Grant is a fan of Santa. Not an ounce of fear when he sees him and this year he was especially excited to sit in his lap. Here's Grant with Santa pictures from last year and this year.

Merry Christmas!

Here's our picture for our Christmas card this year.

I know I am WAY overdue in writing an update but I will very soon!!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, full of love and joy.

Surprise!

Luke Mitchell arrived early Thursday morning!! It was certainly a surprise... he was almost a month early! Thankfully everything went smoothly and Luke was a healthy 6 lbs 13 oz. We came home from the hospital last night and Luke is doing so well. He's nursing so well and also sleeping great too. Grant has had his moments of jealousy but he's getting better and better. I'm actually starting to think he likes his baby brother "Wook." He's already tested out his paci and infant car seat! :) My mom flew in yesterday and has been a huge help and is loving every minute of her time with her 2 grandsons. Here's a couple pictures although more are sure to follow. I'm going to try and set up a Flickr account and I also need to change the name of the blog!

Growing what??

I just read the title of my blog "Growing Grant" and thought to myself that that's certainly not the only thing that's growing these days! My belly is growing by the second. Some moments I think I can really feel the skin on my stomach stretching! It's not a pretty sight and I will probably not post anymore preggo pictures... sorry. Things are certainly starting to heat up around here as my due date approaches, although I feel like I could go in to labor any day. I'm contracting a lot and every time I have a weird sharp pain I can't help but think it might be time. Mike left for Key West last Wednesday for training and will be back on Saturday. My aunt flew in from MS last night and will be staying with us until Mike gets back. I'm so glad that she's here and she's certainly giving me peace of mind should I go in to labor this week. There has been a lot of change happening around here recently and Grant has been handling everything so well... most importantly the switch to his new room and new "big boy bed." Apparently Mike and I were much more nervous about the transition than we should have been. He really loves his new bed and has actually asked on several occasions to go to sleep in it. When he wakes up he calls for me to come get him and thankfully doesn't get out until I get there. I'm so proud of him and his behavior really has me optimistic about his adjustment to the arrival of his new baby brother!

8 months

It's so hard to believe I'm 8 months pregnant. This pregnancy has flown by! I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that Grant keeps me so busy and gives me little time to focus on myself. I have a scheduled C-section date for December 6th. My due date is the 7th and I'm just hoping that the baby will wait until then. It is certainly cutting it close especially knowing that Grant came 10 days early. I was really hoping it would be scheduled sooner but I don't think there is much I can do about it now. My mom will be coming in town on December 2nd so as long as he doesn't come before the 2nd then we'll be OK! We're getting excited!

"Thank you" & "Hold you"

Well, really it's "Kank Koo." For a while now we've been teaching Grant to say "please" and "thank you." He's been saying "please" (actually "peas") for some time now but just recently has he been saying "thank you" after we give him something... usually food. Today for lunch he must have said it 10 times after every piece of food I gave him. It was very sweet and of course made me so proud that we have such a polite litte guy. Let's just hope it continues!!

Another precious thing he says is "hold you" when he wants to be held. I'm guessing that he picked that up because I've said, "Do you want mommie to hold you?" Even when I'm in the middle of making supper or busy cleaning, it melts my heart when he says, "Hold you mama, hold you" and I will usually stop and pick him up.

His vocabulary is really exploding. One day last week I started writing down all the words he's saying and I literally filled an entire page! Of course there are many words that are only understandable to Mike and I!

Spaghetti with a twist!

I thought I would share this yummy recipe that I found and made for supper tonight. It's something a little different than the ordinary spaghetti sauce and it turned out to be delicious!
I wasn't sure what Neufchatel cheese was so used regular cream cheese and I used the regular Zesty Italian dressing, what I had on hand.


Spaghetti with Zesty Bolognese (I found it on Kraftfoods.com)
Prep Time: 10 minTotal Time: 30 minMakes: 6 servings

1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup KRAFT LIGHT DONE RIGHT! Zesty Italian Reduced Fat Dressing
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 Tbsp. PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese
12 oz. spaghetti, uncooked
1/4 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese

COOK onions in dressing in large skillet on medium heat. Increase heat to medium-high. Add meat; cook, stirring frequently, until browned. Stir in tomato sauce and tomatoes. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 15 min. Remove from heat. Stir in cream cheese until well blended.
MEANWHILE, cook pasta as directed on package.
SPOON sauce over pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Whoops!

Sorry... I gave the wrong web address for the Julian family in my last post...

http://julian-family.blogspot.com

Baby Max

My heart is so heavy today for my close friend, Kelly. I won't go in to detail in this blog but please read this blog... http://jullian-family.blogspot.com and keep the family and baby Max in your prayers as they are all going through this difficult time. Please pass along this link so Max can have many, many prayers being lifted up for him.

Grant new fascination is with airplanes. He calls them "maymaaaaines" and points to the sky. They are all over the sky where we live so he sees them a lot. We go to base every week to meet Mike for lunch and go swimming and once we start getting close he's constantly saying "maymaaaine" and "daddy." I know he can't understand that his daddy is a pilot but he's definitely associating his daddy to airplanes. There is an outdoor airplane park on base and I love watching his face light up when we pass it. I guess it must in his blood with both his daddy and grandpa as pilots. Of course all this thrills Mike to death!

This is Mike and his 3 best friends from the squadron in front of his "maymaaaine."

New word

Well, I knew it was only a matter of time! Not that I'm proud about this one but Grant's new word of the week is "no." He's not really saying it in the right context, although he knows that it gets my attention. I'm trying to not respond when he says it but I know it won't be long and he'll get it right and I'll be hearing "no" for everything. Oh the fun of raising a toddler!!

Watching the rain.... how sweet is that.

Last Saturday was my 27th birthday. Mike and I went out to dinner earlier in the week so on the day of my birthday I celebrated with some close girlfriends for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. It was a real treat because we rarely are able to get together without the kiddos! Mike baked me a birthday cake on Saturday morning... just like he's done every other year. I guess I'm boring but my favorite birthday cake for years has been a yellow cake with chocolate icing. Oh, but it has to be Duncan Hines brand. It was a special day spent with my dear friends and family.




Mike was off on Monday so we decided to drive over to Richmond to see Mike's cousin Stacy and
her family. Most importantly, the NEW addition to the family. Ruby Elizabeth was born last Tuesday, July 25th. She came 10 days late! She is absolutely precious and it got me excited about having a newborn again. Her brothers and sister can't get enough of their new baby sister. It's very sweet to see them with her. Grant was very interested in her... as long as I stayed away from her!










After we left their house we headed over to an awesome outdoor shopping meca. I wanted to take a look in the Pottery Barn kids hoping to find some fun bedding (on sale) for Grant's soon to be new room. The key words were on sale and unfortunately I didn't find anything. Grant had fun playing around in the store. He especially liked this cute little duck chair.







Also while we were there Grant was able to take his first train ride. There was this cute little train that went all around the outdoor shopping complex. Needless to say he LOVED every minute of it. He calls trains "mains" and he said the word over and over. I just love watching him experience new things. I think that's one of the greatest joys of parenthood. It's just as exciting to me as it is to him!








Recently Grant "helped" Mike wash the car. Of course you can all imagine how that turned out. He had so much fun playing with his Daddy and the water hose. Actually, I don't think that any car washing was done at all!

Praise God!

Last night was our 21 wk ultrasound and we are so blessed to say that everything looks just perfect! We'll meet with the doctor next week to go over the results but from what the tech said, she sees no problems at all. It's truly amazing what they can detect from these ultrasounds. At my 20 wk ultrasound with Grant they detected that he had enlarged kidney's. During the rest of my pregnancy they gave me many more ultrasounds, monitoring him closely. It was scary and there was a possibility of a surgery after he was born. Thankfully nothing has had to done and his body is just growing into his kidney's. Also, I think I watch too much Discovery Health channel and see too many sweet babies who are born with problems.

The baby has been kicking a lot these days~ I love that feeling. I've been telling Grant that mommie has a baby in her tummy. I'm sure he doesn't understand, although he's become quite the mamma's boy these days. He wakes up in the morning saying, "mamma, mamma." Poor Mike is getting his feelings hurt a little. I wonder is he senses something is different. He also will NOT sit beside me. He has to be sitting in my lap or he will start crying. I know it's only going to get more uncomfortable with my growing belly! I think this new baby is really going to be a tough adjustment for him. It's hard to imagine what life is really going to be like. I guess I'm expecting the worst but hoping for the best. Only 4 months and we'll soon find out! I know it will be here so soon. There's still so much to do around here! My biggest concern is when I should move Grant out of his crib and in to the other room. I want to do it before the baby comes but I just hope that he'll be ready for it. I'll gladly take any suggestions from you mom's with experience!

Bathroom fun

This is his new favorite hang out spot while waiting on mom to finish getting ready.

And when he's not sitting in there he's pulling everything out! Thank goodness he's learned how to put

it all back too!

Finally another post!

I have been so bad at posting lately! It seems like when Grant is napping I'm trying to get things done around the house and when I do get on the computer it seems like I have just enough time to check some email and check some friends' blogs and that's about it. After Grant goes to bed I am SO exhausted (so much for the energetic 2nd trimester!) that I am either on the couch or in the bed. Anyway, I really want to get better at this. Grant is learning and saying new things everyday and I know I've got to start writing some of it down or I'll soon forget.

I've been meaning to update about our trip down to Pensacola to see my family. We took two days to drive down there. Grant did excellent. We made it all the way to Atlanta on day 1- definitely the longest day. Day 2 we drove to Birmingham to see my grandparents. My Grandaddy is in an Alzheimers unit and my Grandmother is in an assisted living facility. It's hard to see them separated but it's just the best thing for them now. We first went to visit with my grandaddy. I think this was the first time he wasn't quite sure who we were. He acted like he knew us.. I'm sure that's the way he thought he should act. He knew we were family and he told us multiple times that he loved us. He wasn't distant, although he didn't say my name so I assume he was confused. Also, he was more quiet than I have ever seen him. In the past he's always talking about something but not this time. We are glad that soon he'll be moving in to another facility down in P'cola. I think it will be a better situation, especially since my Dad will be able to visit regularly. Here are some pictures taken during our visit.
Still playing his harmonica like a pro!We then headed over to where my Grandmother lives. We were met by my uncle Jack, my cousins Jonathon and Jack and Jack's wife Jennifer and their children, Jacob and Jessica. It was a pleasant surprise to see all of them. We weren't sure or not whether my Grandmother would travel down to Pensacola with us but we were so glad when she made the decision to go! So, we packed her a bag and all managed to fit in to our car!

Grant soon learned to say ( in his own little language) the names of my family. The funniest is hearing him say my Dad's name. He wants to be called "Dado" but somehow Grant is calling him "Gago", although he says it in a funny voice deep in his throat. He still says it quite a bit. Probably because he knows he gets a laugh out of us. He not only loved his Gago but also came to love his cat, BC. Too bad BC never stuck around too long to really play with him.

He got to know my brother Nathan and called him "Nanie", which is funny because that's been a family nick-name that he's had for years.
He loved playing in my Dad's front yard and even had his first experience playing with a crochet set!
Another highlight for Grant was getting to know Jake, Jennifer's (my Dad's wife) son. Jake is such a good kid and was GREAT with Grant. Grant followed him around everywhere. I wish we could have taken him back to VA with us!
One afternoon Dad pulled out the water hose and we stripped Grant down and he had a BLAST.
Mike and I had a truly relaxing time during our mini vacation to Sandestin. Our hotel was so nice and the best part was that all the restaurants and shopping were just a short walk away so we didn't have to get in our car and fight the traffic. Of course it went by way too fast. I wish we got more pictures but this is the only one that Mike took of me on the beach... and it's not even that good!
Grant loved spending time with his "Mia" (my mom) and my grandparents, Granny & Papaw. Much to my mom's distress he wasn't able to say "Mia" although he said Papaw & Granny pretty well.

He also loved playing on Mia's piano!
The last night that we were there I was able to go to a close friend of mine, Emily Olsen's wedding. It was neat because my brother Nathan played the violin in the quartet and my Papaw officiated the ceremony. It was a beautiful wedding and I'm so happy for Emily. I'm sad I didn't get a picture of Emily! Here's a picture of me, my mom and Granny.
While we were there we had a professional photo shoot where I was hoping to get a good family picture and a cute picture of Mike and Grant together wearing flight suits. Well, it was a disaster to say the least. I think there may be 3 shots from the entire session that are good. I'm actually surprised we got that many! Anyway, Grant looked really cute in his little flight suit and here's a picture that my mom took before we left.
We returned home in 1, yes 1, day! I took about 15 hrs including stops. At one point we were so tired we just let Grant do a little driving! :)

It's a BOY!

That's right. Another Wallace boy. There are many Wallace boys so a girl would have been a miracle. We're excited and know there will never be a dull moment around our house!

We had a great time in Pensacola and the past couple days have been busy getting unpacked, doing laundry etc.. I got some cute pictures from our trip which I'll upload and post again soon.

New Happenings

I don't have anything specific to write about~ just wanted to share some recent pictures and try to update a little on our lives here recently.

I just love this picture. The little girl's name is Kristin. I am good friends with her mom and she's just a few months older than Grant. They were in the same MDO class and are big buds. This picture captures her serious nature. Her mom said that she wouldn't take off her sunglasses or her hat during the whole car ride over to our house! She's quite a character.

These pictures were taken a couple weeks ago on our second trip to the beach this summer. The first time he hated it but this time he had a blast. We've been back once since then and he just loves it. I still can't use to this brown sand. I know I've been spoiled growing up in Pensacola where white sand is all I've ever known. I feel like the sand is dirty here! The sand is really fine in texture so it won't shake out of your towel and it takes 3 showers to get it all off of you!

He just recently started to like wearing a hat and sunglasses these days. Up until now he'd rip them off the second you'd put them on but now he thinks they are fun. The hat is Mike's (way too big) but he loves to put it on himself and he'll keep it on while he's playing. Makes me laugh!

Grant got his first black eye a couple nights ago in the bathtub. He was reaching for a toy and slipped and fell. Immediately a big black and blue bump appeared. Poor little guy. The next morning there was no bump but it's pretty bruised, mainly his eye lid.

Bob & Paula (Mike's parents) were here this past Friday until yesterday. We had a really fun visit and it was fun watching Grant really start to get to know his Gran and Grandpa. He even started calling Bob Papaw- I guess because it was easier to say than Grandpa. I should have taken more pictures while they were here but I didn't take one until the day they left. I should have known better than to take the picture outside! The last thing he wanted to do was to be still for a picture!

While I was getting ready this morning I looked over at Grant and he had put his feet in Mike's shoes. I'm glad he stood there long enough for me to take this cute picture!

That's all of the pictures for now!

On a more personal note... I am 17 weeks pregnant and just this past week I've really started showing. Out came the maternity clothes. I'm glad that my sickness is pretty much gone and my energy level has come up a bit. The baby's heartbeat was very strong at my Dr. appt last week. We are so excited to be finding out the sex of the baby on Monday! We are driving down to Pensacola this weekend ( pray for us as this will be our first long road trip..13 hrs! with Grant) and staying a week. We are looking forward to seeing family but I am most excited because Mike and I will be leaving Grant with my parents and taking a mini vacation to Sandestin for 2 nights!! I cannot wait!

So, these next few days are going to be really busy as we get ready to leave.

Have a Happy 4th!!

Fun at the pool

Our neighborhood pool opened up this weekend so went to enjoy it on Sunday afternoon. At first Grant didn't want to get near the water but it wasn't long and he was walking right off the side in to the water without an ounce of fear. Here are some pictures that I took yesterday.

3 months down...

6 to go. Today marks the end of my first trimester and I couldn't be more thrilled that the end is in sight and soon I'll be feeling better. I don't know if I'm completely out of the woods, but today I woke up feeling less sick than usual. These past 3 months have been rough and actually Mike said the other day that he thinks that 2 will do it... only because he doesn't want to go through this again. Of course my question was WHAT did YOU go through???? I must say that Mike has been so good at taking over pretty much everything with Grant and the house once he gets home from work. I don't know how I would have gotten through without his help. He's been great.

Fun times

Grant's favorite thing in the world these days is riding in his new bike seat that Mike put on the back of his bike. He loves to go fast and only fusses when Mike has to put the brakes on. Here are some pictures that I took over the weekend.