Talking

Oh my goodness, what a chatterbox we have. He talks A LOT. He sings songs now too, but only the words he really likes, and skips the rest. This is a short post, so I can just make note of some of the most adorable things before they leak out of my brain.

Notice his words are in all caps, because that's how much enthusiasm he has for talking.

My garden flip-flops = "MOMMY PLIP OPS"
Outside = "EYE-TIDE!"
The little nail-hole in the wall = "TINY TINY HO"
Anytime he sees the iPad = "IPADIPADIPADIPADIPAD!!!!!" (he LOVES it)
Daddy's playstation controller = "CAH-LODO"
Shampoo = "HAM-POO"
Vacuum = "NACK-NOOM" (which is also inexplicably loves)

Of course he's saying a ton more words then these, but his pronunciation is astoundingly good for almost everything, so I'm trying to cherish the adorable baby-talk while I can.

When he sings happy birthday = "HAPPY TO YOU!"
Itsy Bitsy Spider = "EEE BEE PIE-DOH"
ABCs = "A B C C C ... H!... Q R S ...Y Z!"

Best of all, he says "I love you" and its the sweetest thing I've ever heard.

And when you ask him to smile for the camera, you get this:

Ha!
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September Swing

Just when we thought the unbearable heat and endless drought would never end, September arrived to save us!

The older kids started 6th grade (!!!) and are loving it. Sarah is in band this year, playing trumpet. So far she seems to like it, though she hasn't been eager to play for us yet.

Grant enjoyed the Open House night at the school, especially the lockers.



Much to our dismay, Sunny (who has been Grant's nanny since he was 2 months old) decided to go back to school, and Grant misses her a lot.

We have had a couple of "cool" weather breaks, finally! It's so nice to be able to get outside and play more. Also, I am happy to put long pants on Grant since he seems to scrape his knees EVERY TIME we go outside.

We've been spending more time at our favorite park, and Grant really likes all the leaves that are falling.



I guess I need to get used to the tidal wave of "activities" that comes with every September, because it is bound to get even busier as the years progress. Our part of Dallas has a large and very active local early-childhood PTA group that I've joined. They had a kick-off party a couple of weekends ago, and it was packed with families and kids close to Grant's age. He loved the fire truck, of course. I'm hoping we will get know some of the kids he will go to school with in a couple of years.



Our new nanny is Jessica. She and Grant have a lot of fun. He's old enough now to enjoy things like "Story Time" at the library so Jessica took him to one yesterday. He loved the story and singing, but then discovered that there was: A COMPUTER. THAT HE COULD PLAY WITH. OMG. So he was beyond thrilled with that visit. My sweet little nerd.

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The comedian

Grant's sense of humor has been growing along with the rest of him. He loves making us laugh, and he likes verbal jokes as well as slapstick ones.

While eating toast at breakfast recently, he was holding a magnetic letter "F" from the refrigerator. We practiced making the F sound, and I said "F is for..." and he said "fffffffftoast!" and started giggling.
Sometimes when I ask him if he wants more of something (strawberries or whatever) he will lean forward in his chair and whisper very quietly "yes!...no!...yes!...no!" and laugh at his little joke. He thinks burps are hilarious (what is it with boys?) and lately he learned how to say "FUNNY!"

He also has a sense of the dramatic. A couple of days ago he flipped a wooden puzzle over to drop all the pieces, several of which landed on his feet. Apparently it didn't hurt enough to make him cry, but he put on his very best sad face, lifted his foot up towards me and said "OH NO! TOES BONK!"

Just in the last few days, he has decided that he is done with letting anyone help him with meals. At first he just didn't want us to break things into pieces, like crackers. He wanted them WHOLE. For quite a long time now he has enjoyed using a fork sometimes, but he didn't really care a whole lot. Now he loves using a fork, even for toast. Then one day I was giving him pasta for lunch and when I tried to feed him a bit he would say "NOOOO!" So I said, ok, you don't want pasta? When I put the pasta aside he frowned and said "PAAAASTAAAAA!" Finally I realized he just didn't want me to hold the spoon. Or even touch the spoon, or help him make the scooping motion with his hand. That lunch took a long time. :) Two days ago the same thing happened with yogurt. This means considerably more laundry, since he refuses to wear a bib anymore.

His interest in music is undiminished. In fact, he often requests "GAGA" (yes, Lady Gaga) to be played on the ipod. He starts dancing anytime he hears music. When he wakes up in the morning, most of the time he stands up in his crib when I come in to get him, points at his music player and says "MYOOO-ICK!"

I feel so lucky to have this joyful little person to say hello to every morning.
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Summer

Despite the unrelenting 100+ degree weather, we've managed to have a ton of fun so far this summer.

Almost every evening, and on weekend mornings also, when the backyard is relatively shady, we go outside to "play splash" with the hose and sprinkler and pirate boat full of water (sometimes the dog's water bowl too). It's most fun when the big kids play too, and often Sarah will get out the sidewalk chalk. She and Grant have a blast making art/messes in the driveway. All this running and playing in the back yard does have its downside, though.

A few times EARLY in the morning before it gets oppressively hot, we've gone over to a little park to play and walk around in the grass field next to it. 

Grant has just suddenly learned to go down slides fearlessly by himself.

He's also learned to go up and down stairs somewhat safely (on his belly), though if we're not vigilant he stands up and tries to go down the way grownups do. He doesn't yet have a full measure of respect for gravity.

His vocabulary has gone through the roof. For a while I was trying to keep a list of words he was saying regularly, but he went from about 50 to 75 one week, the next week was over 100, and now I've lost all hope of keeping track. He can and will say almost anything (or at least try). I get surprised on a daily basis by words he says that I've never heard him say before. Today he pointed to his wooden Zebra toy and said "BEEZA!" which is both close and adorable.

Yesterday when I got home he ran to me, put his arms around my legs and said "HUGS!" I love that boy.
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A nice spring day outside

Today was one of those wonderful but rare spring days that wasn't too hot, wasn't raining/hailing/tornadoing, and wasn't a workday.

We had a nice long walk in the stroller in the morning, a lot of playing, and then Grant had his first ride on the new toddler seat attached to Shane's bike. He loved it. He didn't show any signs of being scared. After a few minutes he started smiling and saying "mamadadamamadadamamadada" which is what he has been doing lately when he's really happy. Next time we'll take pictures.

He has been actively trying to learn new words, and has just started trying to repeat words that we ask him to say. He gets pretty close to saying them some of the time. He has learned: clock, no (of course), dude (which Sarah taught him), dirt, open, out, toast, and several more. He brings me the Seuss book "Hop on Pop" and he says "BOP!" and when we have burritos for dinner he says "booboh!" He's hasn't made up his mind which word to use when he wants out of his high chair, so he says a combination of out/up/off and it sounds like "Ouwuft!"

He is so happy, and so smart, and so much fun to be with.
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How Fast a Year Goes By

I just noticed it's been 1 year and 2 days since I posted last. That sucks. So much has happened. I have the best of intentions, but...

Quick toddler update:
He runs, he makes silly faces, he climbs, kisses, pretends to feed his toys, loves music, and has a great sense of humor. He says more than a dozen words, at least three of them new as of this weekend. He now says "waba" for water, "nana" for banana, "this" "that" "off" "up" "bath" and most recently "Lo-la" for stroller. "bwoo" for blue, and this weekend he held a tissue up to my nose and told me to "bo!" (blow). There are many others, and he learns so fast!

More to come...
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14 pounds of cuteness

Still trying to catch up...but you know what they say about the whirlwind of the first couple of months with a baby!

I need to post:
- details of the snowstorm the first week after Grant was born, the subsequent power outage and living in hotel rooms for a few days while trying to recover and care for a newborn.
- the awesomeness of this kid and the discovery of his amazing little personality.
- my MRI and the impact on my little guy.
- the many introductions to people such as his great-grandmothers, Auntie Trisha, and many others.
- his trip to the pediatrician for his 2-month checkup and first shots (Wah!).

But for now we will entertain ourselves with this adorable video of Grant "talking" to his play gym toys:



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Grant Weston Probst

I have to do a little catching up here...

Grant arrived a couple of days before Snowstorm 2010, which subsequently knocked out our power and internet for about 5 days. So I have much to write and many pictures to post. Bear with me while I catch up on the last eleven days or so.

Grant Weston Probst
Born 9:27 am on February 7th, 2010
8 pounds, 11 ounces
22.5 inches long (!)



He is healthy, beautiful, and perfect in every way.
We love him to the blue, blue sky.
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36 weeks - only one month to go!

All is still going fabulously here, taking into consideration the things that I'm told are normal for month nine (NINE!). I think another list would best sum it up:

1. Lots of sleeping
2. Awesomest baby shower EVER orchestrated by the brilliant and talented Jen and kept a secret by my sneaky-rific husband. I still need to get some of the pics to post of that.
3. My hips ache
4. Three fingers on my right hand (always) and all of both hands (sometimes) are numb. This makes typing challenging.
5. There is a car seat in my car.
6. Every cabinet, shelf, and drawer in my entire house has been purged, cleaned, and reorganized. I cleaned out the refrigerator and freezer, twice.
7. THINGS MADE OUT OF FOOD
8. Tiny little socks
9. Many lists of things
10. Happy anticipation

And here's a picture taken on New Year's Day. Behold: bad hair, puffy face (and everything else), and a belly that almost doesn't fit into the shirt anymore (reference the Week 17 post).


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31 Weeks

Everything is going extremely well here.

We had hoped to move this fall, but the housing market didn't agree with us, so we're here for a while. We're hard at work rearranging furniture and getting things ready. The baby's room isn't ready yet, but I'll give you a sneak peek at the "accent wall" I've been working on:


Yes, it's bright, but it really works in the room as a whole. I'll post pics when it's done!

I still feel fantastic, though I'm getting tired more easily. I had a checkup today and the baby is just the right size, in the right position, and in all other ways just perfect.

Here I am yesterday at 31 weeks:

Only 9 weeks to go. How time flies!
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25 weeks

I still feel great, and I'm getting rounder by the day. Time is flying by!

Here's a pic at 25 weeks. In a little over a week we will be into the third trimester.

I'm sure the holidays will be a big blur and then he'll be here.
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Latest food fixations

1. Lemonade
2. Thai Red Curry from Asian Mint
3. Spinach salads with dried cranberries
4. Any format of Mexican food
5. Ice cream, especially Paciugo

My obsessions with avocados and red meat have faded significantly. Breakfast cereal is still almost a daily requirement, but it doesn't make me dizzy with delight like the items above currently do.

Also, my life-long moderate aversion to raw onions has risen to new levels of intensity. I'm still indifferent to them when cooked, but now the raw ones make me want to run away to some small country that has never heard of onions. This has had a negative impact on my guacamole consumption, but I'll just have to make my own without the offending onion.
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Another year, and so many changes!

It's been a busy month! I'm officially 34 today and it's the busiest time in my whole life, I think.

A couple of weeks ago we found out that the previous sono was wrong..it's a BOY! Anyone have name suggestions? We are so excited.

Our house has not sold yet, though we have had a few more showings. Keep your fingers crossed!

Here we are at 17 weeks...I can't believe how time is flying by!



To be honest, I am really loving being pregnant. I haven't felt the slightest bit sick, I'm eating well and getting tons of sleep and I'm still exercising. I am probably healthier than I've ever been, and it feels great. I know, I know, I'm really lucky!

Just to keep the series of photos complete, here's one that we took at 15 weeks (please ignore the awful frizzy hair - bad hair day):


In other news, the big kids started 4th grade this week. I was really ready for school to start again. The summer schedule had worn out its novelty and the kids were restless. Matthew has started a new medicine and is also going once a week to occupational therapy, which we are hoping will help him focus better in school. It's too soon to know if either is helping, but its good to have new resources to try.

Cheers!
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