Li'l Mr. Gee turns Five!

So ... it may or may not come as a surprise to you that Li'l Mr. Gee is "Li'l" no longer. He's old, he's smart and he is ... cool.

He likes to play T-ball.

He likes to ride his bike.

He really likes to play with Legos ... and on them.

His Li'l Sis is just dreaming of the day she turns 16 and can turn a lot of heads ... with hers.

Happy Birthday to my favorite (and at this point ... only) grandson.

Nanny is very proud of you!

Miss DubONE turns FIVE!!

So ... tomorrow (the 25th) is the 5th birthday of my oldest grandchild ... Miss Dub1. This also means that I have held the title of "Nanny" for five whole years. I love that title.

This sweet, beautiful and very smart granddaughter is such a joy. Since I was a newbie at the grandmother thing, she was extremely patient and guided me along, step by step.

Her birthday this year falls in the midst of a move. She has actually been moving (and shaking) all summer long, but in less than a week she will be in her new home (in the Great Northwest.)

I could not be more proud of this young lady. I can NOT believe it's been five whole years! This picture above is her latest, proudly showing off her new 'do.

Kind of reminds of this picture. Kind of makes me sad she is growing so, so fast. Kind of makes me want to seriously cast a spell and hold her back.

Yeah ... that would be kind of bad, huh?

She. Is. One.

So ... can you believe it? L'il Miss Gee turns one year old today. And let me just say that the only thing that grows faster than her ... is her hair. That girl has a head of hair we could all aspire to have. It's thick and curly and beautiful. Just. Like. Her.

She also has a bit of a sassy attitude which only makes the hair thing that much more enjoyable.

She is also one of those rare babies who will keep the hair band IN her hair on a regular basis. (In the picture above she's also sporting a boo-boo on her nose, but it only seems to add to her charm.) Her talented mother makes all the hair bands, fyi.

I call her my "Girly Girl". She absolutely loves it when I say that. I can honestly say that she is rather fond of me. And visa-versa.

Happy Birthday to my Girly Girl. Nanny is very proud of you.

(My front door is drying as we speak and keeps me homebound once again. At least I have power which I didn't for 8 full hours yesterday. Boy ... I sure do love to complain, don't I?)

~ Proud Nanny strikes again ~

So ... today is Miss Dub2's Birthday. Her second birthday. The fact that she will tell you she is 4 1/2 is of no consequence.

And in true "Dub" fashion she lives up to her name. As you can see in the picture above, she is indeed ... Wonderful.

She is also a Wizard of many talents: making you laugh, getting into trouble, and telling you ahead of time that she plans to get into trouble ... which can only make you laugh. "Don't watch, Mom. I'm gonna be naughty."

And ... Wuving. Miss Dub2 is very, very ... wuving. As you can see, she cares for her young cousin as if there were actually more than just over a year between them. Someday they'll be roommates in college and that 1+ year will make very little difference.

Happy Birthday my sweet Dubster!!

May you have your day in the sun before your mom pops out that new Dubster.

How I Spent my Summer Vacation, Part I

So ... I have been away for almost two full weeks on a magical, marvelous, magnificent trip. Since my life now that I'm home is basically snores-ville, I will draw out the story of my adventures for posts and posts to come. Sorry. If that is also snore-inducing, at least help yourself to some scenic views.

These pics are all about the So Cal part of the trip which involved The Gees which includes the Mr. & Mrs. but most especially the L'il one. Ms. Gee (related to Mrs. Gee, but not by the "G") joined us before she and I continued on our own part of the tour. The picture above is from Newport Beach. The footprints belong to L'il Gee.

The pier belongs to the State of California I believe ... although PDaddy always claimed any pier as his own.

Here's the little guy playing with Auntie Gee's iphone which was a constant (and effective) source of blackmail and bribery. It's a little scary how adept he is on his own without any coaching. It doesn't hurt that his Auntie has several kid friendly apps.

I celebrated a birthday while I was there. If you are wondering how old I am then ... simply count the candles ... duh. Don't get so caught up in that delicious cake that you miss that grin on L'il Gee.

Stay tuned for our train ride from So Cal to Nor. Please try and stay awake.

The Frosting on the Cake

So ... I'm older ... but just by a year. Saturday was the official jumping off point, but let's just say it was a week of celebration and smiley faces. On Monday, several friends got together to inagurate the occasion. A lunch at Wildflower Bread Company full of fun, food and festive cards and gifts. The lovely piece of cake, pictured above was part of the surprise, but just in case you are tempted to taste it (and I was ... and I did) it now masquerades as a handy-dandy pin cushion, thanks to my friend and a boffo pattern by this gal.

The Gees had been with us only a week before, but they retraced their 6 hour steps to be with me for the big day. They also came to go to the D-Backs/Angels game and rubbed it in only slightly when their beloved Angels creamed/humiliated our beloved D-Backs.

Oh, who cares!? (Sorry, PDaddy ... I know you care and I do too.) We had 3 days full of this begoggled little guy who scares the bejeebers out of us because he thinks he can swim anywhere.

So ... there you have it. I'm older. I'm okay with it. I still have more blessings than candles.

HAH.

This takes the Cake

So ... someone had a birthday.

His second birthday.

Someone gave us the excuse to come over and enjoy the California sun.

But let's be perfectly honest ... we would have gone anywhere to be with this birthday boy. And let's be honest once again ... I would have gone any~where to have a piece of that coconut cake.

Happy Birthday L'il Gee.

Thanks for having a birthday.

No thanks for growing so fast.

Ode to Grandkids

So ... sometime this week, while perusing the comics ... I came across these two pictured above, that eerily describe my own progenity.

Yep, here's l'il gee indulging in his favorite pasttime ...

... and here's miss dub preparing to take over the world. (You know you want to vote for her ... it would make the choices so much easier.)

Miss Dub does indeed turn two years old tomorrow.

So ... she has the experience.

And because my heart was aching for my own grandchildren ... I went out and stole some from my friend Glamma Fabulous. We had a most lovely time and my aching heart was soothed.

Grandmothering is the best thing ever! Bragging was never so socially acceptable and it was never so much fun.

So ... go ahead and indulge yourself.

Brag Your Brains Out.

Gifts from the Sea ...

So ... there appears to be no end to the celebration that is my birthday. Woohoo. I truly believe that the age number cannot officially go up that notch until the celebrating has come to a full and complete stop. Lucky for me I only come to "California" stops.

Yesterday I came down the stairs and saw something out of the corner of my eye through the window beside the front door. Make that my whole eye because it was a gigantor box. From Crate & Barrel. Courtesy of this daughter who wants it on the record that she ordered it waaaaay ahead of time, but alas it still came after my official birthday. Reread paragraph #1 to understand why this can only be a +.

The unwrapping of the gift took much time, (not to mention amazing self control to not stop and pop a bunch of bubble wrap as I went along.) First I unwrapped these starfish candle holders. Errand #1 today is finding candles to put in them. Next I opened the three boxes containing these exquisite seashell (urchin) vases. I have already moved them around to a number of places in my home ... just for the chance to ooh and aah some more. Next was the large, beautiful and extremely useful shell platter. Last, but not least were these little clamshell tongs. I think they are for sugar, but since I don't drink coffee or tea, I am planning to use them for .... hmmmmm .... chocolate chips.

In case you haven't read ... I live in the desert. Many, many summers have found us renting a house at the beach for a week, but this year could be an exception. Ginny's note said: "Thought I'd bring a little beach house to you this year."

Oh, thank you. I do believe I feel a little sand between my toes as we speak. Yep ... I'm pretty sure of it.

thanks a bunch!

So ... I had a fabulous birthday and I have all of you to thank ... along with a kajillion other people.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thanks to my friend Jane who gave me these spectacular flowers (along with a basket of healthy goodies to consume while surrounded by hospital food ... which is not neccessarily healthy btw.)

Thanks to Sonny Boy and the Mrs. who came bearing gifts. The biggest gift of all was seeing SB with his newly shaved head as a token of solidarity with his PDaddy. So ... that one made me cry.

Thanks to children, husbands, grandkids and friends who gave nary a single mention to the numbers that don't bother me ... but bother me less when they are not mentioned.

You know ... I do believe I have too many blessings, friends and family members to mention. So let just ask one last question ...

What kind of flowers are these? Are they, like, so spectacular?

M is for "Me"

So ... we're home. I have been home every night for the last six, but last night PDaddy was with me. And this morning when I woke up, he was still here. Woohoo!

Happy Birthday to Me.

Yes folks, I am another year older and it isn't pretty. But for some bizarre reason the numbers haven't ever really bothered me. Who knows how much longer that can continue to be true.

In just a few short hours, Sonny Boy and the Mrs. will be here, (whom I haven't seen since January) and I have already opened a couple of gifts which incuded the lovely stationary pictured above (thank you Mrs. Gee) and ... let's see ... what else?

Oh yeah. PDaddy is home. A fine, fine, birthday it is.

ONE !

So ... I am still in the Land O' Lincoln, absorbing the crisp fall air, wearing more layers than I have in many a moon and inhaling the sweet, sweet scent that is my Miss Dub. But wait ... there's more . . .

Today (yes, this very day) we are celebrating her first birthday!! What a joy a year of grandmotherhood has been. Wow.

I must add that I am also reveling in every moment with Mrs. Dub. Last night we had mother-daughter bonding time while we "made" a pirate. Isn't that what you do to bond with your children? I thought so. If not, you ought to try it.

* Go here to see Miss Dub in action
** The pirate is for the church Halloween party. And it's not alive.