Well, it had been over a month since our last visit - and that's too long! Bynum and I finally got to see the kids again 2 days after his birthday when we went to Buda Saturday to pick up his birthday gift from the kids - a new front seat for his pickup! (The original seat was all torn up when we bought it, and Bynum had restuffed it and covered it with a seat cover, but it was still far from comfortable for him.)

It was great to see everyone again, and the babies hadn't seemed to change too much, but you never can tell with little ones. We weren't able to put in the seat because there were no seatbelts attached to it (like there were to the old seat), but we did have a nice visit. Ken said he'd get some seatbelts, and we'd install everything later. It was Bynum's idea to bring Aubrey home with us for an overnight visit, and Jess agreed to let her stay till Monday. We left the pickup there and rode home in Jess' van.

On the trip back to San Antonio, Aubrey waxed eloquent. I didn't understood all of what she said, but that didn't stop her from telling me, in quite a bit of detail, all about whatever she was thinking of. It was the first time she'd spoken more than a sentence or 2 at a time to me . This time , she shared full paragraphs. Her favorite conjunction these days seemed to be "but", with which she connected all her sentences. She gave such a grown up delivery of her message, it was obvious she had been studying her Mom's speech patterns for quite some time. I just wish I'd been able to understand every word, every thought she was expressing.

We stopped a couple of times during the trip. The first was at Target to get some dress shoes for church. She rejected every pair Bynum and I presented, but finally agreed to some sparkly white ones, along with a pair of slippers (on clearance for $2!) The second stop was at a Jack-in-the-Box for a potty stop, and a kid's meal grilled cheese sandwich. I was surprised by the time we got home that she hadn't fallen asleep on the way, but after her quick bedtime rituals, this situation was remedied.

Sunday was a long day! We started with Sunday School class. (Aubrey told us repeatedly that she wanted to be in our class, NOT the 3-year-olds!) I'm always impressed at how well she blends in with the rest of our Kindergarten class. She colors her seat work almost as well as they do, and she squeezes her eyes tightly shut and bows her head during the prayer, and she listens attentively to the lesson so she can answer the questions after. She always makes me so proud! The church service followed, and Aubrey sat pretty quietly and patiently while the big people worshipped. She didn't get much out of the sermon, but she was not a distraction to others either. After worship, we had a "feast" for all, and I served the ham and green beans. GranGran and Aubrey came through my line, and then saved a place for me at the table. We ate a ton, Aubrey was a delight, and we went home for a nice nap. We were supposed to attend a concert that afternoon, but slept right through it. Not long after we awoke, it was time to go to Trinity to prepare the studio for the students' Oscar Viewing Party. When we got the studio set up, Bynum showed Aubrey his latest toy - a remote control helicopter that he got for his birthday. She sat in my lap as he flew it all around the chairs, the lights, the monitors, and us! She was a bit leery at first, but was soon laughing in delight. Then the food arrived (and a few students), and we gorged ourselves on veggies, cheese cubes, chips, cookies, and popcorn. Yes - it was a well-balanced meal. Bynum introduce Aubrey and me to all the students as they arrived, and once again, Aubrey made us proud. All during the Red Carpet and the first hour of the Oscars, Aubrey was the perfect little audience member. Then it was time for home and bed.

Monday morning, Aubrey sat on the side of her bed and called me upstairs. "I put my slippers on by myself!" (What a big girl!) She joined us for breakfast, and afterwards we saw GranGran off to work. Now it was girl time! I had planned a trip to the library for "Story Time" and a visit to the playground across the street, followed by a trip to McDonald's and the post office. Then we'd have time for a nap before picking GranGran up at work, and meeting Jess and Hudson at Coopers in New Braunfels. Good plan - right?

The day started off great! We got to the library just in time for Story Time. The librarian read 2 books to us about dinosaurs. The first was about a little girl who is in time-out for being disruptive in the library. When she leans back in her chair, she knocks over a book that releases a dinosaur which she rides through other books, and eventually around the library itself. She finally has to put the dinosaur back into the book for his own time-out. The other book was a day-in-the-life of a baby dinosaur - cute! Then afterwards, there were craft tables set up where everyone designed their own dinosaur out of paper, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners. Aubrey loved it! Then we went out to the children's area, and I tried to read Madeline to her, but she wasn't interested. She liked "Is Your Mama a Llama", and other books instead. After a bit, it was time to go to the playground. We went out to the car, and the day went quickly downhill. I had locked the key in the car. I must have shown my concern to Aubrey, because she was immediately distressed. I tried to assure her that everything was OK, that we could just walk across the street to the park, but she started crying and asking for GranGran. I told her I was trying to call GranGran, and that he would call back in a minute. Meanwhile, I tried to interest her in the playground, but she would have none of it. I called my car insurance company and asked for roadside assistance, but since I was in Jessica's car, I wasn't covered. We walked back across the street to a fire station which was next to the library, where I asked for help. They told me that they couldn't unlock car doors anymore, because they might break the window and the car owner would want them to pay for it. So, I called Pop-A-Lock who agreed to come to our rescue for $55.00. We went back to the library to wait for them, and I must have finally relaxed, because all stress suddenly left Aubrey. She found another couple of books to read, and even played a computer game while we waited. The worst was over, and seemingly forgotten. Our rescuer arrived, opened the door in less than a minute, and we were on our way to McDonald's. After her first Kids Meal (I later learned the Moores don't believe in McDonalds) complete with a Barbie Fairy, Aubrey took a spin on the indoor playground. She played for a bit, then we went home for a well-deserved nap, forgetting about the post office!

When we awoke it was time to pick up GranGran and head to New Braunfels for dinner. We beat Jess there, and got our food. When Jess arrived, Aubrey ran to her to tell all about how we had been locked out of the car. Too bad that was what she considered "the event of the day". But I've decided that the major mistake I was made was to not take the time to reassure Aubrey immediately that everything was under control. Sure - we had a minor setback, but it was going to be fixed easily and soon. Most of all, there was no need to worry. Then, once she was happy, I could attend to solving the problem. I'll try to remember that in the future - lesson learned.

I haven't mentioned yet that I also got to spend some time with Hudson that weekend. I am always impressed with what a mellow little guy he is. He never seems to get ruffled. And he's always so happy. He's at the age now where "peek-a-boo" is the most fascinating, hilarious game imaginable. I got to sit behind him in the van on the way to lunch Saturday, while Bynum drove. I couldn't keep my eyes off of him, and the reverse was true - since he was facing backwards. He just smiled, gurgled, and laughed the entire journey away. What a delight he is to be around! Equal only to our other grandchild, Aubrey. I sure love these two! And we get to spend time with them both again today. I can't wait!

Aubrey Visits

Well, it had been over a month since our last visit - and that's too long! Bynum and I finally got to see the kids again 2 days after his birthday when we went to Buda Saturday to pick up his birthday gift from the kids - a new front seat for his pickup! (The original seat was all torn up when we bought it, and Bynum had restuffed it and covered it with a seat cover, but it was still far from comfortable for him.)

It was great to see everyone again, and the babies hadn't seemed to change too much, but you never can tell with little ones. We weren't able to put in the seat because there were no seatbelts attached to it (like there were to the old seat), but we did have a nice visit. Ken said he'd get some seatbelts, and we'd install everything later. It was Bynum's idea to bring Aubrey home with us for an overnight visit, and Jess agreed to let her stay till Monday. We left the pickup there and rode home in Jess' van.

On the trip back to San Antonio, Aubrey waxed eloquent. I didn't understood all of what she said, but that didn't stop her from telling me, in quite a bit of detail, all about whatever she was thinking of. It was the first time she'd spoken more than a sentence or 2 at a time to me . This time , she shared full paragraphs. Her favorite conjunction these days seemed to be "but", with which she connected all her sentences. She gave such a grown up delivery of her message, it was obvious she had been studying her Mom's speech patterns for quite some time. I just wish I'd been able to understand every word, every thought she was expressing.

We stopped a couple of times during the trip. The first was at Target to get some dress shoes for church. She rejected every pair Bynum and I presented, but finally agreed to some sparkly white ones, along with a pair of slippers (on clearance for $2!) The second stop was at a Jack-in-the-Box for a potty stop, and a kid's meal grilled cheese sandwich. I was surprised by the time we got home that she hadn't fallen asleep on the way, but after her quick bedtime rituals, this situation was remedied.

Sunday was a long day! We started with Sunday School class. (Aubrey told us repeatedly that she wanted to be in our class, NOT the 3-year-olds!) I'm always impressed at how well she blends in with the rest of our Kindergarten class. She colors her seat work almost as well as they do, and she squeezes her eyes tightly shut and bows her head during the prayer, and she listens attentively to the lesson so she can answer the questions after. She always makes me so proud! The church service followed, and Aubrey sat pretty quietly and patiently while the big people worshipped. She didn't get much out of the sermon, but she was not a distraction to others either. After worship, we had a "feast" for all, and I served the ham and green beans. GranGran and Aubrey came through my line, and then saved a place for me at the table. We ate a ton, Aubrey was a delight, and we went home for a nice nap. We were supposed to attend a concert that afternoon, but slept right through it. Not long after we awoke, it was time to go to Trinity to prepare the studio for the students' Oscar Viewing Party. When we got the studio set up, Bynum showed Aubrey his latest toy - a remote control helicopter that he got for his birthday. She sat in my lap as he flew it all around the chairs, the lights, the monitors, and us! She was a bit leery at first, but was soon laughing in delight. Then the food arrived (and a few students), and we gorged ourselves on veggies, cheese cubes, chips, cookies, and popcorn. Yes - it was a well-balanced meal. Bynum introduce Aubrey and me to all the students as they arrived, and once again, Aubrey made us proud. All during the Red Carpet and the first hour of the Oscars, Aubrey was the perfect little audience member. Then it was time for home and bed.

Monday morning, Aubrey sat on the side of her bed and called me upstairs. "I put my slippers on by myself!" (What a big girl!) She joined us for breakfast, and afterwards we saw GranGran off to work. Now it was girl time! I had planned a trip to the library for "Story Time" and a visit to the playground across the street, followed by a trip to McDonald's and the post office. Then we'd have time for a nap before picking GranGran up at work, and meeting Jess and Hudson at Coopers in New Braunfels. Good plan - right?

The day started off great! We got to the library just in time for Story Time. The librarian read 2 books to us about dinosaurs. The first was about a little girl who is in time-out for being disruptive in the library. When she leans back in her chair, she knocks over a book that releases a dinosaur which she rides through other books, and eventually around the library itself. She finally has to put the dinosaur back into the book for his own time-out. The other book was a day-in-the-life of a baby dinosaur - cute! Then afterwards, there were craft tables set up where everyone designed their own dinosaur out of paper, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners. Aubrey loved it! Then we went out to the children's area, and I tried to read Madeline to her, but she wasn't interested. She liked "Is Your Mama a Llama", and other books instead. After a bit, it was time to go to the playground. We went out to the car, and the day went quickly downhill. I had locked the key in the car. I must have shown my concern to Aubrey, because she was immediately distressed. I tried to assure her that everything was OK, that we could just walk across the street to the park, but she started crying and asking for GranGran. I told her I was trying to call GranGran, and that he would call back in a minute. Meanwhile, I tried to interest her in the playground, but she would have none of it. I called my car insurance company and asked for roadside assistance, but since I was in Jessica's car, I wasn't covered. We walked back across the street to a fire station which was next to the library, where I asked for help. They told me that they couldn't unlock car doors anymore, because they might break the window and the car owner would want them to pay for it. So, I called Pop-A-Lock who agreed to come to our rescue for $55.00. We went back to the library to wait for them, and I must have finally relaxed, because all stress suddenly left Aubrey. She found another couple of books to read, and even played a computer game while we waited. The worst was over, and seemingly forgotten. Our rescuer arrived, opened the door in less than a minute, and we were on our way to McDonald's. After her first Kids Meal (I later learned the Moores don't believe in McDonalds) complete with a Barbie Fairy, Aubrey took a spin on the indoor playground. She played for a bit, then we went home for a well-deserved nap, forgetting about the post office!

When we awoke it was time to pick up GranGran and head to New Braunfels for dinner. We beat Jess there, and got our food. When Jess arrived, Aubrey ran to her to tell all about how we had been locked out of the car. Too bad that was what she considered "the event of the day". But I've decided that the major mistake I was made was to not take the time to reassure Aubrey immediately that everything was under control. Sure - we had a minor setback, but it was going to be fixed easily and soon. Most of all, there was no need to worry. Then, once she was happy, I could attend to solving the problem. I'll try to remember that in the future - lesson learned.

I haven't mentioned yet that I also got to spend some time with Hudson that weekend. I am always impressed with what a mellow little guy he is. He never seems to get ruffled. And he's always so happy. He's at the age now where "peek-a-boo" is the most fascinating, hilarious game imaginable. I got to sit behind him in the van on the way to lunch Saturday, while Bynum drove. I couldn't keep my eyes off of him, and the reverse was true - since he was facing backwards. He just smiled, gurgled, and laughed the entire journey away. What a delight he is to be around! Equal only to our other grandchild, Aubrey. I sure love these two! And we get to spend time with them both again today. I can't wait!

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