Batting Practice

While shopping today, I saw a cute, pink MLB baseball and bat that I couldn't resist picking up for Alexa.  When we were in St. Louis, she had tried a few swings of the bat at my friend Molly's house, so I figured she would enjoy having her own baseball set.  I figured correctly - - Alexa was very excited to see the bat when I picked her up from Aftercare tonight, although she did ask why the Cardinals and Fredbird were not on it.  My brainwashing of her to be a St. Louis fan has worked!  lol

As soon as we walked in the door, Alexa was ready to break open the packaging and head out to batting practice in the backyard.  I have to laugh whenever I'm showing Alexa how to do something, as she never wants me to show her or help her do it.  She likes to figure everything out for herself (little Connie).  We're still working on her timing - she likes to swing as soon as I toss the ball - but she did get a few decent hits.  I think she'll have the hang of it after a couple more practice sessions.  Heck, after our grueling swimming lessons, everything else seems relatively easy!

Baseball - - way more fun than swimming!

Morning Routine

Monday...the return to the normal weekday routine.  There's one component of the weekday routine that always brings a smile to my face - Alexa's wake-up.

Every morning, without fail, Alexa jolts awake (trust me - there's nothing gradual about her wake-up) and immediately comes to find me, yelling "Mommy" in a panicked voice as she searches the house.  I should probably be concerned about this level of anxiety, but it always brings a smile to my face to know that I am always the first thought on her mind in the morning.  It's extremely important to her that she sees me before I leave for work, giving her a hug and kiss.  This morning I knew I had reached a new status echelon, as she didn't even asked me to pause her television show, her one show of the day, when she said good-bye to me.

I will continue to smile at this morning routine as long as it lasts; I have a feeling she won't be begging for a hug and a kiss when I'm dropping her off at middle school :)

Two girls enjoying our Dunkin' Donuts beverages - coffee and hot chocolate.

Return of Summer

Wow - summer has come quickly for those of us in Arizona.  The days of highs in the 80's seem to be in the past, as today's high approached 100-degrees.  Ahh, summer in the desert.

Now that Alexa is enrolled in a Saturday morning swim class, our Sundays are now lesson-free, giving us an entire day without any commitments. Yeah!  Alexa and I made the best of the high temperatures by taking a swim in the pool this afternoon, much of which was spent floating around on a raft in the pool.  She also seemed to be enjoying her "My Little Pony" kickboard, although she uses it more like a boogie board than a kickboard.  Oh well, she was having fun in the water, so that's all that really matters.

I was watching a show on HGTV today, and the network was running a promo that consisted on a montage of viewer-submitted photos of families and their homes.  One of the pictures tat flashed across the screen was a photo of a newborn baby in a knitted stocking.  Alexa, who was drawing in her sketchbook on the floor, immediately yelled, "Granty!  Look, Mommy!  Granty was on tv!"  I felt terrible breaking the news to her that it wasn't a picture of Granty, but rather another baby.  The baby really didn't look too much like Grant, but I think it is yet another demonstration of how much Alexa thinks about her baby brother.  Similar to the rest of us, Granty is never far from her thoughts - he'll always be "the cutest little baby ever" in the eyes of his big sister.

Granty made sure his sister shared the spotlight with him,
even if it meant having to push her out of the way :)

You've Got a Friend In Me

The "Toy Story" movie has been in my car's dvd player for several weeks, and the movie has played on a continuous loop.  As a result, the song "You've Got a Friend In Me" has been stuck in my head, and Alexa's also serenaded me with it several times.

As part of my unrelenting attempt to get Alexa to learn to swim, today she had an 8:30am swim lesson with a new coach - Coach Steven.  She had her normal anxiety and tears, but Steven was pretty stern with her, a style that actually seemed to work for Alexa (fingers are crossed!).  Jenny, BFF Gabriella's mom, had texted me this morning to let me know that Gabriella was going to be doing a make-up swim class at 9am.  I did not tell Alexa about this, as I knew she wouldn't be able to focus on swimming if she knew her BFF was in the viewing area.  When Alexa saw Gabriella, her reaction was truly priceless!  The girls were so excited to see each other, and they were fervently waving to each other and blowing kisses across the pool.  Spending eight hours, five days a week is not enough for these two!

These girls really do have a wonderful friendship.  Based upon some of the stuff Alexa says to me and Gabriella mentions to Jenny, I know that Alexa has talked a lot to her BFF about the loss of Granty.  Even though they're barely four years-old, it's pretty remarkable to see the depth of their friendship and the issues these girls have tackled together.  However, it only takes a quick fight about sharing or a hair-pulling incident to remind me that these girls are only four (or almost four)... :) lol

As I was washing dishes tonight, Alexa was playing outside as Alstott was roaming the yard.  When I looked out the back wall of windows on the house, I saw a very sweet moment, as Alstott and Alexa sat next to each other on the window ledge, simply staring at the sunset over the back ravine.  A girl and her dog..... "Alstott" was Alexa's first word (confusing everyone at her Montessori school in New Jersey), so the friendship with these two should come as no surprise.

Sharing the love with Alstott....

Deep thoughts for a puggle and preschooler.

Artwork for an Angel

Friday is normally the highlight of Alexa's week - it's pizza day at school, and it also means that Mommy brings home a "Mr. Jim's cookie."  One of the guys in my office, Jim (who grew up in a bakery family), makes amazing chocolate chip cookies and brings them to work every Friday; I always make sure to snag one for Alexa.  However, I worked in a different office than my usual one today, so I wasn't able to bring home a "Mr. Jim's cookie" for Alexa.  Instead, we went to Safeway and I let Alexa pick out the cake mix and icing so that we could make cupcakes tonight.  Not one of Jim's famous cookies, but not a bad substitute :)

As we were making the cupcakes, Alexa began to ask me about angels.  Alexa asked what exactly an angel is and where angels live.  Wow - talk about being caught off-guard.  I tried my best to provide concise answers for her questions and also tried to discover what prompted these thoughts.  I still don't know exactly what triggered these questions, but I was able to surmise that someone told Alexa that Granty is an angel now.  Alexa ended the conversation by asking if she could send a card to an angel, as she had a picture she made for Granty.  :)

Granty's a popular guy for artwork these days.  Our friends Keith and Jen sent us a picture of the Relay for Life luminaria that their daughter Caroline, who is one year older than Alexa, decorated in honor of Granty.  Our little boy's legacy continues....

My little baker....funfetti cupcakes w/chocolate icing.

Grant's luminaria - his light continues to shine.
Thank you House family!

Five Months....

Five very long months....

Since we haven't been to Fresno since the funeral, Damon and I have not yet ordered a headstone for Granty's grave.  While Damon was out of town, we received some information and sample designs from the funeral home, but I could not bring myself to open the envelope.  Our procrastination not only been logistical, but it's also intentional; there's a sense of finality when the headstone is complete.  This task is really sad, and it is even tougher to figure out how to create a lasting tribute to our little boy.  I know how long it takes me to design party invitations, so I can only imagine the duration (and number of drafts) of this undertaking.  One thing is for certain - our Granty's headstone will include a giraffe....

There's not a day, or even an hour for that matter, that goes by that I don't think about my Granty.  So many aspects of my life were Granty-centric, I think I'm still adjusting to life without him five months later.  The sadness has been exhausting, but Damon and I are definitely ready to start thinking of our next chapter, one of joy and preservation of Granty's legacy.

One dearly missed little guy....

Halloween In April?

I wish I had a better, more glamorous excuse for not updating the blog last night, but fatigue got the best of me.  When I was washing dishes, I heard Alexa crying out in her sleep, so I ventured into her room to make sure she was okay.  She asked me to lay down with her for a little bit....big mistake.  I fell asleep next to her and didn't wake up until 12:30am.  Needless to say, when I made my way to my own room, the last thing I wanted to do was log onto the computer...

Damon has been out of town for a couple of days, so Alexa has been keeping me very busy.  Her energy levels are truly astounding!  Our car rides to and from school are some of the most entertaining, and enlightening, experiences.  I absolutely love hearing her mind at work - it's so funny to hear some of her thoughts.  Tonight she was busy planning our family Halloween costumes - - I have no idea why, but it was of the utmost importance to her to establish the plan for a holiday six months away.  In Alexa's dream world, the Hovey clan is dressed up like Barbie's "Princess and the Pop Star."  Alexa wil be the Pop Star, she wants me to wear a Princess costume and Damon as the Prince.  Interesting idea, but the likelihood of it happening is about zero. :)  I'm sure she will have hundreds of ideas and change her mind many times before Halloween.  Besides, I don't really see Damon as "The Prince" type.  :)

Regardless of this year's Halloween costumes, I think Halloween 2012 will always be one of my favorites.  The Year of Superman and the Mermaid will always have a special place in my heart....

Our real-life Superman....no costume required.