Courage

#12 of 31 biblical virtues to pray for your kids.

Courage. "May my children always be strong and courageous in their character and in their actions" (Dt. 31:6).

Lost Time

A few of you have been after me to update the blog, I promise I have good reasons why I have been checked-out for awhile!

My first excuse is that I have been busy chasing...literally, chasing after a toddler. Yes, it is official, Grant is letting completely go of things and walking for whatever it is he has his eyes set on! Of course there are many falls and wipe outs with a few tears but all in all I think he's loving life!

Secondly, we're preparing for our trip to California, leaving on Saturday for a week so we're trying to get things ready to go slowly but surely. I'm questioning how Grant will travel, it's not quite like our travels over Christmas....when he was NOT walking!! Thankfully it's a direct flight and there will be other kids on the flight, at least his 3 cousins to help entertain each other!

Lastly, our baby boy is turning 1 the day after we get back from our trip, which also happens to be Mother's Day this year. I'm not going crazy with birthday plans but am trying to get a few things in order before we leave so we can enjoy a few special things for our little guys first birthday.

Now, without further delay, the reason you look at our blog in the first place, some photos of our recent activities!

At the Museum of Science & Industry, our own happy little Mona Lisa!

Grant looking cute in his outfit from Aunt Kelly & Uncle Mark!

My boys making a fire...thank goodness for the fence!

We caught a beautiful afternoon at the park on Friday with 3 of our friends, Lucy, Wes & Grace!

Grant's first plastic pool experience...he wasn't so sure about his splashing naked neighbor Ava :)

Steps

This was from last week, we caught Grant on video taking a few steps to get to his scooter. However, this weekend he was walking in big circles taking lots of steps...of course, no video of that yet! Love~ Abby

Wave!

Here's the double-wave that warms our hearts!

Sunny Days

After such a beautiful and fun weekend it is hard to start another week! We hope this weather lasts but know it is destined to start raining again sometime this week...sigh! For now we will enjoy it while we can and look forward to our trip to California in less than 2 weeks!

#11 Biblical Virtue to pray for your kids...

Faithfulness. "Let love and faithfulness never leave my children, but bind these twin virtues around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts" (Prov. 3:3).

Lastly, here are a couple of pictures from the weekend. Since Grant will not understand his birthday and the idea of presents at all this year we decided to let him use his birthday present from his Grandpa & Grandma O a few weeks early. The weather was gorgeous this weekend so the water table was a must :) As you can see he loved it, I think he would've stayed outside forever if we would've let him.

At first I thought he might have more fun with just the box...but as you'll see I was wrong!

It's hard to see but he is soaking wet here :)

After playing all afternoon we struggled to stay awake at dinner, he looks like such a big boy in this shot!

Remembering

This morning I have an overwhelming urge to note what Grant has been up to these past few weeks & months for fear I won't remember them later. I am astounded at how quickly time is passing and our little guy is turning one in less than one month so I am feeling a bit nostalgic!

1/ The past few weeks Grant has started to wave back at people, it is adorable because he usually waves with both hands in the air!

2/ I remember, specifically on Valentine's Day, Grant nursing and while drifting off to sleep softly giggling...oh, to only know what he is dreaming of! He has done this on a few occassions and I adore it, it warms my heart and is music to my ears.

3/ Grant now claps if you clap and will mimic about anything, jumping & coughing to name a few, it's quite funny.

4/ A few words he doesn't yet know he is saying but will say and repeat are uh-0h, mama & dada.

5/ On Easter he started squinting & squeezing his eyes completely shut for pictures being taken, funny guy!

6/ He is becoming more and more brave, letting go of things to try and walk to objects but usually crashes. He had his first shiner this week on his left eye, he fell into the wooden rocking chair in our family room, ouch! I tried unsuccessfully to get a good picture of it...I'm sure there will be many more to show off in the years to come!

7/ BUSY, this best describes our little man these days. He is in constant motion, it never ceases to fail, we look up one minute and he is sitting in the curtains playing and the next minute he's standing over by the couch across the room.

8/ Lately he's been playing with his O-ball, he flings it so that it rolls away from him and then he crawls over to get it and does it all over again, it's really funny to watch.

9/ The remote control, cords, outlets, being naked, curtains, plastic grocery sacks, Daddy's Wall Street Journal, music, bananas, sweet potatoes, kitchen items (Tupperware, plastic bottles, wooden spooons, etc.), dogs, Harvey his crib fish, drinking from a cup, Mommy's blow dryer, boxes, bath time, standing up in his crib and bouncing on his mattress, and shoes, just to name a few, are his most favorite things.

10/ Things he most dislikes include getting his diaper changed while remaining in one position, teething (#5 & 6 are on their way), getting his face wiped after meals, not being where all the action is (kitchen if we're cooking, bathroom if we're using the potty, you get the idea), being held when all he wants to do is stand up and walk around, and when we put cords and breakables out of his reach.

There are many, many more but these are what came to mind first!
Have a great weekend everyone.
Love,
Abby

To pray for your kids....

Biblical Virtue #10
Biblical self-esteem. "Help my children develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that they are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:10)

This is a photo my friend, AJ, sent to me of her daughter, Abby, & Grant at their house last week, all smiles & up to no good!

He is Risen!

We had a wonderful Easter celebrating with friends on Saturday and family on Sunday. Grant went for his first egg hunt, had his picture taken with the Easter bunny, and of course had a ball playing with his cousins on Sunday.

Really, 11 months already?

I know each time I post about Grant being another month older I also say how fast the time is flying by and that I can't believe how big he's getting but it is so true!! Each day brings something new, this morning I walked into his room and there he was, just standing up in his crib all smiles & so proud of himself!

We had to try on our adorable airplane Easter outfit, thanks to Grandma Susan, this morning to make sure we were ready for this weekend and I couldn't resist but to take some quick photos of him. This first one is my favorite because it shows his top two front teeth and I haven't managed to get those photographed yet! Of course the second one is of him taking a few steps on his own...now if only I could catch this on the video camera!

Cruising

Sarah, you were right, Grant loves his "cruiser!" He prefers people to walk around with him but his cruiser is always a close second! Here's our little walker...we'll try to catch him walking on his own but I haven't had much luck yet, he's too unpredictable!

Grant's 1st swing

Thank you to Grandpa & Grandma O for Grant's Easter swing! He's already enjoyed playing on it this weekend. He also felt grass on his bare feet for the first time, do you think he liked it?!

Thank heavens for parks!

We had a wonderful weekend with Frank's brother, sister-in-law and the cousins visiting. We spent many hours at the park on Saturday...

I adore these photos, pure delight on the swings!

Cousin Francesca, all smiles!

Just hanging out...

Pure sunshine!

We love the sun & it has finally decided to shine!! We had a wonderful weekend with the cousins and spent most of it outdoors, absolutely beautiful! Tomorrow they promise the rain will return so we took advantage of these few days and took some time off from the blog....pictures to come soon!

Biblical Virtues to pray for your kids...
10/ Biblical self-esteem. "Help my children develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that they are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:10).

Biblical Virtue #9 to pray for your children

9/ Respect (for self, others, authority). "Father, grant that my children may show proper respect to everyone, as your Word commands" (1 Pet. 2:17).

We're having a good week here, despite the rainy and overcast weather, where is Spring?! Grant slept through the night last night which makes all the difference in the world, yahoo! And, lastly, we've gotten outside for some fresh air and a little socialization this week and are looking forward to another fun weekend with his cousins who will be visiting!

Love to all~
Abby