Christmas Card 2007

Each year we take a family photo to use as our Christmas card picture. This was a much easier task when it was just us and our beloved dog Hunter. Hunter always enjoys having his picture taken (he might be little vain). This year it got a little harder to get a good photo of all us. Grant prefers action shots rather than portraits. Thanks to Liz and her assistant, Anna, we came up with a good one. (Anna was in charge of making Grant smile!)

Here is a sample of the many attempts:

Grant did not want to sit in my lap

Hunter!!!!!

Runaway puppy!

The official "Christmas Card Photo"

Next year we will have one more to add to the photo!

Thanksgiving Recap

Matthew and Grant playing in the sand
A friendly game of football

Stephen and James playing Nintendo DS

Grant being silly

This picture is amazing! Luke is terrified of dogs, but by Saturday night he was comfortable enough to sit on Hunter's back! James, on the other hand, thinks Hunter is "Air Bud!"

I can't believe another year has passed! This year we had the pleasure of having the entire family here for Thanksgiving. Melissa and Chris were able to come for the first time in years and it was Brian and Liz's turn to be down here for the holiday. We has such a great time visiting with each other. I know the kids had a blast playing together. Grant is finally playing with his cousins instead of ignoring them. He picked up on a few habits while they were here too. Don't worry none of them are bad habits! He now "dances" and gets down right silly! It's very cute!

Thursday twenty-three of us sat down and enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. Afterward the kids played football, swung on the swing set and played in the sandbox, while the adults enjoyed relaxing on the porch. Unfortunately, poor Luke woke up having a a difficult time breathing. Brain took him to the doctor that morning only to return a few hours later. Luke got to ride by rescue to the ER where the doctors stabilized his breathing. He had pneumonia! Poor Brian and Liz! They got home late that afternoon and enjoyed some leftovers! Luke did well the rest of the weekend. I hope he is still feeling better.

Friday morning Liz and I got up and went to Kohl's at 4 am! It is tradition to get up early and shop on Black Friday. We love it! We were able to get quite a bit a shopping finished at Kohl's and met mom and Melissa at the mall around 5:45. After the mall we headed to Target, another favorite shopping spot. Then it was on to Panera Bread for some breakfast. Afterward Liz and I return to the mall to get Brian ans Stephen new suits. JC Penny had them on sale 60% off Friday morning. I have to say we got quite a deal and the guys look great in the suits!

Saturday we had to say goodbye to Melissa and Chris. That evening we spent watching the Florida-Florida State game (for Stephen) and the Iron Bowl. Waaaarrrrrrr Eagle! It was a great weekend!

Thanksgiving 2007 Pictures

Luke and Grant have had fun playing together this weekend. Grant is getting his first lesson in sharing!!!

It sure is hard to get a picture with full cooperation!

That's as good as it gets: Brandon, Anna, James, Matthew, Luke and Grant

I will post a recap of the weekend later. We had a great time visiting with everybody!

100 Days to go!

Legs-crossed...he's not going to tell!

Well, we have 100 days to go until our baby arrives. I can't believe how quickly time is passing by. I had an ultrasound this morning and the baby is right on track. He is measuring consistently with my due date of Feb. 29th. They estimate that he weighs about 1lb 11oz right now. Our first ultrasound was at 16 weeks and the ultrasound tech said she thought he was a boy, however, today he had his legs crossed and we could not see a thing! I still feel like he is a boy. We are scheduled for a 3-D ultrasound on December 12th. Hopefully, we will have full cooperation from our little guy and we can sure that he is still a he!

Thanksgiving Countdown 2007

Wow! What a busy week! Stephen and I are busily preparing for a house full of guests on Thursday. We are so excited because Brian, Liz and the kids will arrive tomorrow night, followed by Melissa, Chris, Brandon and Matthew on Wednesday. We are going to have such a great week. Stephen's brother and his wife came in tonight!

We are expecting 23 people to be here Thursday for Thanksgiving. I LOVE this time of year! My dad is smoking a 25 pound turkey this year and we were laughing because Grant's just a few pounds heavier (@28lbs!).

I am sorry if I don't update as frequently this week, but I will try my best to post some pictures of the festivities!

Big Foot!!!!

When it comes to buying shoes for Grant I always encounter the same dilemma: he has wide feet! Not just wide feet, but extra-wide feet. This puts a restriction on where I can buy shoes for him. I have only been able to find shoes at Stride Rite. He wears a 6 1/2 XW or a 7W at Stride Rite. Unfortunately, this closest Stride Rite store is 45 minutes to an hour away from my house, not to mention that $40-50 a pop for shoes that he out grows in a matter of weeks is tough. I don't even pay that much for my shoes (usually)! Today, my mom and I tried to find Grant some black dress shoes for church with no success. It looks like I am going to have to suck it up, take a trip, and shell it out for some shoes at Stride Rite. I certainly hope his little brother has extra wide feet so he can wear all of these shoes I have purchased. I have been lucky enough to find some on EBay in the past, but now that his feet are growing and he's running around more the XW shoes seem to be few and far between on eBay. I hope that one day I can go into any shoe store and find shoes for him...until then I guess I better save my pennies.

Fall is here!

The leaves are beginning to change!

Grant's newest accomplishment: Climbing the stairs!

He did this is about 1 minute...he's fast!

We have already had a full week and it is only Wednesday! We are having a gospel meeting this week at church so it doesn't feel like we have even been home. Today I am finally off and I have spent the morning doing laundry, vacuuming and mopping, along with the ever present task of taking care of Grant. (I don't know which is more exhausting: housework or keeping up with my little guy.)

It finally feels like fall outside. The high today is only going to reach 63 degrees. So far this will be the coolest day of the year. Grant and I went outside to play before lunch and I took some pictures of the leaves in the backyard. They are beginning to to turn! For those of you who live further north I am sure you are laughing at me right now, but in a few more days we will have some red and yellow leaves before they all turn brown and fall off. It's nothing in comparison to the leaves in the mountains, but this is what we get in Florida! I am getting excited about Thanksgiving! I love this time of year. This year we will have the whole family together for Thanksgiving at our house.

Lollipop!

Grant enjoyed his first lollipop today. It looks like he likes it!

Halloween 2007--Trunk or Treat

Let's get this party started!

"I'm a cowboy!"

Grant checking out the Halloween "snow globe?"

Grant starring at the decorations on Tom's car. He was mesmerized!

Conner, Grant, Kaitlyn Longino, and Caitlin Crawford (with their daddies and grandpa!)

Last night our church had a fellowship meal and Trunk -or-Treat. Grant dressed up as a cowboy as you can see from the pictures above. We had a good time and "Grant" got lots of candy! (You know I will be eating most of it!) A good majority of his cradle roll class was there and they were all dressed so cute! Grant wore his knew boots all night!

What's Going On

Grant Sunday morning. He looks like a little man!

We have had a busy week this past week. It all began last Sunday when my parent's dog, Zack, had an "episode". We aren't sure what to call it, but he just collapsed and couldn't get up and walk. My parents took him to his vet the next day expecting the worst. They had to bring him in on a stretcher! Poor guy! After an thorough examination and a few radiographs the diagnosis was leaning towards cancer! She wanted a specialist to review the radiographs so my parents brought Zack back home while something more definitive was decided upon. This made life a little difficult because Zack, who still wasn't walking, needed to go out side periodically. So I spent my lunch breaks going over and helping my mom carry Zack outside. Tuesday his doctor called back and thought that it might just be septic arthritis and put him on some strong antibiotics. We liked that diagnosis better than cancer. Zack is getting up there in age, but he is still part of the family and the thought of losing him is heartbreaking. The antibiotics seemed to be working. By Wednesday he was able to get up and limp outside, but you could tell it was exhausting work for him. He continued to improve throughout the week and my parents were able to take trip to visit Brian and Liz last weekend for James' birthday. Stephen and I stayed at their house in order to continue to take care of Zack. We had to leave our dog, Hunter, with Stephen's parents because he would have caused way too much excitement for Zack. He has come a long way, but he is still favoring that leg. (Of course, I am sure if it was one of us we would be too!) His doctor is continuing another round of antibiotics and we are hoping for a recovery. (Maybe not a full recovery, but a recovery).

Halloween 2007 Preview

Grant's costume came in the mail today. He doesn't have his jeans, hat, or boots on, but you get the idea. (Yes, he has a remote control in his hand.)

Teething Pains!

Grant in his cowboy boots. (As you can see, he really doesn't feel well!)

We had a busy weekend planned this weekend. We had a photo shoot with Jon at the Green Cove Park, and a playgroup Halloween get together last night. Grant, on the other hand, was not up for it. He has been teething for the past few weeks. It always starts with crankiness and diarrhea which leads to a terrible diaper rash (more like diaper burn!). After a week or two of battling this he gets the runny nose and fever. This is what happened this weekend. Poor guy! He and I have spent the last two nights sleeping in the recliner because he just can't breathe! I did run the vaporizer last night and it seemed to help somewhat. I hope these molars hurry and erupt!

Grant is going to be a cowboy for Halloween. I ordered his costume over a week ago and it has not arrived yet. I am hoping it will get here in time. I was successful at finding him some cowboy boots that fit his extra-wide feet! He is so cute in them!

The "Ring Leaders" and the New Addition

Here is a picture a Grant and Kate Jacobs at the pumpkin patch on Saturday. Sunday evening Kate's grandmother stopped me in the parking lot to tell me the people are calling Kate and Grant the ring leaders of the Cradle Roll class. I don't know if that is a good thing or not!!!

Here is the newest addition to the neighborhood. Out neighbors, Mike and Melanie, have a brand new baby calf, born this morning! He (or she) is so cute! I love calves. I always tell Stephen that I want miniature cows. (I know there is no such thing.) I want them to be about Hunter our Lab's size. Stephen always says that I should just get a bunch of Lab's!

The Pumpkin Patch

The "Pumpkin Patch Kid"

Quick pose for a family picture!

Grant's smiling!

There we go! Emma, Jon, Grant and Leslie ( Notice Jon's cow is missing it's head?!!!)

Kate, Jeni, Grant, Stephen, and Jeremy enjoy the ride.

Grant and his mommy

Grant and daddy

Farmer Grant

Classic Pumpkin Picture

We had the pleasure of going to Conner's A-Maize-ing Acres this evening. We had a great time! The pumpkin patch has all sorts of fun things to do. They had a small (very small) petting zoo, rubber duck races, a cool cow train (my favorite), corn launcher, hay ride, and of course a corn maize. We went with several friends --Jon and Amy, Jeremy, Laurie, and Emma, Mr. and Mrs. Morrison, Justin, Jeff, Jeni and Kate. This was our first trip and I know we will make this a family tradition. The corn maize looks like Noah's Ark this year. They make the maize a different picture each year. It's late and I have to get up and fix food for a fellowship meal in the morning. I will post more later!

Lack of Sleep

I hope that this blog doesn't sound like one big complaint because I love being a mother. I am thankful everyday for the chance to raise Grant, but seriously, I need some sleep! Grant has never been a great sleeper. I can probably count the number of times he has slept through the night on two hands. When Grant was a newborn he would not sleep for more than two hours at a time...that was what I expected. I was nursing him and I knew that he needed to eat. As he grew bigger I thought he should be sleeping better. I was wrong. I had gone back to work and getting up every few hours to put Grant back to sleep was killing me so in desperation one night I brought him back to our bed. He (and I) slept like a rock! I had read countless books on getting your child to sleep through the night and nothing else worked. If I let him "cry it out" he just became so upset that he would throw up, besides it tore me up inside listening to him scream. This situation worked up until three weeks ago when Grant began teething again. Now he won't even sleep with us. Stephen and I have been taking turns trying to get him back to sleep at night. He is 13 months old now and has pretty much cut himself down to one nap a day. Last night I felt so helpless ( maybe it was exhaustion from a full day's work) as it took both of us almost 2 hours to coax Grant back to sleep. It seems like none of my friends have had any problems getting their kids to sleep at night. What bothers me is that in a few short months I will have another baby to nurse through the night, and I don't want the cries of his big brother to wake him up too.


My mom has told me stories of my brother Brian when he was a baby. Apparently, he did not sleep through the night until he was three. Stephen's mother says that his brother Tim was another non-sleeper. So WHY are we getting the payback? If anyone out there has endured the same problem and can offer me some advice I would love to hear it!

Week Recap

Grant Sunday evening before church

Well, I wish I could say a lot has happened this week and that is why I haven't posted, but it's just not true. I did have computer problems thanks to a little guy just shy of a yard tall. Grant loves to push buttons! The other day I was online faithfully checking all of my favorite blogs when Grant turned the computer off. No problem right? I can just turn it back on. Not so! I called Stephen at work hoping he could walk me through a quick fix to my dilemma. He was unsuccessful, therefore I had to wait until he had the time to look at it. (What's the use of having a computer genius for a husband if he doesn't have time to fix it?) Anyway, we are back in business!

I did a lot of cleaning up around the house this week. I am trying to get the spare room ready for Grant to move in. I am hoping to make the transition prior to the baby's arrival with hopes that it will be a smoother transition. Stephen and I took seven bags to Goodwill and at least 4-5 to the dump today! It feels good to clean out and get rid of some stuff. It's amazing what junk you can accumulate in seven short years!

We went over to Jon and Amy's house last night. We taught them how to play the card game Up and Down. (Liz I think I did the score sheet right!) They let us play their new game Guitar Hero! We had a good time. I have to say Stephen was better at Guitar Hero than I was. I seriously lack hand eye coordination! I haven't given up, I plan on trying again.

I hope everyone else had a good week!