Photo Shoot

Adam and Elizabeth had a photo shoot while up north. If you see us in the coming weeks, ask for one to take home- we ordered many. A personal favorite was Elizabeth trying to be a good big sister by keeping Adam in the photo. Clearly, he didn't care for this. Adam was in motion the entire photo shoot, but we got a couple of good photos. We're still waiting for Elizabeth to get rid of her goofy smile, but I guess it's an accurate representation of her right now.

13 Months Old

13 Months old and cute as a bug!

At 13 months, here is what Adam is up to:

- Eating everything he can get his hands on (edible and nonedible)

- Running, running, running, and chasing his big sister

- Speaking gibberish and believing everyone should understand

- Saying "mama"

- Signing lots of words

- Crying if mom is too far from view

- Breaking out the dance moves

Happy 13 months little guy!

Naughty List

I'm not sure if a one year old can be on Santa's Naughty List. Adam is making a gallant effort. Elizabeth even agreed this morning that Adam was in peril of crossing over to the Naughty List.

Santa, I would like a baby who screams a little less for Christmas.

Dinnertime Mishap

Those of you who know me know that I'm an eater not a chef. Getting dinner ready every evening with two little, hungry kids running around and Josh gone for wrestling is enough to drive me crazy. I made a goal this year to not resort to our usual meal of cereal for breakfast until we passed the one month mark of wrestling.

Preparations for dinner took me less than 10 minutes tonight. In the span of those ten minutes, Adam dumped the humidifier all over his floor, which required a fast clean up and two children sliding through the puddle. Elizabeth then proceeded to put sprinkles all over our cedar chest because, "It was a little saucy." (Not sure where she was going with that statement, but she actually had no clue that decorating furniture with sprinkles was not allowed. Apparently my communication or rules have gotten a bit lax.)

Gotta love my life.

Welcome Charlie!

On December 9th, Sam's cousin Toni delivered a baby boy- Charlie Thomas. Charlie also couldn't wait to make his arrival and came almost 8 weeks early. He was 5 lbs. 2 oz. and is receiving extra help in the NICU. He is amazingly healthy for being a preemie and is expected to do just fine.

Congratulations Toni and Matt!

(As a note, as kids, Toni and I were certain that we would name our first children after each other. I'm still holding out for a Samantha when they have a little girl!)

Check-ups

Today the Grants spread a good dose of birth control at the clinic. The kids had their annual check-ups, and Josh was unable to attend due to wrestling. I realize that many moms take bunches of kids the doctor, but it felt like chaos. Within the hour appointment, both kids took a poop, Adam pulled garbage all over the floor, Adam stuck his hands in the toilet, Elizabeth removed her clothes, and 6 shots were given. Wow was I ready to leave...and the sad part is that I thought it went pretty well.

Here are the kid's stats...

Adam- 31.5 inches (91%)
23lbs 13oz (63%)

Elizabeth- 37.25 inches (48%)
32.6 lbs (65%)

3 Year Favorites

For Elizabeth's scrapbook, I want to be able to document some of her favorites. These are according to her, and I would like to protest a couple of them.

Color: yellow
Movie: Toy Story
Food: pizza
Friend: Max
Book: Little Quack Counts and Bambi
Toy: puppy
Thing to Do: play monkey games
Animal: penguin, elephant
Song: Ting-a-lay-o
Treat: M&M

Searching for the Perfect Tree

This year goes on record as the longest it has ever taken us to pick out a tree. It was hard to rush with weather around 40 degrees! The kids had a blast running around looking at the trees and getting all muddy. We finally settled on one, and Elizabeth was amazed to watch Josh cut it down. I didn't get a good picture of it, but Elizabeth wore a bumblebee costume to pick out trees- definitely an appropriate outfit!