TTT: Season 3, Episode 39

1. My little Grantness had his fifteen month check-up this week. Shockingly, he did gain weight and weighs twenty-five pounds now. I say 'shockingly' simply because in the past few months he has figured out the power over eating. Yes, my babe who used to eat everything you put in front of him has now become a picky eater. Kolbe and Rudy both went through this phase too so I'm not surprised. And definitely not worried either. Grant is no stick figure. And considering Kolbe asked for broccoli the other night and Rudy eats tomatoes like they're going out of style, I have no fears that Grant will return to a good eater before long too. Since his one year appointment three months ago he has mastered the art of walking, picked up several words like 'dada', 'ball', 'book', and his favorite- 'this.' Or as he likes to say, 'dis.' He has also mastered the stairs going both up and down though I'm still terrified of him doing the down part without me watching. He loves books but gets horribly frustrated if it's not a board book. He can't quite figure out how to turn the paper pages. He's constantly under attack from his two big brothers so he's learned to be quite defensive, poor guy. He'll let you know if you're treading on his territory! Oh, and he's gone from four teeth to ten. In just thee months. So yes, we've had our share of whiny, fussy days. But for the most part he's still a happy fella. Wild and adventurous as can be but oh, so smart. And in a good way! He already responds appropriately when I say, "Grant, go put this in the trash for Mama."(train him early to help out!) He has struggled quite a bit to give up his morning nap. Some days he takes one, some days he doesn't, but he still loves his sleep. Which is great for him and Mama! And he still loves to dance. Can't wait to see him at my cousin's wedding in a few weeks!

Don't worry.... no, I'm not already potty training my 15 mo old! But his latest thing has been going and standing by the potty before his bath, tugging his diaper off, and then  trying to set the little seat up on the toilet. Sure, I imagine he's just imitating what he's seen his brothers do at times, but hey, why not let him!?! He hasn't actually gone yet, but who knows. He may just be my easiest (and earliest!) yet to potty train! (Though Rudy is hard to beat.) He's a smart little baby.

2. As I'm sure you may have seen on my facebook page, I survived my Locks of Love haircut! It actually ended up way longer than I thought it would. The last time I did Locks of Love I ended up with a super short 'do. I knew this would be at least a little longer, but didn't think it would be long enough to touch my shoulders and pull into a little ponytail. So I was happy not to have to endure the major shock of long hair to pixie cut. But a week later, I'm almost wishing it was a little shorter in some parts. I told the hairdresser that I'd still love to be able to pull it back, tuck it behind my ears, and make a ponytail if possible so she didn't do any layering around my face. Yes, I can do all of the things I requested, but the lack of layering in the front and on the sides just makes it pretty blunt of a cut and kind of heavy. I'll keep it for a few weeks and see if it grows on me (no pun intended), but who knows; I may end up back at the salon before too long for a more styled cut. Regardless, after looking at pictures, I'd say I definitely look better with shorter hair, though I never regret growing it out and doing the Locks of Love thing.

My hair right before I left for the salon. Looooong!

Super creepy 10" ponytail that's on it's way to West Palm Beach, Florida.

The results!

3. Speaking of things I'll never regret, it's been just over four years since I started blogging. Hard to believe. Four years! Early on I just did sporadic posts about our family, and then, of course, I started my Three Thought Thursday in January of 2010. Having a scheduled weekly post that I hold myself accountable to has been challenging at times but it is something that I will never, ever regret doing. I've said this before and I constantly find it to be true that I am writing the story of my life. And my childrens' childhoods. Something I believe Mark and I will read and re-read time and time again. And hopefully something that Kolbe, Reagan, Grant, and any other littles will find to be heartwarming as they mature into adults and possibly (hopefully!) parents as well. I can't imagine being able to go back and read through my childhood. And I love knowing that no matter where we go, if there's internet available, there our story will be. Mark sent me this text a week or so ago that brought tears to my eyes:
Just taking a moment to read your blog. It's so heart warming to go back and read from the few years past. I rarely tell you, but I think your writing is a great gift from you to our family. No matter the time, I'll be able to relive the times when our kids were little. Our boys are so sweet and you've done a marvelous job. I wish so deeply that I could give them what you give them. Thank you! I love you!
I know. My husband is the bomb. But really...while the blog does warm my heart too, it warms my heart even more to know that something I started as an outlet and "memory book" of sorts is becoming our story. Our successes, failures, hopes, dreams, smiles, cries, milestones, complaints, praises, joys. Our life. 

The layout of our family room is totally non-conducive to having a coffee table. So our old coffee table has made its way up to our game room. The boys use it as their coloring table and it also fits our train tracks perfectly. But I figured we could put it to additional use so I bought a can of dry erase board paint. (I didn't go with the chalkboard paint because for one, I didn't walk chalk dust everywhere and for two, Grant eats chalk. Like whole pieces.) Many, many, many coats of paint later and we now how a huge dry erase table. Here, the boys had me draw a "city" where they could decide what they wanted on each block. Tons of fun!

Kolbe's game face at his soccer game. Taking a much needed water break. It was hot!!!

Kolbe is totally soccer-crazy right now. He LOVES it! So despite his earlier game, we still had to go back up to the park after dinner on Saturday for another family game of soccer.

And man, isn't this guy just precious!?!

We're trying to get back into the habit of having a solid Sunday dinner as a family. Since Mark's work schedule can be somewhat erratic during the week, it's nice to have at least one meal that is special for all of us. Over our Labor Day weekend trip to Dallas, Cristi made us The Pioneer Woman's pot roast and it was delicious so we decided to give it a try and our house and it did not disappoint! Best pot roast ever!

Can't decided what's more delicious...the ice cream or that face! Mark took Kolbe to his soccer practice on Tuesday evening and they went for their own little Dada and Kolbe time afterwards. The older the boys get, the more they want to connect with us. And we certainly don't want to let the opportunities pass us by so having these one-on-one times is so special and so important. They have so much to say and are just so, so precious.