4th of July = Summer

By the time 4th of July came around, we were in full summer mode.  We had some folks over and did a good old fashion BBQ and enjoyed the hot Boise summer air.

When we bought our house, this is what I always wanted summer to look like.

Greenwoods visit!

The Greenwoods came to visit us all the way back in the middle of June.  We were their first stop on the "Tour de Northwest." For me, the best thing about the Greenwoods coming was to just get some one-on-one time with one of our favorite families.  Our friend group from college is pretty good about getting together, but often times those gatherings are so big that I leave feeling like I didn't really get to hang out with any one person much at all.  It was awesome to get so much time time with Sean, Stacy and their darling Landon.   Thanks you so much for coming to visit us guys!

While they were here, we enjoyed A LOT of time outside.  It was one of the 100 degree plus weekends in Boise so we also spent a lot of time in the pool, which was officially completed the week the Greenwoods arrived.  Perfect timing!

Landon is not only one of the most darling little boys I have met, he is also one of the most fun.  He is a little athlete and loved being tossed in the air and jumping from the side of the pool.  Such a fun, fun boy!

Grady showed off his wobbly drunken sailor walk for his Auntie Stace.  Looking back at these pictures makes me realize just how quickly our little G is changing.  I loved that they were here to see some of his first significant steps. 

We enjoyed Boise's LONG and HOT summer nights with drawn out dinners after the kiddos were in bed with lots of laughs and good conversations, it was heaven for me. 

The boys were fast friends and Grady did everything he could to keep up with Landon, including refusing to take naps for fear of missing out on something cool that Landon might do.

We took a trip to the zoo and saw a lot of hot, very sleepy animals and some rather scary dinosaurs.

Grady went on his first slide and I went on my first slide in probably 20 years. If I am being honest, I will admit that we both enjoyed it. 

Grady continued to obsess over the petting goats at the zoo,.  I swear he'd stay for ours if we let him. 

We got all dressed up for the rodeo where we saw some rather not so sleepy animals and some rather brave little mutton busters.  I told them they should bring Landon back next year.

 

We celebrated the fact that Grady and Landon have amazing dads and Stacy and I have amazing husbands. These boys, all four of them, are pretty spectacular.  We had a great father's day brunch out followed by an impromptu photo session by the river. 

Thank you  so much Greenwoods for coming back to our town!  We are so grateful for our time together!

(Because it has taken me so long to get my act together, Stacy posted about their trip long ago and did a way better job than I ever could summarizing their time here.  Many of these pictures are hers, because she also takes way better pictures than I ever could!)

Sprinkler Hilarity

Who needs toys when the sprinklers are on?

Grady: 10 and 11 Months

By the time I got around to thinking about doing Grady's ten month post he was knocking on the door of 11 months so I figured I would kill two birds with one stone.  Maybe I never got around to doing the post because we are chasing around our walker!  Grady has us on our toes these days as he waddles around the house looking for new adventures. 

Grady tid bits at 10 & 11 months

• On the unofficial Johnson scales he weighs 22.8 pounds.
• His two front teeth started coming in right about the 10 month mark.  He now has a 5th tooth poking through at the top.  His smile is so different with teeth! 
• He has the Gorczyca Gap, the gap between his two front teeth looks just like mine when I was a baby.
• "My fair Grady" (get it?) has developed quite the farmer's tan.  Maybe he is not as see-through as I once thought.
• He took his first steps a couple days before his 10 month birthday.  For about three weeks he'd bravely take 5-10 steps and then fall with a proud smile.  About two weeks ago, I came home from work and the light had gone on and he was suddenly a full time walker. 
• He LOVES walking and is so proud of himself you can just tell.  He ditched crawling like a bad habit and now only crawls to get under things.
• He has not learned that if you crawl to get under something you cannot stand to get back out.  This has resulted in many tears.
• He laughs and laughs if either Chris or I chase him around the house saying "I'm gonna get you."  
• He waives bye-bye most the time and a lot of the time it is backwards (palms toward him). 
• He is an eating machine.  I get annoyed because I cannot keep up with trying to fill his plate when I am trying to eat dinner. 
• Avocados, watermelon, pineapple, hot dogs, and cheese are at the top of his favorite list along with the Gerber cheese doodles (basically Cheetos for babies, don't judge me). 
• He drinks water out of a sippy cup and then throws it down at Bella who is for once the innocent victim.  
• If we tell him "no no no" he shakes his head back and forth with a big smile and laughs at us.  Not easy to discipline him when he is trying to stick his finger in an electric socket and only laughs when I tell him NO in my firmest voice. 
• He has attached to his "froggy", a mini blanket with a frog head on it, and nuzzles and coos to it at night.
• He sleeps with his butt in the air a lot of times and it is the cutest thing ever.
• He loves the pool, his bath, the hose, and pretty much anything with water.  
• He is still a jumping bean.  We know he is awake because we can hear him holding on to the side of the crib repeatedly jumping up and down.  My mom counted 200 jumps in one session the other day, we are not kidding, the kid is a jumper. 
• He LOVES Bella and cries sometimes when she leaves the room.
• Anything Bella related is a hit with him, her water bowl, her balls, you name it.  If Bella has slobbered all over it, it is sure to attract Grady.
• He sits in grocery carts like a big kid.  I have loved this change because it has freed up about 75% of my cart space.
• I won't pretend that he is perfect, the kid is fit thrower and lets just say I know where to find the aisle at the grocery store with the Gerber baby Cheetos to appease my fit thrower. I also have about 5 cans of partially eaten baby Cheetos due to this fact.
• He doesn't have any real words yet, except Dada is debatable, but he sure thinks he is talking to us as he babbles around the house.
• He loves physical play.  A laugh is guaranteed if you throw him in the air, pull him to the ground when he is trying to get away, hang him by his feet, or pretend to drop him.
• Changing the kid is still my most dreaded part of the day.  I swear someone is going to call child protective services on us based on his screams. 
• He will only sit still in two circumstances: 1) if he is eating in his high chair and 2) if he is in something that is moving.  Aside from those two circumstances, as long as he is awake, he is on the move.
• Music moves his soul and he certainly "dances" to his own beat (see video below).

At eleven months Grady is active as ever and fun as can be. He is inquisitive, a bit of a firecracker, completely fearless, strong-willed, constantly in motion, and incredibly loved.  Grady the countdown to your big 1.0 is on.  I cannot believe how fast this year has gone. Time flies when you are having fun and chasing after Grady.

Despite my lack of blogging at least I took pictures of his at ten months exactly.  He was learning to stand and would take a couple of steps at a time. 

I think that he is most happy when he is walking because he can now carry things from place to place.  He'll walk around the house for an hour with whatever weird new obsession he has.  Here it is a chip clip, awesome stuff.

Pointing is also big in his book. I don't know if he is trying to ask what something is or what, but it sure is cute. 

 Cold water from the hose doesn't phase this kid.  

My two white babies.  Grady is on the prowl for Bella's ball. 

He loves his trike, which we call a bike.

Had to take some photos for his birthday invitation. 

 The pool boy.

Little buns, big head.

 I cannot believe that this boy will be 1 year old in less than a month. I will admit it, I am a little weepy about the whole thing.

Music moves his soul and inspires some pretty cool dance moves.

After taking 6 or 7 steps at a time for a couple weeks, I came home to find this one day and he has not looked back.  I may or may not have cried when it became so physically apparent how much he is changing every day.  There is something about walking that makes him such a little boy now.