Strawberry Pickin'

We had a family outing today to the farmer's market. Grant and I go quite a bit during the week to get fresh fruit and vegetables. It's just a few miles from the house, so it makes a quick outing. Well, strawberries are in season and you can pick your own for $1.50 a pound. What a deal! It was a beautiful, crisp afternoon and we enjoyed every minute.

Grant was trying to find the perfect strawberry.

He was a natural at picking strawberries. We didn't even have to show him how.

However, he was not a natural at eating them. He stuck the whole thing in his mouth... leaves and all! I tried fishing out the leaves, but no luck.

This was our only family portrait for the day. I wish Grant was looking at the camera.

Priceless. That strawberry did not taste good!

I couldn't resist taking this picture. Gary and I both wanted to take this Oak Tree home. Absolutely beautiful!

Some of our freshly picked strawberries.

"When are we going home? You promised I could have some Strawberry Shortcake before bedtime!"

Grant doesn't like to be held anymore when we are out and about. Earlier today, while we were running errands, he refused to even let me hold his hand. This is a last resort "trick" that has worked for us over the last couple of weeks. He doesn't seem to mind being held if he has this great vantage point.

A Laugh a Minute

We had so much fun with Grant last night. Gary came home early, I had put dinner in the crockpot earlier in the day and it was raining (no distractions!). So both of us just sat on the floor with our little munchkin and played and played and played! Oh, the fun we had!

He has started hamming it up for the camera. When he sees it, I get this big grin!

Grant sat next to his dad on the couch for about thirty minutes. We had just picked up the mail and handed him one of our junk catalogs. He was so content ripping that thing apart. After a while, Gary decided that this playtime needed a little action... I love that laugh!

Shhhh... It's a Little Early

Well, it's a few weeks early yet, but we put Grant in his front facing car seat. He has been well past the weight limit for some time and we have just been waiting for him to turn one. Well, we're waiting no longer! He has become quite restless in a car seat, so we are hoping that this will solve that problem. Actually, he has become quite restless whenever he is restrained in any way. No car seats, no strollers, no highchair, no crib, no mama's arms... unless I'm busy doing something. No, he is Mr. Independence. Don't get in his way. He has things to see and do! He only uses me when he can't reach something!

"Hey! Don't you know you put me in here wrong? Well, if you don't care..."

Two Cute Stories

1.) Grant loves playing outside. We have been doing a lot of that here lately, since we are trying to fix up the backyard for his birthday party. Everytime we go outside, Grant stands on the porch, puts his hand in the air and grunts. It took me the longest time to figure out what he was doing, but it finally dawned on me. He wanted to make the windchimes play music! We spend the first five minutes or so of our playtime outside playing with the windchimes. 2.) Grant now has the habit of feeding ME! He takes his cut up apple or cheerios or whatever is on his tray, leans over and feeds it to me. The funny part is he always tries to reach into my mouth afterwards to get it back! My boy is getting cuter and cuter everyday!

Grant's New Chair

This weekend was mostly about celebrating Gary's 30th birthday. We had a wonderful meal with his family and enjoyed good company. Greg and Jen (as well as Jen's family) all came into town this weekend for a wedding. While they were here, they gave Grant his first birthday gift:

His very own chair! He can't get into it by himself yet, but I am sure he will be able to in no time at all. He learns things so quickly. But he really does enjoy just lounging in his big boy chair.

I put him in the chair this afternoon. He must have grabbed my cell phone because this is what I came back to find: Grant texting his buddies. How cute is that!?

Sonic Sippy

Gary and I love going to happy hour at Sonic in the summertime. It has been getting warmer lately, so we ventured over to our favorite drink stop. For the first time, we ordered Grant a drink, too. He loves to drink with straws now.

Enjoying his very own drink. Don't worry... it's just water!

Grant's First Haircut

I cut Grant's hair for the first time yesterday. It is a LOT harder than I imagined! I never thought he would squirm so much (I should have known that my boy wouldn't stay still for this)! He kept wanting to see what I was doing which made it harder.

Before. You can see the little bit of hair he has is growing over his ears. Before. I thought it was a little too long in the back.

I put him in his booster chair and turned on a Baby Einstein DVD. I'm not a huge fan of babies watching TV, but it sure would be nice if he would watch it every once in a while! Grant isn't interested though. So I gave him a cup of water instead.

Snip, Snip.

After. I totally butchered it. It's not straight and it's way too short. Gary says he looks like Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber. I can't help but laugh every time I see the back of Grant's head. Better luck next time!

A Walk in the Woods

We traveled a short distance to a local state park today. When we woke up this morning, we decided not to go at all. All three of us have been under the weather, so we thought it might be a bit much. After about an hour or so of just hanging around the house, Gary and I decided that we would regret not going... so, we packed up and left! The first picnic area we passed was right next to the water and not crowded, so we unloaded our lunch and enjoyed a nice picnic. Grant was so happy to be out of the car and loved all the different things to touch!

Grant and Gary enjoying some lunch.

We borrowed this carrier from Beau and Erica, who got it from Amy Jo and Wayne. We like it. And, more importantly, so did Grant. I even tested it out for a while. Water break!

After our water break, we packed back up and started hiking again. Grant did not last long after that. We are happy to know that he will sleep in the carrier. That means we can take longer hikes!

All of this was basically a test run for our vacation in June. We plan on doing some serious hiking while in the Ozarks, so hopefully this will get us prepared.

Celebrations

Gary and I celebrated his 30th birthday last night. Bibby (thank you so much!) came over to take care of our boy and we headed into town. We had a yummy steak dinner followed by our favorite little spot... The Alley. The Man Who Came to Dinner was an excellent play filled with dynamic characters and laughs. We loved it! By the end, both of us were yawning... not because the play was slow or boring. We were just so tired. We haven't been out that late in a very long time, but we certainly did enjoy it. On our way to The Alley, we stopped by Leigh Ann's. Baby Eli and momma are doing great! He has already grown and it reminds me of how fast time seems to go when you have a baby in your arms. For all those Falcon Family Fans out there, I have stolen a few pictures of the budding baby boy for your enjoyment:

Brotherly Kisses

When Gary and I were dating, he bought me a stuffed bear. We affectionately named him Hamilton (I take naming very seriously... Hamilton means "from the mountains." Gary loves the mountains and this was a bear, so I thought that name was appropriate). Over time, we would refer to him as our son (I know, just a little dorky). So, that would make Hamilton and Grant brothers. And Grant loves his brother, as you can tell from this video:

Grant giving Hamilton kisses.

Sweet, Lovable Dork

Our class at church is studying about the relationships within the family. This past Sunday, we were specifically talking about our self-esteem and how it affected others. During class, we divided a sheet of paper in two. On one side, we wrote what we liked about ourselves. On the other side, we wrote what we didn't like about ourselves. At the end of class, we had to switch papers with our spouses. Our homework for the week is to make our spouse feel better about the things they don't like about themselves. Gary comes in today and after a few minutes says, "The Oaks in the front yard are looking really strong today." Yeah, I was confused, too. Then I remembered that one of the things I don't like about myself is I don't have a green thumb. I kill all plants I touch. That was his way of making me feel better. I do have to admit that I laughed... however I don't think that should count for his homework! :)

The Children's Museum

We went to the Children's Museum today with our friends Beau, Erica, and Elijah and Jahno, Melissa, and Maddie. I just love this museum. And I think all the kiddos did, too! Unfortunately, the TotSpot won't be open for another few weeks... so we'll just have to go back!

This was supposed to be a game of memory, but Grant just loved turning the blocks!

All three of the guys were drawn to this puzzle for some reason. I didn't see one of them complete it! :)

Gary put on a puppet show for Maddie and Grant. Both of them were so scared of the puppets. I thought that was a little unusual for Grant. He usually loves puppets.

I painted Grant's face while we were there. Any child can paint their own face at any time. I thought that was such a neat idea.

Grant absolutely loved this pit of balls. He just sat there hugging all the ones that came close to him. We bought him a real cheap ball a couple of days ago. That is his favorite toy right now. I taught him one time how to kick it, and now that is all he does. I think he's going to be a soccer player.

"They're mine. All mine."

They had this new area that taught all about water. They had places to build boats, to learn about waves, to use cranks to move water... just all out fun!

We all had a great time and will definitely have to plan a trip back (maybe when they open their new and improved TotSpot!).

Melissa, Jahno and Maddie had to leave a little early, so this isn't the whole group. Sadie is poking my side. She really wanted to be the center of attention.

Dirt Cheap

Gary pulled all the shrubs out of our front lawn in the fall. He built two flower beds in their place, but we have yet to actually put any flowers in them! This is Grant's favorite place to play outside. He loves touching the dirt!

He might have done more than just "touch" the dirt. "Hey, mom, this is just as good as the dinner you made last night!"

I love this picture because it looks like he is giving me a sign. Like in baseball. I think this one means," The right fielder is playing shallow. Hit one over his head." A third base coach in the makings!

Eli Xavier Falcon

Eli Xavier Falcon came into this world by cesarean section at 1:42PM today. He measured 6 lbs 7 oz and 19 inches long. Eli has a beautiful head of hair and very alert brown eyes. He is absolutely perfect. I'd show you, but I forgot to take my camera. Mom and baby are both doing great!

It's In His Blood

Grant has apparently gained some talent from his ancestors. All the men in my family work in fields related to carpentry. Whether it be a superintendent, an architect or owning a construction company, we have the need to build!!! This trait seems to have been passed down to Grant.

He has managed to take apart our wood floors! The real trick will be watching him put it back together!