Papa Bill's Birthday and Adventures with Cousin JW

We went to Easley this weekend for Papa Bill's birthday and had a great time. Grant had a ton of fun with "a whole lot of people" as he says. He got to use a real gas blower too. It scared him at first but then he liked it....it was just too heavy to do on his own. I didn't get a picture but Grant also blew out Papa Bill's candles and opened his gifts, lol!

Sloan and Jon Walter (a week older than her) played bumper cars in their walkers. JW is much more advanced in his walker skills!
Sloan is still being very difficult on the food front! I have switched to Oatmeal and even put applesauce in it and she still clinches her mouth shut tight and will put her tongue in the way if I try to stick a spoon in her mouth. I have to hold the bottle up to her face for her to open up and the I shove the food in....so crazy. But she doesn't gag like Grant did. Not sure which is worse at this point. I have moved on to Sweet Potatoes this week and getting the same reaction. Hoping it gets better soon.

New Shoes/Words and The Jumper has Returned

We pulled out the Jumper for Sloan. The first time, she didn't have a clue what to do and just sat there. So, we had to show her how to do it by moving her up and down softly. Grant was amazed with this toy and wanted her to go higher. We have had to watch him since he tries to push it up and down to get her jumping faster. She has it down now and can jump really well.

Grant's feet are growing fast, he is now a size 8. I will preface this story with the fact that Papa Bill only wears New Balance shoes that are white leather. Grant is very preceptive and doesn't forget anything, especially details that most people would dismiss. He got a new pair of New Balance shoes this week (in the picture below). When he saw them he said "Oh, those are like Papa Bill's". To which I laughed out loud and responded, "yes they are".

He is also starting to ask questions in the right format. Some of them have been "What did you say mommy?", "What is that?", "Where did that go?". It's pretty interesting to see his little brain working. One other interesting thing he says.....if he is referring to something that happened in the past (i.e., last month, last week, yesterday), he says it happened "last night" no matter how long ago it was.

Sloan is 5 Months Old - Food Time and St Patty's Day

Sloan is now 5 Months Old! She went to the doctor this week for her DTaP, Hib, Polio shot and did great. She actually didn't cry at all this time since it was just one shot. So we are done with the 4 month shots. We started rice cereal this morning and she was not a fan! Grant gagged when we gave it to him the first time. She didn't gag but just cried and wanted a bottle. It was sad but funny too. I ended up giving her some of her bottle and then she did manage to eat some of the cereal. We took a video and will get it uploaded onto the blog soon. Grant was still asleep this morning when she got her cereal. So, we tried to give her more at dinner and Grant thought it was great. He wanted to eat some of her cereal.....or he thought he did. I gave him a spoon of it and oh how I wish the camera was rolling....he gagged and almost threw up! He will never go near her food again, lol!

Then, I put Sloan in her St. Patty's Day attire....and yes, the bow is about as big as her entire head. She can actually sit supported a little now. We are working on that skill.

The End of the Crib is in Sight for Grant

Grant can now get out of his crib without any help! However, he hasn't done this yet without telling us first. So, when he wakes up from sleeping he still yells for us to come get him. When we go in his room, he says "Grant can do it" and he gets out on the side of the crib. Not sure why he chose the side instead of the front. Selfishly, I am ready for him to get in a regular bed so I can get the queen bed out of Sloan's nursery. But I am obviously a little nervous about that transition. He has always been a great little sleeper so I hope that doesn't change when the bed changes.

Daylight savings time has thrown us for a loop this time for some reason. Grant talks to himself in his room at night now for about an hour or so before going to sleep. And Sloan has been a bit difficult to get down at night the past couple of nights. She rolls over now onto her back and we have to go and flip her back over so she will go to sleep. She also takes her paci out of her mouth but can't figure out how to get it back in.....and she gets really mad. It has added about an hour onto our bedtime process which we are working on getting back to normal soon.

Grant and I made Easter cookies this weekend. He loved it and enjoyed eating the dough about as much as he did the decorating.

Playtime with 2 Kids

Grant is getting better about not squeezing her to death when he holds her.

She is getting stronger everyday but she is still so little that we have to surround her with blankets in the exosaucer.
Grant had to have a bow too! Both of them with their bows!
We were trying out a new baby item that my friend, Leigh, invented. It is a sunshade for baby seats. She seems to really enjoy it so far and it does keep the sun out of her eyes. You can check it out on www.jaybeebabyshade.com if you want one.
We were out to eat and he was making her laugh a lot at the table. She loves watching him all the time! I think it is because he is in constant motion and never stops!