Sloan is 9 Months and has a new name....Sloanie!

Sloan is officially 9 Months old!  I am taking her for pictures tomorrow and she will have her doctor's appointment next week.  I am also taking Grant to the aquarium tomorrow before I have to fly out to Orlando for a work trip.  Luke will have full duty for a few days.

Grant has given Sloan a new name.....Sloanie!  He calls her this ALL the time now.  We don't know where he got it but think that our nanny may call her that sometimes too.

This is at Grant's preschool.  It was African Safari week last week and at the end they brought in a guy from the zoo.  He had all kinds of neat animals for the kids to see.  The parents were invited to come up and watch.  Grant loved it! 

 Grant enjoys playing with all of the baby toys again!

 This is what happens when I am trying to vacuum.  Sloan kept pulling the cord out of the outlet when it was plugged into the outlet near the floor.  So, I plugged it in at the outlet above the counter.  I turned around and this is what I see!  Thank goodness she doesn't have a lot of teeth yet, lol! 

 Enjoying chunks of carrots and grilled cheese.....she is such a slow eater though!  Every meal is like a 30 minute process at least.  She does love table food though.  She had some Nutri Grain granola bar pieces yesterday and really liked it too.

 I finally got a picture of her tooth!  I couldn't get one with her eyes open though.  The flash made her squint every time.  The tooth next to it is about to break through.

 Into EVERYTHING!

Yard Work, Eating Dogfood, New Teeth, New Skill....

One of Grant's favorite things to do is cut grass with Luke....well pretend to cut grass with Luke.  He even does his arm like he is pulling the string to start the lawn mower!  We literally laugh out loud every time he does it because he makes a noise like the engine when he does it.  One new skill Grant just did this morning, which I would have preferred he never learned, is undoing the car seat buckles.  He can completely get out by himself now!  So how are you supposed to keep kids in car seats until they are like 8 YEARS OLD! He waits until we stop the car thank goodness.   He has been able to get the harness part undone for a while now but the "button" part between his legs was always too hard for him.  He was pushing it this morning and all of the sudden it released.  The look on his face was priceless and I wish I had a camera.  He was so proud of himself and very excited and yelled "Grant did it!"  He promptly jumped out of his seat and said "I can get out all by myself now mommy". 
He continues to LOVE school and his teacher told me yesterday that he "is very sweet to the criers".  Turns out he is very disturbed by why a few of the kids cry for their mommy's almost the whole time they are there.  She said he will come up to them and say "it's okay do you want a toy".  How funny and sweet is that!  I must say that I am glad that I don't have one of those "criers".  It is awful to watch the kids get dropped off that are screaming and literally have to be pulled away from their mothers. 

Sloan is cutting her second bottom tooth!  We are back on Advil because she is just not a happy camper for a few days when her teeth are coming through.  It's funny how different she and Grant are in so many ways.  He never had any trouble with teething.  She also seems to be a bit more sensitive then Grant was.  She can produce alligator size tears at the drop of a hat....guess that is a girl thing, lol!

Serious face to her favorite stuffed animal....it sings the ABC's

Her favorite new find is Mason's dog food.....headed that way....

 I am sure she will get a taste before it is all said and done.  She got a handful on this occasion!

 Luke and Grant cutting grass

 Time to use the weed eaters now

 Everything goes in her mouth!  And I don't think you are supposed to sit this way in the car

Funny Kids

Just some funny stuff about our children......

Grant is really loving preschool camps.  I dropped him off yesterday morning and the teacher said "Grant is the most social child we have ever had!".  I promptly asked if that was a good thing or a bad thing for school, lol!  She said it was great so let's hope it stays that way.  He has picked up some new things at school.  Whenever we leave the house, he gets to the door and says "To the Rescue!" and I have no clue where he got it from so I am assuming school.  He also informed me that they play "Follow the leader" and he was the leader "all the time"!  I see rough teenage years in our future!  Another interesting thing....Grant had to pee when I dropped him off at school, so I took him to the potty (which are these cute miniature commercial pottys that require no step stools) and he promptly turned around and sat down.  I said "oh you have to poo poo?" and he said "no mommy, I have to sit to pee pee at school".  Turns out they make the little boys sit to pee in school since most of them are not yet skilled enough to get it aimed straight, lol!  He still stands to pee at home which makes Luke happy.  Luke will kill me for writing this on the blog and I should preface it with the fact that neither of us get naked in front of Grant anymore since he is sooooo intuitive and asks so many questions.  However, he pops up when we are in the shower sometimes and getting him to leave the bathroom at that point is next to impossible, ha ha.  This morning, Grant informed our nanny, Miss Kasie, this morning that daddy has a "big pee pee" and we both laughed.  I told him that he would have a "big pee pee" one day too and he got this funny smirk on his face and said "noooo mommy".  He also asked me the other day "why does Sloan not have a pee pee like me?"  to which I just said, "she is a girl and you are a boy" and he said "but why?"......ugh!

This past weekend, Grant went to swim lessons and swam without any back float for a few feet!  It is quite amazing to watch how fast they learn.  He is also jumping off the side of the pool into the water really well now too.  He used to jump straight down and want to hold your hand but now he jumps out without holding on to anything.  He can hold his breath and go all the way under water with the teacher too!

Little Sloan is a pistol these days!  She is into everything and is sitting up in her crib as soon as she wakes up now.  She has reached that age where you cannot go back into the room once you put her down to sleep or else she pops up and will start crying to get out.  I used to go back in and cover her up if she moved her blanket, etc.  She will cry sometimes for a minute or two when we put her down for naps and bed but then goes right to sleep.  Sloan is not what you call a "quiet" child!  She is always screaming at something, mostly Mason or Grant.  I think it makes it worse because Grant will scream back at her and she loves that....and Mason will start barking because her screaming hurts his ears but it just makes her scream louder.  Sloan has also started trying to get to the dog food, lovely!  I am sure she will get a nibble before it is all said and done.  She is still getting 3 bottles per day (before naps and bedtime) but she is taking less and less ounces in them so I am hoping to ditch them in the next month or two.  Ahhhh to be done with bottles and formula!  She is using her sippy cup by herself really well now.  She still eats mostly baby food but she loves french toast now too along with eggs.  Goldfish are also a favorite.  She will gag every once in a while but nothing like what Grant used to do, ha ha.

Happy 4th of July

We had a low key 4th of July at home this year since it was on a Wednesday!  

Sloan LOVES to wave at everyone all the time.  She turns her hand like she is in Miss America.....if I were a pageant person, I would be oh so proud, lol! People in restaurants and stores find it hysterical to watch her do this.

On the move.....all the time!

 Trying to get a picture of both of them is not easy

 Sloan can now hold her sippy cup but we are still working on holding it up high enough to get the juice out.  She gets it right half the time.

 Finally got a good picture of both of them

 Sloan grinds her gums all the time now that her bottom teeth are coming in so her face looks crooked all the time now, ha ha.

 Enjoying some basketball fun

 Grant showing off his favorite cars....he sleeps with one of them every night now

 Sloan coming for his cars and the look on his face says it all!  He does NOT like her messing with his stuff.

 Throwing poppers is so much fun but cleaning up the mess afterwards, no so much!

 Watermelon on a super hot 4th of July.  The first thing he said is "why is this part green and this part red? and Why can't I eat the green part" I tried to explain somewhat but I ended up having to just direct his attention to something else.  His favorite question is "Why?" and it is non stop.  If I ask him to do anything (i.e., go get your shoes), he asks "Why?" and when you answer, you just get another "Why?"......exhausting sometimes I must say.

 Grant wants a seatbelt like ours so he now pulls the real seat belt in the backseat over his arm.  You would think he would just let go of it at some point but he keeps it on all the time.  He also will tell me if I "forget" to put mine on.  He is my little backseat driver now...he says "light is green mommy, go", "light is yellow mommy, slow down"

Sloan's Tooth and Grant is an official Big Boy

Sloan is feeling the pain of teething this week.  Her bottom, right tooth has just broken through and I can see a white line now for the bottom, left tooth too.  She is chewing and drooling all the time!  I started giving her some Advil today since it seemed to be bothering her during her naps, etc.  She slept for 3 hours after that so I guess it worked, poor thing.  Her teeth look much bigger than Grant's did so maybe that is why they hurt more than his did.  She is doing great other than that.  She is now in Size 3 diapers and most of her clothes are 9-12 months.  This heat has been killing us this week.  It was 106 degrees in Atlanta yesterday and close to the same today.  Our AC is running non-stop but it takes it a little while at night to get down to our normal 71 degrees in the house.  It has been around 77 degrees inside all day even though we have it set on 71.  We haven't been covering her up with blankets until after midnight because of that.  We are hoping for some cooler weather soon!

Grant's new, big boy bed got delivered on Saturday morning!  We painted his room and got it all ready for him.  We were talking about it for a few weeks with him.  He was wishy washy on whether he wanted the new bed or not.  Some days he would say "I love my crib and I want to keep it" and then other days he would say "I want a bigger bed".  I admit that I was a little nervous that we might end up with him in our room in the middle of the night.  The verdict.....he slept all night in his new bed and LOVED it!  Thank goodness right!  He actually loved it so much that when he got back from swim lessons this morning at 11am (not a nap time for him at all), he said "I want to go to my bed and take nap".  Luke and I just laughed and I went up there with him and he got his paci (yes, our last little vice to get rid of) and told me to "turn on his noise machine".  He laid up there for like 30 minutes talking and then yelled for me to come up there.  This afternoon, he did take a real nap for about 2 hours though.  It was great to get the queen bed out of Sloan's nursery.  She has so much more space in her room now.

Grant has also learned how to get Mason to do tricks, well I guess his speech has gotten clear enough for Mason to understand him now, lol!  So he gets 2 biscuits (not sure why it has to be 2 every time but we just go with it) and he tells Mason to "sit" and "roll over" and "stand".  He loves doing it so much that we have had to tell him no sometimes or Mason will get way too many biscuits, ha ha.

Sloan hanging out at the pool

 Grant made this hat at his Preschool Camp this past week.  The theme for the week was 4th of July obviously.

 Grant in his new bed! No decorations yet but we are getting there.



Grant's first day of school and Sloan in the tub

Sloan is now trying out some some eggs.  She seems to like table food but gags a little.  I am ready for her to be just on table food to be honest.  She should also have a tooth here in the next few days!  I can see the skin breaking a little on her bottom right tooth.  Although she fights me sooooo hard to get in her mouth.  She is so much stronger and fights so much harder than Grant ever did on stuff like that.  I have to hold her down and pry her little mouth open to see it.  I gave up on looking really good earlier but I did see where the tooth is about to break through.  She is biting everything and drooling like a faucet.  Sloan is also pulling up to her knees all the time now.  She loves to pull up in the crib and pull the curtain over the bumper.  She also snagged a blanket from the stack that sits next to her crib.  Sneaky little thing.  She may have even more of my personality than Grant does......ahhh the teenage years are looking to be rough in our house!

Grant started 3 year old summer camp/preschool today!  He goes from 9am-12pm and loves it!  Ms Kasie and I took him this morning and he could care less that we left him there.  There were a couple of other 3 year olds that were screaming when their parents were leaving.  Grant immediately went to check out all of the toys and other kids.  We went back to pick him up and he had some funny stories.....first, he said that "one of the boys pooped in his diaper" so obviously there are some kids in his class that are not yet potty trained! He also said he "really liked their potty and didn't need a stool to stand on because his pee pee could reach over the potty" lol!  They have the mini toilets that look just like ours.  Their snack was cheese balls and water and he informed me that we needed to get some cheese balls. 

I got a laugh out of one little boy when we got there this morning.  He went straight up to the teacher and said "I can't have cows milk" with the most serious face.  There are so many allergies these days that I guess they are used to it.  They told him that they don't give any milk to the kids. 

We ordered Grant a queen sized bed which should be here in a couple of weeks.  He will officially be a big boy then I guess.  We are hoping he loves the bed and wants to stay in it at night, lol!

Sloan eating her eggs

Bathtime

 Trying to stand up in the tub but she is not sturdy yet.  This is her typical face though....screaming in laughter

 Grant at preschool!  His teachers are Miss Van and Miss JoAnn



Camp Houston

Luke and I went on a vacation for week without kids and had a great time!  CeCe and Papa Bill had a very busy week while we were gone.  The week started a bit rough since both Grant and Sloan were sick.  It is just my luck that they both catch something right before I want to go relax somewhere, lol.  Grant ended up with an ear infection and I got him meds right before I left.  This was his first illness since he was 8 months old!  Poor little Sloan ended up with Bronchitis and mom had to take her to an urgent care (which we found right before I left just in case, thank goodness).  She got some meds and got better quick after that.  The grandparents got way more than they bargained for but we really appreciated it!  Juggling both of them at their ages is no easy task!

Grant had a great time and is still talking about all of the fun things he did.  He got to swim, pick blackberries and eat them, terrorize the cats, ride his bike, visit with JW and play endlessly with Uncle Rhett who I am sure has a new perspective on how much time and energy kids take, ha ha!  Grant also learned a new word,  "holy crap" thanks to Papa Bill.  I guess it could be way worse.  Grant now uses it in perfect context but says "holy crappers".  I have to stop myself from laughing because it is really funny to hear it come out of his mouth. 

Sloan has now tried eggs, pieces of a biscuit and....don't judge but McDonald's french fries!  She loves the fries and so do Grant and I.  She is still mostly on baby food but we are starting the real foods.  She is also crawling faster and faster everyday now.  She is sitting herself up now sometimes.  She continues to be much more verbal than Grant ever was.  She loves to clap her hands all the time now.  Bath time has become a challenge sometimes since she is trying to stand up on the edge now.  She has zero balance so you have literally keep a hand on her the entire time. 

Playing ball inside with Rhett

Sloan loved the drums, probably because they make so much noise

 Grant loved the boat in the pool

 Nana and Sloan.....check out Sloan's rockin' hair...thanks CeCe

 CeCe had some fun with a tutu and pearls...

 Grant and Sloan hanging out at the pool

 Riding in the jeep....well...sitting in the jeep

 I have no clue what prompted this craziness!  Thanks Papa Bill

 JW and Sloan



Grant's Snotty Mess and Sloan loves her some Mum Mums

 As previously mentioned in my last post, check out the floor of toilet paper.  The first pile was much larger but I didn't get my camera before he threw it all in the trash.  Lot of snot in this house....but it is getting better

 Sloan loves puffs and now really loves these Mum Mums (rice crackers).  She is quite aggressive with her puffs so I am thinking she may take to table food quickly.

The Infirmary, Pediatrician battle and Sloan has a new skill

Our house has been an infirmary for the past few days now and it is not fun.  Sloan caught a cold and it has turned into Bronchiolitis (aka lots of wheezing).  I can handle a runny nose and cough but not wheezing!  Grant has caught it too but just has a cough and a runny nose. The younger they are the worse this stuff is in my experience. Grant had Bronchiolitis at almost the same age as Sloan so I had some experience under my belt this time around.  She was put on breathing treatments (albuterol) yesterday but she was still wheezing after her treatment this morning.  So, I took her back to the pediatrician this afternoon.  I am sure I have some "crazy mama" remarks in her file now since I got into with the doctor pretty bad.  I wanted her to get Prednisone (which is what finally got rid of Grant's wheezing when he had this) and the doctor was pushing back.  If anyone knows me well, they know that I don't take no for an answer when I really want something and an MD behind your name doesn't mean you know everything that is right for your child.  He did a breathing treatment in the office and she was still wheezing some afterwards which he tried to say was normal.  He said that she just had to let it work its way out of her system.  Long story short, we went home with Prednisone (mama 1, doctor 0) and she got her first dose tonight.  So, cross your fingers that she wakes up tomorrow without wheezing.  She is already sleeping better tonight and it has only been a couple of hours.  She has been sleeping but very restless and all over the crib the past few nights. 
Funny Grant story....Since I pulled Grant out of daycare (at 8 months old), he has not been sick until now.  So, a runny nose has freaked him out a little.  He comes and says he needs a wipe with the slightest bit of snot coming out of his nose. So at naptime, he was yelling for a wipe every few minutes before he actually fell asleep.  In all of my creativity (or lack thereof) I gave him a roll of toilet paper in his crib and told him to pull a piece off, blow his nose and throw it on the floor.  I went back in after he woke up and there was a pile of toilet paper!  It was so funny but it kept me from having to go in there every time he needed it, lol! 

On a positive note, Sloan has learned how to clap her hands!  We have been doing Patty Cake this past week and she picked it up very quickly.  She is also trying to wave now which is very cute.  She is crawling several feet a time now and actually pulled herself up to her knees to get to a toy this past weekend.  We caught her trying to sit herself up twice now but it was unsuccessful....and I am not totally convinced that she realized what she was even doing.