Here Comes the Sandman

I just love that everytime I sing "Sandman," Grant gets calm and quiet. Before I get to "tips of his toes," he is calm. If he's talkative or a pacifier isn't near, sometimes he'll talk all the way through the song the first time. This lullaby has worked magic in my family for generations. My mom sang it to me and my siblings; Big Gaga sang it to all 12 of babies; and Big Gaga's mother sang it to her. I don't think it's recorded anywhere; at least not the way we sing it. I did find the sheet music months ago online. My friend Cassie played it on her iPhone piano and I called my mom so she could hear. Oh - and I cried.

One of the first things I wanted to do when I got home from the hospital with Grant was to learn this lullaby, and I'm so glad I did. In a family full of rich traditions, this is the one I'm most thankful for. Other traditions that I'm thankful for (in no particular order):

1. The dress the babies wear coming home from the hospital. Grant was the 47th to wear the gown.

2. The Purple Dress

3. Go Tell It on the Mountain

4. Big Gaga's trains and stockings. Grant will wear the conductor hat for the first time this year!

5. Making Christmas stockings. Big Gaga has made them for her entire family. My mom has made them for hers as well. And even though it has taken well over 100 hours, I have finished Grant's! I just have to add his name!! There was a time when the Bereuter family grew by several people in a single year. I remember Gaga rattling off the newbies, us cousins help her make the new stockings, and Gaga worrying if she'd missed somebody.

6. The Easter Egg Hunt. And the 40 or so dozen confetti eggs all made by my mother.

Grant is 6 months!!!

The past 6 months have ZOOMED by! Here are Grant's "official" 6 month stats:

Weight: 17 lbs, 14.4 oz (50%) - but he hadn't eaten in 12 hours, and the Wii always puts him over 18 lbs!

Height: 27.5 inches (75%) - he grew 1.5 inches in 2 months!!

Head Circumference: 45cm (75%)

Lately, it's been VERY challenging putting Grant to bed. He wakes up every time we lay him down and wants to be rocked back to sleep. I know this because on several occassions, we let him CIO ("cry it out"), and he cries for 30 minutes. At that point, one of us goes to get him.

We haven't done much to help this. Over Thanksgiving break, he slept in my arms for pretty much all of his naps. And I loved every minute of it!! (I also figured out how to hold a sleeping baby and sew his stocking at the same time). I love watching those eyes go from heavy to dreaming peacefully:
And Derek has brought him into our bed a few times. It's so cute, there's no way it could be wrong!!

When we DO finally get him down, we find him in the mornings like this:

As far as activities, he likes to play with his feet and "ride the horsey":

His favorite activity is gumming down on anything and everything. He also likes to play in his Johnny Jumper!

He's wearing size 3 diapers.

Food - He eats 5 bottles a day (8 ounces each), and only leaves an ounce behind if he's eating solids with that meal. He goes through 1 container of solid food per day. A little for breakfast, some at lunch mixed with rice cereal, and then the remainder for dinner. So far, he's had peas, sweet potatoes, green beans, apples, and squash. He also sampled Gloria's stuffing - it was too good for him to pass up!

Naps - When he's home, he will nap 45 minutes-1 hour in between each feeding. At day care, he only takes 2 naps (usually 20-30 minutes), then he takes another (usually longer) at home after Derek picks him up.

He can ALMOST sit up unassisted. He can hold himself for a little before falling over. He's also been trying to army crawl. He moved almost 2 feet one time, but hasn't been successful since then. He gets on all 4's pretty often (at least once a day). I suppose we should start baby-proofing.

Crafty

Did you know it takes a special skill to get a 6-month old to put his handprint on a t-shirt? True story. And I don't have this skill. I still tried to get Grant to make a "turkey" shirt like my sis does with her boys every year. We tried once while he was awake, and he just wanted to play with the paint. We tried again when he was asleep. It wasn't too bad, but it did wake him up (more on that later).
I also made some headresses for the Turkey Trot. Each headband had a nickname.
The same night, I wore this:
and made this.

Pretty proud of myself. OH and earlier in the day, Grant met Santa for the first time. He was amazed at everything that was going on at the mall and soaked it all in... so much so that he barely even noticed Santa. There was no line when we arrived, but between trying to get Grant to smile and the elves' "technical difficulties", there was one when we left!

Excuse the Mess…

We are well on our way to re-doing our entire house. This was not really planned, but – I do love it!! Last month, we got a new A/C and a new roof. This month, we are getting new gutters and an all over paint job. The outside is done already and looks GREAT! We went from brown to cream. We also painted the front door black!! The painter recommended black, and I must say – it looks GREAT! The change in the outdoor paint color is most noticeable in the back where we don’t have as much brick.

Inside the house, we are changing over all of our cream color trim to bright white. This includes bathroom cabinets and wainscoting in the kitchen. The 2 day project is now in its 4^th day, but I’m so happy it’s being done RIGHT! And even happier it’s being done by SOMEONE ELSE! The trim is a lot of work!! Sanding and 2 coats of oil-based paint is not a quick job. It is, however, quite smelly. We’ve temporarily moved out until the fumes settle to a non-hazardous level. Before and after pics will be up as soon as the painting is done and mess cleaned up (in other words, don’t hold your breath).

This weekend, Team Hicks went to Red Oak. Grant loves his Grandma Rose and Papa!! Since no painting was done on Sunday, we decided to try a night at the house. Bad choice. All day Monday I could smell paint – I think it seeped into my nose hairs! So last night and for a few more nights, Team Hicks is camping out at the Motos’.

In Grantland, little boy is holding his own bottle now about 90% of the time. He LOVES his Johnny Jumper and loves to stick out his tongue! Last week, we started him on peas (which he loved), and this week we are trying sweet potatoes (which he loves even more). I have not had much success with rice cereal, so (at Derek’s suggestion), we are sending that to day care with him. I resisted that at first, but Derek was right to pass the buck on that one! I can’t believe I put that in writing… on the world wide web… for everyone to see.

Last week, I was trying to finish up getting ready in the morning, and Grant was soooo tired and kept crying. I loaded the last thing in the car before grabbing him, but when I came back in the house, I heard nothing. He was passed out on the bed – on his belly no less, which he still hates.
Grant’s favorite entertainment is Lola. She doesn’t have to do much – she can just walk by and he thinks it’s funny. Therefore, there is lots of “Lola come here,” followed by “Lola, go get your toy.” in our house. And when she spazzes out (running around the house like she did after her bath on Sunday), the giggles just don’t stop!!

Blowout

Grant had a blowout for the record books last night. It came out the side and the back. Got on Derek's shirt while he was feeding him.

As soon as I took his diaper off, he reached for the "prize". Poop was everywhere. His belly, face, his legs, and ALL over the changing table. We tag teamed clean up. In the middle of that Grant spit up... and peed. Only a bath could clean him up right.

I thought he was clean and poop free. But he's in my arms right now napping. And I see poop in his ear.

UPDATE - It was actually blood in his ear. Derek cleaned it out, and confirmed that unless he poops from his ear, it was blood.

However, these teething diapers are downright scary. Last night, the boys went to the Dacuses to watch/cry at the Cowboy game, and Grant leaked out of his diaper again... this time on Shauna.

Grant is 5 months!!

Grant turned 5 months yesterday. And at 5 months and 1 day, we got our first dreaded call from daycare. Derek and I took off today to recover from the World Series and take care of the ever-growing to-do list. At about noon, daycare called saying his fever was 99.9. No need to pick him up yet, but "don't drink any more mimosas." Ahh - they know us well. ;)

So at 1:45, we got the call that his fever was high enough to get him sent home. (It was 100.5 - they send babies home at 100.4). We scheduled a doctor's visit where they did just about every torturious thing possible to my child. He cried the entire time... that's 1.5 hours. He ended up with an antibiotic shot, and a follow-up visit tomorrow.

At 5 months, here's what Grant is up to:

*Weighs 16 lbs, 12 oz.
*Wearing size 3 diapers
*Talking, cooing, shrieking and blowing raspberries all the time
*Still not eating rice cereal very well. I've been feeding him a little bit in the mornings, which seems to work better than the evenings. And we add it to his bed-time bottle to at least get him used to the taste.
*Enjoys his exersaucer & vibrating chair, but he still doesn't love his swing.
*Rolling over in every direction
*Just now finding his feet
*He'll let you carry him and hold him over your shoulder again!
*Not sitting "unsupported" any time soon

In the past week, he had 2 new babysitters. A week ago, our neighbor offered us his Cowboys tickets. We couldn't turn them down!! Susie and Big Gaga watched him, while we suffered through the football game. The seats were GREAT - but Romo leaving in the 2nd Quarter with a broken collar bone was a downer. Then last night, Derek's aunt Susan watched Grant while we went to Game 4 of the World Series!! Thanks to my dad, I was able to make an antler hat. We tailgated for 3 solid hours before the game with Matt, Anna, Paul and Matt Lauden. We had a blast, even though the Rangers forgot to show up.
Grant was a monkey for Halloween (Jacob was the same monkey 3 years ago). He wore his costume to day care on Friday, and again last night when Susan took him trick or treating.

Raspberries

Grant's new trick is blowing raspberries. This morning, he was really showing off.
As soon as I stopped filming, he rolled over. He's doing that all the time now too!!

We are now having our first battle with diaper rash. We had just switched diapers (and went up to size 2-3), so we went back to his normal diaper to see if it clears up.

We got our new roof on last week, and tomorrow they should be finished with interior repairs!!

Rice Cereal

We started rice cereal over the weekend. We tried it hot, cold, thick, runny, with water, and with formula. Grant hated it all. I thought it would be better if we held him because he hates to sit. So Sunday and Monday we tried that. He still hated it. It is easier to get the spoon in when his mouth is open wide to wail.

Monday morning and this morning, Grant had a rash on his face when he woke up. Nothing too scary - I still left him at daycare. No fever or fussiness - just redness on his forehead. I thought maybe it was the brand of rice cereal (Gerber), but last night we tried Earth's Best (with apples - another attempt to trick him into liking it), and he still woke up with the rash. We'll skip the cereal tonight and see if that clears up the rash.
We got an exersaucer and Johny Jumper this weekend from my cousin Julie. Despite what his dad may post on facebook, Grant does like the exersaucer... but only for a few minutes. We haven't set up the jumper yet. Maybe we'll try that tonight.

Derek canceled our cable on Friday. I'm very excited about this!! Satellite is expensive - we're going to save a TON!! We're giving it a month before we decide if we're going to replace it. Nonetheless, last night Derek was in one room watching a comedy, and I was in the other watching PBS's special "God in America." It was really good!!

Ten things I'm grateful for...

1. Rach & Jesse's AC going out Memorial Day weekend. I'm especially thankful for Jesse capturing Grant's first hours alive and our first hours as parents:


2. Kicking file drawers shut - so invigorating

3. Taco Bell's Cantina tacos

4. My iPhone - it's a little crushing to admit it, but I do like having it.

5. Great friends that drive "out of town" for my hubby's bday. (Thanks to Adolph, Erin, Lane, Lolly, Cat, Jill, Kyle, Clint, Shauna, Rach & Jesse)

6. Great friends that have family members knit gifts/props for Grant (Thanks Rach)

7. Great friends that welcome us with open arms when our AC goes out (Thanks Jill & Jeff)

8. Great friends that make time for you when they have no time to give (Thanks Meadow)

9. Meeting neighbors - we met 2 neighbors & 4 kiddos on our walk this evening

10. Pics of crying babies. Comment to back me up on this Again, maybe I'm soul-less... maybe it reminds me of my Aunt Wanda... maybe it's just ADORABLE!

Grant is 4 months!

Grant got his 4 month shots yesterday. Perhaps I'm soul-less, but I don't really mind the shots. My job is easy, though - pin down my child and turn my head away. I may be soul-less, but I don't want to watch someone torture my baby!!

Here are his stats:

Length - 26 inches (85%)
Weight - 15 lb, 12 oz (75%)
Head - 43.25 cm (75%)

We weighed him at home, and he came in at 15.7 pounds, so the Wii is pretty accurate.

He is still in Size 2 diapers. This morning, his diaper was so full that he leaked onto me when I was feeding him his bottle. Nothing like feeling that warm liquid on your belly! It IS better than poop juice, which I have also had the pleasure of experiencing.

He still doesn't really care for the Bumbo.

He has been watching Lola a lot more closely - especially when we are all on the floor playing!

He can pass objects between his hands if he wants to. Most of the time, he'd rather pass it to his mouth.

He has been babbling more, and has added shrieks into his vocal repertoire.

I have FINALLY ordered prints of him to frame. I'll be able to decorate my office (and our house) by the weekend!

We thought he had an ear infection because he'd been pulling his ears and waking us up at 3 am, but his ears were clear. Doc says it may have already passed or he may have just found his ears.

Apparently, once you are 4 months old, you can play in the exersaucer at daycare! I put him in it this morning (with a blanket around him because he is still kind of small for it), and he really enjoyed his new perspective. We still need to get an exersaucer and jumper.

In mommy news, I have hung up the nursing bra. After this week, he will be on formula only. The doctor said we can start rice cereal whenever we want, so our lives (and Grant's diapers) are about to get a little more interesting!