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!!

The Pantless Farmer

Well, Grant is halfway to his Halloween costume!! We had so many choices when it came to picking out Grant's Halloween costume this year, but since I'm neither crafty, nor an experienced seamstress, I decided store-bought would be our best bet. Well, Halloween in Jacksonville usually runs about 85 degrees, and if you've checked the racks of the average toddler costume, you would notice that its usually a one-piece furry suit of some sort, with a furry hat/hood on top- not so ideal for 85 degree weather! But I still wanted a costume to reflect Grant's interests at this time. So I decided on a farmer. Ever since we visited Levi's parents house this past August and he got to see Grandpa at work on the tractor and hang out on the farm, he's been very interested!! So we got him a pair of boots, some overalls, a plaid shirt, and he already had a cowboy hat (which may or may not stay on). These pictures are of the first time wearing the boots, and the first time he stood up to walk, it was like he was taking his first steps as a baby- he didn't know what to do!! But now he has the hang of them and loves wearing them around the house! I think he's going to like being a farmer, but we'll make sure he actually wears pants when it comes time to trick-or-treat!!

Checking out his horsey

Thought Bubble

I can just see the thought bubble popping out of Grant's head:

"My daddy is so lucky to get to mow the grass every week. I can't wait til I get bigger so I can use the mower like Daddy. It looks like so much fun- all those buttons to press and cords to pull. Yep, I think I'm going to like mowing when I get big!"

It's Potty Time!!!

Well, not quite, but we're definitely making progress!! About a month ago, Grant became extremely interested in everything that goes on in bathroom. He won't even let you go in the bathroom without him. He will tell you when he has a poopy diaper. He loves to sit on the big potty as he's getting ready to take his bath. He'll sit on the potty with the lid closed, fully clothed, and tell you he's pooping. All of these are good signs he's getting ready to start potty training! So this past weekend, we decided to get him a potty of his very own!! We know he's not ready to know how to use it yet, or even tell us he has to go to the bathroom, but we figured he can at least practice sitting on the potty. We probably won't start really training him til closer to his 2nd birthday, but he sure is enjoying the potty right now!!!
Very proud of himself!!!

You've gotta have a good book to pass the time!

Nothing happened this time, but sometime it will!!

What's Cookin?

So, I was reorganizing Grant's toys (yes you've probably read that in my blog before, that is something I like to do, and I do it often!) and I decided that he needed some new toys. Not that the kid needs MORE toys, just different ones. I was noticing alot of his toys were manipulative or geared more towards logical thinking, so I figured it was about time to get him some more imaginary and role-play toys. I was at my go-to store for buying baskets to aid in my reorganization of the toys, and Grant spotted a box of play food/dishes on the shelf. He insisted on getting them, and I agreed! We brought them home, and I scattered them on the coffee table and he played with it for AN HOUR while I started dinner! He kept bringing me different utensils wanting me to take a bite, and I'd say, "MMMM" and he'd run off to do it again! Looks like his imagination is already hard at work. And maybe while he's at it, he'll learn to actually eat some new foods!!!
It was a pretty random sample of foods- a carrot, a mushroom, 2 chili peppers, a fried egg, ketchup, and fennel...kind of a weird selection, right? See, he's already trying a carrot!!

Something Old, Something New

I have to admit this was a very hard thing for me to do- and maybe even a little embarrassing to share. I passed down my old teddy bear and blanket to Grant, which I lovingly referred to as Cuddles and Mimi. I received my blanket right after I was born, and I got my teddy bear when I was 7 as a consolation gift for not being able to go to the New Kids on the Block concert with my sister (funny how I would be interested in both at the same time, but whatever!). Grant is very fond of stuffed animals and loveys so I thought he would really appreciate them! And boy, does he!! He carries them around the house and sleeps with them at nap and bedtime. I do, however, feel a little bit of grief when I see Grant carrying them around, then just blatantly dropping them on the floor. To be honest- I go pick them up and put them gently on the couch or table, and I may or may not whisper "Sorry" to them. But it does make my heart happy to know that he will love them as much as I did...(or should I say, do!).

Baby B #2

Well, here is our first glimpse of Baby B #2. Pretty cute already, huh? When the doctor first got sight of the baby, she said, "We've got a wiggler!" That totally doesn't surprise me because I'm pretty sure Grant never stopped moving when he was in my belly- which was definitely some foreshadowing because I don't think Grant has sat still since!! So we'll see what this little peanut brings!! I could have my hands really full in about 6 months!! ;)

Gray Hairs

So this has been some week at the Broeckelman household!! Grant woke up with a runny nose last weekend...and a bad attitude to boot! It followed him into this week as well! Here is a glimpse of my afternoon on Tuesday: At our trip to the commissary, Grant screamed his lungs out up and down the aisles as I shopped- just for fun! We got home and I put him at the table for a snack while I unload groceries to try and keep him out of trouble. I lug all the groceries inside and notice Grant has decided to chew up his food, but instead of swallowing it, he spits it out ALL OVER THE FLOOR. Timeout for 1 minute. After timeout, I get on my hands and knees to clean up the chewed up snack, and little man runs off to play. I finally get the floor cleaned up and go to find my quiet (always a bad sign) little guy and find THIS in the bathroom!!! Yeah, this was all in a span of about 1.5 hours. No wonder I find new gray hairs everyday!!!

I have to hand it to him for trying to put the paper back on the roll so as not to appear guilty!

I might add this picture was taken after I already pulled out a huge wad of soaking wet TP!! Yep- an entire roll of toilet paper wasted!!!

The scary thing is....he's not even 2 yet!!!

But I love him nonetheless :)

The Big Boy Bed

Well, here it is...Grant's Big Boy Bed!!! This was one of my biggest concerns when I found out I was pregnant. I immediately thought, where are we going to put everything? Followed by...OMG Levi is leaving for deployment in about 3 months, so we don't have much time!! We knew we needed our house to be all set up and ready for baby before Levi even left, so we'd have a finished house when ALL 4 of US get back. This was our first step- getting Grant a bed. We decided to get a twin bed so he could have it until he left for college. We had a great dresser to use, so we bought an unfinished wood bed, and Levi stained the bed to match the dresser and they look great together!! Not only will Grant be switching beds, but he'll be switching rooms- big changes, I know! But with the layout of our house, it just makes sense! Plus, our office was blue- perfect for his new room! So we've been rearranging, reorganizing, and redecorating- three of my favorite things!! We still have a lot to get done, but so far so good!! I'll post pictures again when the change is complete!! I'm only hoping the transition between crib and bed doesn't kill us first!!

Grant Says...

So I've started keeping a list of the words that Grant has started to say. I feel like he should have started talking months ago since he seemed to do everything else so early. But I'm happy with his progress- he's had a word explosion lately, and I'm just amazed at the new things he says each day. This list is probably more for me, than it is for you, but I thought you'd enjoy it as well! It will be something to look back on and think, "Remember when he only knew a few words?" Here is what he can say as of now, at 17 months...

MaMa

DaDa
Dixie (sounds like diggy)- that's my parents dog
Diggy Diggy (Referring to a digger, or when he's actually digging)
PawPaw
more
pizza (sounds like peta-peta, like the Little Cesars guy- although he won't even touch the stuff!)
mower
hot
hat
please (sounds like ese)
ball
apple
cheese
stinky
poo-poo
BOO! (he likes to hide behind something, and pop up and say BOO!)
no no no (always shaking his finger while he says it!)
banana (comes out more like nana)
Amen (after we pray, it comes out more like namen)

I'm sure next month, this list will probably double!

Cheeseball

I fall in love all over again with this little guy everytime I see this face!! This is the face I get when I tell Grant to "smile for the camera." And now, do I not only get the face, but I get the "CHEESE!!!" each time as well!!!

How lucky am I to have a little boy who actually likes to have his picture taken, even if he does look like a cheeseball!!!