Grant Squared: 2009

Christmas 2009

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Logan and Charlotte had a great first Christmas! First we went to a Christmas Eve service at our church. Then we spent time with the Wiens side of the family. We stayed overnight at the Wiens home on Christmas Eve. The babies woke up a full house of 14 people at 6 a.m. on Christmas morning. (They couldn't wait to open presents!) Midday on Christmas, we drove to the Grant home to celebrate Christmas with Kevin's family. The babies have had a lot of fun playing with all of their new toys over the past few days. Here are some pictures:

Charlotte opening her first gift on Christmas Eve.

Charlotte with Auntie Laura

Reading a Christmas card together

Trouble? Who, me?

Logan trying out his new backpack. (Charlotte got one, too). We made fun of them too, but yes, we are going to have leash kids.

Logan was really into his new clothes.

Reading a new book

Christmas at the Grants

Charlotte plays "queen of the mountain" on top of any large box.

Charlotte is excited about her new toys!

Merry Christmas!

Friday, December 18, 2009

Here's our Christmas picture! You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to get two babies to look at the camera at the same time. We are looking forward to spending time with both sides of the family next week. This will be Logan and Charlotte's first Christmas. They are going to love all of that wrapping paper and fun, new toys! Have a blessed Christmas, everyone!

11 Months Old

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Logan and Charlotte are 11 months old. I can't believe we are almost at the end of their first year! This month Logan weighs in at 21 lbs. and Charlotte weighs 19.5 lbs.

It's exciting to see Logan and Charlotte's personalities develop. Logan is our little explorer. He tries to figure out how things work and loves to rummage through drawers. Charlotte is always on the go and now cruises around furniture. She is quick to express her displeasure by throwing down something she doesn't want. When she doesn't want to nap she lets us know by throwing everything out of her crib in protest. Charlotte also love to pull hair, so watch out!

Logan and Charlotte both started saying the same first word this month: "hi!" I sure feel welcome at home with all of the "hi's" I get. Charlotte also says "up".

Kevin, Logan, and Charlotte were all sick this past month with what we suspect was H1N1. I was sure I was going to get it too, but somehow I escaped it for now. We had a lot of sleepless nights, but everyone is feeling better now.

We had a nice Thanksgiving at my aunt and uncle's home, with lots of family to see. Logan and Charlotte loved the food! They tried everything and loved it all, especially our family's famous "Orange Goo" mandarin orange salad and the pumpkin pie! Then we spent a couple of days at my parents' home. The babies are very interested in their three kitties.

Here's our most recent pictures:

Ducks Celebration Quilt

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

The Ducks won the Stanley Cup in 2007!! That was such an awesome, unforgettable season. Kevin and I were fortunate to attend almost every playoff game that season. (Somehow Kevin was out of town for the last game when the Ducks actually won the Cup. I was there to see the Ducks win the Cup and it was an incredible experience!) Yes, the Ducks are lousy this year, but we can still look back on the 2006-2007 season with fond memories.

At each hockey playoff game, each fan is given a towel to wave during the game. We collected a lot of towels during the 2006-2007 playoffs, and we've collected a few more during the playoffs in the subsequent two seasons.

My mom graciously volunteered to make a quilt out of our collection of towels. (We share season tickets with my parents, so she made a second quilt with their towels). One side features the orange towels and on the other side is warm, black fleece. It's a cozy, memory-evoking blanket that we use at home and that we will take to Ducks games. Thanks, Mom, for making an awesome quilt! We love it!

Mom and the Ducks quilt she made

A close-up

Kevin and Logan enjoying our new quilt

Commuter Kevin

Friday, November 13, 2009

Kevin tends to have an adventure every year and this was no exception. Two years ago he started playing ice hockey, last year the babies were adventure enough, and this year he has started to bike commute.

He can be seen wearing a bright orange shirt and riding a sleek black Marin commuter bike. Kevin has been riding his bike to work a couple of days a week. It's a 7-mile commute each way, and it takes him about 35 minutes. He says it's a great way to get exercise, have some alone time and save on gas. So be on the lookout for this new bike commuter on the road.

If you're interested in riding to work you should check out mapmyride.com. It provides the opportunity to explore different routes, calculate calories burned, track exact distance, see the elevation change throughout your ride and all sorts of cool stuff.

10 Months Old

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Logan and Charlotte are 10 months old! Here's our update ...

LOGAN started crawling a couple of weeks ago. Now he can race his sister! Logan learned how to wave "bye bye" this month. Logan has some kind of nap disorder where he only naps for 30-45 minutes at a time (one sleep cycle). It's really frustrating! If anyone knows how to fix it, please contact me.

CHARLOTTE is now an expert crawler (she's super fast). She can also pull herself up. Soon she'll be cruising around the coffee table. Charlotte recently learned how to clap. Charlotte is known for stealing pacifiers and toys from her brother.

I am still nursing the babies and enjoying it. Sometimes they nurse together on our twin nursing pillow and they look at each other as they nurse. It's pretty cute. That doesn't usually last long and they start poking each other in the eyes! The babies are also on 3 meals of table foods a day. They feed themselves, and can eat almost anything we eat. I guess I'm done with the baby food making. That didn't last long! If anyone is interested in some green bean puree, feel free to take it off my hands. Right now dog toys are a big hit with the babies. (Charlotte is sometimes known as "Puppy Charlotte" because she likes to carry things by mouth). They both love to play in Daisy's crate.

Kevin recently returned from a worked-related trip to Vermont. He visited a college for students with disabilities, saw colorful leaves, and got to visit some of the quaint towns. During Kevin's absence, the babies and I were supposed to stay with my parents, but my mom came down with the flu. Thanks to Mom and Dad Grant, Grandpa and Grandma Thone, and Amanda and Laura for stopping by to help!

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday. We have a lot to be thankful for this year!

Here are some pictures of the babies at 10 months old:

We love fall!

Friday, October 30, 2009

We are huge fans of fall! We love cooler weather, apple crisp, pumpkin desserts, pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks, colorful leaves, and all things fall! We also love football (go Notre Dame)! Plus, we started dating during the fall, so this season brings back a lot of memories. Kevin is even growing his own pumpkins this year. Still on the vine, there are only two of them, and they aren't much bigger than a softball. Maybe they'll be ready by Thanksgiving and we can make pumpkin pie out of them.

We've enjoyed some cooler weather this week, and by cooler, I mean under 80 degrees! We even broke out the beanies when we went to Disneyland earlier this week. With Charlotte in her Pooh costume, the babies attracted even more attention than usual. It was fun seeing my sister and her boyfriend perform in the Pixar parade. Amanda performs as a cowgirl on the "Toy Story" float, and as a bug on the "Bug's Life" float.

Checking out one of the pumpkins.

Logan loves to play with his pumpkin!

Logan is going to be "Woody" from Toy Story for Halloween. Charlotte will be Pooh.

Holding hands at Disneyland. So sweet!

Logan wearing his new beanie. It didn't last longer than a minute on his head. He likes to wave it around!

Our little Pooh.

We had to take a picture in front of the Pooh ride at Disneyland.

Our Little Book Worm

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Logan is crazy about books! He loves to sit and read, whether it be with an adult, with Charlotte, or by himself. He loves books so much he cries when the book is finished because he wants it to go on forever. Let's hope he likes books this much in high school and college!

9 Months Old!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

It's hard to believe the first year is 3/4 over! It's going by so fast. Here's our update for 9 months:

CHARLOTTE:

Baby Charlotte is CRAWLING! She began crawling two weeks ago and she really gets around. When Kevin gets home from work, Charlotte crawls right to him. Charlotte is a high energy baby. She likes to explore her world and is great at screaming in delight. Charlotte has 2 teeth now and there's 3 more coming in.

LOGAN:

Baby Logan loves to smile, laugh, and is a really sweet, fun guy. He's got a cute pudgy belly. (See his picture in the kiddie pool below). Logan continues to scoot on his back and doesn't show much interest in crawling. Logan's most recent accomplishment is that he can use a straw cup.

This month we introduced yogurt and Cherrios, both of which the babies love. They are eating more finger foods. They like pretty much anything we give them.

Here are some pictures of Charlotte and Logan at 9 months:

Last Games of the Season

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Today we took the babies to an afternoon Angels game. It was the last home game of the regular season. We went with Kevin's parents. Grandpa Grant got Logan and Charlotte their own rally monkeys today. The babies love their monkeys, which they held for most of the game. With the division title already secured, we saw mostly "B Team" players, but it was fun, nonetheless.

In other news, Kevin's hockey team won the league championship for their summer league! Kevin scored a goal and his parents were there to see the big win. I was home with the babies, but Kevin's parents kept me updated with text messages. His team took home the cup, and by cup, I mean pint glasses. Kevin loves his team ... they have been together for 4 seasons now. He was the number one scorer on his team this season! Now we look forward to the start of the NHL season. Go Ducks!

Here are some pictures from the Angel game:

Logan loving his rally monkey!

Charlotte cheered/screamed a lot during the game. She is really loud and crazy!

An Angel game can really wear a baby out! By the 8th inning, it was time to go, rally monkeys in tow.

Baby Dedication

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Today Logan and Charlotte were dedicated to the Lord. We were blessed to have many family members and friends support us by attending the dedication. Our church does baby dedications separate from the regular services. It was nice because there was time to focus on each family. There was even a slide show with photos of all of the children being dedicated. The babies did well during the ceremony. We were worried that Logan might cry when the pastor held him, but Logan did great! Logan decided to play with the pastor's face while the pastor prayed. Charlotte, our paper-lover, chewed on the pastor's notes.

We chose a life verse for our children, which was read during the ceremony:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself."
Matthew 22:37-39

After the ceremony, we gathered at Kevin's parent's home for a late lunch. We ate yummy carnitas. We also found time to take some family pictures. Mom and Dad, thanks so much for opening your home to us!