National Grantham Resurrection

We have just completed our first day at Disney World and I’m beat. We’re all beat. Heather was already in Orlando for KD convention, and Mimi, the Boys, and I drove down yesterday. We got here at around 5 and met Grandpa who had driven in from their house. We had a character dinner at 5:30 where we got to meet Goofy and Pluto. That was quite an ordeal. We were sitting at our table, and everyone was having a good time until Pluto walked in. Pierce lit up, excited to see him, and James was curious, waving and smiling, until Pluto got a little closer. I think James got a good close look and decided he didn’t like what he saw, because he lost it. I’ve never seen him as scared as he was when Pluto approached the table. Mimi had to hold him and he spent the next 15 minutes clutching her for dear life and sneaking peeks over her shoulder to see if he was still there.

It was pitiful. Of course, Pierce still wanted to have his picture made with them, so we had to go far from the table behind James’ back to get the photos. We finished dinner and went to bed, we had a long day ahead of us.



Morning came too quickly after driving 9 hours (4 of those in the rain) and we headed to the park. Pierce was so excited he was about to explode. We walked in the park and stopped at the hat shop to buy ears for the boys.



Once we had that out of the way it was off to our first ride. Pierce wanted to ride the Tea Cups, so Pierce, Mimi, and I got on. It was fun, and a little sickening.

After the Tea Cups we went on the Speedway and Pierce got to drive the car. He loved it and felt pretty cool when we rounded the corner and saw the rest of the group standing and cheering and waving. We were “racing” a guy next to us and Pierce declared us the winners, even though the other guy beat us by a mile. After the Speedway, we went to the Dumbo ride. Heather and Pierce stood in line forever, but it was worth it. Pierce went up and down and thought it was pretty great.

James had been asleep in the stroller, but woke up when Heather and Pierce got done.


The carousel is right next to the Dumbo ride, so Pierce and I hopped on real quick, while the others went to get a fast pass onto It’s a Small World. There turned out to be no line for It’s a Small World, so Pierce gave the Sword In The Stone a quick unsuccessful tug, and we got on It’s a Small World…all of us. We were worried about James, would he dive off the boat in fear upon seeing the thousands of robots on the ride? Would “The Happiest Cruise Ever To Set Sail” be tarnished by the desperate screams of a headstrong 15 month old?


Turns out, James really likes that ride. He liked it so much, he stood up on the bench and started dancing. It was awesome. He liked it so much in fact, that we got off, and immediately got back in the line. Pierce didn’t want to ride again though (in fact, he was having a meltdown) so Mimi and Grandpa took Pierce up to the Pinnochio Restaurant to wait for us. When we got done (after another successful ride…this time with James trying to sing along) Pierce was still having a fit, so we ordered some food. Pierce calmed down in my lap and ate half my lunch and fell asleep on me at the table. We put him in the stroller since James was raring to go at this point and headed to Toon Town.

James played in Pooh’s Thotful Place, and then played in some other little play area across from Mickey Mouse’s house. Heather, Mimi, and James went into Mickey’s house while I sat by the stroller. Pierce woke up and wanted to go in too, so when they got back, Pierce and I went in. We noticed there was a tent where you could meet Mickey in his back yard, so we went and got Mimi and the three of us waited in what we thought was a short little line, until we got into the tent and noticed it wound around and around. an hour later we got to meet Mickey and Minnie.

Pierce walked up shyly and Minnie gave him a kiss. When we got out Pierce ran up to Heather and told her, “Minnie sort of kissed me”, he was pretty proud. After that, Pierce wanted to play on the playground for a minute, so we sat and watched before getting on the train. We rode completely around the park and got back off in Toon Town.

The others went in to see Minnie’s house, and I went and got Pierce some lollipops and something to drink. We were all getting pretty tired at this point. We headed to Tommorowland and split up again. Pierce and I stood in line to ride the Astro Orbiter while Heather, Mimi, and James went to the diaper change place near the front entrance (FYI it’s a super nice set-up with nurses and little private changing stations…nice touch) and Grandpa went to sit down and eat some popcorn. Pierce was getting slap happy and it was just a matter of time before the bottom fell out. Luckily, we made it onto the ride, and Pierce took the stick. We went up and down, and I didn’t remember from when I was little how fast that ride was.

Pierce was unfazed and laughed and screamed the whole time. It was fun.

We met everyone down below and decided we had had enough. We headed for the front entrance and stopped for a quick photo.

You can see how silly the boys were feeling by this time. As we passed a balloon seller, Pierce freaked and wanted a balloon, which means we had to buy 2 since James has to have one too.


We made it out after that and got on the shuttle back to the hotel. We ate a pretty happy dinner, and came back to the rooms. I’m sitting writing this in the dark, and everyone is fast asleep around me. Tomorrow we go to the Animal Kingdom. I’m pumped about riding Everest. Heather says she’ll ride it with me. More pictures, and more stories tomorrow!

Josh

This father’s day weekend was interesting. I was sick as a dog on Saturday. James had some kind of stomach bug last week and it worked it’s way through the house over the course of the week until I got it, but BAD. I slept about 18 hours on Saturday and lost 6 pounds. It was no fun at all. I felt a little better yesterday, but still didn’t feel like doing very much so we just took it easy. Pierce made me a cool Koozie at school that he painted himself. James made me a t-shirt that says, “My Child Walks All Over Me” and it’s got his footprints all over it. It’s really cute. Heather gave me tickets to see Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and John Cougar (is he still John Cougar?) in July. It was good.

I got to take lots of naps on Saturday while I was sick, so that meant I got to take naps with Pierce and James, so that was nice. Even when you feel like death warmed over, there is something nice and comforting about having one of those little guys snuggled up next to you…or sticking his stinky feet in your face, as is the case with James. That child has the stinkiest feet I’ve ever smelled. He gets that from me. I used to have really smelly feet when I was little. I never wore socks with my tennis shoes, and they would get all slimy and gross in the summer. I remember one summer vacation trip (I think it was the summer we went to Washington DC maybe) my dad made me leave my shoes outside the hotel room on the balcony because they smelled so bad. My mom would put the Dr. Scholls powder in them but it would just turn into a disgusting stink paste after a few minutes on my sweat feet. Pierce doesn’t have that problem. He’s like his mom. Even after playing 3 hours of tennis in 94 degree weather, her shoes smell nice and fresh. It’s a mystery to me.

So I might as well take a minute to give an update since I’ve neglected the blog for so long. We are having a great summer so far! I’m back working with our European offices at work, so I get off work early in the afternoons, which means I get to pick up the boys from school early. We’ve already done lots of fun stuff. Pierce and I went to see Up! and go swimming in the afternoons sometimes. It’s really nice getting to spend time with my boys that most dads don’t and for that I’m very thankful.

Pierce has moved up into a new class at school and is adjusting since he was the first one from his old class to move up. He didn’t know anybody in the new class for the first couple of weeks and it hurt me so bad to see him trying to cope with not having any friends. He’s ok now, and friends with everybody in his new class, but it was hard for a few days there. They always say, “It doesn’t get any easier the older they get” and I didn’t really believe it, but now I do. There’s ALWAYS going to be something to worry about no matter how old they get, and it seems the older he gets, the more relate-able his problems are. I’m just so proud of him. He’s the smartest, most sensitive, and most caring person I’ve ever met. When I was sick on Saturday and curled up in a sweaty ball in my bed, he came back and laid a picture of himself on the pillow next to me and told me he thought it might make me feel better if I could look at his picture while I slept. A cynic might say that was narcissistic, but he’s too young for such a thing. That was straight from the heart and that’s the kind of kid he is, all heart, and I love him so much for it.

James is the happiest and most outgoing little guy I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. He is a handful, but is like a ray of sunshine. Everything he does, he does 110%. James subscribes to the philosophy of Yoda, “Do, or do not…there is no try”. I think James and Pierce are the perfect compliment to one another. I hope that Pierce’s “good heart” qualities, rub off on James, and James’ “never quit” qualities rub off on Pierce…if they do then these boys will be an unstoppable force in the world. James is very physical and can do anything his brother can do and loves to prove it. Whether it’s dragging a chair into the middle of the kitchen floor and climbing up on it and standing on top triumphantly, or calling 911 on the home phone without letting anyone else know he did it, James is fully capable. I think James might be a bit of a musician. He loves music and you can see that he really feels it. Since we get home early in the afternoon, we all hang out in the kitchen and make dinner before mom gets home. I like to put on some music while we do this and James dances and smiles the whole time. He can’t keep his body from moving when you put on something with a good beat. Maybe he’ll be a dancer? It would make sense…he’s got a great sense of rhythm, is very physical by nature and has all the confidence in the world. That would please me greatly since I’m such a sad sack on the dance floor. I think the thing I admire the most about James is that he possesses so many attributes that I don’t. All the things I struggle so hard to be (assertive, confident, diligent) seem to come naturally to James, and he’s just a baby! I can’t wait to see what he becomes as an adult. As much as I dread seeing them grow up, I know I will have the pleasure of front row seats witnessing two great boys become great men, and there is no better gift for father’s day than that.

Josh

In today’s installment of Thursdays with Piercey, Pierce gives me a lesson on astronomy and suggests a good rule of thumb regarding plants to steer clear of when outside.

Click Here to Hear Pierce’s Lessons!

Josh

We went to South Carolina for Brad’s wedding this weekend. It was nice although we both missed the boys the whole time. The wedding was at a place called Pawley’s Island, and apparently they are famous for their hammocks so we had to buy one. Here are Pierce and Heather enjoying the hammock yesterday afternoon. Pierce loved it. When it was time for bed last night he started crying and telling me he wanted to sleep outside on the hannick.

Josh

Please welcome the newest member of our family…Dave John! We got a Roomba this weekend and Pierce decided he wanted to name him Dave. Dave John is his full name. Pierce likes to go check on him occasionally and he’ll tell him, “Good job Dave!”. It’s pretty cute. James chases him around and tries to pick him up, or step on him. Katie sits and watches from afar.

Josh

Heather and I were supposed to go to my good friend Rusty’s wedding yesterday. Unfortunately, Saturday night Pierce started burning up with fever and by Sunday he was so wilted and pitiful that we thought it best for Heather to stay home with him and not endanger the health of our babysitter…plus he was just so sad…he needed his momma. Anyway, I went to the wedding (which was lovely by the way) by myself and during the reception I got a call from Heather.

HEATHER: “You’ll never guess what just happened”
ME: “Ok then, I won’t even try…tell me!”
HEATHER: “We were sitting in the TV room and Pierce was watching cartoons. James grabbed the home phone off the chair and starting mashing buttons. I wrestled the phone away from him and took the batteries out so he could keep playing with it. We sat there playing and a few minutes later there was a LOUD banging on the door…”
ME: “Uh oh”
HEATHER: “Yeah, I got up and grabbed James…Pierce was following me, hiding behind me. I went through the dining room and peeked out the window. I thought maybe it was the yard men, mad because I accidentally didn’t pay them enough or something. When I looked out the window though, I saw a Forsyth County Sheriff’s car parked on the street. I went around to the door and opened it and this huge officer said, ‘Ma’am…we had a 911 distress call from this address. Did you recently call 911?’. Pierce immediately pointed at James and said, ‘HE DID IT!’. The officer asked if he could come inside and look around and I told him yes. He stepped inside and asked, ‘Is there anyone else on the premises?’. I said ‘no’ and then Pierce answered, ‘Katie is here!’. I explained that Katie was the cat and the officer relaxed a little. He asked if I had let the baby play with the phone and I explained to him what must have happened. He was relieved and told me not to worry about it. He’d much rather come to a false alarm than some of the bad calls he gets regularly.”
ME: “That is awesome.”
HEATHER: “Yeah…so I went and put the batteries back in the phone and saw that 911 had called back twice while the phone was dead and we had a message on the machine from the Sheriff’s office telling me they were sending an officer to the house…I also figured out that the doorbell is still broken from the painter’s not putting it back together right, so he was probably about to kick the door in since he had been out there ringing for who knows how long.”

And scene. So that happened yesterday. When I got home Pierce excitedly told me the police had come, that James had called them, but that it wasn’t a whole bunch of police men…just one. I wish I had been there to see it. Sounds pretty hilarious. If this is a sign of things to come with James, then heaven help us all. He’s barely 1 year old and already having the police called to our house.

Josh

I thought this photo I took of Pierce at the Easter Egg Hunt looked like a Polo ad or something, so I did up a fake GQ cover for it. Pretty cute and I got to scratch my creative itch for a few minutes. What a handsome guy!

Josh

Boy we have had a busy couple of weeks at the NationalGrantham home! It all started 2 weeks ago with James’ Baptism and party and it culminated this weekend with James’ birthday party and Easter! It’s been nuts, but it’s all over now, so we are looking forward to a little peace and quiet for a while.

So…you may be curious…how was the party? It was great. James had a little party at the school in the afternoon on his actual birthday (photos are on Flickr) which was good, but the real party wasn’t until Saturday, the 11th. It was just family, and we had a cookout in the backyard. It was a little bit brisk outside, especially considering the time of year, but everyone had fun and I got to break in my new grill which was cool. James was a perfect host, and was insanely cute all day, waving and blowing kisses and walking around like a boy twice his age. The theme of the party was “Dinosaurs” since James’ nickname is James T. Rex…a moniker given to him by Pierce months ago because he makes crazy dinosaur/monster noises. So the invites were dinosaurs, there was a dinosaur pinata, I made a big dinosaur cake, and since James is the resident T-Rex, his own little personal cake was shaped like a bone. It was great. Take a look on Flickr for photos from the whole weekend.

Easter Sunday was fun. We just spent time together as a family and relaxed without anyone else around all day. We played out in the yard all afternoon and grilled hot dogs for dinner. All in all it was a great weekend. Definitely one that will go down in my memory as one of the best ever.

Josh

PS-I’ve got loads of video I’ll put up once I get around to editing it.

In today’s installment of Thursdays with Piercey, we get to hear Pierce laughing his little heart out. He loves to be tickled, so I was getting him good. He also knew I was recording him laughing so he keeps asking me to let him hear the recording. This is one of my favorite sounds in the whole world. Just hearing it makes me feel good.

Click Here to Hear The Laughter!

Josh

James was baptized on Sunday…he’s official! Head over to Flickr to see photos of the big event.

It was a nice little ceremony. Monsignor Reynolds did a great job and James was so good. He was a little squirmy, but he’s 11 months old…I won’t bust his chops too much for it. After the ceremony we had everyone over to our house for some socializing. It was really nice to have everyone together.

Highlight of the ceremony, during one of the official question and response sections…

MONSIGNOR REYNOLDS: “Josh and Heather, what name have you given this child?”

JOSH AND HEATHER: “James Cavanaugh”

MONSIGNOR REYNOLDS: “And Josh and Heather, what do you ask of the church?”

Josh with panic in his eyes looks to Heather for the answer. Heather, not knowing, tries to stall but is quickly and mercifully cut off by…

MONSIGNOR REYNOLDS: “The answer I’m looking for is Baptism”

Oh yeah…that.

Josh