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!