On Christmas Eve, the Hicks family joined us for lunch. We had turkey, stuffing, and all sorts of other goodies! Doesn't the table look pretty? Once again, Grant wanted to eat while everyone else opened gifts. The boy has his priorities straight!In one of the best wrapping gags I've done in a while, Kennedy unwrapped this shoe box to find "Concepts of Federal Taxation 2003". She searched all over the box (through Grant's blankets, a throw pillow, and through the pages of the book) before going back to the lid of the box. You can see a little of the gift card taped to the lid of the box in the lower right corner of this picture. And not to be outdone, Joyce hid a gift card from Derek in the fold out pages of a AAA book of New Mexico and Arizona. So fun! Once again, Grant loved the paper!
After dinner, Grant finally took a good nap (in my arms of course - the party animal refused to nap in his crib all weekend. He'd wake up anytime we laid him down). My fabulous MIL spent an eternity in the kitchen cleaning up and shining my sink!! Once Grant finally woke up, we took a few quick family shots. I think they turned out great!!

On Thursday, December 23rd, we headed out to Red Oak for Christmas with my family. My parents cooked fajitas (yummmm). We weren't able to stay the night because we had to come home and put together dinner for the Hicks family the next day, but we made the most of our time there.

After dinner, Grant's cousins opened their gifts from Grandma Rose and Papa. Tia Gloria fed Grant his bottle. Once Grant's belly was full, he was ready to try out opening gifts. He really loved the paper.
Check us out in our Santa hats! There was an awful lot going on - and I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but Grant really loved the paper.
Grant got to play with Grandma Rose and Papa. After they played, Grant fell asleep. He knew he was missing out on a party with his cousins, so he put up a good fight. It was a sign of things to come...

Christmas was a whirlwind! Grant has a TON of new toys and was so happy to see his extended family. More on that later. For now, a few shots of Grant enjoying Santa's gifts:I think he really loved the blocks. The bad news is that Lola really likes the blocks too.

We’ve been busy getting ready for our FIVE Christmases (spread out over 4 days). As hectic as I’m sure the next few days will be, I’m very excited. Kids really do make Christmas (and so many other things) more fun!

Over the weekend, I was able to change out Grant’s clothes from 3-6 months to 9-12 months. Here he is modeling one of the new 12 month outfits. Some of the outfits are still too big, particularly in the waist. Oh – and this hoodie was too big too, but it really accented his eyes. I don’t think the photo does it justice. Trust me – in person, you would melt. I’m amazed that his eyes are STILL BLUE! This was on our way to see Big Gaga.
This weekend we went to a Christmas sweater party! Grant doesn’t have a Christmas sweater, but he does have a festive dog sweater. The shoes that match are so cute!! All of my Christmas shopping is done and all of my gifts are wrapped. My house is ALMOST ready for guests. It would be completely ready if it wasn’t SO BEAUTIFUL outside. I worked in the yard on Sunday instead of finishing tidying up. I did get some laundry done thanks to my little helper:
Grant is moving backwards these days, and he usually doesn’t like that. He’s getting frustrated that he can’t reach that toy that is always JUST out of his reach (thanks to his mama). He is sitting up really well – but not quite well enough to leave him on a hard surface unattended.

Grant is also getting a little “stranger anxiety”. He fussed when Steve and Gloria kept him this weekend while we went to my boss’s Christmas party – but he was also very tired and hungry. He also fusses when his favorite teacher at school passes by him – how dare Ms. Tae not pick him up!!

Grant has been rocking on his hands and knees for about 10 days now. In the video his head is on the ground, but nowadays his head is up!
I think he'll be crawling by Christmas. One thing is certain - when he does, he and Lola are going to be GREAT playmates. Grant just LOVES her. Any time Lola is on the move, Grant watches intensely. He usually smiles at her too. Grant loves when Lola gives him kisses, and even when she barks!

Tomorrow, Grant is getting his tear duct opened up. Thankfully, Derek is taking him. I'm not sure I could handle it. But I am always on shot duty, so it's about time for Derek to take our child to be tortured.

Grant had another first this weekend. We've been working on sitting up. Derek was gone to the grocery store, and I was trying to get as much done as possible (typical Sunday). I propped Grant up on the love seat (in the corner so he was supported on 2 sides) and ran into the kitchen. I came back in about 30 seconds later and his head was hanging off the front of the love seat. He fell in slow motion onto the rug. I watched it all while I was running across the room, but it didn't matter. He cried for less than 1 minute, then I distracted him by riding the horsey and he forgot all about it.

Later in life, I'm sure I'll refer back to yesterday. "I don't know why you do that Grant! Maybe it's because I dropped you on your head when you were a baby!"

I just love that everytime I sing "Sandman," Grant gets calm and quiet. Before I get to "tips of his toes," he is calm. If he's talkative or a pacifier isn't near, sometimes he'll talk all the way through the song the first time. This lullaby has worked magic in my family for generations. My mom sang it to me and my siblings; Big Gaga sang it to all 12 of babies; and Big Gaga's mother sang it to her. I don't think it's recorded anywhere; at least not the way we sing it. I did find the sheet music months ago online. My friend Cassie played it on her iPhone piano and I called my mom so she could hear. Oh - and I cried.

One of the first things I wanted to do when I got home from the hospital with Grant was to learn this lullaby, and I'm so glad I did. In a family full of rich traditions, this is the one I'm most thankful for. Other traditions that I'm thankful for (in no particular order):

1. The dress the babies wear coming home from the hospital. Grant was the 47th to wear the gown.

2. The Purple Dress

3. Go Tell It on the Mountain

4. Big Gaga's trains and stockings. Grant will wear the conductor hat for the first time this year!

5. Making Christmas stockings. Big Gaga has made them for her entire family. My mom has made them for hers as well. And even though it has taken well over 100 hours, I have finished Grant's! I just have to add his name!! There was a time when the Bereuter family grew by several people in a single year. I remember Gaga rattling off the newbies, us cousins help her make the new stockings, and Gaga worrying if she'd missed somebody.

6. The Easter Egg Hunt. And the 40 or so dozen confetti eggs all made by my mother.

The past 6 months have ZOOMED by! Here are Grant's "official" 6 month stats:

Weight: 17 lbs, 14.4 oz (50%) - but he hadn't eaten in 12 hours, and the Wii always puts him over 18 lbs!

Height: 27.5 inches (75%) - he grew 1.5 inches in 2 months!!

Head Circumference: 45cm (75%)
His favorite activity is gumming down on anything and everything. He also likes to play in his Johnny Jumper!

He's wearing size 3 diapers.

Food - He eats 5 bottles a day (8 ounces each), and only leaves an ounce behind if he's eating solids with that meal. He goes through 1 container of solid food per day. A little for breakfast, some at lunch mixed with rice cereal, and then the remainder for dinner. So far, he's had peas, sweet potatoes, green beans, apples, and squash. He also sampled Gloria's stuffing - it was too good for him to pass up!

Naps - When he's home, he will nap 45 minutes-1 hour in between each feeding. At day care, he only takes 2 naps (usually 20-30 minutes), then he takes another (usually longer) at home after Derek picks him up.

He can ALMOST sit up unassisted. He can hold himself for a little before falling over. He's also been trying to army crawl. He moved almost 2 feet one time, but hasn't been successful since then. He gets on all 4's pretty often (at least once a day). I suppose we should start baby-proofing.

Did you know it takes a special skill to get a 6-month old to put his handprint on a t-shirt? True story. And I don't have this skill. I still tried to get Grant to make a "turkey" shirt like my sis does with her boys every year. We tried once while he was awake, and he just wanted to play with the paint. We tried again when he was asleep. It wasn't too bad, but it did wake him up (more on that later).
I also made some headresses for the Turkey Trot. Each headband had a nickname.
The same night, I wore this:
and made this.

Pretty proud of myself. OH and earlier in the day, Grant met Santa for the first time. He was amazed at everything that was going on at the mall and soaked it all in... so much so that he barely even noticed Santa. There was no line when we arrived, but between trying to get Grant to smile and the elves' "technical difficulties", there was one when we left!

We are well on our way to re-doing our entire house. This was not really planned, but – I do love it!! Last month, we got a new A/C and a new roof. This month, we are getting new gutters and an all over paint job. The outside is done already and looks GREAT! We went from brown to cream. We also painted the front door black!! The painter recommended black, and I must say – it looks GREAT! The change in the outdoor paint color is most noticeable in the back where we don’t have as much brick.

Inside the house, we are changing over all of our cream color trim to bright white. This includes bathroom cabinets and wainscoting in the kitchen. The 2 day project is now in its 4^th day, but I’m so happy it’s being done RIGHT! And even happier it’s being done by SOMEONE ELSE! The trim is a lot of work!! Sanding and 2 coats of oil-based paint is not a quick job. It is, however, quite smelly. We’ve temporarily moved out until the fumes settle to a non-hazardous level. Before and after pics will be up as soon as the painting is done and mess cleaned up (in other words, don’t hold your breath).

This weekend, Team Hicks went to Red Oak. Grant loves his Grandma Rose and Papa!! Since no painting was done on Sunday, we decided to try a night at the house. Bad choice. All day Monday I could smell paint – I think it seeped into my nose hairs! So last night and for a few more nights, Team Hicks is camping out at the Motos’.

In Grantland, little boy is holding his own bottle now about 90% of the time. He LOVES his Johnny Jumper and loves to stick out his tongue! Last week, we started him on peas (which he loved), and this week we are trying sweet potatoes (which he loves even more). I have not had much success with rice cereal, so (at Derek’s suggestion), we are sending that to day care with him. I resisted that at first, but Derek was right to pass the buck on that one! I can’t believe I put that in writing… on the world wide web… for everyone to see.

Last week, I was trying to finish up getting ready in the morning, and Grant was soooo tired and kept crying. I loaded the last thing in the car before grabbing him, but when I came back in the house, I heard nothing. He was passed out on the bed – on his belly no less, which he still hates.
Grant’s favorite entertainment is Lola. She doesn’t have to do much – she can just walk by and he thinks it’s funny. Therefore, there is lots of “Lola come here,” followed by “Lola, go get your toy.” in our house. And when she spazzes out (running around the house like she did after her bath on Sunday), the giggles just don’t stop!!

Grant had a blowout for the record books last night. It came out the side and the back. Got on Derek's shirt while he was feeding him.

As soon as I took his diaper off, he reached for the "prize". Poop was everywhere. His belly, face, his legs, and ALL over the changing table. We tag teamed clean up. In the middle of that Grant spit up... and peed. Only a bath could clean him up right.

I thought he was clean and poop free. But he's in my arms right now napping. And I see poop in his ear.

UPDATE - It was actually blood in his ear. Derek cleaned it out, and confirmed that unless he poops from his ear, it was blood.

However, these teething diapers are downright scary. Last night, the boys went to the Dacuses to watch/cry at the Cowboy game, and Grant leaked out of his diaper again... this time on Shauna.

Grant turned 5 months yesterday. And at 5 months and 1 day, we got our first dreaded call from daycare. Derek and I took off today to recover from the World Series and take care of the ever-growing to-do list. At about noon, daycare called saying his fever was 99.9. No need to pick him up yet, but "don't drink any more mimosas." Ahh - they know us well. ;)

So at 1:45, we got the call that his fever was high enough to get him sent home. (It was 100.5 - they send babies home at 100.4). We scheduled a doctor's visit where they did just about every torturious thing possible to my child. He cried the entire time... that's 1.5 hours. He ended up with an antibiotic shot, and a follow-up visit tomorrow.

At 5 months, here's what Grant is up to:

*Weighs 16 lbs, 12 oz.
*Wearing size 3 diapers
*Talking, cooing, shrieking and blowing raspberries all the time
*Still not eating rice cereal very well. I've been feeding him a little bit in the mornings, which seems to work better than the evenings. And we add it to his bed-time bottle to at least get him used to the taste.
*Enjoys his exersaucer & vibrating chair, but he still doesn't love his swing.
*Rolling over in every direction
*Just now finding his feet
*He'll let you carry him and hold him over your shoulder again!
*Not sitting "unsupported" any time soon

In the past week, he had 2 new babysitters. A week ago, our neighbor offered us his Cowboys tickets. We couldn't turn them down!! Susie and Big Gaga watched him, while we suffered through the football game. The seats were GREAT - but Romo leaving in the 2nd Quarter with a broken collar bone was a downer. Then last night, Derek's aunt Susan watched Grant while we went to Game 4 of the World Series!! Thanks to my dad, I was able to make an antler hat. We tailgated for 3 solid hours before the game with Matt, Anna, Paul and Matt Lauden. We had a blast, even though the Rangers forgot to show up.
Grant was a monkey for Halloween (Jacob was the same monkey 3 years ago). He wore his costume to day care on Friday, and again last night when Susan took him trick or treating.

Grant's new trick is blowing raspberries. This morning, he was really showing off.
As soon as I stopped filming, he rolled over. He's doing that all the time now too!!

We are now having our first battle with diaper rash. We had just switched diapers (and went up to size 2-3), so we went back to his normal diaper to see if it clears up.

We got our new roof on last week, and tomorrow they should be finished with interior repairs!!

We started rice cereal over the weekend. We tried it hot, cold, thick, runny, with water, and with formula. Grant hated it all. I thought it would be better if we held him because he hates to sit. So Sunday and Monday we tried that. He still hated it. It is easier to get the spoon in when his mouth is open wide to wail.

Monday morning and this morning, Grant had a rash on his face when he woke up. Nothing too scary - I still left him at daycare. No fever or fussiness - just redness on his forehead. I thought maybe it was the brand of rice cereal (Gerber), but last night we tried Earth's Best (with apples - another attempt to trick him into liking it), and he still woke up with the rash. We'll skip the cereal tonight and see if that clears up the rash.
We got an exersaucer and Johny Jumper this weekend from my cousin Julie. Despite what his dad may post on facebook, Grant does like the exersaucer... but only for a few minutes. We haven't set up the jumper yet. Maybe we'll try that tonight.

Derek canceled our cable on Friday. I'm very excited about this!! Satellite is expensive - we're going to save a TON!! We're giving it a month before we decide if we're going to replace it. Nonetheless, last night Derek was in one room watching a comedy, and I was in the other watching PBS's special "God in America." It was really good!!

1. Rach & Jesse's AC going out Memorial Day weekend. I'm especially thankful for Jesse capturing Grant's first hours alive and our first hours as parents:


2. Kicking file drawers shut - so invigorating

3. Taco Bell's Cantina tacos

4. My iPhone - it's a little crushing to admit it, but I do like having it.

5. Great friends that drive "out of town" for my hubby's bday. (Thanks to Adolph, Erin, Lane, Lolly, Cat, Jill, Kyle, Clint, Shauna, Rach & Jesse)

6. Great friends that have family members knit gifts/props for Grant (Thanks Rach)

7. Great friends that welcome us with open arms when our AC goes out (Thanks Jill & Jeff)

8. Great friends that make time for you when they have no time to give (Thanks Meadow)

Grant got his 4 month shots yesterday. Perhaps I'm soul-less, but I don't really mind the shots. My job is easy, though - pin down my child and turn my head away. I may be soul-less, but I don't want to watch someone torture my baby!!

Here are his stats:

Length - 26 inches (85%)
Weight - 15 lb, 12 oz (75%)
Head - 43.25 cm (75%)

We weighed him at home, and he came in at 15.7 pounds, so the Wii is pretty accurate.

He is still in Size 2 diapers. This morning, his diaper was so full that he leaked onto me when I was feeding him his bottle. Nothing like feeling that warm liquid on your belly! It IS better than poop juice, which I have also had the pleasure of experiencing.

He still doesn't really care for the Bumbo.

He has been watching Lola a lot more closely - especially when we are all on the floor playing!

He can pass objects between his hands if he wants to. Most of the time, he'd rather pass it to his mouth.

He has been babbling more, and has added shrieks into his vocal repertoire.

I have FINALLY ordered prints of him to frame. I'll be able to decorate my office (and our house) by the weekend!

We thought he had an ear infection because he'd been pulling his ears and waking us up at 3 am, but his ears were clear. Doc says it may have already passed or he may have just found his ears.

Apparently, once you are 4 months old, you can play in the exersaucer at daycare! I put him in it this morning (with a blanket around him because he is still kind of small for it), and he really enjoyed his new perspective. We still need to get an exersaucer and jumper.

In mommy news, I have hung up the nursing bra. After this week, he will be on formula only. The doctor said we can start rice cereal whenever we want, so our lives (and Grant's diapers) are about to get a little more interesting!

It turns out, the Cowboys just needed a good cheerleader to win a game. I'm talking about Grant of course. On Sunday, before kickoff, I told Derek that I thought the 'Boys would win if we put G-Unit in his Dallas Cowboys Onesie. It worked!! Immediately after the game, the same onesie looked like this:

Our little man now has lethal poop because we've started him on a breastmilk/formula mix while I wean from the pump. How do you salvage such a cute (and important) onesie? You don't. We threw it away. I can't tell you how happy I was that I made that onesie rather than buy it! The only NFL onesies left are the Giants gear that his Aunt Debbie got him. I'll probably allow him to wear one next week since the Cowboys have a bye, but I'm pretty sure all he's going to do once I put it on him is poop and cry. :)

My new obsession is Grant's stocking. Now that I have it out, this will consume all of my free time until Christmas. I'm on step 36 (out of 100) now:A few quick shots of Grant. Here's Houdini in action:And a cute smile he gave me last night: