Happy Birthday Grant!

Today we celebrated Grant's 1st Birthday. We had a wonderful day with our sweet little man. We opened a few presents together as a family, including a new favorite wooden push toy from Nana that both boys played with most of the day. We had a really fun party with some of our dearest friends, and a certain 3 year old brother who'd eaten 4 too many cupcakes provided the entertainment for the evening. Grant had his first taste of a cupcake, and he seemed to really enjoy it. He actually ate about half of it before getting bored of squishing it to pieces.

Now that he's tucked away sleeping, I'm reflecting back on this whirlwind of a year. It seems as if tonight I'll go peek in on a tiny 1 month old baby, and not a walking little 1 year old. This year has flown by far too quickly. It seems like just yesterday I was in the hospital snuggling my brand new (and surprisingly chubby!) baby boy. Grant has been quite possibly the best baby in the world. He's always been a wonderful sleeper, and I'm constantly amazed at how well he tolerates Gabe's pestering, smothering and toy taking. He's generally very happy and easily entertained. I'm grateful to be the mom of such a sweet, cute and loving little boy. My favorite "Grant" things are:

His love of snuggling pillows

His growl

His big sweet grin that makes his eyes shrink like tiny moons because he smiles so big

His slobbery kisses

His puckered lips - check out the cupcake picture below!

Here are some pictures of his birthday today (sorry, they're out of order and I don't know how to fix that!) and a few pictures looking back on the past year of his life. We love you Grant!

The infamous wooden toy from Nana

Laughing with mommy

A few days old

2 weeks old

3 months old

4 months old

5 months

9 months

10 months

Eating Birthday cupcake!

"You got to puck up your lips, like 'dis!"

walking man

Grant is starting to walk! He is so excited and proud of himself. Here are some of his first steps.

Fall leaves

I love Fall. I love the cooler weather and all the beautiful shades of color in the fall leaves. I especially love watching the boys play in the leaves and run around outside. Here are some pictures I took of the boys and Nana playing together. Michael let me borrow his camera, and I must say, I'm in love (with both the camera, and the camera man!).

The Harris Fam-Damily comes to visit

We recently had a wonderful visit from my parents and two sisters. We always love to have family visit! Gwama spoiled her grandsons as always, and we put Grandpa to work around the house (as always, hee hee). It's nice to have all the extra helping hands. My family was also here for my birthday, which we celebrated by having dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Yum!

Grandma and Grant

My sisters Lisa and Katie with Grandma and the monkeys

A Grant sandwich

Grandma & Grandpa

Putting Grandpa to work again

Grant watching as Grandpa and Gabe work on the jogging stroller

Happy Birthday to Gabe!!

Happy Birthday to Gabe! I can hardly believe I have a 3 year old child! I remember my pregnancy with him like it was yesterday. Gabe had a wonderful birthday. We started the day with a party at a nearby park, where he ran around and played with some of his favorite friends. We didn't stay long because it was cold, and brought everyone back to our house. Later we opened presents, his favorite is the hotwheels set from Nana. (Such a classic!) We ended the night by going bowling, which Gabe absolutely loved. Happy Birthday little man!

Gabe is 3!

Pushing Mason on the swing

Blowing out his candles

Bowling

Can you tell he loved bowling? :)

Grant's payback!

One of our favorite activities is taking goofy pictures on my Mac. I recently tried to get a picture with me and the 2 boys together, but Grant kept pulling Gabe out of the way to check out that cute baby on the screen. It was hilarious, so of course I had to film it. :)

Happy Birthday Nana and Uncle Wilson!

Happy Birthday to Nana on the 24th and Uncle Wilson on the 26th!! We are so lucky to have Nana live nearby. She loves to come over and play with the boys. She takes Gabe outside to play, and plays endless hours of "store" and many other games with Gabe. She also absolutely love to feed Grant. He opens his mouth so big for food! (he takes after his father!). Nana has blessed our lives in so many ways, and we've especially loved having Nana with us in New York. Uncle Wilson was the very first Uncle to see both Gabe and Grant. He was here for Gabe's birth, and the first Uncle to visit us after Grant was born. Gabe loves to wrestle with Uncle Wilson, and no one will ever be a better Easter Bunny than Uncle Wilson was this year! Happy Birthday Nana and Uncle Wilson!! We love you!

Month wrap up!

I know, I'm officially fired from my blog after not posting for over a month! :) We've had a very busy end of summer/beginning of fall. Here's what we did (in as few sentences as possible!)

In August, we took our annual Family Vacation to Lake George. This year Nana joined us as well, and we all shared a cabin. Gabe and Grant had a blast playing outside, going on long walks, playing at the beach and running around with the other kids. Gabe's favorite part was a large bell at the top of a building, which the night staff was kind enough to ring just for him. Every night Gabe would look out the window of the hotel lobby and talk to the bell, and it would ring back to him. :) We also took Gabe kayaking and this year he really enjoyed it (last year he screamed the entire time!). Also, Grant learned to crawl shortly before we left for camp, so he really enjoyed crawling all over the soft grass and playing in the dirt! I committed the most unpardonable sin and forgot my camera on the charger at home. Noooooo!!! Michael has a few pictures, but it may be a while before I can get some from him....

In September, some of our highlights have been finding great new toys at yard sales and taking a playgroup tour of the Fire Station and Airport. Here are some pictures of the firehouse tour:

Gabe and Kai, one of his friends from Vweek Summer Camp

Checking out all the buttons!

Gabe inside the Fire Truck

Gabe in Grant's walker - I'm amazed he fits!

2 cool dudes

Gabe's new store - a great yardsale find!

Who does Grant look like now?

Here's our latest picture of Grant. Who does he look like now?

Grant

Does he look like.....

Daddy

Mommy

or Gabe?

trip to Utah

Warning: picture overload! :) We just flew out to Utah for my sister Katie's wedding (see pics by Lloyd Eldredge below. More to come once Michael finishes his). We had a blast visiting family. We wish we could clone ourselves so we could see more people (actually I would sleep while my clone ran around!). Check out the captions to see what we did. Although we had a blast, I absolutely will not set foot on another airplane with 2 kids unless another sibling gets married. Flying across the country with a toddler... YUCK!

Gabe excited to be on the airplane (for 5 minutes)

Grant kept staring at Grandpa

Uncle Scott and Gabe, who thought the sprinkler was the coolest thing ever!

Grant and Great Grandma Harris

Kisses from Great Grandpa Eldredge

Mimi with Grant and Nelle

Boating with Nana and the crew

The awesome tube ride Uncle Drew took us on. (note Gabe fussing)

Me with Ma and Pa at the Restless Heart and Colin Ray concert! Wahoo!

One of my best friends in the whole world, Leslie

Big smiles for Papa Eldredge

Playing drums at cousin Nelle's house

Grant has a small obsession with Uncle Danny's facial hair