The Grant Gang Adventures

Friday, March 16, 2012

Star fall

I love anything that is fun but yet teaches Addison along the way. She loves playing the star fall app on our iPad. We are very strict about its frequency of use and location she plays it. She must be sitting at the table strapped to her booster or in our lap on the couch. We do not allow her to roam with it, it's too expensive and we want the iPad to be a treat!

Anyways, this game has been great to build on her knowledge of the sounds letters make. Her grandma grant gave her the leap frog phonetics bus and Addison has learned her letter sounds from that....on her own during independent play time. This app just helps build on that foundation. Here Addison is matching the letters and if you listen carefully she sounds out the word.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Addison's Art

Bored with our usual routine, I decided to try a little educational art project with Addison. She loves coloring so I figured she would love gluing. Boy did she ever!!!

Among other things, we ave been teaching Addison about opposites ( up/down, stop/go, etc.). Using construction paper, i cut out l things which could be opposites: arrows (up/down), sun and moon (day/night), stop and go (green/red stop lights) and so on. I also cut out shapes in various colors of construction paper. Then I handed her the glue stick and she loved gluing and "pat, pat, patting" (she actually says that every time) the paper to get things to stick as well as naming the shape, color, opposite and even counting. It was so fun to watch her!!!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Look Who Is 4 Months!

Happy 4 Months to our Caleb Asher!

The Stats

Weight: 17 lbs, 2.2 oz (83%)
Height: 26ish inches (86%)
Head Circumference: 16.75 inches (80%)
Overall: He looks healthy and happy to them. The doctor said Caleb is most definitely teething and that she could see his tooth/teeth under the gums causing a little bump. They also said we could start rice cereal now if we wanted to help his poop schedule even out as well as help with his reflux. We have not talked about what we will do.

The Developments

Sleeping: Caleb is sleeping great at night and his naps are improving each day. He has more days where he naps well than he does not now. He is waking up slightly earlier than his official wake up time in the mornings, but I believe this is because is FINALLY pooping again. He goes in the morning and has a hard time going back to sleep afterward. Generally he talks for a while before getting fussy, but I cannot blame him for not wanting to sit in a wet and dirty diaper.
Routine: He is on a 3.5 to 4 hour schedule with his day now targeting to begin at 8:00 am. He was staying asleep until 8 am until about a week ago when he went from pooping once a week to five times a day. Now his poop wakes him up a little early but we aim to leave him in bed until about 7:50-8:00 am. Of course he follows the eat/play/sleep cycle until bedtime (which occurs between 7:30 and 8:00) with about 1 hour and 45 minutes of wake time. Once he can stay awake a little longer and stay happy I think he will be completely on a 4 hour schedule. I am not in a hurry though. I know he will be there soon enough, especially when we start solids.
Eating: Still nursing. I take it day by day. I have enough in the freezer to last a couple months so even if I quit now he would make it to 6 months at least on breastmilk. I dont mind it so much and the only thing that keeps me going with it is knowing how sensitive his stomach is.
Mobility: Caleb is able to push all the way up with his arms straight and stay there for quite a while. He started rolling over again today (2.27) and once he remembered how to do it, he did it several times; he was laughing so hard it rolled him over and it made him remember how! The very early signs of rolling back to tummy are starting to pop up--looking WAY up and around when on his back. And even as I type this he is trying to roll that way! He can bare a little weight on his legs and his figuring out how to kinda bounce in his Baby Einstein jumper.
Verbal: "baba" and "mmm" are his favorite noises. When left alone in a quiet room he really gets to talking...LOUD.
Personality/Disposition: He loves smiling, loves his sister and still loves to snuggle. Stranger anxiety is rearing is ugly head the past few days so I do not think we will dodge separation anxiety; we certainly did not with Addison. Caleb is very sensitive and temperamental. Any tiny pain or discomfort and he will let you know. I am not sure why, but he sure loves me. All I have to do is look at him and he is nothing but smiles.
Independence: Since he is used to all the noise and hussle and bustle of Addison he has moments when he wants to be entertained vs. entertaining himself. It is all a work in progress.

Caleb: I hope you will forgive your tired, brain power deprived, ignorant, easily frustrated and confused mom. I hope most of all you will forgive me where I fall short and where I fail. I am not perfect but I try my hardest to be the best mom I can to you. You brighten my day with your smile and your big beautiful eyes. I am thankful you have such a loving and caring big sister and a daddy who loves you so much. Each day is filled with challenges that I never knew I would face and I hope with God's grace I overcome them WITH grace.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Vidoes of My Little Loves

Here are two recent videos of my little loves.

Sorry its sideways!!!

Addison had trouble getting the letters in here correctly when she first got this at Christmas but now watch how carefully she puts the letters in. She will sing along with it and knows what sounds many of the letters make. I am so proud of her. She amazes me everyday; I consider it an honor to be her mother.

Caleb's stomach finally seems to be feeling a little better! What does this mean??? It means when it is feeling good, he embraces the babywise way and naps and eats well! And what does that mean?!?!?! That means smiles and giggles and learning abounds. Check out his little laugh, he sounds JUST like Addison Joy when she was little!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Addison's 2012 So Far

I have not posted about our Addison Joy in quite sometime. I cannot believe in just TWO months she will be TWO!!! Addison certainly is the Joy of our lives and it continues to be an honor to be her mother!

Addison likes....

...to make mommy laugh
...cherries, peas, bananas, oreos, raisins, cinnamon, bread and cheese
...to TALK. ALL. THE. TIME.
...to give baby brother lots of kisses
...stomping her feet when she does not get what she wants right away
...playing on the I-Pad
...to be tickled and chased
...to eat just about anything, but especially bread and anything sweet (oh my is she Matthew's daughter)
...brushing her hair
...to sleep
...to bang her cup on her tray defiantly
...to give Piper treats and chase her
...to go to school, talk about school and dream about school.
...to pick her nose because she knows mommy hates it.
...to watch videos of herself.
...to sing.
...to share with Caleb.
...to take toys away from Caleb.
...narrating everything that is going on around her.
...to be compassionate.
...drawing with chalk.
...to pretend shes talking on the phone to Mia and Papa
...to face time with Grandma and Grandpa.

Addison does not like...

...when anyone is hurt or she thinks anyone is hurt.
...getting her diaper changed (unless Caleb is having his changed)
...to be told what to do.
...being denied playing on the I-Pad
...when mommy is upset (its bound to happen with 2 under 2)
...being left with unfamiliar caretakers (i.e. new workers in the church nursery).
...being disciplined.
...waking up in the morning or from nap
...waiting patiently.
...transitioning to new activities.
...being given choices.

Addison can...

...say just about anything.
...conjugate verbs mostly correctly.
...tell you bible stories by looking at the pictures.
...can tell you some stories by looking at pictures (especially those we have read since she was born).
...say her alphabet.
....tell what sounds about half the letters make.
...run fast!
...count to 14.
... identify about 9 different colors (black, purple, pink, red, green, yellow, blue, orange, brown).
...identify about 6 different shapes (circle, moon, square, oval, triangle, heart)
...hold Caleb for about 2 seconds.
...help mommy cook (and by cook I mean spill flour everywhere)
...feed Piper, sorta :)

Addison had another crazy verbal explosion about a month ago. She can say anything and everything now. She is conjugating verbs correctly and constructing complex sentences that blow me away. We try to encourage her as she goes through these explosions even though we are admittedly grateful for the peace and quiet when she is sleeping. She understands and retains so much that it is almost scary.

Addison is the funniest, most energetic (yet loves her sleep), compassionate, loving, stubborn and precious little girl (although I know I am bias). Our love for her seems to deepen everyday and our lives would simply not be filled with such laughter and joy if she were not our daughter.

Addison: I hope that one day you will read this and my other blog posts and see how much we love you and how proud of you were are. I hope that you will continue to grow into a loving, caring and compassionate person one day, much like your Daddy is today. I know it may seem like we do not love you when we discipline you but we do this not only because we love you but because God commanded us to. Our biggest prayer for you is that you come to know Jesus at an early age and seek to glorify him in all you do. We love you more each day our sweet Addison JOY.