Happy 30th Birthday to Me!

So far 30 is not that bad....

The first thing I saw when I got up this morning was this sign. Stratigically placed where James knew I would see it first thing. Any guess....

On Grady's door! My little 'alarm clock' goes off and guess where I go - straight to Grady's room!

Next we head downstairs at 630am (Grady gave me a good nights sleep compared to the past few nights) and find our first gift.

Look inside the bag.....

Grady and I then went out for our morning walk. Here is us with just before departure. I am wearing a shirt my mom bought me for my birthday that I may or may not have picked out in May! Just like the sign said... I don't look a day over thirty!

Here is Grady at the park. He loves this tunnel. This is the look he gave me right after I had to crawl into the tunnel to remind him he cannot in fact eat the rocks.
Grady loves the park. Notice that the ground is covered in mini 'bite size' rocks as I like to call them. I need to watch him like a hawk!

When I got home I had a note stuck to the door saying my neighbours had accepted flowers (and chocolates) for me and I had some cards in the mail. Thanks for the flowers Mom!



After all this I had yet one more surprise and it wasn't even 11am! My mom put together a slide show of my first 30 years. I even shedded a tear. But don't tell anyone as I am usually not so emotional. It must be old age. Which reminds me that my brother called and said 'hi grandma' and then called me a 'cougar'. I told him I wasn't that old! What are brothers for!

Grady's second gift to me is a very long afternoon nap. He has been down for 2 hours and counting. Next up is a pedicure, dinner, and then a visit from my BFFs Deena and Candace. Fun filled weekend ahead!

Happy Birthday to me!!!!!!!!!!!

Blue, Blue, and more Blue!

One of my best friends from back home gave birth to a perfect little baby boy named Aiden last week! Congrats Kris and Sara!

Aiden is the 5th, I repeat, 5th boy born into my group of highschool friends. These 5 little boys are balanced off by exactly zero little girls. What are the chances?? First there was Willis, then Grady, followed by Koen, then Karter, and finally Aiden. It is like we are creating our own little boys only club. The big girls and thier little boys. Blue, Blue, and more Blue!

I love the idea that our little boys will all be so close in age as all 5 were born within 2 years of each other. I must admit that I am sad that Grady will not be able to be at all the birthday parties or the playdates but remain hopeful that our yearly visits will help the boys become best of friends like their mommies have been all these years.

For me, being able to share parenthood, including the ups and downs, with my best friends has been such a great expereience. If I am having a bad day I pick up the phone and we talk it out (kinda like dancing it out on Grey's). We vent. We express frustraation. We laugh. We move on.

Not only do we share in the frustrations, but also the joys. Just last month, my friends made the trip to PA to help us celebrate Grady's 1st birthday. It meant so much to have them there. I can call any of them with excitement to tell them about Grady's good day, his favorite food, or his first steps and they share similar stories about their own children.

I hope that in 10, 20, or even 30 years from now we will still share our lives as intimately as we do now. I am so blessed to have met each and every one of them.

Heres to great friends! Heres to great memories - both old ones and new ones to come!

A Morning in Canmore!

My mom and John were here last weekend and we attempted our first trip to Canmore as Grady has never seen the mountains (not that he cares). It was more of a challenge for us to figure out how to be away from the house for more than a few hours. I was really scared of being away from home during nap time as he doesn't' generally sleep in the car or stroller. Grady confirmed this yet again...

John's daughter was doing a triathlon and we had to take a bus to the lake where the swimming started. Although Grady was scared in the beginning once he got used to it he though it was pretty OK!



Here is Grady practicising his walking skills. He still needs a little help outside with the ground being uneven and such. Notice how James and I are wearing hats in this picture but Grady is not. Go figure. I am a hat nazi so I am not sure how this picture was taken..... Grady needed the hat for the sun (obviously) and James and I needed hats to hide bed head as we left for Canmore at 7:30am!



Before we left he house I asked everyone if I should bring an extra outfit. No one replied so I didn't. Big mistake as he spent some time playing in the water!





Grandma let Grady put his toes in the water and his pants got wet - so......



Grady took his pants off!! That is nothing compared to the naked 2 year old running around right beside us! Talk about cold water though... a mountain lake isn't exactly warm!

The day ended with a nice family picture. Notice again the only person not wearing a hat.......

Although it does not look like it in these pictures... I really am a hat nazi!

A Better Video of the G-dawg!

Grady is officially walking! Don't get me wrong he still crawls... but he is walking more and more and farther and farther. I find that every day I am saying 'that is the farthest he has ever walked!'... So here is a better video of G-man walking. Unfortuantely it is from behind.....

Just Another Day at the Park

One day last week Grady and I met our baby group at a community park with a great water area for tots and a giant playground including an area for the little guys. The water was cold so Grady wasn't overly impressed but he seemed to love the playground!

Here he is going though the tunnel multiple times.






Move over Avery I'm coming through!

Grady loved the slide. I couldn't get a picture of him going down as I had to hold his hands... but here he is trying to climb up the slide.

Again.

And again.

Sorry Grady... you can't climb up the slide! This was followed by a little meltdown and then a departure!

Did he really just do that?

The other night just before 8pm (Grady's bedtime) we were sitting in the family room and Grady picked up one of his 'used' diapers off the family room floor and started crawling with it down the hall. (Yes I know that there was a wet diaper on our carpet most of the afternoon... you know you do it to!) The diaper genie has been displaced to the entry way while we are waiting to have our carpets cleaned for the past week. That is another story all together. Grady crawled right over to the diaper genie and sat down. James and I looked at each other. Could he really know that the diaper belonged in the white pail at the end of the hall?? I opened the lid wondering if he would know what to do. Sure enough - he grabs the diaper, stands up, and shoves the diaper right in it. Are you serious??? When I think about it, he has been watching me put diapers in there for over 12 months - I guess it makes sense. These little people sure start to understand things quickly!

Do you think Grady liked the pool??

Sneak Peak!!!!!!

Remember when I told you about our family pictures... well one of them is up on their blog. See if you can pick Grady out in the July 15 post(it is not hard)!

http://www.fulleredgeblog.com/

We ordered this picture for our family roon. He is so adorable if I do say so myself :)

PS - recognize my neck??????

PPS - sorry I couldn't get the link to work....

Vector Anyone?

Yesterday I was cleaning out the cupboards and getting rid of some old cereal boxes that we never eat to make room for the 4 new boxes I bought while grocery shopping. Well, we have had this one box of Vector in the cupboard for over 2 years. I know this because my Mom bought the box to get the coupon for the Running Room off the back. She didn't open it. I didn't open. It shouldn't be open - right?? I pull out the box trying to be creative with my son and think it would be fun to shake and squish the bag and listen to the noise it makes. The bag is unopened - no damage done - right?? WRONG. I start shaking the bag showing Grady how it is done and Vector is flying everywhere!! James opened the bag. I was telling him what happened and he knew right away the bag was open.

The look on Grady's face was priceless as the cereal spread across the floor. Here he is checking out what I spilled and what likely hit him in the face before it hit the floor.

Here he is eating the Vector off the floor. Who am I kidding - he eats lots of 'snacks' off the floor!

I guess he liked it! Here he is offering some to me..... What a day!

Getting Closer....

Everyday Grady gets closer and closer to walking. His balance is pretty steady and he can stand like a champ. He has one thing working against him... his thumb is constantly in his mouth. I am sure that if would just take that thumb out and practice he would have it in no time!

This is one of many videos made trying to capture Grady doing his thing. He can actually walk better and farther than what the video shows but we got tired of trying over and over to capture it! So here is Grady showing off his skills!!

Big Boy Carseat!

Not only is Grady in his 'big boy' carseat... he is also facing forward. He still seems to like the TV in the car but makes the occasional glance out the window.

Butterfield Acres

We headed into the 'deep north' yesterday to go to Butterfield Acres which is a petting zoo. Apparently it used to be 'way' outside of town and now Calgary has grown around it. Grady seemed to be some what interested in the bunnies and goats, but mostly interested in the hay, dirt, and rocks on the ground. Of course.

Here is Grady unsure of the goats. Notice the goat tried to expose my chest by biting and pulling my shirt. Lucky me.

Grady warming up a little to the goats.

He was very interested in snack time! Good thing we brought cereal bars!

Look at that drool!

Checking out the big birds.



Taking a few steps between the stroller and the table. Our little man is getting pretty brave in the walking department but still has a way to go before it is his main mode of trasportation.



Overall, it was a nice way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon!

Yahoo!

Howdy Partner! Yesterday kicked off the 2009 Calgary Stampede! Although Grady is still too young (busy, unpredicatble, a handful) to go to the grounds this year.... he still has some cowboy attire to show off (and so do James and I!).

here is Cowboy Grady enjoying a little sunshine...

Trying on Dad's hat!

With James and I before we headed out with John and Stacey to, what is likely my only, Stampede party. It was a blast!

Happy Stampeding!

Happy Canada Day!