The Proof is in the Pudding

I have no idea what that expression means, but it popped into my head! Anyhow, Grant has been standing by himself more and more over the last few days. This morning he crawled into his closet (he loves to open and close doors), pulled up on his toy bucket, pulled out a toy and just stood there. He is such a strong boy!

Showing off for the camera.

First Christmas

We have been enjoying lots of family time over the past few days. Greg and Jen were in town and we spent some time with Tippi, PawPaw, Bibby and John, too. Grant had a great first Christmas, and although he didn't seem interested in opening gifts, he certainly has had fun playing with them since we got them home! From cute winter outfits to a play rotary phone, he has all sorts of new things that will keep him busy over the next few months.

Another Christmas family photo. I wish Christmas trees were up year round! They just make family photos look better! "What are you looking at?"

Uncle Greg and Aunt Jen with Grant. As always, I think Grant very much enjoyed their company.

There were just a few occasions when Grant would want to help open gifts. Most of the time Gary or I opened one for him while he was busy playing with the last gift that was opened.

Uncle Greg and Aunt Jen bought Grant a Rocking Giraffe. It is super cute! When we put him on, he just sits there and hums. It is very soothing!

Thanks to everyone for all the sweet gifts! This Christmas was extra special to us and we so love and appreciate each and every one of you!

He Stands

Well, Grant stood for the "first" time tonight all by himself. I put "first" in quotation marks because he has been doing it for a couple of days now. He will let go of what he is holding on to and stand... just momentarily. Tonight he stood for at least ten seconds by himself (so I think that makes it official). He was looking right at me when he did it and I just got overcome by how fast he is growing up. I started crying. I think he might have stood longer if he wasn't watching his Maman cry. He is all the Christmas that I need.

Christmas Time Leads to Blogging Deficits

I am very behind in my blogging. I plan on catching up, but for the sake of time, I will be blogging out of order.

We started the day yesterday at my dad's office Christmas party. We had a good time seeing old friends and eating yummy food! Afterwards, we made the short journey out to my parent's house. As soon as we got there, we opened up presents. At first I thought that Grant wouldn't want anything to do with it, but by the end of the gift exchange, he was chasing paper and chewing on bows!

Our family photo for the evening. Aunt Robin and Uncle Mike. Me and Michael.

The Christmas tree before all the mania began!

Robin and me. Grant loved the bubble wrap... oh, and he loved his train, too! Grandpa helped Grant get on his new Red Rider Rocket! How neat!

I imagine this is the face he'll make when he first gets behind the wheel of a car, too!

Afterwards, we had a big family meal. My mom got a new truck and they will be getting a puppy in the new year, so we had lots of fun things to talk about! He have had a great Christmas so far! Thanks, guys!

A Warm Sweater and No Pants

It has become very difficult to dress my son as of late. He constantly tries to evade your attempts at putting pants or socks on. Therefore, I am constantly chasing a crawling baby across the floor with the pants open, in the hopes that I can just 'scoop' him in. I make much more of an effort in the mornings. It has been pretty chilly here lately, so I'll put on a sweater and a nice pair of pants. With each succeeding diaper change, there is less and less chance that he will have his pants on. If it is after 4:00, you can just assume that my boy will be bottomless.

Grant walking around with his push toy. He loves it! It gives him the mobility that he so wishes he had otherwise! Mr. Smiley

Progressive Dinner

Every year our church has a progressive dinner to celebrate Christmas. This year Erica wanted to host appetizers. Bibby and I signed up to help her. We made all these yummy appetizers and had a great time doing it! We left Grant in very capable hands (thanks Shelly), dressed up and had a night on the town!

Since I haven't worked in eight months, I haven't had much opportunity to dress up. I had so much fun being all "fancy." The Hostesses With the Mostesses!

Christmas Tree Farms and Snow

Grant and I have been in the holiday spirit as of late. We went to a local Christmas tree farm with MOMS club last week. They had a hay maze, sled rides (on DIRT mountains), hay rides, hot chocolate and more!

It looks like he is contemplating joining Elijah on the sled rides. Maybe next year! Grant has a buddy his own age at MOMS club! Michael and Grant have become fast friends. They are always very interested in being close to each other. What a cute pair! In other news, we went to mom's house today. It started snowing!!! We were so excited to see beautiful white flakes falling from the cold air. It certainly made the day interesting! There's that tongue again!

Oma, Grant and Pepper. You can tell when Pepper is around, that is all Grant is focused on.

Giving some love to my boy! Grant loved all of Oma's plants. He just wanted to play in the dirt!

8 Months!

To start, I'd like to tell everyone I have temporarily misplaced the camera (I refuse to use the word lost), so if you find a stray one in your car, home or workplace and I have recently visited, please call me! Secondly, Grant will be 8 months old this week! He has learned to do many new things this month (as usual). When he accomplishes a new task, I am so excited. I tend to forget, however, that he accomplishes new tasks almost daily. Making a monthly list of his developmental milestones puts a little perspective on just how fast my boy is growing! What Grant learned in his eighth month of life: 1.) how to "cruise" while holding on to the furniture 2.) how to clap his hands (this is one of my favorites) 3.) how to play Pat-A-Cake 4.) how to crawl (not that silly army crawling stuff he did for months on end) 5.) how to give hugs (occasionally... he's still working on this skill) 6.) how to "give five" (or "ten" depending on his mood) 7.) how to walk while pushing his buggy (we just started trying this last night... today he seems to be getting the hang of things) 8.) how to throw things out of his crib (yes, you read that right. He has a few "lovies" in bed with him and he will throw them out of the crib just for fun)

Who Needs Teeth?

My poor boy is teething. This time it is MUCH worse than before. His first two teeth came through with little problem. Now, you can just tell he is in pain. He isn't sleeping well and he has decided that life outside his mom's arms is life not worth living! As is typical, he is biting everything... and everyone! Gary said he was crawling over to him last night. He thought he was being so sweet. He wanted to be near his daddy! Then Grant stuck Gary's big toe in his mouth and bit him! Grant has also started to lean in towards my face. We think he is trying to give hugs, but he fooled me the other day. He leaned in and bit my cheek! Then he bit the other cheek!

Splish, Splash... I Was Taking a Bath

We no longer take baths at the kitchen sink anymore. He still uses his baby bathtub, but we have now moved into his bathroom. He is about to outgrow that silly little bath, but he was too scared to be in the big bathtub by himself.

He just loves to splash. We have also learned that Grant sleeps much better at night if we give him a bath. Until recently, he probably bathed once every other day. We have now made it a regular part of our bedtime routine! Grant smells better, mom sleep better and everyone is happy!

Thanksgiving... Round 58

Gary, Grant and I hosted Thankgiving at our house this year (for my side of the fam). Oma, Grandpa, Uncle Mike and Aunt Robin all came down to share in the feast! Again, we had no turkey, but it was still a yummy meal. Afterwards, there were a few rounds of farkle and then a make-shift horsehoes tournament. We had a great time!

The boys playing horseshoes. Gary wants to build a regulation size...court, field, pit???... for horseshoes before Grant's first birthday. Michael stuck out his tongue because Grant was doing the same thing. Then, Grant decided to smile and trick his Uncle Mike! HA!

"I'm flying!"