Less Than Six Weeks

Since the big baby announcement on Christmas Eve...(I cried, but of course I did) we nicknamed this babe Fetus Fawson. The entire family was deliriously in love with this pregnancy from the beginning. The due date is drawing closer now...less than six weeks away. We can hardly wait to meet this little girl!

My daughter...first born love of mine...is so perfectly a mother.

As I watch her with her children, I admit I feel a tinge inadequate of my own mothering through the years.

She is actively engaged in every aspect of her children's lives.

They are her world right now. She makes every moment a teaching moment filled with fun...and treats on occasion!

Cass has always been a lover of knowledge...now that she is a mom, she has expanded her learning to the stage of life she know finds herself in. She continually notices her children's developmental stages and challenges them to progress.

Weekly she can tell you the size of the baby she is carrying...eggplant, cantaloupe, or cabbage as the days pass. This attention to mothering, from the daughter who as a teenager once told her baby brother to "Shut up baby" when he cried incessantly.

She is strong and brave and good...and her example does not go unnoticed. During a family hike a few weeks ago, pregnant mommy and brave little Olivia were the first to cross this frigid river while we all stood around discussing whether or not we should. Where I may or may not have ridden piggyback on Dean's back...all to keep the camera dry of course. See...I told you she was brave!

What doesn't come natural to her she quickly gains expertise.

One of my favorite things about my beautiful daughter is her love for books. If you sit down to read a book with Olivia and Henry...the first thing they will do is tell you "book jackets off." Something about that drives them crazy, I think their Daddy Bob started it.

The next thing you will notice is that both of them can tell you the name of the author and additionally the name of the illustrator for every book they read.

And oh how they LOVE books.

They get that love from their momma.

From the moment the miracle of motherhood became hers...she has been completely wrapped up in it. Wow...has she had her hands full over the last 3 1/2 years.

And her hands are about to get more full! Do you think Olivia and Henry have any idea how their little three-year old world is about to change?

No...but they have no idea how wonderful it's going to be either! Gorgeous expecting daughter...I love you with all my heart. And I am so thankful you made me a Nanny Goat! 

Also...this last photo thrills me...so happy I learned how to use a camera!

Weekend with O & H

The boys left town for a week of cat skiing in the Canadian wilderness. Since Cass was home alone with hubby traveling too...we made a long weekend out of it.

Olivia and Henry are growing leaps and bounds lately. Board games have become one of their new favorite pastimes. The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel game teaches colors and numbers...Sami the dog would mostly just like to have a squirrel snack.

 Izzy the pooch tags along with me for the weekend and mostly tolerates all the attention from Olivia and Henry...

 mostly! Ah...Princess Izzy Pants!

Whenever I'm with these two little bumpkins lately, I can't help but drool over their zest for adventure. From the moment their peepers open in the morning until they finally drift off to sleep at the end of the day...the world is their playground.

 Sister kisses for Henry.

We decided to go see the Ice Castles in Heber, but when we arrived a very long wait in the freezing cold looked immanent and certain...because everyone and their Aunt decided to have the same adventure on the same day.

Early dinner plans were quickly devised, hoping the crowds would disperse by the time we finished. Cass is a wonderful mamma...every moment is a teaching moment with her little people.

 Henry and I sipped beverages and then we all played Simon Says

and occupied ourselves as best as we could until dinner finally arrived. Patience is not in a toddler's vocabulary.

Snowsuits and hats and boots and gloves and then a moment when Olivia lost it! It seems her hand was nowhere near the end of her glove. In fact, if you look at the length of her forearm you can see that her fingertips are somewhere in the middle of the arm of the coat. Cass and I got the giggles...which Olivia did not appreciate.

We convinced the kids that going inside the Ice Castle was not going to work out for us...after selling the idea to them only an hour earlier. There were promises to return with Daddy Bob when the crowds were down and the sun was warming the air just a little bit more.

 The thing about kids is...they just don't care. Because around the corner is a gazebo that you can run and chase and laugh and forget about going inside the Ice Castles. Oh if only us adults could be more childish sometimes.

Bedtime routines are the sweetest moments in this home. Night Nights and milk they call it. Prayers for all, teeth brushes and storytime. Doesn't childhood sound wonderful right now to you?

 Early every morning the rugrats would sneak into my room...jump into my bed and exclaim "I waked you up Nanny Goat." Then morning snuggles and giggles would ensue aplenty.

Until our next sleepover my sweet sweet grand children...love you, love you long time!

Fun and Shun in Park Shitay

Back in the day...when Momma Cass was just a teenager with absolutely no idea what her future would hold...she and her "Chunkina in Crime" nicknamed "Chochi" used to do something called "The Sean" Basically it involved using your best Sean Connery accent to say silly things that might or might not sound a little like swearing.

For instance... "Shall we go to Park Shitay to do some shopping at the outletsh." or "Tell the baby-shittar to shitt down and shut up" or "Shilver Bells, it's Crishmush time in the shitay"! They cracked me up...EVERY SINGLE TIME! The two of them would start into their Sean Connery accents and I'd lose complete control. I'm talking...silent laugh, contorted face, and can't breathe out of control. I've called it Park Shitay ever since.

Recently while Daddy Bob was off working hard in a faraway land, we stole Cass and the babies for a few days of fun and shun in Park Shitay.

King Henry came along and celebrated his four-month birthday while we were in Park Shitay.

He's a rockstar and king of the bed!

Meet Olivia...she and her Papa planned to wear the same outfit. Papa's outfit did not have yellow tulle and flower leggings. Although I wish it did...might be a pretty great look for you Papa.

Olivia continues to get the Gerber baby comments wherever she goes. And you should have seen the inquisitive gazes from people at restaurants and other places. With a mixed grouping of Dean, Lisa, Cass, and Chet carrying any one of the babies at any given moment, they just couldn't figure us out.

Olivia has been playing so hard, she has a little something we like to call Swead (sweaty head). Believe me...Dione will appreciate the name.

We didn't do a whole lot while we were there; caring for two babies takes up a lot of the day. It took all four of us to get them in and out of carseats, restaurants, and the pool. How do Cass and Bob do it...how does Cass do it when she's all alone?

While Cass and Chet sneaked off to see Harry Potter...like everyone else in America last weekend, we took the babies back to the condo for some Papa and Nana time.

Shhhh, don't tell mom, one bite of Chunky Monkey for Olivia...

and one bite of Chunky Monkey for Papa. Wait...shouldn't that be two bites for Olivia and then one for Papa?

Some quality bonding took place between uncle and nephew,

and brother and sister.

Henry prefers Uncle Chet to any of us...I think the feeling is mutual!

Olivia had her first time in a float toy...

she loved it...obviously!

Chet showed me this cool trick...

you can see the splash for just a split second before it hit Henry, Me, and the Nikon!

Those sunglasses on him...are authentic Dean. No one else could pull them off, nor would they try!

The days were filled with simple things that brought us much joy. We felt the absence of  Bob and Dione and as always...Jocie. They were constantly in our thoughts!

You can tell Henry's Mom is a tiny bit of a Science nerd by Henry's t-shirt.
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Olivia taught us all how to scream at high piercing levels whenever we sat down to eat. She's really good at it...pretty much an expert!

Once the little ones were tucked in bed, we played hours of Hearts. We took turns losing, winning, shooting the moon, feeling picked on, and constantly laughing.

With a fresh diaper, a warm bubba of milk and it's time for the babies to go home. Shee you later Park Shitay...until next time.