little lovelies-edamame

Way back when, when I had cable (ah glorious cable) I used to watch Dr. Oz religiously...that deserves a little lovely of it's own. Dr. Oz raved about edamame and at that moment I realized that those little beans were my favorite part of my 'BD's Mongolian Grill' meal. Grant eats peas by the bowlful so I decided to pick up some of these babies and let me tell I can't control myself. I love them, they are super easy to prepare. I just throw a cup or so in a bowl and pop em' in the microwave for a minute or two and wah lah! I keep a bowl out on my counter for easy access. They're wonderful-high in protein, omega fatty acids, fiber blah blah blah healthy stuff. Yahoo for things made in China...or maybe they're Japanese...who knows the difference.

in case i forget

I really do love Grant. I wasn't so sure about it last week, but if he continues to act like he has this week I suppose I have no other choice than to keep him.  I'll be honest it's not super exciting to read about everyone else's kids but since this blog belongs to me I'm going to write about my little Grant. He has been extremely fun this week-which just means he's going to be a little Taz on our Thanksgiving trip!

I love going into his room and seeing him there "reading" his books or putting together a puzzle. He will also try things we are doing-blow his nose, planks, lunges, comb his hair, put on his shoes. It's crazy how "babies" just grow up right before your eyes.

He's really enjoying our nightly rock out sessions while we prepare dinner. Currently he is loving Michael Franti and ahem...Soulja Boy.....don't ask.

In the car I usually lead the music that we are listening to, yes I am cool like that. He usually claps along but lately he has been conducting the music as well. I love it! 

I'm excited for all the Christmas lights to be up so we can drive around (and lead music) because I know Grant will love it. He already walks down the Christmas aisle at the store "oooh whoaaaa", we actually had to leave Wal-Mart because he was so overly excited. 

He knows how to turn on the wii and get it to Netflix. It actually stumps me how he even knows how to do that. It's pretty funny though. He is also obsessed with 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.' Obsessed is a understatement. Have you seen that movie? I'm starting to become obsessed as well....I need to get out more.

Speaking of tv he must be watching too much because he has started to give us kisses on the lips. I'm not necessarily opposed to them but I just never thought I'd be one of 'those families'. To quote Seinfeld..."not that there is anything wrong with that." It's pretty funny, I've tried to dodge them like you do when your great aunt tries to plant a wet one but the snotty-nosed little kid is pretty stubborn.

I'm sure no other mother has ever witness their children doing such cute things right?

Crazy? I think yes.

Last week we went out to Utah for David's sister's wedding. It was beautiful and I loved seeing both my family and David's. I am one lucky girl to have such wonderful in-laws and that we were able to make it out and see everyone for a few days. Everything was really nice---well besides the fact that I didn't try on Grant's suit and he ended up looking more like Chris Farley as a Chippendale! I was pretty much the worst mom/daughter and basically had my parents watch Grant all night. When I was around him he was just hovering over the candy bar. Sheesh kid.

Is it just me or does it seem that EVERYONE lives in Utah? It's impossible to visit everyone.Luckily we were able to spend some time with some of my faves!

The wedding was on Friday and after the reception Grant acted like he had never been in a hotel or set foot on a bed and was WWIILLLLDDDD! I was running the Provo Halloween Half marathon Saturday morning and was needing to get some sleep. We finally kicked him into bed in the bathroom and got a little shut eye. A few hours later my alarm went off and all of us were up :( bummer...

I had been so excited for this race. It had been a few years since I ran down Provo canyon and it was perfect running weather. On the bus a few girls were talking about how crazy runners are. I have had people tell me I'm nuts for getting up so early to go for a run but I never really thought of it until that moment. Are runner's crazy? On my long bus trip up the canyon I had time to ponder this question. And yes runner's are in fact crazy. 

As the race went on I was absolutely certain that runner's have lost all manners and normal thought processes. Let's explore the things that happen on race day.

-who in their right mind PAYS money (and sometimes a LOT) to get up in the wee hours and go running? sure you get a t-shirt but who really wants a 100% cotton shirt with a bunch of  businesses on the back? this race shirt was actually pretty good i must say. 

-lose toenails and inflict injury upon their body

-no need to wash hands after using the lovely porta-potties

-no biggie if porta-potties are unavailable....plenty of bushes to go around

-who cares if there are three big barrels of trash right by the water station....ditch the cups on the ground

-sweatshirt getting too hot? why not just toss it?

-no place to put your GU wrapper? again what's wrong with the ground?

I'll admit I did a handful of such actions but hey those precious seconds on the race clock are just that-precious! I ran better than expected but not as well as I could have. Oh well I had a great time. A lot of people dressed up in their Halloween gear. I didn't make a costume in time so I just wore my Michelle Tanner "You're in big trouble mister" t-shirt. I was able to see a handful of friends during the race and that was awesome. For sure a memorable race that I would love to do again sometime. BTW-this was the best picture we could muster....sadly I don't think a "before" race picture would have been much better! 

who ya gonna call?

Grant has bucketfuls of toys yet he just wants anything long and skinny-mop, broom, tree branch, wrapping paper. I don't think those chores are that fun but again I don't think throwing my food on the floor is fun either so whatever. Fun musical ball or dirty old mop? Hum tough call. A couple months ago we started plotting what Grant would be for Halloween, keeping in mind it must have a long, skinny attachment or Halloween would be a bust. Endless possibilities....a janitor, a chimney sweeper, blind man. We finally decided on a ghostbuster with a long vacuum hose to make sure no ghosts stood a chance.

We were out of town during our ward Halloween party so at the very last second we joined the Reunion ward party. 'Last second' as in we had to MAKE Grant's costume (and buy some parts) all in about 45 mins. It's kind of like a Monet-looks better from a distance or with the lights out. I loved watching David put it all together and even go the extra mile and get a little speaker for the theme song to play as Grant walked around. Too bad he refused to wear his backpack. He ended up looking more like a beige missionary!

Aw...Grant as a Ghostbuster and apparently I wanted to be a deer in headlights!

Still sporting my costume:) I know shame on us for not dressing up. I guess we could be the "investigators" Grant is teaching the discussions to!

18 months

I'll admit I'm not the greatest mom. Most days I have no clue what I am doing. I remember reading all these parenting books (ok like 2....that's a lot for me though) and saying "oh my kid is definitely going to do____". The beauty of David and I waiting a while to have kids meant that we were the ultimate parents. We watched and decided what we were going to do and not do with our children. Hum....about 18 months ago I had a crying little thing stuck to my hip and all those suggestions we read flew right out the window. David and I decided that we would stand our ground once Grant turned 18 months. Well.....apparently I need a few more books to read. I can't be doing that bad- I mean I'm not on Oprah yet and the kid is still in one piece so that's a good sign right?

Last week I took him in for his shots and there again I did stuff I swore I would never do as a parent. Let him eat snacks to his little hearts content, crawl all over the chairs and myself as I filled out paperwork, run down the hall etc. Anyway here are the stats....drum roll....height-31.5 in (25%), head-48 cm(50%), and 22 lbs. (5%) 

(who would ever 1.) take their ketchup face kid in public 2.) let their kid eat ketchup 3.)let their kid throw corn when there is clearly a sign that says to not throw it. Ugh some people these days. Maybe I should let them borrow my parenting books.)

Grant doesn't really talk much (must get that from me!!!!) but he understands most everything we say. He'll bring us stuff and try to tell us what it is. He likes to point a lot and say "uh uh uh oh". He loves anything with music and has pretty good rhythm. He's an awesome napper and loves the naptime routine we have. You can easily become friends with Grant by giving him gum. The Biggest Loser cast must have had an impact on him with all their hidden advertisements....if he starts requesting ziploc baggies I'll really be suspicious. He pretty much likes to eat anything except my homemade chicken pot pie, so basically anything that takes time to prepare he won't eat. I think meal times are my favorite because he almost always folds his arms, bows his head and sneaks little peeks up at us. It's fun to watch him be so sweet. I can't really think of anything that is different from other kids-I mean don't most 18 month olds like playing hide-n-seek and singing songs? 

We go to play group most weeks and here is Grant in true fashion---playing off by himself. I have no idea what to do about this. If we are at a playground he just wants to walk around the grass. If we are by the grass he wants to climb on the trash can. I crave being around people so I just don't understand this. It's going to be a looong winter.

 Can it be? Grant playing with a friend? I swear I didn't photoshop this in.