Pumpkin Patch

Jamie and I took Grantham to Harmon's Tree Farm to visit the Pumpkin Patch. We went on a hayride and walked around enjoying the beautiful weather. Grantham had a ball. Just thought I would share some pictures with you all! Happy Fall!!!!!

"My Big Cardboard Box"

Yesterday Grantham was playing in his room while I packed up some of his old clothes that no longer fit (**tear...every time I have to do this it makes me sad because he's growing up so fast**). I was using an old diapers box to pack the clothes up when Grantham discovered it and started to play with it. He climbed in and out, put it on his head, used the finger holes on the side of the box as "peep holes", etc. I loved watching his fascination with this box. There were toys all around but all he wanted to do was play with that big cardboard box.

The whole scenario made me think about a book that we received as a gift after Grantham was born. The title of the book is "Little Boy" by Allison McGhee and Peter H. Reynolds. If you have a little boy and don't have this book, you should really get it. It makes me cry every time I read it :) The gist of the book is that it's the simple things in life that matter to a child...they don't have the things to worry about that adults do so they can just enjoy EVERYTHING. Sometimes I watch Grantham playing (or any other child for that matter) and I find myself trying to capture some of that carefree spirit to take with me. It's so refreshing.

There are several sequences throughout the book that start with "Little boy, so much depends on..." and end with "...and, your big cardboard box." The very last sequence in the book goes like this: "Little boy, so much depends on...your starship pajamas, that story about llamas, the way you don't worry, the way you won't hurry, and...your big cardboard box. Little boy, you remind me how so much depends on days made of now."

These authors have another book called "Someday," which is appropriate for a little boy or a little girl. We also have that one and it also makes me cry! They are beautifully written and beautifully illustrated. You should check them out if you have never seen them!

Monkey Joes

This one is a little fuzzy but I wanted to post it anyway so everyone could see my big boy going down the giant slide all by himself!

Last week Grantham and I met some friends of ours, Megan and Brantley, at Monkey Joes. If you are unfamiliar with Monkey Joes, it's basically a giant playground full of jump castles. I was a little nervous about how Grantham would react because it's pretty overwhelming but he literally dove right in. We started out in the small jump castle called "Toddler Town" and were in there for about all of 3 minutes. Then we moved on to the big kid ones. Brantley was a little more nervous about it all than Grantham but she definitely warmed up by the time we left. I think that was a prime example of the difference between boys and girls because let me tell you...Grantham is all boy and Brantley is all girl :)

By the time we were headed home, Grantham was going down the giant slide by himself! I can't believe how big he and Brantley have gotten so fast. I'm so thankful that he has a little playmate who is almost exactly the same age as him (Brantley is 1 week older). Thanks for going with us and we look forward to our next playdate at Monkey Joes Megan and Brantley!

P.S. I left my camera at home so all pictures are courtesy of Megan...thanks for sharing!

Baby on the Move - Part 2

It's official...Grantham has started walking. He started taking a couple of steps when he was about 11 months old but I definitely did not consider that walking. The day before his birthday he started consistently taking between 5 and 10 steps and his confidence grew from there. It took him about a week after that to really take off and boy has he ever taken off. The only time he really crawls anymore is if he gets tripped up when walking. He will then crawl to the nearest wall or piece of furniture, stand back up and continue on his walking quest. He still doesn't have great balance so he walks like a monkey. It's absolutely hilarious...he holds his hands above his head and keeps them that way the entire time! It's actually kind of perfect because since he was born I've always referred to him as "my little monkey."

I hear parents say all the time that they don't love the walking stage because they have a hard time keeping up with their child. Jamie and I don't really find this any different because we started having a hard time keeping up with him when he began crawling!!! Needless to say, we are loving his new found independence. It's really a lot of fun!

I snapped the above pictures while he was walking across the room towards me...you can definitely see the monkey action in them :)

It's a BOY!!!!!

I thought this one was cool because he's waving at the camera. You can see his 4 fingers but we're not sure where his thumb is...maybe folded over his palm?

I had my ultrasound last week and we found out that we are having another little boy. Jamie and I are absolutely thrilled. A girl would have been awesome, but we were both hoping for a boy. Since the age difference will be so close, we thought it would be great for Grantham to have a "little buddy." Everything looked great and baby boy is perfectly healthy...praise the Lord!

I've included some of the ultrasound pictures. I know that the 4-D one where you can see his face is a little bit creepy because he's still kind of in the "alien looking" stage :) Nonetheless, I thought I would include it anyway.

Happy Birthday Grantham!

My sister, Megan, and I made the cake...it was a train!

Homemade decorations...pictures of Grantham from 1 to 12 months that looked like a train :)

Well, last Saturday was Grantham's 1st birthday! It really was such a bitter sweet day for me. I can't believe how fast the past year has gone. I have such vivid memories of the day he was born. I know it's a cliche thing to say but it seems like it was yesterday. As I was reflecting back over the past year I was trying to decide if I enjoyed it as much as I should have. I definitely had my moments of frustration but overall I really do think I enjoyed every minute. I decided that I'm not going to waste my time being sad that the past year is gone...instead I'm going to look forward to the future with my little man and enjoy the next year just as much as I enjoyed the last year.

We had an absolutely perfect day! We had a birthday party for him with close friends and family and it was so much fun. I was a little bit nervous how Grantham would react to all of those people in his house. I think he loved every minute...even when 30 people were singing him happy birthday and then watching him eat his cake which, by the way, he LOVED! He's never had sugar except the natural sugar in fruit and I think he immediately realized what he had been missing. He dug right into that cake and didn't stop until we took it away from him.

Thanks to all of our friends and family for celebrating with us! We couldn't have asked for a better 1st birthday for our little boy :)

All Done

We've had a big breakthrough this week...Grantham has started to sign "all done." I started working with him on some simple sign language when he was about 7 months old. I read not to expect results until about 11 or 12 months and lo and behold, a week before he turns a year old he gets it :) He is now an "all done" signing fool. He signs "all done" when he finishes his bottle and when he doesn't want any more food. It's so satisfying for him to catch on to something in the form of communication. It certainly takes a lot of the guess work out of how much to feed him because he lets me know when he's had enough. Hopefully now that he's gotten "all done" some of the other signs will start to click too.

On a side note, I took this picture this morning after breakfast. Actually, he had just signed "all done" when I took it. Check out all those teeth up top! All four have broken through and now he has 2 more on the bottom making their way up :)