Oh Juliet... oh Juliet

If you've never seen the movie Gnomeo and Juliet, you must! We love this movie here at the Donovan household.... so much that we even re-enact it! Here are the newest Gnomeo and Juliet cast members. And, for those of you who have never seen the movie, check out the trailer!

Young boys should never be sent to bed, they always wake up another day older.

I was on the internet tonight and found a few quotes about boys that I thought were adorable and so true... one of them being the title of this blog post. It is truly amazing how fast Grayson is growing (an astounding 17 months already) and how sad this mommy gets every time she thinks about her baby boy turning into a big boy. One thing I know for sure is that I love how much he loves his mommy! There is not much sweeter than his sweet little voice saying, "Mommy, mommy!" (Even if it is every 5 seconds!)

Everyone else here in the Donovan household is enjoying watching him grow just the same. Ella is constantly saying things like, "He is the cutest boy in the world!" or "Did you hear that? He just said_____." She gets so excited when he reaches new milestones. Grayson loves Ella so much! It was so sweet watching him hug and kiss her over and over and over yesterday morning. And, although there are times they can't stand each other (already!) I know they love each other beyond comparison. Watching them play together is one of my most favorite things to do. Ella gets so excited when he starts chasing her.... sometimes with a bat or other weapon in hand!

Grayson and his daddy are two of a kind. They are constantly zooming around the house in a car or throwing some type of ball. It is so sweet hearing and seeing Grayson track down Kermie where ever he is in the house with a ball in hand. He then proceeds, "Daddy, ball." And, drags Kermie somewhere to play ball. It's really funny when he smacks the floor to make his daddy sit down in a certain spot.

I honestly could not imagine our lives without this little guy! He brings so much joy to everyday and I am so grateful for this blessing!


Grayson is always smiling!

We see this face frequently when he wants more "JUUIICEE!"

Our little guy is slightly obsessed with Bubble Guppies on Nick Jr. He screams at you, "Bubble!Bubble!"

Proof of Grayson and Daddy going way past the speed limit in his car (in the house!)!

I find him in my purse all the time! He loves lipstick almost as much as my Ellie Bellie! Hopefully he will outgrow this!!

Here is another quote I thought was cute:
Boys are found everywhere--on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around or jumping to. Mothers love them, little girls hate them, older brothers and sisters tolerate them, adults ignore them, and Heaven protects them. A boy is Truth with dirt on its face, Beauty with a cut on its finger, Wisdom with bubblegum in its hair, and the Hope of the future with a frog in its pocket.-Alan Marshall Beck

We decided to go.

Kermie and I had been talking about possibly taking a small trip after Christmas at some point, but never really decided on anything certain. So, the day after Christmas we were still pondering when and where this trip would be. All we knew was that we had a week together and wanted to do something fun, but inexpensive.

After lots of internet searching, Kermie discovered that it was Military Week at the Columbus Zoo (which we had been wanting to visit for a while now). And, after snagging a good hotel price on priceline.com we decided Columbus was our destination. We left Monday morning (actually by the time we left town it was more like noon) and arrived in Columbus by 4 o'clock ish.

After settling in to our hotel and walking the mile of pedways to get there (The first picture is Ella in one of the three pedways we took from the parking garage to our hotel.), we thought what better way to spend our first night than a free night at the Zoo to see the lights.



The zoo put the Southern Lights to shame! Every single tree was wrapped in lights and it was so magical... even two days after Christmas!

On our way back to the hotel, we noticed this building which stood right beside ours. It made our night even better!


The next morning we headed out for the COSI Museum since we knew rain was the forecast. This museum was awesome and our favorite part was the Space Tunnel. We attempted to take video of it, but all you hear is us laughing and see nothing but black. It was quite the experience. For all of you teachers, they do give a teacher discount which is better than the military discount. :) Go teachers!

Kermie totally kicked my butt at the balance test!






This is what I walked out of the shower to the next morning. They love each other on most days. :)


We chose the coldest day of the week to head back to the zoo for animal sight seeing. And, while it was cold (a mere 32 degrees), it was the absolute best zoo experience we have had! Not only was it free again, but we had the entire zoo to ourselves minus a family or two.

Grayson was not in the picture taking mood.



Colo is the oldest living gorilla in a zoo! She is a great, great grandmother. :)

After the zoo, my brother and his fiance took us out to eat at Outback via Christmas giftcard. Thanks guys! It was yummy!

Today was our last day in Columbus, which has turned into my new favorite city by the way. We woke up late, took our time getting ready, and headed out for the North Market. This place was terrific in that I was able to get some yummy Mediterranean food, Ella and Grayson got Italian, and Kermie ended up with Vietnamese food for lunch. After lunch, we indulged in some Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream.



Before we left town, we knew there was one last stop we wanted to make.... German Village. And, if there is any one town I think I would feel right at home in, it's this one! I love the cobblestone roads, small (or at least some of them) older houses, and character everywhere you look. One day.......???



I am so glad we decided to go!

And, we're back!

I have really gotten behind on my blogging this past month. And, I guess it must have something to do with being completely and utterly too busy!

Since my last post, we have had a wonderful Thanksgiving...

This is Ella and her daddy in the van in between Thanksgivings. We were letting Grayson get his nap in :)

Put our house up for sale... again...

Met the newest addition to our family, Mr. Kayne Richardson (who has stolen my heart)...

Watched Ella perform in her very first Christmas program at church...

Survived through a horrible stomach bug...

And, made lots of fun memories in between (One being tonight at the Southern Light's when Grayson and Ella were totally amazed at the lights. Grayson definitely called everything with lights on it a "Twee". Precious).

New Addition

Tonight, we brought home the two newest members of the Donovan Clan courtesy of the Southern Elementary PTA. Welcome Goldie and Nemo!

Mrs. Know-it-All

Ella is one of a kind and on many occasions "Mrs. Know-it-All." I have always loved her personality and the fact that she is outspoken and curious about everything!!

Well, today when I picked her up from Mary Susan's house, I was informed of an incident at the lunch table. This is me paraphrasing what Mary Susan explained. So here goes:

Mary Susan (to all of the children at the lunch table): You have to eat your green beans in order to get your cookies.

Ella: I am not eating my green beans. I don't like this kind (Mary Susan tried a new kind this week just because Ella didn't like last week's version.).

Mary Susan: It is important for us to eat our green beans. Did you know that there are children who don't have enough money to eat any food at all? We need to be grateful for our green beans.

Ella: Actually, my daddy gives money to those people so that they do have money for green beans.

What a ham!!! Lord help us when she is a teenager :)

To the moon and back!

Dear Ella and Grayson,

Mommy loves taking your pictures. I probably take too many and I'm sure you get tired of me saying "say cheese" all of the time! But, one day in the near future you will understand that these moments we are making are precious and your mommy doesn't ever want to forget them!





If there is anything in life that your mommy is certain about, it is that....


Love,
Mommy