Grant ~Spring 2015~

Approximate size
Height:  39” 
Weight:  38 lbs

Grant’s is in 4T and some 4/5 but those items usually run a little big on him.  Undies are still 4T and he wears a size 9-10 shoe.  Overall, Grant is still on the small to average size when compared to other children in his class and activities.

 

March

Favorite words, sayings and/or things:  Grant talks constantly about being a fireman when he grows up and somehow everything we do relates to him being a fireman (including “mommy you can watch dolphin while I am at the fires”).

Waving at the fire truck in the parade

Very sweaty from playing outside in the snow... I think I had him over-dressed

 

Funnies/Grant-isms:  If something is big, it is “like 5000 big” or tall or long.  This month Grant and his class sang at church.  Grant was so enthusiastic about this singing… well actually dancing that he actually fell down!  Suddenly, Grant has decided he is no longer a mommy dolphin, he is now the daddy dolphin.

Fresh new hair cut

 

Observations:  Getting good at cutting along a line and actually cut out a heart I drew ~ Getting better at writing his name ~ Good helper and likes taking care of Amelia ~ Sits nicely in church and shows more of an interest in participation and what's being said and sung
 

Firsts/Adventures:  Grant is excited about the prospect of warm weather and more outside time.  We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon at the St. Patrick’s Day parade.  Swimming lessons also wrapped up this month.  Grant did so-so.  He enjoys the water but was never completely comfortable submerging his face or going completely under so they actually recommended he do the same class again.   

Illness/Owies:  Amelia came down with a pretty nasty bug which Grant caught but a much milder case.  He woke up in the middle of the night and said his tummy hurt.  I quickly shuffled him into the bathroom and he threw up (in the toilet thankfully!).  Fortunately, that was the only instance. 

 
April

Favorite words, sayings and/or things:  It looks like I really slacked in this category this month.  I didn’t have anything written down as a reminder.

 

Funnies/Grant-isms:  Amelia got some balloons for her birthday and as a very kind gesture Aunt Kelli and Uncle Ben also got Grant his own green balloon.  Grant insisted on taking it outside and I offered to tie it to his wrist or clothes and he refused.  The balloon inevitably flew away and teased us by twirling and swirling just above our heads out of reach.  Grant yelled, “Quick, somebody turn the wind off!”  Just about that time, the wind caught the balloon and whisked it away.  Grant then broke down in tears.  

THE green balloon... before

Observations:  Grant knows my phone number.  I literally told him once and he asked me about a month later what my number was when playing with a toy phone.  I started to tell him and said 2 and he completed with my number in its entirety. 
 
Grant can flip clothes that are inside out to the correct orientation without help.  He can also count to 50+ without help. 























Firsts/Adventures: First school field trip to Stuart’s Landscaping and then to the park for a picnic.  Grant was very excited about the bus ride! 

We’ve been busy assessing options for 4K and as of now do not have a plan in place because our biggest obstacle is transportation from daycare to school. 

We celebrated Easter complete with church and a couple egg hunts.  Grant received a wubble in his Easter basket from grandma and grandpa Fisher.  He loved it and he and Amelia had an absolute blast with it until she popped it which didn’t go over very well. 

 

 

 

 

Illness/Owies:  None!

May

Favorite words, sayings and/or things:  I was a slacker in this category again this month.  I didn’t have anything written down that stood out to me. 

 

Funnies/Grant-isms:  Grant had a very bad day at school in which he wanted to be the table leader and it wasn’t his turn.  He got very upset, kicked a chair and tried flipping the table over (not funny!).  He got lectured on the way home and when we got home he got a swat from me with the paddle.  The next morning at breakfast completely out of the blue he said, "Ya know mommy, maybe next time you should use two hands with the paddle."
 
Observations:  Can write his name in its entirety and legibly ~ very antsy for the boat and nice weather ~ very excited about our vacation to Florida in July (it could be a long couple months)

Firsts/Adventures: This month we celebrated Mother's Day and I attended Muffins with Mom at daycare which was very nice.  We visited the fire station for an open house they hosted.  We saw several fire trucks and got to see the flight for life take off which was very cool! 

 

Grandma Cheryl and Pa were in town for my grandma’s 90th birthday party.  We had so much fun at the birthday party and Grant was a dancing machine and apparently his signature dance move is dancing on one foot.  My parents also took the kids fishing in the park.

We added a new member to our family this month.  For Amelia’s birthday (a little late), we got the kids a kitten.  After much debate, it has been decided that her name is Sasha.  So far, she is fitting in nicely and gets along pretty well with the dogs. 

Grant also started his adventures in T-ball.  I will admit he isn't overly excited about the prospect and when asked he will say he "hates" T-ball which is another word for "don't like."  We only have one practice under our belts so we will see how it goes as we progress. 

T-ball wouldn't be complete without some grass/dirt play time

Illness/Owies:  None

Florida Family Vacation

Because I am busy catching up on blogs, I decided it was a must to do a short blog (with tons of pictures) on our vacation to Daytona Beach, FL.  We planned this vacation for about 8-10 months before we went and met my mom, stepdad, stepsister and her family, and my stepbrother in Daytona for a week long, carefree vacation.

It was by far one of the best vacation we've had to date.  The flights went smoothly.  The kids behaved, planes were on time and the biggest hiccup we had was when the rental car place tried to give us this tiny little puddle jumper of a rental car when we had a larger one reserved.  I'm telling you, it could only fit the stroller in the "trunk."  Big problem when we were travelling with not only a sit n' stand stroller but two pieces of luggage, two smaller carry-ons, and two car seats!  After a series of musical rental cars, we got settled in the correct car which was still on the small side but we made it work.

The first must on our list on our way from Orlando airport to Daytona was absolutely finding a Zaxby's.  Can you believe Daytona doesn't have a Zaxby's?  That meant I had to plan ahead of time and find a location along our route from Orlando to Daytona that I could get my Zaxby's fix.  I ordered a meal for that day and for lunch the next day. 

There was no agenda for the week other than plenty of beach time and a trip to SeaWorld to pet and train the dolphins in their "Up-close Dolphin Tour."  As you can see, we had a blast.  The kids were like fish and Matt and I even got to try our hand at paddle boarding and surfing.  I was able to get the hang of paddle boarding almost immediately but it took Matt just a little longer.  He made a valiant effort of trying surfing but we didn't really have the best waves for it.

Matt once he got the hang of it

 

Truly amazing... I could do this every. single. day.

Grant and I paddle boarding

Check out the dolphin in the background!!

As I mentioned, we thought a trip to SeaWorld would be a good way to break the week up.  We headed towards Orlando and got into the park where we had to wait for more information on our dolphin encounter when the most AWESOME thing happened.  A woman dressed in the crazy rainbow outfit walked up to Matt and said he was in the right place at the right time.  SeaWorld is celebrating their 50th birthday and he won a prize.  At this point, I am thinking yeah right!  What's the catch?  What do we have to buy? 

She handed him an envelope and told him to open it to see what he won.  Well low and behold, there was no catch!  Matt won our entire family (all 12 of us) VIP tickets which included personally guided tour, VIP seating at all animal shows, additional animal encounters, front of the line passes for all rides, and free food all day long!  It was amazing! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a wonderful and exhausting day at SeaWorld complete with Grant finally getting to see and touch a real dolphin we headed back to the condo.  Lucky me we had to drive past Zaxby's again!

We rounded the week off with more beach time and a trip to the boardwalk. 

Nothing beats ice cream on the beach!

Looks like she was born to be a beach bum

Flying a kit on the beach

We left Florida feeling refreshed and renewed but wishing it could've lasted longer.  It was so nice seeing family that we don't get to see often enough and cousins playing together that unfortunately don't know each other very well.