On his own two feet

Grady's new favorite skill: standing. He still needs to be held up (of course!), but he likes it when he's up on his feet looking around. He starts smiling and laughing and then he starts jumping, which might be what he actually enjoys.

He's not wearing any pants in these two pictures because I had just

finished changing his diaper and he wanted to get up!

I cropped myself out of these pictures because while

Grady looks super cute, I look super ridiculous!

A beautiful day at the beach

I'm pretty sure that we live in paradise! It's the end of September and we are hitting daily temperatures in the 20's (degrees Celsius). It was so nice out yesterday that we spent the afternoon at the beach. Sandy packed Grady in the carrier and off we went for a hike along the shoreline.

A big step (for the parents :)

First of all, Grady is feeling much better from his cold - thank goodness! On the downside, Sandy now has the cold - another sick 'baby' to take care of!

So, the "big step" mentioned in the title: last night we got a babysitter and went out to a wedding all by ourselves! It was kind of scary and we called to check in a few times, but everyone survived the night. Grady was totally fine and we had a great night out together. We ate some yummy food, chatted with our friends, and danced up a storm. Although, my favorite part of the night was coming home to our beautiful baby boy:

A "first" we were trying to avoid

Grady has his first cold and it's a doozy. He is all snotty and he keeps coughing and sneezing ... poor little guy. When he tries to eat, he spends the whole time sniffling and snorting because he can't breathe through his nose. The one good thing is that he is sleeping a lot - like two 3-hour naps a day. I'm hoping all the sleep will help his system kick this bug. I want him to feel better soon!

Bumbo!

The same friends who loaned us the Jumperoo are also letting us borrow their Bumbo chair. The Bumbo is a new fad item for babies - it's a little chair that holds the baby in a sitting position (before they can sit up on their own).

Sandy picked up the seat while we were away, so Grady got to try it for the first time yesterday. He didn't seem to mind it too much and spent a while sitting in it before wanting to do something else. I like how it holds up him like he's sitting --- it makes him look like such a big boy!

Ryder and Grady watching Sandy in the kitchen.

Big smiles for Mama!


Sitting in the chair today.

Big stretch ... starting to get tired of it.

Big yawn ... definitely tired of it!

Homecoming

Grady and I arrived home today after spending the past week in Ontario for my Grandpa's funeral. There were many sad moments, but also a lot of laughs and good times as we remembered a great man.

When Sandy picked us up at the airport today, he commented that Grady seemed to have grown and changed so much in the past five days! While we were away, Grady discovered his ears, he started blowing raspberries, he is getting better at trying to sit up, and he can lift his whole head off the ground when he is lying on his back (it looks like he is on the luge!)

Here are some new pictures of Grady in his very cute Halloween sleeper (a gift from Grandma RonaLee and Grandpa Ken).

Grady is fascinated with his feet. He spends a lot of time leaning over and trying to grab them.

Boo!

Blowing raspberries :)

Good-bye Grandpa John

This morning, my Grandpa John passed away. He was an incredible man whose kindness and generosity will always be remembered. As a grandpa, he was truly amazing. He spent so much time doing special things with us and he always let us know how important we were to him. He liked it when we would curl up with him in his big easy chair - a "little honey" on each knee - and tell him about our lives.

Grandma, Grandpa, and the three boys (mid-80's)

The Shivas Family (mid-80's)

When we were in Ontario this summer, we went to visit Grandpa at the Veteran's hospital where he spent the last few years of his life. It was really important to me that Grady got to meet Grandpa John (Grady's middle name is John - named for his Grandpa).

We love you Grandpa and we'll always miss you.

Getting to know you...

I was cleaning the bathroom, so both Grady and Ryder were hanging around outside the door. Grady thought it was pretty fun to just lie there on the floor:

Then he noticed Ryder and thought he'd try to get a closer look:

Ryder wasn't having any part of it:

Although, I think that Ryder is starting to take his role of "big brother" a little more seriously. The other day, Grady was having a nap and I couldn't find Ryder anywhere.

....until I looked underneath the crib

We're Ready!

We've been having beautiful fall weather here, but the mornings and evenings are noticeably cooler than they were in the summertime. I wanted to make sure that we were ready for Grady's first winter (warm clothes, fleece suit, mittens, and a toque), so I ordered a few things for him. The little toque and gloves arrived the other day and Grady modelled them for the camera ... I think they'll keep him pretty warm!

Brushing his teeth ...

Since Grady has two full teeth now (by "full", I mean they are all the way up through his gums and really noticeable), it's time for us to start brushing his teeth! I wouldn't have thought about it except I was reading a book that the public health nurse gave us and the book said that as soon as the baby's teeth are up, the parents need to take care of them.

After talking to a few different people (I called the public health nurse to confirm and spoke to our dentist), I bought Grady a tiny toothbrush. We are supposed to use it dry and gently scrub his two little teeth twice a day. Today was our first try and it went pretty well. At first, he didn't think much of it, but then he seemed to relax and enjoy it!

Monkey'n Around!

We call Grady "little monkey" a LOT --- he probably thinks it's his name actually! There's no real reason for it ... athough, before Grady was born, my Dad regularly commented that all babies look like chimpanzees for the first year of their life, so maybe that's why. Anyway, Grady's cute, the nickname is cute, and we like it!

This stuffed monkey was a gift from Grady's cousin, Easton (and his Aunt Christa and Uncle Darryl :) I think Grady really likes it.

I saw this fleece coat at a local store and had to buy it. It was just too perfect to pass up (The lettering says "little monkey mayhem")

In the Jumperoo!

A special moment

Today when I picked Grady up, he put his arms right around my neck and hugged me. It was an incredible feeling ... I actually teared up because it was so amazing. He may have done it before and I didn't notice or it may not have been on purpose, but either way it was definitely a special moment.

Baby Gear

Since our house is so tiny, we've been trying not to accumulate too much baby gear. Of course we have failed miserably! These tiny little people need a fair amount of "stuff". I don't know if this particular item is necessarily a need but it sure is fun for Grady!

Friends of ours loaned us this toy --- it's called a Rainforest Jumperoo. Whenever Grady jumps or plays with the toys, it lights up and plays a little jungle tune. These are pictures of his first time in it. He wasn't too sure about it at first, but now he just goes crazy in there ... jumping around and hitting the toys with his arms ... he definitely thinks it is fun.