Hank's Graduation from Nursing School

YAY! We finally did it!! Hank graduated from nursing school on May 20th, 2009! I am so proud of him for sticking with it and doing such a great job! At the ceremony we heard tales of other students having meltdowns every other month and being absent from their family's lives. I can honestly say we didn't experience any of that. We still had our Hank. He always found time to spend with us and help me out. I am constantly grateful that I married such an incredible man!

The festivities were everything we hoped for. My family came from Salt Lake to attend the graduation and to celebrate with us. We spent several days at a great resort, swimming, playing games, eating good food, and just loving being together. A few days before the ceremony Hank developed a huge stye on his eye. It was at it's worst the day of the ceremony...but all went well, so it must have been a good luck stye. We all had a fabulous time and Gray loved being with his cousins. We really wish Hank's family could have made it. Even though they weren't there, I know they are as proud of him as we are. Good job babe! We love you!!!

Preston Turns 6 Months Old

How did that happen so fast?! Our baby is half way to 1! He is an absolute dream and joy! He is all smiles 24/7. His entire face and eyes light up when he smiles. He's very even tempered and such a joy to be around.

Our Trip to Utah

Utah was a blast! We loved seeing all of our family. Grayson got his first haircut from his Aunt Patty and jumped on his first trampoline. Preston got lots of time with his twin, Uncle Chris. I spent time with my great family and had Pretzelmaker almost every day. We all had a fabulous time!

Trip to Utah

We just got home from an AMAZING trip to Utah! The boys and I went up without Hank (for the last time, I might add). My brother Tony drove up with us. I don't know what I would have done without him on that drive. He and I were both a mess. Between all the mishaps and tickets and screaming babies and potty breaks and so on and on, the 400 mile trip took us 9 excruciating hours! Luckily everything after that was nothing but bliss.

We were able to stay with my mom in her cute new condo. Her home always has such a warm, happy, feeling to it. Grayson kept commenting on how much he loved Grandma's "BIG house". I guess compared to our little box, everything else seems huge to him. He loved being able to see his family! It's funny to see him get so confused over my sisters. He knows immediately when he sees them that they are aunts, but he calls them all different names. He love, love, loves his cousin Max. As a matter of fact, he woke up just this morning crying, saying, "See Max" over and over again. You would never know of his fondness for Max when you see them "playing" together. Grayson is such a tease and does anything he can to get Max to scream. Once he has the reaction he wants he looks at me, knowing he's in trouble, holding back a little triumphant smile. But when Max is gone, he misses him so much.

We all miss our family and wish we lived closer. I don't know how I will ever convince Hank to move to Salt Lake, but I've got to. I'm totally open to any suggestions anyone might have on how to accomplish this. Whenever we go to Salt Lake, the time passes by WAY too fast and there are always family and friends we wish we could have seen, but didn't. This trip I finally got to see my sweet friend Jamie. It's been way too long since I've seen her. It was so nice to catch up and see her sweet boys in person. Colton asked me, "Can you believe how big I've gotten? Can you even believe it?" He also had a really hard time understanding Grayson. He came up and asked me, "What is he saying? I don't even know what he's saying. Why does he speak Chinese? I never lived in Chinese. I don't even understand Chinese." What a doll! I love you Jaimes and your darling boys!!

Grayson jumped on his first trampoline! He was addicted from the moment he got on. I was a complete wreck, but he could not have been happier. The first tramp didn't have pads on the springs or a net, so I thought he was going to paralyze himself every time he fell. Luckily our next tramp experience was much better. Jamie had both a net and pads! This time we were BOTH able to enjoy the experience.

I love how attentive my family is. Patty was over every spare second wanting to hang out and play games and chat. My busy sister Ness was the same. I always feel a little guilty because I want everyone to miss work and come hang. I hope they don't get in trouble. Their bosses probably despise when I come into town. I'm such a time monopolizer. But I honestly know that it's my sweet boys that get them all to come over. I didn't even see my brother Dan, but he saw my boys a couple of times. I know my fam loves me, but Grayson and Preston are the best part of the package, by far!

We were sad to leave, but the boys were SO amazing on the trip home. Happy Mother's Day to me! Tony wasn't with us this time, so I was really nervous. Both boys took long naps and were very well behaved. Just outside of Beaver, UT, Preston got a little fussy and Gray was a little restless too. It was perfect because I was getting sleepy and needed a break too. So we stopped in Beaver only to find that Preston had a HUGE blowout! We went straight for the bathroom. I have to say...I despise onesies when this happens. How are you supposed to get a onesie drenched in diarrhea off of a child without spreading it everywhere?! I'll tell you...YOU DON'T! So I'm trying to get him clean without making too big of a mess all over the changing table and my changing pad (yeah right). No amount of wipes could remedy this situation so I took him to the sink to wash him off. The water was cold and there were no paper towels, only REALLY intense air dryers. When I got him back to the changing table, I really felt like I had it under control. The worst of it was over. Anyone who knows me (and has Facebook), knows that I have been bombarded with comments at the grocery store and everywhere else of how I look like I have my hands full. I know people are being nice and trying to be helpful, but it always makes me wonder if they think I'm a total wreck. So, while in Beaver, as all of this diaper drama was going on, a little old lady who was missing a leg and was in a wheelchair, wheeled her way right next to me and said, "oh dear, do you need some help?" Ouch!! There went all my confidence! Here I thought I was doing SO well with the situation, but apparently not.

Needless to say, we made it home in one piece! Hank took his lunch break right when we were pulling in to town, so we were able to see him before we went to bed. We ALL missed him so much. Grayson started crying about 15 minutes out of Vegas, "See Dada. Hold you dada. See Dada". I love my life and I love my family!!

Funny Grayson!

Grayson is such an amazing little boy! Hank and I are constantly amazed at, humored by, and proud of this sweet boy. He is such a fun buddy to have along when I go out. I love hearing his little voice coming from the back seat of the car. I love the funny comments he makes as we drive. Lately he's been telling me every time something comes out of the baby's mouth. If Preston is crying Gray will say, "Mama, baby try. Mama, baby baba." The baby is crying & he needs a bottle. If the baby is making cooing noises, Grayson half giggling will say, "Mama, baby (followed by his version of the sound the baby just made)" then he laughs. He'll do this for the entire car ride. He thinks it is so funny when Preston talks. He also loves it when Preston gets a hold of any part of his body. Of course he tells me this too, "Mama, baby han." and then he giggles. It's so fun to watch him discover things and enjoy them so much.

The other night at the dinner table we were telling him that he needed to eat more food so he could get big muscles like dada. Hank proceeded to flex his muscles and grunt. Spontaneously Gray tensed up both his arms and grunted just like his daddy. Look how cute this video is!

Now that Grayson is two he is ALL grown up!

Now that Grayson is two, it's like he has suddenly decided to grow up! He speaks so clearly and remembers EVERYTHING we teach him. The other day I taught him the difference between day and night. After explaining it to him once, he started using it all the time. We were sitting down eating breakfast and I pulled open the blinds. Immediately he gasps and says, "day!" Then, tonight I opened the door when it was dark outside. The moment he walked over to the door he said, "night!" It baffles me! I always think I'm going to have to repeat myself several times before he remembers, but I never have to. I wish I had a memory like his. Since his birthday he has used one word more than any other..."self" (meaning"I want to do it by myself"). He wants to get in and out of bed by himself, don't you even dare try to pick him up and take him out. He's also VERY insistent on getting in and out of the car by himself. Today we went to the park with his best friend Gaige. We were running late (weird...I'm NEVER late!) so even though I know he likes to get out of his car seat by himself, I just picked him up and put him from the car seat to the floor in the car to speed up the process. He quickly whined, "seeeeeeelf" and proceeded to get back in his car seat, scoot all the way back where he was when I pulled him down, and then get back on the floor by him "self"!! WOW! He did the same thing to me the other night when I put him in bed. He was standing in the hall right outside his bedroom when I picked him up and put him in his bed. Again, he whined, "seeeeeeeelf!" and got out of his bed, walked back to the hall, stopped in the exact spot where I picked him up, and then walked back and got in his bed by him "self". He's THAT serious about doing it himself. I LOVE that he does this. It's like he is erasing the fact that you did it wrong by backing up to the point where you erred. Dang he's cute!!

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY GRAYSON!

WHAT GRAYSON LOVES:

• Slides, "BIG slides"
• Apple juice (Probably downs 32 oz a day. Don't worry he gets several ounces of water and milk in there too. I think he drinks more than Hank.)
• Trains or "Choo Choo's"
• His froggy blanket and his train blanket
• The zoo
• Froggys, lizards "wutus", snakes "ssss"
• His dinosaurs or "rawrs"
• Big Trucks (He points every one out as we drive.)
• His baby brother (Hundreds of kisses a day and a sweet high-pitched voice when he talks to him.)
• Gaige (The first person he ever spontaneously said, "I love you" to.)
• When everyone sings Happy Birthday to him!

WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT GRAY:

• His infectious laughter
• How sweet he is to his family and friends
• What a good, obedient boy he is
• How much he loves saying prayers (He keeps his arms folded and eyes closed and after every prayer he HAS to tell us that he closed his eyes.)
• How he loves spending time with Mommy & Daddy (whenever he wants us to join him at whatever he is doing he says, "sit down, mama" or "sit down, dada" and taps his little hand where he wants us to sit.)

Grayson's 2nd Birthday party was so much fun! THANK YOU to all our family who traveled from far away to be here with us. We love you all! My AMAZING mom, of course came and helped me SO much! She made the most beautiful Choo Choo cake that Grayson LOVED!! He couldn't keep his hands off it. He talked about it all day and when it came time for the party he enjoyed it so much. I caught him red handed. He was standing all alone at the cake table picking the skittles off the cake. When I asked him what he was doing, he answered, "eat candy". He's a kid, what else would he be doing? When you're a kid isn't life ALL about "eat candy"?!

After the party we talked about all that happened and asked him what he liked. We had to ask him about certain things to get him going. We asked if he liked the Choo Choo cake, of course he did. "Eat candy" was his response to that. Once we gave him a few ideas, he came up with his own idea. He started bobbing his head and singing, "happy, you" and pointing to himself. For the rest of the night he would spontaneously start singing to himself. When I put him to bed that night I heard him singing himself to sleep with that same song. The next day he wanted us to sing it to him again. Every time we sang to him he got the biggest smile on his face and twinkle in his eyes. Monday was his real birthday so we sang happy birthday to him all day long. You would've thought we gave him bags and bags of candy. He was the happiest boy! I love that it's the simple things that make kids so happy. I need to be more like that!

Grayson and I at his "Choo Choo pa-eee".The blue mouth and uncut cake give you away baby!

Gray and two of his favorite things...his Dada and a SUCKER! He loves his dad so much and wants to be just like him. The other day Hank grew his hair out for a few days. When he finally shaved it off Grayson came up to me and patted his own head and said, "Mama, hair off".

The happiest birthday boy!

Table centerpieces that Mer and Everett helped make. Couldn't have done it all without them!

Hank and I both agree that these ADORABLE cookies were quite the splurge, but they were DELICIOUS and so adorable!! The girl who does them is amazing!

The main event seemed to be this little Choo Choo Train Mer and I made. I had the idea but had NO idea how to execute it. Mer busted this out in no time at all. Thanks aunt Mer, you da bomb!

Gray and Gaige enjoying the awesome Choo Choo train!

What a great day...Family, Friends, Slides, Swings, Choo Choo's, Cake, Candy, Cookies!!

How ever will we top this?

My sweet sister, Vanessa holding Preston. She is such an AMAZING sis and aunt!!

Aunt Lisa holding Preston while she checked the kids in at the "Chugga Chugga Check-In". This is where they got their goody bags with train whistles and candy! My kids are so lucky...they have aunts that love them like crazy. Lisa has always had a special place in her heart for Gray!

Trying to get a picture of all the sugar overdosed kids while the sun burned their eyes was quite the task. This is as good as it gets and this is with the help of several adults. Oh well!

BUSTED!! It's your party, have at it Birthday Boy!

What a great cake! Thanks Mom!!

Gray doesn't get in to tearing the wrapping paper off, but he LOVED his gifts. He got a fish tank with 2 fish and 2 snails, then 2 dwarf frogs were later added (thanks Walls!), an awesome Castle with Dragons and lots of "dies" (guys), a tee-ball set, his favorite Lightening McQueen car, and last but certainly NOT least, a Thomas the Tank Engine remote control train!!

Apparently Grayson's cousin, Max, also liked his gifts. When we were done opening presents he started dragging the gifts off to his car. We would take one gift away from him and he would go grab a different one.

My Mom holding Preston. It sounds cliche, but she IS my Hero.

If I can someday be half the woman she is, I will consider my life a success!!!!!

Don't worry Pres, you're birthday will be here soon! We're so glad you're part of our family!

Funny Things Grayson Does and Says

Grayson calls every adult he sees a "die" which translated is "guy". We had to take him to the Emergency Room last weekend because he was really struggling to breath. Everything turned out fine. He had RSV, just like Preston, but he did not have to be hospitalized. Thank goodness!! So there was a guy in the waiting room that he could not stop commenting on. He was chewing gum and had on high top converse shoes. Grayson probably said, "die, dum" and "die, shoes" a hundred times in the 45 minutes the guy was sitting by us. He has been pretty infatuated with gum lately and I guess he really likes high top converse...I had no idea. When we finally got back into a room, the topic quickly changed to the "snake" that was on his toe. They had placed a little device on his toe to monitor his oxygen saturation and heart rate. There was a long chord which connected to the machine. The chord, to him, of course was a snake. A snake in Grayson language is a "ssssss". For the next 45 minutes we talked about the nurse, the "die" and the "ssssss". I tried to explain to him that the female nurse was a lady. We went over this several times. When he finally got it on his own he started calling her the "wee wee die" or "lady guy". I love how his little mind works!!

Getting this boy dressed is like racing the clock. You've got exactly 3 seconds that he will not resist the process. After that, you've got to try to put a pant leg on a squirming leg and wiggly little bum. Whenever I dress him, he spends 90% of the time trying to run away. This day we were going on a walk. Because of his excitement I only got 2 wiggle-free seconds. He made a mad dash for the door with his pants halfway down. I chased him down and pulled his pants up as he finished running the rest of the way. He got to the door and screamed because he wanted his pants back down where they were. So I pulled them back down. He paused for a second took a long look at me and then grabbed his pants and hiked them up as high as they would go. He then gave me a quirky little grin, followed by the nerdiest giggle and stance. He TOTALLY understood that what he was doing was HILARIOUS. I grabbed the camera and luckily he cooperated. Our little ham!

Gray loves trying to squeeze into anything that looks like he might fit into. I was certain he couldn't fit into the first little shoebox container, but he proved me wrong. He even looks comfy. How fun to be so little and so flexible!! He's also decided that the baby's seats are very comfortable and fit him just right. Who needs a Lazy Boy when you've got these fun little items?!

Grayson in a shoebox container

Grayson in his Lazy Boy...AKA the baby's bouncer.

Grayson in his other Lazy Boy...AKA the baby's car seat.

Grayson's new favorite container to play in.

Sometimes he needs all his friends to join him...his Pooh,

his Froggy blanky, and his Choo Choo blanky in this case.

Who knew that one $6 container could provide so many hours of fun?!!

Grayson LOVES any game he can play with his Daddy. This one really gets him laughing hard. He uses the couch as his slide and Hank as his mat. I think Hank's reaction makes the game. He shrieks and screams every time Grayson lands on him and Gray laughs uncontrollably.

We went to a Superbowl party at Tony and Mer's house. Grayson LOVES their backyard. There are sticks (golf clubs), rocks, dirt, water, and great cousins who will play with him for hours. He was in heaven! I went out to check on him and this is how he looked. He doesn't like long sleeves AT ALL. He always tries to take his shirts off when they are long sleeved. I assume that's what he was doing here. Sexy Gray! Now that winter is over he is finally used to pants, long sleeves, and real shoes. I hope we can get him used to the shorts, short sleeves and sandals because the smoldering heat of summer is on its way!!

Gracie & Grayson's Last Night as Neighbors

Our dear friends Lindsay and Tyler are moving from Las Vegas and the whole Reuter family is VERY sad. Grayson will miss his best girl friend, Gracie. They are such good playmates (probably because Gracie is so sweet and ignores Grayson when he's being bossy or mean). We have loved having the Wille's so close and will miss them so much! One of their last nights here, we watched Gracie while Lindsay and Tyler finished cleaning up. She and Grayson had such a great time hanging out and playing in their jammies.

BEST BUDDIES!

GRAYSON HAD PUT HIS ARM AROUND GRACIE BUT I DIDN'T GET A PICTURE. SO I TOLD HIM TO PUT HIS ARM AROUND HER TO RECREATE THE MOMENT. EVERY TIME I TOLD HIM TO DO THAT, GRACIE PUT HER ARM AROUND HERSELF.

GRACIE AND HER HIPPO

Our other dear friends Becca and Shane had a going-away party for the Wille's. The only thing missing...was the Wille's. They ended up having to leave sooner than expected so they didn't make it. Being the partiers that we are, we had the party anyway. It was a great excuse to get together and eat great food. The kids had a blast! Grayson especially enjoyed the "hats" at the Burton's house. Mind you, the Burton's house is a kids DREAM because they have zillions of toys! It always confuses me why the free "toys" are enjoyed more and for longer periods of time. I think Grayson's favorite "toys" have been my kitchen utensils, big boxes, and the "slide" they made one night with an old mattress at my brother's house.

Preston's Baby Blessing

We blessed our sweet little Preston Everett Reuter on January 4th, 2009. It was great to have so many family members together. Jessica's mom and almost all of her siblings came, as well as her sweet uncle Luis, and his family. We missed those of you who couldn't make it!! And we are VERY grateful for the sacrifice made by those of you who did! We love you ALL! Hank's blessing for Preston was beautiful. It could not have been more perfect for this little angel boy. Preston has a very happy, easy-going personality. Even at his young age, it is obvious that he is a very sweet boy. It is also very obvious that Grayson ADORES him. He kisses him every chance he gets and unsolicited kisses from Gray are a rarity. We love our two boys and love how much they love each other...lots of love going around!!

Grayson's Dance Parties

Hank and I love music. We always have it on. Lately one of Grayson's favorite activities is having dance parties. It's so much fun. He'll point to the ipod and start stomping his foot while he begs, "pleeeeeeeese". So I turn on the music and he starts stomping his foot, running around, and doing whatever else occurs to him. I wanted to teach him how to shake his booty. After showing him a few times, this is what he came up with, I guess this was the only way he could tell his booty was moving...

Life with little boys is so much fun!

Do you ever get nervous because your kids seem so much smarter, more spiritual, and funnier than you are? That's what keeps going through my mind as I watch Grayson each day. He makes me laugh so much!! He also makes me SO PROUD! I love how he loves his little brother. From day one he has been so soft with Preston. Grayson is almost 2. Isn't he supposed to be compulsive and just suddenly whack things? Isn't he supposed to be a little clumsy and not aware of what's around him? Well, none of this is the case. Whenever he approaches the baby it is to kiss him. He slows down and moves extremely cautiously. It seems to take him an entire minute to move one inch. Once his little puckered lips get to the baby's head, he kisses him so softly. He has to do this every time he hears Preston cry. He stops whatever he is doing, walks over to him, and softly kisses him on the head. It's like he is certain that all Preston needs is a kiss from his big brother and he will stop crying. The other day we were in the car late at night and Preston started crying. I heard Grayson making noise so I turned to see what he was doing. He had his little head turned toward Preston's car seat, his head resting on his own car seat, and he was gently kissing the air. I about melted!! Lately he's taking the kissing to a new level. I catch him randomly going up to Preston and just kissing on him for several minutes at a time when Preston's NOT crying. He used to just kiss him on the head, but lately Preston's face, hands, arms, feet, and anywhere else easy to get to get just as much attention. In this picture Preston was on the couch crying so Gray squeezed in right next to him and started kissing his head over and over again. You can see his lips in a semi-pucker. What a good brother!

Today I was holding Preston in my lap while Grayson stood next to me and we read a book. Once we were done reading Gray kissed the baby, smiled at him, then started playing with him. He grabbed the baby's hands and started moving them as though he was waving and would say, "hi" over and over again and then laugh. This captured his attention and made me laugh for several minutes. How at his age does it occur to him to make the baby do things we do? I love this smart, amazing little boy we have! I feel so lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful boys!!