Shu, shu

Grayson is completely obsessed with shoes as of late. He'll meander throughout the house signing and saying "shoes" and then put his finger to his lips and say "hmm" like he's trying to remember where he left them. Then he promptly fetches them from their place by the door and brings them to me to help put them on his naked feet. Immediately thereafter, he retrieves *my* shoes from their respective spot alongside his, and insists that I put them on *my* naked feet. If I manage to slip them off and hide them from him, he simply finds another pair, brings them to me, and recites "shoes" over and over again until I put them on out of frustration to get him to leave me and the blasted shoes alone. And if you're wondering, yes, I have worn Josh's shoes on several occasions.

I thought things would simply go on this way for a while until he learns to put them on completely by himself, but tonight he threw a wrench into the system - he went to bed actually holding his shoes. He had one in each hand and he never let go. He wouldn't even drop them for a drink of water or to cuddle his frog. I only just now took them away as he's been sleeping for nearly two hours and I thought it would be safe to do so. Bummer I didn't think to take a picture first. It was quite humorous to see.

School is going wonderfully for me, but home life is still a little chaotic. I take the bus down to campus most days, so I have to get up extra early to drop Gray off at day care and still have time to park my car and get to the bus stop. It's working out for the most part so far, but he's an absolute beast some mornings and it's all I can do to get him strapped in to his car seat without beating him into submission. We were running so late this morning I had to drive down to campus instead. Most mornings go off without a hitch, though, so I can't really complain. I just wish Josh's schedule allowed him to drop Grayson off once in a while. All those early mornings in a row get brutal by week's end.

Other than that, things are the same. Josh is still a work-addicted provider; Grayson is still deliciously adorable and jaw-clenchingly frustrating all at the same time; and I'm still dwelling on the stupid mistake I made on my first test that merited me an A- instead of an A. Boo! At least I'll never forget what kind of cementoenamel junction is the most prevalent, right? It's overlap, fyi. Stupid, stupid mistake. We're anxiously awaiting word about a dreamy short-sale we put an offer on months ago. It's a bit expensive, but it's basically Josh's dream home, so we threw our hats into the ring. The bank has since done the BPO and has been reviewing the offers since last Friday, so we hope to hear something by next week.

PS - The worst mistake you could ever make it to list your home with the Prudential Real Estate team at the South Vally office in Draper, Utah. An especially bad move would be to involve Cheryl Staley in any part of the transaction. If you need details, just let me know. Otherwise, take my word for it and FIND A DIFFERENT AGENT!

True Love

I ♥ my dental hygiene program.
I ♥ a husband who brings me flowers for our anniversary, even when I completely forgot about it (sorry babe).
I ♥ a clean home and a relaxed mind.
I ♥ evening walks with my family with no particular place to go.
I ♥ secret lunches with my insignificant other.
I ♥ holidays that mean no school for me, and no work for Josh. It's like a mini-vacation!
I ♥ pushing my son on the swing set, helping him pick fresh tomatoes from the garden, and the way he still giggles at peek-a-boo.
I ♥ parades and am so excited to watch one on Saturday!

But I mostly love my sweet baby who is growing up too dang fast and becoming more independent every day. Grayson signs so many words now, and he parrots everything I say. He's become really good at pronouncing his 'k' sound - rock, stuck, etc. He got a haircut last week (pics on a camera somewhere) and it's horribly short. He looked like he was going to enlist that very day. Gray now has all of his primary teeth except his four second molars which, coupled with his haircut, make him look like a little boy instead of a baby. It would be sad but he's still such a handsome little fella. I can hardly take my eyes off of him.

Grayson is already 19 months old and wow, do I remember that bald little head shining up at me just like it was yesterday. I miss him a lot when I'm at school, but Josh and I are very thankful we even have this opportunity to make strides toward creating a better situation for our family in the future. One day he'll divorce AGFA and pursue something less stressful and more personally rewarding. In the meantime, though, life is good. We have no complaints.

I ♥ my life.