Is he an Iowa Farmer Boy or what?

Grandpa Jim had Grady wearing a DeKalb hat the other day. He looks like such a little farmer boy and his daddy was sure proud at this. Here are some pictures of sweet Grady in his hat and with some good ole' Iowa corn.

Grady sure is growing up!

Or little boy is growing up before our eyes. He talks and talks and even makes a growl sound frequently (not sure what that one means!). He loves to play and his new past time is to slide on his tummy down a slide. One of his other favorite things is to go to grandpa and grandmas and then grandpa gives him a 4 wheeler ride. The other day in the car I asked if he wanted grandpa to give him a 4 wheeler ride and he turned to the mirror in the car and just started smiling big! it was so cute. Here he is on one of his 4 wheeler rides.

We just went on vacation and had fun playing with Grady. We took lots of pictures which I would like to post soon - but here is one of them playing on a pirate ship.
As you can see from the pirate ship picture his hair has gotten quite long in the front - so against my innermost desires I ended up cutting his hair the other day while he was eating. I just snipped here and there. I was so sad when I was actually doing the cutting but at least he can see better now. :-) Here are a few pictures of hew new hair cut - he is no longer the baby he once was but like I said earlier, he is a little boy.

In this picture if you look closely you can see not only his bottom two teeth but also the top two "fangs" that he has. He has not gotten his top middle two yet (but I think i just saw one break through yesterday). When he smiles big and you see these fangs you can't help but chuckle!

He is learning to walk - he walks around everything and now needs to gain the confidence to stand/walk on his own. He will be taking off before we know it. He is also learning to wave and even blow kisses (although he is not good yet at it - but learning). Another thing that lights his face up with a smile is our computer. He LOVES to see the big picture of him on our screen and sometimes we will go through his pictures of himself and family and he just giggles and smiles. Here is a quick video to see him in action.

Family Vacation Part 2- The Moseley's

On Sunday we parted company with the Grady clan (they went to a Brewer's game) and we headed back west to hook up with Jon's side of the family. Every year they, and some friends, get together at this resort up on a lake in Northern MN. It is about 15 minutes north of Park Rapids, MN and about 1.5 or so hours East of Fargo. Anyway, this was about an 8 or 9 hour drive so we split it up in two days. At the end of Sunday we stayed at Jon's brother's house (they were already gone). Monday morning we left and drove the other four hours north. It was quite a ride. Grady is at that age where he does not sleep in the car a lot and he wants you to entertain him, yet he isn't sure what he wants to entertain him with. Can be frustrating to say the least. But we made it. We were there from Monday - Friday.

This was the first time that Grady got to meet his sweet adorable and always smiling cousin Cora from Oregon. She was sure a cutie and has beautiful eyes! Here are the two together and then one of just Grandma and Cora. They are only about 6 months apart.This is just an assortment of pictures from the trip. Jenni and Jeremy, Grady peeking out of a window in one and in another Grady's cousin Lindsey is peeking back at him. Grady also like climbing in and out of things, as you can see he was getting into the cupboards and having fun!

More pictures of Grady and Cora, Grady being read to by his daddy and his Grandma Jean. Also a few pictures of his cousin Lindsey, aunt Jenny and Aunt Jenni. :-)

One of the evenings we had a family dinner. It was a birthday/anniversary celebration for Jon's parents. First we took family photos outside and then had supper inside one of the cabins.

One thing we did was have shirts made that said "Rose Hill Farms". This is the name of their farm in Hudson from which they participate in Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings and Thursday Afternoons.

We then surprised Steve and Jean with matching shirts that everyone had on. Here is a picture of Steve and Jean with the grand kids (minus Grady & Cora - who also had Rose Hill shirts too)

The whole family in their shirts. Steve and Jean were so surprised and loved the thought.

On Thursday afternoon, while we had some laundry to do, we took Grady to the park. They had a pirate ship for him to play on. They also had a wooden castle that had a slide. Grady has found a new love...sliding. I think he love trying to climb back up just as much as he loves going down them. It was so fun for Jon and I to spend the day with him and seeing this playground through his eyes...a child's eyes.

Here is a video of Grady's sliding adventure - sorry if it's not the best picture quality!

Here is Grady on our way home - I think we were maybe 15 minutes (if that) into our drive home. He was such a good boy on our whole trip, but it sure did wear him out!!

Vacation Part 1 - The Gradys

Jon, Grady and I ended up having both of our family vacations back to back. The first part of the trip we went to Sheboygen, WI to an indoor water park right off of Lake Michigan. Grady was still a little young to truly get excited about the water slides, but our family has decided to go there again next summer. I am sure he will really enjoy those water slides as the park is very kid friendly. This family vacation included our family, Matthew's family and my parents. We stayed in the same "apartment" type place and cooked our meals there. It was a fun time!

The first night we tried a pizza restaurant with the entire family.

Family pictures - this one was in the lobby of the resort.

Family Pictures - this was outside our "apartment". In front of the patio was Lake Michigan. It was so pretty!

Grady with Grandpa Jim on the morning before we headed out to our next family vacation.

We bought Grady a new stuffed animal - a dolphin which is about his size. He loved cuddling with it during the rest of the trip. Actually if you "bing" him with it, he thinks it is the funniest thing in the world!

Overall Grady family picture - we will be here next August too!

Sneak Peek Update

Well - it has been a long time since I last updated our blog and I do want you to know that I will be updating it over the next few weeks...so stay tuned. Here is a reminder from where we left off...last time I posted something Grady was only about 3.5 months old. He is now almost 9 months old...WOW!!! Here is a sneak peek as to how our blog will end up. Here is a current picture of our little guy playing with in the laundry basket (clean laundry).

Grady and Maggie

Here are a few pictures of Maggie and Grady. Slowly but surely, she is getting more and more used to Grady. He LOVES her, but I would not say the feeling is mutual. She is starting to sit more near him and when she is on my lap with Grady. Grady likes to "pet" her...actually he likes to hold on to her hair. Yikes! So far Maggie has been patient. Whew! I think he would lay all over her if he could. Right now, when he sees her in the house he screams and has a huge smile on his face...again, the feeling is not mutual. Here I sat Grady down next to Maggie for a quick picture...

Here she is realizing that Grady is next to her...

Now that she realizes that Grady is next to her, she leaves...it's the usual thing that goes on between the two of them.

Grady's Dedication at PLC

Today Grady was dedicated at our Church - Prairie Lakes Church in Cedar Falls, IA. Jon and I have been going there for about 5 years now. Although we did not meet via church, we actually went to the same church and both attended a singles bible study...different ones of course. Who would have known that two years or so later that we would be attending there as husband and wife. Anyway, at Prairie Lakes (PLC) they have a program where parents and their families/friends can come and share in a time to hear about Grady. During the dedication, we went up front with Grady and I answered the question,"how did we come up with the name Grady", Jon then read a verse that we had picked out. After that, Pastor John prayed for our family. The church gave us a few gifts such as a Prairie Lakes bib, a Children's Bible and a quilt that the ladies in the church made for babies.

Here is Grady with Pastor John Fuller.

Family picture with Pastor John

Betsy and Travis Haht are a couple that Jon and I met in Lamaze class in August/September. We ended up setting next to them at each class, so we talked a bit. Later we found out that they also go to PLC and go to the Saturday night service (as so we for the most part). Travis works with hogs and Betsy also works in Hudson...what small world. To add to our journey with Betsy and Travis, they actually had there baby boy, Matthew, on the Saturday/Sunday before Grady was born, so we were even in the hospital at the same time. Betsy and I keep in touch and continue to share in baby stories or advice. They are a neat couple that we have enjoyed getting to know. They also attended the baby dedication with their son Matthew. I think Matthew and Grady are going to grow up to be good friends!

Here is a picture of the different things that we got at the dedication.

Heather and Trisha came to share in Grady's special day! Thanks Aunt Heather and Aunt Trisha! We love that your so involved in Grady's life... Afterwards we all went out to lunch at Peppers. It was a great time spent with family.

That night, at church, all of the families that attended the Saturday night service went up front with their babies and Pastor John introduced each family as well as prayed for us a parents.