This is not a blog

New Photos

2012-02-11T19:55:00.000-08:00

Here are some new pictures people have been hounding me for :)

My photos of Emory's first trip to the beach are on the other camera, and I can't find the cord. So, here are some Aunt Stephanie took.

Welcome, Emory!

2012-01-20T19:18:00.000-08:00

Emory arrived at 8:27on Jan. 18th. She was 8 lbs. 4 oz. and 20 3/4 inches long! Below, she is modeling her hat and blanket knitted by Nana.

We are blessed that she is healthy and that I had an "easy" delivery by C-section. Grady was very excited to meet his little sister.

He was even more excited about how my bed moved up and down and the cool doctors' gloves. Here, he is getting ready to "fix Mommy."

We returned home on Friday, and had some little Creeches come over. Tyler especially enjoyed "holding it."

I am glad Grady likes his sister, but I eventually had to hide Emory from him so he wouldn't poke and prod her anymore.("I want to see her eyes!" "I'm rocking her s-low-ly!" ) I am sure that will wear off pretty quickly!

Happy (?) New Year

2012-01-01T18:36:00.000-08:00

The jump castle...

The pony ride...

We took Grady to the New Year's Eve celebration at Marion Square thinking he might enjoy the pony ride or jump castle, but apparently not. Although he asked to do these things and we waited patiently in line, Grady recalled "falling off" the pony last time and backed out last minute. He also had a meltdown about 3 seconds in to the jump castle. But he had been up super late the night before, so maybe he was a little on edge. He did like getting a "whistle" and walking on the planters that are about 2 feet off the ground. So, at the end of the day, he did have some fun!

Christmas Part 2

2011-12-30T08:29:00.000-08:00

Nana and Pop came for a few days. Here is Grady helping Nana with the Happy Birthday Jesus cake.

Some more baking....

Though Grady loved all of his Christmas gifts...

His favorite might have been his Thomas the Train Spin Brush.

Worn out...

Enjoying Pop's gift...a chocolate fountain!
After Nana and Pop left, we went to the Festival of Lights. Grady enjoyed the carousel with Daddy.

Christmas Visit with Me-Mama and De-Daddy

2011-12-22T17:55:00.001-08:00

De-Daddy and Me-Mama came to visit this week for Christmas. Grady had lots of fun baking gingerbread men with Me-Mama.

He is very proud!

Grady had his tools out and mentioned that he wanted to "build animals Noah ark." We gave him this box from a Christmas gift, and he pretended it was Noah's ark. He put toys in there, and also had a few other passengers along for the ride.

Grady was very excited about the train set he got from Me-Mama and De-Daddy. Here they are testing it out.

Earlier in the week we exchanged gifts with the Creeches. Grady and Tyler both got this tee ball set. Grady insisted on wearing his baseball cap while he played.

Another Birthday Outing

2011-11-12T19:54:00.001-08:00

For Alex's birthday he wanted to canoe down the river.The people who rented us the gear acted like we were crazy. "You know, if you fall in you could get hypothermia." Maybe they knew more about taking a 2 yr old on a canoe than we did. Grady did a great job of sitting and "paddling" for the first 30 minutes, but then wanted to walk around and stick his hands (arms) in the water.

Thankfully, Alex had a grip on his shirt and he did not fall in.

Birthday (Christmas?) Lunch

2011-11-06T19:10:00.000-08:00

To celebrate my birthday, we went to The Cave Restaurant. Yes, it is a restaurant in a cave. The problem was that Grady was so tired after waking up at 5:30 this morning and then having a late lunch, he did not behave. Luckily, there was only one other family in the restaurant. (That is never a good sign for Sunday lunch.) Please note my new black boots, a gift from Grady and Ellen, and located and shipped by Emily.

It was hard to get a good picture in the restaurant because, wait for it, it is dark in the cave. But the only word to describe the decor is "tacky yuletide".

Another example of the decor.

The best thing about this cougar is that Grady kept calling it a "puma." I have no idea where he learned that! Diego? It was very entertaining for Grady because there were also 2 fish ponds and a waterfall inside the cave (behind Grady and Alex).

The food was pretty good and we can now check off "Eat in a cave" off of our bucket list!

Silly Stuff

2011-10-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

Not only did Grady wear this swim diaper as a hat, but he forced me to, as well (no photo of that). He would say that my "biper" was dirty and make me switch to a clean "biper" over and over again.

Grady loves to wear boots- mine, his, or dad's.

Grady likes to pretend he is going to run an errand. He gets his hat, his "person" (purse), and keys and says he is "going to Wal-Mart, see you tomorrow."

Grady after getting into my toiletry bag.

One of the prizes Grady got at a Halloween party was these inflatable...swords? I don't know, but they were loads of fun (for both!)

Grady's "ABCBs!" (Disregard how messy the apartment is in all of my videos!)

Halloween Festivities!

2011-10-31T20:26:00.000-07:00

We have been busy the past few nights going to Halloween and Fall Festivals in town. Here are some pics, and Grady gives a video recap at the end.

Nana and Pop Visit

2011-10-30T20:26:00.000-07:00

The first thing we did was impress Nana and Pop with our celebrity connections. Here is Nick Cannon from America's Got Talent. They were auditioning people right near the Arch, so we watched for a minute. He was riding in a Clydesdale drawn carriage sponsored by Anheuser-Busch (they sponsor lots of stuff in St. Louis).

We visited the St. Louis Zoo again, this time hitting the carousel and some of the animals Grady didn't see last time.

Grady was especially excited to see the giraffes! He thought they were scary because they might bite him. When I said they wouldn't bite him, he said, "Go play!" Then I said that they would bite him if he tried to play with them.

Something else Grady thought was scary were the penguins. It is just too cold and loud inside the penguin habitat. He remembered it being scary last time we visited.

We visited Union Station, which is now a mall. There were some beautiful ceilings in one area, but mostly just a mall.

Pop and Grady also took advantage of the hotel's pool.

This picture was taken approximately 6 PM outside of Rigazzi's restaurant. It was famous for being the place where Al Capone was arrested. When we finally got seated and ordered after 2 HOURS, we realized he was easily captured here because the wait was so long!!

We also drove through Lone Elk Park and saw elk, bison and deer wandering in the woods (and road). Grady really couldn't see from his car seat, so he got to sit up front in Pop's lap.

We had lots of fun with Nana and Pop! And Alex was there, he just didn't make the pictures. :(

Me-mommy Visit

2011-10-14T18:58:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had the pleasure of having Me-mommy visit! We stayed in St. Louis one night and came back to our luxurious apartment for the other two nights. In St. Louis, we visited the City Museum. It was very interesting. Lots of places to climb. It would be especially fun for the older cousins, but Grady could not enjoy all of it. He did like the big ball pit...

talked Me-mommy into going down the slide with him...

and climbed the trees.

Alex was really interested in taking Grady to the plane that was suspended several stories in the air, seen below. (Do you see the kids climbing through the "slinky" from the plane, way in the air?) Alex took Grady and climbed up a very narrow spiral staircase to get to the plane. He was worn out, but it was worth it! Grady enjoyed "flying" the plane.

We then went under the Arch and toured the little museum they have. It was pretty neat- a stuffed bear and horse, a tee-pee, old West wagon, and this leather boat we are so thoroughly impressed with.

That night, after getting lost several times (with a GPS!) we finally found the restaurant where we wanted to eat. It was called Crown's Candy Shop, and since it had been featured on the Food Network, we thought it should be pretty good. The menu selections were basically just sandwiches that were okay. When we realized that they had a contest, "If you can drink 5 milkshakes in 30 minutes, they are all free" we realized that it was on that show where the guy does the food competitions. So it was not on the Food Network for the delicious food. BUT, the food was fine and the Hot Fudge Sundae was the best I had ever had. Homemade hot fudge that you couldn't eat if you had dentures. Grady enjoyed a little bit of everybody's "i hweem."

Back on post, we visited the plane, boat and tank Grady always asks to "sit on."

He still did not get to sit on them, as there were signs forbidding it, but he did get to see them up close.

Guess What? Punkin Patch!

2011-10-13T19:37:00.000-07:00

We went to the local pumpkin patch last Friday. Grady was so excited. He would say, "Guess what? Punkin Patch!" over and over on the ride there. (He finally learned that you are supposed to say something after you say,"Guess what?" instead of just laughing.)

We went on a hayride...

The kids got to pick out pumpkins, but Grady liked picking them up and chunking them. He broke one pumpkin before we could stop him.

There was also a petting zoo that Grady was very excited about, until we actually got up close to the ferocious baby goats.

Finally, we enjoyed hot dogs...

and s'mores.

A "Green" Weekend

2011-10-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

No, we weren't recycling. The first "green" activity was to go to the Frogtober Fest in the next town over! The Frogtober Fest was name for a rock jutting out of the side of the embankment next to the highway that was shaped like a frog, and then subsequently painted like a frog by a local artist.

Isn't this quaint?

The Frogtober Fest had a few arts and crafts booths (camo dresses for your daughter anyone?--not me!) some deep fried selections, a jump castle, pony rides and emergency vehicles to climb on. Grady loved climbing in the fire truck and ambulance. If you ask him if he had fun, he would say, "Uh-huh. Dog poop." That's because he stepped in some kind of poop (I think horse) before walking all over the fire truck upholstery. Oops!

He also wanted to ride the ponies. Actually, he wanted to ride the big white horse, but we talked him into the pony. (I was really surprised because last time he was around horses and Christmas he was very scared.)

Grady enjoy the first 2 laps on the pony, but then the pony got and itch and started twitching its body. Grady started sliding off the other side, so I had to grab him to keep from falling. He cried and wanted to get off the horse. If you ask him if he had fun riding the horse he says, "Uh-huh. I fall off." I correct him and say, "No... Mama caught you! You did not fall!"

His other "green" adventure was on the golf green with Dad.

He spent half of the time using the club as a rake and the other half climbing on the parked golf carts. I sat home and relaxed with a glass of ....grape kool-aid.

Oktoberfest and Other Stuff

2011-09-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

This Saturday was the Oktoberfest on post. We decided to go (since I had not been out of the house after 7 PM in several weeks) even though it meant keeping Grady up a little late. The brats we good and we knew lots of friends there (and by lots, I mean the 12 people we know cumulatively). Grady played in the sand, and was in and out of the jump castle without so much as a jump. He climbed on the haystack and ate all of the whipped cream off of our apfelstrudel (the sacrifices of being a parent!) Normally, Grady can hang out late with the best of them, but this time he did not crack so much as a smile, as you can see.
Some other fun things from the weekend: climbing dirt hills and throwing rocks off of it,

wearing mom's shoes,

and Alex taking requests! Grady has learned so many songs and will sing to himself, but as soon as I take out the video camera, stops and says,"Hold camera. See pictures Grady." That child never tires of looking at pictures and videos of himself. I had to sneak this video. Some of his favorite songs are Jesus Loves Me, I'm a Little Tea Pot (which he calls "Pot"), 3 Little Monkeys (which he knows all of the hand motions to, but probably doesn't realize that the alligator is successively eating all of the monkeys in the song), and his ABCs.

Baby Sis

2011-09-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

I went for my 20 week ultrasound last week- a little late, at 21.5 weeks. I was none too impressed with the experience, as I had to just stare at the wall while the ultrasound tech took the baby's measurements instead of watching on the "big screen" like I am used to. And no 3D technology! At the end, she showed us the "girl parts", heart, arms, feet, and got one profile pic, seen here. (We could have had some good "looking straight on" photos, but those are a little creepy.)

This little one is very active- I have been feeling kicks since she was 17.5 weeks, which I think was providential so I would not worry about her health during the LONG wait until getting into a dr here in MO.

Minnesota Trip

2011-09-12T20:06:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun visiting the Gillmans!
Grady loved the cats and playing with the girls.

Especially dressing up!

Have ever wished you had said,"Less ice cream,please?" Me neither, until we visited this famous ice cream place. $3 for a "kid's cone" that was about 5 scoops of ice cream. Here Grady is enjoying his half. They put it in these small cups with flimsy spoons, and it just gets everywhere! SOME people couldn't even eat ice cream for dessert after dinner because of this experience!

Here we are at the park and then the Children's Museum.

We already miss "Cat-twin and Fware!" (and Suzanne and Jeff.)

4th and Final Day of Vacation :(

2011-09-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

Today was our last day in St. Louis. It was actually pretty cool when we went out today, so I thought Grady might not want to get wet.

I was wrong.

Shortly after this picture was taken, Grady was soaked.

When Grady's lips started turning blue,
we changed him into some dry clothes.

But not before I took this picture of Grady looking at himself on the big screen.

It finally warmed up, and we headed to the Arch. Then we stopped by Chick-Fil-A (the closest one to the Fort) and headed "home".

I am thankful for Grady being SO GOOD on our trip. He is never great at restaurants, but we only had to pull out the iPad one time! I am also thankful for Alex doing all of the driving and carrying of Grady- which was a lot (except when Grady begged,"Hold Mommy!")

St. Louis Vacation Day 3

2011-09-04T20:20:00.000-07:00

Today we had a lazy morning eating our fill of the continental breakfast and swimming in the heated pool. We then went to New City Fellowship Church. We have missed going to a PCA church and singing our familiar songs, and this church is multi-cultural,so we decided to check it out. We sang in Swahili, Spanish, and some of the scripture was translated into French! Some interesting things were that kids stayed in service for the first half of the 1 hr 45 min service (challenge! But nice that all the kids were loud, not just ours) and then went to the nursery for the latter half. We broke into small groups during the middle of service to pray together, and stood in a large circle to take communion.

After service was over at 12:45 we drove aimlessly to find a place to eat. We ate at the delicious City Diner and headed back to the hotel for a late nap. We all fell asleep and finally I woke up at 5:45 PM. I knew we were going to be pushing it to do anything on our agenda, eat, and be back at a decent hour for Grady's bedtime.

First we stopped by City Garden, a free sculpture garden.

I don't think Grady noticed the scary head behind him.

This neat old firetruck sold ice cream. Of course Grady demanded to,"Sit on it!"

I forgot about the sprinklers, so we improvised.

Grady would call this waterfall a "water bottle"

We only explored a little if the gardens, then went for a leisurely stroll to LeClede's Landing for dinner. Unfortunately, there was a Blues Festival going on, and all of the restaurants were packed. I started getting stressed because it was getting late.We finally found a restaurant that was "only" a 35min wait. We ate, then hurried back to the hotel. Well, I was in a hurry. The boys decided they needed to get in this fountain.

This is part of the City Garden, which we will probably finish exploring- with bathing suit in hand- tomorrow. You can see Alex and Grady right in the middle, taking their time, getting all wet, when Mom is trying to get the little one in bed! But Grady had so much fun, and will let us sleep in a bit tomorrow!

St. Louis Vacation Day 2

2011-09-03T20:38:00.001-07:00

Saturday we went to the zoo and the Cardinals' baseball game.

Grady loved the small animals.

We thought it was cool how close you could get to the hippos (there are 3 all snuggling behind Alex).

Grady was not impressed.

Grady preferred animals one might find on a farm.

Grady learned that yelling, "Hum on, Goat!" was not the best way to get the goat to come to you.

By far, the most fun Grady had was riding the train.

Saturday afternoon we went to the baseball game. There is a great view of the city from the stadium.

Grady was holding out his hands to catch a foul ball.

Finally we went to a delicious pizza place called Pi. It was a ridiculous wait (we didn't eat until 8 pm, and that was ordering a pizza "to go"), but was great. Unfortunately, Grady tripped on our walk back to the car, and his tooth went through his lip! It is not as bad as it sounds. It was just the corner of his tooth, so the cut it just a little dot.

St. Louis Vacation Day 1

2011-09-03T20:36:00.000-07:00

The first thing we did on our way to St. Louis was stop by The Magic House, a GIANT children's museum. Some of Grady's favorites:

He dragged this boat around on a string forever.

Catching a fish!

Floating balls (and my belly).

He wasn't a huge fan of static electricity.

Grady got to try out some future professions:

They had a hospital nursery he enjoyed.

President White

After The Magic House, we enjoyed some of Ted Drewes famous frozen custard.

Just Some Cute Pics

2011-08-28T19:50:00.001-07:00

Grady in his helicopter shirt from Nana.

I believe this is some sort of "scissor-hold" Grady is performing-- mid-snooze-- on Max.
So funny....that I get so sweaty my hair looks like this the rest of the day.
I don't mind him playing with dolls, but I draw the line at pink Hello Kitty boots.

Keeping Busy

2011-08-28T18:28:00.000-07:00

Since there is a lot less stuff to do when you live in 600 sq ft and only brought 4 toys, I checked out the Toddler's Busy Book from the library to get some creative ideas to entertain Grady (and more importantly, have Grady entertain himself for a few minutes). Here is what we have been doing.

At playgroup, Grady was interested in playing with a doll, (he was so careful to carry the doll like you would carry a baby, even though he was carrying a ball at the same time), so we made a bed for his Raggedy Andy doll at home. He loved putting him in there and feeding him milk. (When he spilled it on his collar he said, "Raggy Anny thow up." ) He tried to take off Andy's clothes when Andy had a "dirty biper". He took RA to his own bed, sang him a song and turned on the sound machine for "night night". Hopefully he will be so sweet to his little sister!

Bowling!

When all else fails, watch the people working on the heavy machinery outside.

We also have enjoyed the water park and indoor play area in a nearby town.

Sightseeing

2011-08-28T17:53:00.000-07:00

The base has some neat places to explore, like this cave and a river.

Pachiwals and Coke

2011-08-20T20:26:00.002-07:00

Thursday night, Alex's class had a cookout. We, of course, took Grady, and he had a great time. The guys would try to throw a football, kick a soccer ball,or toss a baseball, but Grady would usually end up monopolizing the ball. They were good sports to play with him.

Being that no one planned for a toddler to attend the event, they only had beer and Cokes to drink (and Grady's water bottle was really far away). I gave him some tiny sips of my Coke--maybe one of his first times having Coke. But later on, not knowing I had giving Grady a little Coke already, Alex gave him "some" too:

So we had a hot, sweaty toddler, hopped up on Coke, and desperate to sit on a "pachiwal" (his word for a motorcycle, bicycle, tricycle, or popsicle.)There were a couple of motorcycles at the cookout, and one of the classmates put Grady on them. Now Grady thinks he should be able to sit on random vehicles even more than he did before! Thanks, guy!

The State of Misery...I mean Missouri

2011-08-17T19:40:00.001-07:00

Just kidding! It's not that bad. The weather has been great- high 70s, low 80s. Here are some photos of our new home. Our front yard- Grady's dream, especially when they are working. We had a picnic on the porch to watch the "didders" and bulldoders".
Do not try this at home. Not for safety reasons, but because your child might also constantly beg to sit on everything with wheels he sees. (Literally. We pass a bulldozer parked on the highway, "Sit on it, mom", or pass by a tank on base-and there are MANY, "Sit on it, Mom.") At least by now, a week later, he doesn't throw a fit because I say "no".
I brought my bike thinking Grady and I could enjoy a leisurely bike ride around the neighbor hood, but quickly realized this might have been a waste of effort.A large gravelly hill to our left and a muddy hill to our right. They do not look as steep as they are. The inside of our place is nice- new construction, but only 600 sq.ft. We get to spend extra time with Grady as he is sharing a room with us. Here is Ft.Nightnight.

And, yes, that is a camo bedspread. We forgot to bring a blanket or bedspread, so we are using the one from Alex's gear.

There are lots of things to do with Grady in the community, including a ton of parks,

water parks and sprinklers. Most of them are free, or very cheap! Now if they would just cut down on the obnoxious 8 yr olds who run over my poor baby.
There is also some nice scenery near our apartment. The are a few rivers and caves that we are going to explore this weekend. Now all we need is some friends...but we have a cookout and I have a girls' night coming up, so hopefully that will be a start!

Pre-Move Drama

2011-08-17T19:29:00.000-07:00

In the midst of getting ready for our trip--including packing all of our valuables...

Grady had his first trip to the ER! Our sweet friends Gray and Seth were having a going away party for us, and Grady fell and hit his head. Have you ever seen your child's face completely covered in blood? Very scary! We went to a nearby emergency clinic, got Grady glued back together, and were back at the party within the hour! The next day, Grady wanted to apply the band aid himself (the actual injury is in his hair.)

Calling All Fire Fighters!

2011-07-23T17:10:00.000-07:00

Today Grady and his friend Hamilton had their 2 year old birthday party. They had a fire truck theme and had fun eating hot dogs and watermelon and playing in the water outside. Here is Grady sneaking 2 Oreos with his other hand in the jelly beans.

Hamilton's mom, Gray, made the cute fire truck cake and dalmatian cupcakes.

Birthday boys!

The kids enjoyed the pool, slide and water table during the almost 100 degree weather.

We were very excited to have the Hanahan Fire Department bring the truck by!

Our attempt at a group shot.

Pink in our Future?

2011-07-12T06:34:00.000-07:00

We had a great doctor's appointment yesterday! The 12 week ultrasound showed that all of the baby's measurements were normal. We enjoyed seeing him/her flip-flopping around. The ultrasound tech said she would guess it is a girl! But we are not redecorating the nursery yet...

First (Professional) Haircut

2011-07-06T18:24:00.000-07:00

Grady needed a haircut. Here is the "before" shot. I took him to Carnival Cuts. They had toys, tvs and lollipops- this had to be good! Unfortunately, the kid already getting his hair cut when we walk in was screaming. Therefore, Grady was a little nervous. He warmed up when he got the lollipop, however.
Don't worry- I was keeping my eye out for clipped hair flying onto the lollipop!

Pretty short! But that just means more time before his next trim.

Beach Week!

2011-07-05T17:29:00.001-07:00

We started off a week at Sullivan's Island by getting a surprise picture of the grandkids for Nana and Pop's 40th Anniversary. This was the one picture that Grady did not have his thumb in his mouth.

Grady has really warmed up to the ocean. It was rare that he was sitting still.More often, he was braving the waves, with an adult within arm's reach.

On Saturday, we went to the Farmer's Market downtown.

Grady wanted to get an icee with his money. But he paid for it later (blue poop!).We celebrated Grady and Catherine's birthdays since they are on the same day. Tyler was so helpful in blowing out the candles. Aunt Emily made the cute beach cake.Grady got a water table from the Gillmans and Creeches. The boys loved it!Grady was soaked because he was just dumping water over his head. We also took the kids to a water park. Grady was brave and went down the water slide. Everyone had a great time!

23 Months!

2011-06-30T19:38:00.000-07:00

This should be the last month that I refer to Grady as a certain number of months old! He'll just be plain ol' 2 (until he is 2 and a half, that is). He just changes so fast these days! Since last month, he has learned his colors (only about 50% accuracy if you ask him what color something is, but 90% when he calls out a color on his own-- just in case you ask him and he is wrong you won't think I was fibbing on the blog!).

He has picked up a lot more words and phrases- I got a "bless you" today after I sneezed and Alex got a "What doing?" while he was in the shower. Unfortunately, one of his new phrases is "no mine." Even if he is just playing by himself, I will hear him say "no mine". His imaginary friend must've been trying to take his toys.

I love when he expresses his feelings by saying, "ooooh mama!" when something is cool, "that's funny," or a dramatic "eewwwwww!" when something is gross or dirty.

He is very particular about what song I sing. He will quickly say "no!" if I start singing the wrong song. His 3 favorites to sing are "Jesus" (Jesus Loves Me), "baaaa" (Mary Had a Little Lamb) or he does these sign language moves with his hands for the Itsy Bitsy Spider. Sometimes he will try to sing along.

What he has been doing this summer: Jogging with Daddy

Riding the bike to the pool.Enjoying the back porch.

Father's Day

2011-06-30T19:15:00.000-07:00

For Father's Day we were in Athens, GA, visiting Alex's family.We visited the botanical gardens.
Grady especially loved the water. He was hoping to see fish.Grady also liked to pretend to read the signs. I think Grady Sr. was actually reading them. :)Did I mention it was, like, 100 degrees? Hence the sweaty boy below.

Tyler Time

2011-05-27T18:47:00.001-07:00

Tyler came over to play today. The boys were playing so sweetly together, that I tried to snap a quick picture.

As you can see, it is blurry, so when I went to get another one, the boys (more like Tyler) wanted to pose.
Here they are enjoying a snack on Grady's new table!

Last Day of School!

2011-05-27T18:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Grady's last say of school. They had a little party with fruit cocktail instead of cupcakes, but Grady didn't seem to mind (there were marshmallows in there).These are some of his classmates. Apparently, Grady and the little blond girl on the right have a special relationship. The teacher told me that she will go lay on the bean bag, call Grady over, and he will twirl her hair like he does mine (and everyone else who holds him).
I stuck around to watch Grady play a bit. I like to see how he interacts with different toys and kids. For example, he was playing with this truck and making, what I am to assume, was a truck noise (Alex needs to work with him on that). He never does that with trucks at home.
He played so nicely with Hamilton.
The teachers gave the kids some presents, including this bubble sword. Sounds great. Not so much. He could not put the wand back into the soap without some help.
But Grady REFUSED to let me help him and broke down into a fit.

Finally, he let me help.

And then promptly spilled all of the soap onto the ground. :(

22 Months!

2011-05-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

We have seen so many fun changes in Grady over the past few weeks-mainly with his acquiring new words and putting them together. Some of his favorite phrases are, "I did it!" and "Hold it!"- as in he wants to hold the bag of chips, etc. He also is very into naming the color of everything. He is usually wrong (unless it is green). That is his first color of choice. He has started the beginning stages of potty training, with his asking to go potty sometimes, although it generally is a false alarm. It doesn't stop him from asking for a chocolate chip (but it sounds like he is asking for a"potty chip".) He likes to sit on the pot, get a piece of "sissue" and drop it in the pot. Then "all done!"

Here are some things we have been doing lately!

Climbing!

Keeping cool!

Here, Grady was playing with homemade play dough using my kitchen utensils. He started out on the table. I used this picture because he actually smiled for me! He got a potty chip for that!

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T14:56:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter!

We celebrated by dyeing a few egg...

making a picture with Easter stickers...

looking through Easter baskets...

playing with new toys...

and spending time with family!

Parties!

2011-04-21T17:37:00.001-07:00

Grady's "school" had an Easter party with an egg hunt and cup cakes!

This week was Tyler's birthday, too, so Grady got to enjoy his TWO parties.

This picture is of Tyler blowing bubbles. It is so cute how he stomps his foot and gets "into position" with each forceful blow. Unfortunately, not too many bubbles come out.

Pre- Easter Egg Hunt!

2011-04-12T17:15:00.000-07:00

Grady was invited over to have an Easter egg hunt last Saturday. He just needed a little help finding eggs, and had a lot of fun!

This is a rare moment where Grady is the only boy! (Except baby Austin, who was napping some of the time).

Colorado and 20 months!

2011-03-30T18:32:00.000-07:00

Last week we visited our friends Pat and Gibson in Colorado Springs. Grady had his first flight and did great! I was surprised he was not scared on the airplane. He made friends with the flight attendant and he dove across our laps to go to her. She whisked him away (to our surprise) but returned after a visit to the cockpit to get some wings.

Here we are at lunch in the cute town of Manitou Springs.

Grady enjoyed playing with 3 year old Laurel (and baby Freddy).

They had lots of fun in the back seat together..

We visited Garden of the Gods.

This was just supposed to be a pose of Grady climbing, but he took off. (With snack in hand, of course.)

Alex and Pat went hiking and climbed about 1,000 feet.

We felt like Grady learned so many new things on our trip. Lots of new words like Mee- Mou (Mickey Mouse), pee-pop (lollipop), doggie, and outside. He had his 20 month birthday last Friday. He is starting to put words together like "dada night night" when Alex is sleeping and can answer questions like, "What do you want for lunch?" (The answer is always "butt-butt" for peanut butter). He always wants to play outside and will bring my shoes to me and try to put them on my feet so I will take him.

We love to see how he is learning new things everyday!

Green Thumb

2011-03-12T17:37:00.001-08:00

Hopefully Grady will have a green thumb! He sure enjoys helping in the yard!

That was a particularly dry spot in the yard. ;)

Athens Visit

2011-03-12T17:27:00.001-08:00

In Athens, we ate lunch at Cali-n-Tito's. The food was pretty good, but what was great was the playground that Grady enjoyed while we ate.

We also went to the Botanical Gardens. Being February, there were not too many flowers, but Grady had plenty he was interested in.

The next two pictures are of Grady "reading" the signs. He would go to each small sign and say, "Da da da," and then nod his head in affirmation. He would then go to the bigger signs and say, "da da da da da da," and nod again. So cute. Should've had a video.

Some Recent Pics

2011-03-06T17:15:00.000-08:00

Here is Grady playing with his new drum set from Aunt Steph and Uncle Justin.

Grady was apparently quite bored on our road trip. This isn't a great picture, but he was using his foot as a phone. "Hey-yo?"
I loved that Grady drank the milk out of his cereal bowl just like Dad.
I walked in on Grady after he found Alex's cereal bowl on the coffee table.

This is how I entertained Grady on the long trip from Mississippi to Athens, GA. I was peek-a-booing with my hair put on top of my head (as you will see).

Grady 1.5

2011-02-14T16:58:00.001-08:00

Grady recently turned one and a half! How time flies! He had his well check-up today- pretty average for his age (height 33 in, 60th %ile, weight 25.3 lbs 45th %ile). And it is supposedly normal that he eats paper and likes to take a bite out of the toilet tissue roll. Well, maybe not normal, but nothing to worry about since he is eating food, too.

Grady is still climbing on everything- lately he has started shutting himself in the pantry and climbing the shelves. We had to nip that in the bud. He has a lot of words- or approximations of words, like "butt-butt" for peanut butter and "re-re" for sorry. He loves his new seat on the back of my bike and playing with the sweet neighbor girls. He is very social- yelling "Hey!" or "Heh- whoa" (hello) to EVERYONE at the grocery store until they respond. He won't let you ignore him!

He is looking forward to seeing lots of family in the next week!

Remembering Baby Sims (edit)

2011-01-11T17:59:00.000-08:00

Belated Update: In late May, we found out from our doctor the "Baby Sarah" was actually a boy! We were in shock and still have a hard time thinking of "her" as "him". We believe the mistake was made because his cystic hygroma is more common in girls, and also,because he stopped growing at 16 weeks and had edema, it was hard to determine the sex. When I asked the doctor after delivery if it was a girl like the ultrasound tech had thought, he said,"I think so." It didn't occur to me to pursue the issue anymore. But when our (different) doctor was reading the autopsy in May, she called "her" a "male fetus" and surprised us! So, of course, we have changed his name. We chose Sims because it is Alex's mother's maiden name and my mother's grandfather was called "Sim". Currently, we do have a baby girl and she is moving in my belly! She has been doing so since I was 17.5 weeks pregnant. This is important because since we lost Sims at 18 weeks, I was dreading that time of my pregnancy. I was going to be afraid of losing this one, too, and didn't have a doctor's appointment for several weeks. But the Lord comforted me with those kicks, so I did not worry about her health.
Original Post:
We have been looking forward to Jan. 14th as the day we would find out we were having a little girl and see her moving in my belly. I was planning to post the pictures here and on Facebook to show her off. But, unfortunately she went to be with the Lord a few weeks ago, and was delivered on Jan. 5th after 18 weeks in utero. Even though her life was extremely short, we believe the Lord had a purpose for her and that her life was meaningful. We want to remember Sarah here on our Blog as one of our children-- one that we will get to meet for the first time in Heaven. This our only picture- from my 9 week appointment.

Sarah was named by Alex's mother. We had not come up with a name yet, and Ellen said, "Well I've been calling her Sarah." So Sarah it is. She was 8 inches long. Although we do not have a diagnosis yet, we believe Sarah may have had Turner's Syndrome. While this loss has certainly been devastating, we feel the comfort of the Lord as we know he knitted Sarah in my womb with purpose and loves her even more than we do. We feel so blessed by the love, support and prayers of our family, friends, friends of family, and the compassionate doctors and nurses at St. Francis.

A White Christmas Part 2

2010-12-30T18:52:00.000-08:00

As in a Christmas with SNOW at the Hardee house!

These are the football team-themed hats that Nana knitted for all of the kids.

A White Christmas

2010-12-30T18:45:00.001-08:00

As in Christmas morning with the White family!

Christmas Debut

2010-12-09T17:18:00.000-08:00

This is the ornament Grady brought home from school. They were tickling him to make him laugh.

Grady made his stage debut with his school's Christmas program. The one-year-olds wore reindeer antlers and walked across the stage.

Grady is holding the right hand of the teacher in the red skirt.

Trick or Treat!

2010-11-01T20:04:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures of the boys trick or treating. The boys were adorable and the parents got the candy. Definitely a win-win situation!

Punkin Patch

2010-10-30T12:26:00.001-07:00

Today we visited a pumpkin patch with The Morgans and most of The Johnsons today. The boys wore their costumes (most of the time) and enjoyed a wagon ride, hayride, and picking out a pumpkin!

15 Months!

2010-10-28T07:19:00.000-07:00

Grady turned 15 months old a few days ago! He is an avid climber. He likes his new word "up" to get on all of the furniture. He knows his milk (and cookies) come from the fridge, so he will stand at the fridge and whine for his milk or a cold beer (he loves to carry around a can of non-alcoholic beer because it is cold). Anything I am eating or drinking, he wants some. (Hence the picture drinking out of the water bottle I was using.) Grady can understand when I am asking a question, so he usually responds by saying "A-yah-yah", which means "yes." He still really loves soft things and if he finds a soft thing to hold (mom's hair, the cat's tail) his thumb immediately goes in his mouth. Grady loves playing outside and will stand at the door and say "ow" until we take him out. He can now go down the slide without any help.

He had his well check up yesterday. He weighed 23 lbs, which is the 25th %ile. I do not think that is correct- he was pushing all of the buttons while being weighed. At home he weighed 25 lbs. He is 32.5 inches tall which is the 90th %ile. He is getting at least 7 teeth in at one time! All but one have broken through, so hopefully we are getting close to being over the discomfort of that.

New Playset

2010-10-10T17:32:00.000-07:00

Enjoying Outdoors

2010-10-09T18:50:00.000-07:00

Since the weather has gotten so nice here, I have bought a few things for Grady to enjoy outside.

And here is another "toy" Grady loves.Grady and his friends finishing up their buggy ride at school.

Fun in the Sun!

2010-09-18T19:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the fun things Grady did this weekend! (I did have the sprinkler going, but he seemed to enjoy the hose more.)

Fun Rides!

2010-09-14T18:39:00.000-07:00

Grady had a great time riding on the rides at the outlets! (Tyler wasn't so sure.)

Mountain Weekend

2010-09-06T19:33:00.000-07:00

Grady had a great time up in the mountains. He went on his first kayak trip- a little nervous the first time, but then he got used to it.

Nana and Pop took Grady apple picking. He loves apples!

They also came to watch us go down Bull Sluice- the Class IV rapid- on our rafting trip with friends

But Grady REALLY liked the cat's scratching toy- especially the soft feather.

Child's Day Out

2010-09-02T15:00:00.000-07:00

Today was Grady's first day at Child's Day Out at the nearby Baptist church. He has 4 others in his class, 3 of whom are his buddies from church. They have 2 teachers amongst them that keep them busy. Here is what they did today, and Grady's first piece of artwork (Notice the blue line he made.).

It Was Just Too Quiet In the Pantry

2010-08-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

It looks like Grady found the bag of Grandmoma's cookies! A cookie in each hand!

First Dentist Visit!

2010-08-11T18:43:00.000-07:00

While "they" (probably just dentists) say you need to take your baby to the dentist when he first gets teeth or at his first birthday, I wasn't convinced, but since the dental appointment was free and Grady has some stains on his teeth, I thought I'd take him. It went very well at first- there was lots to play with, TVs on the ceiling and yummy toothpaste. However, Grady didn't much like getting buffed or scraped. I cut that short when he got upset. He left happy, however, with a sticker and toy in hand.

Mama's Helper

2010-08-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

Gray gave me lots of fresh pears, so I decided to bake a Sour Cream Pear Pie (Yes! I baked!). Grady did what he could to create an obstacle course for me at the same time.

And here is the finished product.

Favorites

2010-08-04T10:57:00.000-07:00

Grady has some favorite snacks he is used to. I put him down for 2 seconds at CVS, and when I turned around, he had a canister of Puffs and a bag of Yogurt Drops in his hands. (I have no idea where he got the Yogurt Drops from- there was not a display of them!)

Reading Corner

2010-08-02T06:36:00.001-07:00

Grady has decided that it is fun to play in his toy box. Here are some cute pics.

OOPS!

One Year Check-Up

2010-07-28T09:46:00.000-07:00

Grady went to the doctor for his 1 year check-up. He weighs 21# and 12 oz (45%ile) and is 30.5 inches long (70%ile). While the doctor and I talked, Grady was being very busy- going into his diaper bag and pulling out his "puffs" canister and trying to open it. The doctor said he must be very smart, and Grady nodded to her in agreement. So funny! He had 2 shots, but just cried for a bit.

Final 1st Birthday Party

2010-07-28T06:34:00.000-07:00

Nana and Pop visited on Grady's actual birthday- Sunday the 25th- and we went out for BBQ. Here he is opening his last few gifts. (Nana was there, but did not make it into any of our pictures!)

The girls had fun tickling Grady.

Go Dawgs! (The other dawgs)

2010-07-14T11:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks Great Aunt Debs!

Grady's Second 1st Birthday Party

2010-07-10T18:16:00.000-07:00

The party had an "Under the Sea"theme. The kids played in the pool.

Grady thought it was a "no hands" cake-eating contest.
Grady just wanted to eat his party hat, so....
Check out the awesome cake Aunt Stephanie made for the boys!

First 1st Birthday Party

2010-07-10T18:11:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Grady and Catherine's birthdays together while everyone was visiting. Grady loved his cake and his presents!

Fourth of July

2010-07-10T18:07:00.000-07:00

We had the whole family at the Hillbilly Fest in Mountain Rest, SC. Nana and Pop got them those cute patriotic shirts.

He's Mine

2010-06-26T13:05:00.001-07:00

Suzanne said this picture of Grady looked like me. Alex has this baby picture of me on his desk and I often think it looks like Grady. Maybe that's why I think he is so adorable.

Sad Baby

2010-06-25T17:04:00.000-07:00

I promise you the crying photo was unprovoked. Grady is not feeling well and would just start crying for seemingly no reason today. Of course, when bedtime came, he was happy and ready to play.

Grady is 11 months old today! I can't believe it! He has his 8th tooth coming in, is walking like a pro (except for a fall yesterday- hence the fat lip), is saying "buh" (bye)when we get the car keys out and "ba" (ball) for the small objects he plays with.

Noah's Ark

2010-06-25T16:55:00.000-07:00

Probably about 6 years ago Granny gave me an adorable handmade Noah's Ark for my future children. As you can see, Grady enjoys it very much!

Walking

2010-06-10T17:41:00.000-07:00

Grady is getting very good at walking!

Silly Things

2010-06-01T21:10:00.001-07:00

This is what happens when Grady finds a blanket (in this case a burp cloth) laying around. He drops to the floor and starts sucking his thumb.

This is what happens when Grady runs out of black beans- he licks up the juice.

This is what happens when you give Grady a coffee creamer to play with. Duh.

Grady's "First" "Word"

2010-05-30T17:25:00.000-07:00

"First" because he already says dada and mama, and "word" because it is just a consonant sound (buh), but we think he means "bye." Before the video, he was waving at Alex and saying "buh" repeatedly, of course, not so obvious when I got the camera out. Note: This was also Tyler's first word!

10 Months

2010-05-25T18:01:00.000-07:00

Here is Grady enjoying his new pool and reading a book with dad.

Day Off

2010-05-02T19:00:00.001-07:00

Alex had a few days off so we went to the beach and the park. Grady likes the beach and does not seem to mind cool water. But the park pictures were near his bedtime, so he was not his usual, smiley self.

9 Months Old

2010-04-28T06:11:00.000-07:00

Grady was 9 months on Sunday, and had his 9 month check-up on Monday. He weighs 20 lbs (50%ile) and is 29 1/4 inches tall (75 %ile). He latest skills is climbing up the stairs, thanks to watching cousin Tyler. Thankfully, he does not care to climb the stairs very often.

Walking (with help)

2010-04-18T19:20:00.000-07:00

Here is Grady walking, with some help! When he runs into a barrier he just keeps pushing.

And here is Grady playing with Poco (although Poco thinks he is being pretty tough). Don't worry, Poco does not have front claws.

Wave Attempt

2010-04-08T19:01:00.000-07:00

This is pretty self-explanatory. But he can clap!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T18:03:00.001-07:00

Grady and the family celebrated Easter with Nana and Pop. He showed off his new skills- waving and clapping.

8 Month Update!

2010-03-27T08:56:00.001-07:00

Grady turned 8 months old on Thursday. He is currently the owner of 5 teeth and has started to crawl.

Grady's Media Debut

2010-03-12T15:14:00.000-08:00

Check out Stephanie's article. Recognize that baby?
http://georgiafaces.caes.uga.edu/index.cfm?public=viewStory&pk_id=3754

Pulling Up

2010-03-07T13:40:00.000-08:00

7 Months

2010-02-27T06:25:00.001-08:00

Grady turned 7 months last week! He now has 4 teeth and is starting to scoot along the floor to try to get Poco or some other fun toy.

Snow!

2010-02-18T09:55:00.001-08:00

Alex had a great time in the snow. Grady, not so much.
There's a little smile.

Play Time

2010-02-06T18:51:00.000-08:00

Grady and I hung out with cousin Tyler today. These were made on my phone, so not good quality.

Check Up- 6 Months

2010-01-25T16:35:00.000-08:00

Grady had his check-up and everything was great! He is 28 inches, 18 lbs, 6oz and in the 90th percentile for height and 75th for weight. He got 4 shots, but did great!

Half Birthday

2010-01-23T19:15:00.001-08:00

Enjoying Dad's nose.

Grady's half birthday is Monday! He will be going for his 6 month check-up on Monday, too. He is becoming high maintenance because he wants to be more mobile than he is capable of being. He reaches for far away toys, falls onto his belly, then whines because he does not want to be on his belly! He can't sit himself back up, so mom and dad to the rescue! But when we try to sit him back up, he won't bend his torso because he wants to stand. Here he is in "plank" position, refusing to sit.

He also likes to pull himself up to standing position.

Shades

2010-01-20T10:40:00.000-08:00

It is nice to be able to go on a family walk at 12 pm on Wednesday! Here are the boys in their shades!

Jump, Jump!

2010-01-09T07:14:00.000-08:00

Here is Grady in the jumpy thing that was passed on to us by a friend. Such fun!

Christmas Dinner

2009-12-25T18:39:00.001-08:00

Grady enjoyed his first solid food meal (he has ahad a little taste of avocado- wasn't a huge fan). Loved the carrots! He cried when I took the spoon away to get some more. As you can see, when I would get the spoon close, he would grab it and put it in his mouth.

First Christmas

2009-12-25T18:21:00.001-08:00

Here is Grady enjoying his gifts- wrapping paper and all!

Santa's Lap

2009-12-23T13:11:00.001-08:00

A few weekends ago was "Family Day" at the National Guard. I did not care about Grady sitting on Santa's lap that much, but if he did, he got a gift. So, we had him sit on Santa's lap, and I decided to get his "First Picture with Santa". Unfortunately, the camera wouldn't work! I got very upset that I now was not going to have Grady's first time sitting on Santa's lap captured in a photo. So we had to find the "photo-guy" for Alex's class, put Grady back on Santa's lap after all the other kids had left and got the picture. (So this was technically his 2nd time on Santa's lap.)

4 months! (and 12 days)

2009-12-07T17:16:00.001-08:00

Grady had his 4 month appointment today! He is 16 lbs, 8 ozs (75th percentile) and 27.5 inches (95th percentile). He has 2 teeth on the bottom and likes to exercise his vocal range with high pitched squeals.

Laughing

2009-11-23T16:21:00.000-08:00

I finally was able to get Grady laughing on video. Despite him not feeling well, he was all smiles here. Sorry it is so dark!

Milestones

2009-11-19T18:11:00.000-08:00

With Nana's coaching, Grady rolled over this week! He has repeated the act 5 times. He also seems to be getting a tooth. We are not sure if that is bothering him, or the respiratory virus he has!

Bath Time!

2009-11-19T18:07:00.001-08:00

Dad loves to give Grady a bath. I haven't bathed Grady in 2 months!

Robe

2009-11-19T18:01:00.001-08:00

Grady's most recent gift was a fancy Ralph Lauren robe. Looks like he is ready for the boxing ring! (Or spa)

Go Dawgs!

2009-11-07T20:24:00.000-08:00

One year ago today we found out we were pregnant!

Here is Grady getting ready to go to an outdoor party in his Georgia fleece from Aunt Steph and Uncle Justin.

New Tricks

2009-11-01T16:12:00.001-08:00

Grady's latest feats are holding his ankles while I change his diaper and sucking on his toes. He has also started drooling and sticking his tongue out.

3 Months!

2009-10-23T15:15:00.000-07:00

Grady will be 3 months old this Sunday! Here are some pictures of him trying to sit up! He has a long way to go. He can hold it for 2 seconds before he sinks down into some crazy yoga position...