Thanksgivings...

A few of my bloggy friends are making a point to blog everyday until Thanksgiving about something they are thankful for.  Now, I hate to set myself up for failure so I am not committing myself to do this everyday, but I thought it would be fun to join in and contribute when I can.

So, today I am thankful for my amazing husband Jason.  It was nine years ago that we met.  We had known each other through friends and ended up hanging out one random Saturday afternoon.  I was supposed to go to a Notre Dame football game with my mom but had overslept and missed the opportunity so I had nothing going on.  I think we ran into each other at the grocery store or something like that - the logistics are a little cloudy....  Anyways, we ended up spending the next few hours together stealing pumpkins from his parents house, carving them up and watching Ghostbusters!  It was such a fun night and it was then that I knew that he was going to be more than just a friend in my life.  It was also then that I got my first glimpse into his love of Halloween!

I could have never guessed nine years ago that we would be where we are today.  We have been through so many ups and downs, good times and bad times.  He has been there to wipe my tears as I cried myself to sleep at night and there to hold my hand and encourage me as we did just one more round of infertility treatments.  He is amazing and brings out the best in me and I am so thankful for him!

This is one of my favorite pics of us.  It was taken on a trip with J's family to Nueva Vallarta.  Don't we look so young????



Happy Halloween!

Halloween is a big deal in our household.  Mostly because of my husband who treats Halloween like I do Christmas!  He decorates the house up with spider webs, plays really scary music, plugs in the black lights and the strobe light and sits in the garage waiting to scare the heck out of anyone who dares walk up our driveway. 

The weekend started with a 5k Fun Run Fundraiser that I had organized for my work.  J came down and ran  while pushing Grant in the stroller.  We borrowed this inchworm costume from cousin H because it was cute and cuddly and especially warm for the chilly run around Windmill Island. 

Saturday night we had the grandparents over for steak dinner and then left them at our house to hand out candy while we took this little monster around the block!

It was so fun to actually be able to take our baby out trick of treating!  We even got him to walk up to a few doors, but mostly we just pushed him in the stroller. After a few houses, I did feel slightly guilty taking candy knowing that G was never going to eat it.  But, it was so much fun I just couldn't help it!  I was very thankful for our neighbor however, because she handed out little bags of Teddy Grahams for the little kids so that Grant could at least eat something out of his bag!

It was a great weekend full of lots of Halloween memories.  Hope you all had a wonderful one as well!

Quiet...

Things have been quiet around here lately which is fine by me!  After a really busy beginning to fall and all the anticipation of Grant's first birthday, it is nice to just sit back and relax a bit.  This is a little glimpse into what we have been up to lately....



this is Grant's happy face.... we also refer to it as his Chucky face!  He loves playing in the leaves.

 


I procrastinated this moment for a long time, but I finally gave in.  Grant got his first haircut and now he looks so much older!

 

Grant and I spent an awesome fall afternoon at a local orchard with a friend and her daughter.  They had goats, chickens and a very large turkey.  Grant loved petting the goats and he even got to feed them their breakfast- it was so much fun.

Just hanging out in the apple orchard...

J and I ventured out on our annual color tour a few weekends ago.  It included a lot of amazing fall colors, some delicious cider doughnuts and a final stop at our property.  We sat there for a while dreaming about our future plans and all the fun times that Grant will have playing at this amazing spot!

 Other random thoughts...

*Grant had his 12 month appt.  He only weighed 19 pounds!  He is in the 15% for his age in weight and 40% for his height.   We knew he would be low in weight because he is a horrible eater.  One day he will eat anything I give him and the next he will spit it right out.  If you knew me as a child, you are probably giggling a little bit at this one.  I know my mom is! 

*Grant has 10 teeth now- the top two eye teeth have been slowing making their appearance.

*Grant has started throwing fits.  A while back he would have an occasional fit, but now it seems to be all the time.  I don't know what brought them on, but ever since this weekend, they have gotten worse.  Whenever the G man doesn't get his way, he will tighten up his neck muscles and scream.  It was kinda cute the first time....but the 100th time, not so much!  Any advice on dealing with these is appreciated!

*And finally.... with Halloween approaching, I can't help to think about the girls.  I know it sounds weird, but I just imagine all the creative characters or themes I could have come up with for all three of my babies and it makes the holiday a little bittersweet.  I can't wait to dress Grant up and watch him walk up to a door, but it makes me sad for the two little girls that will never say trick or treat.  For Halloween,  Grant had two outfits- a monster and a cuddly tiger.  Unfortunately, with his short little legs and skinny waist, he swims in the tiger outfit and trips over the feet.  I am hoping to save it for next year.

Well, I think that is it about now.  The Heart Association just called and woke up G from his nap- pretty sure I am not donating to them anytime soon!

Wave of Light

If you or someone you know has lost a baby due to infant loss, miscarriage, still birth, etc... please light a candle tonight at 7:00.   Our house will be lit up with candles tonight in memory of the baby we lost to miscarriage, the niece or nephew we never got to meet, the son or daughter you never got to hold, the baby that was taken from your arms way too soon and of course our beautiful daughters Brooke and Alexcyn. 

For more information on the Wave of Light,  click here.

One year pictures...

Two weekends ago, I set out for a one year photo shoot with Grant and my not so excited assistant Jason.  I had planned on getting professional pictures taken, but that didn't work out.  So, I figured I could just take his pics and play around with them in Photoshop and it would be all good.  What I forgot was that Grant is not the best subject when it comes to photographs!  We went to three different locations and snapped hundreds of pictures of Grant eating the dirt and bark at the park, Grant trying desperately to crawl right into the lake at the marina and Grant attempting an escape on our neighbors back porch.  So, out of all the pictures I took, these are the only half way decent ones.



I'm outta here!

a little air guitar action!

finally we got a smile out of him!





which way to the water?

are we done yet????



I saved my favorite for last!  This pic turned out amazing and didn't require any PS actions!



Party Time!

Last night, we had a wonderful evening celebrating Grant's fist birthday with our family! 

The invitation....



(For some reason I can't find the final version of the invite, so this rough draft will have to do...)



The menu... 

*Bacon wrapped water chestnuts and spinach dip for appetizers

*Chicken Corn Chowder or Chicken Noodle soup in a Panera bread bowl and a chicken/strawberry salad  on the side for our main course

*Aunt N's pound cake cupcakes with butter cream frosting for dessert! 

The decorations...

(if you click on the picture, you can get a close up view of the banner...)

The favors....

Grant's Gator Food....Trail mix for the adults and candy and fruit snacks for the kids.

The cake...

Old Swampy from the Hello Cupcake book!

The presents.....

He is one spoiled but extremely happy little boy!

Thank you to everyone who sent cards, gifts and birthday wishes.  It truly was a magical day for our family! 

I couldn't resist including this pic of Jasper trying to get in on the birthday fun!

12 Months

Grant Weston,

A year ago today, my dreams came true when the nurse placed a beautiful, healthy, baby boy in my arms.  As I held you tight, my heart was overflowing with love for you. You had the most beautiful blue eyes and you were so alert.  You just stared up at me and from that moment, I knew that my life was changed forever.   I knew that God had given us the best gift ever- He had not only given us a son, He had given us YOU! 

 

It is hard to believe that the first year of your life is over.  It seems like just yesterday that we saw your first smile, heard your first laughter and watched you roll over for the first time.  We laughed as we watched you do the army crawl across the room and cheered as this month you took your first steps.  You went from an adorable, tiny 6 lb baby boy that would cuddle in my arms for hours to a 20 lb big boy that loves to talk, walk, clap and point.  You have an amazing curiosity for everything you see, hear and touch and you have already taught me so much about the simple things in life.  Today, we celebrate all the precious memories of your first year.  And as we lay you down to sleep tonight, we will look forward to all the journeys and adventures you will take us on in the coming year!

We love you~ mommy and daddy

This is what you have been up to this month....

*you are still wearing 9 month clothes.  You are currently in size 3 diapers, but could really be in size 4- I just need to finish the pack I have!

*you are walking!  You do still crawl a bit, but for the most part, you are all about walking.

*you finally started pointing this month!  I waited forever for you to reach this milestone and now I wonder why because it seems like all you do now is point! 

*you have made great improvements in your eating habits the last few weeks which makes mommy very happy!  You still love fruit cups of pears and will literally gobble those down in seconds.  You also like applesauce, yogurt and cheese and have thankfully started eating peas and carrots and some meats again as well.

*you are SO MUCH fun right now!  Your curiosity and excitement for everything around you is so fun to watch.  You want to climb everything you can and have mastered going up the stairs.  Going down is a very different story though!

*you love being outside. Your favorite activities are long walks in the stroller, playing with bubbles and swinging.

*you are starting to learn the word no and when I say it, you shake your head and say na, na which I am pretty sure is no, no!  You are definitely being naughty when you do it, but it is SO CUTE!

*you can sign all done and we are currently working on eat and more.

*you never sit still!  You need to experience everything around you and this made your 1 year photo shoot very difficult to say the least!

*you love hiding things.  I will often find random items in the funniest places.  One day I found my cupcake sprinkles in the seat of your Johnny Jump Up and a half eaten cracker in the bowl of my stand up mixer that was on the floor in the pantry.  You love to catch us when we forget to close the bathroom door because your favorite thing to do is throw the balls from your ball popper toy into the toilet and watch them float around!

What an amazing 12 months it has been~

Happy First Birthday Grant Weston!