Seriously?

Photo by Henry (and Mama)

Grant is 4 and 3/4 months old, and he learned to sit up yesterday.  Unbelievable. Just when I thought I was a step ahead of this one...

a walk in the woods

On the other side.  When I'm "in the thick of it" I'm grumpy.

From a mole week. Flipping schedules for overnights at the hospital.

Hearing Henry ask for Papa at bedtime.

A rough week of head colds.

Lack of sleep.

We received a gift.

One night of sleep at the hospital.

One night of sleep at home (the sought after 4 hour stretch) for an exhausted mama.

and a beautiful fall Friday, ahead of a free Saturday and Sunday.  

(are the stars aligned? Super Harvest Moon, indeed)

We took a walk in the woods.

A place to explore, close to our house.

Cherokee Marsh has hidden treasures.

Woods. Water. Prairie.

A refuge.

How can an afternoon walk make the horrendous week slip so quickly from our memories?

speaking of road trip

At the end of August, we ventured to Boston for Grant's maiden voyage out east.  Unlike when we took Henry at 3 months old and endured a horrific heat wave, this time we were caught off guard with unseasonably cool weather and rain, rain, and more rain. It did not dampen our spirits too much (aside from a little disappointment about the quantity of time spent with outdoor trucks, or a trip to the beach) as we were able to catch up with friends and family.

We enjoyed an adults only meal (including a few adult beverages)

Meme and Grant relaxing

an even more relaxed Grant

The reason Henry didn't mind the rain too much: custom built frame for Hotwheels tracks circa 1982

Henry hasn't forgotten, randomly commenting at lunch the other day that Uncle Nicholas was lucky to have this at Meme's house

Autumnal Equinox

The autumnal equinox and a full moon (the "Super Harvest Moon", in fact) this week had me reflecting on the summer days gone by.

Here's a quick recap:
1. My first thought is that it was "The Summer of the Mosquito."

The summer of 2010 caused nearly as much cabin fever as a Madison winter. Henry would stand at the patio door, begging to play in the sand box. I would try to spray him, but inevitably he would return to the house covered with bites and swatting at bugs shouting "the bugs are getting me!"  This fact, combined with an infant, kept us from enjoying our backyard, parks, and beaches to their full potential. But that's not to say we didn't have some good times sprinkled in with what was a rather grueling schedule of sleepless nights, much residency work (George's 3rd and final year!), and adapting to new baby.

There were some summer barbecues:

2.  We did try to stay cool. The fewer items of clothing, the better.   

3. There were occasional days here and there when George wasn't working. So we took a few road trips! These pictures are from our quest to find sandy beaches on the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan.

The weigh in

Grant's four month appointment this week allowed us to weigh our heavy weight champ.
Weight: 19lbs. 2oz. (96%)
Height: 27in. (94%)
Head circumference: 44cm (83%)

Aside from the shared family cold this week, we have a VERY healthy boy on our hands, who has had a VERY healthy appetite.  Breastmilk is some amazing stuff!

Four Month Old Grant

Four month old Grant is so much more than the "baby Grant", who sleeps in the swing or bouncy chair. Four month old Grant is cooing, grabbing, smiling, scooting, nearly sitting, drooling, cutting teeth, and rolling.

Henry dubbed Grant "firefighter"

 We're in a honeymoon period with the boys, I think. Grant is entertained and fascinated with Henry and his whereabouts and whoesy-whats-its, stories, running, and motion. In fact, Grant seems to actually all out miss Henry when it's just me. (Preschool plan back-fire?! I hope not.)

One evening last week, Henry was playing at the neighbor's house and after Grant had napped, diaper-changed, ate, and played, there was nothing I could do to make the boy happy. I checked off everything on the baby essentials list, pulled out some extra mommy attention, and still could not keep the screaming at bay. Henry returned home, Grant was quiet.

Vice versa is equally true. Grant and I took a trip up north for a camp reunion and Henry asked about Grant more than Mama. Their reunion was a collection of sweet smiles and funny noises. Henry loves to get Grant to smile and giggle. And he's quite good at it, too.

First Day

This is why I'll have a little more time to myself. Henry is going to preschool! Two half days per week. Just enough to give him something of his own, and let me try to find a little sanity (let's remember I'll still have Grant to entertain - which is becoming harder each day. How frustrating to have discovered hands, but not be able to work them properly!)

His first day went quite smoothly. We started with circle time, sang the welcome song, then quickly did the art project for the day (stamping, a favorite activity), set up a train track and said our goodbyes. Upon pick up, I received a good report from his teacher. He even went pee on the potty for them, which is a big deal (public restroom fear is easing up).

Recently, I read someone else's comment about the first day of school experience for parents. The phrase fits perfectly. We experience a "joyful heartache" as we watch our kids grow. How lovely to witness them come into their own, and how quickly babyhood fades.

a teaser

This is sort of a post to say, yet again, stay tuned. I might have a chance to post to the blog in the near future.

Lately, we've been trying to squeeze in any last-minute summer activities, weather permitting. The maple tree in our front yard is proof that a palette of autumn colors is sneaking into the landscape and days of running outdoors without a thought of shoes, coats, and long pants are numbered.

In general, we're a pretty happy bunch.