Random pics

Here are a few random pics I don't think I've posted on here before. Grant is a funny boy. I wonder where he gets a lot of his ideas.

He loves to play/help with the dishes. One day before I knew it, he was sitting on the door to the dishwasher. He likes to take things in and out of the racks, which makes actually doing the dishes very difficult. But it is cute.

Falling asleep in his carseat, of course holding one of his favorite things-a toy car! On road trips, he will point out the window to EVERY single car he sees, and say "ca! ca! ca!" He LOVES cars.

A few weekends ago, we were in Houston looking at houses. Grant got to play with his cousin Eli! Grant was of course trying to steal all of his toys. Poor Eli. It's pretty adorable seeing them interact now that they are able to do similar things. :)

Grant loves to Swiffer, either with the sweeper or the duster! He sees it and runs over to grad it and will carry it around with him, and sort of try to mimic us using it.

We are getting further into the tantrum stage. When we tell him no or when he doesn't get his way, he will plop on the floor or throw himself down and make a pouty face and cry. The littlest things can do this so you really never know what you are in for day by day.

Grant is also an expert at knowing what women's fashions look good on him! haha. He cannot leave stacks of clean laundry alone for the life of him.

Well that's a peek into some random stuff around our house lately. :)

Starting a new chapter

It's interesting how life can change so much from one small event. A few months ago, we had no idea what life had in store for us. We knew that James would be graduating with his Master's of Accountancy in December but beyond that was anyone's guess. James decided that he would like to work at one of the Big 4 accounting firms to gain experience as an auditor. He really wanted to learn from the experts and start his career strong. But it is not easy to find a great job in this economy so I was very worried about what would happen (obviously, since I worry about everything).

But around late July/early August, we talked with some friends of ours that worked at one of the firms and they offered to pass along his resume. From there, James had a phone interview which was actually pretty short. We waited several days to find out if he would be formally interviewed. We found out that he would be going up with a small group of students (mostly wanting to be interns) to be interviewed at the firm office in Houston. It went really well and James learned a lot about the company and really liked it. A few days later James heard that he was being offered a position beginning in January! It was exceptional news and we were elated.

I want to express how grateful we are for this opportunity. I hope what I say next makes some sort of sense. We really feel that it is a tremendous blessing in our lives and we feel like the hand of the Lord was definitely in this process. From being able to register for the appropriate courses and getting certain transfer classes accepted, to placing someone in our path who could help us get a foot in the door, and simply the availability of the position (most people don't start this job in January, usually it is in August). It just seemed like everything really fell into place and it was a great reminder for me on how merciful the Lord really is. It happened too perfectly to be the result of our own doing. Yes, we worked hard to get James through school and made a lot of sacrafcies to do it in the way that we did. Yes, he did well in his classes. Yes, he is capable and has a variety of work experience. And just like with anything in life--the Lord does bless us for our hard work and obedience and in some small way we "deserve" it.

But then there is the other side, where essentially we are all indebted to the Lord for the amazing gifts He has given us and some of the amazing things that happen in life are just plain above and beyond what we REALLY deserve. And He does it because He loves us. Sometimes He witholds opportunitites and blessings for the RIGHT time so that we can fully appreciate them (so that means sometimes we are living righteously and are good people but that doesn't always mean we get what we want). I believe that is the case with us. We have waited for this moment for James to find something he loves and to really begin his career and now that we are finally done with school I honestly do feel like we appreciate this job offer more than we would have if we had taken a different journey.

We realize how important and what a blessing it is to have a job that you enjoy, in a promising field, that can provide and support your family, especially in the current state of the economy. So we truly are grateful. This is more than we could have hoped for and is exactly perfect for our family. So we are approaching our upcoming move to Houston with a lot of excitement and joy. That's not to say that we won't miss our family and friends here in Corpus. We really will. This is the only place we have lived during our married lives, where I earned my Master's, where I had my REAL first job and learned so much, the only Church ward we have attended as a married couple and learned a ton serving others in various capacities, the place where our first child was born, where he learned to do so many things, with amazing people that have been by our side through all of these exciting events. Change is difficult for me and now is no exception. But I can honestly say that I am a person that likes and wants to keep in touch with people. So take me up on that! Call me! Email me! Invite yourself to our house for a visit! We would LOVE to have you (unless you are some freaky stranger reading this, haha)! We really won't be that far. :)

With that said...we are going to build a house! We've done a ton of research on home buying in the Houston area and the benefits and disadvantages of all of the options available to us, and we got a really good feeling about this particular neighborhood we visited. After all of our searching we just kept going back to it. We prayed about everything and felt that we would be very happy in this area and it would be okay to go forward with it. Buying and building a house is a HUGE and scary commitment! I still wonder if we are crazy but we signed the contract yesterday to build the house. We picked out our floorplan and the lot. I LOVE the lot! It is one of the reasons we fell in love with the neighborhood. A lot of the new developments in the area don't have too many trees because obviously they cut them down to build houses. But this neighborhood has a wooded area that is designated to NOT be built on. Originally there were not any lots open by the trees, but when we visited yesterday, some had become available so we were able to snag one! The trees are technically not on our property but it means that we will have privacy and NEVER have neighbors behind us. Here is what our lot looks like:

Yay for trees! And here is the floorplan we have picked out! James and I had a few different ideas on what we wanted and thought would be best for our long-term plans and we finally agreed on this:

We will get to pick out everything in the next few weeks...the floors, cabinets, colors...everything! THAT is the part I am VERY excited about! We will post more pics as things come along. :)

We have a toddler!

I haven't updated in a while about Grant, his milestones, and things that he likes to do these days.  Our little boy is growing up right before our eyes.  He'll always be my baby but it's crazy to also say he is a toddler now!

He is now 20 months old and I swear that he gets cuter (at least in my eyes) every day.  It seems like there is constantly something new he is doing or learning that adds another dimension to his personality and unique quirks.  We love anticipating what he will do next and it just seems like things get more and more fun the more interactive he gets.  He is at such a fun age. 

Here are some of the highlights:

Talking/Communicating

• His vocabulary has been slowly growing the past 10 months.  Recently, he has really started picking up on more words.  dog (da), duck (du), ball (baw), baba, baby (gi-gi...no clue why, but that's how he says it!), car (caw), book, go, no, good job (gu-ja), Grant (gan), cow, pig (pi), hippo (po), O's (cheerios), panda (anda, or, da), cheese, and finally, today, he sad MAMA several times!  He has had trouble with the M sound until now, it suddenly has clicked!  It is so heartwarming to finally hear him say mama!
• He is VERY good at pointing to what he wants, and he will usually say "Ah ah ah" when he wants something.  He will go stand by the fridge if he wants milk.
• He shakes his head yes and no ("yes" headshake is new, about a week ago he started doing it when we asked him if he wanted ice cream!)
• He had learned several animal sounds.  He knows monkey (m-m-m), dog (he pants---hehe), cow (mmmmm), and elephant (he makes a really high pitched eeeeeeeeee sound).  He also likes to line them up.

• He will try to have a conversation with you (in his own words)
• Can point to several body parts (head, hair, eye, nose (he likes to stick his finger up his nose, LOL), mouth, ear, hand, foot, and belly button)
• Will give kisses (opens his mouth and leans forward on your cheek, too cute).
• Loves to laugh.  Will mimic laughing of others, even the TV, and he will laugh when people dance!

Moving/Running

• He practically runs everywhere, he is very fast!
• He is a pro at climbing up the stairs (but is too scared to go down)
• Learned how to climb out of the bathtub (James was surprised when he was getting ready one morning to see a naked baby running up to him!  haha)
• He LOVES to be chased.  He thinks it's so funny and could do it for hours.

Activities

• LOVES to wear shoes.  He will bring them to us when he sees them so we can put them on.
• Sometimes he tries to put on other people's shoes

• Likes to play with pots and pans.  He will get ALL of them out.

• Has learned to color within the past month.  He likes to take the crayons out of the box and then put them back in, over and over.  And makes cute little scribbles.
• He LOVES baby Einstein movies and knows how to turn on the iPad and TV (scary, lol)
• Still enjoys pulling all of the laundry out of the baskets and putting it on his head

• LOVES CARS!!!  He holds them, carries them around, pushes them everywhere, lines them up, makes a vroom sound when they "go," and even likes to hold one in his hand while he goes to sleep.

• Will sometimes hide under blankets
• Loves to close doors.  It's almost like an obsession.
• Loves to take baths.  He will run over to the bathtub and stand next to it and point inside to tell us he wants to take a bath.  Sometimes he will try to climb in!

• Loves to run around and play in water

• Likes to play with hangers
• Likes to throw things (including food)
• Likes to sit/stand ON TOP of things

Preferences/Quirks

• Throws tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants
• He has become a VERY finicky eater.  It is very difficult to get him to eat a variety of foods.  He absolutely loves french fries (and has learned to dip them in ketchup), ice cream, and pizza (just like his mommy!)
• When he gets tired, he will get destructive and try to grab everything he knows he's not supposed to
• Still won't go to sleep on his own, we have to put him in the crib and he cries himself to sleep.  It usually only takes a few minutes, and he mostly sleeps through the night.
• Wakes up grumpy, but is usually happy the rest of the time.
• Likes to put things on his head

Other Cuteness:

 

We love our little boy!

Sweet Moments

There are few things sweeter than being a part of a life changing experience, whether that be in your own life or that of others. In July I got to meet my newborn nephew, Liam!

 He was so tiny and cute!

 Proud mommy!

Aunt Karyn and Liam! 

It was so great getting to finally meet him.  I forgot how tiny newborns are.  It seems like ages since Grant was that little.  Time really does fly and you hardly seem to notice how much they've grown and changed until you get to take a look back.  Grant and I went over to help Pat and Mel home from the hospital and settle in.  I was so glad we could be there.  It felt so special to hold such a brand new little angel.

We also had the chance to attend the wedding for some family friends of the Gardiners.  It was a beautiful ceremony.  The reception was held in downtown San Antonio in the St. Anthony hotel.  I really loved that part, because that is where my Nana and Grandpa had their wedding reception around  60 years ago!  It was kind of like part of me could go back in time and imagine what it might have been like for them.

 Congrats to Amy and Elias!

The beautiful San Antonio temple

The whole hotel was beautiful and had so much history. We took a little tour around and took a few pictures while we let Grant explore a little.
 

What a great couple of fun filled weekends in San Antonio.  Memories to treasure.

4th of July

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
~The United States Declaration of Independence

We had a really awesome 4th of July! That morning we went to a pancake breakfast at Church and ate yummy food with friends, sang patriotic songs, and said the Pledge of Allegiance. I love the 4th of July. It is one of my favorite holidays. I love celebrating America and all of the freedoms we are blessed with. It is a pleasure to recognize our country's independence.

That evening my sister came into town to visit and we all went downtown to the Texas State Aquarium to watch the fireworks over Corpus Christi Bay. We just became members of the Aquarium so we were able to attend the event for free! We ended up getting great seats, thanks to some friends that we ran into who happened to be there too. We were right near the edge of the water with a perfect view of the USS Lexington (where the fireworks were being shot from). We ate snacks and had fun laughing and talking while waiting for the fireworks to start.

It was so beautiful! It looked like the fireworks were coming right at us and they were huge! Of course pictures could never do it justice. Real life stuff just can't compare to any kind of TV or movies! It felt so nice to be enjoying the outdoors.

Grant stared at the fireworks for about 10 seconds and then started crying. We were trying to clap and say "yay" to make him realize it was a happy and good thing instead of scary...haha. I'm sure we looked way cool while we were doing that. I think the loudness scared him.

So we passed him around until he felt comforted and then he sat in daddy's lap and quietly watched the rest of the fireworks in amazement.

I loved seeing his expressions. He started getting this cute little grin and gleam in his eyes during the show. I probably watched Grant more than the fireworks! His reaction made me so happy. I love experiencing life through his eyes, it makes everything so much more beautiful and special.

Of course he did not let go of his car the entire time! I love his little quirks. :)

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th!

"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more." 
~John Adams, in a letter to his wife Abigail

Our Water Baby!

We've had the opportunity to go to the beach twice this week. We went on Saturday when my mom was visiting and also Tuesday while my sister was visiting. I wanted each of them to see Grant's reaction to the water. He hadn't gone swimming in the ocean since last year, and he didn't really love it last year. But now that he is a little older, he really enjoys water and swimming now (and playing in the sand!) so I was hoping for a really fun experience at the beach.

We had a great time!

Here is Grant hanging with Nana!  He loved all the attention that she gave him during her visit.

Here is the cute new hat I found for Grant for only $3!  Of course he kept taking it off and wouldn't wear it, but we tried!

Grant's cute little belly is poking out because his swimsuit is just a tad too small.  He wore the same one last year!  It was pretty big on him last year (even though it was the smallest one we could find).  So hey, at least we save a little money, lol.

Grant was mesmerized by the sand.  You could tell he loved the texture.  I love that sweet little grin on his face.

The Vance's were also there!  Benson wasn't sure if he liked the water or not but you can tell from his cute smile that he still had fun.

When Karyn and I took Grant to the beach yesterday, he got to try out the new beach toys that Nana bought for him before she left.  Wow, they were a BIG hit!  He loved moving the sand around and filling the buckets up and then dumping them out.  I think he could have done that for HOURS!

Grant was so engrossed with his buckets that he didn't notice that he got buried in the sand!  No worries, it only took him 2 seconds to get out.

Fun in the sun!  Grant was braver in the water this time than when we went over the weekend.

Grant and Aunt Karyn!

And here is a cute little video of Grant playing in the water.  He got so happy when the waves would come up and hit him.  It really is the best feeling to watch your child enjoy life and be happy...and everything just seems so much better experiencing it through their eyes.