Happy Birthday Briana Mae

Happy 2nd Birthday to our precious little girl - Briana Mae! It was a beautiful day and we're sure she is having quite a time celebrating in Heaven - can you even imagine?!?!?!

It feels like just yesterday that we were in the hospital getting the worst news of our lives - something we thought was never even possible - came to a reality. We don't know why - but God felt it was time for Briana to join Him in Heaven. I, selfishly, would rather have her here - BUT have to admit - she is better off where she is :)

What did we do to remember Briana's 2nd birthday? Well - we tried to do some things we thought a two year would love to do on her birthday. So - first we went to Stone Fire Pizza Co for lunch. It was our first time here - it's a Pizza Buffet of every kind of pizza you can imagine (taco, chicken alfredo, baked potato, etc) and game place for kids. There was a free play area with slides, balls, big building blocks, water pools (to play in with boats, etc - not to swim), face painting, etc. Then there is another gaming area that is more like an arcade - you put money on a card to play games and get tickets for your game points, etc We stuck to the free area where Grant could actually enjoy himself. It was a lot of fun - we think Briana would have loved it too - especially the face painting!

Here we are eating Pizza!Grant LOVED the slide - he giggled at the top before Brian let go of him to go down it.Big blocks

Oh boy - doesn't this look like fun! Yes - he was wet after this little station - we should have put the little rain jacket on him :)

Then we headed to Alto - to visit the cemetery. It was late afternoon - but we made it before dark. It was very peaceful and beautiful in the cemetery. The fresh white snow and a sky that was beautiful all around us - lots of pinks and purples and the sunset was really pretty - PINK!I thought a Care Bear theme would be nice for a 2yr old little girl - so we found a couple Care Bears to put next to her cup cake, lit some candles, let some balloons go, had a cup cake and sang Happy Birthday, etc. Grant, Brian and I let four balloons go - one Care Bear, one yellow, pink & purple. Grant loved the balloons, but was a bit sad when he saw that we let them go and they were floating off to Heaven. Hopefully the reached their destination safely.

Our Family Balloons on their way to Heaven

Waving Ba-Bye to the balloons was hard for Grant to do.

Happy 2nd Birthday Briana Mae. We miss you so much and just wonder what it would be like with you here, what you would look like, what you would act like, etc. I'm thinking big blue eyes like your brother with blond curly pig tails. Someday we will meet again and my questions will all be answered. I can't wait to see you again. Until then - please continue to watch over us - especially your little brother and new little brother/sister. We feel very blessed to have our very own Guardian Angel. We love you!!!!

Deer Hunting

It was opening weekend of deer hunting this past weekend. By 8:30 Saturday morning, Brian had gotten two 8pt bucks.

Here is the first one...

Here is the second...the big one :)

It's been a number of years, but Grandpa Meidam (85 this year) got a deer this year too - a 4 pointer. Way to go Granpda!

Brian with Grandpa Meidam

Lowell and Grandpa Meidam

Update on Me :)

Wow - it's been a while since I updated you on me! What have I been up to over the past couple weeks? Mainly - I'm working on getting this tooth. I've never been through this before and it seems to take a while. My first tooth is broken through, but these past few days have been pretty rough. Mommy says I've been a bit "clingy" lately. Just because I want to be held the whole time she is making my dinner - is that fair of her to say? :) I've had fevers the past few days and pretty red cheeks. Yesterday my nose started to run like crazy. Mommy thinks maybe I have more ready to poke through any day. I hope so - let's get this over with for a while! It will be nice to have teeth though - so I can bite my food. Now I still have to "gum" everything.

Mommy, Daddy and I are still house hunting. We haven't found anything yet - but we keep looking!

My baby brother or sister is starting to be more active. They kick mommy - that doesn't seem very nice, but I guess I did the same thing. Mommy shows me where the baby is. Do you think if I poke in her belly button the baby will come out? She doesn't really like it when I do this - so I guess I better not. The baby will be 26 weeks tomorrow (Friday) and then at 27 weeks there will be another ultra sound to check how he/she is doing.

Daddy is getting ready for hunting. He says that when I get bigger I will get to go out in the woods with him to hunt. I wonder what that will be like? Sure seems like it would be cold to me. I hope Daddy remembers his hat and mittens.

I am now all done drinking formula and have moved on to whole milk. I have also pretty much transitioned to all table foods. I have decided vegetables are not all that bad. I really like corn and peas too now. Carrots are ok - especially when I am really hungry - and green beans are too. I still love fruits, bread, cheese and applesauce and my favorite meats are ham and turkey with chicken being one I have tried and think is OK. I've been practicing drinking milk from a cup too. I do still prefer my bottle - but mommy and daddy said I have to start giving that up.

I am still in the infant room at school. There is not enough room in the 1's room for me to move in there yet. I am ok with that though because a lot of my friends are still in the infant room too. I am actually the oldest one in there now. There were 5 November birthdays - so we are doing "bigger" kid things in our room now like art projects, eating with plates, etc. It sure is interesting.

I have a couple new favorite toys. Daddy taught me how to play drums with wooden spoons. I also found the pots and pans one night. I made a lot of noise with those - that was fun!

I hope you are all doing well! Love and Miss you all!

More Cake...

Well - I think today was the last celebration day for my 1st Birthday. It dragged out a bit b/c I feel asleep so hard on the way home from swimming last night - I couldn't open my presents. So - tonight - after my 12 mo. dr appt - I got to open my presents from Mommy and Daddy.
It was fun - I got a tractor to go with my Little People Farm, a book with my picture all over in it as you read, a Saw Horse Tool Set (so I can help Daddy) and a Packer Outfit. Then for dessert - I had my last piece of birthday cake with some ice cream. At first I wasn't so sure what to do with the cake - but I sure did figure it out!
I had my 12 mo dr appt today too. They gave me 4 shots in my legs - they really hurt! The dr was really nice - she let me play with those sticks she uses for my tongue. I weighed in at 19 lbs 8 oz - the 10th percentile for weight and 28 3/4 inches - the 15th percentile for length. My head is small - according to the charts, but developmentally the dr said I'm doing well - so no need to worry.
Turns out mommy was wrong about which tooth of mine is coming in - it's not my eye tooth - its is the one between my front tooth and my eye tooth. The dr thinks all 4 of the top ones look like they are poised and ready, but only one is coming through right now. We'll see - we've thought they were coming in for a long time already :)

Happy 1st Birthday Grant!

It is so hard to believe one whole year has gone by already. Brian and I clearly remember today - one year ago - one of the happiest days of our lives - Grant's Birthday. He joined us at 10:44am, was 5lbs 14oz and 19 inches long. He was soooo tiny and we could hardly believe he was ours to keep. Now today, one year ago, we can't believe how fast everything has gone, how our lives have changed and what Grant has all accomplished in one year.
At first, eating seemed a bit rough - but Grant did finally become a good eater, sleeping through the night is now on a more often than not basis, crawling is a piece of cake, standing on his own is getting longer and longer and taking those steps is getting closer. We love his giggle - it makes us laugh and love to watch him learn. He is now repeating words like: apple, ball, mama, dada, ba. He can tell you what a sheep says - "ba" as we as a ducky "quack quack". He can also say "ba-bye". What would his "first word" be? I'm not sure. If you consider first word - what did he repeat first - "APPLE". But if it's what does he comprehend he is looking at and talking about....I would have to say "Ba". One day he looked at his little people sheep, held it up and said "ba ba". AND Yes - he is finally getting his first tooth!

Well - we should let Grant tell you about his "official" birthday:

I woke up this morning and Mommy sang Happy Birthday to me before I had my morning bottle. Then I woke up Daddy and he told me the same thing! Soooo...that is when I discovered that it was my "official" birthday. While getting ready for school - I found my presents and tried eating my card from Mommy and Daddy. I got to open one thing before school - it was a book about me and my first birthday - my picture was even in it.

Then before heading to school, mommy and daddy went to vote. I went along and we stood in line for over an hour! That was pretty boring for me - but I was good. Voting was at the park by my house so at least I got to go on the swings a few times while we waited in line.

Next I was off to school. I had a pretty good day. One of my teachers got me a balloon for my birthday - that was nice. I got to take it home with me.

When I got home, we had to eat dinner really quick. I had grilled cheese (one of my favorites), applesauce (one of my other favorites) and peaches. Then Mommy and Daddy said we were going SWIMMING! FUN! So - we went swimming for about 30 mins (b/c then I was cold).I was soooo tired I fell asleep in my carseat on the way home. I didn't even wake up when they carried me in the house. I slept all the way until 4:30 this morning when I was hungry. I ate dinner last night, but hadn't had my afternoon bottle at school OR my bottle before bed! I was so tired, I didn't even get to eat my last piece of cake or open the rest of my presents. I guess I get to do that tonight after my dr appt. I hope the dr appt goes fast!

SOOO Many Firsts

Last week was my first Halloween. I was a bear! ROAR!!!!! I didn't go out trick-or-treating with mommy an daddy for candy, but we handed some out at our house. We did go at school. On Friday, I brought my costume and we all went on a stroller ride to a floor of the senior care center. They handed out candy to the bigger kids - but they just all liked to look at us in our cute costumes.

Saturday was a really exciting day. Daddy discovered I am getting my very first tooth! Can you believe it - 11mos and 3 weeks old and FINALLY - my first tooth! It is an upper eye tooth. I know - you are thinking - well that is a strange one to come in first. That's what I thought - but I will take what I can get :)

THEN...on Saturday afternoon, I had my FIRST Birthday Party! Mommy and Daddy kept telling me how much fun it was going to be - wow were they right! My whole family came - grandmas and grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins and even a couple of my great-grandparents. It was great to see everyone!

So, it went a little something like this. Mommy and Daddy worked really hard to get our house in order and decorated for the party. Mommy came home right before the party with balloons - I love balloons! When my guests started to arrive - they brought me these things called presents! My cousins were here and they were really excited for the presents - I didn't know what that was all about yet.

I got a lot of nice presents - some toys, clothes and new jammies (which I need badly). Thank you all very much for getting me such nice things! Then I got to try cake for the first time! I wasn't too messy. I liked the frosting and the cake was good too. (I think I get another piece tomorrow.)

Guess what else I did at my party - in front of everyone EXCEPT my mommy. I took a step. It was just one, but I had never done that before. Over the past couple weeks I've been standing by myself without holding on to anything. Over the last few days I've started doing it for a longer period of time - 30-40 secs at a time. Well - I guess I was so excited at my party that I took a step forward...everyone cheered...so I sat down. Mommy missed it though - so she is a bit sad about it.

Tomorrow is my real birthday. At school, all the other kids in my class got balloons on their birthday - I hope I do too.

Don't forget to vote!