Baby Grant Comes Home

Grant on day one.



Here's Grant doing what he does best: sleep ... except at night when he's supposed to!! :)



Aaron suddenly looked SO big! He seems delighted to have another little guy join the family!



Aaron cruising in his grandparents' truck.

We brought Grant Michael home from the hospital last Saturday the 16th. He was born May 14th at exactly 9 a.m. Prompt little guy. :) He has been such a joy since. He weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. Aaron seems delighted to have a new little brother. He has shown a few signs of jealousy but mostly he seems interested in the baby, manifested by the fact that he constantly asks for "baby" and always wants to snuggle up to him. We're teaching him the meaning of "gentle." We were so grateful for Mike's parents who watched Aaron during our stay in the hospital. We're looking forward to having my mom come stay with us next week.

Grant has been a delight ... other than the fact that he has his days and nights mixed up. Aaron didn't have that problem, so this is all new to us. Grant is wide awake during the wee hours of the morning and sleeps perfectly soundly all day long. I think he's slowly learning and adjusting though -- last night was better, thank goodness. I forgot what it's like to have a newborn and the sleep deprivation that comes with it!!

It's been wonderful having Mike home during this time. Definitely couldn't have survived without him and all his help. He is so awesome with Aaron. I'm sure Aaron will miss all the one-on-one time he's had with his dad. Mike returns to work this Tuesday and then the fun really begins!!! Wish me luck. :)

p.s. Majority ruled when it came to naming the baby! Thanks for your votes! In the end Mike and I felt good about the name. It seems to fit him.

Our Little Cowboy

These photos were taken at Mike's parents' house. We were visiting them and Mike's aunt and uncle who were in town. Aaron has a fetish with trying on other people's shoes, and Mike's uncle's cowboy boots were no exception. Aaron happened to be wearing a country-ish shirt. Throw the Western belt around him, and we've got a cowboy on our hands. Doesn't take much. ;)

I decided to write a little bit about Aaron while I have a few minutes - or days - before the baby appears. Today I was thinking about how wonderful the last 19 months have been - how I have LOVED spending this time with Aaron. And then it dawned on me that I still get many more years with him, although it won't be quite the same with his sidekick by his side. :) Here are a few memories as of late:

-Today we were searching for my cell phone (it's been missing for the past few days.) I recalled that Aaron was the last one who had it, so I asked him where the cell phone was. After a few minutes of searching, Aaron opened the cabinet doors beneath the sink and retrieved the phone. I couldn't believe he remembered he hid it there! I never would have checked there. Good thing he did!

- Aaron's been really cute about giving hugs lately. He's especially fond of hugging his dad. Last night when Mike came home from work, he asked Aaron for a hug. Not only did Aaron give him a hug, but he kept going back and giving him hug after hug, for a total of probably about 10 hugs. He sure loves his daddy!

- Yesterday he said 'baby' for the first time. I wonder if he senses something ...

It's just been so fun to witness all the amazing stages of this child's life. I wouldn't trade this job for the world. Check back with me when I'm juggling two under 2 ... ;)

The Name Game

We're back to the drawing board as far as boy names go. We had decided on the name Grant, but then the name Joshua came to mind, so I reopened the discussion. Big mistake!! This caused Mike to revert back to his all-time favorite name of Calvin. Now Mike keeps calling the baby 'Calvin,' and since I'm not firm on a name, I can't say anything.

So we need some help. Voting is to the upper right. Please pick your favorite name out of these three or mark 'other' if you have a different suggestion and then leave a comment with the name. Johnny is not an option. ;)

We're at such a loss about what to name this kid that I'm afraid we'll end up picking a name out of thin air, like Bob or something. I'm sure the name will come to us ... it will just be fun to see what you guys think! :)

Little Aaron Loves the Park!

The weather was fabulous today. Some friends invited us to the park, and it was so great to be outside and breathe some fresh air. I discovered how much Aaron adores the slide ... I think he went down it at least 20 times. Can't complain though. I am so glad this boy loves to be outside! I can thank his Dad for that. :)



Little Aaron lining up behind his friend Oliver.



Getting ready to take the plunge.



And he's off!



"Just ten more times, Mom!" :)



Loved the swing, too!

The Personality of a 17-Month-Old

This is just for my own recollection. :)

For the first time tonight, Aaron gave Mike and me goodnight kisses on the cheek. Sooo sweet! He's also been really into praying. If I forget to pray before a meal, he'll remind me by patting his wrist with his hand (that's his signal for 'pray'.) Talk about being put in my place! :) When we pray he'll fold his hands and bow his head. Closing the eyes will come later, I'm sure. :) Don't know if he's totally got it down though ... the other day he fed me a Cheerios during the prayer. :) Anyway, it's fun to see the growth and progress in this little guy. He's starting to say "hi" and "hello" and says "uh-oh," "daddy," "mama," and "me" lots. He loves to laugh and play outside. Such a fun stage!

Only one month until he goes into nursery at church, but who's counting? ;)

Snowy Day

Here is Aaron watching his first real snowfall -- on March 1, no less.







And loving playing in it! The cold doesn't seem to phase him a bit! We weren't prepared with boots and such since it hasn't snow here all winter. We made do. :) After all, we weren't going to deprive the kid of his first real snow. I've never seen someone so excited about snow. Glad somebody likes it. ;) He had fun, and we had a blast out there with him!

Some Random Photos

This one's for Mindy! A couple of weekends ago we enjoyed a visit with Mindy's sister Maryanne, Maryanne's cute daughter Emily, Maryanne's husband, and Mindy's parents. Mindy -- where were you?? :) Missed you! (This might be the only picture you get of me pregnant.) :)


That same weekend we met our new niece Leah for the first time. She is so beautiful! We were able to attend her baby blessing while there. Aaron loved her and was so tender with her. He wanted to make her happy! We hope he has the same kind of love for his little brother who's on the way.


Sixteen months - Aaron can feed himself with a spoon! So cute and so very messy! (Especially since he refuses to wear a bib ... ) The boy loves to eat. Apparently he also loves this brush! Gotta love the wild hair ...