"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