Ewww

This is how we found Grant after a nap. Even covered in spit up he still keeps a smile on his face.

They Grow Up Too Fast

Today as we were leaving the Jackie's, the babysitter's house, I was complimenting Josie on how proud I was of her for getting into her carseat by herself and buckling one of the buckles. It seems minor but when there are two to put into carseats and it is freezing out any saved minute is appreciated. She gives me one of those "I'm thinking up something smart to say" looks and I can just see her wheels turning. Just then she says, "I guess that means I am big enough to drive now."

Weeks 25-28

Grant is now a mover. I wouldn't consider it a crawl quite yet, but more of an army scoot. Regardless, it gets him to where he wants to be. Another accomplishment in the past two weeks has been HUGE for mom and dad...sleeping through the night. Thank you, Grant, for making your mom and dad so happy.

Christmas 2009

It finally feels like Christmas. Our tree has been cut down, put up, and is fully decorated. It never really feels like Christmas until the tree is up. I think a little snow always helps too. Being a teacher, I am very much awaiting our first snow day. Luckily we picked a nice day to cut the tree down; cold, but the sun was a big help. Grant stayed back at Kringles Christmas shop with Nana while Dad, Mom, and Josie went to search for that perfect tree. We found it easily and it is probably one of the best we've had in all of our four years of cutting down a tree.

Weeks 21-24

In just a little over a week Grant will be six months old. I wish we could freeze time. He is growing up a little too fast for my liking. Although, I wouldn't mind getting to the point where he sleeps through the night. Most of the time he only gets up once, but there have been a few nights where it is two-three times a night. We recently started him on some cereal, so I am hoping it fills up his belly a little more to get him through the night.
Last week he had an ear infection and a nasty flu bug got the best of him, but he has recovered well and is back to his happy self. At his dr. appt. his weight was 19 lbs. Josie didn't weigh 19 lbs. until 12-13 months! From reading Tony's baby book he has been following almost the exact same growth pattern as his dad.

Boo

This year's Halloween actually involved going trick or treating, so it was a first for us. Last year I attempted to take Josie around the neighborhood but she was so terrified of everyone's costumes that we didn't make it off my parent's front porch. This year she was a little hesitant at first, but when she realized that she could get candy at each house she was into it 100%.

Check out the puking monkey in this picture. Tony was lucky not to get it in his mouth, but his coat was not so lucky!

Josie, Annabelle, and Samuel

Micah, Josie, Samuel and Annabelle

Just a Few Randoms

Duck, Frog, or Bird??

Josie just asked me, "Mom, is this frog tape, bird tape, or duct tape?" Her pronunciation of duct was duck . She keeps us laughing all the time.

Mr & Mrs. Simon

I'm just slightly behind on updating the blog...Brandon and Jen have now been married for week. They actually get back from their Costa Rican honeymoon tonight. Doesn't that sound nice? Their wedding was gorgeous which was expected. Jen did a great job picking out decorations and it wasn't too hard for her to look beautiful for the day!...and Brandon, you looked handsome also. Congratulations and welcome into the family Jen.

This is one of the many pictures I took of Josie and Maddox tackling each other. Maddox would run after Josie and give her a huge bear hug which resulted in a crash to the floor then Josie would chase Maddox and do the same thing. This went on for a long time and gave many people a few laughs. Josie and Maddox are good buds because they both go to the same babysitter.

We were able to borrow a tux from a friend (thanks Lori!) for Grant. He sure did look like a handsome little man.

Several times throughout the night I had people call me Danielle and Danielle was called Jessi. After looking at this picture I can see how it would have been a VERY easy mistake to mix us up.

Look How Much We've Grown

These pictures were taken a year apart at the Russia Picnic. Just one year ago I remember thinking how excited I was to get Josie's hair into a little pony tail. I didn't realize how much her hair had grown in one year until I looked at these pictures.

Weeks 17-20

After looking back at these pictures, I guess I need to pay more attention to what outfits I put him in for the photo shoot!

The Fall Season

Fall is definitely one of those seasons that doesn't last long enough. I love the cool nights and, but not so cold that it requires gloves, hats, etc. The leaves, pumpkins, and making chili are some of the best parts of fall.

Last Sunday we tried out a new place called Brumbaugh Fruit Farm in Arcanum. Scott and Melissa joined us along with their girls. Josie and Annabelle had their fill of fall activities; we took a hayride out to a pumpkin patch, checked out a turkey, pig (both were enormous) rabbits and goats, played in the corn sand box, a took a walk through storybook forest, and tried out their apple cider slush.

FFF

The annual Francis Film Fesitival was held last weekend. Mark and Marie hosted another great FFF. This year's clips included Wall-e and Iron Man shown outside on a huge white sheet. I can't say I really watched much of either movie, which doesn't bother me. I spent a little more time watching the kids and talking with friends. Maybe when the kids are a little older I'll get a chance to sit and watch the movie. They had a great turn out this year and nice weather. The blow up 'Jumpy House' was new this year and a big hit with all the little ones. Unfortunately, I didn't get any good pictures of the big hit.

Josie took a strong liking to Marie's mom. She sat through a lot of the movie on Ginny's lap.

Pea Pods...No, Squirt Beans

Dinner conversations with a 3 year old can sometimes be interesting.
Tony: Josie, you need to eat your dinner.
Josie: Dad can I have more squirt beans?
Tony: Huh?
Josie: These things dad. They're beans that squirt out peas.

Our Very First Nephew/Cousin

Last Wednesday Tony's brother Tim and his wife Lori had a precious baby boy! We couldn't be happier for them. Andrew arrived on 9-9-09. What a unique birth date. It might actually be one that I can keep in my memory bank. The age gap seems huge between Andrew and Grant when you look at their sizes, but they are less then 4 months apart. Amazing to see how much they grow in four months. My picture of Andrew and Grant together at the hospital didn't turn out all that well. We are visiting them tonight, so when I get one of the boys together I'll post it.

Weeks 13-16

Grant started to roll from his belly to back just a few weeks ago. Another milestone checked off the list. He has not mastered the back to belly roll, only because I think he refuses to learn. He doesn't enjoy being on his belly as much as his back.

Maybe others will agree with me or maybe I just haven't mastered the blogspot features, but I find this program to not be very user-friendly. Because of this, my pictures are from 16 weeks down to 13. It is very bothersome to me not to have them in the right order, but I don't have the patience to upload them again.

After posting this and then viewing the blog I noticed G looks like two completely different little boys from week 15 to 16...funny. I guess it is just the faces he is making that make the two pictures seem so different.

A Baby Boom

Within the last several months 3 of my bestfriends, Melissa, Hollie, and Stacey have had babies. Recently we got the new little ones together (and their older siblings) for a photo shoot. It is amazing to see myself and three of my other best friends awwing at all the little ones. I feel like we were all just running around wild during our high school years.
The carseat picture shows the newest additions in order from youngest to oldest; Sarah, Grant, Violet, and Samuel.

One Week Down

I made it through the first week back to school and happy to say that everything went smoothly. The most challenging part is getting both kids ready myself and out of the door by 7:15. We didn't make the departure time goal, although I wasn't late getting to school, so no big worry. The first morning out the door Josie asked me if I had Grant's bottle. I told her it was already packed in his bag and in the car. She looked at me with a big smile and said, "I am SO proud of you, Mom!" The second day on our way to the babysitters Josie informed me that I did not pack Grant's pacifier. I don't know how she knew this, but she was right. She sure keeps me on my toes!

Happy 3rd Birthday Josephine

Josie's birthday party was this past Sunday. Her actual birthday was the 18th. She acted like most 3 year olds would act during her party; not much for eating lunch and instead wanting to go straight to cake and ice cream, moving as fast as she could from gift to gift without taking a minute to even realize what she just opening, or to thank the person who gave the gift. With all the excitement a nap was much needed after the party.


In this picture Josie was so excited for her party that she had to stick every candle into her frozen waffle during breakfast...yes, she eats her waffles frozen!
Josie preferred to take every picture behind her gifts.
Josie got several princess outfits, one being a Tinkerbell outfit that she absolutely loves!