Co Sleeping Arrangements

What a fabulous weekend. My mom came up for a visit and dave left town so it was girl time (with the exception of grant but he is pretty like a girl). I knew i needed winter clothes so the plan was to get er done. Grant visited his first mall and he liked it...but as usual i detested it and remembered exactly why i dont frequent such places. However, I did load up on warm soft things and so the trip was well worth it.

I love seeing my mom with Grant. She is such a fun Grandma (or nana we think she is becoming). She loves and adores grant like i do and we have fun just enjoying him.

I took a picture of our sleeping arrangement for your viewing pleasure (entertainment). We took our king size mattress off the frame and box springs to be as close to the ground as possible. When grant falls off...I want it to be as short a vertical flight as possible. As some point I brought in his little crib mattress...with the grand idea of having him sleep on it next to us...and its still a grand idea...but we have yet to do it over night. Its just too much trouble moving him back over there after he nurses. However...it has turned into a delightful step / toy / fun place for granto. He digs it seriously. And a couple times it caught him on his way over board...so that was awesome. Thought you might enjoy a glimpse into my nightly quarters..i admit its slightly unique...although i do recommend sleeping with your babies and keeping the mattress low low low.

So off to work i go...must catch up on many things...hope to blog again soon!

Have a great day!

a grant list

today was a decent to above decent day in the life of a wannabe sahm (stay at home mom), professional (at least in part), wife, daughter, neighbor& friend. thats awesome considering how shitty most of the world has it. like i used to say...if there isnt war on my street...things are good.

grant is amazing. he is a high maintenance kinda kid i will admit...but so worth it. his Independence testing is in overdrive...seems like overnight...and boundaries are especially important...before he becomes the chief. here is a list of grant attributes:

• walking - more than crawling


• can stand up anywhere without help, squat to pick up toy, up again and walking with toy


• peek a boo with his hands over his own eyes (instead of behind something etc)


• refuses to eat pureed foods (dont blame him...we were spoiled for too long...its sooo convenient!) and actually refuses to eat all kinds of foods now. i think he is just enjoying the control of pursed lips....and sadi is very happy to have his over boards


• bites!!!!!! i cant believe this is my kid. he bites out of frustration and to say i love you...hasnt bit anyone but me thank goodness...and im working hard at nipping this in the bud...but its HARD. ugh


• has 4 teeth....2 up and 2 down


• has been teething constantly it seems since he was 2 months old


• is back on singulair bc the control study went sour as his allergies were kicking in and we didnt want to be back on nebulizer treatments anytime soon


• potties on the toilet a minimum of once per day


• loves swimming, playing ball, cleaning the house with the swiffer or broom & electrical outlets! ugh


• is obsessed with the lawn mower - and neal (day care grandma) said he spent about 20 minutes watching pa pa mowing the lawn through the window today!


• loves etch a sketch


• puts his play phone on his shoulder and has conversations


• dances sooooo soooo cute! he really has a shimmy...its a drop knee swivel hehe


• recognizes his home...and shows his excitement upon pulling in the driveway. today he even exclaimed "DAD" - anticipating their reunion


• hates being bathed - loves bath time play


• doesnt appreciate being diapered and voices his objection

thats whats on my mind right now. overall he is a very curious, intelligent, charming, social & silly almost 1 year old. he challenges me in ways i never knew existed and i am a better person for knowing him.

had a wonderful visit with my mother this past weekend...we stayed at home for the most part which made for relaxation. also threw in a t-bones baseball game which grant loved, just a bit of shopping and sushi...which my mom detested.

Personal Jokes

One of my favorite things to share with grant is our personal jokes. When I find something that he thinks is hysterical...and then we just take turns laughing back and forth. To see him in a hard core belly laugh just lights up my world. He really loves to watch me laugh too.

ITs friday its friday. Im doing the friday dance. I still think a standard work week should only be 4 days long with a sweet 3 days weekend. That would be much more balanced.

Grant is trying to say DOG! That would basically be his first word..besides mama and dada. He is really into the old girls.

I watched Marie Antoinette last night...and this morning...and I REALLY enjoyed it. I would have to say its the perfect Paula movie. Only a split second of violence (and even it was only the aftermath), lots of gorgeous landscape and beauty along with opulent partying. I admit the film lacked on plot but thats exactly how i like them. I know im wierd. I just dont like for my movies to stress me out. I want to have fun. The ending was lack luster....but thats ok. I just keep thinking to myself...why didnt they just give the peasants some flour? What bastards.

Grandma Burkemper, Auntie Mary Rita and little Mary should be on their way. We are going to spend a warm and rainy weekend together. They should really get a kick outta little grant. He is such a character.

Happy weekend to ya! May you see many rainbows.

hump day

This morning started off on a different foot, which is a nice change of pace. My piano student, Quinn, invited me to his school performance day, where he was to play a piece. I made it out the door by 8:30 and was in the pew by 8:45. He was a smashing success..and even pulled off the bow I had encouraged him to do. HOW ADORABLE. I was a very proud teacher…and it was sweet to see him happy to have me there..peeking over the crowd smiling.
Grant made his folks super proud last evening..when he pulled up for the first time! Mama and papa clapped and grant just squealed with glee. It was a fun moment. That little guy wants to walk so bad. We are going to find him walker this weekend.

Work is very very busy right now…we are working with a professional web designer to get our website up and running…I am presently gathering all the info that we want on there. We also have the directory deadline coming up in 2 weeks. SO im programming for summer…looking for instructors etc. If that wasnt enough, I am using a new company for sending out my online newsletters…so its been tricky learning how to use it and such.

Grant is super adorable and I am enjoying him to pieces. He has such a wonderful since of humor and we can really get to joking around. I am so in love. This has been an amazing experience that I cant imagine my life without now.

Grandma B and Aunti Mary Rita & little Mary are visiting this weekend! We are all excited and anticipating the fun we shall have.
Off to work. I barely had time to squeeze this in.

when its good its great

long time no write. ive been busy with a sick kid and then weekend guests. oh the roller coaster of life...its never dull.

hard to believe its march 20th already! thats just rediculous. before you know it my birthday will be here! yae. im still dreaming up what adventures i would like to take to celebrate the big...oh my goodness...34! at least there is a 4 in it. gonna be a great year.

its true.....we are all just kids inside aging bodies. sure we mature to some degree...but overall...the child inside of us is still playing, still aching to get messy with finger paints and itchy from playing in the grass on a hott summers night. hey maybe thats what i should do on my birthday hehe.

grant is FABULOUS. he is sooooo delightful when he feels good. his most recent obsession is walking. he wants to hold onto your fingers and walk anywhere youll go. he is getting better at it. he doesnt step on his own feet as much. balance is still very wobbly...but i would say he is getting the hang of one foot in front of the other. it wouldnt suprise me if he walks instead of crawls...and ive actually been saying that forever...but now i really can see it happen. of course...thats still months away most likely. it takes a ton of coordination to do the tango. he gets all excited when he is good at it and even does the high step in honor of the occasion.

even though he is only 8 months old....12 month old clothes seem to fit the best. he can wear 6-9 months...but many are very tight...and im all about the comfort. he is thinning out some....not super chunky anymore...and i can see his face changing. he still has an inch to pinch...which is soo much fun..and i love to kiss him all over and squeeze his girth.

grandma bb and grandma lo came to visit this past weekend. it was such a lovely visit! grant started feeling good on saturday and showed them his charming personality which was much to his mothers relief. it may be rediculous...but i so want other peeps to see the baby that i know he is...the happy go lucky, funny, silly, entertaining and loveable grant...who feels good. unfortunately the little guy has had more than his fair shair of yucky feeling days...which will make anyone a grump. but the grandmas did get to see his sweet baby side..and we had FUN. we all walked in the grand tongie st pats parade! grant barely stayed awake for it...but did enjoy it i could tell because he didnt complain. by the last turn he let himself go to sleep. you can tell in the pic how sleepy he was hehe.

much love!

Wheres Granto?

My son is in cognito as a grumpy old sailor...he swears and throws his toys ...just an angry young man...and i cant say that i blame him. he has been sick since last friday...almost a week now! started with vomiting and has become a TERRIBLE cough/congestion/achy/fever etc thingy. POOR LITTLE GUY. hoping that any minute now he comes back to mama...the smiles, the since of humor, the sweetness.

Grandma Bollinger visited last weekend...and she taught him how to patty cake! he puts his little hands together...and knows the work pattycake...its very fun. He had a great visit with grams...got to know her again real quick like. And even though he was sick...he maintained a decent composure for most of his visit. Grant is such a trooper like that.

I cant believe he is a week from being 8 months old!

The picture is from his first swimming experience..he LOVED it! cant wait to go back.

Im dazed and confused from the lack of sleep and stress...so this is all i got.

things that go bump in the early early am

grant woke at 6am....much to my dismay. his alarm clock is actually his first poo of the day...so whenever that urge comes....awake he is...cooing and playing with his hands..and swatting at mama..maybe even pulling her hair or giving her a lip piercing.

he doesnt crawl...but he does lunge...and lunging should be considered an extreme sport....its dangerous...it requires limited inhibition...and it can cause ouchies. baby bear lunged for i think his dr seuss book and hit his head BOOM on a little baby step stool in his room. oh the tears...oh the rage...oh the indignity! luckily he is a tough little guy...and only cries for less than a minute. but his pride was still hurt...and he was a little fussy the rest of the morning. it may bruise...it sure left a bright red mark! the beginning of many many such ouchies...mobility and ouchies seem to correlate quite directly.

papa bear took baby for a stroll last night while mama taught piano. it was so lovely! baby has been getting out and about now that the weather isnt icelandic.

looks like we may be getting visitors this weekend! grandma baba and grandma lo are planning on making the trip! we are so excited to see them.