a Little Boy's Dream- Mass Transit!

We have always known that Grant LOVES trains and all things that go, but a recent trip with Josh to his school downtown got him really interested in the ariel tram as well as the MAX train. I guess they stood on the sidewalk downtown and watched it pass many times before they were able to go home. On Saturday, we decided to make all his little boy fantasies come true and take him on the ariel tram up to OHSU and on the Portland Streetcar. He was a little afraid to ride the tram at first because he thought we might hit the trees, but once we go there he was the first one to run on and loved the ride to the top and back down. (This picture doesn't show his excitement though)

After we took our ride on the tram, we jumped on the Portland Street Car and rode that up towards PSU. Grant was all smile and thought that the streetcar was just about the coolest thing ever. We stopped downtown and had Hot Lips Pizza (one of Josh's old PSU Grad school spots) for lunch. Grant had a hard time saying good-bye the streetcar and we had to make promises to ride it again soon. I think our next play date should be riding mass-transit around town...anyone in?

The Date Is Set!

Will Grant get the "chocolate" sister that he is hoping for or a little brother to take under his wings? The anatomy ultrasound date is set for Tuesday, March 31st! All ultrasounds are exciting, but this one is my favorite...it just makes everything feel more real. Let me know what your predictions are.....I love to hear if people think it is a girl or boy! Either way, we are so blessed to be welcoming a little one to our family.

Just A Day At The Park!

Grant had a super fun Friday. The day started out with a trip to the Children's Museum with his "buddy" Brady. They had fun at the grocery store, the dig pit, making music in the theater, and at the water table!

They managed to put on a two man show with the drums and the tambourine~

After "rest time" (which is more for mommies benefit) we walked to Florence Park where Grant played in the pond, kicked the soccer ball a lot and got tons of under doggies on the swings.

Dinner Drama

So around 6pm in our house you would think that we were performing some type of torture ritual on our child....but no, it is just dinner time. If it was summer and the windows were open our neighbors might call child services because they would hear crying, screaming and excessive whining from Grant.

Let me start at the beginning...it isn't really Grant's fault. As parents Josh and I failed him by catering to his every desire for dinner. I would make Josh and I one meal and G would have his standard of pasta, carrots, cheese, olives, sandwich, etc... You would even find us packing Grant's dinner when we went out to dinner as well! What were we thinking? Anyway, we decided that at age 3 he needs to start eating what the family eats. My first goals are to have dinner ready for all of us at 6pm (when Grant gets hungry) and to make dinners that you would reasonably think a 3 year old should eat. Both things have taken planning and some dedication on my part because I love to try new, fun recipes and don't always have the meal prepared by 6.

This week we have had spaghetti, chicken rolls, and breakfast for dinner. All three have resulted in utter meltdowns. We have to basically put the food on the fork to get Grant to eat and he complains the entire time. It is exhausting, but we are committed to repairing the damage we have done by not starting this earlier. The next baby is never going to know that there is another option. By the time it can eat solids, it will eat what we eat!

I look forward to the night when we can make it through dinner without crying or whining!

A Chocolate Sister...

I get the question a lot...."Does Grant understand that you are having a baby?" As much as any 3 year old can comprehend, he gets it. We have told him from the day we found out that he was going to be a big brother and that mommy has a baby in her belly. We asked him if it was going to be a little brother or a little sister and he has always said "little sister." But he instantly went further and now thinks that he is carrying a sister in his belly. When he wants to eat cereal in the morning, he says that it is for his little sister. I think he got that during my first trimester when I went on a cereal kick! When anyone asks him what he has in his belly, he relies, "a sister." Now when you ask him what he is going to name his sister, he says "chocolate." I guess she is also going to be coming out of his nose in a few days too (ouch). Oh the things they come up with.

I think he is going to be a super big brother and is already excited to buy the baby a doggie just like his favorite doggie. Believe me, when we find out what we are having, we'll either be getting another blue doggie or a pink one from big brother Grant!

Another Project Completed!

Since my one great amoire find this summer at a neighbors garage sale, I have kind of been obsessed with finding inexpensive furniture and refinishing it. Most recently I realized that Grant's book collection was starting to take over the house and I needed a place to store all these books....so I scoured craigslist and finally found two book cases that are both about 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide. I couldn't pass them up considering that they were only $15 for both of them! Here is what they looked like when I brought them home:

They were painted a blue color and pretty beat up. I sanded them a little, cleaned them with some TSP and went to town painting. Lucky for me we had a few nice days and I was able to do quite a bit of it out in the driveway. And of course with my respirator on (yes, mothers I was wearing it at all times)!!! Now I am only finished with one of them, but it turned out really cute and looks great in Grant's playroom and most importantly it holds LOTS of book. Here is what the one I have completed looks like:

The red in the picture is actually not really this bright. With some distressing and cute new knobs from Anthropologies it is a fun, inexpensive addition to the playroom. Below are the other pieces that I have refinished!

The armoire, which was a cream color and two pine colored nightstands!

A Landmark Day!

Ok, so most of you who will be reading this blog know that we are expecting a little Baby K in late August! Today marks the end of my first trimester….I am so happy to get to this point. Tomorrow we have an ultrasound and I am sure I will be able to rest at ease even more when we see that little one wiggling around in there. I find it hard to believe that the baby is now the size of a lime with lots of working parts. Aside from being super sick with colds and an ear infection, I am feeling great. I consider my lack of morning sickness my trade off for it always taking so long for me to get pregnant….

Grant is getting super excited to be a big brother. He thinks that he has a baby sister in his belly and that it is good for her when he eats cereal. He also thinks that my baby will come out of my nose. OUCH! I am sure as my belly starts getting bigger he will begin to wonder more and more about the sibling that will be coming into his life soon.

Speaking of belly getting bigger….today I pulled out my maternity clothes from when I had Grant. Aside from being mostly out of style, they are the wrong season. Grant was a December baby (burr….) and this next one is an August baby (sizzle…) I have winter maternity clothes that are huge on me now and super small summer maternity clothes that I can’t imagine fitting me late in pregnancy. So looks like I will be heading out to work on my maternity wardrobe soon. Twist my arm!