Movie Night With Grant

We just had a "special night" with this boy. We've never let him stay up and watch a movie with us but we decided we would let him last night. We bought Chasing Mavericks and assumed he would get tired and snuggle up with us and just fall asleep watching a boring grown-up movie. He watched the whole movie exclaiming throughout "BIG WATER! Dangerous!!!!" whenever he saw the big waves. 

WE just love him to pieces and while we won't be making a habit of letting him stay up with us, it sure was fun hanging with this kid. 

Just have some pictures of this kid I need to put up:

posing and screaming "cheese"

head turban

After nose diving into the dirt on a picnic in the mountains.

Grant's Birthday

We celebrated Grant's birthday all week and then some:

On his birthday we went to Cold Stone where the staff sung to him and everyone else joined in. Grant was thrilled.

He's still funny about eating cold things- he has to do some "tests" first.

Then off to my side of the family:

 Grandma and Grandpa's house and did a homemade pinata

 And ate a two tiered watermelon cake -all fruit with a whipped cream "frosting" and some coconut and nuts.

Then later that week we went up to the zoo and enjoyed a day looking at the animals with Nana, Aunt Mandi, Uncle Austin and Uncle Garrett- we were sad to Papa and Uncle Patrick couldn't make it this time.

The zoo is completely different than the last time we went:

A splash pad was added-I think this was Grant's favorite part of his whole experience.

I know- really? This was his favorite? Where's the smile? Well- this is G enjoying something new- he is very good at concentrating and studying it out.

Looks like a pose- but this was before he reached for the camera and said, "SEE!"

We got to see the seal show and the bird show- both of which I recommend.

And enjoy trying to nab pictures here and there without getting in the way of someone else and hurrrying out of the spot so someone else could take a picture there. And apparently this was a "calm" day for the zoo- wow.

Thought this was fake- no it was real. It was just sitting there, not moving- with his mouth open. So strange.

Uncle Garrett being goofy.

Austin, Nana, me and E

Austin, Garrett, Nana, Esther, Mandi, Jay and Grant

She saw us and came up to the window and just kind of glance up here and there- it was sweet. 

We chased down a peacock- Grant got excited about that one.

In the middle of the day we had to take a break and go feed the baby and change diapers. This was one of those times I felt overwhelmed and hot and hungry and G was passed his nap time and hungry and the baby was losing it and I was just thinking "Why on earth would we come here and do this? This is hard and nobody is happy! Is this worth it?!"  So we go up front and to my surprise, everything you could ever want and need was right there- a nursing room, changing room and benches in the shade to give Grant a snack After everyone was taken care of I got to use the restroom! Something moms have to put off :) When I came out I had my "proud moment".
I walked out of the bathroom and got to see my family. My little cute family just sitting there- changed, fed and smiling. Oh yah- we got this. We can do this going to a zoo thing. They are the cutest don't you think? I'm proud to call them mine.

I love these people. This is my family. This is my work and my joy right here.

Happy Birthday Big Boy Grant!!!! We sure do love you!

Grant is TWO

Grant
I didn't know my 2 year old would be a totally grown up little person.

Favorites:

• His favorite phrase? "What's this mama?"- even when he's talking to dad he says, "What's this mama?" ha ha- then he'll realize after a couple times that he's talking to dad. 
• Favorite book(s)? Go Dog Go and The Jungle Book
• Favorite food? Still cheese. "Green cheese". (The bag is green on the mozzarella) and cream cheese- plain- with nothing on his "singer" (finger).
• Favorite treat? Chocolate. This boy loves his chocolate treats. (hunting for Easter eggs totally did us in).
• Favorite vegetable? Yes. He does eat vegetables- sometimes. Peppers! "Uncle Austin!!!" is what he declares every time we eat them.
• Favorite past time? "Blue park!" and then his youtube requests are "Chicken!" and "Pumpkin" and "Bear Sessities". Usually I'll tell him we can listen to the songs while I am on my email and a couple more are "head, shoulders, knees, and toes" and always, always "Row row boat".
• Favorite songs? "Let it Doe" (he loves Elsa from Frozen) and "Happy Birthday" He sings it to Baby Esther and himself (Dant) and dad and me. He also can almost sing "Green Grass" and oh- the "ABC song" where it just repeats and repeats the same exact lyrics. Every time we get in the car- that's what we have to listen to. 
• Favorite conversations: "Where's ______?" Tassy, Damma, Ward, etc. He'll turn to me during the day and seriously just say, "Where's Daddy?"....then he'll answer, "Work". He likes to ask where someone is and repeat the correct information. He likes knowing these things.
• Favorite bedtime requests: "Cuddle" and "Tummy rub". When he would have stomach pains, Jay would always rub his stomach so now he requests it. And always, always, "Mama milk".
• Favorite color? Pink and green.
• Favorite way to play with the baby: "Boop!" and poke her in the stomach. Then when her belly is showing he'll do raspberries on her tummy.
• Favorite Play with Mom: "Sips mama!" which of course translates to "Flips mama!"
• Favorite Play with Dad: "Horsey dada!"
• Favorite thing outside? Jumping in puddles, going to the park, walking on the ledge (3 inches tall), and his new tricycle. He'll only do that though if his little friends are outside on their trikes.

Least Favorite things:

• Brushing teeth...it's still a struggle for Jay! mwah ha ha- somehow he always does it for me.
• Nap time.
• Bed time.
• Being left by either Jay or me. He's very attached. Especially with the new baby here- which isn't such a bad thing. I am so glad he wants to be with me and will follow me home from the park, to the car, etc. because I wouldn't be able to tote him around all the time while I'm holding the baby.
• Getting help with anything.
• Dinner time- he is usually having too much fun outside and hates coming home and having to sit there and eat.

Did I mention he won't allow help with anything?

"GRANT'S SELF!"


I'll put some videos up soon.

Mommy and Grant

 I needed some mommy/son photos to remember. I read an article talking about how moms hide from the camera and end up only having one or two photos of themselves WITH their kids! What? Maybe that's an old statistic because it's so easy now with digital cameras but then I really only have 2 or 3 with Grant and he's almost 2! So I have more than average but come on- mom's need pictures with their kids! It's too easy to want to hide from the camera with my "mom" look. Today I had a cute headband though that Jay dubbed my "I Love Lucy headband" so I figured it was alright for the general public.

"Smile!"

Now- funny faces! Like this!!! Grant look at mommy's funny face!

What?...Weird...I don't know about those faces- how to make my face do that?....

He totally got into it.

And loved it! Oh how I love his smile.

What a fun little friend I have. 

Goat Food

What do we do around here when Grant needs some motivation to eat his dinner?

#1 We remind him that uncle Austin eats peppers (it works every time).

#2 Dad pretends to be a goat. Please proceed to video for a demonstration:

When he really isn't eating well, we make "banana ice-cream!" and I pack it with spinach, pb, chia seeds and a little avacado so he's getting protein, fat (omega 3s) and iron! BAM!

For Tassy

For Tassy.

Before Cassy left she instructed me to show her picture to Grant everyday and tell him about his "favorite aunt" *wink *wink. 

I only had to mention her a couple times and now this is something G will talk about. "Where's Tassy?....Mess-a-Toe!".

Meeting Baby- Big Brother Moment

Grant, meet your new sister! She brought you a gift!

He would only look at the book. He might have glanced at me but he refused to look at the baby.

Completely ignored her. But he liked his book from her so....success?

First day:
Grant finally looked at her. But then he slapped her belly and face.

Second day:
Grant was nicer... I think having one-on-one time with mom helped him feel still loved and valued so he started coming over to baby and being soft. We even let him hold her and he felt so important... for about 5 seconds...then he was done.

Third day:
His hits haven't been as hard...maybe he is learning.

Fourth day:
This just might work out.

Fifth day:
I am trusting him more to come within a few feet of her- he still will randomly hit her but it isn't hard and he LOVES kisses from her. I just lean her over to his face and say, "She loves you" (advice from my mom) and he just loves that. Oh and he's great at helping me change her diaper- he'll grab a diaper and throw the dirty one away! (I'm not cloth diapering her yet but we are doing cloth with Grant now and it seems to be working out so far).

Grant 19 and 20 Month Video Time

Are you ready to die from cuteness?

Or from annoyance from my laughing?

Either one proceed:

Grant learned how to push down the handle on the spray bottle the other day. But he only could do it if it was pointed directly at his face.....

The next video shows how creative G is getting in communicating. He is learning so many new words and how to put words together and just talking up a storm. Well, every morning I take my prenantals and Grant asks for "some" "vvvv-bl-vvvs". Vitamins is a very complicated word for him right now so he has his own way, using his hand, of making his version of the word:

The last vid just doesn't do it justice but is the only one I've been able to capture so far. He has this evil/fun laugh that sounds just like the minions on Despicable Me. He gets REally into it sometimes and will go on and on- it's almost embarrassing when you're in public kind of thing. I am just surprised because he is showing so much goofiness and personality by doing this:

Grant's Sleeping Notes

I feel like I should have recorded a little bit more about sleep tactics and routines up to this point and I don't know if I really have kept track very well. I'd like to reference these details later to change or use some of them for the next children.

So I'll just start now- G is 19 months:

1. He needs 7-8 hours after his nap to wind down for bed. If I try to put him to bed before then, it's a battle that I always lose because he gets too upset and won't calm down, even if I stay in there for an hour or more- he refuses to sleep. I've learned that if he isn't going to go to sleep that we should at least make it fun so we will go out of the bedroom and I'll do my thing or the other night we all watched 1/2 hour of The Lorax and then tried bedtime again.

2. He uses "hungry" as his way to escape bedtime. So we try to offer a snack before bed- something I know he will eat (rice or banana and some milk) then bring a sippy cup to bed with us to if he says he needs water, we have it right there.

3. He is getting more upset about having to go to bed so we are now, instead of calming, soothing voices or songs- I have to catch his attention and make him think going to bed is fun. We bring Beary and Bambi and read stories, sing songs and have "mama milk". It's been working better. But now that Jay gets home around 9 ish (most of the time G is just winding down) he wants all of us in bed or he wants to be out with whoever is not in bed so I know something should change here- getting him to bed before dad comes home so Jay can study during that time. I know I'm going to really like using him though once the baby comes so we can tag team bedtime.

4. He is still in our bed so I'm a little torn on what to do at this point. I would like to keep nursing him (I only have colostrum at this point) but if he wants comfort in the night I would love to continue our nursing relationship but....the baby is coming very soon. I think baby might have to start on the baby mattress next to our bed and I'll sleep on that edge of the bed so I can get the baby easily to nurse and have G on the other side? Or maybe we'll attempt again to get G in his own bed. I actually like that idea more because I could still let him nurse, but then he has to go back to his bed to sleep....hmmm....maybe it could work...I guess it's at least worth a try.

5. We always clean up toys before bed as part of our routine, then bath, snack, brush teeth and say goodnight to the house and read 3 stories- I am trying to do a certain number of books so we don't drag it out for an hour.

6. He doesn't always sleep through the night but he is getting better at it. Usually he still wakes up 1 or 2 times to make sure we are there or have comfort. Sometimes I can reassure him with my touch- just reaching out and putting my hand on his arm but most of the time he still wants to nurse for comfort.

Beary and Bambi

Grant actually got both of these stuffed animals last year for Christmas from both sides of the family: 

Bambi (Rudolf) is from Grammy and Grandpa Yorgason and 

Beary is from Nana and Papa Jensen.

A Friend At Naptime

A month ago we started making Beary part of nap time to make it fun winding down. I would get Beary and make his hands sign "book" and get excited and dance around that we were going to go in the bedroom and read together. Grant LOVED this and every day after that started grabbing Beary and making him sign book. He became his little friend. He would talk to him and kiss him and smile REAL big at him. I figured it would be a good idea for Grant to get used to sharing "mama milk" for when the new baby arrives and so Beary gets a turn to drink while falling asleep too. It's been such a fun little friend.

Playtime Friend 

Then more recently "Bambi" (Grant has been in love with the Bambi books and I showed him a clip of the movie on youtube of Bambi learning to say "bird" and Grant laughs his little head off-he loves Bambi) so anyway when we started playing with Rudolf, his name became Bambi. I wanted to correct him but oh well- he can say Bambi really well and that's what he loves so why can't Rudolf be Bambi? So this has been Jay's fun toy to play with Grant. Bambi and Grant and Dad play the mini basketball together. Bambi shoots and then Grant and Bambi try to get the ball running around like wild animals and laughing hysterically. I've tried to play with him a few times but he wants "Daddy" to play with him! So it's their thing but I love watching-

Our Bed Is Getting Crowded

Well, now when it's nap time, we have to have Beary and Bambi- both. And he shares milk with both of them. It's tough with the belly and two stuffed animals for Grant to reach and nurse but somehow he manages and conks out next to his two friends. 

Looks like I fixed the month and day- not year! ha ha- it's 2013 for the record.

Prayers and A New Man!

Here's how it's been going the last month or so:
Everytime we say a prayer, Grant has to pray for Sushila, Ramsey and Srijan (La-la, Si-si and Ra-ra). Sometimes he mentions them multiple times and sometimes we end the prayer and start eating or whatever and he says, "Prayer" and in that prayer, we pray for them again. Here's one I recorded- he's just so sweet:

It's been amazing to see someone learning the wonderful things I have taken for granted my whole life knowing about! To know about Jesus Christ and feel the spirit and know you can have God's power blessing you by keeping the commandments...it's been soooo cool.

So the Saturday after Thanksgiving:

Jay, Grant, Sushila, Ramjee, Srijan, Elder Gilbert, Elder Clark

After getting baptized, we got to see a little more of Ramjee's humor as he went on about how he was a new man:

"I don't know you. Who are you? I am a new man! Why are you talking to me? Where am I?"

What an awesome day!

Memories I Will Treasure- Grant 16-18 months

I have to put some little videos up to remember this cute personality. He's so fun.

Okay this is something he's been doing for a while-

So he's learning body parts and he loves saying "knee" and pointing to his knee or whoever's knee is around.

So one night he wakes up at 3 and instead of asking for some bananas or toast (our staple midnight snacks) he just starts saying "knee!" and I feel in the dark and his hand is on his knee. And he just repeats and repeats this over and over and we all ended up just cracking up- it was soooooo strange and funny.

This video is one way we have fun with this word:

This is something he has been doing for...who knows how long....but every time he does it, I run to grab the camera and he doesn't do it again! I don't know where this came from- I have tried to figure it out and my best guess is he feels tall and important and he's just telling everybody about it. 

And another dancing video because he just can't get enough music and dance parties:

Nana and Papa visit- Baby Pictures- The Face Comparison

Nana Banana and Grandpa or "papa" came and visited! Why do we never get pictures? Come on! Next time remind me and we'll snap a few with you guys.

Grant lovvvvvves nana and papa!
They brought so many wonderful things too.
A big box of stuff from Nicole! (Um...THANK YOU!) And I felt pretty and COMFORTABLE at the same time at church wearing one of the skirts and shirts you sent- it was wonderful.
And my early birthday present:

Waaaay better than the one we saw out by the dumpster the other day...glad I held out for this one:)

And Nancy and Garr brought a washer and a futon! Wahoooo!
This washing machine will save me trips to the laundry mat as my belly grows and it gets colder and more slippery, it would have been tough so this is going to be sooooooo nice.
And I'm glad to have a place for visitors to sleep! Why isn't every piece of furniture multi-functional? A couch plus bed....a dresser plus play fort? I don't know, I just love using one space, one item for more than one thing.

And it's come in handy this weekend as we found BLACK MOLD in our bedroom right next to our heads. Where we sleep. And breathe the deepest and longest periods of time...no wonder my mold problem in my body has not been progressing very fast- cause every night I get a big dose of more of it. yikes. So I'm grateful we found this and will get it taken care of. For now, we've been lucky to sleep out on the futon in the living room.

Well as we chatted we joked with Nancy about how Grant must take after her because he cleans up his toys after he plays with them and likes them neat and organized. Then he seriously eats at least 2 bananas a DAY and his favorite color is yellow. He can say "yellow" so well. I ask him what color something is and he'll answer "yellow" first but after that he will say the correct color if is green or blue, red or purple, pink, black and grey...orange is one we're working on.

Well, we know where some of his personality traits come from and I just couldn't resist doing another photo comparison.
I know I've done a lot of these, but I just keep hearing "he looks just like Jay!" and I know when I look at Grant, I see me and Jay so I just couldn't resist.

So here's out baby faces side by side:

Hair: my color, jay's hairline ;) He has more hair than me, but less thickness than Jay- good mix.
Forehead: Looks like Jay's to me...mine looks really big...I was a cone headed baby so maybe it is still a little stretched out? Or maybe I really do have a big forehead?
Eyes: his own dark chocolate brown- maybe more Jay's shape with a little twist of Aubreyness.
Eye brows: he has good eyebrows- neither of us really have much there but I think the shape looks most like mine.
Chin: my chin!
Face shape: I think it looks like my face shape on bottom and Jay's on top.
Ears: he totally has Jay's ears- they are exact replicas! How cute.
Nose: mine.
Lips: Jay's lips and mouth- the way he smiles curves downward- I know this picture of Grant he is being cheesy so it's probably a little more pronounced than normal.
Teeth: I have no idea- it looks like he has way more teeth than either of us but maybe he's older than either of us in these pictures? All I know is we are all babies here so it could be quite a few months difference.

Demanding- 17 Month Old Kid

He's always in action these days- therefore I now shoot using the "action" setting on the camera- with poor lighting...it doesn't make the best pictures but you can still see his cuteness and that's what matters.

I know, does that face really look demanding to you? Well don't be deceived because this word, "demanding" is a perfect way to describe the little bugger  cutie these days.

He has a favorite song.  It's a good one. From the Prince of Egypt. He fondly calls it "Eye die dee die".

We borrowed the soundtrack from my mother-in-law and since that day (what going on 3 weeks now) we have listened to track number 7 non-stop.

Am I kind of maybe sort of sick of it by now? Well, not as much as you might think. I actually really do like the song and it's funny because the lyrics always actually make me really think different things about my life and thoughts such as, "I need to look at my life through heaven's eyes". Plus, we get to dance like crazy lunatics to the lai la lai lai lee lai lai part which is always a blast- and a workout! Bonus!

Here are the lyrics for those of you who don't know the song:

A single thread in a tapestry, though its color brightly shines, can never see its purpose in the pattern of the grand design. And the stone that sits up on the very top of the mountain's mighty face, does it think it's more important than the stones that forms the base? So how can you see what your life is worth or where your value lies?  You can never see through the eyes of man. You must look at your life, look at your life through heaven's eyes.

lai-la-lai lai lee lai lai, lai lai lai lai lai lai lai lai lai lai la lee lai lai, lai lai lai lai lai lai.

A lake of gold in the desert sand is less than a cool fresh spring. And to one lost sheep, a sheperd boy is greater than the richest king. Should a man lose everything he owns has he truly lost his worth or is it the beginning of a new and brighter birth? So how do you measure the worth of a man in wealth or strength or size? In how much he gained or how much he gave? The answer will come, the answer will come him who tries to look at his life through heaven's eyes.

And that's why we share all we have with you though there's little to be found. When all you've got is nothing there's lots to go around. No life can escape being blown about by the winds of change and chance and though you never know all the steps: you must learn to join the dance. You must learn to join the dance!

lai-la-lai-la-lai lai lee lai lai, lai lai lai lai lai lai lai lai lai lai la lee lai lai, lai lai lai lai lai lai.

So how do you judge what a man is worth? By what he builds or buys? You can never see with your eyes on earth.  Look through Heaven's eyes, look at your life. Look at your life. Look at your life through Heaven's eyes!

I should have it memorized by now by I always get the different parts confused. So yes, this is the song we have been living our lives to every day for almost the past month. Oh and did I mention I am not allowed to sing anything else to rock him to sleep with? He requests "Eye die dee die" every time. Sometimes he wants the "hush now my baby" part from "Deliver Us" of that same soundtrack but then right after I start singing it he emphatically says "EYE DIE DEE DIE!" and he gets more and more worked up if I don't switch over right away.

Another funny note about his demands and this song: the last two days he says, "Eye die dee die" and once I start singing the words, he goes "Hmmm....hmmm..." because he wants me to hum it instead of sing the words.

He doesn't use English to let me know his desires, but he sure can communicate what he wants.

Funky Toenails & Other Tidbits About The Little Boy

I have to write about this. I really must remember this when my little boy is grown- I don't know it's just so weird. Like I think my kid is perfect, I really do- except for one little thing.

Looks:

He really is perfect from head to toe....but it stops right at the toe until it reaches the nail and then something happens.

About halfway to the tip of the toenail, it starts curving upward and out.
This results in the WEIRDEST toenails you will ever behold.
No kidding.
They are sharp and jagged and stick straight out because of so mentioned curve.
I try to clip them so they aren't deadly but I can only clip to the edge of the white and the curve starts much further in than that.

I'm so glad his fingernails don't do this.


Okay- got that recorded- moving on to cute things;)

Marshmallow Hair:
Jay describes his hair has "perfectly golden-brown roasted marshmallow hair" and it really is. Most of it is this beautiful golden brown color- I actually really like it- I thought I would want his hair to stay dark with his dark eyes and skin but he is beautiful with this mallow hair. He's still got some random patches of his former dark hair on the sides of his head above his ears and on his forehead which looks kind of ombre right...

Walk:

Seriously cracks me up every time. I don't know when he started doing this...maybe a week ago now?...
So when he's serious about going and doing something he keeps his right arm tucked straight by his side and swings the left back and forth vigorously as he struts to whatever has caught his eye.
It. Is. Adorable.
I got a tiny glimpse on camera..stay tuned for when I finally figure out what's going on with my youtube and why it isn't working! Argh!
I have to wonder if he's going to be lopsided doing this but it sure is darn cute.



Talk:

Where did this kid come from? He wants to talk now. Every day he wakes up and gibbers away. Then, he is enthralled with pronouncing words. We can sit there for a whole minute just practicing a word. He looks at my lips as I speak the word, then repeats...a lot of the time it sounds kind of similar too.

It's cute though because he will start words with a letter that is in the middle of the word so "grapes" is "papes". That's the only one I can think of right now. Peaches and blueberries sound like "babies" but he is doing really well with words like "soup" and "rice" he says "sue" and "rye".

He says "thank you" now and tries to say pretty much anything else you ask him to try. So crazy he's really going to be talking.

Eating:

Well, he has been extremely picky and won't eat dinner which has caused some grief (waking up at 3 in the morning to feed him some toast and applesauce).
I have a success story though: he ate leek, zucchini, white bean and noodle soup! Yes, he would only touch the zucchini- which he loves apparently (I think cause it's soft) but then I blended everything else up and he ate-no kidding- almost 2 measuring cups worth tonight. HOLY MACARONI. I think he eats more than I do sometimes. And I'm pregnant....he must really be going through a growth spurt or something.

Oh and he LOVES green smoothies! I'll post a couple of my favorites here soon.

He really is a little boy now and it's really a very fun thing having a little boy running around. I am so blessed.

15 months

What can I even say about this ball of energy and love?

Can I just show you a couple cute things?

I really wanted a picture with Great-Grandma but G was not having it. At least she's happy.

We went to the fair! We fed the sheep some grass.

Sometimes he'll do the slide- not very often- but when he does, he seems to love relish it. Once he reaches the bottom he signs, "more" very seriously. I don't know why he doesn't do it more often?

This is his FAVORITE thing to do. Seriously. Dishes with mama. If nothing is cheering him up- if he's teething or even not feeling very good- do the dishes and *bing* smiles light up his cute little face.

Hey, I get a happy boy and dishes done? Sounds good to me.

The school claims to be "family friendly". After attending this little family day they put on, I believe them.  I really like that a lot.

Great pictures right?

I have noticed I really don't get a lot of pictures with the kid. I am so happy he semi-smiled for this one. I will cherish this one I'm sure.