The Grices Growing Up...

It's Called a Cup...

2012-02-08T10:10:00.000-05:00

The season is just beginning for spring sports...

McCord has never played lacrosse and in hopes of finding an alternative to football (you get to wear pads, you get to run -- a lot! and you still get to hit people), I signed him up. After his first practice, he ran off the field and said, "Mommy, that was awesome!! I'm so glad you signed me up!" I took that to be a very good sign! Plus, he looked pretty awesome in his pads and helmet. :-)

When we got home, he jumped in the shower. Preston, ran into the room and grabbed something off the floor. He came running downstairs and said, "Mommy, look at this new iPhone cover I found in Cordy's room!" Um, well, no, it's called a cup... I guess he'll learn about those in a couple of years...

2 Days -- 30 Miles!

2008-09-22T17:25:00.001-04:00

I had the huge priviledge of walking this past weekend in the Atlanta 2-Day Walk for Breat Cancer. I walked in honor of my aunt who is currently undergoing treatment for the disease. My team, Pinklaicious, raised over $6,000 to be used in the Atlanta area toward reasearch and prevention. I was truly honored to be a part of the weekend!!

The sign posted along the course representing my walking in honor of my aunt, Linda Brightwell.

My team, Pinkalicious, having lunch on the lawn of the Governor's Mansion with the other walkers.

Walkers in front of us...
Walkers behind us...
Crossing the finish line!! :-)

Movie Night!

2008-09-22T17:19:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, for reasons I can't remember, I had all 3 boys (McCord, Preston, and cousin Hanky) at our house. We had taken baths, put on our pjs and were ready for bed. I said, "What if we pop some popcorn and have a movie night?" They loved the idea and were soon all tucked snugly underneath a beautiful quilt my grandmother handmade McCord, eating their popcorn and watching "Cars". It was a fun night...

Packer Fever...

2008-09-22T17:05:00.000-04:00

Fall and Football have returned, once again, to the Grice house! The Packers kicked off their season a couple of weeks ago with the help of the 2 cutest pint-sized Packer fans. Now every time Preston sees football on TV, he automatically assumes it's the Green Bay Packers and insists we watch. McCord isn't sure which is his favorite team: the Green Bay Packers or the Georgia Bulldogs -- luckily, they both start with G! :-)

I mean, really, is there anything cuter!?!

First Day of Pre-K!!

2008-09-22T16:58:00.000-04:00

McCord started Pre-K last month!! He is very excited about attending his new school, St. Martins, and loves the fact that we can walk there when we need to (it's literally right up the street!). It's hard to believe that he's really old enough to be in Pre-K -- they do grow up SO fast!!! He's loving his new teacher, Mrs. Frutiger, as well as all his new friends in his class.

First day of school!!

Another 1st day shot...

McCord with his new teacher, Mrs. Frutiger, at the Meet and Greet.

McCord trying out some of the manipulatives at the Meet and Greet -- getting ready for "big school" to begin!!

It's My Party...

2008-09-22T16:43:00.000-04:00

...and I'll cry if I want to!

Obviously, Preston wanted us to hurry up and get to the cake and ice cream part! Ella Kate just wanted to know why we hadn't opened any presents yet!

I just found this picture on another memory card from Preston's birthday party and thought it was too funny to pass up... :-)

Summer 2008

2008-09-09T08:55:00.001-04:00

After an insanely long time away from our blog, here is the "summer recap" -- it goes backwards. Beginning with our recent trip to Minnesota for "Cousin Karen's wedding" and going back through the summer to our trip to the beach in June. Enjoy!! I promise to try and do a better job with the postings!! :-)

Beautiful bride Karen with Cordy and Presto!

Karen and Savannah

Preston and cousin Lisa!

Gimpa, Gagga, McCord and Preston

Birthday Boy, Preston! Happy 2nd Birthday!

Preston got into gift opening this year! He was really slow, but really good at it!

Preston had a "golf birthday party" and several of his gifts reflected the theme. He's the only 2 year old whose presents came from the "adult game section of Target" and whose plates, napkins, and decorations came from the "retirement" section of Party City!! We all got a kick out of that!

At the beach

Cutie-patootie!

Several shots from our trip to Atlantis in the Bahamas...

Sissy and the boys at the beach...

"Llama!!"

GO PAK GO!!!!

2008-01-28T15:15:00.000-05:00

Game time temp: -4 degrees with a windchill of -25 (or some ungodly number like that!)

Layers on bottom: 4

Layers on top: 5

Watching the Packers play football in Lambeau Field: PRICELESS

Yes, sportsfans, Richard and I made the journey to Mecca (according to Richard) last Sunday to watch the Packers play in the NFC Championship game. Except for the score and the fact that season is now over, we had a fabulous time! The weather could have been a bit warmer, but that didn't seem to deter the 72,200 fans inside the stadium (or the thousands outside who couldn't get tickets!) from standing and screaming the entire game (oh, except when the offense was on the field -- then, you could have heard a pin drop -- after all, "Quiet, please -- offense is at work!" -- or so the signs said -- might have been nice if the offense had actually shown up!)

A self-portrait. (Please note the cheesehead on Katie's head -- one of the rare occasions when she'll actually put one on!)

Lombardi Ave. -- almost to the stadium...

There it is!! Mecca...

The North End scoreboard -- don't know why it says Browns... 17:35 til kickoff!!

Here they come out of the tunnell!!!

The big "G" flag!!

Every other game we've watched, they've announced Brett's name out of the tunnel -- this game they didn't. Strange. So here's a shot of him "sneaking" out onto the field -- he's the lone Packer on the far right side.

Getting ready for the kick-off -- they had to do it twice because the wind kept knocking over the football. Finally, they had someone hold the ball. The crowd thought that was a bit of cheating and let them know it with several "Boos!"

Brett's first play of the game...

SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!

2008-01-28T14:38:00.000-05:00

It actually snowed in Atlanta!! (Twice in one week!) Last weekend we got 2-3 inches of snow on the ground -- of course, it snowed on a Saturday, so there weren't any school closings (sorry, Savannah!!!). However, it was the "good" snow -- the kind perfect for making snowmen. Speaking on behalf of all the native Atlantans, I can't remember the last time we had a snowfall with this type of snow where we could make snowmen -- it's been a while! I remember having some pictures taken with a snowman when I was McCord's age, but that's about it... We had such a fun afternoon playing in the snow -- you'll notice the only person missing from the fun was Preston, who was taking his nap! :-(

Our snowman -- McCord named him Frosty -- how original!

Daddy and Savannah warming up to Frosty.

Daddy getting ready to throw a snowball -- notice the tracks behind him where we rolled the balls for the snowman.

McCord and his new friend, Frosty!
Look at all the snow!!
Really quite pretty!

Not having any "real" sleds, McCord and Hank are riding down the hill in the top to our recycling box -- it worked and made for a fun ride!

Sissy trying the sled...

...almost...

Kersplat! Good try, Sissy!

We did find a hill at our neighbor's house across the street and with the sled Hank's grandmother, SuSu, bought that afternoon, we had another hour of sleding fun!

Preston's First Haircut

2008-01-17T15:17:00.000-05:00

Daddy finally put his foot over the Christmas holidays and said that Preston's curls had to come off. Procrastinating as long as possible, we went last week and had them cut. Not to worry, they're safely in an envelope marked "Preston's curls". :-)

Before....

Martina getting ready -- Preston's not sure what the big deal is!

...After

What a handsome guy (with a little food on his face!)

Christmas!!!!!

2008-01-17T14:48:00.000-05:00

Santa finally arrived! After several weeks of waiting -- poor McCord, he really did the best he could waiting for the big day -- the morning was finally here! :-) Everyone had a great time busting ribbons and seeing what the big man brought. Preston's favorite thing to do was to walk in a circle around the room from one person's pile to the next seeing what was there. Once he had done that, he was content to sit down and play with some things he got.

"Deer in the headlight" look -- before the chaos

The coveted "talking Captain Jack"

Strange martian bouncy thingy

Looking up at the "flying saucer" that Santa brought everyone -- Preston did not like this toy (and still doesn't!)

Sissy's new camera...

A drum set for a 1 1/2 year old?!? You should see him jam!! :-)

Phil Mickelson pic -- to go along with our golfing collection in the office.

Still loving the Captain Jack...

Sissy wanted, and got, clothes, clothes, clothes... :-)

Richard hopes to improve his literary knowledge during all the upcoming volleyball tournaments with his newest book "Pillars of the Earth"

The marble tower -- a huge hit! :-)

A fun (and still exciting) toy -- the marshmallow shooter! Sissy even got one, but in this picture she must have put it somewhere else....

Captain Jack pjs :-)

Cool dude!

Almost Christmas...

2008-01-17T14:36:00.001-05:00

The weeks before Christmas found us doing normal things like decorating the tree, attending McCord's Christmas program at school and searching every morning for our elf friend "Holiday" -- who came to live with us for the month of December. Each night he would fly to the North Pole and report to Santa on the behavior of all family members in the Grice house (believe me when I say that McCord made sure we knew that he was watching Mommy and Daddy, too!). Each morning he would be in a different spot around the house and we had to find him -- McCord really loved playing this game. :-) Amazing what the sentence "Remember that Holiday is watching..." will make a 4 year old do!!!!

Taking a break from putting ornaments on the tree.

Actually, McCord would put the ornaments on the tree and Preston would walk right behind him and take the ornaments off the tree. It was pretty funny to watch! :-)

They ended the concert with McCord's favorite song "We Fish you a Hairy Christmas" -- this is a picture of the "hairy" part.

A picnic on the floor in the pantry -- notice all the cereal on the floor! :-)

Visiting the North Pole

2007-12-09T20:03:00.001-05:00

Last Saturday, the boys' preschool turned into the North Pole (really, according to Cordy!). We had a lovely morning of Christmas crafts, stories, doughnuts, and, of course, meeting Santa Claus! As you can see, though, Preston wasn't too thrilled with the big guy!

Poor Preston!

"I would like 2 Captain Jacks, please!" (If only he'd asked that nicely!!)

Buddies!

Cordy loved these huge packages that covered the stage at the "North Pole". He really, really wanted to open a couple! :-)

Peek-a-Boo

2007-12-09T19:43:00.000-05:00

Where is Preston??

Peek-a-Boo!!

Thanksgiving -- Cousin Lisa

2007-12-09T19:35:00.001-05:00

Well, so it's taken me quite a while to update our blog from Halloween! Goodness!

We had an exciting Thanksgiving here at the Grices. Aunt Terri and Uncle Chuck were very kind to share Cousin Lisa with us for a few short days and we were able to visit with her over the holiday. We offered her some warm weather and good 'ole southern hospitality as we schleped her around the city visiting various family members (well, Katie's family members...). Lisa faired very well and even squeezed in a visit to Georgia Tech -- a possible graduate school selection. We all had a great time!!

Halloween

2007-11-11T22:12:00.000-05:00

I apologize for the delay in getting the Halloween pictures onto the blog (there really aren't that many, anyway...), but I wanted Preston's big news to have some time at the top! :-)

The last 2 weeks of October were "Halloween weeks." I pulled Cordy's costume out the day we went trick or treating at Richard's office (about 8 days before Halloween) and he stayed in it through Halloween night -- even sleeping in it some nights. It just wasn't worth the arguments to get him to take it off. :-) Speaking of trick or treating at Richard's office... The firm set aside a day where the entire office is open to family trick or treaters. The people who want you to stop by their office put a print out of a pumpkin on their door and they all have candy. When I say they all have candy, I mean they ALL have candy. There are about 40 attorneys per floor, 1 administrative assistant per 2 attorneys, support staff -- so, potentially 60 or so people to visit. We made the rounds on Richard's floor and, after dumping the bucket twice to take in more candy, we finally convinced Cordy to head back to Daddy's office for a nice Coca-Cola (the child will do anything for a Coca-Cola!). We all had a great time, though, and managed to avoid the sugar high!

The Friday before Halloween we went with the McCords to "Boo at the Zoo". The zoo was open past closing and the kids got to trick or treat around the park, getting candy along the way. At the end (aka the children's part of the zoo) there was a carnival type of feeling with music, a jumpy, the carousel and train ride. The boys had a great time and we have put it on the list of things to do next year.

Finally, it was Halloween night. We met up with the McCords and had pizza before heading out to trick or treat. McCord and Hank were the two most knowledgeable Captain Jack Sparrows you've ever seen and Preston and Ella Kate were the cutest Mickey and Minnie combo. We ran the boys until they couldn't go any farther -- practically the entire way around the neighborhood. (Oh, and it's too bad that we didn't get a picture of the grown-ups in costume! Richard came in full pirate garb as another Captain Jack and Katie really didn't need the red wig as Raggedy Ann!)

It's SO hard to get all 4 kids looking at the camera at the same time!

Poor Preston, he just really wasn't sure about the whole costume thing. He'll have to get some pointers from his brother. :-)

Our 2 adorable Captain Jack Sparrows.

Daddy and Cordy having dinner inside the train car at the Old Spaghetti Factory before heading over to "Boo at the Zoo". Note that Cordy still has his costume on.

Cutie patootie!!! :-)

WALKING!!!

2007-11-02T13:38:00.001-04:00

Preston had been taking 2-3 steps on his own for the past week or so, but he would always fall down when attempting more -- but this past Monday, he did it!! The boys were staying with CeCe and Pappy while Richard and I were on a business trip for a couple of days, but CeCe didn't say anything about Preston walking while we were gone. Imagine my surprise when I got him up from his nap the day we got home and he took off walking across the floor! I gasped so loud I actually scared him! :-) He's still a bit "wobbly" and can move faster when he crawls, but he's getting it!

Gameday!

2007-10-12T17:53:00.001-04:00

You'd think with fans as cute as these, the Pack would still be undefeated!

McCord's 4th Birthday!!

2007-10-08T14:38:00.000-04:00

Aaarrrggghhhh!!! Pirates Beware! Cordy's 4th birthday was a swashbuckling good ole pirate party.

Cordy's 2 little friends, Mitchell and Nathan, came over and enjoyed a few pirate themed games ("bobbing for apples" -- the sanitary version..., digging for buried treasure, and a treasure hunt). Everyone had a great time.

Sissy was very kind to follow the kids around on the treasure hunt and read the clues -- they all enjoyed the clue that read "to receive your next clue, you must walk the plank!" -- meaning they got to jump off the diving board -- the hunt took about a 30 minute break while they enjoyed a quick swim! :-)

The one absence Cordy kept noticing was his best buddy, Hanky, who was home sick with the fever Cordy had had the week before (see the post below...). Before his party, we took Hanky a balloon and Cordy wanted to move the entire party to Hanky's house so he could be there. :-)

The Cake -- it was yummy!!!

Daddy putting up the Jolly Roger! Aaarrrggghhhh!
Pirate Cordy in his birthday attire...
Preston enjoying the festivities! Smiling, of course.
Cordy playing with his new Black Pearl before the party started.
The kids weren't so excited about bobbing for apples...
Daddy was really excited, though...
Digging for buried treasure in the backyard!
Blowing out his candle -- it's a bit hard to see...

Finding a clue on the treasure hunt!

Ooohhh! What could it say?
Aarrgghh! A clue!
Cordy was not sure at all about walking the plank... He eventually jumped in from the side. :-)
The Black Pearl in the water!

Our Ill-fated Beach Trip

2007-10-08T14:25:00.000-04:00

The key word in the title of this post is "ill".

Three weeks ago the moms decided it would be a great idea to take the kids down to the beach for one more weekend getaway while the weather was still hot. Hanky and Cordy thoroughly enjoyed their 1 morning of playing on the beach -- they had a little slew to play in and built several fabulous sandcastles and holes. All was going well until Cordy said, while still on the beach, "Mommy, I want to take a little nap..." This is the child who runs forever on the beach, not the child who naps on the beach. He fell asleep on the lounge chair by the pool (again, not normal!) and when he woke up, you could have fried an egg on his back. :-(

We left the beach early and returned home, where Cordy proceeded to give whatever he had to most of the rest of the family!

Almost...

2007-09-16T16:58:00.000-04:00

...walking!

Preston is moving and shaking all over the house. He has perfected the art of "pulling up" and is now trying his best to reach anything on top of a low table. He is getting more sure of himself on two feet and we feel sure he'll beat his brother by walking before 15 months!

Here are some shots of him moving around the house this morning.

She's growing up...

2007-09-13T14:35:00.000-04:00

Our little girl is growing into a beautiful young lady!!

Is it a bedsheet?

2007-09-10T11:09:00.000-04:00

.....No!! It's the Black Pearl!

What do you do on a weekend morning with 2 boys who are not happy playing with any of their other toys?? Pull out one of those old bedsheets in the Goodwill pile and, viola!, instant pirate ship.

McCord and cousin Hanky played in the Black Pearl for the rest of the morning and well into the afternoon. McCord took several stuffed animals into the ship for "crew members" and they even insisted on eating snack inside the ship.

Our den is a little messy right now, but who knew it could double as the ocean! :-)

1st Birthday!!

2007-09-01T10:22:00.001-04:00

Well, it's official! Peston turned 1 this past Saturday! No more babies in the Grice house... :-(

We had a nice little party for Preston, but he was a bit overwhelmed by all the stares! In fact, when it came time for him to dig into the cake, he had absolutely no interest at all. He eventually reached a tentative finger out and got a bit of frosting, but that was about it. We helped by pushing his hand into the cake -- he didn't like that too much. Big brother McCord helped to blow the candle out and kept wondering why it wasn't his birthday yet.

Preston's new trick on his birthday was that he took his first journey up a few stairs (with Pirate McCord right by his side). Guess it's time to put all the gates back up.

Imagination

2007-08-23T15:22:00.001-04:00

The mind of a 3 year old is amazing! McCord's imagination has exploded this summer and we are taking adventurous trips everywhere without ever leaving our house. Of course, these days we take these adventures on our ship, the Black Pearl, because we're still pretending to be Jack Sparrow. He has added a few pieces to his outfit and now we must have all 11 pieces on before leaving the house. Every box we find is a treasure box -- we now have 4 -- and they are all filled with treasure. We might as well run the Jolly Roger up the chimney to let any other nearby pirates know we're friendly.

Captian Jack

2007-08-05T21:54:00.000-04:00

When McCord gets into something, he really gets into it. His current obsession is Captain Jack Sparrow. (We have been through many months of Blues Clues and Handy-Dandy Notebooks before this!) He has "the outfit" (hat, headband, compass, sword, belt -- given to him by Mimi) that he wears all the time. Really... Until yesterday, we were going on 12 straight days of wearing the band and alternating between the other items... It's quite cute. Captain Cordy escorts me to the grocery store, Target and friends' houses -- all to the delight of those we pass along the way.

Did I mention that he also sleeps in it?!?

Crawling!!

2007-08-05T21:39:00.000-04:00

The past few weeks we have felt sure that Preston would be the Marines youngest recruit! He had perfected the "commando crawl" and really became quite fast moving with just his elbows and pushing off with his big toes. Last week, though, the bottom went up in the air and the knees have become much more important. :-) He is scooting around all over the place. Here are some pictures of "the crawl evolution".

The picture in the middle (with all the red welts on his face) was taken to remember just how allergic he seems to be to mosquito bites. Richard says it's a shame that he takes after me in this department. McCord never had this issue with the mosquitoes. Now I have bug spray in every conceivable place -- car, stroller, house, pool bag, etc. The only place I can't put the bug spray is on his face -- hence, the bites. :-(

VARSITY

2007-08-05T09:25:00.000-04:00

Yes, sportsfans, you heard it here first! Savannah Grice has become the first freshman in four years to make the Varisty volleyball team at Marist. :-) (The last one to do it went on to a full ride at GA Tech...) She is super excited and looking forward to a great year of learning and watching a lot of fantastic volleyball. :-)

The Beach

2007-08-02T10:57:00.000-04:00

We spent July 4th at the beach this year (like the firecracker hat Preston is sporting?) and everyone had a great time. McCord discovered that he really loves the ocean and the waves. It was a little frightening to Mommy, however, when he would dash out into the waves all by himself without hesitation. We were able to come to an agreement that he would wear a lifevest this year in the water -- that made Mommy happy. :-) Preston found that he also loved the water -- his love happened to be more of the pool variety. We bought him a froggie float and he loved splashing in the water. Of course, it always seem to take more time to get him dressed and ready to go than the time we actually spend in the water! Oh well!

Sleep, Eat, Volleyball

2007-07-31T16:33:00.000-04:00

Savannah loves volleyball! She has become quite the setter for her school team, the Marist War Eagles, and also on her club team, A5. Richard, quite possibly her biggest fan, loves traveling with her and the A5 club team as they play matches all across the Southeast. School volleyball will be starting in the next week or so. Stay tuned for more exciting info about this!

Crunching Tiger Woods

2007-07-29T22:40:00.000-04:00

McCord has taken to golf like a fish to water. He sleeps, eats and plays golf. Richard and Cordy will go to the golf course on the weekends and many times Richard has to bribe him to leave. Recently, they were watching a tournament on TV that Tiger Woods happened to be playing. Richard said, "Cordy, one day you will crush Tiger Woods." Cordy immediately said, "Yep Daddy, I will crunch him!" The joke has stuck. We all now talk about crunching Tiger...

Welcome!

2007-07-29T21:47:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Grice's blog! We hope to discover how to use this tool to keep everyone up to date on Sissy and the boys. Being a "newbie" to the blog world, I can't promise that it will be perfect, but hopefully we'll figure it out. We hope you enjoy it! :-)