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.

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.

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.

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?

* wardrobe. Brit for closet.

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

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.

“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.

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!