11 Months Old

Well, here we are--our last monthly update before Grant's 1st birthday! Where has the time gone? Grant continues to make us smile everyday--as well as keep us busy. He is all over the place! He has gotten so fast at crawling, and when he knows we are coming after him, he squeals and laughs, and then gets going even faster! He is pulling up on everything and moving along all the furniture while holding on. It won't be long before he starts to let go and try to stand on his own. Grant is also learning to wave. When we say hi or bye-bye, he is starting to put his hand up and move his fingers in a waving motion. He usually ends up doing it backwards and waving to himself, but at least he gets the idea!

Grant is learning so many other new things as well. There are many words we will say, and he will look at what we are saying, such as light, doggie, books, tv, fan, dada, and mama. We also think his first word will be doggie, because whenever he sees Lexi (or any soft stuffed animal for that matter), he says, "daw-ee!" At first he was just making that sound at random times, but now we notice that he says it everytime he sees the dog! What a smart little boy! He also LOVES books. He always goes over to his bookshelf to play with the books--choosing that over many other toys in his room! And many times, he will beg for me to pick him up as I'm sitting in the rocker next to the bookshelf, and then will reach over for a book. He will sit on our laps for a long time as we read to him. I hope he keeps this love of books forever! Grant is also learning to share. Whenever he is holding something in his hands, he will reach it out to us to feel or eat. He of course wants it back after we are finished, but he loves showing us what he has. Finally, Grant is becoming very cuddly and attached. He will now cry for a minute if he sees us leave the room, wants to be held more, and loves to come and get a small cuddle while in the middle of playing--just to reassure himself that we are still there! The good thing is that he will still go to other people--like our family, and is fine to be off and playing if we are at someone's house. He just loves his Mommy and Daddy!

Grant also now has his 2nd tooth. The top left tooth has come in--which surprised us since usually both bottom ones come in before the top. I'm sure the rest of the teeth will just keep coming one after another now!

Now we just need to prepare ourselves for Grant's birthday. I am already emotional about it! We can't wait to continue to watch him grow into a little boy, but we will always miss the other stages we have experienced along the way--having a tiny preemie, then an infant, and now a mobile almost toddler! He is starting to look so much older now. His hair is growing like crazy (and probably needs to be cut again), and it is lightening up a little. And with his teeth, he looks older as well. He continues to bless our lives everyday, and we couldn't be more grateful!

Grant's 1st Tooth!

Well, Grant FINALLY has his first tooth! We were wondering when it would make its appearance! We are going to miss that big, gummy smile, but he looks just as cute with that little white bud on his bottom gum. It still isn't all the way out yet, but luckily he doesn't seem to be bothered by it in the least. He hasn't had any problem so far with being fussy, showing pain, etc. (knock on wood), so hopefully the rest of the teething process goes this smoothly. But we know when the others start to come in, it may be hard for him. I had a hard time getting a good angle of it to take a picture, so I had to use my hand to prompt it a little bit, but Grant didn't seem to mind. One more milestone off the checklist!

10 Months Old

Grant turned 10 months old yesterday--wow, the double digits! He really sounds close to 1 now! We've had a busy few weeks since the last post. We celebrated little Jack's baptism and cousin Timmy's 1st birthday. Grant had a great time watching Timmy make a mess of his cake, and I'm sure he can't wait to do the same in a few months! We celebrated Valentine's Day together as a family with take-out, watching tv, and playing together. We realize it's hard to find babysitters on this day, so we were content just hanging out together. Doug and I did have a date night the next day though, and got to have a nice dinner out while Susanne and Corey watched Grant.

Another few milestones since the last post: Grant is now fully crawling on his hands and knees. Every once in awhile he will go back to army crawling, but then I think he realizes it's easier the other way, and he gets back up on his hands and knees. Also, Grant can now pull himself up to standing. He did it first while playing in the Pack 'n Play, and I was able to capture the 2nd time on video. He did it again later that day in his crib. He gets so happy when he gets up, and it's so neat to realize that he is seeing the world in a whole new way. He now tries to pull up on everything, and I know he will soon be scaling the furniture while holding on--this just means we are getting closer to him walking! Grant is also learning his first sign--I have been teaching him how to sign "more" while eating, playing, etc. for a few months now. I would say the word, make the sign, then hold his hands to make the sign. Well, just this week, when I say "more" he will put his hands together. It's not exactly right yet, but just the fact that he relates the word to putting his hands together is a good step. Now he just needs to realize to do it on his own when he wants more of something! Finally, Grant has graduated to the big bathtub. Since he is more mobile now and sitting up fine on his own, we took him out of his inflatable ducky tub, and tried him in the big tub. He did great, and he loves being able to move and splash. He sometimes tries to stand up and crawl around in there, but if we distract him with the toys, he stays sitting. He is such a big boy now!

We are so happy it's March and spring is on it's way. While we've enjoyed the winter and days of staying in with our pajamas on all day, (which is why you see Grant in his pjs in almost every picture) we are excited to be able to do more things outside of the house. We had a few nice days recently, and it felt so great to get outside and take a walk. It got us very excited for all the fun activities we can do with Grant this spring/summer that he was too little to do last year, like go to park, the zoo, Reds games, etc. It will be so much fun experiencing these things through the eyes of a curious, energetic, mobile little boy!

On the Move!

These pictures are from Grant's 9 month photo shoot. He did such a great job and was happy and smiley the whole time! Also, here are a few more updates and videos of how Grant is playing and moving these days. Since the last post on his 9 month birthday, he has come a long way! That afternoon, he army-crawled for the first time across the room to get the remote. Over the next few days he did it more and more, and he started doing it faster each time. Now, he gets up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth, and he may take one stride that way, but then he ends up going back to army crawling. Then, a few days later, he got himself back to a sitting position for the first time on his own. He has become quite the pro now at lying down, moving, then getting back up. We're sure he will be completely crawling very soon! He is also starting to sit up on his own in the crib, and we had to take the mobile out of there since he found his way to it and pushed it to the side.

Grant is also having so much more fun playing now that he can get to his toys a little easier. And of course, he finds ways to get to things he shouldn't be playing with as well. One cute thing he does is play with a musical Fisher Price train. He will get himself to it, touch it so it starts playing music, then he sits back up and claps. He does this every time he touches the train! He always seems so proud of himself when he does certain things, and has seen us clap and get excited for what he accomplishes, so he has learned to cheer for himself. Another cute thing is he loves playing ball! We started rolling a big, bouncy ball back and forth with him, and he just cracks up every time.

Finally, it turns out the doctor and I did jinx it at his appointment when we talked about how healthy Grant has been. Four days later, he developed a fever and cold symptoms that eventually turned into croup. He started barking like a seal and had trouble catching his breath. It was really scary, but we got him to the doctor, and he was put on steroids. They started working immediately, and the horrible barking cough and heavy breathing went away within 24 hours. He continued to have cold symptoms after that, but we were glad he got past the croup pretty easily. It sounded way worse than it actually was. Now he has all his energy back and nothing can stop him now!

9 Months Old!

I know I say this every month, but we can hardly believe that Grant is 9 months old already! He has been out longer than he was in! He continues to surprise us everyday. We went to the doctor this morning for his checkup and here are the latest stats: He weighs 20 pounds, 13 ounces, which is the 50th percentile. He is 29 3/8 inches tall--the 82nd percentile, so he is growing tall like his Daddy! This also means that he needs a new car seat soon--the height limit is 30 inches on his infant seat, so we will be shopping soon for a big boy convertible car seat! His head circumference is 18 3/4--which is the 95th percentile. He still has quite the big noggin, but luckliy there wasn't major growth since the last time, so it is fine. The doctor continues to be impressed with his development, and we no longer need to think of him in terms of what he would be based on his due date. He has definitely caught up! The doctor said Grant looks so much like his Daddy, and she was also impressed that we have not needed to come to the office for any sickness or anything since his last well check-up--that he is so healthy and making it through the winter without anything, which is rare! I like to think that Grant is this way due to breastfeeding, and maybe he is inheriting my good immune system (that I'm sure I got from my years of teaching). Hopefully the doctor didn't jinx us and he will continue to stay healthy. Before we left the doctor, we scheduled his next appointment--for when he turns 1! That is so crazy!

We are taking Grant for his 9 month pictures tomorrow. He has changed so much since his 6 month pictures, so we really want to get them taken again.

Grant is also so close to crawling. Just this week he has made many improvements. He gets up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth. Also, he has learned to start scooting on his belly to move closer to something, so we are pretty sure that he will be off and moving in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for a video on that! Happy 9 month birthday, Grantman!

"You are the best thing that's ever been mine"

After I fed Grant his lunch today, I kept him in his high chair with a sippy cup and some finger food to keep him busy while I cleaned up and did some dishes. Many times while doing this or cooking or whatever, I will put on the radio in our kitchen. I like to sing and dance silly in front of Grant to get him to laugh. He really seems to love the music. One song came on today, "Mine" by Taylor Swift, which is one that I sing to Grant a lot either at home, in the car, etc. I know it's technically a love song, but every time that I hear the lyric, "You are the best thing that's ever been mine" I think about both Grant and Doug. They truly are the best things in my life! When the song came on today, Grant started smiling--before I even started singing it or got his attention. This may be just a coincidence, but I like to think that he recognized it as the song I like to sing to him. I got him out of the high chair and danced around the kitchen with him in my arms, as he smiled and nuzzled against me. These are the moments I dreamed about when we were hoping for a baby or when I was pregnant. Tears filled my eyes, and all I could do was thank God for bringing Doug and Grant into my life. So many times I get completely filled up with strong emotions like this, that I can't believe I have what I do, and I just pray that all my loved ones can feel this way too at some point in their lives. I will never forget moments like these--it's what life is all about!

Milestones

Grant is now 8 1/2 months old and has developed a few new milestones since the last post! First of all, last night he grabbed food on his own and got it to his mouth for the first time! Usually the "pincer" grasp (using the thumb and forefinger to pick up food) develops around 9 months or so, and he doesn't quite have that figured out yet, but we were happy to see his interest in trying to grab the little puffs off of his tray and attempt to eat them. Seems like such a small thing, but was very exciting to us!

Grant has also discovered how to move all around his crib and turn in many directions. He got himself completely sideways and up against the side rails after his nap the other day, and he was gnawing on the crib rail. Good thing he doesn't have any teeth yet! He has also managed to get his legs stuck in between the rails, making him quite angry. We started putting him in a sleep sack for his naps now too (he used to just wear them at night) to keep the legs contained. Needless to say, we will be putting up some mesh bumpers this week to help stop both of these new habits.

While he is still not crawling or getting up to a sitting position on his own yet, he is still managing to get himself all over the room, under things, etc. by rolling and turning. He also likes to sit on his own next to us on the couch or on the floor, and doesn't want us to just hold him as much anymore, unless he is tired, of course, in which case we savor those moments! He also loves watching Lexi, our dog, and smiles when he sees her move. He is starting to grab for her and wants to pet her, so we are really starting to watch for that more closely now! We also are sometimes putting him in the Pack 'n Play with some soft toys to entertain him. It keeps him safe and contained, and he doesn't mind it if he falls over, since nothing can really hurt him in there. He really seems to like playing in there alone sometimes--almost like his own little office.

One more milestone is that Grant is now starting to grow out of his 6-9 month clothes, and has just started wearing 12 month outfits/sleepers this week. We only had a few things in this size, so luckily he got some things for Christmas, and we bought him lots of new things as well. Hopefully he will be in this size for a few months at least before we need to buy him a whole new wardrobe in the next size!

Just thought we'd share a little more about what Grant is up to these days. He is becoming more and more of a little boy to us instead of a tiny baby, and we are really enjoying watching him grow and learn. We thank God everyday for him, and I am so lucky and happy to be home with him during the day. We love just hanging out in our pajamas all day playing, reading, etc., and I can't imagine not being able to do this everyday! We are now finding ourselves calmed down from the holidays, back into our daily routine, and relaxing more. It's nice to not have much planned this month. I'm sure things will get crazier as Grant starts moving, springtime approaches, etc., but for now, days of being snowed in, taking long naps, and hanging out as a family are perfectly fine with us.

Grant's 1st Christmas/8 Months Old

Lots of things have happened since the last post. It's been a busy few weeks! First of all, we welcomed a new member to Doug's side of the family. Doug's cousin/close friend Andy and his wife Nicki had a little boy, Jack Andrew Haap, on December 16. Grant is so excited to have a new little playmate, and we know the two boys will be best buddies!

We started celebrating Christmas on December 22 with my family. It's so hard to coordinate everyone's schedules around the holidays, so we found it easiest to open presents a little early. Grant loved opening his gifts, and of course liked the wrapping paper better than the actual presents at first, but he is still excited about his new things. We then opened presents with Doug's family on Christmas Eve. Grant and Timmy had fun doing this together, and they loved Grandpa's train set! Santa visited our house for Grant as well, and he opened a few more presents Christmas morning. He was quite the party animal over the course of these few days and didn't want to nap at any of the family parties we were at. He even got to play Baby Jesus in a little play my family put on with all the kids. Needless to say, he was exhausted on the 26th, and actually took a 3 hour nap! He seemed to love Christmas as much as Doug and I do, and we can't wait to recreate all the memories we made this year in the years to come.

Today marks Grant's 8 month birthday. Wow, time is flying. He is changing more and more everyday, and it seems like this last month has brought on many new developments and tricks! He has been repeating our sounds, such as "da da" and "boo" and likes to talk a lot. He is also raising up on his arms more. He hasn't figured out how to get on his knees, but he is figuring out other ways to move. He can make it across the room by rolling and going backwards by pushing with his hands. He can also turn his body while on his belly. It won't be long before we are chasing him through the house. He has also started rolling over in the crib. He's been rolling from his back to his belly for awhile, but just started doing it in bed. I awake many mornings to hear him talking and playing, and when I look into our video monitor, he is on his belly staring right at the camera smiling. What a great way to wake up everyday! He also grew out of his baby tub we've been using since he was born, and he graduated to a new, fun ducky tub where he can sit up and play and splash. His latest trick is clapping. We noticed that he was doing this on Christmas. We first thought it was just a fluke, be has continued to do it since then when we do it first or say "Clap!" It is so cute, and I've attached a video for you to see. We weighed and measured Grant on our own here at home, since we don't see the doctor until 9 months and were curious. Not sure how accurate it is, but we got that he is around 21 pounds and 27 3/4 inches tall! He is still wearing 6-9 month clothing, but will probably be busting out of that size soon. He is still as happy as ever, sleeping well, and making us smile everyday.

Tonight we are celebrating my sister Susanne's 30th birthday, and we wish her the best year yet!

I can't believe 2010 is about to come to an end. I feel like I was just writing the posts about last year's Christmas and New Year's. I'm so glad we have this blog to remember this year--the year we welcomed our precious little son to our family. We hope 2011 will be just as great, and we wish the same to you!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We have been so busy these last few weeks getting ready for Christmas. We are trying to do everything we can to make Grant's 1st Christmas special!

The first thing we did was ditch our artifcial tree and went to a Christmas tree farm to cut one down instead. Doug and I always had real trees growing up, and my family always went to cut them down ourselves, so we wanted to start that tradition with our own family. We went on a beautiful snowy day and got the perfect tree. Grant helped us decorate and put the first ornament on the tree! We also put the lights up outside. Our house is festive and ready for the holidays!

Grant also went to a Breakfast with Santa with his Grandma and Grandpa Gates and cousin Clara. He didn't seem to mind sitting on his lap, although he may cry next year like Clara did!

St. Nick visited our house as well on December 6. Grant got some goodies in his stocking like a Glow worm toy, teething rings, and some fun baby food and snack puffs.

On Saturday, Doug got to share one of his family traditions with Grant. We went downtown to see the big train display at the Duke Energy building. Grant got to experience this with Grandma and Grandpa Docter, his aunt and uncles, and his cousin Timmy. The boys loved watching the trains and seeing all the colorful decorations!

We still have some shopping to do, and we hope to make some cookies and decorate a gingerbread house as well, like we have done the last few years. I also just finished up getting our Christmas photo cards ready to mail out. It has been so much fun getting ready for Christmas with our little boy, and we hope to make traditions and memories that will stay with us forever!