Jayden's A Winner

He came to spend the evening with us, carrying his Nintendo Switch (a handheld device to play electronic games).  He excitedly stepped to the door, reached up to the handle, and tried with all his little body's strength to pull the sliding glass door open.  With light steps he came into the kitchen, I pretended not to know him.  He went right along me, grinning, "I'm Jayden, GrammyPam."

The 6 y.o. was only here a couple hours, but we played many things.  First was Candy Land, "I've played this before."  

"With who?"  I asked.

"Everybody,"  he replied.

And he laughed when his red token passed my yellow one hoping to draw the card that would let him take a short cut.  "I'm gonna win.  I'm winning!"  And he bounced in his seat, and his hands went up in the air, animated.

Then it was Toss Across.  First with Grandpa John who won one out of three.  Then me, "You sure are a winner, Jayden!"  I only won once myself.  He came to whisper in my ear, "I know a trick, change his to yours."  Legal move, but clever deduction for one so young.

The chatter never stops, "I need a dessert.  Alayna and Noelle are getting ice cream cake.  Can we make cookies?  I make awesome cookies.  Chocolate with peanuts, that's the kind."  Yes, he said all that in one breath without any interruptions from me.

Jayden brought us a bag of chess pieces from the game closet.  "I want to play chess.  I know how.  Dad taught me."  While John's setting up the board I texted his Dad, "Does he know how to play chess?"

"A little bit.  He is a very beginner and needs coaching during the game, but he is very interested in it."  Then he added, "LOL, I love him so much."

John bugged his eyes as Jayden decided on a move that would cost him his own pawn, and said, "He's getting it.  He's gonna be really good some day."

The kid wants to do everything all at once.  He doesn't spend periods of time at any one thing.  Poor first grade teacher.  

There's still two Hot Wheels playsets in the living room where he played the longest.  When Ian popped in he showed Jayden how to use yard sticks to ramp the little cars from the couch to the floor.  All the ins and outs of the playset's features like break away gate, voice activation buttons, and elevator lift were investigated by the two of them.

To end the evening we mixed water color paints, like yellow and blue make green.  But the dinosaur picture held little interest, instead he painted his palm and fingers.   Because he thought he'd learned all the mixing that there was to be learned, he turned to the sink to wash off the blue mustache and green wrist drips and ended up washing dishes.  Washing in a kids way, that is, LOL.

"Here's Mom and Dad, get your shoes on, Jayden."  

Jayden's leaving is very little boy-like, quick hugs, waving from the backside, with his sights already turned from us to whats ahead.  His head and eyes are looking to the SUV.

"Bye!' and he sprints off. 

I'll have to be sure to remember.

He'll remember!

We have a date, he's coming to make cookies, "I make good ones."

Noelle Diary Notes

Nov. 6, 2019
Noelle Lorelei is born on the 6th day of November to Rusty and Amanda.  She's a quiet baby, slimmer than others, and a baby doll.  She's so tiny!  They named her Noelle Lorelei and she has a headful of black hair.

Mar 2020
Noelle has the gentlest personality I've ever seen.  Already weighs as much as her cousin Jacob, who was born 2 months earlier than her!

July 4, 2020

The 2 girls, Alaynah and Noelle, were riding in a wagon during our impromptu little bonfire for the 4th, Independence Day.   Calvin was takin' a nap when someone put Noelle on his lap.   Nikki, Ian's girlfriend, thought it funny.  Voilá, a Kodak moment!

Aug. 2020

Noelle is saying ma-ma, and da-da and crawling anywhere she feels like it.

Her cousin Jacob, practically the same age, loves to share drinks, too, LOL.  He almost climbed my shelves to get to mine!  Little Noelle did, too.  Monkey see, monkey do.  She's so funny, if you give her droplets from a straw, she bites down and won't release the straw, ha, ha.

Feb. 2021

Daughter-in-law asked to bring over the girls so she could go shopping.  It worked out.  They're cute as buttons.  Little Noelle just quietly moseys around doing what toddlers be doing, walking through the open door into the bathroom, opening cabinet doors to pull out the sugar, climbing up on chairs to get bananas, standing and staring out the glass sliding door, climbing up on the piano bench, straddling riding toy, switching to Cozy Coup, and clearing end table of coasters.  She never says a peep.  Just moseys here and there doing all she wants to be doing.

June 2021

Noelle was left to eat her ice cream sitting at the kitchen table in a booster seat.

When I returned to the kitchen, after having tended to the other children playing outside, Noelle had painted the table with ice cream!  As she continued, and the ice cream melted, she painted the chair, climbed down, brought ice cream with her, and smeared it all over the chair legs and the floor!  For a quiet little mouse she sure made the mess of an active monkey with meringue pie!

Noelle trying on grandpa's shoes!

Master Jacob Having None of It

IN MOUTH -- Dec. '20

During this whole next story 16 month old Jacob was dressed in a baby red Santa outfit, and was dancing while clapping his hands and swinging his little butt.  It was adorable.  

But, he was chewing and no one else had food.  I asked "What's in his mouth?"  

Clint went under-teeth fishing and pulled out a plastic toy gray nut for a bolt from the Little Tikes Workbench Set.  

Some time later Jacob walked straight up to mom and said, "AHHHHhhhhhhhh" with his tongue sticking out.  She plucked another toy plastic gray nut from his mouth!  

He's a nut himself!!!  

 

"BEEP, BEEP, BEEP" -- June '21

Jacob loves to get in our Cozy Coup.  It's made by Little Tikes, looks like VW bug, red car body, yellow roof, with a latching door and steering wheel.  He uses his head and bangs the horm to make it go "Beep, beep, beep."  Then he steers the wheel frantically and laughs.  Going nowhere, of course.  We laugh heartily 'cause who uses their head to honk a horn?

Today, from Clint, his daddy, we get a Marco Polo video on our phone of Jacob in the family car.  No worries, they have the keyless remote in their pockets.  They'd unbuckled the kids expecting them to follow into the house, while they themselves carried in armloads of other stuff.  Well, unbeknownst to them Jacob didn't follow.  

He climbed into the front seat of the SUV instead, turned on the headlights, flashers, turned the steering wheel left and right, and giggled while pushing the horn, "beep, beep, beep."  Dad was saying, "No, no, no, Jacob.  Come here, get out of the car."  Jacob dives away from his dad, laying flat over the console, head and shoulders in the passenger seat, adamantly saying, "No, my car.  My car."

They have a little rascal on their hands who loves to rev everybody's engines!  Now shake your head back and forth, "No, my car."

"MINE" tools -- July '21

We were playing ball in the hall when 22 month Jacob disappeared.  He'd ventured into the utility room and found my personal bag of pink handled tools.  Here he came with a hammer and a screwdriver, declaring, "emmmmmMine!" 

I tried trading him for his own plastic set complete with pliers.  I tried offering him dump truck and bulldozer, and even tried switching for a couple of jelly beans.  He wasn't having it.  None of it.  He climbed the stairs to get away from me, clutched them under his armpit, and swung his head away.  He wouldn't look at me, but emphatically said, 

"No! emmmmmMine!"

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Miss Lilly In Fine Form

2019

Miss Lilly is in the terrible threes where she investigates everything, including my drawer of post-it notes, and my stack of little boxes.  She emptied those boxes and reloaded with her own toys!

Oh, and she's discovered if she drops her little bottom deep into the toilet bowl, its wet and cold down there, and...she gets stuck!!!

She gets stuck because she can't figure out how to manuever her muscles to extricate herself.  What a corker!

2021

HEAD STAND

At church yesterday I had Miss Lilly sitting in the pew next to me.  She'd been politely playing with a sticker book, then reading two peek-a-boo books I'd purchased Saturday, so I was content that she was entertained.  I turned my attention to the preacher.  

Then something about her energy, heat, clothing brushing against me, changed.  I kid you not, I turned my head to look at her and her legs were up in the air, her skirt had fallen to her waist -- she was doing a headstand in the pew!!!!!!  

Oh my lands, that girl!  The things kids will do!

I'd assume the cushioned seats, with the high backs, made it easy and comfy for executing a headstand, right?  Sheesh!  "Get yourself up right, right now!"

ZOOLANDIA

Zoolandia is a child's board game much like the adult game Sorry.  Players take turns rolling the special die to move their pawns around the board and home to their zoo hut.

On the die are images of the different animals and a hut.  The board spaces each feature an animal like a zebra or an elephant, and a hut, or a palm tree.

I was going to teach Miss Lilly how to play.  She was very excited, "I want to win!"

I asked, "What if GrammyPam wins, will you cry?"

Innocent and truthful, "Yaaaaah."

NOT MY BIRTHDAY

We entered a pretend bake shop, and even though her mom and I were busy cleaning, Miss Lilly decided to present me with a toy cake made of velcro candles and velcro wedges.   I even got serenaded -- the full birthday song!  She had all the correct words and was in tune, too.  

What a doll! 

No, it's not my birthday.  To enable me to keep busy cleaning and so she could entertain herself, I taught her how to use dolls from the nursery to create her own set of customers.  She gave them names Milly, Tilly, Jilly, and Silly, then laughed and laughed, and told me as she was giggling, "Hear that, they rhyme!"

NUNCHUCKS

Babysitting while Mom and Dad went on a birthday date, I found Miss Lilly and Master Jacob to be in fine form -- hungry and rowdy.  Usually I put change, pennies, dimes, and nickles, on the steps before Miss Lilly arrives.  Then she can sort them and plop them into the 2 minion banks and the pig banks.  

Well, this time she dropped all the coins into one of John's tube socks, climbed on top of the Cozy Coup, looking like a crazed wild animal she swung that sock like nunchucks!!!!! 

More, Plus - John's Funny

They've been a blessing, the evergreen trees around every edge of our property.  They've served as a wind break, they make for pretty pictures in the snowy winter, and they are a haven for cardinals.

Every beautiful sunny morning the first rays of the sun come from the east through those now full-grown pine trees making patterned shadows on the green lawn. Did you know in the 80's John, before he was my Darling Hubby, got on his hands and knees and planted over 300 saplings of evergreen trees around the perimeter of these 4 acres????   In the mud!  Each one was only about 6 or 8 inches tall!  What an impressive undertaking!

Then the neighbor's moved in next door, built a log cabin, and tethered their goat.  He ate three!

******** In early March (note the month is March) the birds were flitting here and there, and the daffodils were sprouting their joyous happy blooms.  I was on the phone talking to John when my eyes spied purple post-it notes in the shape of tulips.   They were stuck all around the house.  Each one said “Hair Cut!”   Each was placed in a prominent place, eye level, such as on the front door, or on the computer monitor, or the microwave.  Laughingly, still on the phone, I told John, “There’s 3 on the microwave. One says “Push here” with an arrow pointing to the “open door” button and on that button is one more tulip shaped post-it note saying “Hair Cut!”  I laughed, "I think the boy wants a hair cut!”  With a grin in his voice John said, “Tell Ian we’ll give him a hair cut.” I twisted phone away from my mouth to raise my voice, “Ian. Dad says he’ll give you a hair cut. June first!”  Ian looked at me, then started grabbing his pencil, “More tulips!” ******** The other day I read an online article that said a good ice-breaker question is "What is your favorite deep sea creature?"  So I thought I'd try it out on John.  "Hey, honey, what's your favorite deep sea creature?" He paused and then with some assertion said, "I don't have one.  And, I'm not diving down there to get one!" ******** I don't remember the topic, I only remember the expression of emotional feelings.  I overheard John talking to a couple of our sons. John was saying, "Stick together!  It's men against the women. We're gonna lose.  We men have to stick together." ********* This is the story of the cop and the mother-in-law, sort of. “A cop stopped me on the way to church.” John told me one Sunday afternoon.  I'd stayed home, sick in bed.   I was shocked, “John Bays!  Why’d you get stopped by a cop?”     “I was going 82," John said, “He pulled me over at the old Perry Davis Furniture store. And he said ‘What’s so important you have to go that fast?’ ”   I told him, “Officer, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”   The officer said, “I need a real good reason why you’re going 82 in a 55.”   “I’m trying to catch my mother-in-law.”   The officer told John, “You don’t lie to me that way.”   John says, “I told the officer, “No, sir. I'm not lying.”    John explained more to the officer, “I saw her go by our property, headed north to church, and since she had Calvin with her and I knew Calvin needed the clean clothes I have with me, I thought I’d just catch up to her and pass them over.”   John proceeded to excuse himself, “Honest, Officer, you’d have to know my mother-in-law.”   The officer wasn‘t impressed, “THAT deserves a ticket!”    I

MORE - JOHN'S FUNNY

Four Quick Quips

Homemade bread and oatmeal raisin cookies were given to us from friend Nova to take home.  Munching his favorite cookies, John said, “I’m gonna have to talk to her. I may love her.“

 

As for chewing on the homemade bread, later he said, “This is a real treat for us. Oh, my, it smells good. This is wonderful. I do not need a bread machine. I’d be eating fresh bread everyday!” 

John said to one of the boys who was waiting for the school bus,  "Get out there!  The bus will never find you hiding behind that tree!” 

John gave Ian some wine for his cold, "That’ll curdle the critters in your stomach!"

Welcoming Garage Sale Customers

John, dear hubby, has his own way he likes to welcome customers coming into my garage sales.  Not only is he a very friendly person, but he's always encouraging, and it's obvious he wants to help me out, and ... because he wants stuff out of the garage, he means it when he says,"What ever you find or like, I can help you load it up!"

Young Calvin & John 

John says “Calvin's electric abilities when working on his Falcon are amazing! 

Amazingly low!”

 

At the barn while working on the ‘68 Falcon the alternator light came on.  Dad asked him, “What’s that mean?” Calvin admitted, “I don’t know.”

 

John looks at me with big eyes, “He grounded a positive wire.”

 

Now, the males around here are sing-songing, “If in doubt ground it out.”

What Spencer Can Afford

We were out for a sunny drive looking at property in Lapel.  Almost home, being silly, Spencer says, “I want to buy Purgatory!” Purgatory is a golf course a mile east of us.   Dad quickly responds, “Not for sale.”  Spencer pretends in the back seat, “Still….it would be nice.”  To make his point Dad tells him, “You couldn’t afford that dead tree!” Bad Under Obama　 I heard John saying to the boys, “ That’s how bad it was under President Obama.“ Then he laughs, “That‘s what you can tell your kids some day about the good ole days,”  What was he really talking about? Well, it started with a huge wet mess under the bathroom sink! John and I took everything out -- the mouth wash, the scouring powder, the first aid box, extra shampoos, and a package of toilet paper. The floor under the sink was saturated with water from some yet undiscovered leak.  The package of toilet paper was saturated, too.  So, I set the three rolls on the window sill to see if they’d dry out so we could use them. This tickled John. He called it a memorable day, “The Obama Years were soooo bad, we had to dry toilet paper on the window sill to reuse it!”  Carolyn & Baby Carolyn is my great-cousin, who is 86 years old.  Her cats are gone, they died.  She now has a small dog, a terrier she’s named Baby.  The name it came with was Yogi but she prefers Baby.   She exclaims, “I kid you not, hon, it looks like a deer. Like a fawn. Just like that!” She was riding in the front seat of our vehicle.  Hubby, I, and another friend, were taking her to dinner.   The older gentleman, our friend, was a trapper, and a hunter.  I could see his shoulders shaking in laughter when John said, “Well, don’t let it out during hunting season.”