Grant the Great

What Grant Can Do Now

He is eating solids very well. He is even into picking up squished bananas, and noodles, and peas (things very easily mushed up in his mouth.) He loves his food and has a pretty good eating schedule going on.

He rolls over. All the time. He rolls himself around a room trying to get from point A to point B. I can no longer leave him even in the middle of the bed. It will only take him moments to find his way off the bed. He rocks back and forth on his hands and knees (which are off the ground for brief moments) He wants to move so badly it's killing him.

He can stand unassisted for about 10 seconds while holding onto something (the couch, coffee table, baby piano, etc.) He almost will not let you sit him down anymore. He stiffens his legs so they don't bend. He is also a strong willed little thing. (How do we keep making them this way?)

He is very communicative. He nods his head no when you are not getting it right. He yells at you if you leave him in a room alone. He waves (though not quiet well enough to be on cue yet). He babbles a lot. (da da da da)

He has 2 bottom teeth. They are not all the way up yet, but it now hurts when he bites down on your fingers. And they were a nightmare to get.

He has graduated on to sitting in the baby tub but WITHOUT the little hammock part now. He just sits in his bath and plays and plays. Bath time continues to be a favorite time.

He can use a sippy cup, especially if it's one of those straw ones where he just has to suck. It makes me giggle that he still cannot consistently drink out of a bottle, but you hand the kid your huge water bottle and he's fine.

He loves to swing and be outside with Aid. He giggles as Aid runs around and screams at him. He coos when you start pushing him in the swing; and his feet go crazy when you grab the blanket which means outside time.

He reaches for you now. He will even throw himself at you if you missed the cue. Suddenly this 20 pound bundle of love will just dive at you from out of nowhere!


I cannot believe how fast he is growing up. He is my over achiever. He just wants to be a big kid more then anything in the world and is trying so hard. He will get there....and then I'll cry. In the meantime, it's a joy to watch him.

Back Home

We are back home! It was a hell of a two weeks... complete with a plethora of friends, resort style living, beach camping, and even a little family drama thrown in for good measure.

I don't have the time or the energy to add all of the pictures tonight. I will be working on that in the next couple of days. But needless to say we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We were gone for a long time and it was a much needed break from routine. By the end we were all a little cranky, tired, and happy, but ready to go home.

Both of the boys are in bed, the house is in shambles and we just got done looking through all of our trip pictures. And I realized something. This trip was good for us. It rejuvenated us. My parents took great care of us. And Aid had the time of his life playing with his cousins from my side. They were quite the little crew almost immediately.


But what we also realized is how happy we are to be home. Just us, with our own little routines. And at the end of the day it doesn't matter if we are in Minnesota or if we make our way back to Oregon. Our home will be wherever our family is.

And that's a beautiful realization.

But Why??

And so it begins. The 'why's'. It started this morning. I'm not joking. Literally this morning. He has never before asked why. He has used some similar type questions, "Mama what's happening." But is usually satisfied with the answer. But today Aiden found the power of questioning. Not just refusing. But questioning. I found it completely adorable and found myself thinking grand thoughts about how Aid would not just accept, Aid would question. Questioning brings knowledge and growth. You go my little thinker. You question. I searched for just the right response to each question. I laughed when I ran out of explanations. I laughed even harder listening to Bob respond knowing it wasn't really sinking in what was happening!

Then came the question of the day. Aid fell off a stool. He fell on his butt. It looked like it kind of bothered him for a little bit. For most of his owies, he asks for a kiss. That's usually all it takes for him to be off and running again. This time he asked, "Can you kiss my bottom?" "No." "Why?" "Why momma no kiss Aidee bottom?" "Why?"

I couldn't stop laughing. What a question my little man. It's only been one day of whys' and I have already said, "Because mama says no kissing butts."



*I did take the opportunity to talk about how no one should kiss Aidee's bottom or penis. I know it sounds kind of young, but the window was open. I went into no more detail then that. He responded, "no one kiss Aidee peenie or bottom." I said, "Remember that." "Ok mama." My first big talk with Aid about scary life stuff. We both made it out unscathed.*

Perspective

As most of you know, me and Bob have been working hard on adjusting to a life with 2. There have been lots of tired and snappy moments that result in arguments over time, needs, and roles. There have been times where my openness makes people nervous. I tend to just say what I need to say and process out loud. If I ever stop talking about something, that is when you will know there is something very bad going on. Because that's me. But there are also times where I get myself very worked up and upset and lose perspective.

I have had some great conversations recently with other married people, some the same age, some older, and some younger. And what has occurred to me is that we are all working through (or have gotten through) similar, if not the same, issues. Which made me realize that this is the time that you really learn how to be a family.

We had a fabulous weekend with Bob's family. Grant was unusually cooperative, we had fantastic times with family members that are not just family, they are friends, and Aid did not stop smiling the entire weekend. And there were still parenting "growing pains", as I'll call them, that happened throughout.

But I'm happy. I'm right where I am supposed to be, with who I am supposed to be with.
And when I get myself so worked up I can't see straight....I will look at this picture and it will put things back into perspective.