Lego Guys

The boys LOVE to play Legos. Most mornings before school they are camped out on the floor of their room building the next great Lego creation. Reid particularly likes the Lego guys, and we have quite the village! One evening he had them all lined up and displayed on his bed. Cute!

Happy 1 Month!

What a blessed month with our Sweet Baby Grant! In his first month, he's gained over a pound and is weighing in at 9 lbs. 12 oz. (50th percentile). He's also grown an inch to 22.5 inches (90th percentile). He's now sleeping longer stretches at night and is awake for longer periods in the day. He loves to be in the center of the action, not missing a thing. We can't wait to see what next month brings!

Likes & Dislikes

Today marks 4 weeks for Mr. Grant. Over the past month, we have loved every moment of watching his little personality unfold! Here are a few fun highlights of his likes & dislikes:

Grant likes...

• Smiling, which he started on Feb. 17. He woke up from a long nap, full of smiles!
• His pacifier.
• Being swaddled.
• His swing.
• Long walks in the baby bjorn.
• Watching his big brothers' antics.
• Sleeping. After a rough first few nights home from the hospital, we got into a good sleeping routine at night, and that's continued ever since! He usually is just up once in the night to eat (sometimes twice ... but that's not often).
• Riding in the car.
• Snuggling.
• Bathtime.
• Snoring. (He's a LOUD sleeper.)

Grant dislikes...

• Waiting in the car pick-up line at Luke's school. For some reason, he thinks the car needs to be moving AT ALL TIMES and never at a standstill.
• Wet pants in the middle of the night. This has yielded some very loud wails!
• Burping. He's the slowest burper. Eventually, it happens but it takes a long time.

Just One of the Guys...

Time for Tea

On Valentine's morning, we hosted the neighborhood moms for tea time! It was wonderful to catch up -- and slow down for a bit -- over a morning of tea and treats, including heart-shaped lemon cranberry scones with creme fraiche, cucumber avocado sandwiches, lemon bars, fudge, cappuccino walnut toffee, and other yummy goodies! One joy of hosting gatherings like this is pulling out the nice dishes that don't get used nearly enough. Perhaps we'll have to make more occasions for fine china and the silver tea set! Ooh-la-la!

Rub-a-Dub-Dub

Grant's in the tub! We've been giving Grant sponge baths for some time, while we waited for his belly button to heal. This week we were all set to brave new territory into the world of tub-bathing for Baby Grant! While he would often carry on with quite a ruckus through the sponge baths, he was quite calm and content during his first real bath, never letting out a single peep. Happy baby ... happy bathtime!

"Hey, Dad. I kinda like this bigger tub."

Peeking out from the warm hooded towel!

Ready for bed in sock monkey PJs!

A little post-bath playtime!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Arrow

Reid: Mom, I think Grant's hair in the front makes an arrow.

Mom: Huh?

Reid: Right there. It is pointy and makes an arrow.

Mom: Ohhhhh, I understand. Reid, your hair is like that, too, in the front.

Reid: It is?! [Followed by Reid running to the mirror to check it out...]

And so goes the lesson of hairline formation and Widow's Peaks (which maybe we'll start referring to as the "Arrow" from now on...)

On the subject of archery, Grant has also been doing the "archer pose" often. He's really starting to stretch out those arms and legs. Here's our happy little Robin Hood!

Date Night

The big brothers have adjusted very well to having another brother around the house. We've not really seen any jealousy, and they've taken the changes all in stride. For the most part, their lives haven't changed that much since Grant is still little and doesn't interfere with their Lego-building or video-game-playing.

Mama decided to treat the older boys to a Mother/Sons Date Night! Tonight we dressed up and headed downtown for dinner at Sonterra Grill, followed by an evening at the theater. We enjoyed a fun-filled performance of Imagination Celebration's "Jumpin' Jazz: A Swingin' Jungle Tale." This kid-focused musical mash-up incorporated a chamber orchestra, singing, acting, storytelling, audience participation, and even break-dancing (our favorite part!) What a marvelous evening out on the town! Dad and Grant enjoyed their evening relaxing at home, just the two of them.

Mom & Her 2 Handsome Little Dates

Ready for the show to begin!

Afterward, we had the opportunity to mix

and mingle with the cast, including these

jungle creatures! The masks were hand-painted

and made of foam ... such incredible detail!

Brotherly Love

Now that Reid is feeling better and is over his respiratory bug, he's enjoying some sweet moments with his little brother. Today he held Grant and gave him his bottle ... and Reid even snuck in this little kiss for little bro! Melt our hearts!

Brotherly Love

It takes a Secret Agent to feed this baby

(according to Reid's shirt!)

Another Snow Day...

Another day to lounge around!

Cold ... and Finally Snow!

While the rest of the nation had massive snow, we just had cold. Crazy cold. -13 degree cold. Windchill at -42 cold. Instead of cancelling school for snow days, we had two days of school called off for extremely cold temperatures. So Mama and the cubs hibernated at home and waited for the temps to warm a bit.

The boys loungin' at home on a day off school!

A big highlight for Grant this week...

staying awake for longer stretches!

He's now awake for 90 minutes at a time,

and we love seeing his baby blues!

Here's lookin' at you, kid!

This winter has been interesting. Lots of warm temps. Not a lot of snow. Finally, it started to snow yesterday afternoon. And it has kept right on snowing. We have about 6-8 inches of snow ... and still counting. We decided to take advantage of our winter weather (finally) by hitting Toboggan Hill for a sledfest today, followed by warm drinks and treats at Starbucks.

Grant was all bundled in his winter fleece and

napped happily in the car. Mom and Dad traded

off hanging out with Grant in the car, while the

other joined the big boys for sledding.

Ready to take on Toboggan Hill!

There was so much powder that several runs

down the hill resulted in a face full of cold snow!

Mom & Reid warming up in the car!

Boys in ski bibs at Starbucks

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!