January Pictures

January came and went with relatively little fanfare. Kyle's birthday at the end of the month is always something to look forward to and we made the best of it even though he had to work part day (I convinced him to take a few hours off so we would see him) and go to class that night. January starts to get tough for us with cabin fever, but it is nothing like February! During January, Miles turned 8 months old and learned how to sit up without tipping. YAY! It is my favorite part of babyhood when total mobility has yet to come and they can sit up and be entertained with a toy for a few minutes. He also discovered his tongue (Which is apparent in about 50% of the pictures I took this month!).

For family night, we pulled out Twister (we got it for Christmas) and had a blast teaching Grant how to play. He mostly enjoyed trying different poses out and then proceeding to tell me how proud Mark (his physical therapist) would be of him for doing that stunt. This game is fabulous for his stationary skills since he is still trying to catch up in his core strength, balance, and confidence!

We are always so proud of him. This pose was especially difficult for him a few months ago and he has mastered it! We just have to remind him to lift his head up again so he doesn't pass out from his passive blood flow. Silly heart surgeries. :)

There's the tongue again. It was so fun to watch him move through that phase (and I am already sad that he has stopped doing it. Baby phases pass so quickly!).

Miles is 100% fascinated with Grant's every move and for the most part, Grant is willing to oblige my request 15x a day to go and entertain his brother while I try to get something done.

Miles is such a snuggly little guy. We absolutely love wrapping him up in a blanket and watching him just snuggle in. It never lasts for long, but he is almost always willing to oblige.

We have had to get creative with how we spend our time. Due to the really high germ levels this season, we have been forced to stay inside our little safe bubble and it has been TOUGH. I remember every year thinking that winter would never end, but this year, Grant is able to express how much he wants to get out too and it is hard to see him as cabin fevered as I already am! We thought we would have a little more freedom this winter since Grant is getting older and is getting stronger, but after lots of freedom through November and early December, Grant had caught 2 nasty viruses that lingered for WEEKS. His cardiologist noticed that his heart muscle was enlarged (don't google it... it is not a good thing!) and suspected that it was a direct result of his body still trying to kick a simple cold. He advised us to be cautious with him so his body could recover and so once again, we have been in total winter lockdown. We stay home almost 100% of the time. I try and run to the grocery store on the few nights a week that Kyle isn't in class after the kids are in bed. We alternate staying home from church with the boys and have very few "safe" places that we go. I try to arrange playdates here and there, but unfortunately most of our playmates have been sick a lot this winter too. Some of Grant's favorite activities to pass the time include building pillow castles on our bed (this is one he built while he snuggled in to watch a show in the iPad while I quickly showered.

We have been trying to do lots of sensory activities and Grant really enjoys playing in trays of beans or rice. He also had his first exposure to Jello jigglers and thought that was the best kind of building block!

Miles learned how to drink from a straw just days before turning 8 months. He was so proud of himself and his new independence!!

Miles also made a big accomplishment by finally getting transferred to sleeping in his crib! It has been set up since he was born, but we kept him in the Rock 'N Play because he slept better being upright and he felt more secure in there. I had tried multiple times to transition him into his crib, but usually a few hours into the night with him always waking up and feeling insecure would have me caving and putting him back in the beloved Rock 'N Play. Just after Christmas, I told Kyle it was time since I was worried that he was going to sit up on his own and tip out. He was finally ready for more space and within 2 days, he was exclusively in his crib. Oh happy day. Now if only I could convince him that he does not need to nurse at night and that sleeping all night is good for us all!

Grant's independence continues to amuse me. He likes to pretend he is helpless to get attention, but miraculously, he is able to climb up on chairs in the pantry to find his favorite snack while I am in the shower. I came out one morning to find him spooning peanut butter straight from the jar. He was so funny after he got busted and invited me to join him in his picnic. Just don't ask for a PBJ at our house unless you like double dipping!

Kyle and I decided that we wanted to give our bedroom a makeover with a portion of our tax return this year. Our bed was on a metal frame without a headboard and all our furniture (much like the rest of our house) is a combo of newlywed hand me downs and couches we dug out of other people's dumpsters when we were in college. We had looked for months at furniture that we liked, but never felt like we could pay the full retail price since matching furniture is so pricey! Late one night after feeling discouraged yet again because all the styles we liked were too expensive, I convinced Kyle to look at KSL classifieds. Right there on the first page was a set almost identical to the ones we had been coveting and it was in the price range I wanted. We were not planning on buying anything for several more months after we had tax return money in hand, but the price was right. Everything fell into place and we even found a woman on the classified who stages homes for a living and had the other pieces of the bedroom set we were buying up for sale as well. Kyle and my dad drove down on a Saturday and picked up all the furniture and we had the family over to help unload and set up our room that night. Miles had his hammer ready to help.

Grant was hysterical. He had his drill out and kept getting right in the middle of it all. "Hey... you guys need my help yet?" was heard over and over.

He kept busy on all of the other screws while Kyle, Spencer, and my dad did the heavy work.

It was a late night, but I LOVE the furniture set! Our room looks so much more like a relaxing retreat instead of just the thrown together clutter pile. I have been on the lookout for some bedding accents to tie it all together (we have all white bedding right now and I want to add some color pops), so when the makeover is complete, I will add some photos.