Well trained

Grant has Kate so well trained. Yesterday I caught him playing doctor on her. She did everything he asked of her including when he held a flashlight to her mouth and prompted her she said, "ahhhhh." Earlier today Grant took Jim's sock and hid it in the dining room. Jim asked Grant to go get it. Grant turned to Kate and said, "Kate, go find dad's sock." Kate then left the room that all of us were in, headed to the dining room by herself and retrieved the sock, all the while running back to us with a giant toothy grin.

He's not always so bossy. He obviously cares so much about her and shows it by saying things like, "close the door so Kate doesn't fall down the stairs," sharing his toys and always slobbering her with kisses. Tonight after we tucked the kids in I could hear Grant whispering through the monitor, "mom, mom, mom...you forgot my pacifier." It took me a while to get up there, but he never spoke above a whisper because he said he didn't want to wake Kate. What a sweetie!

Sassy Kate

Mr.Wiggles

It was 2:30pm. Grant had not eaten, napped or moved over moved for a very long time.It wasn't even so much that Grant wanted to move, but that he wanted to talk. And, when he talks he is very animated. So after the nurse "shhhhhed" us several times she finally concluded that Grant needed to be sedated to finish the echo. But, in questioning me it came out that I gave him a protein bar that morning. (The nurse whom I talked to the night before said he could have a "light snack." Protein bars are light snacks, right?) They disapprovingly told me that that is considered a solid meal. So, it was not possible to sedate Grant. :) It was an accident, I swear. So, the doctor told the tech exactly what pictures HAD to be taken and between sucking on a lollipop and me singing show tunes (much to my humilation) we got the job done.

The conclusion after the echo and EKG was that his veins and heart looked great. They were specifically looking for no narrowing of any veins and from what pictures they did get there was not any. Doctor was encouraged that Grant never seems out of breath and has no trouble keeping up with other kids. He was a little concerned about Grant's recent pneumonia, so he sent us up to x-ray to get pictures of his chest. But, since we had such a long day already he said he'd call us with the results.

Grant did great today. He didn't cry once. For the first time ever I let him play with the gross, dirty toys in the corner of the cardiac waiting room. I remember last year at our appointment thinking I would never let my kid touch those toys even if he was 100% healthy. We've come a long way.

Big Day

Thursday is Grant's annual cardiology visit at U of M. This is the day that they do an EKG, Echo etc. Up until this point they have always had to sedate Grant to do the tests. This year I have requested to do the tests unsedated. If you know Grant then you know that he is a very active guy, so this could be challenging. They will give it one try and if he is not cooperating then they will have to put him out. We know that with God all things are possible. Would you please join us in praying that he will not have to be sedated? We don't expect them to find anything wrong with his heart, but we'd appreciate your continued prayers for a healthy heart!

What they're in to

Grant- Loves his "yown time (alone time), which consists of sitting quietly in his crib reading for about 45 minutes a day. Is amazing at sharing with Kate. He constantly asks where she is and wants to give his toys to her (not his favorite ones, of course). Is into nuts and protein bars. Thinks they are as good as cookies. (Like father, like son). Is super sensitive. When Elmo lost his blanket in a movie the other day he cried. :)Loves the slide at the water park but still hates to get his hair washed.

Kate- Loves to climb up and down stairs. We do this every morning from about 5:45-7:00am while Grant is still asleep. Is a great eater. Loves to kiss any pictures in books of babies. Loves purses. She has several play purses now and slings them over her shoulder and walks around. Is super tough. She gets shoved, pushed, hit and falls all the time but she never cries when she is physically hurt. She gets right back up and fights back. Roars at the stuffed lion every time she sees it in the playroom. Doesn't need much sleep.(boo)Loves to snuggle and "honk" noses. She gave me a nose bleed yesterday because she accidently shoved her finger up my nose before I could stop her.

Bath Time

The other day Derme gave Grant and Kate a spaghetti bath...

Feeling Better

Grant is feeling so much better! The antibiotics are working and Grant's fever is gone. He is still really grumpy, but I think that is to be expected after all he's been through. Thank you for your prayers!

Sick Grant

Just got back from getting chest x-rays at the hospital. Grant was diagnosed with atypical pneumonia. This means that instead of having pneumonia in one area of the lungs he has it in three. He is really miserable. We start two antibiotics today. Please pray for quick healing.

7 seconds

Kate and Grant started swim lessons about a month ago. At the facility there are two pools side by side, so Kate and I go in one pool and Grant goes in the other all by himself. This was really tough for him at the beginning, but last week he actually earned a ribbon that said, "I put my face in the water." For a kid who screams getting his hair washed this was a big accomplishment. He is fine being away from me now and is learning great skills like taking turns, in addition to learning how to swim.

In addition to being part monkey Kate is part fish. Today she went underwater for 7 seconds! She isn't phased in the slightest. I think I could probably keep her under for longer but I couldn't handle it. She loves the baby slide the best but hasn't learned yet to close her mouth when she goes down it so she doesn't get a mouthful.