Happy Birthday Forrest

Forrest, you are my third grandchild. You have brought many happy times to my life. It is sometimes like I am with your daddy again. You play like he did, lying on the floor with your trucks, cars or StarWars guy.
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You are a happy boy. You can always make me smile. When you were little, you used to raise your arms up toward your mama, daddy or grandmothers and say, "Hold You, Hold You". That meant you wanted us to hold you. It continues to be a happy memory for Meme.

You did not talk a lot at first. Your sister did the talking. Your mama encouraged you to use your words. I grabbed that phrase for the title to my little blog that is me trying to use my words to write. You are not quite as chatty as your sister, but, when you do speak, we all listen and usually smile at the gravity of what you say. You do not like to jump from what you perceive to be perches that are a little too high. One day while you, your sister and I were getting out of the car, Lily said that you were too slow. You calmly stated to her, "Well, I do not want to get hurt"!!!!! I thought to myself, How Wise. This brings me to another thought. You move just like your Uncle Brian. When he was in kindergarden, he Slowwwlllllyyy walked to the car each day....holding up all the cars behind us. No matter how much I begged him to hurry, he Would Not...You are so like him. We will all be walking either at the zoo, at the grocery, on the way to pick up Lily and you will slowly but, surely amble along.
If we get too far ahead, You always say, "Hey, you guys, wait up!" Another smile from Meme....
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You really love to play with your Cousin Max. I listen to the two of you talking, and when Max says something he likes, you respond with a "me, too"....It is like if Max thinks it is cool, you do too.
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Very high on your list of favorite people, besides mommy, of course, is your sister Lily. You and her are a pair. She will be your guardian angel for life. You adore her, and she you. You two play so well together. She loves Star Wars too (she is her father's daughter), will stop her girlie girl stuff to drive cars with you, and you are man enough to play with her in her fairy land as well.

I hope you are having a grand birthday in St. Louie, and I look forward to sharing a birthday party with you real soon....

I love you,
Meme
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Pretty Days and Pretty Nights

I am loving this beautiful weather here in Memphis Town....sunny, warm, and no humidity. I could get used to this.

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I worked until 11:15 pm last night. On my way home I got the urge to check out the site of a midnight bike ride Brian and Shannon were going to. It was such a beautiful night and I was excited for them. It was very close to my house, so I zipped right in. I was astonished. I have never seen so many people, so many bikes. There were young people, old people, bike pros, and bike wanna be pros. I saw a unicycles, bicycles built for two, home made contraptions. I just wondered around, sticking out like a sore thumb in my hospital wear....I did not find my kids, but, I listened to the band and wished for a little bit that I was a bike rider...
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Lily called me the other night to report that she could now ride her bike. I was very excited for her and remembered my joy at watching Max when he first learned to ride. So, today I headed over to see her in action.



I remember when I learned to ride. The determination...the letdown when I could not get it. Then, out of the blue, off I went.
I also remember helping Lily's dad as he was starting to ride. He probably does not remember, but, as his mama, I do.
Oh, the milestones of childhood.


Forrest on His Bike....

This and That

You often wonder what your grandchildren really think about you. You know they love you, but, what do they think? What memory lingers with them? Max's mom told me the other day about how Max was emptying his overnight bag after having a sleep over at my house. Max said "Mom, my clothes still smell like Meme's house". She asked, "Is that a good or bad thing"? He said, "It's Good"..... I smiled. Little things make you happy. At lease he did not say they smelled like an old grandma...:-P
The picture was made at The Children's Museum....I don't have cages in my house....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BOYS

Well, August 15 has rolled around again. That signals the sounds of Happy Birthday to you. The song is getting louder each year as Max, Forrest, and Lily belt out the tune....Meme is trying to coordinate just so, as I have to get The Picture of B & K.




These boys showing what has come to be called "The Dixon Humor". They crack themselves up!!!


They are not 3,935 years old....Brian is 39 and Kevin 35!!! Oh, my, I cannot believe it has been so long ago I welcomed these boys into the world. I so admire both of my boys. The wonderful men they have become. They continue to make my day, and my life....

Summer Days

Summer is quickly coming to a close. Lily has already started back to school and Max and Forrest will be next week.

Yesterday Shannon and I tried to squeeze as much fun into one afternoon as we could with Max and Forrest. We tried to see the Disney Train that was stopping in Memphis, but the lines were too long. So, we did the next best thing. We headed to Smith's Drug Store and stepped back into the 1960's for a chocolate milk shake. We ordered two and we each shared with the boys. We slurped every drop. It was so tasty, too

Next we went to a children's book store that has been in business for 30 something years and I had never been there. Then, on the spur of the moment we went to a movie....G-Force. I really enjoyed being with Shannon, and Max and Forrest....

Max and Forrest spent the night. I got them both to bed, even though neither of them were sleepy. Maybe two minutes later Max comes in my room with droopy eyes and announces he cannot sleep....I smile to myself and send him back reassuring him that he should perhaps close his eyes and sleep will come....I did not hear anymore from him, well, not until 6:50 am....I got him fixed up with cereal and put Forrest in my bed and thought surely I could get a few more winks of sleep in. No, it was not going to happen.But, it is sure wonderful to hear a little boy say, "Meme, I love you"....I said "Forrest, I love you too".

We were up and at em....Breakfast, morning tv, reading, plalying, lunch, snacks, more playing. I had the wonderful idea to make brownies with the boys. Both of their dads like to cook, so we went to work. Forrest emptied the mix (you did not think they were from scratch did you), Max cracked the eggs and each one stirred 20 times....Forrest wanted to lick the bowl, but, Max would not let him because of salmonella.....honest. He did not want him to get sick...

It was a wonderful day and will be repeated as needed......