Kam in February 2016

Look at that exceptionally great hair day!

And a fun "us-ie" with Nana!

Neighbor Jeremy shared his homemade cookies when we walked by on the way to the park!

He can almost climb all the way to the top of the slide!

Driving cars and trucks is entertaining, especially when you drive on Mom!

So fun to climb on a footstool and flip onto Nana's chair!
(And boy, can this kid mess up a room in a quick minute!)

 Some sober moments, playing with the velcro shoes…

and Nana is surprised by how much this active boy likes to sit and read.

 Hiding is SO much fun! Found you!

 Let's go run through puddles!

 Of course there will be a fall or two…

 Those muddy hands….

Oh well, muddy hands, so what…

 The fun continues!

 Such exuberance!

 So nice the there was a dry edge of sidewalk for Nana to run back and forth with him!

 Why not?

 Any day outside is a great day! Nana has learned to bribe him with snacks when it's time to go indoors!

 This is the shocking sight Nana is greeted with after she runs into the house for a minute. Papa, really?!  The boy's head was wet from Zeek's thorough cleaning. Kam's just trying to climb up there to join him! Fortunately Kam didn't seem to mind at all!

 He cleaned up well.

 Oh Kam, how can you knock over a chair and make such a mess when you are in the crib napping?

 You even got one of your arms out of your shirt!

 He loves "trains". The more things you can hook together, the better.  It's important to have drivers and passengers too! And they MUST face forward!

 So sweet, hugging his "Long Neck" while sleeping.

 So happy in the morning!

Let's make a little noise!

Fun and laughter, love and hugs, so much sweetness. 

Being a grandma to this boy is almost too good to be true!

Baby Shower for McAnulty Granddaughter #1!

Soon there will be a tiny McAnulty baby girl named Evelyn brightening our lives.

When my oldest son Craig was 15 years old, for some reason we were discussing my lack of a female child. He said, "Don't worry, Mom, I will make sure that you have a granddaughter someday."  Amazingly enough, he and his wife are expecting a baby girl next month. Excitement is rising, especially since the beautiful baby shower arranged by my sister-in-law Anisa and her daughter Venisa last Saturday.

 Anisa and Steph enjoyed being co-workers for a couple of years and grew close. 

 Steph's mom Linda came all the way from Florida.

A fun game…to guess the price on a variety of baby items.

I was not very good at this game.

Let's ponder this…

 I believe my sister Hope (far left), grandmother of 10 lovely little ones, won this game.  (I didn't take notes and since I'm a forgetful grandma, there is a slight worry that I'm remembering this wrong.)

 The food was lovely and delicious.

 Steph thought so too!

 "Stay fancy."

 My sisters, Hope and Jean, seemed quite concerned that I was trying to catch an ugly picture of them chewing food.  Never.  But isn't that a cute girly Tupperware shape sorter toy!

 Anisa made this blanket - both sides. So lovely and soft.

Just a few of the gifts.

Evelyn's Great-Grandma Troyer made this lovely fluffy pink baby towel.

Aunt Molly sound some unique and awesome books, "Goodnight Oregon"

 and

 "Little Chef".

Great-Aunt Jean and Serena picked out a fancy dress!

That's more than a little baby bump! Such a beautiful mama! Steph is talking to the shower co-hosts Anisa and Venisa, and Stacy, her friend/former boss.

Look at the adorable personalized rocking bear that Stacy gave her! 

(Sorry about the closed eyes Molly, I only took the one pic!) As Molly was carrying it out to the car, I realized I didn't have a side-view shot of this. I also managed to forget to take a pic of Steph and Venisa together. So sorry, girls.

But I got a pic of Evelyn's mom, grandma and great-grandma.

And one of her mom and grandma with her Great-Aunt Linda.

Thank you, Venisa and Anisa, for all the love you poured into making this a special shower. This baby is already loved by so many. 

Steph and her mom invited me to go shopping with them the next day and we had a great time. Her mom generously finished outfitting her nursery and we had fun looking at so many cute little girl things!  She is definitely all set now, with everything a baby girl should need! (And I'll be back to check the clearance rack at Old Navy on a regular basis!)

When I was expecting my second child about 27 years ago, I remember feeling some concern that I would ever be able to love another baby as much as I loved my first.  How could there possibly be another baby that special and precious? Fortunately I learned that the capacity to love is limitless, that it's impossible not to cherish and treasure each tiny unique new life that God blesses us with. So I harbor no worry whatsoever that, unbelievable as it may seem, I will be just as smitten with my granddaughter as I am with my one and only grandson. Yes, daughter-in-laws, I assure you, I am going to be just as crazy about each and every grandchild as I have been and still am about the first one!

April 23! Please don't be "late, little Evelyn! You have a wonderful mommy and daddy and so many relatives and friends waiting to love you!

Kam in January 2016

Many of the January pictures were slightly blurry, because it seemed like this little guy was always on the move! One evening he spent a great deal of time running back and forth laughing at Zeek and lifting his knees high in a hilarious prance!

Like I said, blurry!

Look at that mischievous face! 

We celebrated Will's birthday, with a fun cake and poster birthday card made by Christina. 

Kam loved the birthday ice cream.

He's pretty fond of his grandpa too.

 And enounters with Zeek elicit lots of giggles.

 The windowsill is the best place to drive cars.

 We go to the park and play outside every chance we get. Run run run!

 This time he wanted to keep walking instead of stopping at the playground, and we took a nice walk around our loop. We have permission from our neighbor for him to pet the stone dog that lounges at the corner of their property.  He likes to point out the dog's nose, "Nose, nose." This time he also reached to the dog's tummy, saying "Tickle tickle!" I have a cute video of it but can't get it to load.

He still loves the car that Great-Aunt Jean passed down to him! 

It's so much fun watching the vocabulary expand and the physical skills advance!