I've shooed them outside is all I have effort for. Until today.  I've saved some photos and some quotes and apologise that you haven't had a chance to keep up with us more reguarly because those of you who check in frequently have told me how much of a bummer it is to see the same post here for 6 whole months. So, here you go! Enjoy!

We moved into our new house in April of this year- if you're keeping track, this is house #5 in 5 years. We live in a great English neighbourhood in the village of Ascot and if you're a horse racing fan you should plan a visit as the famous Royal Ascot racecourse is walking distance from our front door and on race weekends we can hear the crowds cheering. The Queen comes to Royal Ascot every June and next year I do plan to get fully dressed up, crazy feathered hat included, Mike in a morning suit if for no other reason than to take a picture and tick the box - been there, done that.

London recorded one of the hottest summers on record this year. Our new house has a great garden where we spent many days jumping on the trampoline, playing soccer and of course, firing up the BGE. It was an eclectic mix of activity from sport to theater and of course, travel. My mom and aunt visited in June, Mike's mom came in August and then the dog days of summer quickly turned into a return to school. Greyson in 1st grade, Graham in 'Scramblers'. There were zero tears this year (yay!!) - Mike carpools with our neighbours and the tears are coming from their little Scrambler, Graham's bestie Reid.  Graham tries his best to console him but the commute to school is a long one for Mike on his days to drive as Reid cries almost the whole way there.

We are now watching the leaves turn and today, as I write, the sun is shining. It is my perfect day - sunny and a cool and comfortable 60F. We watched the Packers beat the Redskins last night via NFL Gampass- $130 for the season is money well spent. American football is the thing I miss the most (even more than American bacon - no, really)

GRAHAM*isms*
Mom: "Graham, do you need a napkin?"
Graham: "Mmm, no. It's faster if you wipe it on your clothes"

Graham: "When you gonna have a butt and penis? When you're a grown up?"

Graham: "Ow! That hit me on the headfore"

First day of school- 20 Aug 2013
Oaklands Close Ascot, Berkshire







Grey & Graham September 2013

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Magical 7

Our firstborn turned 7 today. Like every parent I know, we don’t know where the time went and like every grandparent I know we never will. It will be the rhetorical question that gets asked on every birthday and at every holiday and at get togethers in between.

I’m determined not to lament losing the time but rather enjoy the moments as they come. I found some old drawings and a few quotes that I’ve never posted so I thought I’d share them now. The below is a list of chores that Greyson wrote down shortly after we moved to England. His allowance would be adding up, if we gave him one. But he gets his fair rewards.

Grey chores 1

Grey chores 2

He woke up this morning, his 7-year old self and told me Graham could choose what we had for breakfast. When we asked him last night what he wanted he said he needed to think about it. Well he did and he gave the privilege away. He came downstairs to a wrapped gift on the table and he let Graham open it. He was humble and happy and it melted my heart.

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I used to say that he came early (5 1/2 weeks early!) because he wanted to hurry up and get noticed but that description doesn’t fit him. I think he came early because God wanted him to. God put him in my arms early because I couldn’t wait anymore and He knew that the sooner Greyson came the sooner our lives would begin. This little boy has been filling our souls since that day and we’re so proud to be his parents.

From sometime in 2011: Grey: “I don’t want to be a grown up. I want to be a nice boy”

Late 2012 watching a bride having her photo taken outdoors:  Grey “If she were bare with no underwear she would be really cold!”

Happy 7th Birthday Greyson! Your Moshi Monster collection has grown, Star Wars and Legos are standing the test of time and futbol is here to stay, much to your daddy’s chagrin.

Monday, March 18, 2013

And it continues…

(As I’m standing in front of my wardrobe* in bra and underwear)

Graham: “Mom, your top and bottom doesn’t match”

And later on in the week, at bedtime…

Graham: “Dad, you don’t match”

Mike: “I do too!”

Graham: “Nooo, your hair doesn’t match. Yours is black and mine and Greyson’s and mom isn’t. You don’t match us”

Does Graham know that his Red Nose** doesn’t match his Scooby Doo jammies?

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* wardrobe. Brit for closet.

** The Red Nose is from Red Nose Day, an honoured British tradition and charitable giving opportunity ~ http://www.rednoseday.com/

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Life of Graham

Graham is nuts. You might have a 3 year old, or remember when you had a 3 year old and think “my 3 year old was nuts too” and I’m sure you’re right but it’s hard for me to imagine another 3 year old who can compare to the one that lives in our house – cute, crazy, annoying, smart, bull-headed and the energy! Oh my gosh, the energy. My mom tells a lot of stories about the stuff I did around this age- baby powder all over my aunt’s velour bedspread (I personally think I must have been trying to cover up the velour-ness of it), Vaseline all over my body and mirror, writing the word Bill in ink on the wall (the first word I learned to write- no idea why as there’s not a Bill anywhere in my family on either side), sticking my finger in a mousetrap. The list goes on.

Graham recently rubbed Vaseline all over himself and then dumped baby powder on top of that- at least he knocked out 2 in one shot. My mousetraps are of the plastic sort- I don’t think you can trap a finger in it- come to think of it I don’t know if you can trap a mouse in it. He doesn’t know how to write so I’ve got some time. You get my point. I was precocious, compulsive and a dare devil. Graham is all of these things. Thankfully he’s also tough so if he cries, he really is in pain unlike his brother who has 10 different cries for different things depending on who’s watching.

Like Greyson at that age, Graham is obsessed with private parts.

“I see your privates!”

“Dad has a BIG penis and I have a little penis”

“Dad, did you go potty out of your BIG penis?”

“Mom, do you have a penis?”

Yesterday he pulled out a British version of Men’s Health magazine.

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“Dad is hanging from a big rock!”

Needless to say, between the Dad has a big penis comments and the certainty that his dad is the hunk hanging from the rock in the mag, Mike is loving Graham at the moment.

We went to Cancun last week. While we were gone, Sara watched the boys and when Graham realised that we weren’t coming home the first day he said to Sara “Cancun is closed!” He eventually accepted that Cancun was in fact open and made the most out of the 5 days with his favourite nanny. Here’s a few snaps while we were away.

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We were grateful for our time in the sun. The weather was amazing and seeing our friends and colleagues was relaxing and fun.

In 3 short weeks we will be welcoming the Seattle Johnsons to London for a 2 week visit. We’re looking forward to celebrating Angie and Madi’s birthdays while they’re here. We’re taking a week long trip to Spain for Easter and will start packing to “move house”. We aren’t going far but we are settling in for a few extra years.  We will update you with pics and address information soon.

Please, if you haven’t already, check out Mike’s FundRazr page. He has already raised over $1000 for the Patrick Blessing Memorial Fund. He is training hard for his ride to Paris and every little bit of support helps!  Click here to donate!

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Happy, Grateful, Blessed Holidays 2012

There are no new years resolutions worth a mention after a wonderful holiday break with our families- instead we prefer to revel in the fun and memories and we’ll think about tackling 2013 in good time. We are starting the year refreshed and we wish you a great start as well. 

All of our love to all of you! Happiest of Holidays!

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