Happy 1st Birthday, Kate

Dear Kate,
The first year of your life has flown by. I'm excited by the sweet personality that we see developing. You are observant, determined, obedient and curious. I love to watch you squeal with delight when you go down the slide at swimming class or when dad pulls you in the wagon. I am so thankful for the way you and Grant get along. It melts my heart when you reach out and kiss him. May you two always be the best of friends. I'm so impressed by the fierce determination I see when you climb the stairs or get back on your feet after Grant accidentally knocks you over. I pray you would use that determination to fight for the down-and-out in years to come. You are a true early bird! Use that time wisely in years to come, spending time with God each morning before you start your day. There is nothing I pray more often for you than for you to know God and make Him known. Let His love settle over you tonight as you sleep and may you receive all the good things He has in store for you.

A beautiful bar

Today I took Grant to a new park. While we were there we got hungry so I decided to take him to a pub that I spotted down the street for a quick bite to eat. When we walked in Grant said really loudly, "Mom, this place is soooo beautiful!" Is that embarressing or what?! Everyone looked at us and started laughing. When the hostess came up to us Grant looked her in the face and said, "I really like this place." This kid needs to get out more. :)

Jesus is hiding

Yesterday Grant, Kate and I had band practice in the basement. I was the singer and lead guitar player, Grant was the drummer and Kate was on the xylophone. I was singing the song, "Lord, I lift your name on High" when I realized that Grant might not know who "Lord" was. So, here's how our conversation went:

Mom: Grant, did you know that Lord is the same person as God and Jesus?
Grant: Where is Jesus?
Mom: He is in heaven. Well, he's here too. He's all around us. Does that make sense?
Grant: I know where he is. He's hiding. I'll find him!
Mom: Grant, it doesn't really work like that. We can't see him.
Grant: Don't worry, I'll find him. Jesus, where are you??? (then, he proceeded to open all the doors and drawers)

Wow, teaching my kids about Jesus is going to be more of a challenge than I ever realized! :)

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.

Detroit

This weekend we spent the day in Detroit at aunt Lindsay and Uncle Josh's new house. The kids adore Lindsay and Josh and had a blast exploring in their house and yard. For his nap we put Grant in a pack and play in their bedroom. At one point while he was supposed to be sleeping we heard a really loud noise coming from the bedroom. After a few minutes we went up and Grant had jumped and rocked in his pack and play so hard that he managed to travel about 6 feet to Lindsay's nightstand. There he grabbed the pepper spray and Tylenol bottle. Even the pack and play can't contain him. Close call.

Fun with Words

I've been trying to get Kate to watch "Baby Signing Time" videos for months now. (They were so helpful in teaching Grant to communicate.) She has no interest. In fact, she has no interest in any children's videos. She only likes HGTV. I'm serious. So, I've been trying to teach her to sign on my own and she's finally got it! She can sign more, all done, night-night and milk. It is great to finally be able to understand a bit of what she is trying to communicate.

Grant, on the other hand, has no trouble expressing himself. The other day we were waiting in line at the Troy Aquatic Center (waterpark type place) and he was getting impatient. I told him we had to wait in line to pay money. He must have thought I said we were waiting to "get money" because he marched right up to the window and said, "Excuse me, we need money please to buy food and clothes and toys." The women at the counter just laughed so the persistent little fellow went to the next window. The mom there was holding her credit card out to give the cashier when it was swiped by Grant. He gave her a huge smile and said, "We need money." Then he nodded his head a few times and attempted to walk off.

What they're up to

Grant- Before every nap/bedtime he requests, "sing about my day," so Jim and I change the words to familiar songs to recap to Grant what he did that day. Has also learned to use "my tummy hurts" as a form of manipulation around bedtime or if he doesn't want to eat something.

Kate- Has learned how to kiss. If you ask her to give you a kiss she'll lunge forward with her mouth wide open and plant a wet one on ya. Loves to play hide and seek. In the mornings while Grant is still sleeping I hide in the kitchen/dining room and she runs around looking for me. Every time she finds me she belly laughs like she's never done this before.

Rock Star

When we went to a garage sale the other day I told Grant he could pick out a few things. He chose a top hat and a guitar. He has not put the guitar down since. Here's him playing one of his songs. It is called, "Bringin'" and the chorus is "bringing balls and blinds" in case you can't understand him.

Smiles All Around

My favorite picture is the one of Grant wearing my silver heels. He walked all over the house in them and Kate followed him around like a little puppy. When he finally took them off she tried to eat them. Okay, I guess she's more like a puppy than I first realized.

"Talk about it"

This post may not make sense to anyone, but I have to blog it so that 20 years from now we can look back at it and laugh.

For several months now Grant has been requesting that we repeat a sequence of events that happened in the past by saying something like, "The flood. Talk about it." He has three main events that he wants repeated:
1) "Do not walk on it. Talk about it."- Grandma and Grandpa Ned, this one would make you smile. It is about the shuffleboard court near your house with the sign that said, "Please do not walk on court."
2)"Man fall down." A few months ago Grant when started his obsession with car washes Jim played a video on the internet of a man who went into a car wash and slipped. He wants a replay of exactly what happened to the man with the soap, blow dryers etc.
3. "The flood." Our basement flooded last month and they had to rip up all the carpet, baseboards and do many other things involving all sorts of tools that little boys want to get their hands on.

The funny part about these stories is that Grant literally asks to hear them 20 times a day. ANY time there is a moment of silence he chimes in, "Tell about 'Do not walk on it.'" Sometimes I just talk about other things without a breath so that I don't have to repeat these three series of events. :)

Two Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Storytime

New Bike

The other day my sister in law suggested that Grant is old enough to ride a bike. This really excited me because I imagined hours of fun in the driveway this summer. So, all weekend long we told Grant that mommy was going to take him to pick out his very own bike. When we finally arrived at Toys R Us Grant was thrilled. However, the idea of a bike quickly got lost in the rows of balls, trucks, hammers, spaceships and legos. Why did the bike section have to be at the back of the store? We finally made our way back there and he picked out his very own 10 inch florescent green bike. When we got home I jumped out of the car, ripped the tags off and sat Grant on the seat. I was pushing him around in the driveway for a few minutes when he jumped off the bike and went running for the garage. By the time I caught up with him he had a broom in each hand. "Let's sweep, Mama!" So much for the bike. If it's not vacuuming, it's sweeping the garage.

From Grant's mouth...

"Kate, you look so pretty today!"
"Mom, why does dad call you honey?"
"Mom, watch out- Kate's trouble."
"Let's keep our eyes peeled for car washes."

Quirks

Every kid has their quirks. Grant's had quite a few of them, but one of his most recent really cracks me up. You see, he's had a sound machine in his room that generates white noise since he was a baby. Recently he's discovered that the sound machine also makes other noises, most notably a heartbeat. He calls this "mup-mup," and wants it on constantly. When we're reading books in his room he requests "mup-mup" on in the background. When he's playing with toys he quietly goes over and turns the dial to "mup-mup" and then looks at me with a wide grin. Isn't it ironic that our little boy with the repaired heart loves the sound of a healthy heartbeat in the background?

We call her spiderwoman

Kate loves to climb everything. Here's what happened yesterday when Jim was trying to get something out of the fridge while holding her. She's a little monkey.

Remember when...

Today Grant "graduated" from the Early On program. Since Grant was 3 months old someone from the program has been coming to our house on a regular basis to evaluate Grant and work with him on various goals we set. Today his teacher announced that he has met all of the goals and she was going to close his case. This makes Grant officially "normal" in every area. He's right on track in all areas, he can be in group situations that may have germs and he doesn't have any further medical treatment. (He does have to have tests done on his heart once a year as a preventative measure, but no further surgeries are needed.)

Over dinner tonight I sat with Jim delivering the good news and he began to play, "remember when...", thanking God for how far Grant has come. Remember when he laid unconscious in the hospital bed? Remember when he was on 14 medications? Remember when we had to pin him down to do his breathing treatments? We went on and on. He has come so far. We are beyond thankful. Go God!

Doctor's Visit

Kate went to the orthopedic surgeon today for a more complete examination of her leg/foot. The doc was really positive and said that she will most likely outgrow both the bow-leggedness and the intoeing. He even said that physical therapy isn't necessary. Yippee! That give us much more time to do fun activities of our own.

We've been playing at the nearby parks as much as possible. Grant loves the slides and the tire swing. He also loves to jump out and say "peek-a-boo" to all the older kids. I think it is adorable but the kids think it is a little weird. Kate loves the baby swing and could sit in it for hours. She loves to watch the kids, especially the other babies. I am starting to love having the kids so close in age. It is really nice to do the same activity with both of them.

Random Pics

Here are a random smattering of pictures that I've been meaning to post. We have everything from Charleston to a visit from Uncle Hal and a few pictures in between.

Walking

A peek at baby Kate's first steps..

Milestones

We hit a couple of major milestones this week. First, Grant started gym class at the YMCA. The reason this is such a big deal is that it is the first time he's offically allowed out with no germ restrictions. He touched all the same stuff as the other kids and I didn't even have to talk to the teacher about his "special needs" because he really doesn't have any anymore. I still sanitized his hands a couple of times, because no one likes a sick kid, ya know?

Kate started walking this week! She's not even 9 months. The scenario often looks like this- she walks, we cheer, she looks at us cheering and starts crying and then she falls down. We're learning to have poker faces. :)

Wedding picts

Going to the chapel...

No pictures for a few days because we are in Charleston, South Carolina for my brother's wedding. This is the life! We are staying right on the water and the kids are in heaven. There are sand dunes in front of our house and Grant can entertain himself for hours going up and down the dunes. I read a flyer that said you have to pay $500 fine for climbing the dunes. Hope we don't get caught. :) Grant loves the excitement of having so many friends and family around. When he walks into a room he yells, "Hi everybody!" Kate, on the other hand clings to me for dear life in the midst of the crowd. What different children I have. Tomorrow is the rehearsal and the wedding is on Sunday. It is extra exciting because Jim is marrying Bryan and Kristen and Grant and I are in the wedding too. We've been reviewing Grant's role with him daily so hopefully it will go off without a hitch. If not we're sure to get a few laughs.

Physical therapy....again!

Kate continues to want to be like her big brother. So much so that she will be starting physical therapy in a few weeks. :) The last couple of months as she cruised around furniture we noticed she was kind of pigeon-toed and would step on one foot with the other. Today I took her to the doctor and they diagnosed her with tibia torsion. Please be praying that her leg would straighten out and that she would walk normally.

Other than that the kids are healthy and doing great. Starting in May Grant will be allowed to be around kids with no restrictions. This is so awesome and unbelievable to us. It has been such a long journey keeping him inside. We have not gone to church as a family ever because we couldn't put Grant in children's ministry. We feel such freedom and excitement.

Peek-a-boo

We've been busy moving so I have not had time to blog lately but we are finally starting to get settled. Although our new place is much larger, the kids are sharing a bedroom for the first time. I was dreading it and heard it might take months before they learned to block out each other's cries. Thankfully, it has turned out great. The first night was a bit long, but other than that they are doing great. It is actually easier to get them dressed and put them to bed having everything all in once place. Bedtime is extra fun because Kate sits on my lap and Grant sits on Jim's and the four of us read stories. It has become a special time for all of us.

Easter Eggs

The high point of Grant's day was dying Easter eggs. Kate wanted desperately to get in on the fun and worked hard to dodge Grant's foot as he tried to kick her away. She ended up tearing off a piece of newspaper that kept her busy for a bit.

The low point of Grant's day was naptime. We took the pacifier away on Friday and he still has not learned how to soothe himself to sleep during the day. He has not napped since Friday. Yikes! We are praying he catches on soon.

Potty time meets dress up time

Funny Grant Phrases

Two year olds say the funniest things. Last night a good friend came over to babysit Grant. When she tucked Grant in at night he yelled, "Peggy, call me!"

This weekend Grant and I were doing an art project, which consisted of cutting faces out of magazines and gluing them on paper. Grant kept wanting to stick his finger in the gluestick tube and mush it up. Although he is only two I told him that this wrecks the glue stick and I asked him please not to. To which he replied, "grandma said it's okay." (I'm positive he and grandma have never used glusticks together..)

The other day I gave Grant his lunch and said to him, "Grant, what do you say?" Without so much as a smile he replied, "donkie." (This is how you say thank you in Afrikaans, which is Derme's native language.) When we were at the pool in Florida someone asked him when his birthday was and he told the man in Afrikkans! He hears Derme speak it and has just started incorporating it into his vocabulary. Pretty cool.

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