He Crawled Out of His Crib...Time for "Big Boy" Bed

Last Friday, Grant did not really care to take a nap (shocker). I told him that he could lay in bed with me and take a nap with Mommy (shocker, I wanted one...haha). Anyway, after he played around on the bed for twenty minutes and the negotiations were not going as planned, I put him back in his crib. Grant quickly let me know that this was not what he wanted. I believe the screaming involved something about, "I play games with cars, NOW!" Gee, so demanding for such a young guy.

I went and layed back down and listened through the monitor until I fell asleep (a little noise never prevents me from sleeping). I was startled to wake up and find that I was hearing footsteps in the monitor. Then suddenly, I heard someone pick up the monitor and throw it. What was going on? Did one of the dogs get into Grant's room? Oh, they are going to be in such trouble...wait, that doesn't sound like the dogs on the pergo floor. Could it be? He did climb out of Chloe's pack-n-play in NJ twice in one night.

Yes, Grant had crawled out of his bed and he was even carrying a couple of his stuffed animals, too. So, I am not sure who escaped first, Grant, the puppy or his duckie that he was carrying. However, this was made clear: 1. He wasn't tired and didn't want a nap. 2. Time to move onto the toddler bed. and 3. He isn't a baby anymore??

So, that night Scott reluctantly made his crib into a toddler bed. We were scared and worried how this thing would work out. That night he went to bed fine (no problems). Same with Saturday and Sunday, but we didn't nap him any of these aforementioned days. So, that leaves us with Monday.

As Scott left for work today, he said, "Good luck with the nap." I said, "Thanks, I'll need it. But I have a plan, I am going to take him to the park and let him run and play for hours, then maybe shop and then home to nap." He agreed that was a good plan (well as good as any). So, I will say this...the boy fell asleep easily today and obviously like his big boy bed and his big boy pillow that Aunt Christi gave him (thanks). Oh, the dogs will never give up their naps (as you can see). So, while my house is quite and everyone is napping, I sit on a computer sharing it with my friends and family. Love!!

NYC and NJ

I would try to post a description of our week, but my friend Shannon that we stayed with did such a good job that I am going to piggyback on her blog. So, please visit her site to hear of all the adventures we had in NYC and NJ!!! You can click on the link that is entitled, "All About Chloe." WE HAD A GREAT TIME AND OWE MANY THANKS TO SHANNON AND HER FAMILY.

Are Naps a Thing of the Past?

Well, the child that is golden is tarnishing a bit. I have had some problems with naptime and bedtime from the Grantster. I know some of it is my fault because of the inconsistent routine we've had since school has been out. However, this child always dealt well with sleeping (all of you know that)!! So, know he is showing some signs of independence and has decided that he would rather "pay rike now" ("play right now"), then nap. Interesting a child that would rather play than sleep. Okay, I guess it is understandable, but Mommy needs a nap, too. I can't give up naptime or extend bedtime (for my sanity). I hope all the people that are going on the trip next week (to New Jersey/New York) are reading this and preparing for the Grantito!! The Grantinator!! The Grantster!!! The Gman!!!

Okay, I resend my comment, but am publishing this post anyway. I would like all of you to know he took his normal two-hour nap today and only cried for the first two or three minutes. That is pretty good!!! I cannot complain. I hope it remains this easy.

Happy Birthday, Happy 4th of July and Happy Anniversary!

As most of you know, the 4th of July is a big celebration to our family. Scott and I were married six years ago on that date and it is the birth of our child and nation!! Wow! We always have a lot to celebrate. However, this year it was quite different from our child's first birthday party. I did basically what the books called for us to do...invite two people (one child for every year your child is old). So, we kept it small and that was nice. No big, fuzzy Elmo or face-painting clown this year.

We started around 2pm and most people went swimming. Then Grandpa Gary cooked up some burgers and hot dogs on the grill. Then we had ice cream cake made specially by Aunt Kris! Grant opened his gifts and really got stuck after the first one because Aunt Debbie had so many cars in it!! He couldn't get his mind off of those cars! Well, that is until Granma and Grandpa brought out his '56 Chevy car they bought him. We had a great time and would like to thank everyone who came and shared our special day with us!

Car, car, cars, car?, Car!!, car

Grant is OBSESSED with...you guessed it, CARS!! He will walk up to anyone (including his pediatrician) and offer a car. He loves "riding n car" because guess what else is on the road, "MORE CARS!!" Now, we all know if you capitalize all the letters in a word then you must shout the word when reading it. I want to make sure you get the full effect of Grant and CARS! Anyway, we had to go take him to see the Cars movie. So, the above picture is the family taking him on the Sunday before his second birthday to see the movie Cars. He didn't want to have this picture taken because he saw a car video game in the lobby and needed to go investigate the steering on the machine.

He didn't car for the long previews, but really liked the movie!! The movie is about two hours long and he made it through. If you haven't seen it, it is really cute!

No, I don't want to swim...really?

As you know, Grant is a two-year old (as of Tuesday)!! However, he practiced his "two-year old" powers a few days before officially turning two. My dad, Grandpa Bill, bought Grant a wading pool that has a lot of fun blow-up toys on it. Scott and I were super excited to get it hooked up and see all the fun our son would have with it. Grant seemed excited, too!! The operative word there is "seemed." Anyway, we got it hooked up (we meaning Scott) and went out with video camera, digital camera, and chairs...we were ready for some fun!! Grant said, "No!" So, we tried forcing the issue. Just a word of advice to anyone who's child is going to turn two, DON'T FORCE THE ISSUE! When your two-year old says, "NO!" They mean it and will stick to this decision no matter what.

Okay, so after five (which seemed like 30) minutes passed by, we said, "okay, forget the pool, we are going to Costco." Scott turned the water off, so the pool no longer had the shooting water and headed inside. Guess who jumped in the pool demanding, "water go, water go!!" What? Is it true? Our easy-going son has become demanding?? Scott and I are literally in shock at this point and out of sheer excitement we turn the water on (or as Grant says we made the "water go"). All were happy and pictures were taken. So, thanks Grandpa Bill for the pool it is a success with Grant and Lola (as you can see).

Boys, Birthdays and Buddies!!!

We celebrated Martin Michael and Grant's birthdays at Disneyland on Martin Michael's actual birthday (last Thursday). Diane, MM, Gman and myself hung out for most of the day and then Aunt Kris met us in the evening.

First, Diane had not been to Disneyland in 22 years!! MM had never been to Disneyland (in his two years of life...lol). So, Grant and I had to "show them the ropes." It was fun! We started the day with cupcakes as you can see in the picture above. I asked Grant what he thought about the cupcakes and he said, "GooDD!!" He likes to put emphasis on the "D."

Then, we went into the section that has the Carousel!! It was fun. All four of us rode the horses!! They play the music from Mary Poppins and it reminds me of the scene where they are riding a carousel and the horses take off. I love that movie!! MM didn't want to get off of the horse, but was easily convinced when he saw the Dumbo ride.

MM wanted to go on the Dumbo ride next. This is where elephants fly you in a circle and you can control whether the elephant is up or down. The line was not too bad and we had a great time riding it. MM was not as happy with the ride as he was when he requested it. It was a little frightening for him. Gman had been on it with Aunt Tracy and Aunt Lisa, so he was use to it.

Next, we decided to make a pit stop and grab a soda. We then went to Toontown!! That is where the boys wore themselves out! They played at Goofy's house and we went on the Roger Rabbit cars ride. Now, the Roger Rabbit ride was alright, but not worth the 1 hour and 15 minute wait with two, two-year olds!! After that ride, we went to Goofy's house and let the boys play on a jungle gym type play area. Then, the boys wanted to go into their strollers and both fell asleep within ten minutes of us walking to the other theme park (California Adventure).

Our little troopers were asleep!!! Yeah, Diane and I decided to take advantage and grab a bite to eat while they slept. Oh, the joys of motherhood. We sat and ate nachos while the boys woke up slowly. Aunt Kris came and joined us for the second half of our big day.

We went to the Bug's Land area (named after A Bug's Life). It is cute and as you can see the boys enjoyed the rides and the water in this area. Both boys were hesitant of the water area at first, but once they realized it wasn't going to hurt them...they went wild! They had big cylinders that had water coming down and the boys stood touching it. They also had water coming down on them and squirting at them from all directions. After we changed our clothes, we headed to the rides. They rode another ride like Dumbo and a catepillar ride (it's like a train ride).

Next, was the Electric parade. At this point it is nearly 9 pm and we had been there since 1 pm. So, the boys were exhausted but mesmerized by the lights. The Electric Parade is so neat to see. The parade is about half an hour long and all lights, music and people dancing. It was funny to watch them react to it. After the Electric Parade, we were walking out of the California Adventure park and watching the fireworks!! Aunt Kris and I went back to Disneyland to pick up a hat she needed to get and Diane and MM headed home!!

I can gladly say that we all had a GREAT time and I am sure Martin Michael was as worn out as Grant the next day, too!! Happy Birthday, boys!