Where's Reid-o?

You may have noticed that Reid isn't in many of the photos from Grant's early days. It isn't that he's not interested in Grant. Quite the contrary actually. Unfortunately, Reid has had a bad respiratory bug for the past several days, so we've tried to keep the germs isolated from the baby, which means Reid has had to keep a distance. He's not so happy about this, as he assures us he's fine (followed by cough, cough, cough.) We're hoping the illness takes a hike soon, so Reid can spend more time with Grant as he's been wanting to do. Here's hoping the week ahead is a healthy one for all!

Read All About It!

Once upon a time...

there was a big brother who liked

to read stories, especially

to his little brother.

Snooze

Grant's favorite activity at this point is sleeping, and it's our favorite, too! There's just something about watching a baby sleep so peacefully ... and even better is holding that sweet little sleeper. Below are a few photos we captured of King Snoozer this week.

Fast asleep on Mama.

Cuddled up to Dad.

Tuckered out!

And just how are the nights going? We're happy to report that after a few restless nights, Grant is shifting his wide-awake stretches from the night to day. He's been sleeping much better ... and Mom and Dad are, too!

Happy 1 Week!

Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday, dear Grant.

What a week it's been with you!

Hoopster

Go, Reid, Go!

Papa enjoys the game of basketball and has been teaching the boys more about it. He's taken Luke to two Air Force basketball games, and he enrolled Reid in a basketball clinic at the YMCA. This 6-session clinic wrapped up today with a scrimmage. Papa and Dad went to cheer on our little hoopster Reid.

Hustle down the court, boys!

Reid with Coach Ryan

Hey, Baby!

Grant's first week in the "real world" is going well. He's eating like a champ. Sleeping ... now that's another story. Perhaps it's because he came into this world in the middle of the night, but Grant's days and nights are a bit confused. We've had a couple of extra restless nights, but hopefully, we'll be getting more on track now. It's all just part of the early days! He's also starting to be awake for longer stretches, which the big brothers enjoy. Here are more photos from Grant's first week ... we're loving every moment with him here!

Biggest holding littlest. Sweet boys.

4 days old. Serious business!

Doggone cute!

What's in a Name?

Jami crafted these letters for the nursery wall

using some cardstock and scrapbook paper.

Bird paper clips hang the letters on a string.

Many people have asked about the significance of the baby's name: Grant David Leahy. Here's the inside scoop. We like strong, one-syllable boy names. So when deciding on this baby's name, we opted for a name that would follow that same pattern and coordinate well with Luke & Reid. The name Grant actually means "great" or "tall." For middle names, all three boys have family names: Luke James (after both grandfathers), Reid Nelson (Jami's maiden name), and now Grant David (Scott's father's middle name was David and we have several other relatives with that name).

Lucky #7

Today marked the final birthday celebration for our January birthday crew. Luke turned 7! The birthday boy enjoyed a day full of fun surprises like...

• Waking up to open presents, including a new bike (complete with handbrakes & gearshifts!)
• Taking rice krispie treats for his classmates
• Having a special guest (Dad) for lunch in the school cafeteria
• Enjoying a birthday dinner of pizza (his favorite!)
• Blowing out 7 candles on his Oreo cupcakes

Happy 7th Birthday, Luke!

The Early Days

Oh, we are loving every minute with sweet Baby Grant! These early days are so precious, so full of little moments. Since returning home from the hospital yesterday, we are getting into the swing of a new routine as a family of 5 ... we're happy to report all is going great! Grant is eating like a champ and sleeping well. The big brothers balance doing their own thing (mostly playing Legos and video games) with checking in on baby brother to see what he's up to (mostly sleeping). Grant does have some stretches where he's awake for about an hour, so Luke and Reid live for that time when they can entertain him ... and be entertained by the funny baby faces he makes. Scott is taking the entire week off work, so we are treasuring the extra time spent with him, too. The following photos are little snippets of our favorite moments from Days 1, 2 & 3 for Grant.

Happy Baby

The Brothers

Bright Eyes

Cuddle Time

Headed Home from the Hospital

Goofing Around

Buckled Up for the 1st Car Ride

Peaceful Moment

1st Nap in the Crib

(Love how his hair is a mohawk!)

Papa & His 5th Grandchild!

Introducing Grant David Leahy!

Grant David Leahy

Born Jan. 21, 2011

11:16 p.m.

8 pounds 11 ounces

21.5 inches long

Lots of blonde hair (and a

bit of a conehead at birth!)

Showing off his healthy lungs with a loud wail!

Time to weigh in. We had heard that babies

born at higher altitudes tend to be smaller

in size like around 6-7 lbs. Not so with Grant!

He was our biggest baby of all three boys!

A tired but very happy mama holding sweet Grant!

We had prepared ourselves for another long labor experience,

knowing that Luke's labor was 30 hours and Reid's was 20.

Grant's labor also took 20 hours.

A proud father admires his new son.

Big brothers meeting baby brother for the first time.

Our first photo as a family of 5!

A Birthday ... Then a BIRTH DAY!

All along we knew that the baby would be coming around the time of Jami's birthday on Jan. 20, but how the day played out will make #34 quite the memorable birthday! The day itself was filled with some last minute preparations for the baby ... a Wal-Mart run, some housecleaning, packing bags, etc. That evening Scott and the boys treated Jami to a nice dinner out at one of our favorite Italian restaurants called Biaggi's. It was a bit sentimental to be celebrating so many things at once on that evening ... Jami's birthday, our last dinner as a family of 4, and the anticipation of welcoming a new baby!

Jami & Scott at dinner

Our final feast as a family of 4!

After dinner we returned home for a

special birthday dessert. Why have cake when

you can celebrate with CCBs?! This dessert

was a classic at the Theta house in college ...

cookie covered ice cream balls. What a fun

surprise for this birthday!

Jami shows off her birthday present ...

a Kitchen Aid attachment for grinding sausage!

Now we can make our own Swedish sausage

and goodies for summer grilling. Can't wait!

After dinner & dessert, we took the boys over for their sleepover at Papa's house and headed into the hospital at 10 p.m. to start the induction process. Time to switch gears from one birthday ... to another BIRTH DAY!

All smiles post epidural!

Final Countdown

Thank you for all the emails, texts, and phone calls to check in with us to see if the little guy has made his debut. No baby yet! However, as of today's doctor's appointment, we have an induction scheduled for Friday, Jan. 21 ... so the final countdown is on!

The last few weeks have been filled with great anticipation. Every day Reid has asked, "Mom, is the baby coming today? I really want to meet him." Reid has been a source of daily baby belly kisses and hugs, and he can't wait to be a big brother! Luke is always Mr. Helpful, so he is sure to be our right-hand man once little brother arrives on the scene.

The room is ready, diapers are stocked, and the hospital bag is packed ... we can't wait to meet you soon, Baby Leahy!

Let the Good Times Roll

Much like October, the month of January is another big birthday month for our family! We celebrated the eldest member of the January Birthday Club this week as he turned 68 ... Happy Birthday, Papa!

We cooked up a birthday dinner at home featuring an Asian-fusion menu: chicken wontons with chili garlic dipping sauce, Thai chicken coconut soup, sesame rolls, and German chocolate cake for dessert (Papa's favorite!) We're so blessed to have Papa live right down the road and to be able to share so many fun memories with him, especially treasured days like this!

Lunch Date

Luke and his buddy Mason at lunch

Remember the good ol' days in the school cafeteria? Mom had the opportunity to share a school lunch date with big 1st grader Luke today. What a treat! Some things have changed since Mom was in school. They now get 5 entree choices, and they offer a fruit/salad bar for the kids. But some things remain the same. Corn dogs and chocolate milk remain favorites, and the cafeteria still buzzes with excitement with all those kiddos packed in there. All the first graders eat together, and they only get 20 minutes ... better eat fast! It was such fun to get a sneak peek into Luke's school routine and to chat with his friends.

Great Expectations

As our family prepares to grow from 4 to 5, we found an opportunity to have a maternity photo shoot through a MOMS Club connection. On a Sunday before Christmas, we ventured out to one of our favorite outdoor spots -- Fox Run Park -- for a photo shoot with the talented Anthony Fredrickson, whose daughter happens to be a MOMS Club friend and neighbor of ours. He's a new photographer in town and was looking to build up his portfolio with some maternity shots. The pictures he captured are a wonderful snapshot of our growing family and this joyful time in our lives!

(One of us isn't really jumping... Guess who!?)

Brotherly love.