St. Nicholas Came!

Last night before bedtime, Grant set his shoe on the fireplace for St. Nicholas to come! We set his shoe down and said a little prayer:

God of joy and cheer,

we thank you for your servant,

the good Saint Nicholas.

In loving the poor,

he showed us your kindness;

in caring for your children,

he showed us your love.

Make us thoughtful

without need of reward so that we, too,

may be good followers of Jesus.

And then I said, "I hope St. Nicholas has seen you being a good boy!!" I guess Grant must have been good enough because after Grant went to sleep, St. Nicholas came! This morning, Grant came out of his room, turned on the Christmas tree, pointed out his favorite ornaments, then saw his surprises! He was very happy!!

Thank you St. Nicholas!

On Santa's Lap

To continue with the tradition that started back when my sister was just a baby, before I was even born, we took Grant to sit on Santa's lap. I started visiting Santa when I was just 8 months old and sat on his lap EVERY year until I left for college (and I think we still did it a few times in college just to please my mom!). Last year, Grant was definitely NOT a fan of Santa. But this year, he has been very interested in Christmas and everything that goes along with it- Santa, Rudolph, Christmas trees, lights, Baby Jesus. You name it, he loves it!! So I was hoping he was armed with his strong Christmas enthusiasm when we got to see Santa. He was nervous at first, just putting his head on Levi's shoulder, turning away from Santa. But once we walked around "Santa's Village" for a few minutes, he really liked what he saw! When we thought he was comfortable enough to sit with Santa, Levi propped him on Santa's leg and Grant just sat back comfortably! He gave Santa a once-over, and then just continued to take in all the sights! We got some pictures (it was a pretty forced smile, but better than nothing!), Grant gave Santa a high-five and talked to him about Rudolph, and then we were done!! I have to say, he was much braver than I was when it was my turn years ago- I think I had tears streaming down my face and an arched back for a good 4 years!!

Checking Santa out!

A reminder of last year's visit with Santa- not too happy there!!

Christmas Crafts!

During our trolley ride in St. Augustine, Christmas carols played over the speakers of the trolley. We heard Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer about 10 times! The night before, I had explained to Grant how Santa comes to bring us presents. I told him that Santa flies his sleigh all through to sky to get to all the kids' houses, and that Rudolph uses his red nose to help Santa find all the houses, and then Santa comes down the chimney. So, as we're riding the trolley and we heard Rudolph come on over the speaker, Grant would point to his nose. I'd say, "Yes, its the Rudolph song about Rudolph's red nose." Then Grant would point at the roof of the trolley and say "oof" (meaning roof). I was surprised that just after one explanation he understood that Rudolph helps Santa find the roofs on the houses! So in honor of Rudolph and his red nose, Grant and I embarked on a fun little art project!! We also did a Christmas hand print wreath just for fun!

Grant doing some extra painting after the project was finished!

He made quite a mess, but I think he had fun! What do you think?

Choo-Choo!

To continue with our day of Christmas, we headed to downtown St. Augustine. We heard they had a Trolley Ride that takes you through the downtown area to see the "Night of Lights." Grant is extremely obsessed with trains, or Choo-Choo's as he calls them, so we knew he would have a great time!! It was totally packed, so after 20 minutes of trying to find a parking space, we finally got our Trolley tickets and got on board! It was actually a pretty chilly night for Florida (51 degrees), so we made sure we were all bundled up! The Trolley rang the bell to signal we were on our way! Grant's eyes were as big as saucers the entire time!! He loved looking at the lights and finding horse drawn carriages roaming around the streets. But mostly, I think he just like going for a ride!! Each time the Trolley would stop, he would shake the handrail in front of him saying, "Choo-Choo"- meaning, get this thing going again!! We rode around for a good hour and a half and Grant cried huge tears when we finally got off the Trolley! I told him the Trolley had to go night-night, so we had to go home! He didn't care!! He would probably still be riding around on it right now if he could!! Even in the morning when he woke up, I asked, "Did you have fun riding the choo-choo last night?" That was enough to make the tears come back again! It was a great family outing and one I hope to do again next year!!

Grant and Daddy as we were about to leave "the station"

Grant already checking out the sights

This was pretty much the look on his face the entire ride!

The pavilion in the middle of downtown

More lights!

It's a blurry picture since we were moving, but its a palm tree all lit up-

something you definitely don't see in Kansas!

Christmas Came Early!

Yes, its only two days after Thanksgiving, but Grant doesn't know any different!! We decided to celebrate our little family Christmas today! We thought Grant could enjoy his presents for the next two weeks until we left for Kansas!! Levi and I don't usually exchange gifts, so we just bought presents for Grant this year, which was a lot of fun shopping for! We told him last night that Santa was going to come bring him some surprises! He seemed very intrigued! When he woke up this morning, he ran out to turn the Christmas tree on, like he does every morning (our tree has been up for a week!). He then walked right past his presents and went to find his favorite ornaments- a Mickey Mouse snow angel, and Pooh and Piglet. It wasn't until we pointed his presents out to him that he realized Santa came! We sat down and started opening right away!
His first present- a tiny tool box and tools to carry around all day!

A GIANT pad of Mickey Mouse coloring pages

What's in this HUGE box??

A play tent with a tunnel!!

Which is lots of fun to crawl through!!

A really big Tonka Dumptruck!!

(He actually gasped with excitement when he opened this one!)

It can hold (and dump) lots of "friends!"

And Santa tried to trick Grant by putting the BIG present in another room...

A new Radio Flyer tricycle!!!

I wasn't sure if Grant would actually understand opening presents this year, but he really got into it! He tore into that paper with heavy-duty strength, just dying to see what was inside!! He was so excited!! Now I can't wait to see how much fun the rest of Christmas will be!!

P.S. - We have more Christmas plans later in the day, so stay tuned!!

Leaving the House

In one of my recently published posts, I wrote about Grant's ever-growing collection of stuffed animals (or as we call them "friends") he has in his bed. Lately, he's decided that he has to take a "friend" with him in the car every time we go bye-bye. Now that he has his big boy bed, he can climb in and actually get whoever he wants. So this is how Grant's preparation for leaving the house works:

1. Throw all the "friends" on the floor
2. Start picking them up one by one, naming them as he goes

3. Fill arms as full as possible. Once there is no longer capacity for another "friend," its time to leave the house!

Funny thing is- once he's in the car and buckled up, usually within 5 minutes, all his "friends" are thrown to the floor. Such love!

The Never-Ending Wonder Pets Story

Every time I point out the color blue or green to Grant, here is the script he recites, coming from the episode, "The Wonder Pets Save the Chameleon." The story goes that a blue chameleon is sitting on a mossy rock, with a Coo-Coo Hawk flying above him waiting to eat him as a snack. The Wonder Pets tell the chameleon to change his color to green so he can't be seen. The chameleon's response is "Uh-uh," shaking his head NO!

• Me: This is green.
• Grant: Uh-uh, Uh-uh, while shaking his head NO.
• Me: Yeah, like the chameleon needs to change from blue to green.
• Grant: (Pointing to the ceiling) Coo coo coo
• Me: That's right. So the Coo-Coo Hawk won't get the chameleon
• Grant: Patting his hands on the top of his head saying, "No No No"
• Me: Yeah, say "No No" Coo-Coo Hawk. Leave that little chameleon alone!
  

I'm not kidding when I say that we probably recite this script 3 times a day!! It makes me laugh and smile every time!!

Grant-isms

I started this blog as a way for me to keep the stories that go along with all my pictures!! As much of a scrapbooker I am, I know there is NO WAY I can stay up-to-date with all the pictures I take!! My goal for this blog is to be able to look back at it years from now, and say, "Oh I forgot about that" and I'll have the memory brought back to me. I tend to only write about larger events that I have pictures to go with. But I was thinking about all the little things Grant is doing right now that I just don't want to forget, but can't capture with film. So here is a little list to look back on when Grant is 6 years old and say, "Aw, I remember that!!"

• He comes out of nowhere, grabs my legs, and says, "Mama, mama, mama."
• When we sit down to dinner, he puts his hands out to each of us to hold, ready to pray. As we say, "Amen," he says it too. Then he leans his head to my hand and says, "Mama"
• He is obsessed with all the Disney characters- Mickey, Pluto, Tigger, Pooh, Little Einsteins, Handy Manny, Oso- and points them out whenever he sees them!
• He has a LARGE collection of stuffed animals in his bed that he has to sleep with every night- just like I did as a kid!
• He runs everywhere!!! Usually yelling as he goes!
• Whenever he sees a baby ANYWHERE, he fake cries.
• He sits so peacefully in his car seat with his hands on each of the arm rests.
• He gets sooo excited to see the garbage truck every Friday morning and gets very sad when it drives away.
• He stands in front of the pantry when he wants a snack, looks up and down at all the shelves going, "Hmmmmmmm," with his finger to his lips.
• At the end of our bedtime prayers, he always leans in for a kiss from Mommy and Daddy.
• Whenever I pick him up for a hug, his little hands tap my back.
• He kisses "the baby" (my belly), then gives it a hug!
• He is happy 95% of the time- smiling, laughing, snuggling! The other 5%- WATCH OUT!!

It's a BOY!!!

Well, here HE is: Wyatt Daniel Broeckelman!! We weren't too sure if this stubborn little guy would cooperate with us today!! After drinking a bottle of grape juice and sucking down some SweetTarts, I was ready for my ultrasound! Come to find out, they weren't ready for me-running a "little" behind- 45 minutes to be exact!! By the time we actually got back there, the little guy was asleep and very uncooperative!! He was laying facing us, with his legs totally closed!! So after 30 minutes of trying to figure out if it was a boy or a girl, we had to call it a day!! I was sooo disappointed!! So, fighting back tears of disappointment, I went to pick up Grant from my friend's house and I got a call from the ultrasound technician. She said I needed to come back because she forget to get the baby's heartrate. I was sooo happy to get this second opportunity- God was definitely listening to me!! So, a quick drive back to the hospital, a bite to eat for myself, and 5 minutes with the ultrasound- It's a BOY!!! We are very excited, and happy to know that we have a healthy baby!! Grant's hand-me-downs will be PERFECT!!!! He's measuring exactly perfect: 19 weeks, 4 days, and 11 ozs. What a cutie!!! :)

Big Boy Room

Grant is now a big boy!! Well, he at least has a big boy room!!! We made the switch from his "baby room" to his "big boy room" this past weekend. We decided to move Grant to a new room because: a) the room was already painted blue, and if this next baby is a girl, Levi didn't want to repaint and b) this room is more central in our house, so Grant can come and go without disturbing the baby. I wasn't sure how he would handle the change, being that it is a pretty drastic one! But he did FANTASTIC!!!! We kept telling him all day that he would get to sleep in a big boy bed from now on, and by the time bedtime rolled around, he went to bed like it was any other night!! Other than the occasional kick to the wall, I didn't hear a peep over the monitor!! And so far, he's slept later and stayed busier once he wakes up. I haven't had to go get him before 7:15!! Did you notice I said "get him?" That's right, so far he hasn't got out of his bed once!! I hope it stays that way for quite some time!! I'm so proud of our big boy!!!

The dresser and bookshelf- we already had these two pieces and matched his bed to them so they would go together!

The toy shelf, which hopefully will stay this nicely organized! HA!

The big boy bed, and my little angel climbing in for his first night as a "big boy!"

Trick-or-Treat!!

Grant enjoyed his first night of Trick-or-Treating! He got his farmer gear on and looked very official, if I do say so!! We only went to 4 houses in the culdesac. We got an early start and no one had their lights on yet, but Grant didn't mind! He had fun knocking on 4 doors we visited. He wasn't able to say "Trick-or-Treat" but he held out his bag and watched the candy pour in!! He walked up and down our culdesac, dragging his candy bag behind him! The first thing he did when he got back to the house was go directly to the coffee table and dump out his bag- he just had to see what treats he got!! His favorite was probably the Blow-Pop, even though the wrapper stayed on. He sucked on it til it was thoroughly wet, then it went to the trash. He liked watching the kids come to the door to trick-or-treat, until the Scream mask-kid showed up, then he wasn't a big fan. Then it was bedtime!! I think he enjoyed his first trick-or-treat experience, but I'm sure there are many more fun ones to come!

Practicing his knocking...on our garage

Let's go Mama!!

It sure is hot under this hat!

Look at my all treats!!

I LIKE HALLOWEEN!!

Coca-Cola Kid

No, Grant's never drank Coke before, but he definitely feels the love as much as Levi and I do! I don't plan on introducing him to soda for quite some time- mostly just because I don't want to have to share!

Our Pumpkin Family

Last night, we carved our pumpkin family!! Grant has been obsessed with pumpkins this entire Halloween season, so I thought he would enjoy watching us carve them! Well, he enjoyed it up to the point where we started gutting the pumpkins. Then he was just totally disgusted, he ran out of the room. Every time I asked, "Grant, do you want to come see the pumpkins?" I'd hear from the other room, "NO NO NO!" Silly boy!! Levi and I had fun though designing our pumpkin faces! We each came up with an idea for our own pumpkins. Then, for Grant's pumpkin, we thought we needed to recreate his "CHEESE" face, so Levi did his best carving Grant's little pumpkin. For our baby's pumpkin, Levi thought it would be a good idea to make it look like the sonogram picture we have because he said the baby looked like a "ghost." He did a great job making it look like our little peanut!! All in all, I think our pumpkin family definitely resembles our real little family!

Grant "designing" the baby's pumpkin

Levi and Grant getting started

Liking the pumpkin carving up to this point!

Giving Mommy's pumpkin a big hug!!

Then the look of disgust came and the interest was gone!

Nanana

Grant and I embarked on our first baking adventure together! We've all been sick at home this entire week, and I'm tired of just sitting around the house doing nothing!! You definitely know I'm bored when I start baking!! We've had some overripe bananas in the freezer piling up, so I thought it was time to put them to use and make some banana bread, or as Grant calls it, "Nanana." Grant pushed a chair over to the counter and was being a great assistant! He helped me crack the eggs, pour in the baking soda and salt, and even helped me stir! He had a lot of fun helping me and it was fun for me to let him be involved!! The banana bread turned out fantastic!! Too bad my little assistant is too stubborn to even try it!!