Applesauce, Spoon, Photoshoot

Grant has started showing interest in eating with a spoon. Sometimes he won't let us feed him. Our little boy is getting so independent! I really try and give him the experience he needs even when it is messy. I don't know about you but some days I am cool with a mess and other days it drives me crazy. Today was a mess day! Grant has figured out when I have the camera in my face he must be doing something cute. So I got some awesome shots. I think I took nearly 300 pictures but narrowed it down to these few. I was having fun playing with the zoom and focus. The shutter speed was also involved otherwise there is no way I could've snapped 300 photos during one cup of applesauce.

A Cool Daniel Boone

Cabela's is Kyle's favorite store. I think that Cabela's could actually cause our relationship turn sour. I can't stand the store for more than ten minutes. Kyle on the other hand can't ever walk through the fishing department in ten minutes. Then there is camping, hunting, boating, the Bargain Cave, candied nuts, kids toys, and holy smokes it is at least a two hour event. I didn't mind it as bad before Grant was born but NOW it is a royal pain. Try and keep a one year old out of everything for two hours. Any way, at one of these little trips I found Grant this cute Boone hat. I thought it was darling, plus it was cheap.

Darling + Cheap = Purchase

Grant doesn't care for hats too much unless we distract him. If he is distracted he will wear a hat for quite a while. So one evening we were being silly and....well you get the picture.

A Sick Little Helper

I don't know about the rest of you but we have had the stomach flu going around. I think I got food poisoning two different times this week. But any how we have all been sicker then sick. Grant has thrown up a couple of times in the last few days. On this particular occasion it went everywhere! I ended up just throwing him in the tub. I came back to clean up the rest of his high chair. I was using the bleach wipes and my sweet little boy wanted to help. He saw me wiping the high chair and the floor so he wiped too. I can't believe how sweet Grant is. He is so thoughtful. He reminds me a lot of his Uncle Chris. Chris is always willing to help anyone. Chris is always thinking about everyone else before himself. Grant's grandfather, Grant, was the same way. He would do anything for anyone no matter what it was. I am proud that Grant has such a great uncle to look up to as an example. I also am glad that we named our son after a man who was so thoughtful and sincere.

Helping Mommy

A few nights ago I was cleaning out my sonicare toothbrush. It was a little yucky and so I was cleaning it out with q-tips. Grant saw me and decided to help. I thought it was darling. He was so proud of himself for helping me. I love the picture I got with his big blue eyes. They are heart stoppers.

"Five Blind Mice"

Last week was such nice weather and in return we got a present. A neighbor cat, who we have never seen before, deposited this small gift off on our front porch one morning. Count them up there are FIVE dead mice and two of them are missing heads. The next day we got two more. Notice that I was too grossed out to go outside to take this picture. This shot is from our front window. Later this same day Kyle asked me if I had gone and scooped up the dumb rodents. I laughed and told him it was a "man" job. The best part is that we had someone come over that night before we got out there to scoop them up. We were a little embarrassed but they found it funny. Thank goodness!

The lesson we learned from this little rodent episode is that if we were going to find mice it is better they are dead then alive!

Double Birthday and Double the FUN!

Since Grant and Evelyn have birthday's so close together we had a joint birthday party. Grant is still scared of cupcakes and Evelyn obviously is not.

Just a Thought

I recently enjoyed an ENTIRE week off from work WITHOUT pay. I have to say I quite enjoyed myself. I pretty much played with Grant and Evelyn all week. I did a few little things around the house. We slept in past 8 AM every single day! Now don't get me wrong I was quite DEPRESSED about the pay cut. But here is my philosophy: We all need a week vacation when NO ONE calls you from work. With the best part being you don't even have to THINK about work! Everyone needs a week VACATION from work. Now for me if that isn't enough motivation then here is the icing on the cake. During the week off my son learned his FIRST WORD. He now says GO! I was so HAPPY! I think we all need a week of isolation from work every year! GO FURLOUGH!

My Love and Joy

Nothing needs to be said about these pictures. The faces say it all.
I love you Grant and Evelyn!

First Birthday

It is so unreal that Grant just turned one. His birthday is on the 24th of February so obviously it has taken me a while to get these pictures edited and uploaded to my blog. He had a great time with his Lighting McQueen car. Evelyn did too! It was so hilarious to watch Grant push Evelyn all around the house. Grant's happy mood burst when we busted out the cupcakes! He hated his cupcake. We figured out it is because of the sticky frosting. So we are now doing sticky therapy every night. Got to love those priceless pictures!

It's a Mom Thing

I have found that in the last year since Grant was born things are just not the same. Having a child is the greatest thing ever, but it changes the way you look at life. In same ways it is a good thing. I no longer care as much about keeping things as organized as I used to. It doesn't mean that the clutter isn't driving me insane but I choose not to care. Life goes too fast to worry about folding underwear, which is why ours have been in the dryer for almost a week now. Grant grows up way too fast to not stop and cuddle with him at night before he goes to bed. I am grateful for these things I have learned. I think it is important to remember the little things in life. However, children also put a new twists on your life in other ways. Here are some examples:

1. You know it is a bad thing when you and your husband try to play peek-a-boo and "get you get you goo" when you are by yourselves.

2. You feel like you have lost something if you don't have three bags, blanket, and shoes in your hands as you run into a store.

3. You have mastered the art of keeping your child from climbing on the bathroom floors while you go to the bathroom in public restrooms.

4. The only thing you buy when you go to Cosco is diapers, formula, and wipes.

5. You cut your own food into tiny pieces that you could pick up with your fingers if you wanted to.

6. You no longer enjoy peaceful showers by yourself.

7. You no longer sing in the shower for fun, but rather to keep your child from screaming so you can finish.

8. You start wiping your own face with a wash rag after mealtime.

9. You can recite all of your child's bed time stories from memory. "In a far away kingdom, a long time ago...."

Cup Man

We were playing with nesting cups one night and Grant was being super cute. I busted out the camera and got a couple of cute shots. I've started wondering if you can get skin cancer from too much "flash" exposure. If so Grant is in trouble.