"A Little Bit Scary" (Jared Mori, age 2)

Grant's recently gone back to his old habit of peering out the corners/tops of his eyes at things that are a little scary. It's hard to appreciate the full effect in pictures, but

here's an attempt. It's pretty funny in person. Here he's not sure about something he's seeing on Nate's computer screen.

This was from last October...peeking at a suspicious butterfly on the wall of the Rainforest Cafe.

Cooking Together

I picked up a little play basket full of fruits and veggies for Grant. He's been having lots of fun with it. Today I asked him if he wanted to help me make broccoli for lunch and he was so excited!

He dumped out all of the options on the counter to find the broccoli.


Here it is! We pretended to chop it (his set came with a little knife and cutting board.)

Checking to make sure his looked like it was supposed to. Mine was all chopped so it wasn't quite the same...

Working hard

Now for the taste test. Mmmmmm...broccoli...

Fun Day with Emma

We got to spend some fun time with Emma Perdido today.

Grant was very excited when Emma arrived. He couldn't wait to show her his toys and try to share his cup with her.

Isn't she the cutest???

After our walk, everyone was happy to have a snack and watch a little Baby Einstein. I'm SO thankful for Graco and the genius people who came up with Baby Einstein. Grant had seen Emma in the Pack n' Play earlier and wanted a chance to play in there. I was more than happy to oblige.

Kudos to you moms with more than one kid. I don't know how you do it. One day was fun, but keeping up with two or more on a regular basis is hard work!

Snake Wrangling Robot

Nate made Grant into a robot. The robot then found a couple of snakes in the house and saved us from snake infestation! Good thing, too. I thought one of the snakes was just a resistance band, but the robot saw through that charade.

Playing at the Mall

Grant and Emma, in a rare moment of playing together.

The Park

Grant enjoying the sand

Katy Joy...isn't that the cutest pose? I call it "Contemplation."

Pinecones are always a hit.

Flower Gathering

Grant and I went out for a walk the other day and he got to pick some flowers.

Here he's being a little defensive when I suggested that we'd picked enough flowers.

He was very proud!

Here was the finished product.

Mommy's Helper

Cleaning is so much more fun with my little helper. He helped me vacuum, load the washer, unload the dryer, and even clean his bathroom. Then we went downstairs to clean the countertops.

Grant loves to spray and makes great sound effects.

What a good little scrubber!

Of course, we had to do "Cheers!" with our sprayers. No cleaning project is complete without that.

Emma's Beau?

Emma was making all sorts of noises out the window, so I went to check it out.  This little squirrel either loves her or hates her...we can't tell if he's flirting or taunting.  Other days we've heard him chatting at her through the window.  Today he came right up to the window and stared at her.  Unfortunately, he then decided to chew up the seat cushion.  Not making the best impression if you ask me.

Chicago Trip

I had a little bit of help getting packed. I use the term "help" loosely.

Grant and Grandma, after working in the yard together

We went to the local park a couple of times to play. The weather was so nice. Grandma got right up on the jungle gym to play.

We met fun friends both times we went. Little Matthew here impressed us by pushing both Grant and his sister at the same time.

Grandma's a great pal--she did the swings at the same time as Grant, which he thought was very funny.
A little video of Grant having a great time on the swing.



Good coloring, Papa!

Getting a ride


PoorPapa was trying to eat and read, but his little breakfast partner kept begging food off him.


Papa was happy to share.

Reading stories and snuggling


My aunt Pat, cousin Diana, and her daughter Annabelle drove a long way to come see us. It was great to get to catch up.


Annabelle and Grant playing with their new treasures

Papa let Grant help him change the batteries in the plane toy.

Grant was still very precise when he played the piano. No banging, just one or two notes at a time.

"Old Snake Fingers"

Grandma pushed Grant around the basement in a wheeled office chair, letting him turn on and off the lights. It doesn't get much better than that.


Grant disappeared at one point and came back dragging this step stool he found in the bathroom. He really wanted to help Grandma.


We made chocolate chip cookies together.



Mmmmmm...cookies taste better when you get to help make them.

Busy, busy


Looking at pictures on Grandma's camera, trying to snuggle with both at the same time.




Eating a favorite snack, popcorn, with Grandma


So happy to be with Papa


Eating his 1st Fudgesicle


Quite a messy affair
By the end, he wanted my mom to hold it so he could just sit back and lick at his own leisure.



The trip went by too quickly. Can't wait to visit again!

Little Friends

I get to meet with my good friend, Stephanie, and her daughter, Suzie, every week. Here are a couple of pictures from our last visit.

As soon as Steph put Suzie on the couch, Grant wanted to sit by her.

Awww...

Gotcha Day! (2)

Saturday was Grant's 2nd Gotcha Day anniversary. We had a little family celebration. I can't believe he's been with us 2 years!





Grant was very pleased to find the balloons.

Opening his present with Dad...a tool set

Now they can both work at the same time


This is how Grant spent most of the evening...on his tiptoes next to his dad, playing with the tools.


He was pretty excited about the Cars party stuff.

After all the balloons had popped, Nate put them on his hands and feet. Boys.

Modern Art

Grant left this little piece of art in the birdcage in the hall. I thought it was very...modern

Easter

Grant and me with his little Easter basket

Coming downstairs, ready to hunt for eggs

Grant didn't really get the concept of collecting eggs in his basket. He'd open each egg that he found, eat the treat inside, then toss the empty egg aside.

Afterwards, the went through all the eggs one more time to make sure he didn't miss anything.

Silly boy...with chocolate all over his face

Ready for lunch

Sleepy Boy

We don't get many shots like this anymore. Poor little guy was totally tuckered out.

Jolly Roger

I couldn't find a cute Jolly Roger for Grant's new pirate room, so I asked Nate to paint one for me.

Grant was, of course, eager to help.

It was a 3 day project since it was black on white on black. It turned out really cute. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the finished project. It'll be in the pictures of his room if we ever finish it.