My Happiness

Last night was a good night.  Tyler unexpectedly didn't have to work so we got to spend the evening as a family.  We decided to go downtown to City Creek to check out the new shops and buildings.  It was nice out so we wandered around.  Greyson loved the fountains and wanted to swim.  We went to the Disney store and that lucky little boy got Red the firetruck from Cars.  We watched the "choo choos" (Trax) go by and went on the escalators.  Dinner was Chinese food in the food court.  While we ate, it started raining so we had to sprint through the unconvered sections to make it back to our car.  On the way home, we all sang the zoo song together and looked for lightning.

Reaching in!

I felt really happy.  I was thinking through the events of the night and wondering what it was that made me so happy.  And I realized it was the little things--Greyson's excitement to see the fountains, watching Tyler and Greyson interact and seeing what a good dad Tyler is, little eyes that lit up when we went in the Disney store, holding hands, laughing as we ran through the rain, the look on G's face when he got his new firetruck and then drove it everywhere while we tried to eat dinner, sharing really delicious bites of Chinese food, opening up fortune cookies and sharing them, listening to Greyson jabber in the backseat, pointing out the horse carriages so he could see them, watching G run (it's comical), the mutual understanding Tyler and I shared when we knew we wanted to get Greyson a new toy, and just being together as a family.

I love Tyler's smile in this

This morning I was still thinking about what a good night we had, and I started making a mental list of all the little things that bring me happiness.  And I wanted to record them as a reminder to myself, and as a way to count my blessings.  I don't think happiness comes in large packages (at least not consistently) so it helps to see the little things that create happiness and dwell on those.  Here is some of my happiness:
When Tyler holds me and I melt into him.
When I say, "I love you Greyson" and he answers, "I love you mama".
An unexpected kiss from either of my boys.
A compliment from a friend.
A compliment from a stranger.
Hitting green lights (especially the one off the exit at work--it's always red!).
Good hair days.
A clean house (even if I was the one to clean it).
Holding hands with either of my boys.
A feeling of accomplishment.
Tyler's thoughtfulness (this encompasses so much).
New clothes or shoes and having someone notice.
A better price than expected.
Surprises.
When Tyler gets home early from work.
When Greyson says, "hold you" and I can.
Eating out.
Cuddling with my honey.
Watching Ty and G wrestle and monkey around.
Being the "safe" mama that Greyson can escape to from daddy.
Feeling this little baby wiggle and move and push around in my belly.
A sincere thank you.
Hugs.
Knowing how incredibly blessed I am.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Favorite truck jamis

We were sitting on the couch, and Greyson walks up to Tyler and whispers in his ear and then starts laughing.  Then he walks over to me and tells me a gibberish secret, and again starts laughing.  Tyler and I are cracking up at him and he realizes that he's being funny, so he goes back and forth between the two of us telling us secrets and then laughing at whatever he said.  Those secrets will remain secrets though because we could not figure out what he was saying.


Daddy & Greyson

Recently, Greyson started referring to me as "the mama".  He got out his tool set and said, "Need to fix the mama" and then plucked at my clothes with some pliers.  "Tickle the mama."  "Get the mama."  "Need the mama."

Mama & Greyson

We had just gotten home from church and Greyson asked, "Daddy work?"  Tyler responded and told him that he was not going to work and asked, "Greyson work?"  Greyson said yes, so Tyler asked him where he works.  He answered simply, "zoo."

Reeses are delicious

We can't get enough tickling at our house!  G is a tickling FIEND.  He tickles everyone and everything--I've seen him tickle the couch, my phone, the toilet, his toys, everything.  It's also his mark of acceptance.  If he loves you, he will tickle you.  And his tickling is accompanied by him saying, "ticka-ticka-ticka-tah!"

G and I did 4 weeks of Parent-Tot swim lessons.  He did really well, but he shivered almost the whole time every time.  Poor boy!

For about a week straight, Greyson watched Monsters, Inc. every single day.  And he would really watch it; it wasn't just background while playing.  Part of it is because he gets to watch it on his own personal screen--the pad (more commonly known as an iPad).  Watching movies on the pad is way better than on the TV!  Anyway, last year when we went to Disneyland we got our picture taken with Sully.  Tyler got the picture out to show Greyson that he, mom, and dad were next to a monster.  We thought he would really like to see it and be excited about it.  Greyson looked at it, shrugged his shoulder, muttered a disinterested, "huh" and went back to his movie!

California Adventures 2011 with Sully

I thought Greyson was a counting genius.  He's had 1 and 2 down for awhile (more like, "2...1...go!!") and occassionally three, but that was about it.  I heard Greyson counting at the grocery store, "6, 7, 8" and I was so impressed by my little boy!  But in reality, we're still missing a few numbers.  Greyson counts, "1, 2, 6, 7,8".  It's a work in progress.

Big boy bed!

Our kind neighbors let Greyson jump on their tramp and play on their swingset, and Greyson basically thinks their backyard is his backyard.  He loves to jump on the couch, bed, floor, over cracks in the cement, over toys, on top of toys, when he is excited or happy, or for no reason at all.  So their tramp is heaven to him.  He doesn't get tired of jumping either; he just wants to jump all the time.  One day he was jumping on their tramp and asked if mama wanted to "jump tamp".  I explained that I was too big and couldn't because of the baby in my tummy.  He looked at me and said, "Big mama?"  Good thing I love that boy.

Blue delight