ain't life grand?...

No real news to report. I'm just sitting here watching Grant in his diaper hitting our screen door with a wrapping paper tube and squeal with delight. He's been doing this for 15 minutes now. It makes me wonder when we stop taking the little things like that for granted. When I see the excitement and wonder in his eyes over the simplest things it totally reminds me to slow down and enjoy the view - you should do the same. :)

1yo stats & steps

Grant had his 1yr well baby check up last week and apparently we've been doing everything right or right enough. He's growing well and there are no concerns about anything. He is now 23lbs and somehow figured out the scale had a hidden reset button and kept hitting it. The nurse said she'd not had a baby figure that out before. I ended up having to try and sit him up on that little scale so he would quit trying to roll over and push the button. He's not gotten any less wiggly. He is 30.75 inches long so he falls in 70-90 for height and around 40-50th for weight. Our growing boy. His doctor confirmed that the spill he had last week did cut his upper lip frenulum last week. Apparently this is pretty common and more and more pediatric dentists are having to snip these because uncut they can cause a gap between the front 2 teeth. I wish I'd had some sort of handout on this. The only thing that kept me from truly freaking out was the fact that another baby in our PEPS group had already done it. It was an unbelievable amount of blood though and didn't help that Pete was sitting there telling me not to overreact.

In other baby news - Grant has been sneaking in a few steps here and there. He's been motivated by a bit of brownie. On Friday I put a few tiny chunks on my leg and he walked 3-4 steps Frankenstein style and then quickly gobbled up the brownie. I think he thought my cheering was for him eating the brownie - I don't think he even realized he'd taken steps. Saturday afternoon he stood up a few feet from the book case and took 4 tiny steps over to it. We tried getting him to do it again by placing his toys all over on the couches but I think he's on to us and has reverted back to his "I'm not a circus monkey" days.

Doesn't mean we'll stop trying. :)

-misty

Happy Birthday Grant!

I can't believe its been one year since I last sat on this exact same sofa and announced our wonderful news - Master Grant had arrived safely and well!

Today is his 1st birthday and we celebrated by taking him to the Puyallup Fair! (Its great they open a fair on Grant's birthday - makes him feel very special!). We had a great time looking around - Grant was fascinated by the Chickens and the Goats. I tried to sneak him onto the big tall bumper slide that you ride down on a sack, but he had to be be 2 or older - next year Grant - A real shame as he would have loved sliding down there on my lap...

Weather turned out great too and we enjoyed some corn dogs, elephant ears and strawberry shortcake - especially Grant....

We'll add some photos tomorrow....

Happy 1st Birthday Grant. Its been truly the most amazing of years.

Love,
Dad.

I can't believe a year has passed since I first held Grant in my arms. I'd say it's been a rollercoaster ride but that would imply there were a lot of "lows" and none really compare to the unbelievable highs and absolute joy he's brought to our lives. I KNOW everyone says it goes so fast but IT GOES SO FAST! I remember looking at 6 month and 9 month clothes and thinking it was going to be AAAGES before he fit into those. These are all the clothes that have been packed away into boxes to make room for the 12-18 month clothes in his closet.

I remember when Pete and I were having trouble conceiving. After a few years you start to think maybe it's not in the stars for you to have a baby. You question whether it's fate and start to wonder what your life would be like without the pitter patter of little feet. Peter and I have a great relationship and it was what we thought was fulfilled. It wasn't until the first time we were away from him that I realized how such a little person could completely fill a house and our hearts. Last week when my parents were here Peter and I went to the movie while my mom and dad watched Grant. When the movie was over we walked out and I realized how much our lives had changed. There is nothing that could have prepared me for how much more fulfilled our lives have been since he came into the world a year ago. I've laughed more, cried more, and loved more than I ever thought possible.

I can't wait to see what the next years bring as more and more of his little personality starts to show.

Happy 1st Birthday little Grant.

Love always,
mum

what.. no love for mom? :)

Grant is having a whale of a time with Gramma and Grampa. He didn't take long to warm up to them at all. In the parking lot at the airport I gave him to Grampa while I put the stroller away and he didn't want to come back to me.

NEW WORDS!!
For quite awhile Grant has been able to say "Daddy" or "Dadda" which has been totally cute especially since I knew "Mama" wouldn't be far behind. Grant's second word was book or "buh". Totally cute! He's a reader! "Mama" would surely be next! Grant's third word was Grampa "mmpa".. fourth word was cheese. So it seems I rate below dairy products. :) It's so exciting and cute.

In other weird news Grant seems to really like The Wiggles. He clap clap claps and waves his arm along with them while he eats his cheerios in the morning. Two days in and I can't get the songs out of my head and I now know all the dances. Awesome. Anyone stuck on the moves to Fruit Salad, Yummy Yummy let me know, I can hook you up.

-misty

our little pill :)

Grant has been a little pill lately. He's not been feeling well so he's been super whiney and not sleeping through the night. He was up 3 or 4 times last night which is much harder to deal with when you're out of practice. He doesn't seem to want to eat or anything.. just snuggle for a bit.. then he's really annoyed that he can't get comfortable and wants to be back in his crib. The doctor said if he doesn't want to eat to not go to him so he doesn't look fwd to the snuggly time. Which would normally be fine but he doesn't let up. He lies in his crib and whines.. for 45 minutes straight.. might fall asleep for 15 minutes and then remembers that he's mad and starts the whining again. Which means I can go in and deal with him for 15 minutes .. or lose out on 2 hours of sleep waiting for it to stop. Gramma and Grampa arrive on Saturday and I can't wait! I'm so excited for Grant to spend time with them and show them all of his new tricks. Though his room is right next to our spare room so if this night waking keeps up I might have to supply them with some ear plugs.

The pic above was from a group of photos a friend at Microsoft Studios took for me. We didn't get very many good shots because Grant was scared of the flash for the first 10 minutes and the picture above was actually him freaking out and trying to crawl under my legs. It was cute. He'd never done that before. The next 45 minutes were spent trying to get him back on the backdrop when all he wanted to do was crawl around and mess with the really expensive equipment in the room. Silly boy.

-misty

Happy Pre-Birthday to Grant!!

Today we had our PEPS (mom's group) birthday party for all of the babies. I made all of the babies an individual cake and after the first 4 courses of veggie puffs, cheerios, string cheese, and milk we set them loose to attack their cakes. Some of the babies went to town, some picked all the veggie puffs off the cake and some didn't really want any part in it. Grant fell into the "went to town" group. I actually had to cut him off because he'd eaten SO much before the cake that I was worried he'd get sick. It was kind of embarassing, he just kept eating all of his food and then looking up at all the moms feeding their kids and raising his eyebrows like "ooo that looks niiiice!" and they'd give him some. So.. his pre-birthday party was good practice in the cake eating dept. and by the look of him he's ready for his real birthday.

lots of the pics of the babies in the photo album.

-misty

big boy territory...

So I guess we're done with the bottle. For the past 3 nights I've offered Grant a bottle at bedtime and every night he's refused. I guess he's done. It seems so strange to think of him not having a bottle. Normally I'm so excited about all of his new milestones and all the "big boy" achievements. I cheer him on and push him along in all of these new feats. This self weaning really threw me for a loop and made me a little emotional. My little baby who used to fit in the crook of my arm is now charging ahead on his own, like it or not, into Toddlerville. Hang on tight.

-misty

paging dr. desructo...

So no one told me the lengths you need to go to in considering what to childproof. Then again.. no one else seems to have a Grant. :)

Grant's favorite spot to play over the last few days has been under the kitchen table. It's actually been kinda cute to hear him playing around under there while I'm cooking or doing some other work in the kitchen. I didn't pay too much attention to what he was actually doing under there. I thought it was just normal exploring. Yesterday Peter got down on the floor when we heard him rattling something. Turns out Grant found the wingnut holding one of the tables legs to the table and was working at loosening it. Peter tightened it up and we had a little laugh about how he's always trying to figure out how things work. If you give him a toy the first thing he does is turn it over to see how it works. Grant was under the table again tonight and managed to loosen the same nut Peter had just tightened. We now have to get pliers out and make sure they're all super tight.

The pictures above are Grant testing out one of his birthday presents early. He got a cool little trike from Gramma and Grampa Dishman and he LOOOVES it. I love the picture posted above because he really gets excited when we push him FAST... so fast his little hair flies up. Thanks Gramma and Grampa!

-misty

dood's got mad skills...

New pics posted in the photo album. The pictures above are from a park at the lake down the road.

So on Wednesday I'm starting to wean Grant from breastmilk and onto whole cows milk. Up until Sunday night he could not work out a straw to save his life. Fun to chew on and that's about it. He didn't seem to care for sippy cups as they didn't keep the fluids flowing and he had to constantly work at it. When I had a visit to my regular doctor she suggested putting a big of milkshake in the bottom of his cup with a straw to motivate him. Once he realized what was in the cup he was extremely mad that we weren't tipping it down his throat. I accidentally turned the cup upside down and a bit of if went out the straw and he realized how to get more really quickly. So yay! He's worked out a straw! We celebrate all Grant related milestones. :)


In other news Grant's finally found his "outside voice" and he REALLY likes to squeal. People have always commented on how quiet Grant is. He does the normal baby babble but sparingly and not really much in front of other people unless he's truly comfortable. Today something clicked and he realized he can make a really LOUD high pitched squeal. So he practiced all afternoon. When he was playing, when he was mad, when he was happy, when he was supposed to be sleeping. It was kinda funny and pretty cute the first 20 minutes. I could have done with out the angry squeal when getting him into his car seat though. :) He's definitely very good at letting you know when he's not happy.

Anyway.. learning new stuff everyday. He's also been waking up throughout the night again. :P
That's one skill I'm hoping goes by the wayside pretty quickly.

-misty

ahem...

reminder to SELF would actually imply that you CHANGE him on a regular basis... including the pooey ones.

-misty

Diapers

reminder to self: don't let Grant crawl around with no diaper.

warning: not for the faint of heart...

So Grant has had some stomach virus the last 5 days and has had the slimey green poo's. Gross. Yeah.. well be thankful you're not changing him 50 times a day like me. So as a result of all of this he's gotten a HORRIBLE diaper rash. He looks like one of the red-butted monkeys at the zoo. And if he wasn't hard enough to change already.. getting a new diaper on him is like a WWF wrestling match. So this morning I went in and fed him and changed him and his butt seemed even more red than the day before. I wanted to let him air out before I put on any diaper cream or a new diaper because that's what they say.. air them out right? While I was getting out his diaper stuff he flipped off the ottoman and crawled towards his door. He's getting really good at learning what no means and even listens pretty well. So I said "No, don't go out the door, you need to stay in here". He turned and sat on the carpeted floor of his room and looked at me. So while I sat there quite proud of him and his good listening skills I heard a gurgle and noticed he was making a familiar face. As I realized what the face was I yelled "GRANT! DON'T POOP ON THE FLOOR!". Apparently that set off his "flee" instinct and he took off leaving a mess on the carpet and then tracking it through the wood floors of the hallway into our bedroom. He's really fast. So I yelled out to Pete who was still in bed that I needed help. When Pete got to the doorway Grant was all excited to see him and Pete stood there just stunned at the mess before him. I was working frantically at containment and cleanup and Pete was just standing there going "ohmygod.. ohmygod.. oh.. ugh". Great help! Thanks Pete! In the end I decided a bath was best and Pete went to get the carpet steam cleaner. Did I mention Grant's room has WHITE carpet? Fortunately it all seems to have come out. But it's not really a great way to start your morning. The thing is you really wanna kick yourself because OF COURSE it was going to happen.

So I'll say it again (until next time)... I've learned my lesson!! (To my credit he hasn't poo'ed in his bed again!)

-misty

we may be in trouble...

Yesterday morning we woke up and found Grant had a pooing accident overnight so I handed him to Pete while I changed sheets and spent the next 10 minutes scrubbing and sanitizing his mattress. All was going well until he woke up from his first nap of the day 3 hours later. When I walked in he was standing in his crib waiting for me wearing only a very happy smile. I found his diaper over in the corner and a big wet spot on the mattress. I'm really hoping it was just some stroke of luck that he was able to get his diaper off. He hasn't done it since (hallelujah!) but I'm sure it's a matter of time. He's such a hot blooded little guy that I really don't want to put him anything else to sleep in while it's so hot.

Yesterday we had swimming which went better than last week (cried the entire time). He only cried for a bit in the beginning. I think the more he gets used to it the better he'll be. He's oddly kind of OK with the underwater bits when he's facing me. He just seems to get really mad when I'm near the edge and I don't let him get out.

Today I decided to take Grant to a Story Time class they had at his little gym. I don't know what I was thinking. Putting and extremely active child in a gym with loads of cool things for him to crawl and play around on and then trying to make him sit still in your lap while someone reads a story is a recipe for disaster. He did have a good time before and after storytime when he was studying all the 2 & 3 year olds running around and climbing the rock climbing wall. He loves going nuts in the gym there. I think we're going to have to keep him enrolled there.

Today I realized he knows the difference between different toys. I asked him to get his phone and he crawled back in his room and picked up his phone. Later on I asked him to get his book and he did the same. Call MIT!! Call Harvard!! Our child is a genius!! :)

Getting cuter and more fun day by day..

-misty

so.. stinking... HOT.. :P

We had the Microsoft Company picnic this weekend and I thought I was going to die. It has been SO hot. We shuttled from shaded area to shaded area all afternoon. I'm excited to take Grant in the next few years and watch him go nuts. They did have a toddler area but it was all in the full sun and packed. The pic above is a KidWash that they had set up that Pete ran Grant though to cool off. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it. :) That's so Grant though. Observe first and once he's comfortable then he'll decide if he likes it. Funny how their little personalities show more and more each day even at this age.

-misty

The other pics in the photo album are from our PEPS BBQ.

KEEP OFF GRASS...

We had a BBQ for my mom's group today and found the one thing that could keep Grant corralled. It was a beautiful day and we had quilts on the lawn so the kids could play outside. Grant was tearing around doing his normal rounds but we noticed when he got near the edge of the quilt he acted like he was going to fall off the end. We realized it was the grass that he was trying to avoid. So considering the loving and nurturing type of parents we are we quickly picked him up and put him on the grass. He immediately lifted up one foot and was whining to be picked up. So we put him on his stomach and he couldn't work out out to get up without using his hands. He was on his stomach with both of his feet and hands in the air and he really wasn't happy. No matter how much we tried he never got used to it and was happy just staying on the quilt. I now need to figure out how to grow a lawn indoors to keep him in one place. :)

-misty

we're on the mend!

after a horrific weekend we're all finally starting to feel better. Sunday was terrible as Peter and I were both sick. More sick than we've been in YEARS. I felt so horrible for poor Granty who just wanted to play and be social and it took every ounce of our energy to just meet his basic needs. Grant's bug hit him a day earlier so he was just coming out of his sickies when ours hit.

Above are some pics we took today. The first just captures that look of mischief we know so well. The second is bathtime, which has become so much more fun since his Waterbabies class. He seems to love it even more now and becomes more adventurous each bath. Today the big lecture was "no standing in the bath!". There are more pics in the photo album here.

-misty

Bang, Flash.

Well not only was July 4th fun but last night our PC caught fire in the living room - Never a good thing to happen!

i've been slimed...

So, Grant had his first day of daycare on July 5th while we went to a movie and had lunch. I think I broke our baby. We went to check on him between the movie and lunch and he was crying like I'd never heard him cry. So I consoled him and tried not to be offended when he only wanted to go to Daddy. The childcare people assured us that he would be fine for us to go have lunch. When we came back to pick him up he was crying again.

The weird thing was being in our house when he wasn't here. It's amazing how such a little person can fill an entire house. :) Since daycare, diaper changes have been seriously impossible. Backbends and SCREAMING CRYING. He's never been a big fan but it's much much worse since. He's also wailing every time I try to put him to bed. But the kicker is that he's picked up some bug. He woke up this morning all snotty.

This afternoon Peter had some colleagues from Sony come to our house so he could demo something for them and they could meet Grant. It all went swimmingly until Grant decided it was well past naptime. I took him to his room and gave him a bottle and then he was kind enough to give the entire contents of the bottle back via a GINOURMOUS fountain of vomit. Not cute baby spit up, the big person kind in the manner of The Exorcist. I had to call for Pete to step away from his guests and come in and assist. I had to do a complete clothing change and I now need a shower because that horrid smell is stuck in my nose. I just ended up giving Grant a full bath. Poor guy. Now I'm all worried about him getting dehydrated and stuff.

So childcare went fantastic. :P It's going to be hard to leave him there again.

-misty

working at getting us around that little finger...

So Grant really hasn't shown any signs of Separation Anxiety or Stranger Anxiety yet. He couldn't care less if we leave the room or if someone else is holding him. However taking a toy away from him is a far more serious matter that deserves a big pouty lip, and a couple of loud wails to let you know he is NOT happy. When you're around him all the time you learn how to quickly distract him with an allowed toy or moving him to another room. Pete hasn't honed the skill of distraction (or "quiet time" but that's a whole different blog post) and learned today that laughing about this new development doesn't really help a tired Grant get over the fact that you've taken his toy. I came home from a short trip to the grocery store to see them both in the driveway and Grant's tear stained face led me to believe something serious had happened. The big tears were over a camera case that Daddy wouldn't let him play with.

We're putting Grant into a daycare for the day on July 5th so we can do a date day and I'm having some anxiety about it all. I worry that the separation anxiety will finally kick in and we'll have some trust issues to work on. Ha! I say trust like he's taken the car without permission. It's just the first time he's being left with a sitter (aside from gramma and grampa) and it's a new place, new people. Oh well, I'm sure he will be fine ... it's me that will have the issues :).

In other Granters news - He's doing more sign language. I figured out the way to make him do the sign for "more". The secret is chocolate pudding. I think he would have attempted to skip across the room if he thought it would get him another spoonful of pudding. :) Although, quickly after he did the sign for "more" he made his own sign for "NOW" by banging on his high chair try and screaming. :)

that's all for now.. hope everyone has a happy 4th of july!

-misty

Dad and his shed!

So what seems like many moons ago we visited Costco to buy a shed. This was no simple task as said shed doesn't fit in any car. So we rented a truck from the "cunningly located" UHaul right next to Costco and lugged it home.

Eager to start I opened the huge boxes and sat down with the manaul - Yes I'm not that stupid and know my limitations with DIY - So I read the manual. It clearly stated that the ground must be level - showed pictures of people leveling ground with a 2x4 and level etc...

So I headed out and found a bit of level ground in our yard - looked great to me - damn level alright.

So I started assembling the shed....

Screw floor pieces together - Check
Find side - panels - Check
Put first side panel up and attach to the floor - check
Put second side panel up and attach to the floor - check
Put third side panel up and attach to the floor - check
Put fourth side panel up and attach to the floor - check errr welllll no.... errrmmmm...

It appears the manual really wasn't kidding about using levels and making sure the ground was absolutely flat. The fourth side didn't line up right due to the ground not being perfectly level.

At this point there was a bit of swearing.

So I had to unassemble the whole thing (no easy task due to the "snap" bits not "unsnapping" easily - technical shed building term)

So I had shed pieces all over our yard and 3 huge shed boxes blocking up one stall of our garage.

For weeks.

Undeterred I paid our local landscaping neighbors guy to level off a section of yard properly.

Finally last weekend I built the thing! Only actually took about 3 hours - I got it all done apart from the Windows which had to wait for the next weekend....

Now its all finally ready we had a big family shed opening ceremony...