Becoming Mobile

Well, because even just a couple of weeks represents a pretty significant portion of Grant's little life, a lot has happened since our last "Grant post." Grant has 2 little teeth in the front now, so the biting-phase has begun. Honestly, of all the milestones babies have, teeth was the one that I thought I could wait quite a while to have happen and been perfectly happy. I guess I was just attached to his toothless smile. But oh how wrong I was - the little teeth are pretty dang cute ... and sharp! But it's pretty fun to have a little baby toothbrush taking up the 3rd slot in our toothbrush holder. :)

I've been meaning to post video of this for a while, but Grant has been pulling himself to standing for probably about a month now. He's become much more efficient at it recently, but the laundry basket was his favorite toy for a while because it provided a good base for bracing his feet and handles for pulling. Now he'll pull himself up on most anything he can get his hands on. The video below is some of his early standing days (though I suppose his standing days are still relatively early now too!). As a side note, he's been pacifier-free for a few weeks now, so it's cute to see him with it in.


So we think there is a remote possibility that Grant was laughing at more than just the dirty diaper. Perhaps, like most kids (myself included), Grant just thinks his dad is totally ridiculous (no offense dad!). But he sure has a fun sense of humor.


We've been saying for at least a couple of months now that we need to baby-proof the house. Well, that fact hasn't changed, but Grant has. We are pleased to announce the next stage of Grant's evolution - the crawl (forward). Why forward you may ask? Well, Grant has been comfortable getting up to all 4's for a few weeks now, but could only go in reverse. He hadn't figured out how to move his legs, so when he tried to get to something in front of him he'd push off his hands. Think about it - when you push off with your hands but don't move your legs what happens? That's right - you go backwards. Grant would get stuck up against a wall or something and get REALLY frustrated. Well, no more. Behold the crawling Grant. (Warning, this video is PG-13 for partial nudity, but everything potentially offensive is covered by a size 3 diaper)

Sweet Pea

In honor of Valentine's Day, I want to say how grateful I am for my sweetheart. KaraLee has been the absolute light of my life for almost 4 years and I have difficulty remembering what life was like before I had her (that's a good thing!).

KaraLee is the most selfless, kind-hearted person I know. She would do anything for her family and friends and cares intensely about the feelings of others. She will often call family or friends just to see how they are doing and to make sure they know she loves them. She is constantly concerned about her relationships and works to keep all her relationships as strong as possible.

She is a passionate person who constantly strives to do her very best in everything she does. She is a fantastic volleyball player, plays a mean violin, cross-stitches, tells great jokes, cooks amazingly (a real win for me!), is a great mother, a wonderful wife, and the best friend I could ever have.

KaraLee, I love you, and I look forward to every day and every year to come. Happy Valentine's Day sweet pea!

President Gordon B. Hinckley

I appreciate that many of our friends have posted about our beloved Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley who passed away Jan.27, 2008; it shows that he meant so much to so many. I wanted to share my thoughts and to express my gratitude for him as well.

Chris and I had the opportunity to watch his funeral services on Saturday and were reminded of all of the wonderful things he contributed to our church in the 13 years that he served. His faith in the Lord was so strong and evident in the way that he served. I loved his sense of humor and could really feel the love that he had for the Savior and the youth of the church. I remember the talk he gave to the youth in 2000.

"Tonight I am going to let your teachers give you the A’s that I hope you earn. I want to talk about some B’s. You get the A’s; I will give you the B’s.
1. Be grateful.
2. Be smart.
3. Be clean.
4. Be true.
5. Be humble.
6. Be prayerful. "

These simple pieces of counsel have had a profound affect on the quality of our spirits. (Check out the talk here)

I am Grateful for President Hinckley and have a tremendous amount of respect for the burden he bore and how he so faithfully represented our Savior Jesus Christ.

We will miss him, but look forward to the new prophet and will fully sustain him in his calling.

The Mischief Begins

Grant had his 6 month appointment this past Friday afternoon. He's grown to a very healthy 29 inches and 20 lbs. 8 oz. He's getting to be a big boy. While at the appointment, the pediatrician asked us if we've baby-proofed our house yet. We said no, because we figured we'd hit it hard when he started crawling. But we're starting to find that maybe she was right - preemption is the best defense. You can see Grant's adventures below. Oh, I should probably say that sitting up is nothing too new for Grant (he's been sitting at least somewhat since October or November) but we never really posted anything about it. He's sitting quite well these days.

Grant loves to "help" KaraLee in the kitchen.

It's funny to watch him watching the water - he'll try to grab it like a toy and he gets confused when it slips through his fingers.

Diapers were probably Grant's favorite Christmas present. :)

It's funny to watch him eat - he can sure put away the baby food.

I have to include this video from tonight. I was just trying to distract Grant by tossing a diaper around and apparently a flying diaper is about the funniest thing around. He's got a great sense of humor!