Sunday, April 28, 2013

Grant's 6 month pictures

Spring has finally sprung and we couldn't be more excited! We will try to block out the 5 day forecast which is projecting a rain/snow mixture later this week. In the meantime, we soaked up the sun this weekend. I had Friday off work so we started our day with a walk to the park.  We have a park in our development which is probably 1/2 a mile away (across the street from our development's pool).  I have a feeling we will be making that walk frequently this summer.  Ava had a great time climbing, swinging, and sliding down the slides.  We then took a walk down to the lake and watched the ducks.  It was so nice to feel the sunshine.  Our afternoon was spent with sidewalk chalk on our driveway. 

Saturday morning we were out the door before 9:00 to get to the zoo when they opened.  We are only 4 miles from the zoo so decided to get a family membership.  We will definitely get our money's worth.  We had a good time, however it was definitely a learning experience.  We figured that Ava wouldn't want to be in a stroller and it may be a pain to get her in and out at each animal exhibit so we left the stroller at home and I just carried Grant in our Boba carrier which is very comfortable even after a couple of hours.  We didn't realize how far it is between the exhibits though.  We walked over 3 miles (part of that carrying a 40 lb little girl who was tired).  Next time we will be taking the stroller, water, and snacks.  :)  Ava had a great time, and Grant seemed to enjoy it while he was awake (which wasn't for that long).  We will definitely go back soon...both kids took almost 3 hr naps!

Mema and Boppa came over after nap to play and for dinner.  Ava and Mema were covered in sidewalk chalk in no time.  Grant hung out with the guys in the garage as Daddy was putting some shelves up in the garage.  I had to run to the MOA.  Nate and I have been debating for quite some time now about getting a new bed.  We need one but couldn't decide on what we wanted.  We finally made the big decision and went with a Sleep Number bed so I ran to the mall to order it.  I'm hoping that we'll be happy with it and that it will somehow live up to its promise of providing better sleep.  By the time I got home Ava had already eaten and Grant was in the process.  Well, he was trying to eat.  It was quite the sight.  Boppa was holding him while Mema was trying to feed the little turkey.  He had food on his face, up his right nostril, and in his right eye.  I should have taken a picture.  After he was down the rest of us got to enjoy dinner (grilled burgers).  There are few things better than grilled summer food!

This morning we were out the door early again.  We went to get Grant's 6 month pictures taken.  I told myself before leaving the house that I wasn't going to spend that much money on them.  Well, 3 hrs later and a lot of money later we came home with lots of pictures.  :)  Grant did a great job.  Ava even got in on some of them and had a couple taken of herself.  After nap time we went to Home Depot and got some ceiling fans for the spare bedroom as well as Ava and Grant's room.  Daddy gets the privilege of installing those.  We also had to check out storm doors.  With the weather getting nicer it would be nice to be able to have our front door open and just a storm door there for some ventilation.  There's always stuff to spend money on even with a new house!

We hope that you enjoyed this beautiful weekend and were able to soak up some sun.  Wishing you a wonderful start to your week!


 
Grant's first trip to the MN zoo (yes he is sleeping under that hat)
This was supposed to be a fall jacket for the football games since it is an 18 month jacket.  Well, it is now a spring jacket since it fits him perfectly
Whoever said this is a 12-24 month old hat has never seen the size of a Veldman head
Sadly enough the "youth" size fits my 6 month old much better
The kids's Porterhouse Nation shirts arrived today.  Some of you may not know about Porterhouse (I don't know how you couldn't).  My good friends Erin and Kevin have a bulldog named Porterhouse.  He is not just any bulldog.  He won the Drake most beautiful bulldog contest a few years ago, and for the past couple of years he has been Drake's official live mascot.  He is also a foster brother, a therapy dog, and a huge spokesperson (spokesdog maybe) for the Illinois English Bulldog Rescue. (IEBR).  A woman in Des Moines is making these shirts and selling them, all profits go to IEBR.  If you're interested you can find them on etsy by typing in Porterhouse Nation. 
Grant was super pumped about his Porterhouse t-shirt arriving.  Look at that smile!

Below are Grant's 6 month pictures



This is Grant's gangster pose






Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Weekend in IA/Grant's 6 month birthday

Another busy week has started, after a busy weekend in IA.  We left for De Soto Friday after Nate and I got home from work.  We stopped at Nana's again to visit and for dinner.  Dinner was wonderful and it gave us time to visit as well as give the kids a break from the drive and get them in their pjs.  We got in the door, Ava climbed into the kitchen chair and asked if Uncle Rick was coming.  So, after her request for his presence, he and Aunt Carolyn came over to visit as well.  Thank you Nana for dinner and for letting us stop by!

We got to Aunt Lisa and Uncle Brent's around 11:30 Friday night.  Thankfully the kids went down without any problems.  Saturday Aunt Lisa and Uncle Brent watched our kids so that we could have lunch with our friends Erin and Kevin.  It seems as though it's been forever since we've seen them, so it was so great to catch up even if it was for just a short while.  Nate then went home while I met up with my mom and sister for a short shopping trip.  That evening we got to hang out with Grandma Great and Aunt Lori.  Daddy joined all the other guys for some PBR bull riding in Des Moines.  It was a late night for them.  Sunday we got to help celebrate Reece's 5th birthday.  We got on the road around 1:30 and made it home just in time for baths, dinner, and bed.  It's amazing how quickly the weekends fly by.  Although, it's not just the weekends anymore.  I feel like the weeks and months are flying by.

With that being said, Grant turned 6 months old today.  Honestly, I can not believe that my baby boy is 6 months old!!!  He has his well baby check today and the Dr. said he is "perfect".  He is off the charts in height and head circumference, and is around the 75th percentile for weight.  He weighed 19 lbs, was 29 inches long, and his head was 18 inches.  He's long and lean with a big head I guess.  :)  He did get his 3 shots today.  He cried for maybe 15 seconds and that was it.  He's such a good little guy!  He's been rolling over all the time for the past two days, so Nate finally got to see it when he came home from work tonight (he was out of town last night).  He's also getting pretty good at sitting.  Today I set up his high chair and he's now eating at the table with us.  On Sunday we started him on 3 "meals" a day.  We added bananas to his diet (prior to that he had just had cereal) and he seems to love them.  We'll add something new tomorrow...maybe avocado or squash. 

 
Last Thursday Ava got to be Star of the Day at preschool.  She got to take a book and she chose "Lama Lama Holiday Drama".  I guess it wasn't that inappropriate since we did get half a foot of snow last weekend (then another 8 or so inches last night).  She was very proud of her Star necklace that she got to wear all day, and enjoyed sharing family pictures with the class and being the leader.
Grandma & Ava at Reece's birthday party
Grandpa & Grant
Cousins Reece, Zacky, and Ava (yes, that is a Hawkeye sweatshirt she has on)
Look closely and you can see that tooth!  :)
Grandma Great, Grant, and Great Grandma (that's a lot of G's)
Enjoying a quick piece of birthday cake before hitting the road
One tuckered out little boy!
Enjoying his first meal in the high chair

Happy 6 month birthday buddy!
Grant just adores his sister.  Every time that she gets down next to him and starts talking he just lights up.  I hope that they always love each other like this!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Where is spring

We have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of spring for about a month now. Every time that we get hopeful that it may be arriving we get another snow storm. Yes, I heard that we will once again have a winter weather advisory this week. Ava put it nicely last week when she asked me, "Mommy, why does Mother Nature not like us? I just want it to be spring.". Where does she come up with this stuff?

Although we continue to be stuck inside due to the weather we have been staying extremely busy.  Last Monday we got to have a play date with our friends Cora, Henry, and Kristi.  We miss them now that we live a little farther away, so we were very happy when they volunteered to come to our place.  Ava and Cora are just 2 weeks apart in age, and Grant and Henry are 3 months apart.  Ava was always a bit "bigger" than Cora, but seeing Grant and Henry next to each other made me laugh...what a difference 3 months makes (and Grant may be a bit "bigger boned" than Henry if you want to put it nicely). 

Ava once again had swim lessons on Tuesday.  She absolutely loves them, and I think that Nate really enjoys the time that he gets to spend with just her.  He said that she does really good at them.  They will be done at the end of the month. 

This past weekend I had to work my night shifts so Ava got to have a sleep over at Mema & Boppa's on Saturday.  She made a deal with Boppa that she is going to stop sucking her thumb when spring comes (aka, the snow is gone).  We'll see if she sticks with it.  Grant and Daddy joined her after church and hung out in Maple Grove until Sunday evening so that I could get some sleep.  Glad to have another weekend of nights done!

Yesterday Ava had her first dentist appointment.  She was very excited about it.  She did amazing!  She climbed right up into the chair, opened her mouth the entire time that they were examining her, and let them polish and floss her teeth.  I couldn't believe how good she did. 

Tomorrow is a big day for Ava at preschool.  She gets to be "Star of the day".  She is also very excited about this.  She gets to bring her favorite book and "be the leader" is what she tells me.  Oh the little things in life at that age.  :)  While she is at preschool Grant and I are going to head to his follow-up PT appointment and then a follow-up with the cranial-facial specialist.  I think that he'll check out just fine.  The little poop still hasn't rolled over for me though.  He just looks at me and smiles.  You can't argue with that adorable smile and giggle though!

Friday I work a day shift and will then rush home to pack up the kids so that all of us can head south for a weekend in De Soto to celebrate Reece's 5th birthday.  Nate will spend his Saturday night watching bull riding with the rest of the family while I stay home with our two kids.  Always something new for him when we go to IA.  :)

Thanks for checking in with us!

Some of these pictures a little old, I just downloaded them off my phone.
 
Farmer Grant with a hat that is to small for his head.
Ava has been obsessed with wearing pigtails lately.  She told me this day, "mom, pigtails are awesome"
First trip to the dentist
My happy little man
Putting our hats on before going outside to play
Hanging out on Easter Sunday
Ava helping Daddy clean up outside
Grant, Olivia, & Ava.  This was taken last Saturday when Aunt Sandy and Olivia came to play
Grant and Henry...3 months apart
Cora, Grant, and Henry.  "Thanks for the hand Henry, it tastes delicious!"
Cora, Grant, Henry, & Ava

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Busy week

This past week has been very busy; Easter, new tooth, swim lessons, ECFE, Dr. appointment, preschool, and the list goes on and on.

Our busy week started last Thursday evening when we left for IA for a long Easter weekend.  Daddy got off work a little early and we hit the road with our first stop being Nana's house.  We were surprised when we got to see Aunt Sue, Aunt Carolyn, and Uncle Rick as well.  Nana made us a yummy dinner, we fed the kids, put them in their pjs and headed south for another 3 hours.  We got to Grandma & Grandpa's right around 11:30.

We had a busy weekend while we were down there.  Grandma and Grandpa were nice enough to watch the kids Friday evening while Nate and I got to go out for dinner with our friends Nate and Meredith.  We had so much fun, and enjoyed eating a meal without crying, whining, or spilled milk.  Saturday morning I was able to go and get my hair done, and then got ready for my future sister-in-law, Sara's, bridal shower.  It was great to see everybody at the shower and so nice to spend time with my family over the weekend. 

Sunday morning we went to church and then went back to Grandma & Grandpa's for an egg hunt and to find our baskets.  Then everybody else came over for lunch and we had Aunt Darlene's Easter egg hunt outside.  I was extremely grateful that our kids are so young and their eggs are so easy to find because it was so windy and cold that I didn't want to spend much time outside.  Grant didn't even get to come out to find his.  Ava didn't mind finding both hers and his. 

Monday morning we packed up and headed back to MN.  Daddy ran a few errands while I stayed home with the kids.  He ran to the store to pick up some rice cereal for Grant.  I felt as though Grant was getting hungry before his scheduled feeding time so I thought that maybe it was time to start some cereal even though I didn't want to start it until he was 6 months old.  Then I realized that he's really the size of a 9 month old so it's probably ok.  He hasn't quite figured out the tongue movements that are needed to properly get the food to the back of his mouth, so it's still a very messy meal but he seems to be more satisfied throughout the day.   

Tuesday evening Ava and Daddy started swim lessons.  They are doing them twice a week for the month.  Ava loves getting her new swimsuits on and evidently had a great class on Thursday.  She loves being in the water.  Wednesday was a big day for Grant.  His first tooth popped through his gums.  He's now got a little tooth showing right up front on his lower jaw.  Wednesday and Thursday night Grant was up coughing and awake at 3 am.  I had to get up and feed him both times, hoping that it would maybe help soothe the cough and put him back to sleep.  He continued to cough a little but did eventually get back to sleep (which meant that I got to go back to sleep before getting up at 5 for work).  I decided on Friday that I was just going to take him to the clinic.  So I got the last appointment of the day yesterday and raced there after work.  Sure enough, Grant has another ear infection.  This time in his right ear.  So he's now on another z-pack.  He sure is a happy and giggly little boy for having an ear infection. 

This morning we were going to head to the zoo as a family, but the meteorologist said it was going to rain off and on all morning.  He was extremely wrong and it was sunny and 51 degrees...thanks Mr. horrible forecaster!  Oh well, we made the best of being indoors as Aunt Sandy and Olivia came over to play.  We got to visit for awhile and have lunch together. 

It should be another busy week coming up.  Thanks for checking in with us and we hope that you had a wonderful Easter!

Grandma & Ava dying Easter eggs
 
Uncle Marc, Aunt Sara, and Ava dying Easter eggs
Uncle Marc and Ava watching a movie before bedtime
Storytime with Grandma
Grant enjoying storytime
Grandma, Aunt Sara, Aunt Lisa, Aunt Angie, and me at the bridal shower
Cousins Grant, Jakob, Ava, Reece, Anna, & Zack
Grandma & Grandpa with the grandkids
Uncle Marc and Ava flying her new Dora kite
Aunt Lisa, Zacky, Ava, Reece, Grant, & me
Grant in his Easter outfit

Ava getting ready to go outside to look for eggs.  It was  windy and muddy so she got to wear her rain boots.