One Month Old

Christmas Eve baptism- with godmother Angie

Adam is one month old today. He has had a busy first month of life. During the month, we had many visitors, a trip to Hibbing for Christmas, and a baptism. Through it all, we have heard Adam's cries! We are hopeful that as we learn more about this little guy that he will have longer spells of happiness...or at least more hours of sleep! He did give us a great Christmas gift by starting to smile. Nothing warms the heart like a baby's first smiles.

Adam, we are looking forward to watching you grow. Happy first month!

First Hockey Game

Last night Elizabeth went with her grandma and grandpa to her first hockey game to watch Katie cheer. She loved it. When the zamboni came out to resurface the ice, they asked Elizabeth what it was. She replied- a tractor. Daddy would be so proud!

First Photo Shoot

Today was Adam's first photo shoot. We went to Tom Lindstrom's for a couple of pictures this morning. Adam wasn't much for the experience and slept or cried through most of the photos. We still got a couple of good ones.

Poor Adam

Adam's big sister thinks that he is the best. Despite constant crying and having to share mom and dad's attention, Elizabeth thinks that Adam is still the coolest thing ever. When she is with him, she is in his face 24/7 and somehow he doesn't seem to mind all that much. Plus if he is crying, Elizabeth isn't ruffled by the noise (now if mom could only feel the same.)

Here they are closed up in the cool new sleeping bags from Nick and Nina. I'm sure Adam is loving it!

Enough Said

For everyone that said reassuring statements like:

Boys are so easy.
Your second will be so much calmer.
Big babies are content and sleep through the night.

I curse you.
Enough said.

A New Baby Cousin

Welcome Carly Erin Senich! Carly was born this morning at 2:52 AM and weighed 8 lbs 9 oz. Congrats Courtney and John. We can't wait to see the little ones grow together- especially since they are only 11 days apart.

Getting the Tree

On Saturday the whole crew headed out to find the perfect tree. Elizabeth loved the baby ones and had to be convinced to pick out a bigger one. Adam slept in his car seat. Now the task is getting the tree decorated- may not happen before the holidays!

Handsome Man

Elizabeth is a very proud big sister!

Elizabeth is very excited to be a big sister! Elizabeth and Adam are exactly two years and two weeks apart. When we brought him home tonight, they finally got to meet each other in person. Here are a few videos for you...

Adam John Grant

Samantha and I are proud to announce the birth of our son Adam John Grant. Adam was born at 4:23 a.m. on (Saturday) November 28th, measured 21 inches, and weighed 8 lbs. 15 oz. He has blue eyes and blonde-brown hair. Sam is doing very well and both are coming home Sunday evening. And everyone is excited to see Elizabeth's reaction to having a little brother!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We had a fun day celebrating with Josh's side of the family. Elizabeth started the day by making a pumpkin pie with mom and then we drove down for some yummy Thanksgiving food. Elizabeth shared her turkey hat that she made at Jackie's house- shown above in the photo. We also read the book, "Who Will Carve the Turkey This Thanksgiving."

Still no baby- four days late! This little one is taking his/her sweet time.

Preparing for Baby

I've started to feel a bit guilty that baby #2 has received little mention on our family blog. Is this a case of the second child syndrome? Baby Grant is due to arrive on Sunday, and everyone is hoping that we make it to the date before our family system is thrown into frenzy. (Honestly, can Grant's do anything early?!)

This weekend, Josh started hardcore nesting- cleaning and organizing the house. (I think the nesting instinct is something that always passes me by. Who wants to clean when you're fat and tired?!) Elizabeth is excited to welcome a new sibling. She tells everyone at daycare that her mom has a baby in her tummy; however, she also shows them the baby in her tummy. Oh, and daddy has a baby in his tummy too. Not sure how we're going to explain that one!

As for mom, I am living in total denial of the labor experience and the job of taking care of a newborn. Why worry about something that is going to happen no matter what- right?

So wish us good luck and check back often in the coming weeks for updates.

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Elizabeth is 2 years old today! Because we didn't know if her brother or sister would arrive before her big day, we had multiple parties prior to today. After three birthday parties, we definitely think she's celebrated the beginning of her second year.

For her birthday, we took Elizabeth to one of her favorite parks and then treated her to lunch at a restaurant. (This is a feat that we almost never try.) The day has been spent letting the little boss control the whole day, which she totally loves.

Happy birthday little girl! It's been so much fun to watch you grow, and we are enjoying your fun-loving personality even if it has a bit of spunk with it!

Happy Halloween

My Grandpa carves the coolest pumpkins.

Big Sister Class

Elizabeth attended Olmsted Medical Center's "Big Sister Class" this evening. And she was an excellent student, answering questions and, as her Aunt Abbey would say, she was "quite the little ham" with her funny remarks and answers. Elizabeth was excited to see a "real" baby, and we did. The final portion of the class was a visit to the OMC BirthCenter. The whole class got to ride on the bed and then see a newborn through the window.

We think she's ready to be a big sister!

A Needed Vacation

Thank goodness for MEA vacation. We took a much needed break and crashed the Senich's vacation plans in Wisconsin Dells. The three days with five babysitters (Grandma, Grandpa, Katie, and two of her friends) was exactly what we were looking for. Elizabeth had a blast playing in the water, and Josh was a trooper taking her on slides and following her around in the toddler areas. Not surprisingly, she wasn't scared of anything and actually wanted to go on the bigger slides but wasn't allowed. I think she would have stayed there forever if given the chance.

We thoroughly enjoyed our last vacation before the arrival of baby #2- the next five weeks are going to go by very quickly as we relish the last days as a family of three.

23 Months Old

Elizabeth is 23 months old today. Here's what she is up to:

- Getting her daredevil antics backs. She's picking up speed after getting the cast off and is back to climbing on everything.
- Singing, singing, singing
- Still madly in love with Winnie the Pooh (and not getting to watch him is a cause for meltdown)
- Developing empathy. This week she cried while reading a book at daycare about a teddy bear who was sad about waking up. (Definitely a trait from mom!)

One month to go little one until your 2nd birthday. Elizabeth can't wait for the multiple birthday parties that she will be having in the coming weeks because cupcakes are the best!

Fall Days

Today we went to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch. Elizabeth has been there each year of her life (three years, counting the one in mom's tummy.) She was so much fun to take today. She loved picking apples and pumpkins. They also had a few cages of animals, and Elizabeth made sure to stick her figures in all of the cages. Kylie, Auntie Emily, and Uncle Eric joined us. Getting the girls to both cooperate in a pictures wasn't easy, but they sure were cute!

First Steps...Again

Tonight Elizabeth took her first series of steps alone since getting her cast off. Josh and I were both looking at something else and looked up to find Elizabeth crossing the living room. She made eye contact with us and said, "I walk by myself!" She was very proud of her accomplishment.

She still has a lot of muscle rebuild, but she's on the mend!

Cast Free!

This morning Elizabeth was freed from her cast, and we are all so excited! Her x-ray looked great (which is fabulous because you could hear her screaming three rooms away while getting the x-ray!) The nurse practitioner and a nurse cut the cast off in a matter of minutes- all while Elizabeth screamed and cried. I guess I can't blame her for being freaked out about being pinned to a hospital bed with a large noisy saw coming at her.

Her little body was so stinky. Our first thing to do was take a bath, and Elizabeth was in heaven. She is adjusting to her body. Dr. Wendy said it will take some time for her to progress to walking. She can sit or lay on her tummy. She also has a tenacity that she definitely got from her father, as she continued to ask to stand and walk this morning. I propped her by the living room couch to build some strength and she repeatedly wobbled across the living room floor with my assistance. We'll see how much longer Elizabeth will stay down!

Thanks for all the help and presents that people have sent during the recovery. We are looking forward to the return of our little monkey- even if it means nothing in our house is sacred again!

Grandma's Picture

Finally Grandma Kathy got a smiling picture of Elizabeth. These are her two new friends momma duck and baby duck. They have many hours of adventures together.

22 Months- Nothing Slows You Down

Elizabeth is 22 months old today. Even though she has had her cast on for three weeks, life is not passing her by. She's been out and about hiking, swinging at the park, and playing with lots of visitors.

Elizabeth's activities at 22 months are a bit more low-key due to her physical condition. Here's what she's up to:

- Discovering a love for Winnie the Pooh. Honestly, how many times can the girl listen to the Winnie the Pooh CD that Grandma bought?!
- Coloring in her Elmo coloring books. Surprisingly she has shown some restraint by not coloring on the floor and furniture.
- Playing with her animals or Little People. Everyone has a role in the family from mommy to Little Peanut.
- Loving her momma and baby ducks
- Singing songs. Picking up more and more words in the song.
- Loving treats...anything with sugar is delicious. (Something she got from her mom!)

Can't wait to see you up and running in less than a week!

Army Crawl

We've had multiple requests for Elizabeth's army crawl. It took her about five days to figure it out- mostly because she was too sore right after surgery. Now she can move all over the house and get into things again.

Good News Update

On Wednesday Elizabeth went back to see her doctors. The bone had set correctly and is already starting to heal. They were very happy with her progress and have scheduled her to come back on September 21st. They are fairly confident that she will be able to remove the cast on that date...which would be four weeks in the cast. We are so excited at the prospect of her getting out of the cast at 4 weeks. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Popsicles Make Everything Better

Elizabeth is on the mend (and Josh is back to feeling good too). She has started to eat real food, although she would prefer to live on popsicles. On Saturday, she figured out how to pull and push herself on her tummy across the hardwood floors. She is much happier with the new freedom.

Our chatty little enthusiastic girl is making a comeback. Now if she could master sleeping without awaking screaming, life would be great. I guess this is prep for the baby to come...

The Post We Knew We'd Have to Make One Day

Yes, this a post Sam and I speculated we'd need to write some day. Still, against all odds, we hoped Elizabeth could make it through childhood without a visit to the ER. Despite our best intentions, Elizabeth "Fearless" Grant's day came on Monday.

This summer, Elizabeth and I would spend a few mornings each week outdoors. I would run with her in the jogging stroller to get a cardio workout. The tradeoff for Elizabeth came with me making a stop at a nearby park at the end of my run. She would play at the park and then we'd walk home, clean up, and get ready for the day ahead.

This past Monday morning was no different. I had been pushing Elizabeth on the swing for 15-20 minutes. Unexpectedly, for some unknown reason, Elizabeth let go of the chain with her left arm as the swing reached its forward peak. Still clenching the chain with her right hand, she began to do a 180 as her right foot crashed into the sand.

I picked her up and comforted her expecting no injury at all. After minutes of crying, I tried to stand her on her feet. She screamed in refusal. I thought she had a sprained ankle. When I got her home, I took her pants off to reveal a swollen right thigh.

Long story short, the x-ray revealed a spiral fracture to her right femur. Elizabeth was put under and was casted in a "spica" cast. The cast starts at her right ankle and runs up to her mid-chest and then stops just above her left knee.

Next Wednesday brings a doctor appointment and x-rays that hopefully show that the bone is still set where they want it to heal. The shortest she'll be in the cast is 4 weeks; it's possible she'll need to remain in the cast the entire 6 weeks.

To further complicate the situation, Josh awoke on Tuesday morning to a pulled back. He too spent the morning in the ER and has been resting and recovering with Elizabeth. Sam, 6+ months pregnant, has been doing the heavy lifting. Thankfully Grandma Kathy is here to help out for a couple of days. Pray for a speedy recovery...

21 Months

Elizabeth is 21 months old today!

I had to include a photo of her with her hair in a ponytail, as it never happens. Here's what she's up to:
- Singing, singing, singing
- Talking our ears off. Her vocabulary and sentences are getting more complex
- Exploring everything...which makes shopping a nightmare
- Loving the water and being outside
- Cutting more teeth. 4 more to go!
- Resisting sleep by singing
- Counting to 10 (always skipping the number 6)
- Having fun playing with Daddy all summer

Park with Kylie

Tonight we met Kylie, Eric and Emily to play at the park. The girls had a lot of fun running around. It was tough to get a photo with both of them sitting still!

Kylie is too cute!

Weekend with Grandma & Grandpa

This weekend Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Matt came to visit. Elizabeth was in heaven with all the extra attention (and mom and dad loved the break!) Elizabeth spent the weekend reading books with Grandma and tickling Grandpa's toes. On Sunday we took a trip to the nearby zoo. As usual, the cow was the favorite. We thought she may touch it, but at the last minute was too chicken.

Why Every Mother Needs a Daughter

Last night I was struggling to find something to wear. I put on a black maternity dress to show Josh. Clearly annoyed I said, "I look like a sausage." Elizabeth looked up and said, "I like sausage."

Well said...

Big Girl Bed

Last night Elizabeth's big girl bed arrived. She loves it! Of course, the thought of sleeping in it at night still hasn't happened, but she is napping in it today.

For those of you who said that she could handle a twin size bed, here is proof that we would be in the ER. I have a feeling that Crash will be in a toddler bed until her feet are hanging off the end!

MN Zoo visit

For fun, compare Elizabeth to last June's visit...

Despite being under a year, last summer we took Elizabeth to the MN Zoo. This past Saturday, we returned to see the African animals exhibit. Obviously, Elizabeth was far more engaged this year. In short, she was pumped to see so many animals from the books she's read!

Interestingly enough, some of her favorite animals were the farm animals. Plus we found out that she is actually afraid of something...cows! Elizabeth was not going with me to touch the cows for some reason, and shuddered each time I tried to coax her into rubbing the back of one. Granted, all of the other zoo animals were off-limits to touching.

Below are pictures of a nice pictorial of "Elizabeth's Adventures in Chicken Chasing, Part I"

Chickens spotted, Elizabeth is allowed to chase in hot pursuit

You can't hide from me!

Undaunted

As I beamed with pride, I smiled at Samantha who waggled her finger at the sign on the barn door "Please don't chase the chickens - MN Zoo." Minutes after I had given Elizabeth the green light, I was forced to (hypocritically) counsel my daughter on how we shouldn't chase chickens.