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!!

Dinner Prep

This is what a typical night of dinner preparation looks like in the Broeckelman household. I'm cooking and Grant's pulling out every pan, pot, lid, and baking sheet he can find!! These are the only two cabinets in the kitchen that are "unlocked" because I don't really mind him playing with these. Well, that is except when I'm trying to open and close the stove and I'm tripping over pots and pans...and even a bike in this case! However, he is so good when I need to open the stove- I just say that I need to open the stove, and he runs over and sits in front of the pantry (which is the farthest point away from the stove) saying, "Hot, hot, hot." All in all, he's a fun little assistant to have in the kitchen!! And, I'm never lonely!

Of course, what dinner preparation is complete without pot-lid cymbals?!

This is the other thing he likes to do while I'm cooking- play in the pantry. Just recently, Grant learned how to slide the door open. There isn't much food at his level, just some popcorn and a few stray kitchen utensils. He'll stand in front of the pantry with his finger to his lip and say, "Hmmmmmm?" Like he has to pretend- I know the only thing he wants in there is marshmallows!

Home Haircuts

This is normally what Grant looks like during a haircut!! By the time they finish with him, he's a choppy and snotty mess!! We though it was time to try a home-haircut to see if it would be any better, because we knew it would definitely be cheaper!! He usually needs a haircut about once a month, so even just the $15 we save would add up! I always cut Levi's hair, so we already have all the supplies! So after a nap, a snack, and some playdoh time, it was time for a haircut!! As soon as Levi put the clippers to Grant's head I could tell it tickled him, but he didn't seem to mind. He actually sat very still for the most part and never cried once! He did a great job...and so did Levi!! I guess it will be home-haircuts from now on!!

Levi starting the clippers

Not so sure still, but at least he's not screaming!!

Doing the scissor cuts on the top!

Hooray Daddy!!! You did a great job on my hair!!

Pickin' Punkins

We did our annual trip to pick out pumpkins today!! It's a bit earlier than we wanted to since pumpkins don't last too long around here, but since our next two weekends are already filled up, this was the weekend!! And boy, was it a HOT one!!! At 6:00pm when we went, it was still 89 degrees, and probably about 85% humidity! It was downright NASTY!! But we had a great time anyway!! We went with our good friends, The Dahlmans, who we've known since we've moved to Jacksonville. We went there with them last year too, so it was great to see the kids this year in relation to last year's pictures!! It was a good thing they were there with us because 5 minutes into the picture taking party, my battery on my camera went dead- so a big THANK YOU to Kelly for taking almost all these pictures!!! In the end, we got 4 appropriately sized pumpkins for our soon-to-be family of four!!

Grant in 2008Grant in 2009

(Funny note- Grant is wearing the same shorts this year as he was last year!)

Grant with Allie and Brandon- his two favorite friends!

It might look like fall from this picture, but it DEFINITELY did not feel like fall!!

This is how I will feel in a few more months!!

This was probably the highlight of Grant's pumpkin picking trip!! I guess we picked the right costume idea for him to be a farmer, because we almost had to buy this tractor just so we could bring Grant home because he was not about to get off of it!! Good times!!

Practicing...

Grant already seems to understand that we're going to have another baby. He came with us to our first ultrasound and ever since then, whenever we say the word baby, he either lifts up his shirt or my shirt, and says "baby." When he sees me take my vitamin, he says "baby." I tell him we have to go to the doctor and he says "baby." It's so cute!

The other day after his nap, he carried his buddies- Elmo, Mickey, and Pooh- out of his room and into the living room and laid them on the blanket that happened to be on the floor. I went to get him a snack and came back and saw him "feeding" his buddies. After they all ate, he kissed each one of them and walked away and said "night-night." My heart melted a little bit!! I love that he's "practicing" being a big brother, whether he knows it or not!!!

A Hat Thing

So Grant has this weird thing about hats. He only likes to wear them when he's a) watching one of his favorite shows, Hi-5 (I don't know why but he does) or b) playing "dress up." Very rarely does he like to wear a hat just for the sake of wearing a hat. The other day, while watching Hi-5, he ran to his room during the opening credits and came back with a hat. He put it on himself- backwards, I might add- and he wore it for a good 45 minutes. I couldn't help but take his picture because he looked so grown up (I had to basically get between him and the TV to get his face, and he's obviously not looking at me!) The next few pictures are of him wearing hats while playing "dress up." He's so funny when he decides to actually wear a hat, because he keeps it for so long!! Dressing up as his favorite Wonder Pet, Ming-Ming (which he is holding in his hands). The funny thing was- this was his idea! I just supplied him with the hat and blanket. He wore this whole get-up for at least an hour! Mind you- that is a fleece hat and blanket around his neck....its still 90 degrees here in Florida! When he finally took his hat off, he was a sweaty sweaty mess!!

Here he is wearing a cowboy hat while eating breakfast and watching Imagination Movers (the character, Smitty, wears a cowboy hat so Grant insisted that he needed to wear his as well!) He kept that hat on all morning!!

Here is a rare exception of Grant wearing a hat not watching his show or playing dress up. We went to do a little fall clothes shopping at Old Navy and he insisted on wearing this hat. He also made friends with the mannequin dog (and the little mannequin girl in the pink) that welcomes us when you walk in! The hat he is wearing is almost too small and I tried to get him a nice Old Navy hat, but he kept throwing it on the floor. I guess he still has mixed emotions about hats!!

A Pumpkin Friend

I took Grant to Target this weekend to get a small list of things. I feel like I can't leave there without a little something for Grant, usually just a $1 bin toy!! But, being that is fall, I thought he needed a little pumpkin of his very own that he could carry around with him! He loves seeing all the Halloween decorations at all the stores, and we're slowly starting to see bins of pumpkins around town, which he just loves. Since its so hot here in Florida, we don't usually get our pumpkins til just a few days before Halloween, or else they turn to mush. But this pumpkin I got for Grant will always keep its shape! And he has carries it everywhere around the house- Pumpkin has become Grant's new friend. The other day, he insisted that Pumpkin eat lunch with us, and he had to sit right next to Grant. So Grant decided he would share his lunch with Pumpkin- so sweet!!! After a few minutes, Pumpkin had to watch from the counter, or else no lunch would've been had. Sharing his granola bar with Pumpkin

Giving Pumpkin kisses

Giving Pumpkin hugs (and if this was a video, you would see his left hand patting Pumpkin's back!)

I just love my new friend, Pumpkin!!