Grandma Toni's Visit (October 2-9, 2008)

Oh, no! It's the CLAW!!!


Grandma Toni supervising Ryder, in one of his more gentle moments with baby Nash. Ryder is very rough with everyone, but he tones it down just a few notches with his baby brother...not that toned-down Ryder is gentle, he's just more gentle than before.


Ryder reminds us often that Nash still can't talk...you can tell that Ryder is very excited for the day when he'll have a little brother to follow him around like he does Sawyer.


Ryder, "climbing" the tree in our front yard.


Sawyer, "climbing" the tree in our front yard.


Ryder and Sawyer colored jack-o-lantern pictures with grandma Toni and plastered sponge stickers all over them.


Christmas tree crafts to hang on the kids' bedroom doors...grandma Toni ended up doing these herself...the kids were a little to young for these.


Ryder getting grandma Toni's goiter with his "claws". Ryder is always gritting his teeth, grabbing your neck and saying "I got your goiter". I'm pretty sure he picked this up from somebody in the Whipperman family while in Utah.


Grandma was scaring the kids and chasing them around the house with the lights off with her glow-in-the dark claws. Ryder kept asking her, "Grandma, will you please be nice now?" Sawyer couldn't stop laughing and giggling...she follows her grandma Toni everywhere.


Making haunted gingerbread houses for Halloween. Ryder took a front seat so he could more readily access the candy. He was pulling the candy off the gingerbread house almost as fast as Sawyer and mommy were putting it on the house. He loved the frosting too, as if that isn't evident from the picture.


Daddy built the kids a lincoln log mansion. Ryder's, Sawyer's, and grandma Toni's bedrooms are the ones they are pointing at, and mommy and daddy's bedroom is below grandma Toni's. Grandma Toni is very close friends with a make-believe person named Mr. Magoo. She carries around a miniature cell phone about an inch long and talks with him on the phone. The kids love Mr. Magoo because he is always leaving them treats in the mailbox and in other random places. Mr. Magoo left the kids some candy necklaces in their lincoln log bedrooms one night while they were sleeping.


Grandma Toni brought all kinds of crafts for the kids to do. Sawyer colored the christmas tree apron and Ryder had a lot of help with his reindeer apron.


Baby Nash met his grandma Toni for the first time. Grandma Toni has flown out when all the kids were born, but she can never time it right. Sawyer came 3 weeks early, Ryder came 2 weeks early, and Nash came 3 weeks early. For Nash, grandma Toni flew out 12 days before the due date, but still missed his birth by 10 full days.


Grandma Toni with baby Nash.