Bearer of Joy?

For some odd reason I was unable to rotate this picture. I think you can still get the idea.

Cole is preparing to be a ring bearer in his Uncle Scott's wedding on July 11. I was able to convince him to try on the tux to make sure it would fit...although it took some convincing! When I showed it to him he said, "I don't want it." I had to make sure it would fit! Now he just needs a sharp new haircut and he'll be all set...as long as he cooperates on the big day!

Grant the Tank

Great Grandma Truedson and Grant on Fathers Day

Trying to make Baby Grant smile

Grant had his two-month checkup today. He tipped the scales at a whopping 15 pounds, 5.5 ounces!! He is in the 96th percentile in weight for his age. However, I do wonder if that is really accurate since he is almost eleven weeks so is therefore about three weeks older than he should be at the two-month checkup. Don't worry, he is also growing lengthwise: he is now 24.5 inches which puts him in the 85th percentile for height. He had to get three different vaccinations today too, which always breaks my heart. The big elephant tears started falling and his expression was clearly one of confusion as he looked up at me while I betrayed him by intentionally allowing some stranger to inflict pain on him.

Today was extremely hot...we had to stay downstairs for much of the afternoon to find a somewhat comfortable escape. Then this evening we turned down the heat on the hot tub to make a very fun pool for the three of us to play in while Grant slept. I am relieved that this "pool" has a cover, unlike the inflatable kiddie pool on our patio in which Cole discovered a dead mouse today. Ew.

Happy Boys!

So smiley!!
June 16, 2009

Cole is so gentle with his baby brother.

No, KISS him. Don't LICK him!

Are you starting to wonder if they are ever BOTH dressed at the same time? Hmm...I guess I have something to strive for.....

Green Bay

"Dana, let's go jump on twamp-ween!!"

Wildlife Sanctuary

Lambeau Field

Playing with fire

The Giant Maze at the Railroad Museum
Everytime you found a checkpoint, you got a stamp!Riding Thomas the Train!

Even Grant had fun riding Thomas! This is the first smile I've caught on camera!
In his eight weeks of life, Grant has been on planes, trains, and automobiles! He's a travelin' man! Even if the train only did do two little loops....
THOMAS!!!!!!

Bye Thomas!

Poor Cole! As Thomas was pulling away from the station, he blew his
whistle and it scared Cole half to death!

Thomas Tattoo!!

Playing "trains" with his tater tots

As soon as school got out on the last day, the four of us loaded up the Jeep and headed for Green Bay to visit Ryan's Aunt Sandy and Uncle Bill and their kids, Taylor and Dana. Sandy called a few weeks ago to say that Thomas the Tank Engine would be making an appearance at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay this weekend, so we decided to make a weekend trip of it. We arrived in Green Bay late Friday night (or maybe early Saturday morning) and had a blast seeing the sights of Packerland. We visited the Wildlife Sanctuary, where we saw snakes, coyotes, and all kinds of other animals. We checked out the famous Lambeau Field and enjoyed a beer at Curly's Pub there. On Sunday afternoon we got to see and ride on Thomas the Train, which was likely the highlight of the trip for Cole, with a close second being jumping on the trampoline in Taylor and Dana's backyard. Poor Dana rarely got a break from Cole's pleas: "Let's go jump on twamp-ween!" She was a very good sport. Dana and Ryan had a photo shoot with some sparklers and some experimentation with a slow shutter speed on the camera -- fun! We had a great time during our first visit to Green Bay. Can't wait to see our cousins again in Montana in a few weeks!!

North Carolina

All bets off....out comes the DVD player

Grant's first flight - six weeks old

Mooooo!
Watching the cows eat their "vegetables"

Cole spent quite awhile trying to count the pigs....he only counted seven but I think there were more like a dozen.

Uncle Brad, Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma King, Grandma Iverson,
Grant, Cole, and Mommy

How much fun can two boys have with a pair of sunglasses that came in a Subway kid's meal?

For an extended Memorial Day weekend, Grandma Iverson, Uncle Brad, Mommy, and the boys flew to North Carolina to visit the boys' great-grandparents. Their great-grandma has been having some health problems, so we wanted her to be able to spend some time with Cole and meet Grant for the first time. We flew out of Minneapolis Friday morning and returned Monday afternoon. We had a great trip! Grant was pretty well-behaved on his first flight, and Cole was a bundle of energy on his third airplane trip...having been too young to really appreciate the others. Fortunately we planned ahead and brought plenty of in-flight activities for Cole to do (and finally resorted to a portable DVD player when all of the other activities had gotten old). It was an act of desperation. Plus, I felt I had something to prove to all of the passengers who gave us dirty and/or fearful looks as we walked down the plane aisle with a toddler and an infant.



Cole enjoyed seeing the cows and pigs again, but most of all, he LOVED the TRACTORS!! My Uncle Wayne took Cole for the ride of his life on a huge green John Deere tractor. When they came back, tears of joy were streaming down Cole's face and his smile was a mile wide. (Of course, did I remember to bring my camera to this event? The only pics I got of this were taken with my phone....BUMMER!). When we arrived back in Duluth late Monday night, Cole had fallen asleep in the car. Ryan went to get him out of his car seat and carry him upstairs to bed, and Cole said (in his half-asleep state) "Daddy, I rode tracko. I rode tracko." It was so precious.

The flight home to Minnesota

Peace at last....

All in all, we had a great trip, although we missed Daddy a lot!! We enjoyed spending time with Grandma Iverson's family whom we get to see so seldom. I have been back to work for a week now, with two weeks left to go in the school year before summer vacation....which has made me very busy and is why it has taken almost a week since our return to get this posted! Grant has been adjusting to Nora and Nicole's preschool extremely well at only six weeks of age. Ahhh....the craziness is what keeps our lives interesting....never a dull moment! =)

Brothers

Here is some brotherly love....
I'm sure we have plenty of arguing, fighting, toy stealing, pushing, and tattling in our future, but just let me enjoy these precious moments.

Grant is One Month Old!

Sleeping sweetie

Whee! The Children's Museum is fun!

Can't miss Clifford and Emily Elizabeth!

Making bubbles

Sunday afternoon we walked to the park in Grandma and Grandpa's neighborhood. See Grant in the stroller?

We spent a long Mothers' Day weekend in Forest Lake with Grandpa and Grandma Iverson. On Saturday Grandma and Mommy took the boys to the Children's Museum in St. Paul. Cole had a blast!! Sunday Uncle Brad joined us all for brunch at the Lake House restaurant on Forest Lake. It was a little too cold to boat there yet, so we drove :) . It was amazing!! I enjoyed spending the day with my mother, as well as my first Mothers' Day as a mother of TWO wonderful little boys!