What is in a Name?

Courtesy of Baby Zone
Grant August
Grant August is a name that reflects analytical powers and a quest for knowledge and information, a search for truth and wisdom. The name Grant August makes one feel like one is in the company of greatness and unconventional intelligence. Inventive. Emotion takes a back seat to mental prowess.
The name Grant August inspires study and research, open-mindedness, daring new concepts, and a devotion to discovering the unknown.
But the name Grant August also gives a sense of philosophy and religious search. Here too, the path to seeking the meaning of the Divine is unconventional.
Grant August’s most positive characteristics: Intelligence, depth, spirituality. Always in search of knowledge.
Grant August’s most negative characteristics: Arrogant, self-centered, eccentric, introvert.

I knew he has a strong name...now if we can only work on his arrogant, self-centered, eccentric & introvert characterisctics. Better yet why dosen't Baby Zone just tell us the truth. Based on your child's name he is going to be an arrogant prick. The things we believe from the internet!

Spring Fever!

Spring has finally hit our house! Gone are the clusters of Canadian thistle, leafy spurge, dandelions, prairie grass and misc broad leaf weeds! The lot has been graded and replaced with black dirt. The landscaping is finished and it looks fantastic! The project manager was very helpful with picking out plants and curb edging that fit the style of our house and personalities. I love flowers, so we chose alot of different flowering bushes (hydrangeas, pink cheddar, hostas, day lilies and purple passion). The neighbors have given us quite a few compliments on our progress. They are probably happy not to be living across from a weedy lot. Now we are onto the grass and sprinkler system portion next week. I will take pictures this weekend and post them on our webshots page, if you wish to look at our progress.
I also did a little gardening of my own last night. I potted wave petunias to give our house some extra color this summer while the plants are growing. These are so easy to plant. All you need is one per container and after a couple of weeks they turn into a beautiful cascading arrangement of flowers. I was inspired by my "Backyard Living" magazine that I even potted one of their arrangements. This is such a great magazine, it gives you recipe cards for your planters (pictures, diagrams, feeding, sunlight and watering directions). Now lets hope we no longer have frost warnings.
Hope everyone has a great weekend! Drive safe!

Excuse Me, Please and Thank-you

Grant was complimented on his manners a few days ago. I guess we are doing something right in his transition to a pre schooler. How did he get to be so polite? For one thing I never let a toddler tell me what to do. He learned the sign for please when he was very young. Anytime he wanted something he had to say please. When he received the item he would have to say thank-you. He also learned by watching us saying please and thank-you to others. He learned excuse me probably from shopping with us and trying to get around people. Sometimes it's extremely difficult getting around places with a stroller, especially walking in back of people who don't have a clue where they are going. Excuse me is a nice way of saying in that situation get out of the way! Grant is super polite he even says "excuse me" when trying to go down the stairs when Quincy is blocking them. It's true what they say "practice what you preach". Children are always learning from you, I am always reminded to be a good example for him. Now if I could get his little buddy from calling me "hey you" or "hey you, I want some milk".

May the Best Man Win

Anyone watch American Idol last night? It was the clash of the Davids. David C. and David A. What did you think of the writers song (the second song of the contestants)? I thought the 2nd song that David C sang was a little strange. It sounds like something that would be on Signature HomeStyles hold music (live your dreams, dream big blah, blah, blah).
I don't know who I want to win. David C obviously has talent,easy to market & he seems like a hardworking guy. But the runner-up usually has greater success. Where as David A. just plain irritates me! He has a great singing voice but that is it. Have you ever heard him speak? His voice is more annoying than Rita Cosby's voice. That raspy voice it like fingers on a chalk board. Also the fact he closes his eyes when he sings drives me crazy. What are you hiding from? I would also like him to win just so his dad doesn't beat him up if he doesn't win.
OK enough ranting. I guess tonight's episode is a win win situation. 1. I don't have to hear David A speak again and 2. I can free up space on my TiVo.

Can't we all just get along!

Here is a quote from the AP about the latest statistics on breastfeeding. "The latest CDC report found rates of breast-feeding were also lowest among women who are unmarried, poor, rural, younger than 20, and have a high school education or less". This is so insulting!

I found the quote to be very disturbing. They are generalizing a group of women just because they chose not to breastfeed or there body wouldn't let them. I didn't breastfeed and I am married, upper-middle class, over 30 and have a college degree. So take that CDC! The bottom line is you have to WANT to breastfeed. A local hospital is not offering formula anymore to new mothers, because they want them to breastfeed or at least try. This is ridiculous, give the mothers a choice! If you are nervous and are forced to breastfeed you will not be relaxed enough and you will become frustrated and feeding your child will become a chore. The new mothers will probaly go straight to the formula when they come home from the hospital.

Breastfeeding is difficult, especially to new mothers. When Grant was born the nurse practically forced me to breastfeed him and was upset with me when I wasn't getting the positions right. Do you now how traumatic that is to a woman who has just given birth minutes before, exhausted and trying to soak everything in that has just happened to her? I continue to try to nurse when we arrived home, but my milk never came in. I would of had to stop nursing 6 weeks later anyway since I am cursed with insulin resistance and need to take medication for it. When I stopped trying I felt so guilty. I read all the books where they said "breast is best" and I heard how great is was for an infant's developing brain. This caused me to be a little depressed thinking my son would grow up to be a babbling idiot! I am not taking sides on weather to breastfeed or not, as long as your feeding your baby I really don't care what you do!

Is the CDC trying to guilt people into breastfeeding and making them feel like a higher class of people if they choose to breastfeed? Bottom line can't we all be grateful that we have been given this chance at motherhood and stop judging people for their way of parenting.

Side Note: Grant has not grown to be a babbling idiot. He can count 1-20 and beyond, knows his alphabet (upper and lowercase) & colors, speaks well for his age, has a great memory and is even starting to recognize a few words.

Road Trip

Last Friday we set out for "The Cities" to watch my niece Lacey receive her Masters Degree. It was well worth getting up at 5AM and making the 3 hour journey to see her walk across the stage. Tears filled my eyes as I remembered her as a little girl with the prettiest golden locks you have ever seen and now she is an accomplished young woman ready to take on the world! Congratulations Lacey, we are all very proud of you!
After graduation we all met up at Buca di Beppo for dinner. This place has amazing food and atmosphere. Mark and I were still talking about the food on the way home on Saturday.
A trip to "The Cities" wouldn't be complete without a trip to the outlet mall on the way home. We all found a few bargains (thank-you Izod store!) and would of stayed longer but it started raining. Mark also enjoyed the mall, so much in fact he said and I quote " We should come back a couple of times a year". Don't think I won't take you up on that! I have to say during all this activity Grant held up very well. He enjoyed running around the campus, slept through part of graduation, ate really well at dinner and didn't mind shopping at the outlet mall. The only setbacks he had were two episodes of diarrhea during graduation (which actually gave us a chance to walk around) and a blister on his feet from too much walking. Not too bad for a toddler with no nap!

Jurassic Fart

Grant finds this hillarious! I don't know why.

Wow Grant is Almost 3!

I can't believe it's been almost 2 years since Grant started to walk! Mark informed me of this because Grant took his first steps on the day of the Kentucky Derby. Looking at the picture I wish I remembered more of those precious baby days! If only we could have him that way for 1 more day. We were so excited that he learned to walk and was a fairly good walker before he turned one. If we only new what we were getting ourselves into.

Dancing Dog

I love this! It must be a pretty docile dog to go through this. Quincy would be bitting our hands though the entire video it we would ever do this!

Happy May Day!

Happy May Day everyone! Grant received two baskets today, what a popular little guy. The first one was from the neighbor's kids and the other was from our gym's daycare. I think he ate the entire contents of his basket on the way home in the car. This is one of the "holidays" you never think about until you have children or live in a friendly neighborhood.

I remembemer as a child (5 or 6 years old) our backyard neighbors were elederly but very friendly. They were like the grandparents of the neighborhood. One May Day I remember my mom filling a basket wih candy and a can of beer for the Bishoffs. She told me to ring their door bell and run away. I did what she told me to do and ran as fast as my little legs could take me. Looking back I think how strange it must have looked to see a little girl come up to your porch and deliver a basket with a can of beer! Those were simpiliar times!

Next year I will have to get with "it" and have Grant deliver May Day baskets, minus the beer.