The faces of Kate

Together Forever

Grant and Kate are officially easier to take care of when they are together. They entertain each other, play together and sometimes Grant even shares with his sister. :) Grant is trying to teach Kate to talk. He gets in her face and yells, "say MAMA, Kate, MAMA!"

Grant is also in the midst of potty training. Our au pair, Derme, is taking the lead on this one. Grant does not want to sit on the potty for anyone but her. He has had some success in this area the last couple of days. He gets an almond when he sits on the potty and an M&M when he goes. Hopefully it won't be long and we'll be rid of the diapers for good!

Florida Pictures

Snot

The kids are both getting over colds. The good news is that Grant weathered this cold really well. I mean, really well. He fought it off in a short amount of time (usually it hangs on for about 14-16 days and this one was gone in 8) and it didn't slow him down a bit.
They both still have slightly runny noses. Yesterday after the kids' naps they were playing in Grant's crib when Grant looked at me and said (with a hint of disgust), "Mom, please wipe Kate's nose!" I left the room to get a Kleenex and when I came back I overheard Grant explaining to Kate what a bugger was while he was picking her nose. She was just sitting there smiling all the while. She is never that happy when I wipe her nose!

Teething

We just got back from a wonderful trip to Florida. We were able to visit both sets of grandparents and enjoyed trips to the zoo and farm, catching bugs, building sandcastles and swimming. Actually, Grant enjoyed all those things. Our sweet Kate didn't care where she was as long as there was something to chew on.

"fall down"

After Grant's nap everyday I take Kate up to Grant's room and put her in his crib. They wrestle and play for a while before one of them has enough. In this video Grant is a bit rough, but be assured that the noises coming from Kate are happy noises. She is such a good sport.

Sunday

Picture this scene: It is Sunday afternoon and Grant has just woken up from his nap. Dad entices Grant out of his crib by asking him if he wants to vacuum. Dad secretly loves lines in the carpet so this is a treat for dad too. They go to the closet to both get vacuums out. Meanwhile Kate and I are sitting on Grant's bedroom floor. Then, around the corner appears two very loud males with very loud vacuums. Kate looks like a deer in headlights. I think she was shaking. She grabs onto me and I hold her tight. All this vacuuming is a bit much for both of us. But, our guys love to clean.

Let me back up to yesterday. Yesterday Grant saw dad ironing shirts. (Right now you are thinking that Jim is a super husband or I am a housewife who doesn't do her job.) Grant is thrilled to have a new hobby and now we have an ironing board in the playroom. Stay tuned for photos.

kate stands

The Vacuum Never Dies

As you can see by this photo Grant is still into vacuuming. We use a variety of vacuums so that we never get bored. In the morning it is usually the dustbuster, in the afternoon the Oreck and in the evening the pretend kids vacuum. In between we sweep. We could eat dinner off the floor.

I don't know if you can tell in this photo of Kate but her exersaucer is piled high with toys that don't belong there. When she was in it this morning Grant decided that she needed more toys so one by one he piled toys around her and eventually on top of her. She laughed the whole time. It has been fun to see them interact more. They played their first "game" together last night. Grant was taking a bath and Kate was standing outside it (yes, she can pull herself to a stand now- we think she's superwoman) and he would line up shampoo bottles on the side of the tub and she would knock them in. They would both laugh and do it again. It is fun to get glimpses of what they will be like playing together a year from now.

Kate's funny crawl

Welcome Derme

Last Friday our family welcomed Derme, an au pair here on a cultural exchange program. She came all the way from South Africa and will be living with us for a year. She will be taking classes, helping with the kids and learning about American culture. We have had so much fun already in such a short time. We know God hand picked Derme for our family. Here are a few pictures of Derme with the kids.

Recovery

Grant is out of surgery and is experiencing a "normal" recovery (alternating between crying and sleeping). Below is a verse God spoke to me yesterday when I was praying for Grant:

"You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. Oh Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!" Psalm 30:11-12

We are so thankful for God's provision.

Surgery

Tomorrow morning at 9am Grant has surgery for his hernia. We have been preparing him for several days now by pretending to do surgery on his doll, Lucy. He loves hearing the little skit that I do with Lucy and the doctor and often says, "more surgery!" when I finish. Please pray for his surgery tomorow, and for peace for me too. It's funny because my child has had open heart surgery and this surgery is no big deal compared to that. But still, the word surgery still brings back painful memories at this point. Thanks for your prayers and support.

A Few Of My Favorite Things

Grant:
food: sausage patties. Precooked and frozen.
activity: hiding in bathrooms and closets when I'm not looking.
toy: blocks. He loves to build tunnels and towers and put his little people in them
book: The Little Engine that Could.
person: daddy. He can't get enough. Today dad put him on a raft and let him slide down the stairs. I played a counting game with him. I don't have a chance. :)
Phrase: "Grant do it. All by self!"
Least favorite thing to do: Drink milk at meals.
Favorite dessert: cookies and M & M's. Yesterday when he woke up I asked him what he was dreaming about and he said, "cookies and M & M's."

Kate:
food: sweet potatoes. The only solid she'll eat.
toy: anything of Grant's
person: Grant. She laughs when he jumps, she laughs when he laughs, she even laughs when he takes her toys away. She is totally captivated by him.
activity: eating books. Bedtime stories have been taken to a whole new level.
dislikes: loud noises and loud people. She cries when people talk loudly.
bedtime: 7:30pm
waketime: 5:30am. It was 7:15 until this week. Not sure what is happening but I'm not a fan.

The Inchworm

Kate is a little inch worm. She has not mastered crawling yet, but she is determined to get across the room. So, she moves by thrusting her butt up in the air and then flinging herself forward. It is really quite a sight. I don't think it will be long before she is crawling because she already wants everything that Grant has. Grant's favorite line is, "no Baby Kate! Grant's!" :) Welcome to life with a two year old.

Actually, I think Grant is pretty sweet for a two year old. He always reminds us not to slip when we leave the house and says "God Bless you," whenever we sneeze. The other day we pulled into our driveway and I realized that Grant couldn't walk into the house because he didn't have shoes on. (Long story) So, I told him he had to stay in his carseat while I quickly ran baby Kate into the house. I said, "By the time you count to 10 I'll be back." I sprinted Kate in to the house and when I came back out to get Grant I asked him, "Did you count to 10?" He looked at me with a totally straight face and said, "No, forty." How does he even know the number 40? Was he trying to be funny? I get a kick out of everything that comes out of his mouth. Okay, almost everything.

Florida Pictures

Good Times

Grant's 2nd Birthday

Surgery Postponed

Grant's hernia surgery was supposed to be this week, but because of a cold we had to reschedule for January. I'll keep you posted when it gets closer.

Other big news- Grant stopped taking the bottle this weekend. Hooray!

ABC's

How we spent our Saturday

We had quite a bit of snow today. All day Grant was talking about sledding, so after his nap daddy took him sledding at the park right by our house. Kate loves her bath. I think she could lounge in it all day. Mommy and Kate stayed warm in the house.

Coffee Please

Today Grant and I went to the mall to look at Christmas decorations. Grant's favorite things (next to vacuums) are Christmas trees. After we looked at all the trees we went to the food court for lunch. After ordering I turned to Grant and asked him what he wanted to drink, fully expecting him to say water. Instead he looked at me with a totally straight face and said, "coffee." I turned to the man to pay and get a couple of waters and then looked over to see why Mr.Chatterbox was so quiet. He had taken the handiwipes and was meticulously wiping down the counter of the restaurant stand.When we were done eating Grant turned to me and said, "thank you for paying for my food, mommy." He is just too precious. Everyday I am so thankful for how healthy he is and how much joy he brings to our lives.

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful thanksgiving at Aunt Jane and Uncle Dave's house. Kate snuggled up and watched the action. Grant loved tagging along with his older cousins. He enjoyed 3 cupcakes and purposely (I think)dropped some crumbs on the floor so he could vacuum. He is obsessed! He vacuumed three rooms, including one that no one went in.

Fun at Grandma and Grandpa's House

Tonight all four siblings and two spouses met up at my parents house for dinner. It is so much fun to all be together and unfortunately, happens less frequently these days with the boys living in California. Kate and Grant had fun being the center of attention.

Grant's cooking experiment

Hernia update

We went to see the urologist today and he confirmed that Grant does indeed have a hernia that needs operating on. It will only require one day in the hospital and is (hopefully) not going to be a big deal. Details to follow.

In order to bribe Grant to leave the cool toys in the doctor's office waiting room I told him he could have his own Christmas tree when we got home. So, I dug out a little Christmas tree that Jim and I got the first year we were married and told Grant it was his. I also ended up giving him some of his birthday presents early.(It was a long morning at the doctor's office and I was feeling bad for him.) He loved Mr.Potato Head. After 30 minutes of putting Mr.Potato back together and then taking him apart Grant looked at me and said, "Mama's working hard."

What is funny about this statement is that Jim read somewhere that it builds good self esteem in children if you praise them for their efforts, not their accomplishments. Clearly we have been giving Grant praise for his hard work lately. Grant's other funny statements as of late include, "Whatcha doing mama?" and "How are you today, mommy?" He never really wants an answer, but I guess he figures it is polite to ask.

Not-so-well Visit

We took the kids in for their well visits today at the pediatrician and we got some not so great news. They think Grant has a hernia. We have an appointment with a specialist on Monday. Please pray that his hernia goes away and that he does not have to have surgery.

Other than that the kids were pronounced well. And tall. Grant is just shy of 3 feet and Kate is 27 inches. The highlight was when the doctor asked Grant what she should look at first- nose or mouth- and he replied, "ears." His ear fetish is still going strong. He falls asleep with a pacifier in each ear. Weird.

Kate rolls over

Kate has turned into a little rolly polly. She loves to lay on the floor and suck on a burp cloth and then roll over. She has to be the longest 3 month old ever. She is wearing 6-9 month clothes now and just got her first 12 month old sleeper. We still aren't sure where our kids got these tall genes that put them in the 100th percentile in height. Here's a picture of Kate just as she rolls over for the second time.

Big Brother

I continue to be amazed by how much Grant loves Kate. This morning when we went in his room to get him he was struggling to pull a picture out of his photo album. When Jim asked him what he was doing he told us he was trying to take baby Kate's picture out of the album so he could hug her. He always wants to know where she is and he constantly wants to include her in what he's doing. Lately he's been trying to feed her Halloween candy. He loves tickling her feet and she seems to enjoy the attention even though he's a bit rough.

Trick-or-Treat

Our two pumpkins

Good Times

Cider Mill

Grant loves the cider mill. Lindsay literally takes him three times a week. The pictures here are from when he went last week with his babysitter, Peggy. Thank you, Peggy, for loving Grant as if he were your own!

Chubby cheeks

Kate is growing like a weed and has the cutest chubby cheeks! She has such a sweet personality. The other day she laid on my lap and let me read books to her for 45 minutes! She loves to be snuggled and has started to coo. She puts anything she can get her hands on into her mouth. She is a super flexible baby and will fall asleep anywhere. It is hard to believe such different children can come from the same set of parents. God is so creative.

It is hard to get pictures of Grant these days. Every time I take out the camera Grant runs over to it and says, "Grant see, Grant see," even before I have a chance to snap a shot of him. He is loving the fall, making piles of leaves and jumping into them. He's also really into spiders and bugs. Every afternoon he takes a stick and goes "spider web hunting," looking to destroy anything that remotely resembles a spiderweb. He has also learned to gallop. It is the perfect mode of transportation for him because it embodies the joy that he exudes with each step.

Heaven Has Blue Carpet

I have a famous mother-in-law! What began several years ago as a simple record for her grandchildren accounting her life on a hobby farm eventually turned into a published book by Thomas Nelson (big time publisher in the Christian book world).

It was released on October 12 and I just finished reading it cover to cover. It is amazing. Not only was it fun to read countless stories of Jim as a toddler (he was just shy of two when his parents bought the farm),I learned how the Niedzinskis experienced firsthand the amazing truths buried in the many Scriptures referencing God as our Shepherd.

This book, titled "Heaven Has Blue Carpet," can be bought on Amazon, found at Borders & Barnes and Noble or ordered directly from Jim's mom's website (www.sharonniedzinski.com). Reading it gave me even more respect (if that is possible) for my amazing mother-in-law who ran a farm while raising six children. Did I mention she vacuumed the barn? When is the last time I vacuumed my house?!