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TEETH! Grant's whole bottom jaw line is swollen, ready to burst with new teeth. He got six all at once back in August, so I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the rest come in all at the same time. Anyways, he has a spatula because he is bored of all his other toys. Spatulas are soft and rubbery. Pampered Chef should pay me to come up with new ways to market their products.

Buddy Bear falls asleep as soon as you buckle him in after swim lessons on Saturday mornings. He was so tired that he was slowing spit bubbles while snoring.

Ellie was super snuggly last weekend. She crawled up on the couch with me and watched a movie. Note: taking pictures while laying down is not flattering at all.

Over the weekend, Grant figured out how to crawl on all fours, not a belly slither anymore. He also figured out how to pull up to stand up by himself. He gnawed the crap out of his brand new crib. He also chipped a tooth. I think the two events might be related. Aaron bought some gummi stuff to protect the crib. Better late than never, I suppose!

Mom & I went out to dinner and then to the annual Lorie Line Holiday Extravaganza at the Fransican Center. The concert usually falls on or around my birthday. We've been going for 13+ years now. After the concert was over, we got a phone call at 10:00 pm that my Nini was in terrible pain. I stayed with her at the nursing home until midnight and my Mom took the shift from 12-5 am. We were able to calm her down, but the weekend was very, very hard. Physically and emotionally. We've been taking it one day at a time because some are good days and some are downright nasty.

Both of my kids are blankie kids. I can't Ellie snuggled up on the couch, sniffing her blanket. It is a hand-tied blanket and she used to suck on the ties. Now she rubs it up against her face. Grant was on the floor crawling around (out of frame). Our dog Cricket has her eyes trained on him though. She knows she is not safe. He will climb and drool all over her.

Another play date with Sophia. No rain this week, but it was horribly cold and windy. The kids were cuddled on the couch watching Veggie Tales. Grant likes to participate as well.

This is Ally the Alligator. She is Grant's stuffed animal (He even marked his territory by chewing on her tail. It is now crunchy.) but Ellie is in love with her. She was very hungry. First she sat in the booster seat at the table. Then she moved to the high chair. Next thing I know, I'm changing Grant's diaper and Ellie is talking about BOOBIES. (Bonus points for teaching her that word!) I glance over at her and she is breastfeeding an alligator in the rocking chair. I ran to get the camera with a naked baby on my hip and when I got back she said that Ally was all done. HILARIOUS.

Also, I've been trying to paint the guest bathroom before company arrives next week for the holidays. We have this horrible faux-wallpaper in the bathrooms and kitchen. I had some touch-ups to get done with the primer before I roll on the paint. Ellie decided she wanted to keep me company and get high from the paint fumes. She perched on top of the toilet tank, why I have no idea...she's never done that before. I tried to get a photo of her and she tried to get one of me too with her "cell phone." :o)

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Make a wish. Today is 11/11/11 and this is set to publish at 11:11 am :o)

Aaron was out of town last Thursday and Friday. He came home with this bouquet. It was very nice of him - I don't remember the last time he came home with flowers, though I do believe he was suckered into buying a Halloween bouquet for full price!

Grant has figured out how to pull up on objects, such as pant legs and couches. Luckily he hasn't figured it out in his crib. Pretty soon his mattress will just be laying on the floor and I won't be able to reach him.

(Christmas) Pajama snuggles with Daddy after swim lessons on Saturday morning. The kids are almost finished with an eight-week session at the Rehab Center. Grant does really well. It is so cute when we do "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall." He squints his eyes really hard and puffs his cheeks as he falls into the water. Ellie would rather play in the water and jump off the edge of the pool than follow directions. I think that has a lot to do with being two.

Grant is extremely mobile. I've found him trying escape the living room barricade several time through this rabbit hole under the end table. He isn't too happy about being cooped up.

Ellie has figured out how to open the doors and fridge/freezer. She wakes up and heads straight to the kitchen to help herself! Later in the day, she found a jar of Nutella in the pantry and dug is out by the fistful. Forget spoons!

Meemaw always said that boys who play with babies make the best dads. She was a pretty smart woman, so I hope she was right!

Play date with Sophia. It was a rainy day so we stayed in and watched movies. Grant even got in on the action.

I bought some bath dye at the Dollar General. Don't hate. It had Elmo on the package and Ellie thought it was the greatest thing! There are six tablets in a package so you can have six different primary-colored baths or mix two tablets together for three secondary-colored baths. We mixed red and yellow last night and got orange - we like to match the water to the foam letters and the baby.

I found Ellie coloring all by herself at the table. It was a nice change of pace after she dumped out a whole box of baby cereal.

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Getting some snuggles in with Grant before Ellie wakes up. We've been doing this breastfeeding thing for eight months now and it makes me so happy (minus the biting and short attention span).

Ellie is so ready for Trick or Treat. She's so serious about it she needs two baskets. One is really for Grant, I just didn't have the heart to tell her.

Pumpkin pancakes for dinner. It is supposed to be a jack-o-lanter. It's missing a stem and looks more like a snowman. Oh well, I thought they were tasty!

Grant has found out that electronics exist. He dives for my iPhone and gnaws on Aaron's cords. He likes to help his Daddy play games.

Car ride to the pool for swim lessons. My parents had my truck to take the dogs to the groomers so the kids were crammed into the back of the Civic. Grant got to ride forward facing to the pool (less than 5 miles away) and LOVED it.

Don't go calling CPS on me. Grant exceeds the requirements of the car seat and is technically able to FF even though he is only 8 months. Yes, I realize the AAP has upped the age to two years old for RF. He is back to RF in the truck and will remain that way until he's at least one. By then, he'll probably be big enough to ride up front.

KIDDING.

Ellie looks so cute in her little piggy hat. It's from last year's Halloween costume. It barely fits her noggin. That means it probably won't fit Grant either. My mom is knitting some hats for the kids. She measured their heads - Grant 19" and Ellie 20"

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The little guy has learned how to clap and has sprouted a new tooth.

Mama got a gig playing piano for a local high school choir concert. Ellie decided she needed to practice too. I snapped a photo of her dramatics without her consent or knowledge. She does not enjoy being in front of the camera anymore. She likes to snap her own photos with expired, disposable cameras. Makes me think of Erin from The Office: "Disposable cameras are fun, although it does seem wasteful and you don't ever get to see your pictures. If it's an important event, that you want to remember, I recommend using a real camera." Hilarious.

Also, Grant is a monster. He has no attention span for nursing right now and has to move constantly. He enjoys pulling my hair and smacking my face. If I remove him from my breast, he pulls down my shirt and tries to help himself to the buffet. He has also figured out how to crawl under the Exersaucer (Ellie used to get stuck and scared under there). And there he is wearing Ellie's first Halloween costume. You should have seen the origami I had to do to fold his body into that bag! That costume size is up to 6 months. Grant is 7 months old and wearing 18-24 month clothing!

Grant is crazy flexible. Like Gumby.

A rare photo of Aaron, though it is a common occurrence to find him asleep somewhere that is not our bed. Here he is asleep with Grant after swim lessons last Saturday.

Grant & Ellie at our play date at Sophia's (Wee-a's) house.

Pumpkin carving: my happy jack-o-lantern, Aaron's cat & moon, and Aunt Mickey's scary pumpkin.