Mother's Day

Grandma gives the best head rubs on the planet, and Joshua has always loved them! Here he is, Grandma's oldest grandchild, holding on to Grady while Grandma loves them both.




Grandma Arlene, Grandpa Gerry and the adorable babies! God is good!

Grandma Arlene with Samantha, her first great grandchild, and Grady, her youngest grandchild. Samantha is the daughter of Josh and Lisa, and she is six weeks older than Grady. She's a very sweet girl!

My mom, me and Grady. My constant prayer is that God will give me the grace, joy and patience that He gave my mom and she so lovingly gave to me. I've been so blessed!

After church and breakfast out, John, Grady and I went to Good Sam's to see Grandpa Pat and Grandma Kay. Grady loves to be held by Grandma. He's obviously a cool little man! Grandma Kay is my other key role model of a Christian wife and mother.

Week of May 2, 2010

Grady is always so curious now. I thought he looked so adorable in this outfit - shockingly, it's a six month size - he's growing quickly! Chief still loves to kiss Grady whenever he can, and Grady is very patient with Chief. In fact, many of the kisses elicit a smile.

Grady hung out in his pj's for quite awhile this morning. Last night he had his OHS debut at the Empty Bowls program. This program highlights Heifer International and teaches about world hunger. John and I support Heifer International - if you don't know about it, check it out! If your local high school has a fund-raising program to support it, you should attend. Anyway, back to Grady; he's loving his swing and, as you can see, he's really hanging on to objects much more now.

Grady really does love bath time, and he's so darn snuggly afterwards!

Swingin' to the Classics

This was his first ride in the swing our neighbors are letting us use for Grady.. As you can see, he was interested in what was happening, but he wasn't sure if he liked it. He does love the music it plays. I thought I'd try the swing because Grady's been a bit different since his shots. He has been extremely sleepy - in fact, he even slept from 8:15 pm to 5:45 am on April 28. That's a record! However, we feel it's the result of his shots, not any new sleep habits. We have started a new bedtime routine - I keep reading that babies love routine: warm bath, singing, bottle then bed. Grady loves the first three steps, but he's not always happy about the fourth. I guess he wants to stay awake so he doesn't miss anything. Consistent sleep still eludes us...

Yes, I finally fixed the date on the camera...

Two Month Doctors Visit

Grady had his two month appointment with the doctor on April 26. He measured 23 1/4 inches long and weighed 12 lbs. 13.4 ounces. He's in the 75th percentile for both height and weight - whatever that means! Basically, he's a healthy, thriving little boy. He had his first shots at this visit, too. We were a bit apprehensive, but the nurses were quick and steady, and Grady only cried for 30 seconds afterward. It must have been the bear hug from mommy and daddy that quieted him down so quickly. He's amazing!

More pictures of Grady lying on his window seat in the nursery. What a beautiful boy - I know I probably keep writing those words, but John and I keep saying them everytime we look at him.

Twins Fan

John and I were preparing for our first date since Feb. 22 (the day before Grady was born) to the new Target Field to watch the Twins play. I figured Grady may as well know baseball lore. In this top picture, Grady is reenacting Babe Ruth's Called Shot. Yes, I know Ruth wasn't a Twins player.

Here Grady is practicing his umping - he thinks the ball was a little to the right of the plate.

Grady calls 'em out!

In case Grady becomes the next Mauer-type local hero, I think they can use this final picture on his playing card. Imagine the commercial the Twins could write using this mug!

The stadium was amazing! We parked at Fort Snelling and rode the lightrail to Gate 6. Because it was Earth Day, April 22, the train ride was even free. Unfortunately, the Twins lost, but we enjoyed the day anyway. Thanks to Aunt Julie for babysitting.

Contemplative

I love this series of pictures. What is he thinking as he stares at me? I've always thought that babies under six months of age were rather similar and somewhat bland in personality. I was mistaken. Grady has distinct moods and moments; he responds to sights and sounds; he follows my voice as I move around the room; he seems incredibly wise yet amazingly dependent on us for his existence. What a miracle from God and an awesome responsibility!

Happy Baby!

We had been listening to and watching Grady's Baby Mozart dvd, which he received from our friends Stacey, Tony and Taylor, and Grady was all smiles. Doesn't this picture make you want to pick him up and hug and kiss him?

He must be a morning person because this was taken around 8:00 a.m. Let's hope he's still this happy in the morning when he's, say, a junior in high school.

We were having so much fun that I decided to snap a picture of the two of us. So I bent down and leaned over the bed, held the camera out as far as I could and snapped a few pictures. I love this one. Even today, two weeks later, I can hear Grady's laughter (yes, he's laughing aloud these days) and see his beautiful little smile. It literally brings tears to my eyes. What's the deal with the tears anyway? I thought I'd escaped all the hormonal rushes typical to pregnancy and birth - guess not!

Crib Mobile - April 21

Even minimalists like the two of us can't resist buying things for Grady! Actually, we're sure there's a developmental advantage to giving him something to look at while lying in his crib. So, the three of us headed out to the land of baby consumerism - BabiesRUs - with a few returns and a quest for a mobile. This is Grady's first look at it from his crib. It plays Brahm's Lullaby and spins the animals around. When Grady was born at St. Mary's in Duluth, I was able to press a big, red button in the hallway by the nursery, and Brahm's Lullaby played throughout the entire hospital - announcing Grady's arrival. What a neat idea!

RFHS Shower Friends

Grady and I went to RFHS on April 15 for a shower given in our honor. Once again, we were overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends and coworkers! Thanks to everyone, especially Taryl, Stacey and Jean for hosting. The treats were delicious, and as you'll see in the next few pictures, Grady made some new friends.



Grady and Dylan, son of our friends Mike and Stephanie. Dylan is two months older than Grady, so you can see it was a bit easier for him to sit. Additionally, this was taken at the end of the afternoon, and Grady was exhausted! He was unbelievably good for the whole day - even the 45 minute car ride each way.


Ok, so this is a fun little repeat picture, but I did in a cartoon format with my photo program.

Joslyn, who is one week younger than Grady and the daughter of my co-worker Cara, and Grady were a big hit at the shower. Joslyn is such a pretty, blond, petite, pink-wearing girl, and Grady is a handsome, dark, solid, blue-wearing boy! The contrast is beautiful. We are all so blessed!

Prior to the shower, I had my hair cut. This is Michelle, my stylist and also my former focus student from the first 4-year focus group I had twelve years ago. Grady was the perfect little man during the appointment - he sat under the cape during the wash, cut and style, but he needed a little bite to eat when it was all done.

New Crib - Week of April 11

Grady still loves his bouncy chair, and he's starting to grasp objects. He doesn't hold them for long, though. He's also looking intently at the three plush, brightly-colored stars hanging above him.

On Wednesday, April 14, Grady's new Naturepedic crib mattress and pad arrived. They are both organic with no latex, wool or nasty chemicals (it still meets fire-resistant guidelines). So the next day, we put the little man down for his first nap, and hallelujah, he slept from 7:15 am to 10:00 am. Later that day, he slept from 4:30 to 7:30. These are much longer naps than he normally has during the day!

Grady sitting on a monogrammed tie blanket from one of my students. He does look smashing in blues and whites, doesn't he? This is difficult for me based on my aversion to blue, but when a kid looks great in a color, what kind of mother would keep him out of it? Of course, I haven't found a color yet that I don't think he looks handsome wearing.