It's the Simple Things

I lived through it! Yesterday, I tackled the job of taking both boys (Grant and Tristen) over to the firm (my old office) to meet Heather and Ginger for lunch. The night before, Chris, Grant, and I went to Baby Depot and purchased a double stroller. That thing is cool! I love it so far. It's very handy, but it feels like I'm pushing around a big long limo. Grant really likes it because it has a little stearing wheel on his tray. Anyway, I strategically planned it all out. My plan was to pack the bag and get the car seat, etc. in the car while the boys were sleeping yesterday morning. Of course, yesterday would be the day that Grant refused to take a morning nap (and refused again today). So, it took a little longer, but I got everything done. It took me almost ten minutes just to get them, as well as myself, into the car. Funny. Also, of course, it would be yesterday that was so windy Roanoke made national news because of the extremely high winds. Downtown is always horrible when it's windy because it's like a wind tunnel between the big buildings. So, once there, I managed to get the double stroller out, put one boy at a time into the stroller, and begin climbing the uphill sidewalk. By the time I got into the main lobby I was so winded I could barely speak. It was pretty comical. Once inside I regained my composure and up to the 7th floor we went. It was pretty hilarious me pushing that huge stroller into a law firm. Everyone got to see Tristen (which they loved). He is a very cute baby after all. It was lunch time when we got there and Grant was getting pretty hungry. Women in the office would come to see the boys and would have some sort of snack in their hands and when Grant saw the food he just looked at them and said "fa fa," which interpreted is "please." It was pretty funny. I had a blast getting out and hanging out with the girls for an hour. Hopefully, I can take a few more trips before Ben comes so I can get more practice juggling two kids in public. I need all the practice I can get. I'll have to say I was pretty worn out, but it was a lot of fun. Once home, both of the boys crashed and the afternoon was pretty quiet.

I thought I'd post some new and old pictures of Grant. Like I keep saying, he's growing up so fast it breaks my heart. For the last couple of days Grant has wanted to come into our bedroom (where the computer is now - the office has been made into nursery number 2) and sit in the office chair and watch the picture slideshow on the computer. He loves seeing pictures of himself, mommy and daddy, and other people he knows. Every time he sees this one picture of Mamaw Duty holding him when he was a baby he starts screaming "Maa, Maa!" This is because he recognizes Mamaw Duty and her house to be where Max (my mom's dog) is. It's bittersweet to watch the pictures appear and then fade out... newborn pictures to infant pictures, infant pictures to crawling pictures, crawling pictures to walking pictures, walking pictures to big boy pictures. I was thinking the other day that as fast as the pictures appear and fade out, it seems like that's how fast the last 17 months have gone by. I'm so proud of Grant and all that he has learned so far, but I am still deeply saddened that I'll never have those "firsts" back. It all makes me very emotional.



Tristen reminds me so much of Grant when he was that age. Everytime I pick Tristen up to hold him, feed him, diaper him, or put him to sleep I am reminded of Grant and how exciting it was to just watch him to see what he was going to do next. It's almost like I couldn't wait for him to smile, and once he had smiled I couldn't wait for him to laugh, and then to roll over, and then to sit up on his own, and then to crawl, and then to walk. I feel like I wished his whole first year away. Now I can hardly keep up with him. He's a fast little booger and is starting to learn how to push the limits to see what he can get away with. Toddlerhood is definitely new territory to me. In fact, it scares me to death. It's not very fun to see people stare at you when your kid throws himself in the floor in the middle of Wal-Mart. Ha, ha! Those times have been few and far between so far, but I'm not holding my breath. I know I haven't seen the worst of toddlerhood yet.

Chris is off of work this entire weekend so I'm looking forward to some family time together. I feel like I haven't seen him all week. Since we're visiting new churches, Heather and Trevor have invited us to go with them to their parents church this Sunday. I'm really looking forward to it. Afterwards we're going to her parents' house for lunch and to stay for the afternoon and hang out. It's nice to have the opportunity to get to know new people.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Miss you guys!

Love, Jen

We were out quite a bit this weekend. Grant really enjoyed getting out to see all of the cars and "balls" (balloons) when we went to the mall. I was on a mission to find Grant some new tennis shoes since he has outgrown the pair I just bought two months ago. Insane! I couldn't find any that were decent under $30 (which is way to much for me to pay since he'll just outgrow the new pair in another two months). So, after going to practically all of the stores in the mall, we left empty handed. I found some online for $20. Much more reasonable. We all went to Frank's Pizza for dinner last night and then to Wal-Mart. Chris couldn't wait to take Grant to the toy aisle. Grant has found a new fascination for basketball. Every time it's on television he starts screaming "bicketball, bicketball!" I can't even begin to explain how funny it is to see him try to pronounce the word basketball. You'd definitely have to see it for yourself to get the full effect. So, Chris bought him a little "bicketball" at Wal-Mart and we haven't heard about anything else since.

He's definitely all about daddy these days. He and Chris followed each other around on their hands and knees pushing Grant's matchbox cars all over the house last night before bedtime. Priceless! He loves playing hide n seek with daddy too. He thinks it's absolutely hilarious when Chris jumps out and scares him. He just takes off toddling as fast as he can to get away and cackles all the way through the house. I love hearing him laugh. It's definitely my favorite sound in the world. I can't wait for the days when I get to hear both of my boys laughing. They will never be able to understand how much I love them. Being able to be at home with Grant is definitely a bonus for me. I wouldn't trade my time with him for anything. I hope I don't ever get to the point that I take the time I am able to spend with him for granted. Time is quickly fleeting. It seems like it was yesterday that Grant was Tristen's age and we were nervous and learning first time parents. It's hard to believe that in a couple of months Grant will be a year and a half old. I just want to soak up every minute I can and enjoy it to the fullest extent.

I'll have to say that this week so far has been the start of a brand new adventure for me. I have loved being at home for the last three weeks. We had our first day with Tristen on Monday and he has been such a joy. Having a newborn in the house has made me do quite a bit of reminiscing. I don't think I ever realized how easy it is to quickly forget the details about Grant's last year that I thought I would remember forever. My first time changing Tristen's diaper and feeding him were a bit awkward at first, but the memories came flooding back quickly. I was pooped Monday evening and was in bed by 10:00 p.m. I don't think I sat down all day other than to feed Tristen a bottle. I felt so sorry for Heather Monday morning when she dropped Tristen off and then had to leave for work. I remember that first car ride to work. I balled crying the whole way because I had left my baby with strangers. Hopefully, Heather doesn't feel that I am a stranger, but I know her feelings of sadness and sympathize with her greatly. Here is a picture of Baby Tristen. Isn't he the cutest?

Grant is very curious about baby Tristen. He has a thing for taking Tristen's pacifier out and then trying to stick it back in. This drives me nuts because I'm trying to keep germ watch. I want healthy and happy kids in my house. Knock on wood... Grant hasn't been sick since Christmas and this has been such a blessing. I know he misses going "bye" every day, but I've tried to get him out of the house in the evenings and weekend somewhat so he doesn't feel so cooped up all the time.

We had an incident with Grant last week when I gave him his first peanut butter cracker as a little snack. He chomped piece after piece down and then took a 2 hour nap. When he woke up he ate lunch and then minutes later was coughing and wheezing and having trouble breathing. I called the doctor's office and they told me that it was probably a peanut allergy and to take him to the ER right away - which I did. By the time we got to the hospital his breathing had returned to normal but he had hives all over him - poor little buddy. They gave him some Benadryl (for which they probably charged about $25) and sent us home. They said that even though he didn't have a reaction until a couple of hours later that the peanut butter was probably the culprit. They said not to give him any sort of peanuts, peanut butter, etc. until he's older and can be tested. Gee whiz! It was definitely a scare for me. I mean, he's had breathing problems before with his asthma but never has it come on so suddenly and violently. No more peanuts for Grant! My heart can't handle it.

Tristen had to go for his two month check up at the doctor today so he didn't get here until around noon. So, this morning me and Grant took a trip to Wal-Mart (and, yes, he did scream the entire way through the store "ball, ball" because of all the balloons scattered around). I found a pair of snow boots and when we got home we got bundled up and went out. I think we got about 3" of snow last night. Nothing too major but enough for everything to look pretty this morning. Grant was very quiet the entire time we were outside. I think he was amazed at the white stuff that crunched under his feet when he walked. It was so funny to see him all bundled up and trying to walk in those big boots. He sat in the snow for a couple of minutes and picked some up and, yes, licked it. I knew it was bound to happen. I just laughed because apparently he didn't like the taste of it very much. He just wanted to keep walking in circles around the yard and kept his head down the entire time to watch the snow under his feet. I loved being able to be at home with him today to share this first snow with him. I will definitely never forget it! I love my little buddy and wouldn't trade him for anything in the world.

I try to picture what my life will be like in two years when both of the boys are older and they can go out together to play in the snow. I want to savor every minute of both of their lives. I pray that they get along and become best buddies. I've always been told that I would make a better mom to boys than girls. I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I'm starting to realize that it's probably true. I can't wait to go sleigh riding and play outside with my boys. I look forward to the future but revel in the present.

For the last couple of nights Grant hasn't wanted much to do with me and only wants daddy. I suppose it's because he's been with me everyday for the last three weeks. I'm so glad he and Chris are developing a close relationship. Grant gets so excited every night when he hears the door knob turning and knows that daddy is home. They have so much fun playing together, and I just love watching them together. I hope they are always close. As you can see from the picture, Grant is already wanting to fill daddy's shoes. Priceless!

Jen

I'm pooped! It has been a very busy past three weeks, but I have gotten so much accomplished. It is nice to actually have some time to get things done around the house that have needed to be done for some time now. It's tough to balance everything (husband, kid, church, house, and work) and still find time for myself. I have to admit even though I've been super busy it is nice not to have to get up every morning, rush around, drive across town to daycare, drive to work, work all day, drive across town again, drive home, feed Grant dinner, bath, and bedtime. I like being able to spend the extra time with Grant. My new job (babysitting Baby Tristen) will begin next week and I am very excited. I hope Grant takes the transition well. He hasn't seemed to mind being home with mommy all the time the last three weeks. He's such a good little one!

Thanks to Trevor and Heather who helped me out so much the week Chris was in Dallas. That was my project week since Grant was still in daycare. Trevor painted the nursery and did an awesome job. Thanks again guys! We're taking you to dinner soon and we won't take "no" for an answer. It has been nice to have company the last three weeks. I've seen quite a bit of Heather and am going to miss her terribly when next week rolls around and she has to go back to work. She is definitely the close friend I've been needing for some time now. She is such a blessing to me!

Chris, Grant, and I went to see Dr. Martin today and to have another ultrasound. We got to see Baby Ben in action. The ultrasound tech said that his weight is about 2 lbs. 4 oz. He doesn't look like an alien anymore and even looks like he's got a little pudge on him now. Hopefully, you can see the ultrasound pictures I have posted. His profile picture (on top) looks identical to Grant's profile picture when I had an ultrasound with him. I wouldn't mind so much if Ben looked like Grant. I may be biased, but I think Grant's a looker. Ha, ha!

We all went to Chuck E. Cheese's tonight and spent some quality family time together. I had so much fun watching Grant see and enjoy everything for the first time. As soon as we pulled up and he saw the giant mouse on the sign he started hollering "ooh, ooh, ooh!" He could hardly wait to get out of the car. As soon as we walked in he noticed the balloons everywhere and started screaming "ball, ball, ball!" He could hardly contain himself. He didn't know what to look at first. He really enjoyed the Chuck E. Cheese band (where the mechanical animals dance, play instruments, and sing on stage). We made sure we got a good seat after we ordered our pizza so he could dance along to the music. Every time they would start to sing he would start pointing and screaming "ooh, ooh, ooh!" He cracks me up! Once we finished eating we took him to the little rides and games. He quickly ran from one thing to another just taking it all in. I loved watching him get so excited. That was the best part of my whole evening. Some of the pictures I have posted are from tonight. You can just see the excitement and awe on his face. Of course, we couldn't leave without a Chuck E. Cheese balloon for Grant and some cotton candy (yummy!) for mommy. I love cotton candy! I've already eaten half of one bag.

I have a few more things to clean and organize before next Monday but my week is slowly winding down. I think I'm going to love being home everyday. I'm sure I'll need to get out every now and again in the evenings to have some alone time to keep my sanity. I'm so excited to take on something different in my life. This will be the first time I haven't had an outside job since I was 16 years old. I can't say I'll miss it.

I'm still waiting on the snow! They closed all the schools around here today because we had a winter weather advisory for today and it flurried for all of fifteen minutes. Ugh. I want at least one big snow before spring (which will be here before we know it). I can't believe I only have three months left of this pregnancy. It's flying by way too fast.

I feel so blessed. I'm so thankful for everything God has given me. Chris is such a great husband, friend, and dad. I'm so proud of everything he has accomplished and everything that we have accomplished together. As for Grant, I couldn't have asked for a better child. I'm praying that Ben will follow suit, but I am not holding my breath (ha, ha!). Grant makes me laugh everyday and make my like so much sweeter. I look forward to meeting Ben and know I will love him like I do Grant no matter what his temperament or personality. I love my boys so much!

Until next time...

Love, Jen

P.S. Sorry about the spacing. For some reason Blogger won't let me set my paragraphs off with a space. Ugh!