Oh - and photobucket doesn't approve of photos of naked 1 year olds. Don't even try it - they'll be removed!
Hello world!
7 years ago
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Daddy's Boots
Grant is always playing in Derek's work boots. Yesterday Derek put him in the boots and I ran for my camera!
Oh - and photobucket doesn't approve of photos of naked 1 year olds. Don't even try it - they'll be removed!
Oh - and photobucket doesn't approve of photos of naked 1 year olds. Don't even try it - they'll be removed!
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Thanksgiving 2011
Steve and Gloria hosted the family again for Thanksgiving. We ate too much good stuff and then recovered by chasing around the kiddos and watching and playing football. Grant wanted to dress up for the occasion:
Grant and Matthew played with cars and Grant got some good cuddling in with Grandma Rose and Tia.
We took a family photo after lunch. You can't even really tell that Grant has food in his hair!
Gloria even sent us home with leftovers. Lots of them! Grant's favorites are the sweet potatoes and stuffing.
Grant and Matthew played with cars and Grant got some good cuddling in with Grandma Rose and Tia.
We took a family photo after lunch. You can't even really tell that Grant has food in his hair!
Gloria even sent us home with leftovers. Lots of them! Grant's favorites are the sweet potatoes and stuffing.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Recent photos
For no reason whatsoever, Grant ran around naked after his bath tonight. He had so much fun chasing Lola!
How big is Grant?! He'll answer "BIG!"
And a shot from last weekend of Grant doing his favorite thing - eating.
How big is Grant?! He'll answer "BIG!"
And a shot from last weekend of Grant doing his favorite thing - eating.
Prepping the House for Abigail - Part 3 - Nursery
I really enjoy saving some dough! I started my master plan long, long ago - when we were preparing the nursery for Grant!
Grant's nursery didn't really scream "baby boy." Except the blue walls. See:
Farm animals and polka dots = gender neutral. It sounds crazy because "Hicks men don't have girls" but I was prepared just in case!! Even the small things like the changing pad cover and the laundry basket are brown!
So when we found out we were having a girl, I didn't have to run out and redecorate the entire nursery. Just put a coat of pink on top of that blue (or in our case - hire someone to paint it), re-hang the existing decorations and VIOLA!!
The only tweaking that we needed to do is:
*New valance. The current valance had too much blue for my liking. In it's place is THIS valance (wide window, so I ordered 2). I scored them while they were on SALE on Amazon - even better!!
*New name on the wall. Grant is taking his name and his hat rack down the all with him. Abby's name is now done and hanging from some pretty doorknobs! Grant liked helping us pick them out - the doorknob drawers at Lowe's = heaven for him!
*New mobile. Grant broke his mobile and then became really attached to the part that sings and makes the mobile spin.
Including painters, crafts, new dots for the wall (the originals didn't re-stick nicely), new valance and a new mobile, the total cost was about $200. If we had painted ourselves, it would have been MUCH cheaper but we had other rooms to finish off too.
So now, we wait!
Grant's nursery didn't really scream "baby boy." Except the blue walls. See:
Farm animals and polka dots = gender neutral. It sounds crazy because "Hicks men don't have girls" but I was prepared just in case!! Even the small things like the changing pad cover and the laundry basket are brown!
So when we found out we were having a girl, I didn't have to run out and redecorate the entire nursery. Just put a coat of pink on top of that blue (or in our case - hire someone to paint it), re-hang the existing decorations and VIOLA!!
The only tweaking that we needed to do is:
*New valance. The current valance had too much blue for my liking. In it's place is THIS valance (wide window, so I ordered 2). I scored them while they were on SALE on Amazon - even better!!
*New name on the wall. Grant is taking his name and his hat rack down the all with him. Abby's name is now done and hanging from some pretty doorknobs! Grant liked helping us pick them out - the doorknob drawers at Lowe's = heaven for him!
*New mobile. Grant broke his mobile and then became really attached to the part that sings and makes the mobile spin.
Including painters, crafts, new dots for the wall (the originals didn't re-stick nicely), new valance and a new mobile, the total cost was about $200. If we had painted ourselves, it would have been MUCH cheaper but we had other rooms to finish off too.
So now, we wait!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Grant can dance!!
I couldn't resist it. Check out Grant's moves here! Thanks to Julie for the photo from last week!!
Big bed hiccup
Yesterday we had our first hiccup in the big boy bed. After 3 different attempts and a total of about an hour and a half of crying, Grant finally took an afternoon nap! I thought we might be in for more trouble when I laid him down at bedtime and he was standing in the middle of the room by the time I got to the door, but he didn't make a peep! Saturday was smooth sailing too so hopefully Sunday nap was a fluke.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Prepping the House for Abigail - Part 2 - Grant's room
With the guest room set up, we set our sites on making sure Grant's room was ready. Thankfully my sister was ready to offer some help in this area. In the spirit of saving money (and also knowing kids just mess everything up), the furniture in this room consists of:
*Hand me down toddler bed from my favorite sister.
*Hand me down book shelf from Grant's Great Grandpa KC & Geri.
*Nightstand from our old bedroom set.
*Dresser from our old bedroom set.
Decorations consist of:
*Grant's handprints on canvas from 8 months and 15 months.
*Name and hat rack from his nursery.
*Big "G", which was in his nursery and actually made by Jill for his shower.
*Ikea curtain rods to hold Grant's artwork.
The verdict: Grant likes his new room!!
I saw these canvas boxes at IKEA that I thought would be great for the bookshelf. I thought it'd be great to have in orange, so I picked one up in white and grabbed some orange dye at Wally World. Here's the final product:
FAIL! My nails are still orange and I had to spend 30 minutes (with my big pregnant belly) trying to clean the dye out of the bath tub. I saw the green and turquoise boxes at Target and snatched them up after my dye job failed.
The good news is that I was planning on dying Grant's laundry basket too. I learned the lesson on a $5 box rather than a $50 laundry basket, and for that, I am grateful!
Although MOST everything in his room is his own artwork or hand-me-downs, we still needed a changing pad, laundry basket and wastebasket for this room since Abby would be using Grant's old gear. Total cost for Grant's new room = about $120.
Here's a few more shots of the room:
The former guest room furniture included a chest of drawers and queen bed. The chest of drawers from our old bedroom set is now in Red Oak, and the queen bed was gifted along to family!
*Hand me down toddler bed from my favorite sister.
*Hand me down book shelf from Grant's Great Grandpa KC & Geri.
*Nightstand from our old bedroom set.
*Dresser from our old bedroom set.
Decorations consist of:
*Grant's handprints on canvas from 8 months and 15 months.
*Name and hat rack from his nursery.
*Big "G", which was in his nursery and actually made by Jill for his shower.
*Ikea curtain rods to hold Grant's artwork.
The verdict: Grant likes his new room!!
I saw these canvas boxes at IKEA that I thought would be great for the bookshelf. I thought it'd be great to have in orange, so I picked one up in white and grabbed some orange dye at Wally World. Here's the final product:
FAIL! My nails are still orange and I had to spend 30 minutes (with my big pregnant belly) trying to clean the dye out of the bath tub. I saw the green and turquoise boxes at Target and snatched them up after my dye job failed.
The good news is that I was planning on dying Grant's laundry basket too. I learned the lesson on a $5 box rather than a $50 laundry basket, and for that, I am grateful!
Although MOST everything in his room is his own artwork or hand-me-downs, we still needed a changing pad, laundry basket and wastebasket for this room since Abby would be using Grant's old gear. Total cost for Grant's new room = about $120.
Here's a few more shots of the room:
The former guest room furniture included a chest of drawers and queen bed. The chest of drawers from our old bedroom set is now in Red Oak, and the queen bed was gifted along to family!
Friday, November 18, 2011
Things I Love
My "go to" wine has become Gabbiano's Chianti. Tan label, please. It's the "middle class" of Gabbiano's Chiantis - not the fanciest and not the cheapest. Sometimes you can find it on sale for $10, but it's usually $12-13.
My secretary turned me onto this wine. Her friend from Italy (Emilio!!! I could write an entire post on him and how small the world is. Long story short - we ran into him in the streets of Florence) showed it to her while he was here in the States and said it was the table wine at one of his favorite restaurants in Florence. Of course - any table wine in Italy is a good glass of wine!
I stocked up today so that I'm properly prepared once Abby and the holidays arrive. This meant stopping at 2 liquor stores because the first was out of the tan label completely. I guess my little secret isn't that much of a secret!! The lady helping me made an alternative suggestion, but when you haven't had alcohol in months, you can't take a risk like that!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Big Boy Bed
On Sunday Grant moved into his new room and into his big boy bed. How has he done in the new room and new bed?! Pretty much a perfect transition (I know - now I'm really tempting fate). He played in the room during the day while we were putting the last of the gear away, so he was comfortable with the layout. He really loved playing on the bed!
Derek says he went to sleep without making a sound on Sunday night. I was having dinner with friends, so I'll have to take his word for it!
A few things we did (notes to myself for when Abby makes the transition):
1. All toys are out of reach. Grant can't open the closet and can't reach anything on his bookshelf.
2. Elmo book - We read a book for several days about Elmo moving to a big bed. I have no idea if he "got" it or not.
3. Skipped a second nap. Sometimes Grant needs a second nap, but we skipped it on Sunday so he'd be extra tired and more willing to go to sleep at bed time.
4. COMPLETE DARKNESS. Grant had a night light from about 0-4 months. It was mostly for our convenience. After that, the night light went out and we never replaced it. He is comfortable sleeping in the dark (which helps in so many ways - he's quite portable)!
5. He can't open the door! Even if he tried to escape, he'd be stuck!!
He seems to really like his room. He knows to go there for bed now instead of the nursery. Last night he played in there quite contently (climbing in and out of a suitcase we'd gotten out to pack hospital bags) while I hung up all the new size 2T clothes from my sister (25 short sleeve shirts and 50 long sleeve shirts - I counted!).
I've checked on him every night and there's only been one mis-hap. On Wednesday when I went to check on him, he was actually on the ground next to the bed. Sound asleep with his monkey close by. I put him back in bed and he didn't even wake up.
Every morning when I go to check on him, he is sitting on his bottom on his bed. Usually repeating "Na no nah" (which translates to "Hi Lola"). It's such a sweet sight and such a sweet sound!
I'm glad my boy is getting into this routine now. Abby will no doubt shake this up a bit and will probably wake him while she is tiny and needs night-time feedings and cuddles. LESS THAN 2 WEEKS!!
Derek says he went to sleep without making a sound on Sunday night. I was having dinner with friends, so I'll have to take his word for it!
A few things we did (notes to myself for when Abby makes the transition):
1. All toys are out of reach. Grant can't open the closet and can't reach anything on his bookshelf.
2. Elmo book - We read a book for several days about Elmo moving to a big bed. I have no idea if he "got" it or not.
3. Skipped a second nap. Sometimes Grant needs a second nap, but we skipped it on Sunday so he'd be extra tired and more willing to go to sleep at bed time.
4. COMPLETE DARKNESS. Grant had a night light from about 0-4 months. It was mostly for our convenience. After that, the night light went out and we never replaced it. He is comfortable sleeping in the dark (which helps in so many ways - he's quite portable)!
5. He can't open the door! Even if he tried to escape, he'd be stuck!!
He seems to really like his room. He knows to go there for bed now instead of the nursery. Last night he played in there quite contently (climbing in and out of a suitcase we'd gotten out to pack hospital bags) while I hung up all the new size 2T clothes from my sister (25 short sleeve shirts and 50 long sleeve shirts - I counted!).
I've checked on him every night and there's only been one mis-hap. On Wednesday when I went to check on him, he was actually on the ground next to the bed. Sound asleep with his monkey close by. I put him back in bed and he didn't even wake up.
Every morning when I go to check on him, he is sitting on his bottom on his bed. Usually repeating "Na no nah" (which translates to "Hi Lola"). It's such a sweet sight and such a sweet sound!
I'm glad my boy is getting into this routine now. Abby will no doubt shake this up a bit and will probably wake him while she is tiny and needs night-time feedings and cuddles. LESS THAN 2 WEEKS!!
37 weeks
I was 37 weeks on Monday. Overall, I feel great but my feet are getting more sore (along with my shoulder - the last steroid shot did nothing for me). Sidenote - When we went to the hospital a few weeks ago, Derek said after the fact that he didn't think anything was really going on because my feet weren't swollen like they were last time with Grant!
Abigail is moving around all the time and I can actually feel the Braxton Hicks contractions (I couldn't feel them/didn't know what they felt like with Grant). It's impossible to sleep through the night without a bathroom visit (or 2) and getting much harder to focus at work! This baby is always on my mind!
Time is FLYING by! And so are the doctor's visits. With Grant, I had regular sonos throughout and also had those fun cervix checks weekly once I hit 36 weeks. But since Abby's 20 week sono was all clear and I'm having a repeat C-section, my doctor's visits are very brief: Urine sample, blood pressure, doppler, tape measure, signature and out the door!!
In 1 week, we will be sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner with my family at my brother's house. Last year Grant was eating baby food and I made sure he had Thanksgiving-appropriate baby food. There was a bib, a bottle, formula and lots of diaper changing! I remember staggering our eating so that Grant was always taken care of.
This year, Grant will eat everything that we eat and probably just as much. We'll all eat together too! I think I'll take the monster bib though because he is so darn messy! There will be a booster seat and I'll be saying prayers throughout the meal that he doesn't throw anything on the ground (that's Grant's sign for "all done" - real sign language just doesn't stick with him!).
I will be in elastic-waist pants giving me a huge advantage (like Joey's Thanksgiving pants from Friends - but the cuter maternity style)! Derek will probably be chasing Grant around. I know Grant will try so hard to keep up with his older cousins! Chasing will be out of the question for me - 9 months preggers and weighed down by baby and food (did I mention the beauty of elastic-waist pants during the holidays?!).
And in 2 VERY short weeks, Derek and I will be dropping Grant off to stay with Matt & Julie. It'll be his last few hours as an only child! After dropping him off, Derek and I will head to the hospital and impatiently await our time to deliver Abigail (Impatiently not only because of the excitement but also because I CAN'T EAT AFTER MIDNIGHT AND DON'T HAVE MY C-SECTION UNTIL 1:30 PM!!!).
If Abby hasn't come on her own by Sunday, I really want her to stay put until December 1st! If she's here by Sunday, we'll be out of the hospital in time to enjoy Gloria's stuffing with the family!! Can you tell how important Thanksgiving is?!
Wow - this was supposed to be just an update on pregnancy and baby. But it involves a lot of food talk (and parentheticals). I guess that's just a consequence of my "condition". Yes - pregnancy causes an over-use of parentheticals. Google it.
Abigail is moving around all the time and I can actually feel the Braxton Hicks contractions (I couldn't feel them/didn't know what they felt like with Grant). It's impossible to sleep through the night without a bathroom visit (or 2) and getting much harder to focus at work! This baby is always on my mind!
Time is FLYING by! And so are the doctor's visits. With Grant, I had regular sonos throughout and also had those fun cervix checks weekly once I hit 36 weeks. But since Abby's 20 week sono was all clear and I'm having a repeat C-section, my doctor's visits are very brief: Urine sample, blood pressure, doppler, tape measure, signature and out the door!!
In 1 week, we will be sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner with my family at my brother's house. Last year Grant was eating baby food and I made sure he had Thanksgiving-appropriate baby food. There was a bib, a bottle, formula and lots of diaper changing! I remember staggering our eating so that Grant was always taken care of.
This year, Grant will eat everything that we eat and probably just as much. We'll all eat together too! I think I'll take the monster bib though because he is so darn messy! There will be a booster seat and I'll be saying prayers throughout the meal that he doesn't throw anything on the ground (that's Grant's sign for "all done" - real sign language just doesn't stick with him!).
I will be in elastic-waist pants giving me a huge advantage (like Joey's Thanksgiving pants from Friends - but the cuter maternity style)! Derek will probably be chasing Grant around. I know Grant will try so hard to keep up with his older cousins! Chasing will be out of the question for me - 9 months preggers and weighed down by baby and food (did I mention the beauty of elastic-waist pants during the holidays?!).
And in 2 VERY short weeks, Derek and I will be dropping Grant off to stay with Matt & Julie. It'll be his last few hours as an only child! After dropping him off, Derek and I will head to the hospital and impatiently await our time to deliver Abigail (Impatiently not only because of the excitement but also because I CAN'T EAT AFTER MIDNIGHT AND DON'T HAVE MY C-SECTION UNTIL 1:30 PM!!!).
If Abby hasn't come on her own by Sunday, I really want her to stay put until December 1st! If she's here by Sunday, we'll be out of the hospital in time to enjoy Gloria's stuffing with the family!! Can you tell how important Thanksgiving is?!
Wow - this was supposed to be just an update on pregnancy and baby. But it involves a lot of food talk (and parentheticals). I guess that's just a consequence of my "condition". Yes - pregnancy causes an over-use of parentheticals. Google it.
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