Summer time

We are having a busy summer at the Grant house. I am still lucky enough to be staying home with the girls and I got us a little bump in our income by watching my friends Chuck and Julie's two girls, Tayia (6) and Holly (20 months). So, with 4 girls under 7 in the house I have kept busy! The girls are so great together. Josie and Tayia play together really well and have spent lots of time outside, playing with Barbies and Littlest Pet Shop. Last Friday we had a dance party with our Disney sing-a-longs. As you can see everyone really got into it!


Josie and Tayia love to help me in the kitchen this day we made some banana bread and a whole loaf was gone by the time the girls went home, but in all fairness Brian was also home and he loves banana bread.

Other than having the girls with us Monday through Friday we have been spending lots of time at the pool and taking trips to the zoo or the mall to buy clothes for my girls that are both growing like weeds! Ellie is already growing into 24 month clothes that Josie wasn't wearing until after she was 2! My poor sister-in-law Michelle can send Anya's clothes fast enough. If she doesn't slow down we will be in trouble because Anya and Ellie will be wearing the same size at the same time! We used to think Anya might catch Josie, but I think Ellie has a much better shot at catching or passing Anya. There is now only about 6 inches and 7 pounds between Josie and Ellie! That being said we marked another milestone for Josie. She grew into size 4, which for those of you who don't shop for little girls means that she is no longer in the toddler section, but can buy clothes from the big girls sections and stores. I can't believe how big she has gotten!

Ellie is finally off her bottles and formula, that should save us a fortune. She enjoys being a big girl and trying new things. This is her first attempt at corn on the cob and one of Josie too, just for good measure!

Ellie is ONE!!

On April 28th Ellie turned one! It was amazing how fast the time has gone and even more amazing how much she has grown and learned in that year. Rolling, sitting, crawling, walking and now talking. Ellie is walking well now and starting to run, she is doing the best that she can to keep up with big sister. She has a few words that she does well. Mama, Dada, up-up, and woof are the most commonly heard along with an occasional "done" at the dinner table. Josie wants so badly for her to say Jojo, but I am afraid that may be a ways off.

On Saturday May 2nd we had a birthday party for Ellie. Mom made her first effort at a birthday cake, and was pretty happy with the outcome. I was glad that Diane was here to give me a few tips along the way. The guest list was short and I was feeling a little guilty that Josie gets to spend her birthday with her whole family and Ellie doesn't. I guess that is one of the few perks to having a Christmas birthday when you live away from home. Allan and Diane were able to be here, they were also in town for a wedding, lucky for us. Cousins Johnny and Heather and Gigi (Great-grandma Grant) and our AZ family all joined us for Ellie's special day.

Ellie wasn't sure about the frosting end of the cupcake, but once she found the cake she dug right in, this is her Mama in her!

Ellie and her big sister pause for a pic with the decorations.

After a long, busy day every one was ready for bed. After a few Curious George bedtime stories we all had sweet dreams!! Happy Birthday Ellie Bellie!

FIrst Steps

On Tuesday March 3rd, Ellie took her first steps! The first time she made it about 5 or 6 steps before falling down. By the time we got the video set she was pooped from all that walking and only made is a couple of steps, but you get the idea. I can't believe that she is starting to walk already, I am not ready. Josie was so proud of her little sister, we will see what she thinks when she starts chasing her around the house!

Camelback Ranch

On Saturday February 28th we had the opportunity to go and check out what has been keeping Brian so busy for the past few months. he has been working out in Glendale on the new spring training facility for the Chicago White Sox and LA Dodgers, Camelback Ranch. On Saturday they invited the families of the people who had worked so hard to make this project happen to check it out and help them do a mock opening. It was a lot of fun and a chance to get out and enjoy the beautiful day, as it was 80 and sunny.

While we were there they were putting on the finishing touches. painting the foul lines, and checking to make sure everything was ready for the big opening game on Sunday. The park looked great and we got enjoy free food and check out thing that the public will probably never see like the Chicago White Sox suite at the park.

Josie enjoyed being able to run around and be outside since she had been so sick for the past couple of weeks that she had been in the house for a long time. The fresh air did us all good.

Ellie found a fun place to play on top of a portable beer stand. She hung on to those taps and danced and danced. She was so cute that someone from the Dodgers who was taking video for the website stopped and got her on camera. She can now bee seen on Dodgers.com!

You can check Ellie out here:

http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200902283963761

She doesn't appear until about the 3 min. mark and then again at the very end, but if you watch the whole thing you can get a good view of the park!

7 Falls and Gopher Hockey - Colorado Springs Part 2

On Saturday before the game we needed to find something to do. Since this is our first family vacation we wanted to get in as much as possible. (by vacation I mean trip somewhere other than to Minnesota) We debated to go Pike's Peak since the Grant family has something weird about going to the top of tall things. Mom vetoed that idea after we found out it was another 2+ hours in the car with girls who did not need more time in the car. So it sticking with the idea of tall things we went to 7 Falls.

This is a view of the water fall from an observation deck about 1/2 as tall as the falls. We got to the top by riding in an elevator that is inside of the mountain and Josie thought that was so cool, until we got to the top. Josie is not a big fan of being at the top of tall things, I guess she gets that from me. I am not afraid of heights, I just don't have the desire to go to the top of tall things. Josie on the other had is afraid of heights. She wanted nothing to do with going near the rail of the observation deck and was not really a fan of being held close to the edge either.

Once we got back down to the bottom of the falls Josie enjoyed the snow and ice and really got a kick out of seeing the fish under the ice.

Later that evening it was time for hockey! This was Ellie's first gopher hockey game, and Josie first game in enemy territory. Being as we had children with us we were saved from the ridicule I am sure we have endured had we been on our own. The only questionable comments I received was from some guy in a UND jersey. I know what you are thinking, a UND jersey at a CC/Gopher game?!?! What can I say he was a UND fan, he was probably so drunk he was lost and didn't know where he was!

Ellie loved the hockey game. She cheered and clapped along with the crowd. Now we just have to teach her who the good guys are! Josie much prefers being at the game to watching it on TV as well. (I guess maybe she is my kid after all!) We were not lucky enough to see our team win a game, but we did see some good hockey so all in all it was worth the trip.



Our little hockey fans!!

Garden of the Gods

This February we made a trip to Colorado Springs to catch some gopher hockey before the end of the season. We bravely packed up the girls and climbed into the mini-van for a mini-vacation. Which as most of you know was well deserved for everyone after the hours that Brian had been putting in at work for the last two months! The car ride went surprisingly well, Mom was very nervous to have two little girls in the car for 12+ hours in a day. So we loaded up the car and got on the road about 2am so we could get as much of the driving under our belt while the kids slept as we could. We stopped to eat and a couple of extras including a emergency breathing treatment for Josie after a little too much running around at the rest stop. We got to Colorado around 6pm and settled in for a fun weekend. While we were in Colorado we got to take in a few sights and had lots of family fun!


Our first stop was at The Garden of the Gods, beautiful, natural red rock formations.

Josie is very adventurous and was having so much fun jumping off any rock that she could climb. We had a couple of minor bumps and bruises when we were done, but nothing we couldn't handle.

Josie was very impressed by her Daddy climbing a big rock, but was a little nervous watching him try to get down, we all were a little nervous I should say!

Even Ellie got in on the rock climbing fun. It was a little chilly for her liking but she was a trooper and had a lot of fun.

Our day at the park

We found a new park by our house this week that has baby swings for Ellie. I was very excited because this at least give Ellie a chance to get out of the stroller and do something when we go to the park! Ellie loved swinging and playing in the grass. She tired her best to keep up with her big sister, but Josie still ran circles around her, literally. Josie loved the new playground too, it was more her size and she could use all of the equipment by herself without any help from Mom. I think that was her favorite part. Ellie got her first taste of sand a grass, it was going to happen eventually, right?!?! I got a feel for crawling in the grass and rolling down hills. Good times were had by all!






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