Happy 6th Birthday, CJ!

Six years ago today, Ray and I were on our way back from a Valvereplacement.com reunion in Golden Colorado. My daughter, Jessica was in the Air Force and stationed near Rapid City, SD. She was due to give birth shortly before that weekend, (if I remember correctly), but it hadn't happened. We decided to stop there on our way back home to Minnesota. I was really hoping she'd have the baby while we were there, but had no idea if she really would or not. We met Jessica and her dad for dinner, and then stayed at a hotel that Sunday night, because her dad was staying at her place. She called me at about 10pm and said that he was bringing her into the hospital. I was very excited! We were going to be there for this blessed event!

Ray and I met them at the hospital, and we sat with her awhile. Eventually, it looked like things were not going to happen real soon, so the two grandpas left, Jerry to Jessica's and Ray went back to our hotel room. I stayed there with Jessica, and slept in the recliner. The next morning, the guys came back to the hospital, and things started to progress. She didn't want her dad or step-dad in the room, but Mom was welcome to stay and witness the birth! I did, and it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life!

Christian Jacob was born at 11:07 AM. Just by looking at Jessica's tummy beforehand, I had guessed her baby boy would weigh 8 lbs. 8 oz. When it was time to take him to be weighed, the nurse said, "Grandma, would you like to carry him to the nursery?" I said, " I'd love to." I picked him up, and "weighing" him with my arms, I said, "I'll stick with 8 lbs. 8 oz." I handed him over to the nurse, (who had guessed he was at least 10 lbs.) and she laid him on the scale. He weighed in at exactly 8 lbs. 9 oz. Not a bad guess, if I do say so myself. It probably helped a little that I had given birth to four babies, ranging in size from 8 lbs. 6 oz - 9 lbs. 8 oz. I knew he was right in there.

While Jess was in the Air Force, we didn't get to see Christian a lot, except when he stayed with us, during the times his mom had to be gone for training, and while she served in Iraq for 5 months...when he was just 10 months old.

Today, Christian (or CJ as I generally refer to him on my blog), is a handsome, healthy, happy, and sometimes hilarious 6 year old, who loves Kindergarten and especially riding on the school bus. Last night, Grandpa Jerry came over for pizza, cake and ice cream. This was his "Toy Story 3 birthday cake:

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking this grandma decorated his birthday cake, right? WRONG! I didn't even touch this one, but my daughter, (Jessica) has picked up a few things by watching me. She also worked in an in-store bakery with me, back in the day, when she was in high school, where she had to do a little decorating. I think she did an awesome job on his cake!

Here are some of his birthday gifts:

He got a Star Wars light saber from Grandpa Jerry, along with a nice warm pair of snow pants.

A new game for his Wii from his mama...The DVD, "How to Train Your Dragon" from Grandpa Ray and me...

And last but certainly not least, a Nintendo DS, also from his mother.

He was pretty excited about that!

Happy Birthday to my sweet grandson, Christian. I can't believe you're 6 years old already!

Friday Funnies ~ A Couple of Quick Quips from CJ

(CJ's first day of kindergarten)

Life with my grandson, CJ in the house is never dull. He keeps us all laughing...whether he means to or not. Here are just a couple of things he said this week:

Tuesday, CJ was watching a TV commercial in the other room and came up to me and asked, "Grandma, how old are you?" "52," I answered. And then he asked, "Is that over 18?" I guess he wanted whatever it was they were advertising but it said, "You must be over 18 to order..."

Wednesday, Ray and I took him to the grocery store with us. When we got to the checkout, the lady asked him, "Would you like to ride on the pony today?" CJ looked at her and said, "No thanks, we're kinda broke right now." This mechanical pony costs a penny, and she was even going to give him one to use!

Let's Hear it For My Daughter, The Cheerleader

This is my 13 year old daughter, Molly. Yes, I said thirteen. She just started the eighth grade a couple of weeks ago. Never in my wildest dreams, did I ever think that I would be the mother of a cheerleader some day. When I was that age, it never even crossed my mind. That was for the popular girls. Anyway, when Molly came home last spring asking if she could try out for the cheer leading squad, I gave her my permission, but didn't really expect (or want) her to make the team. She'd never done anything like this before, and there were so many girls trying out.

She went to the practices and did her try-out, and came home with the wonderful news that she had made the JV football AND the JV Boys Basketball cheer leading squads! OK, now what? Would she actually stick with the rigorous practice schedule all summer? Would we find the money to cover the cost of her uniform, shoes, and the program itself? We did, (with a little help from a friend), and she held up her end of the bargain and practiced hard all summer, only missing a couple of times because of camping with the family, etc. She's worked hard, and become quite good at it.

Because of Molly's size, (5' 11"), she has the important job of lifting the "flyer" up and the responsibility of catching her when she comes back down during their stunts. She takes her job quite seriously, and has even gained quite a bit of muscle in her arms doing it, much to her surprise. While she was practicing all summer, of course, my grandson CJ was around to watch and listen to her. I'm pretty sure he has most of her cheers memorized as well.

Here is a picture of them: CJ, (who just started kindergarten and can't spell his own first name yet), now knows how to spell the words, V-I-C-T-O-R-Y, P-R-I-N-C-E-T-O-N and R-O-W-D-Y, too.

I'm very proud of Molly for the commitment she's made to being a cheerleader the past few months. She seems to really enjoy it, and it's good exercise for her too. I'm also hoping it will be a positive incentive for her to keep her grades up this year, and in the future. She needs to maintain a certain GPA to be able to stay on the team. In the past, she has struggled with getting assignments in, so I'm really hoping and praying this will be the motivation she needs.