Boredom Buster!

Due to the cold weather and poor road conditions it seemed like everything was closed or cancelled today. This meant I too had to cancel the MOPS meeting we were supposed to have this morning. So, what to do inside again all day???? I rememebered I had tucked away an art recipe with all the ingredients for just such a day as today! It's a recipe called "Drawing Dough" which came out of Family Fun last Septmeber. Simply take 2/3 cup each of water, flour and salt and mix together, divide in two and add washable tempera paint to make two colors of dough (or if you want lots of one color don't divide). Once it is all mixed pour into squeeze bottles (I found some at Walmart for 78 cents a piece) and draw on construction paper! It will take a while to dry depending on the thickness of the dough. I must say I've done something similar in preschool so I prepared for this to be messy from start to finish. If you can get over the messy factor this is a fantastic recipe/activity! Joshua doesn't like to be dirty most of the time, so things like shaving cream and finger paint only last for a few minutes at most with him. He enjoyed the cleanliness of just squeezing the bottles and getting results. It was also good for him to use as a strengthening exercies for the muscles in his hands (muscles he will later on need to use for writing). I must say, I played around with this stuff myself and had a great time. This really is one of the best recipes I've seen for this time of activity! So all of you who are struggling with what to do on another snow day try this one!

The crinkled nose shows just how hard he is working!

Fun for even adults to play with!

A messy creation

Squeeze!!!

Lack of Blogging

It's not that life has been uneventful around here, but I have been busy this last week getting details straight for our MOPS auction. It's the one large fundraiser we do each year that funds what our MOPS dues don't, which is a lot. Friday evening was fairly successful. The crowd just wasn't there which meant that the bidding "wars" just weren't happening which in turn meant that we didn't raise as much money as we had hoped for. A big thanks to those of you who were able to come and support this ministry! Thanks for enjoying the night with us! At least some of us in MOPS can breathe a big sigh of relief now that the auction is over and get back to life as normal.

Enjoying the Snow

With all the snow that was dumped on us this past week and the mild temperatures we figured we should spend some time outside. Of course Joshua was all for this idea! We thought perhaps it would be snowman making conditions, but the snow didn't roll well. The snow did however pack really well so Cory set about making a snow fort. We don't own one of those snow brick makers, but we do own plenty of pails so we used one of those to create the fort with. Joshua wasn't thrilled with our fort, but did play in it shortly. Joshua decided it was more interesting to pull out some of his outdoor toys to play with, even though they aren't exactly meant for the snow. Joshua really loved knocking down the fort, being buried in the snow and eating the snow of course! Cory and I enjoyed a great snowball fight with the "brick" casualties from the snow fort! I'm sure our neighbors thought we were crazy, but we were all having a blast!

Mmmm good!

Knocking down the snow fort.


Being buried in the snow!

Um, wrong season Joshua!

The Real Car Show!

Tonight we went to the much anticipated auto show downtown. Papa joined us, along with Uncle Phil and Ciejae. Joshua was a tad bit overwhelmed by the number of cars and the crowds as we entered, but kept excitedly saying, "I see the cars!!!". Only a few minutes into the huge room of cars and we had already found the Mustangs. Joshua of course had to try "driving" the Mustang! He really enjoyed climbing in and out of the cars. He also enjoyed jumping around in the many truck beds. It was fun to see him recognize the cars he knows and to actually get to see them for more than a split second as when they are driving on the roads. We captured a few pictures, but with all the people around and a toddler on the go as the subject of our photos it was not an easy task. Were pretty sure our little car enthusiast had a good time tonight!

"Car Show!"

Ever since I told Joshua we were going to take him to the Auto Show downtown to see the cars he has been very excited to say the least! Since he has to wait until the weekend to see the auto show he created his own "car show", as he calls it, yesterday by setting up all his Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars on the piano. We even taped the little tv spot they had on last night so he could get a sneak preview before actually going. Throughout the little bit of the tv show we watched he had to find some of the "matches" from his little "car show" to match to the ones he was actually seeing. Funny how the kid can recognize them somewhere and then can find the one that matches in his fleet. Already at 2 1/2 I think he can recognize and name more cars than I can. I'm sure the little car enthusiast will be overcome with excitement when he sees all the cars this weekend!

Happy Birthday Cory!

We aren't big into birthdays in this family and usually do small celebrations (although for Joshua's we make a little bit bigger deal about his birthday - it's much more fun for kids). So, we did dinner out to celebrate Cory's birthday. We went to Red Robin due to their great deal they offer of a free burger for your birthday (you have to sign up on line ahead of time). It's also a great place for kids, already noisy and there is lots to look at. My dad, Shawn, Erin and Owen joined us for dinner. The highlight for the kids was seeing the Red Robin (someone dressed in a costume) and giving him high fives, Joshua even gave him a hug! Joshua was so intrigued he kept asking me where the "red duck" was all through dinner. At the end of dinner the Red Robin came back around to our table and Joshua shared all his toys with the Robin. Owen especially enjoyed when they sang and clapped for Cory when they came with his free birthday sundae. It was a fun night out, especially since Joshua and I haven't been out of the house since Monday afternoon. Happy Birthday Cory, we love you and hope you enjoyed your day!

Special Mail!

Joshua got a special surprise in the mail today! After hearing that the big envelope was for him Joshua immediately began to tear into it. He was excited to find a note from my Aunt Cher, Uncle Steve, Matt and Rachel as well as a few books and a Highlights High Five magazine geared toward younger kids. We of course had to read all the books and part of the magazine right away! Joshua was also excited to find out that he will be receiving more mail in the coming months as they signed him up for a subscription to the Highlights High Five magazine!!! What a fun surprise! Thank you Aunt Cher, Uncle Steve, Matt and Rachel your surprise mail made Joshua's day!!

Books, books, books!

Yesterday we went to library, like we do every 3 weeks (when our books are due). Joshua enjoys going to the library, mostly because he likes to play with the train set and the other toys they have there. However, lately he has been more into choosing his own books than playing with the toys. Yesterday spent almost the entire time at the library picking out books with me. He went a bit overboard as we took 25 of them home, but I'm not going to tell the kid he can't get books! (Can you tell by his selections what the boy likes??) We spent most of the rest of the day reading all of his new books. In fact today we have spent a good chunk of time doing the same and Joshua has spent time just paging and looking through them. I just love the way Joshua devours books, he just can't get enough of them! Hopefully this is a life-long love of Joshua's!

Celebrating Sam's Birthday

Our nephew Sam turned one this weekend and we headed out to celebrate with him. The cousins all had a good time playing as they usually do and Sam had a great time pigging out on his cake! Way to attack that cake Sam! The rest of us enjoyed cake, including Owen who just recently discovered that cake really is delicious (he screamed and cried when given his cake at his first birthday and hasn't touched it since)! Joshua loves the frosting (a boy after my own heart) and delights in licking the decorations from the cake! Sam attacks his cake!


Joshua prefers to lick the frosting off the cars that were on the cake.

Owen finally eating cake!

Dreaming. . .

Yesterday we picked this Playmobil catalog up at a local toy store and ever since Joshua has been paging through it and looking at all the items. He has enjoyed playing with his Playmobil boat that he received from his Uncle Dave this Christmas. He loves to take the people in and out, pretend they are swimming, taking showers, going potty in the little boat bathroom, etc. With the boat came a mini catalog that has been perused almost every day since Christmas. So, when Joshua found this catalog at the store yesterday he was thrilled! It's hilarious to hear Joshua as he pages through the "book" (as he calls it). You'll hear things like, "I like that one", "Oohh, a big jet", "Wow that is cool", "That one is cute", "I got this boat from Uncle Dave", "I want this one". Playmobil makes excellent toys that stand the test of time, even though they can be a bit pricey, and they are toys that I love because they encourage a child to use their imagination and creativity. Joshua has a long time to look at the catalog and dream because his birthday isn't exactly right around the corner.

Not a good morning

I thought I was up for an award for worst day as Joshua was up at 3 am and 6:30 am because bunny-bear was lost under the blankets and then again crying and very crabby at 8:10 am for the morning (about 40 minutes earlier than normal). Apparently I didn't win the award for the worst start to the day because Cory called at 9:00 am and asked if I had gotten his email. I hadn't, I had a kid get up early. So, I went and checked while on the phone. The email he sent was entitled "My hour and a half commute to work this morning" with this picture attached. Someone swerved in front of Cory and into his lane this morning and unfortunately Cory couldn't avoid it. What a bummer, it's the car we actually bought, not the leased vehicle. Oh well, it goes in the shop next week for repair. Thankfully Cory was fine, just not thrilled about his morning commute. I hate Michigan's crummy winter weather!

Building a Blaze

I grew up with a dad who loved to "chase" firetrucks and apparently I married a firetruck "chaser" too. Once Cory heard about the fire in the condo building tonight, he was antsy to get over to watch it. I kept saying that there was no need to go, there was live coverage on woodtv.com so why not just stay in our warm home and watch. But, oh no, we just had to go and check it out! (I must say it was intriguing as it was the condo building Cory's sister used to live in years ago.) So we packed up and actually met up with Cory's parents who were already there. Joshua sure got to see lots of firetrucks and a horrible fire. He was fascinated with the ladder trucks and the water spraying. While watching Joshua kept saying, "that's bad!" We just watched in awe as the time ticked by and very little progress was being made in stopping the blaze. It was interesting to see, but very sad at the same time. On the way home Joshua kept talking about how bad the fire was so we decided we should pray for the people who lost their homes as well as the hard working fire fighters who have spent many hours in the chilling weather fighting the fire. Join us in praying for those involved in this devastating event.

Tolerant or Stupid???

I'm not sure which our cat is, tolerant or just plain stupid. Sometimes I think it's a bit of both. He has been a fabulous cat as far as dealing with Joshua. He let's Joshua pet him, lay on him, put toys all over him, etc. He has never bitten him or even attempted to bite him. Today, we were reading books and playing with a Franklin puppet I have in my office. Franklin has a winter hat, scarf and mittens we like to dress him in. Logan came and joined us on the bed and Joshua decided it would be more fun to dress Logan up than Franklin. So, with my help Logan was decked out in Franklin's winter gear and the silly cat just sat there! I've never been one to dress up my cats, but this was just too funny and I had to get a picture!

A Visit to the Dentist

The last time I was in the hygienist suggested I bring Joshua along on the next appointment to have him get used to the dentist office and have him watch me getting my teeth cleaned. So, today I was scheduled for a routine cleaning and Joshua went along for the experience. He was enamored by the office, the hygienist, the chair, and the dentist. He sat on my lap for a while to get a closer view of everything that was going on he was so interested. After I was finished and got out of the chair he insisted he should have a turn. So, up in the chair he climbed (along with his ever-present companion bunny-bear) and the hygienist gave him a ride in the chair and took a look at his teeth. She said his teeth looked really good and told us to keep up the good brushing. Joshua received a new toothbrush and got to choose a toy out of the treasure box! Who knew the dentist could be so fun?!?!

Bargains!

Have I mentioned that I love Old Navy for little kids clothes?!?! Today they started their annual half off clearance price sale and I was a bargain shopper on the hunt. I had already looked at the selection at the smaller Old Navy store in town earlier in the week in anticipation of the sale and had decided my chances at more bargains were better at the larger store across town. So my poor son had to sit in a stroller and entertain himself for an hour and a half while we shopped around the boys section, the women's and the men's. I purposely gave him alphabet pretzels for his snack which occupied him for a good 45 minutes as he tried to figure out every letter before he ate it. He did a phenomenal job while I shopped and even the lady at the register commented that he was the most patient kid she had ever seen. Joshua has a large portion of his wardrobe for next fall/winter thanks to this great sale. I didn't pay over $5.50 for anything pictured and most of it was $4 or $3 a piece with the total for all being $54!!! I'm so thankful that Joshua has always been predictable in sizes because I save so much money shopping this sale each year! Now I'm praying he doesn't break from this trend and have a growth spurt!

Getting Ready for Preschool

It's January which means its the beginning of enrollment time in schools. We've, okay, maybe it's just me that has decided that it would be good for Joshua to go to preschool. Being an only child he needs as many social outlets as possible, which he has lots of, but they are mostly with me. I am unlike a lot of parents in that I am looking for a program that focuses on social and emotional development, NOT academics. Just for the record I am the parent who didn't even sing the ABC song to him until a month ago, but the child can identify 11 letters already and all from the reading and playing we have done, not being directly taught. So, the big decision of where to send Joshua to school . . . was not a big decision at all for me. To me there is only one preschool program that will meets my expectations, and it just so happens to be the one I helped create and taught in for so many years. So, today we visited what will be Joshua's preschool come this fall. He will only be going two days a week for a couple hours, but at least this will allow him a social outlet without me around. Joshua had a great time exploring the preschool rooms, playing with the toys as well as watching and interacting with the children and teachers. Joshua felt right at home in preschool and even after a couple hours didn't want to leave. We'll attend an open house at the end of the month so Joshua can get another taste of preschool. Next on the list of things to do is signing up for T.R.I.P. (Tutition Reduction Incentive Program) so we can start saving up money that will go towards tuition!

Case Closed!

Today was Joshua's last visit with his Early On interventionist. She had to close his case because he is doing so well! We were sad to say goodbye, but glad to know that Joshua is on target, if not above now, in his language development. His interventionist, pictured with him here, has been an amazing help in getting Joshua's language to grow! He absolutely loved having her come over and bring toys to play with him (little did he know that he was really working on his language skills). I am astounded at how this stubborn little boy went from grunting and only a few words a year ago to a boy who talks constantly in multiple word sentences today! Thanks to his interventionist both Joshua and I learned skills to help his language develop and really explode! Early On is an amazing resource and we are very thankful and blessed to have been on the receiving end of some much needed help!

Happy New Year!

We started off the new year with a fun winter activity! Today we met Shawn, Erin and Owen over at a school by their house that has a perfect hill for little kids to go sledding on. It's just enough to sled down and not too steep or long for parents who have to drag or carry their kids back up. The boys had a great time and even went sledding down the hill by themselves several times. After a brisk time in the snow we played and finished our tasty leftovers from our spread last night at Shawn and Erin's house. A great start to another hopefully blessed year!

The Conclusion of the Advent season!

All month we have been celebrating Advent in our house by lighting the Advent wreath and singing a song that goes along with it as well as telling the stories leading up to the birth of Jesus using the figures from Joshua's nativity set. The parts of the story are retold each day and added to as the weeks go on (if you are familiar with Children in Worship it is this style of story telling). By the end of the Advent season Joshua could help tell the story of Jesus' birth. Unfortunately time was so limited on Christmas day as we had to go from one celebration to the next we didn't have time to do our Advent devotions. So, the day after Christmas we were able to tell the complete story and light all of the candles, including the white candle which Joshua had patiently been waiting for! We even sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus! What a joy it was to share the beauty of this Advent season with Joshua and see him really internalize all he was learning! I love that I can share Jesus with Joshua this way!

The angel visits the sheperd in the fields.


Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem.

More Christmas with More Family!

Christmas was a jam-packed day filled with lots of food, family and fellowship. After our little family celebration we headed over to my uncle Steve and aunt Cher's house to celebrate Christmas with my extended family. It was a delightful afternoon! Joshua was spoiled once again with a Fisher Price construction site set from Great Grandpa and Great Grandma, a cool Hot Wheels track from Jim, Nancy, Danielle and Whitney and a cuddly bear and two great books from Steve, Cher, Matt and Rachel! What a blessing to have family that is so loving and generous! Thank you! Christmas night we were able to get together with Cory's extended family. Unfortunately, I never got my camera out to take a picture of the goings on. It was nice to see some faces we don't frequently get to see and to catch up with those folks as well. Overall it was a busy and fun-filled day!

Our Little Family Celebration

Our own family celebration seems to be tucked in between other celebrations, which works pretty well. Due to time constraints that come along with trying to pack tons in a day we had Joshua do his stocking on Christmas eve morning and his gifts from us on Christmas morning. He loved his little surprises in his stocking, especially the pretend camera (a re-do of the same camera I had as a child) and the Insta-snow! For those of you who aren't aware there is this cool stuff out there called Insta-Snow that is a powdered polymer that when mixed with water expands into a cool, white,fluffy substance that can be played with. Just click on the link and you will see a demonstration by its creator. Joshua also enjoyed opening his gifts. He was so good about choosing a gift and after opening it playing with it for a while. We actually had to prompt him to open another gift! I over bought for him this year because I started picking up things in November and just tossed them in the storage closet. When I went to wrap everything I realized it was a bit much given that he gets so much from others as well. We gave him a Moon Sand set, a puzzle, two books, the Leapfrog Word Whammer, Candyland Castle game, Chutes and Ladders, a Tic-Tac-Toe game, and a John Deere semi truck with a trailer and digger. We enjoyed making some Christmas memories as a little family!

Click to Play

Gronsman Family Christmas

Christmas Eve night we gathered at my dad's place for our traditional celebration. Dave and I had worked for hours on preparing the food and were ready to sit and enjoy the fruit of our labor. The food was delicious as always! After dinner it was time for gift giving and receiving. Joshua was very excited to give away our gifts since he had helped me wrap them up. Joshua gave Uncle Dave, Uncle Phil, Ciejae, Great Grandpa and Great Grandma pens with his picture in them. Papa received a special key chain with Joshua's picture on it. Joshua had a riot opening all of his gifts. Once again he was spoiled by Papa with lots of new clothes, a safari Jeep and trailer with animals, shake -n- go cars and a race track! He also got a new pair of Jordan shoes from Uncle Phil and Ciejae. Uncle Dave surprised him with a Playmobil boat. Wow! Thanks for all your generosity!

Just a side note- Joshua has been infatuated with Dave since we picked him up from the airport so, during dinner Joshua kept asking Dave to dance, but Dave wouldn't oblige. At one point Dave told Joshua he would dance during the next song, so when the next song came on Joshua immediately went over and got Dave out of his chair. After the celebration was done and we were packing up to leave Dave turned on a song that just made Joshua turn on the major dance moves. So, our evening ended with a little dance party! What a riot!

Click to Play

Uncle Dave!

A while ago I asked my brother Dave to schedule his flight home for Christmas at a time that Joshua and I would be able to come and pick him up. I figured Joshua would enjoy going to the airport to see the planes and would be very excited to see someone he knows come off of one! So a few days ago I told Joshua that we were going to pick up Uncle Dave at the airport on Sunday around lunch time. Every day since I have been asked if we were going to pick up Uncle Dave! After a few changes in flight plans, thanks to overbooked planes and delayed flights, we were finally able to meet Dave at the airport this evening. Joshua was very excited to see him, as were the rest of us! We saw his plane come in and pull up to the gate and then watched him come out of the gate into the airport. Joshua couldn't stop smiling at Dave. We went out for dinner and Joshua just kept asking Dave all kinds of questions. It's so nice we can spend time some time catching up this week!

Spotting Uncle Dave coming into the airport!

"Hi Uncle Dave!"

A New Twist

Joshua has had a ball playing with his nativity set this year, especially since we have been celebrating Advent all month and he has been hearing about the Christmas story, so he really knows who is who. After hearing the story of Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem today he was playing with his new truck with trailer and boat and decided to have Mary and Joseph ride in the truck. I guess he figured driving in a truck would be a much easier mode of transportation than walking or riding a donkey!

Friends

My friend Kim and her husband Matt and daughter Ally arrived in town yesterday for their family holiday celebration. She was gracious enough to stop over so we could exchange gifts and the kids could exchange gifts, but Joshua and Ally didn't open their gifts when together because Joshua was napping and Ally was too excited about being with her grandparents and didn't come along. We missed seeing the kids open their gifts together, but it was so wonderful to be able to catch up with Kim without kid interruptions! Joshua opened his gifts this morning and was thrilled to discover he was the proud owner of a motorized bulldozer and an awesome set of transportation themed cookie cutters! Thanks Ally (Kim and Matt)!!!