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