The Case of the Missing Tooth

I picked Grayson up from school on Monday and he burst through the doors with excitement from losing his first tooth. It came out while he was on the playground and he ran to the office to get a tooth-shaped necklace to put his tooth inside for safe keeping.

Later in the afternoon, he was looking at his tooth inside the little box and it fell out somewhere in his classroom. The entire class stopped to look for the tooth, but they couldn't find it.

I told Gray we could just write a note to the tooth fairy and put it under his pillow, but he insisted that he wasn't going to draw a picture, instead he needed to create a model of his tooth. And that's just what he did. He even used a red marker on one end to make it look like blood because his gum bled a tiny bit when the tooth came out.

His two front teeth are also loose, but just barely. It won't be long now before Gray's entire smile changes.

Making his tooth model

He asked me to write this note on the back of the model to apologize to the tooth fairy for losing the tooth. He read it afterward to double-check my writing, like he didn't believe I was accurately capturing what he told me to write.

Here's the front of the "model." A bit oversized!

Placed under his pillow and ready for the tooth fairy

The next morning, he woke up and was so excited to find the tooth fairy left two dollar bills. They were folded in the shape of airplanes and he was beyond thrilled. The tooth fairy must have known he was in to airplanes these days. 

Buddies for life

Michael's best friend came from San Francisco to stay with us last weekend and Grayson soaked up every minute with Uncle Aaron. They played Legos, wrestled, went to get donuts and had lots of fun.

After bedtime, Michael and Aaron enjoyed their grown-up version of a playdate...bourbon tastings and video games. Guess you're never too old for a buddy!

I enjoyed watching Gray and Aaron bond while taking turns reading pages from a library book before bedtime. Not sure how they ended up reading on the living room floor, but they seemed to think it made sense. 

Snow day fun

We had a surprise snow day last week and Grayson couldn't wait to play outside. He wanted desperately to make a snowman or have a snowball fight, but it wasn't the right kind of sticky snow for that. 

He still managed to have fun tromping around and eating it. I enjoyed watching from inside our warm house and then making hot chocolate when he came back inside. 

Daddy is such a good sport

Reading books inside a blanket fort

Time to warm up by the fire!

Our Terrific Kid

It's time once again for our parent/teacher conference. We love Grayson's teacher this year and were relieved to hear he's doing well on all accounts. His academic assessment shows he's reading above a first grade level and is exceeding in all other subjects.

We were more interested to hear how he is doing with things like sitting still, talking, finishing his work and other similar areas where he struggled last year. His teacher said he's doing great and she thinks that retaining him in kindergarten has done wonders for him, especially when it comes to sitting still and finishing work next year when he's in first grade. 

She told us Grayson is a class leader, very caring and thoughtful and has lots of friends. 

He was also recognized on Friday as part of the "Terrific Kids" program, so we went to the assembly where he received his certificate. I think he's more excited about the possibility of having his picture in the newspaper, which I guess they submit as part of the whole deal. Too funny. 

The Terrific Kids recognizes students for various character qualities throughout the year and today's award was for enthusiasm. Gray is nothing if not enthusiastic, but it was nice of his teacher to nominate him for this award. He's very excited!

The group of Terrific Kids getting honored this month from each class. 

Gray is in the front row. 

Gray with his teacher Mrs. Isaac. She's the best!

Counting our Blessings

We took an impromptu trip to Houston last weekend and always wish we had more time to spend with our family there. We'll see them again for the holidays, but it's just never enough.

Of course, every trip is not complete for Michael without visiting local donut empire Shipley's. Grayson and I are happy to oblige as you'll see in the pics below.

Gray had so much fun playing with his cousins Lincoln, Rhyann and Blayne. I love seeing their bond grow deeper. He even had a sleepover with Jennifer and Robbie which meant he was in toy heaven playing with all of Blayne's thousands of Legos!

It just so happened that we were there in time to celebrate Kristin's birthday, so we enjoyed a lunch with two generations of cousins.

While I'm not ready to break out the Christmas decorations just yet, this little taste of family time made me ready for Thanksgiving break and more time together.

Raiding the toy chest with Lincoln

Wrestling with Blayne...Gray's face says it all. He's so happy to have the attention of his big cousin!

Lego bins for days

Cousin lunch!

Rhyann and Gray throwing sticks in the lake

The best "posed" picture I could get

Our silly boy

Daytrip to Red Rock Canyon

When Pappa and Susu were here for Halloween, we made our annual fall trek to Red Rock Canyon for a picnic with our extended family. It had been so warm the leaves were just barely starting to turn, but we still had fun hiking around, grilling hotdogs and playing catch in the open field. 

I have so many wonderful memories of this tradition with my cousins and aunts and uncles, so I'm always a bit sentimental seeing Gray and his cousins explore the area and make lifelong memories of their own. It was especially emotional this year since my cousin Suzanne and her family recently learned they will be moving to Denver in the next few months. 

I know we'll continue to see each other and get our boys together, but it makes me cherish these moments together even more. 

Luke, Gray and Jack during the only five seconds they weren't constantly in motion

Hotdogs and a picnic blanket...what more do you need?

Oh yeah, soda...that's right. We need that. These boys never get soda so they thought they hit the jackpot!

Jimmy, Michael and the boys leading the way

Pappa and Suzanne getting in on the hiking fun too

Cousin BFFs!

We paused on the hike to let the boys explore one of the rocky formations and they made up all kinds of games and could have stayed up there for hours. 

I just prayed they didn't start digging in a snake hole

Halloween Identity Crisis

This year, Gray couldn't decide what he wanted to be for Halloween. A few days before, he was set on Batman, but when push came to shove he ended up changing costumes three times throughout the day.

He decided to go as Batman for school and was joined by SuSu as Little Red Riding Hood for the school costume parade and Halloween party. 

After school, Pappa and Gray decorated another pumpkin with a Mr. Potato Head kit that he and SuSu brought. It was a little pirate and turned out so cute!

Gray decided he was going to trick-or-treat as Iron Man and here he is with Miss Nora who was rocking her own adorable Halloween outfit.

Iron Man unmasked 

The day was topped off with a surprise visit from Uncle Levi and his firemen crew. Upon hearing that Uncle Levi was a few blocks away, Gray promptly forgot about Iron Man and put on his fireman coat and hat.

He got to check out the firetruck and even sit in the driver seat and turn on the lights. 

I think the firemen had just as much fun as this wide-eyed little boy. After he had honked the horn and played with all the buttons, Gray had his jacket hood filled with candy by the firemen before we waved goodbye. He is very lucky to have such a thoughtful, fun uncle and a closet full of dress-up clothes!

Pumpkin carving time!

I'm a little late on posting our Halloween pics, but here are a few from when Michael and Grayson carved our pumpkin. Gray was a little worried about sticking his hand inside the goopy pumpkin, but quickly got into the mess and had fun. 

Tools up and ready to get started

A peek inside

Gray was in charge of the design

He took his job very seriously

Our masterpiece 

Happy Halloween!