Leading and Yoga

This is Grant "leading" while he sings. He does this whenever we play the piano or sing. We were sitting on the front row in church yesterday and he was going to town helping the chorister lead the music.
On another note, I've been trying to work out a little to keep my hips and back from being sore. Grant joins me at the yoga and stretch phase at the end the video. Here are his yoga poses: (these are the names they say in the video- I didn't make them up!)

Mountain pose

Downward dog (or downward doggie)
Proud warrior
Exalted warrior
Maybe he should be a yoga instructor. Any takers?

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'll admit it, we put our tree up the week before Thanksgiving. I was just too excited and Grant couldn't stop talking about trees after we went to the Festival of the Trees.

But we didn't forget Thanksgiving. It started out with huckleberry pancakes- YUM!
We had a great Thanksgiving dinner with Tyson's family! The food was amazing! Brooke showed the little boys how to make this edible turkey. Cute!Grant doesn't know the rule that you're supposed eat until you can't move anymore. He left the table early because he was too busy playing! We had a great time together that weekend being grateful for all our blessings. Tyson even had a few days off, got to go flying and watch the BYU game! I shopped on Black Friday for my 2nd year in a row and and enjoyed it.
I love this time of year! We have so much to be grateful for right now.


Oh and PS, we had a ultrasound yesterday and the baby is healthy! We are so glad! And the tech was pretty sure that it's a GIRL!

Symphony and Turkeys

(For the record, I am totally copying Annalee.)
Right now I am grateful for several things:

1. I had the awesome opportunity of playing in the symphony last weekend. I've always wanted to pick the violin up again, and luckily my good friend Annalee is amazing and has been giving me violin lessons since February. We played Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, and it was awesome. The music is so powerful, and Beethoven was so inspired! He wrote this symphony after he had gone deaf. I am so grateful for the chance I had to do it!

If I look a bit dazed in the picture, it's because I am. It's my first time playing in a real orchestra! It's overwhelming!

2. This turkey! I love being a mom!!And Grant loves to have a turkey friend! Thanks Andrew! I found the idea for their hats here.
3. Sunsets. I know I've blogged about this before and even posted my very amateur attempts at capturing these beauties, but I just have to say it again! I'm so grateful to live where we are! Looking out the kitchen window and seeing this just makes me happy.

Daylight Savings

What's that, you ask? Is it Grant napping? Why yes it it! I've never been so grateful for Daylight Savings! It saved more than daylight for us- Grant has been napping again ever since Sunday. Yay! A big THANK YOU to everyone who offered advice! It's always nice to know that other people are going through similar situations! We decided to put Grant in a twin bed. It's the one Tyson had growing up and it even came with a few BYU blankets! After two nights of Grant falling off (I know, I'm a bad mom), I bought a rail at Walmart, and I am really happy with it! It folds down during the day, which looks better and keeps it out of the way. I was excited about the bedding I found, too. It was a great deal and I love the colors. I think I'm going to make a dark blue pillow with a little dinosaur on it to go on the bed. I'll let you know how that goes. (Probably about the same as my million other sewing projects right now!) Here's to naps for at least a little while longer!

Not ready to give it up!

Grant after a Family Home Evening craft.


Grant learned how to crawl out of his crib last Saturday. He casually walked into the room where Tyson was and said, "I had a good nap!" Ever since then, naps have been short if they've happened at all. I love naptime. I can sleep, be on the computer, clean the bathrooms, or do absolutely nothing productive while Grant sleeps peacefully for a few hours. It just might be the end of that. Sad! He is currently having "quiet time" in his room. It's working so far. He gets a big-boy bed on Saturday. My little guy is growing up, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for it!


Edit:
Quiet time lasted about 45 seconds after I posted. Any suggestions? :)

Aspiring Poet

We are very grateful to be able to say
Our #2 is on the way!
The happy month is April 2010
As long as baby doesn't come early again! :)
After appendix surgery and the (swine?) flu,
I'm hoping for health until baby is due!

Once there was a Snowman

Grant squealed when he saw the snow on the ground this morning. He knows that snow means building a snowman. So we headed out to play in the winter landscape. On October 5. Awesome. He loved it. He said in a prayer today that he was grateful that we could build a snowman. I love listening to little kids pray!

Lemony Goodness

I've almost finished up a pan of one of my favorite desserts. Generally I don't care for lemon desserts, and I used to claim I didn't like lemon bars. But right after I had Grant, some of our neighbors brought dinner, and my friend Lacey brought lemon bars. I tentatively sampled one and I've been eating them ever since! Even better, no one else at my house likes them, so I get to eat them all!

Lemon Bars (Lionhouse recipe)

1/2 c soft butter
1/4 c powdered sugar
1 cup flour

Cream butter and sugar, add flour. Press into an 8X8 pan and cook at 325 degrees for 15-30 minutes.

While baking, combine:
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Grated rind of 1/2 lemon (I've left this out before and it's just as good)

Mix well and pour over cooked crust. Bake for an additional 18-25 minutes at 325 degrees. Sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar. Cool slightly before cutting.

I would have taken a picture, but there's only one left!

Catching up

I have no idea how it has been so long since I've posted! We had a fun summer, it was just over so fast! Here are a few random pictures of Grant.
Playing with chalk outside- our grass is finally looking better!
Grant figured out that magnets would stick to this vase.I made some homemade Play Dough and it turned out great! It never dries up and Grant will play with it for quite awhile. Here's the recipe:
2 c flour
1 c salt
4 tsp cream of tartar
2 cups water with food coloring
2 T oil
Mix all ingredients in a nonstick pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it forms a hard ball. It gets kind of hard to stir, but keep mixing until all the parts are hardened. Remove from pan and knead for a couple minutes. (Careful, it will be pretty warm!) Enjoy!

Grant sleeps with a bunch of animals and loves to carry them around. He is so silly! Here he is doing "Itsy Bitsy Spider." He watches this movie over and over and laughs at himself.

As for Tyson and I, we are doing great. BYU is ranked #7, so how could Tyson not be doing great?! I had an emergency appendectomy a couple of weeks ago- it was pretty crazy! I'm feeling much better now and since medical technology is amazing, my recovery was pretty short. I am trying to get back into a schedule and I will try to be better at checking your blogs and writing back! Have a great day!

The Lip Thing

Some of my sisters and I possess the coveted and unique talent of "the lip thing." People always beg us, "Please, do the lip thing!" Recently Grant discovered that he inherited this trait. Check it out.


Now that he's mastered the technique, I will be training him to gradually increase his speed.

Chicken Crock Pot

It's been awhile since I've blogged! All I have today is a recipe to share. Boring, but some day I will do an update.

Last Sunday I needed a quick meal idea that wouldn't heat up our house and would work with my limited food options (I hadn't been grocery shopping for awhile.) I did a Google search and found this recipe, which turned out great!
Place in crock pot in the following order:
1 can black beans (or 1 c. dry beans, soaked overnight)
3 chicken breasts
1-2 Tbsp taco seasoning
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies (I didn't have the kind with chilies, but would recommend them)
Cook on high 4-5 hours or low 8-10 hours.
Shred chicken with a fork.
Combine with rice, add some cheese and make into burritos.
They were delicious and EASY!

Do It 'Self

Grant's independent spirit is showing itself. I'm sure any parent whose had a child around this age understands! He wants to do everything by himself.
Playing mini golf, putting on shoes, pouring cereal...And he gets so frustrated when it doesn't work! But he will not let me help. It suppose it's how he will learn, right?
Well it's caused me to contemplate my parent-child relationship with my Heavenly Father. Sometimes I just want to do things my way and figure it out myself, and then I realize that I need to depend on the Lord. And other times I just want the Lord to tell me what to do, and then I realize it's time to learn how to choose for myself. Learning and understanding the balance of independence and dependence is hard! No wonder toddlers can throw such magnificent tantrums!

2 Awesome Years!

One month
Six months
One year
Eighteen months
Two years!



Grant's birthday was so much fun. He woke up from his nap and starting jumping up and down in his crib because he couldn't wait for the party to start! Thanks to everyone in our families who came to make the day special.


Opening presents

Race track cake- an easy idea from Family FunMowing the lawn"Lucky cake" from Grandma Parker
I wish I had taken more pictures of everyone who was there! Our unfinished basement was a great place for all the cousins to play.

Grant is a great blessing to us. We love him so very much!

We Love our Local Library

Grant and I go to the library pretty regularly. He loves the fish, the computers, the huge stuffed animals, and oh yes, the books. We started the Read-to-Me summer reading program last week. To get weekly prizes, I just read with Grant 15 minutes a day, he colors in a little picture to represent our reading time, and we turn in our paper. The first prize was this coloring page. You dip a cotton swab in water, wipe it on the little paint square, and then "color" your picture. Grant loved it! His picture is up on the fridge. It's not too late to join the reading program- so if you're around here, go check it out! PS- Grant's birthday pictures are coming soon!

Lagoon

Earlier this month, Tyson and I went to Lagoon for our anniversary. We left Grant with the grandparents- thanks Parkers! It was lots of fun! We were among many teenagers and felt like an old married couple. Tyson doesn't mind flying a tiny plane, but for some reason, he doesn't care for wild roller coaster rides. He was a good sport though and the only ones I couldn't talk him into were Wicked and the Blastoff ride where they bring you to the top, let you sit there for 10 seconds or so and then drop you. I thrive on those exciting rides- I love the feeling of my stomach in my throat! I think it's so thrilling! Lagoon is a fun little park. Here we are on our favorite ride, The Spider. Good times! While we were on The Wild Mouse, a sudden thunderstorm poured rain on our defenseless little cart. It was a very scary ride- that one is jerky to begin with, but try it with your eyes closed while being pelted with rain! We were completely drenched when we got off, and we didn't last much longer after that. Despite the weather, it was a very enjoyable day. We loved spending a relaxing day together. I hope we can get back there this year- I would love to take Grant! Even though you won't read this, I love you Tyson!

Soarin Over the City

Tyson took Grant and I up on a flight a few weeks ago. Besides the takeoff and landing (they are turbulent in a tiny plane!), it was pretty fun!

Co-pilot Grant

Tyson and his instructor, Tom. Looking out the window. One of a few quiet moments. Grant liked looking at the little cars for about 20 minutes. I spent the rest of the time trying to keep him out of everything. June has been a busy month, so more updates to follow!

Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime...

Yesterday was a beautiful day and we spent most of it outside. Today we're back to rainy, cloudy weather. Here's Grant playing with the "scrubbies." But I'm running out of ideas here! What do you do during summer days when it's not outside weather?

Celebrating

We had our fourth anniversary this week and went to the temple together. (We're taking a trip to Lagoon next week- yeehaw!) Thanks for babysitting Kaitlyn! Tyson gave me these pretty roses- I love them because I get to plant them and they can last a long time! (Hopefully, haha.) The next day was Tyson's birthday. We started with French toast. Then I made the Mickey cake. We had family over to help us eat it. Grant was happy to oblige! Happy birthday, Tyson! We love you!