The Airplane Museum!

So Grant has really been into airplanes lately and I've been wanting to do something special just for him so on Sunday we went to the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte. MiMi kept Colton so that we could just focus on Grant for the afternoon. It was a huge airplane hanger that was filled with different airplanes and helicopters, some of which you could sit it. They also had a huge exhibit about the Miracle on the Hudson, which was really neat to see. Grant did think the airplanes were cool and really enjoyed it for about the first 30 mins and then he was ready to go buy one of the toy airplanes we saw in the gift shop when we came in...it's difficult to have a long attention span at 3:) We did have a fun afternoon and I think Grant's favorite thing was getting 2 new toy airplanes!

Sitting in a Cessna airplane

The US Airways Airbus A320 that landed on the Hudson River

Checking out the cockpit on a Boeing

Learning about a Phantom fighter jet

Landing gear on a Boeing 747

Happy Birthday Dad!

Brandon joined me in being 1 year closer to our mid-30s and turned 33 on Saturday! He and I went out to eat on Friday night for his birthday, which was great. MaMaw and PaPaw kept the boys and Grant had a really fun time playing with them! We had a low key family party on Saturday and had lots of family time this weekend:)

Happy Birthday Dad!

Really Growing

A few Colton updates: He seems to have hit a growth spurt in the past couple of weeks and is really growing! He has moved to his 3 month clothes and is now eating 5 1/2 ozs six times a day. The best news...since last Thursday he has been going 9 hours between night time feedings from around 9:30 pm to 6:30 am which has been awesome! I really hope he keeps this up when I go back to work...which is in just over 1 week:( I have been soaking in and taking advantage of every single minute I have left before I have to go back to work!

He really loves this seat. He gets so excited looking at the animals and trying to reach for them!

Colton also loves watching the lights and music and batting at the toys on his play mat.

He's starting to get a little belly!

He still has some crazy hair! This look cracks me up:)

I also took him for a walk this week using our Ergo baby carrier for the first time. He loved looking around at everything and was definitely taking it all in!

Grant's Summer

So Grant has had a fun summer so far at school this year. He has still gone to school most days this summer because we really wanted to keep him in his routine and because the summers at his school are almost like camp. They have a schedule of fun activities they do each day. I also wanted to have one-on-one bonding time with Colton, just like I had with Grant, and I really have been thankful for that time. Grant has stayed home with us a few times, but honestly I think he has more fun at school because of all of the cool activities they do:)

So what are some of the fun activities Grant has done at school this summer? They have different activities scheduled each day and some of them have included: crafts, bible stories, music class, science experiments, making snow cones, making trail mix and watching a movie, water day, ice cream truck (Grant loves to get a popsicle from the ice cream truck), making tie dye t-shirts, field day, bringing your favorite inside and outside toy, making ice cream sundaes, and gymnastics class. Grant has loved the gymnastics class they have done this summer! They do tumbling, balance beam, trampoline and other gym activities that he loves. He really has had a great time and I love that he has been involved with all of these activities at school!

He does get excited when Colton and I pick him up each day and Grant loves spending the evenings relaxing and watching a little tv, spending time with his brother, playing with all of his toys and playing outside. I've been trying to take Grant on an evening walk each night if it isn't too hot or raining.

Grant has also loved starting swimming lessons again and he has been doing that for the past few Saturdays. We have also planned other fun family activities and trips like going to the lake and the Great Wolf Lodge, birthday parties, and family/friend time so it really has been a pretty busy summer for Grant.

When school starts back at the end of August, Grant will move to Ms. Crystal's class (the 3 year old class) and they will have more structured activities and of course still plenty of time for play.

All in all, I think Grant has had a pretty exciting summer so far!

Grant loves this hat that his dad gave him. He says he is going to grow up and be a power man too:)

Last Wednesday, Grant stayed home with Colton and I for the day. We played games, popped popcorn and watched the Winnie the Pooh movie...it was a fun day with my two favorite boys!

Spending time with mom

Happy Birthday Hannah!

Hannah turns 4 on Tuesday and she had her birthday party at a park in Morganton on Saturday. It was a little too hot for Colton so Brandon stayed home with him and Grant and I took a mom/son trip to Morganton for the party. Unfortunately, we had some major issues trying to get there! We hadn't been on Hwy 321 very long and suddenly traffic stopped, as in not moving at all! We sat there for about 30 mins and no cars moved. Grant had to pee and I was starting to freak out a little because I wasn't sure what was going on, we were going to be really late for the party and I hadn't had my usual morning coffee and needed caffeine bad! There just happened to be a police car a few cars back and people started getting out of their cars and walking around and some were talking to him. Everyone then started driving in the grass, the wrong way up the highway in order to cross over to the other side of 321. I saw a few cars safely do this and decided we would do it too. We finally got moving and we ended up having to go all the way through Cherryville to get to Morganton because of all of the traffic.  I still don't know what was causing all of the traffic, but I assumed it was a car accident that had all of the lanes blocked. It ended up taking us about 2 1/2 hours to make what should have been a 1 hour drive! We finally made it to the party...1 1/2 hours late.

Grant was actually great during the entire trip even though there was lots of drama trying to get to the party. He did have a great time once we finally got there and we went over to Kelli's so that he and Hannah could play more after the party. It was really hot, but the park was perfect for the party. They had a nice covered area for all the festivities, lots of playground equipment and a big water area for the kids. Luckily, the rain also held off until the party ended.  Hannah got lots of fun toys and the kids really had a great time. I can't believe how grown up Hannah has become!! She is such a loving and smart little girl and I am so proud that she is my niece. I love that Grant and Hannah have such a close relationship.

All of the kids had lots of fun playing at the playground and in the water.

 She had a Dora party and birthday cake.

 Yummy!

 Cute:)

 Hannah's favorite gift...a bike from MiMi and GiGi.

 Love this pic! They really do love each other so much!

Happy 4th Birthday Hannah! We Love You!

Look at that plane!

On Friday evening, we took a family trip to the airport overlook to see the airplanes take off and land. We had taken Grant one other time and he has been asking to go back. It's a pretty cool thing to watch and something about it is relaxing plus I've been wanting to do some other special activities just for Grant this summer. We had a really fun night:)

We were all upstairs in Grant's room before we left and decided to take a few brother pics:)

I love that Colton's little arm is resting on Grant's leg.

Notice that Mickey also had to be in the pictures. Grant sleeps with him every night.

Sweet:)

Watching the landing...

and taking off...

Dad and his boys

Two Months!!

Colton turned 2 months old on Wednesday and he had his 2 month well check yesterday.  I know I am always saying this, but I can't believe he is already 2 months old...I feel like time goes by even more quickly with the second one! Colton weighed 12 lbs 7 ozs (50th percentile), was 23 inches long (50th percentile), and his head was 14.5 inches (50th percentile). He is a growing boy and right where he should be with his growth:)  His pediatrician said he was "perfect" and he is right on track with all of his developmental milestones. I can't say how blessed I feel to have two happy and healthy boys!

He was smiling and so happy during his well check right up until the dreaded shots! He had to get 3 and he absolutely screamed and I was fighting back tears the entire time:( He slept more and was a little more fussy yesterday after the shots, but has been back to his normal, happy self today.

A little info about Colton at 2 months:

• He is eating 5 ounces 6-7 times a day and generally eats every 3 hours during the day. At night, he is typically going 7-8 hours between night time feedings!
• He wears size 1 diapers and 0-3 months clothes.
• He smiles all of the time now and seriously has one of the cutest smiles I have ever seen!
• He is making more and more baby sounds. His favorite sound is "agoo."
• He is getting even stronger with holding up his head.
• He loves his pacifier and recently has started sucking on his hands more.
• He loves looking at fans, lights and music and his play mat.
• He has started being more interested in his brother and watching him do things.

I have loved spending so much one-on-one time with him for the past 2 months and I am so thankful that I have had this time just like I did with Grant. I really can't believe I have to go back to work in less than 3 weeks! We actually went to my work this week for a visit and it was great to see everyone and have everyone meet Colton. I know he is going to be in good hands at daycare and will have his big brother there to check on him during the day as well, but it is going to be just as difficult to leave him as it was when I had to leave Grant. Ultimately, I know it will all be fine, but that definitely doesn't make it any easier! I am going to take advantage of every moment of these last 3 weeks at home with Colton and also plan some fun activities with Grant!

Still learning to balance:)

 He loves looking at all of the bright colors and batting at the toys.

 Such a happy baby!

 I can't get enough of this smile and laugh!

 So adorable:)

Ready to swim!

Grant started swimming lessons this past Saturday at the Y. He is in the preschool lessons now which means he is in the pool with the instructor only and not us. We were a little worried with how he would do with that and he was definitely very clingy to the instructor to begin with, but then he got more and more comfortable. He ended up really loving it and we were so proud of him! He will have classes through the end of August and hopefully we will be closer to having a little swimmer by then:)

Getting ready to go. He picked out his favorite batman swim trunks:)

He was very excited to carry this backpack with his towel and change of clothes.

These aren't the best pictures because they were taken through a glass window where parents could watch. Grant started off by almost choking his instructor:)

He definitely got more comfortable with time!