Message from Grant

c c b b x. z b b n nb b bv / mn cx , mmn

(I think the space bar is his favorite)

Looking so OLD

I just uploaded pictures from this weekend and I was caught by this one. Why does my baby look like a toddler?!? He had so much fun trying to "catch" the water, no more screaming squirming baby... guess that was one prayer answered.

Geoff is out in the field until Saturday, they are suppose to be home for the Superbowl but he doubts it. Things are really rough right now, they are taking away his best guys and mandating training that is no use for them right before they leave for JRTC in Louisiana. I know everyone thinks about military families as having to survive deployment but honestly its the day to day being away from family thats more stressful. (Granted I guess I can say that having not survived a deployment yet) Anyways, keep his stress-out-self in your thoughts...

Also in regards to the new look of things, how many people get the title cut off? If its more than 5 I guess I'll have to go back to the old style.

The New Look

okay, as you can see its 1:30am and I'm up messing around with the blog, mostly because I'm not tired, but partially due to the fact that I was tired of the old look. most important thing though is that people like it, so Lisa Wiggs this is for you.... can you read the posts okay?

Just Say NO to Apricots!

Clearly mom's choice of lunch was not a hit with the Grantster. He couldn't wait to get the taste off of his lips!

Our big Sitter

Grant just sat unassisted playing with his toys for almost 45 minutes without falling over! WAHOOOO

So big!

Grant has gotten so big that I just had to post a couple of pictures from this week. The first is our little Mozart. Thanks to Aunt Terry he has been amazing us with his Twinkle Twinkle Little Star skills (its preprogrammed in) Also note the amount of hair! He can actually wake up with it out of place now... The second shows our little squirmmer! He rolls on to his side to reach for ANYTHING, his toy of choice is the airplane spinner when hes in his chair. Let me tell you, this squirmming makes for some interesting diaper changes!

And last but not least, the Grant monster has moved on from silly little teethers up to the real deal... Anything that Mommy and Daddy are holding is what he wants. In his mouth. Now! No teeth have cut through yet but they are right there, we can't even stand for him to chew on our fingers anymore, its too darn painful. We feel for the clicker and the Propel bottle!

KINDERMUSIK

Today was our first Kindermusik class and there is just one word.... FABULOUS! We had so much fun dancing and playing instruments, it was certainly a great find. Grant has two clear favorites, Ms Nancy brought out the big drums and we laid the babies on top then trapped on the drum all around them, it was like music and massage all in one, Grant even pitched in and started banging on the drum himself. The other favorite was a waltz like dance where we interacted with all of the other kids, Grant smiled everytime we high-fived or bowed to other babies. I am thrilled with this find, its a fun class with music and dancing, there were other Army moms and even a 8month old boy that we already have playdates scheduled with! YAY for KINDERMUSIK!

The Stud

With all of the spring/summer weddings coming up (and a promise from the doctor that Grant WILL slow down in the growing department) we decided to get Grant a stud outfit. You know, the one that everytime he wears it people say "man, what a little stud". So here you go, previews of the outfit... (multiple pictures because this stud is also a squirmer now)

yep, Polo Searsucker and a ribbon belt, what could be more "Elon"?!?

Dates and such...

So its 10pm and I put Grant down about 30 minutes ago, he's so tired but I can just hear him kicking and whining over the monitor... sweet boy, there are more adventures to come tomorrow... GO TO SLEEP! Anyways, while I'm up I thought I'd pass on some non-Grant related news. (shocker right! did you even remember Grant's parents were even anywhere in the picture? )

The "unofficial but most likely what's going to happen" calendar came out for Geoff's unit so I thought I'd share since everyone has been asking. Here goes:
Jan - Feb: The guys do ranges, drills and the usual stuff (Geoff working way too hard and not getting enough credit for it*) A few 3 and 4 day weekends thrown in but not enough to nearly make up for his work load
Feb 28th; Ball! yes, I am excited
March 3-April 4th: Geoff is at JRTC at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Basically another big "play war" for the guys to "rehearse". Grant and I will most likely head to NC for Easter weekend and the certainly fabulous Hoover wedding.
rest of April: The guys get back with the vehicles and check to make sure they all work correctly. (this is the job that gives Geoff the most headaches and frustration, dealing with civilian mechanics is not as easy as it sounds*)
May 14-27: Block Leave. Super excited that this will most likely include the Izaguirre/Monstrola wedding and a big ole party! Basically two weeks to travel the east coast to see family and friends before...
first week of June: pack up vehicles
June 15th: boots on the ground in Kuwait. Heading to Iraq sometime shortly after that...
So there you have it all in short form, the best that we know. Will it change? YES, it's the Army, thats what they do...



*note to the higher-ups: the opinions stated above do not represent the professional opinion of 1LT Childs, and are merely a representation of the personality changes noted by his "civilian" wife during these events. in light of said events, thank you for your consideration of a huge pay increase and fewer "after work, work hours". really. he deserves it. says me

So Proud

I know this picture is in the album from San Antonio but I figured that it merited its very own post

Grant learned a new trick

(with no help from his father as you can imagine!)

San Antonio

We spent the weekend in the lovely riverwalk town of San Antonio, had some great food (even if we were picky) did the tourist thing (took too many pictures according to Geoff) and all in all enjoyed the city and the time with my parents (except for carrying the stroller up and down stairs). Grant was the hit for all of the passer bys as usual, even had a waitress come out to visit us on the porch because she "heard there was a huge baby out here".

Pictures from the weekend: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BZMmzJw5aNkm&notag=1

Learning the fine art of Sippy-Cupping

To insure proper suppy-cupping Grant has found that it is imparative to have said cup below your feet, something about that helps with the flow. So here goes, BOTTOMS (and feet) UP!

Hitting the bottle a little early

....and doesn't his daddy look proud! Grant was screaming at Geoff to share his bottle and then wanted to "explore" when he finally got his hands on it!

Like Grandfather, Like Grandson

what can I say?!? there isn't much to look at, but make sure your sound is turned up! (oh and you have to turn your head again....sorry)

Too much of a good thing!

The jumper was such a big hit in Atlanta over Christmas that it got sent to us in Texas so Grant could jump anytime he wants. It has been so much fun... but you know what they say about too much of a good thing, clearly you CAN have too much. Poor little guy just jumped himself silly and crashed standing up!

Our Beautiful Baby

Its official, grant is in the running for the Beautiful Baby Contest with this picture...

SEND GOOD (and beautiful) VIBES OUR WAY!

Ring in the New Year with a Snooze

HAPPY 2008!

Our first New Years as parents and we did what most fuddy-duds do... slept right through it. oops! Oh how far we are away from our partying and thinking that midnight was the time that things got started. From our family to yours best wishes for the New Year!