Fun in the bath!

Yesterday we gave Grant his first "big boy" bath at home, where he just sat by himself in the tub instead of in his little blue infant tub. We should have done this a LONG time ago, as he has been standing and squirming around in that little tub for weeks now! But I never remembered to look for a large child-sized shower mat while I was out, until I finally found one last week at Target. So he enjoyed playing yesterday, but there were a couple of times that he planted his head in the water while diving for toys. So now we have to watch him even more closely (at least until he figures out what happens when his face falls in the water!). This next picture is about a week old, but shows what he does when it's bathtime. When he hears the water running, I go into his bedroom and take his clothes and diaper off, then set him on the floor. He takes off crawling into the bathroom and stands next to Daddy, just bouncing up and down and making noise until we put him in the water!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EVAN!

We hope you have a great birthday, big boy! We had fun with you this weekend and can't wait to see you again in a couple of months for Grant's birthday! We love you!

Packing is fun!

Grant has been "helping" me pack a lot this past week. He loves to play with tape, and he's discovered that it's really fun to pull it off boxes that I've just packed!
Here he is going through some of the kitchen gadgets I'd just finished putting into a box....
As I may have said before, Grant LOVES to crawl over to the cat food and water bowls. Sometimes in a span of 10 minutes I'll have to go grab him 20 times! That kid has a one-track mind sometimes! The other day, I set up a barricade of boxes so that he couldn't get through to get to that part of the room. But he even figured out a way to get through the barricade....he found a small opening and squirmed his way through it!

Although it's taking me much longer than it would take an ordinary person (without a baby) to pack up our house, I'm very thankful for the company he provides to me! And I'm just more and more amazed every day at things he figures out, and how he's becoming like a curious little person more and more!

Evan's First Birthday!

Our nephew Evan, who lives in Austin, had his first birthday party this weekend. We all had so much fun celebrating with him, and he was a great birthday boy! Dean, Grant and I got there on Friday night and the boys got to play for a few minutes together before going to bed. Here's a cute picture of Evan.....isn't this face adorable??

The next morning, the boys played together a little bit. Well, really, they mainly just played near one another and looked at each other a few times!
When it was time for morning snack, they both sat on the floor and ate next to one another. Here's a picture of Evan protecting his territory.....I think Grant is trying to steal his Cheerios!
Grant is admiring his cousin....
Here he goes again.....what a little scavenger!!
Leah is so cute and creative....Cheerios, cheese, grapes and apple juice for the babies at the party!
Evan with Grandma. Isn't his little birthday outfit cute?
Evan and Grant playing again before the party started. Grant wants those toys!
My brother Rob, sister-in-law Leah, and Evan.
Evan's not quite sure what to make of his cake!! He ended up getting it all over his hands and kept trying to clap them together to get it off!
Family picture after the party....

Time for table food (this time for real!)

We tried giving Grant some real table foods again beginning last weekend, and this time he has picked it up pretty well! About a month ago, I tried giving him a few pieces of banana, and he gagged every time I put one in his mouth (see previous post). But I made our favorite dessert, Eclair Cake (Paula Deen recipe) last weekend, and decided to give him a few bites. He LOVED it and couldn't get enough of it....of course! Who doesn't like Paula Deen desserts?! I started to wonder if that was such a good decision.....it was the only "table food" we gave him for those first couple of days, and I wondered if he would grow such an attachment to the Eclair Cake that he'd think we're crazy for giving him anything any less tasty!

But he's been doing well ever since....he now likes bananas, and has also eaten peaches, peas, kiwi, turkey, Cheerios, and some other things that don't come to mind right now. Of course I am so worried that he's going to choke on everything (he only has two teeth!), so I mash all of his food up with my fingers before putting it into his mouth! I'm sure I'll eventually get better at that....hopefully before he goes to Kindergarten!

Gerber also sells something called "biter biscuits" which look an awful lot like dog biscuits! But Grant likes them a lot.....the first time I gave him one, he grabbed it and held it with two hands while eating from it. I guess that's the idea. They're nice and sweet and I think it makes him feel proud that he's feeding himself! But again, I have to be very careful because all of a sudden I'll notice that he's bitten off a huge chunk into his mouth!

Here's a picture of him enjoying a taste of Eclair Cake (probably the 3rd time he had it!)
Eating a biter biscuit....
"I like bananas, but I'd really like to eat this part of them too!"