11. Faithfulness

31 BIBLICAL VIRTUES to pray for your kids


11. 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).

dentist

Grant and I had our teeth cleaned last week, thankfully he did great and got a glowing report from the dentist!  Here is a funny picture I snapped on my phone to capture his first cleaning!

And a quick snapshot of Parker bee bopping around the town before getting dressed for the day!

weekend

Grant and Parker had a grand time at Grandpa and Grandma R's this weekend playing, playing and playing some more.  I think it's safe to say these boys love visiting everyone and especially their cousins!  I didn't get a picture of Parker being carried/pushed/nudged/rolled around by his cousin, Francesca, but we're all pretty sure he had about had it with her by the time we left ;)  Haha, she absolutely adores him, and I'm guessing all babies and children smaller than she, but at one point she came around the corner from the dining room and announced that he was still alive.  Too funny! 

Grant's pants, socks and shoes needed a bit of drying after riding around in the wheel barrow with Grandpa to get firewood so he decided to build with the blocks in his underoos!

 Priceless!

updates on the boys

I'm happy to report Parker is feeling much better after another bout with ear infections.  We have an appointment in one more week with an ENT surgeon to discuss tubes, poor Bear, we want you happy, healthy and off antibiotics for good!

Parker is also talking more and more each day.  He said thank you to his teachers at bible study yesterday while signing thank you at the same time!  He's continuing to say it which is really fun to hear!  This morning I had a magazine in my hands, with a baby pictured on the front, and as I walked by him in the high chair he pointed and said, "A baby!"  

This week Parker's fourth molar finally poked through and his top eye teeth are coming in nicely.  Not much to report on the biting front right now, I'm hoping this will be the new trend!

Grant has successfully completed his first session of swimming lessons without having his Dad or I in the water with him.  He did awesome each class but always complained, after each 30 minute lesson was over, that he was freezing with his little blue lips and chattering teeth to prove it.  It took some convincing and bribery (he could choose a small bag of Cheetos or Fire chips, aka, Doritos, to eat at the end of each class) to get him to continue each Monday and Wednesday but we won and he persevered!

Little brother was Grant's biggest fan from the sidelines of the swimming pool ;)

Lastly, we enjoyed a fun outing to an inflatable bouncy place this week with our friend Colin and his Momma.  The boys had an absolute blast and Grant conquered all of the slides without hesitation.

Does he look happy or what?  

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day this year!  Grant is totally into valentines, (he calls anything shaped like a heart a valentine) we had Valentine books from the library for a good month by the time the actual day rolled around so we were well prepared! 

He wanted to hang valentines on the front door, back doors, all of our windows, tables, you name it and there was a valentine there, I promise!  He painted, colored, drew, stickered, markered, glued, glittered, and cut valentines.  He even made a Valentine box to put his valentines in (thanks to Curious George having one too!).  When it actually came time to make valentines to give away we took an entire morning making our creations and were very pleased with how they all turned out.  Even little bro got in on the action!

My three valentines, I love you guys! XOXO

prayer for our kiddos

31 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).

chomp

Parker bit Grant.  I saw the whole thing unfold so I at least have the peace of mind knowing that Grant had it coming, at least some sort of retaliation.  Biting wouldn't have been my first choice of revenge but I'm just the Mom and they don't seem to ask me!

The boys were playing/wrestling/bouncing/rolling around on the couch, Grant put Parker in a headlock of sorts and, therefore, Parker bit his leg.  He left a bruise, it looks like a perfect one molar bite.  Parker is getting his last of four molars and has been biting, chewing, sucking on about everything.  Needless to say, Grant was very much less than thrilled and is now on the lookout for his biting brother.

That was yesterday, now fast-forward to today.  Both of them riding side-by-side in a dual shopping cart and out of the blue Parker leans over and chomps on Grant's arm, this time completely unwarranted. Three minutes later, same thing.  Thankfully they had their heavy coats on and Grant didn't even flinch and Parker decided my wrath wasn't worth doing it again...or he just plain forgot, none-the-less, no more biting to report the rest of today!  Hopefully this will be the last chomping post!

s-t-o-r-a-g-e

We pulled up to a stoplight and I hear from the backseat, "S-T-O-R-A-G-E."  There was a banner waving in the wind advertising storage units for rent and printed in large red letters was the word STORAGE.  Grant was thrilled to see some letters so he read them to me!  It is so rewarding and fun to watch his little brain develop and begin to spell words!

Super P!

Super P has finally made his grand debut!  I finally spent some quality time with my sewing machine over the weekend and whipped up this little gem up so he could keep up with his big brother, Super G, running around the house!

It's me!

This is Parker's favorite perch, he climbs up onto the couch, over onto the armrest and pounds his finger on this photograph.  As you can see, he's pointing to himself!  At least he recognizes himself...and he's only fallen off the armrest once doing this which is amazing considering how many times he does this each day, such a little monkey! 

Parker's 18 months old!

We blinked and Parker is suddenly 18 months old, yikes!

::you climb onto everything you can get your little leg hiked up on and then beam with satisfaction
::I'm pretty sure you would climb up the stairs and then slide down them on your belly all day long if we let you
::you scratch in displeasure, particular at your brother
::you say cheese anytime you see the camera come out
::you say apple for apples, bananas, oranges, they're all just apple
::you love, love, love to be read to (recent favorites: Peter Cottontail, On The Farm, Ears, Eyes and Nose)
::you will not sit next to us but rather climb into our laps each and every time we sit down, I love that ;)
::you take awhile to wake up (like your Momma!), many mornings and afternoons I'll come in to get you out of your crib and you just roll around, stand-up and then fall back down again and snuggle Mooey a little more (this is opposite of your brother who the moment his little eyes open he's ready to tackle the day)
::you are shy at times, particularly when you're without us or brother, they call you Mr. Serious in the nursery at church
::you can point to a few different body parts and are extremely interested in your belly button which makes us all laugh
::you will run as fast as you can, from any room in the house, when you hear the bath water start to run and you continue to love to splash uncontrollably while taking your baths
::you love to be in the swimming pool and don't protest at all when we dunk you under water
::when you are finished with a meal you prefer to stand up in your high chair and scream in disapproval when taken out, we call you King-Kong
::I'm convinced you would play for hours with the refrigerator doors open if I'd let you and in the pantry too
::doors in general are a fascination to you right now, you open and shut them all throughout the house, over and over and over again
::the toilet continues to be of great interest, I've had to rescue Mooey from it once
::toilet paper still doesn't don our toilet paper holders but rather stored in high and out of reach places, my patience finally ran out in that department, I've had it with cleaning up your toilet paper streamers!
::you can almost run, not quite but almost
::music still makes you wiggle all over and you love to play the piano and various instruments we have
::you still don't eat vegetables or meat very well but are always willing to eat them pureed
::you love to play and chase around with your brother and it is music to my ears to hear you two laugh together which thankfully is very frequent
::Grant calls you the Destroyer because you knock over all of the towers he tries to build on a daily basis
::you have 11 teeth


We love you Bear, you fill our hearts and we don't remember life without you!


~Mom


18 month Stats
::24 lbs 2 oz (30%)
::34 inches in length (90%)
::19 1/2 in. head (90%)

Brotherly love at its finest!  Grant was feeling left out and wanted to be in a few shots, this was my favorite, haha!