Two front teeth

Gray's two top front teeth have been loose FOREVER. One finally came out this week and the other next to it is looking to come out any day now.

Missing the tooth makes him speak differently and whistle unexpectedly at times which is pretty entertaining. Gray has also discovered he can stick things in the gap between his teeth (like food or straws) and never tires of the trick.

The tooth fairy brought a stack of quarters with these three small crystals on top. Gray loved them and quickly put them in his treasure box. I keep trying to convince the tooth fairy to pace himself, but I think he's having too much fun. Only 17 more teeth to go! 

Cowboy Up

We've been enjoying a visit from Nana and Popper this weekend! On Saturday we checked out the Chuck Wagon Gathering & Children's Cowboy Festival at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

None of our group had ever been there except me, so it was fun to introduce them to this great place. Gray went decked out in his cowboy gear and fit right in.

Apparently this is how cowboys strike a pose. This boy cracks me up. 

On our way up to the museum, we stopped by a sculpture right across from my office. It's made of lobster rope and then painted. The artist was inspired by Oklahoma's red dirt and our vivid sunsets. 

It's such an unusual, rugged material that's fun to explore. 

Gray wanted to take my picture and he actually got me right in the center. 

 
Then we headed over to the museum and festival. Despite having to be moved indoors due to rain, it was a really fun event. There were all kinds of demonstrations, living historians, musicians and arts and crafts.

First we had to stop and visit our distant cousin, Abe. An older gentleman came over to compliment Gray on his outfit right after this picture, and he told the man all about how Lincoln was his cousin. The guy wasn't sure how to respond and looked at me to gauge if the boy was telling him a story. I told him it was true and I think Gray would have been happy standing there all day and telling folks that this was his cousin. 

Checking out the plaza with Nana and Popper

Family pic with our little cowpoke 

There was also face painting, so Gray asked for an "outlaw mustache" 

Before we got there, Gray talked all morning about wanting to do some roping. He got to learn how to trick rope and also roped a "steer" with a bit of assistance. 

Take me out to the ballgame

With record rainfall in May, we haven't had the best luck with sports lately. Grayson's soccer team has had more rainouts than games played and that's pushed their season to run several weeks later than planned.

The current forecast calls for more rain on the days he has games scheduled this week and in the meantime T-ball season started. They've only played one out of the three games scheduled so far, and we're now getting double-booked between T-ball and soccer.

That said, I must admit Gray and his T-ball teammates are the cutest in their little uniforms. Their team is the Cubs since that's also their school mascot. On our first and only game, Gray made a couple of good hits, scored twice and had a good stop at centerfield.

Fingers crossed we'll eventually be able to finish out both seasons before Fall. As I type this, we're getting another 4 inches of rain on top of 22+ we've had already in May.

Game face!

First time on base!

Post-game snack with his buds

Sing Your Heart Out

We've had two days of musical extravaganza this week! First was Gray's performance in our church musical about the Feeding of 5,000. Gray had several lines and even got to act out the role of David in a cameo appearance of David and Goliath. He was pumped about using a pretend slingshot.

The kids worked really hard learning all the lines and songs. Gray is one of the younger kids in the children's choir, but did really well keeping up with everything.

The next day was his school musical. Grandmama came to watch it and unlike last year, he didn't wave to us once from the stage. He knew all the words and was very enthusiastic about the dance moves/hand gestures to go along with each song. It's fun to see how he gets into the music and can do more each year. We've come a long way from his daycare Christmas concert where he cried from the stage the entire time!

Gray is in the row second from the top, about four kids from the left. 

In case you missed it...

Michael and Grayson made me the sweetest video for Mother's Day. I posted it on Facebook, but am linking to it here so I can easily watch it about 100 more times. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

I also got to hang out with these cuties on Mother's Day so it was a wonderful afternoon!

Spring in Oklahoma

Last week was a typical Oklahoma rainy spring week with some severe weather and flash flooding, plus a couple of tornado threats. So far we haven't had any damage, but the yard is over-saturated from downpours that have dropped 6 inches of rain in a matter of a few hours.

After experiencing a tornado when he was three, Gray has been nervous around thunderstorms and has a heightened awareness of the weather. At any sign of a tornado warning, he immediately starts asking to go over to our neighbor's house (which is where we go if we need to get in a tornado shelter).

When the rain is not severe, he loves tromping around in it and got a little playtime one day last week when we had rain without any thunder or lightening.

On the day we had a tornado outbreak, Gray and I had returned home from the store and he immediately headed to his room to load his emergency backpack. He returned with it full and on his back like he meant business. I asked what he had packed and he said, "Three stuffed animals and a flashlight." Sounds like a solid plan. I threw in his tablet and some snacks and we were set. 

Most of the time, we end up hanging out in our neighbor's living room watching the weather guys on TV while Gray and Cooper play or have dueling iPads to keep them distracted. Here you can see that Cooper was not interested in tearing her attention away from her show to give me a smile. 

We have the BEST neighbors and I'm thankful that it gives Gray a distraction from his storm anxiety. One of these days we'll get around to putting in our own storm shelter, but I won't be as much fun. Maybe we can trade off and our neighbors can come to ours sometimes so we can still enjoy the social time (and wine that is typically also involved). 

Let's go fly a kite

We had a break in the rain last weekend and headed down to the field behind Gray's school to fly a kite. It was the perfect day for it and Grayson liked using daddy's kite (which he earned as a boy by "graduating" from lawnmower school...a story I love).

The kite is pretty resilient and still in good shape. We got it stuck in a tree twice, but it came out easily and wasn't damaged.

To me, watching a kite is like watching ocean waves, so calming and peaceful. Afterward, I always wonder why we don't go fly a kite more often. We all had fun and it was a wonderful way to unplug and enjoy the outdoors.

What we're up to

I've snapped a lot of random pictures recently that don't really have a theme, but capture what we've been up to lately.

We opened our swimming pool early this year because we had to have some work done on the pump. We knew the water would be really cold for a while, but that hasn't stopped Gray from taking a dip once or twice. Oh to be a kid again!

The boy having a poolside snack after his first swim of the season. The water was about 65 degrees and he stayed in for only a minute or two, but he was happy!

Gray has also enjoyed "fishing" in the pool. After I took this picture, I realized how tall he looks. It's not an illusion...this boy is growing like a weed lately! I'm glad we're getting into warmer shorts weather so I don't have to buy yet another round of pants due to his others getting too short.

Miss Roxy got her summer haircut and is looking sassy as usual. 

Gray also got a new haircut and asked if we would keep the top longer so he can "spike it up!" 

I'm not sure if you can see it, but there's a fishing line trip wire tied between the wood pile at the bottom of the photo all the way to the back door of the house. Gray set this booby trap a week or so ago and it gave Mike and I a few surprises, but luckily no injuries. I frequently find shoe laces tied around things or toys that have been tied up in traps. I think he learned it from watching Home Alone, so if you come to visit, be on your toes!

Gray and Nora have enjoyed some recent play dates and these two are just the cutest. Nora loves her big cousin and he likes watching out for her like a big brother. It makes my heart happy!

Ice Cream = Love

If I've learned anything this Mother's Day, it's that the way to Grayson's heart is through ice cream. His class has been working on several surprises for their mothers this week which will give you all a chuckle.

The first was a portrait of me:

I think he nailed it. I'm holding a flag that says Cubs which is the name of both his soccer and T-ball teams. I'm used to having my name misspelled quite often, but must admit this spelling was original (Limsey). He told me he accidentally made one leg short, so he decided to put a rock under it like I was standing on a rock. That was a creative solution!

He also made this awesome flower out of tissue paper. I love the vibrant colors and I can only imagine the patience and focus it took to complete this. 

The funniest surprise was this booklet. Grayson's teacher asked each child a series of questions and then captured their responses in this booklet. It's pretty enlightening what Gray thinks about me:

• What's perfect about your mom? On hot days she brings me to the ice cream shop.
• How do you know your mother loves you? Some days my mom makes me a surprise birthday present.
• What makes your mother laugh? When I don't eat my dinner.
• If your mother was an animal, what kind would she be? A cat because she likes cats, but she  loves dogs. (I actually am not a cat fan, BTW, but I know Gray is so I guess he thinks I am too.)
• What does your mother do all day long? Works for PTA sometimes. (This could not be further from the truth. I'm not even a member of the PTA because I get on a soapbox about how they only have meetings during the day when working moms cannot join.)
• What did your mother want to be when she grew up? An apartment building worker. (Huh?)
• What's the difference between a grandma and a mom? Grandma has more wrinkly skin. 
• What's the nicest thing your mother ever did for you? Gets me chocolate ice cream. 

Apparently gifts (and ice cream) are Grayson's love language. So much for all the effort I put into having quality time and fun experiences with him (which is my love language). Apparently, all I need to do is bring this boy a few surprises and keep the ice cream stocked and he's a happy camper. Either way, it's fun to get a glimpse into that little boy's brain.

Soccer Stud

Our boy is playing soccer again this spring, this time on a YMCA team with our friend Liam. It's been fun to see them enjoy the sport together. 

Gray also wanted to play T-ball this year and when I signed him up, I thought the season would overlap with soccer by about a week. That hasn't been the case since three of our soccer games have been rained out and rescheduled, plus the T-ball coach started team practices about a month ahead of the first game. 

I'm getting my first taste at what it's like to claim "family logistics" as my part-time job or hobby. Between practices for both sports and games, we've got something at least three nights a week, plus Saturdays. To top it off, Gray is in children's choir at our church and they've been practicing more than usual for a musical this Sunday. 

All of this scheduling and planning makes me even more thankful for my parents who shuttled three girls around town as we were active in all kinds of things. Next year I expect Gray to add Boy Scouts to his list of activities, so we'll likely have to pair back on the sports or play during different seasons. 

For now, I'm just glad Grayson is up for trying new things. He's really done well in soccer, scoring in two out of their three games and making several blocks to prevent the other team from scoring (they technically don't have a goalie position at their age). 

Here are a few shots from our boy in action:

Nana captured this breakaway run which ended in a goal during the first game!

Pumped up after the team's first win

We all know the best part of the game is the snack after. Here's Gray with teammates Crystal and Julia enjoying a post-game snack.

Liam also played hard and made several goals. They technically don't keep score in this league since the kids are 5 & 6, but Liam often flashes hand signals to let you know what the score is. It's hilarious.

Liam's brother Braham scored a snack too. Cheering on the team is hard work!