Saturday, December 27, 2008

Best Husband Ever!



For those of you who know me well...ya know that I am definitely not a mushy person. I am not too big of a hugger and I don't write sentimental things on Christmas cards...but I do want to brag on my hubby a little bit and let him know how much I appreciate him and love him!

I have to admit that I have the best husband ever! He is always a big helper, but this past weekend he has gone above and beyond. I have been sick with a sinus infection and he has taken over everything with Grant letting me get much needed rest. I don't think I changed one diaper today! I know he is not feeling too well either (we probably have the same darn thing) but he will not admit it and continues to let me rest. I am so grateful! He has even continued painting our bedroom and bathroom in the evenings after Grant is asleep! He is quite a dad and Grant loves him to pieces. I do too!!!

Monday, December 15, 2008

Grant's 1st Birthday Party!!!



Well, this past year has definitely been an adventure! It has had its ups and downs but overall we have had a great time with our new family addition. Here are some pictures from his birthday party. We all had a great time and it was great to have the whole family together. We can't wait for what this next year has in store for us!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

A rare event and horrible photography!





Today it snowed...in Houston!!! This is a pretty rare event. The last time it snowed we missed it because we were on our way to visit family Ohio, so it has been a pretty long time since I have seen snow in H-town. I think the time before the one I missed, I was a freshman in high school and our teacher--Mr. Trainer let us outside to look. It was a pretty big deal! A lot of my friends had never seen it before in real-life.
Since this is a pretty big event in Houston, I decided to take Grant's picture. I have no photography skill and no one was around to help me position Grant, so I consider myself lucky to get the few shots that I got. Eventually one of my teenage neighbors offered to take a picture of me and Grant. Not one of my best...but today is one of those days that I am a single parent since Kirk is at school, so I am not going to beat myself up about it. Enjoy and don't make fun of us Texans!!!
I almost forgot...the last picture is of Grant slowly falling over flat on his back. It was pretty hilarious! As you can see, his winter jacket is huge on him. It is 18 months, by the way, but it runs big and I ordered it online. It doesn't usually get cold until January over here...so I thought I would go for a larger size. Maybe it will fit him by March!!! :)

Sunday, November 23, 2008

First hair cut ever!!!






Earlier this month, Kirk and I decided that Grant's hair was getting too long. I have trimmed his hair before, but Kirk insisted that our little boy still had a mullet and that had to change. We decided to pay for a nice hair cut since it would be his first professional cut ever and we wanted to watch to see how it was done. Surely we can do it ourselves. The cut lasted only 5 minutes. He didn't cry...but he sure gave this lady some dirty looks. Enjoy the pictures!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Grant's obsession, Jackie's addiction, and Kirk


Grant's birthday is in the middle of December...so we find ourselves shopping for both his birthday and Christmas at the same time. We found this slide on sale and thought we would give it to him now and just call it his birthday present. He is not even one yet...so what does he know. Well, he absolutely loves it!!! He wants to climb up the back and slide over and over again...and he loves to be chased!

This kind of ties into my new addiction. In high school and college, I loved to shop. New clothes, new shoes...I wanted them! Well, this desire has left and has been replaced by my shopping for Grant. Clothes, toys, books...he needs them! Browsing the newspaper ads for after Thanksgiving sales/deals (always a hobby of mine)has new meaning.

I don't want to leave Kirk out...he is almost done with his first semester at Rice. He is working hard trying to balance home, work, and school...and I think he is doing a pretty good job. Right now he is coordinating the effort to get our house repaired after Hurricane Ike. It should be back to new by Christmas!!! Yea!!!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy halloween everyone!!! For Grant's first halloween I decided to dress him up as a scarecrow. We needed something light-weight that could be layered in case it was 50 degrees or 90 degrees outside...but luckily yesterday was actually quite pleasant. It was also Grant's first experience with make-up. I must say that he looked really cute with his rosy cheeks, but I could never capture his smile with the camera. Here are some pictures from the party we went too. Grant had a blast playing with some new bigger kid toys. I hope you enjoy!


Sunday, October 12, 2008

Fall has arrived!


Last week Kirk and I took Grant to a "pumpkin patch". Well...I don't know if you can technically call it a pumpkin patch if the pumpkins are trucked in from who knows where...but it is the closest thing we have. A local church sells these pumpkins in their front lawn for a fundraiser and lets anyone take pictures if they want. We are going to take him again with his scarecrow costume...but we thought we would look a little too eager if we took his halloween picture at the "pumpkin patch" the first weekend in October.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Grant is 9 months...actually 9 1/2!



Well...I am a little late on Grant's monthly update. I will use the hurricane as my excuse...so don't be surprised when you see his 10 month update in two weeks! :)

Our little Grant is not so little any more. He is easily crawling around the house and is pulling up on the couch and some of his other toys. He still loves to eat and is enjoying trying more of the table food we offer him. I gave him a bite of my donut one day and he was really mad when I didn't give him the rest. Grant still loves playing with pillows but he is now really interested in his wooden activity cube. It can keep him occupied for up to half an hour which is wonderful! His babbling is improving and we are just waiting for any day when he decides to say ma-ma or da-da.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Hurricane IKE continued...


Well...here is a picture of what Kirk tore out of our bedroom because the sheetrock was wet. We wanted to prevent any possiblity of mold growing in the walls. The insurance adjuster came over on Sunday...and hopefully we will hear what will be covered by the end of the week. We are keeping our fingers crossed! We are covered pretty well and the insurance guy seemed to be pretty fair and nice.

Overall the storm was pretty scary! It was amazing to me how long the strong winds lasted. The news said that the heaviest winds were around for 6-8 hours and that is what I remembered. We waited as each hour passed thinking that it was going to slow down...only for the winds to come from another direction. The loud howls of the wind passing by the house was also pretty spooky.

After the storm...we were so grateful that our neighbor let us share his generator with him. He didn't have to share...but I will always be grateful for his kind gesture. Grant was pretty sick for about a week starting the day after the storm left. He did not sleep well at all in the steamy house...so Kirk drove him around in the car almost all night so he could rest. Keep in mind that we were under a strict curfew in town...so Kirk was stopped several times by the police. When they saw Grant with his swollen eyes and runny nose...they were pretty understanding and nice. All they said was to be careful when driving since none of the traffic lights were working.

Other things we experience were waiting in line for gas and waiting in line for ICE. Now I can tell everyone that I had the complete hurricane experience. Unfortunately...there are still a lot of people without power. My parents are on day 10 without it. They come over at night and sleep in our spare bedroom since it is starting to get hot AGAIN!!!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Hurricane IKE 2008!!!


Hey everyone!!! We made it! It was really scary and I thought the winds would never stop. We are some of the lucky ones that only went without power for 3 days. My parents are still waiting and working on their 5th day without power. I will give more details on a later post.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Hurricane Ike...coming soon!!!



Hello everyone! I just wanted to keep our far away friends informed about what is going on with Los Shephitos. Hurricane Ike will be coming right over our house and I think we are ready. Here is a picture of our house. Kirk has done an amazing job boarding all of the window and even helping neighbors. Later we will board up the doors and "hunker down" for the night. We will move Grant downstairs to sleep with us tonight. It should be pretty exciting...in a scary way.

We are prepared. He have food, water, gasoline, propane, tarps, candles, and basically whatever we need. I will post again later.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Happy 1st Birthday James!!!



My sister Linda's little boy James had his first birthday about a week ago. (I am a horrible aunt...because I do not remember the exact date...) Anyway, he had a nice little party and Grant was really well-behaved. Grant really enjoyed playing with some new toys and hanging out with his cousins. This is Grant with cousin Jack.


Isa had her 3rd birthday this month...but we have no pictures of this party since Grant was sick and could not attend. We did not want to contaminate all the other children.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Grant is 8 months!




Grant is 8 months old! It is amazing how fast the time goes by!
Big news...
1. Grant is almost crawling! He can definitely move across a room with his fast army crawl...but he is now almost moving with his stomach off the ground. This is a big accomplishment for a chunky baby like him. :)
2. Grant has started day care. The first day was kind of rough...but he seems to be getting used to the routine.
3. He has 4 teeth. Two on the bottom and two on the top. The 2 on the top are not the middle ones, though. He has fangs!
4. He loves to play with water bottles.
5. He is fitting snuggly in his 12 month clothes.

Day at Mimi's and Papo's



On Friday my sister April and her two kids came over to my parents' house to visit. It was pretty nice since I haven't seen her son Jack in a while. He is only 2 weeks younger than Grant, so it is nice to see their differences and similarities.




Later we all went out on the trampoline to see if the kids liked jumping. It seems they all did!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Kirk's first day of school!!!


Well...Monday was Kirk's first day of classes at Rice for his MBA. Twenty-two months later, he should be done. Here is a picture of Kirk getting his gear ready the night before.

He finally came home last night after working on a group project until midnight. This made me a little nervous since at that time Tropical Strom Edouard was heading directly our way. Luckily...his classes are canceled today and work is canceled for me as well. Yea!!!! Also...luckily...the storm ended up going north of us and has not caused much disruption.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Grant's first trip to Ohio!

Well...Grant survived his first trip to Ohio. He was very well-behaved on the plane and received many compliments from the other travelers. On the way up...he did not cry at all and was actually very happy. He even found a cute girl a few rows back to flirt with. Here is a picture of Grant with some of his Shepherd cousins. If you can't figure it out...he is the one in the front.


Thursday, July 24, 2008

Grant is 7 months!!!





Our little Grant is now 7 months old! It is amazing how time flies by!!! Here is an update of what he is doing lately.
1. Grant is trying really hard to crawl. He can get across a room but it is more of an army crawl.
2. He is using a sippy cup to drink water and a little bit of juice.
3. He still loves taking baths.
4. His new favorite thing is his fruit dispenser. (I don't know what to call it???)



Thursday, June 19, 2008

Grant: 6 Months Old



Grant is 6 months old!
Some of his favorite things are...
1. Rolling around on the floor and putting everything in his mouth.
2. Bouncing endlessly in his jumperoo.
3. Eating ALL baby foods.
4. Taking a bath and splashing around in the water.
5. Being naked! (Yes...our boy is a flasher!!!)

Hello Everyone!

Well...I don't know if I will be any good at this blogging stuff, but I thought it might be fun to give it a try! More pictures and interesting stories to come...