Dale and I can’t believe that we are already celebrating Grant’s first birthday! It has been the most magical year watching him learn and grow. I’m so glad we took the time to write down these monthly memories – I know I will treasure reading them back over the years! Happy Birthday Grant Grant!

Grant Turns One! (March 24, 2024)

The morning of Grant’s birthday started out with his usual breakfast (blueberries and eggs) before we headed to an alpaca show at The American Royal! It was a cold day, so this was the perfect indoor activity and we loved wandering around and seeing all the cute alpacas! Afterwards we headed home for nap time before a family birthday lunch for Grant.
Grant loved opening his presents – the dinosaur theme tied into many of his gifts! He also got a water table from Grammy & Pop that I know he will love this Summer!
That night he gave us (especially Mom) a present when he finally started clapping!
We celebrated this big milestone with friends and family the Saturday before Easter at EB & GPa’s house. The weather was beautiful, so we were able to have Grant try his smash cake (made by Aunt Sophie) out on the patio in front of his balloon arch. He loved the cake once I tore off a big piece for him to eat. It was the perfect celebration for our big 1 year old boy!

Eleven Months (February 24-March 23)

Grant started off month 11 showing off lots of new tricks. First up: walking across the living room with his push toy! He was so excited and wanted to go back and forth over and over again. He also started waving (especially when mom says hi, Grant). EB taught Grant to “stretch” this month, too! He will lay flat on his stomach and reach his arms out (usually with a smile!).
Otto is definitely Grant’s favorite word! He says it many times a day and likes to look for Otto when we get home. Other animals (in books and in real life) are also “Ottos.” He also says star, ruff ruff (for the noise dogs make), ball, and still “roars” when you ask “what does lion say?” Dada is still much more fun (sadly) to say than Mama.
This month we spent more time outside than expected with some early Spring warm weather, celebrated Oliver’s 1st birthday, visited the Chicago Smiths and Perry & Emily, attended Grant’s first Brookside St. Patrick’s Day Parade and watched a KU game with Ali, Austin & Luke. In between all the fun we spent several weeks sick – Grant had a his first extended fever and passed along a runny nose to mom. We were happy to end the month feeling much better!
Grant loves to eat! We are constantly surprised at just how much he wants to eat at breakfast, lunch and dinner and have already gotten lots of use out of our new Our Place Dream Cooker.
We can’t believe our Little Buddy Grant Grant is about to turn one!!

Ten Months (January 24-February 23)

Grant’s personality is really starting to shine through at 10 months old! Dale has taught him to shake his head and “roar” when we say good morning to the lion on his blanket after his morning bottle. He also had a brief phase where he said “uh-oh” repeatedly. It all started after he threw his binky after a bottle and then he laid in bed repeating it over and over and into the next day!
We are still loving watching Grant explore food! He loves to eat, especially savory foods, but is warming up to fruits. At my birthday dinner we learned he is a big fan of butter chicken from the Indian restaurant Taj Mahal. We are constantly impressed with how much food he is eating!
Dad loves how you drink water out of your new sippy cups, which is most often holding it upside down. We are still trying to give Grant bottles, but he is definitely cutting back.
This month was full of celebrations starting with Aubrey and Pop’s birthdays, attending Sophie and Alex’s gender reveal for baby Wilson (we can’t wait to meet our new nephew!), the Smith family had a huge party for Graham being cancer-free, the Chiefs WON the Super Bowl for the second year in a row (Grant got a bit scared with all the cheering when we watched at Sophie and Alex’s house!), and we celebrated my 32nd birthday with dinner and cake with family.
Dale and Grant also spent their first boys weekend together when I traveled to Nashville to visit Grace with my mom and Sophie. They spent time at the Hanlin house and even made it out to dinner with friends! Dad is very capable (and was very tired) after the weekend!
The biggest surprise of the month was discovering Grant has his first molar poking through on the bottom! He now has 9 teeth, the top and bottom four, along with the molar.

Nine Months (December 24-January 23)

Grant turned nine months old on Christmas Eve! We spent the day relaxing at home just the three of us (and did his monthly photo shoot) and then headed to EB and GPa’s hosue for our traditional Christmas Eve party. We loved getting to see our extended family (and meeting Evon, Aly and Vinny) and playing with baby Chloe. She did not like when Grant threw his rainbow ball in her face! Dad and Grant stayed home during chruch so that we would all be well rested for Grant’s first Christmas! That morning we went to EB and GPa’s for stockings and presents, visited Grammy and Pop’s, spent the afternoon at Mama and Papa Smith’s house, and had dinner at Sophie and Alex’s. Grant was a hit at every stop, especially in his red Santa robe!
This month we made lots of progress with Grant enjoying table food! He officially went through the last of his Little Spoon purees (which made Dad sad!) but we are having lots of fun watching him learn to feed himself small pieces of everything. We are now able to feed him pieces of what we are eating and he isn’t loving his bottles as much since food is so yummy! We are learning to batch cook for daycare lunches, too.
On January 18th we think Grant said his first word (other than babbling Dadada and Mamama)! While he was in the bath Dale asked “what’s this?” about his duck and he said what sounded like duck several times, we even got it on video. After that we have been listening more closely and we are convinced he may have said “ball” as well!
One of my favorite new things this month has been Grant’s very happy, scrunched up nose smile. It is so cute and Miss Bailey and Miss Karly have commented on it at daycare. Grant is adjusting well to his new teachers/room at school and still gets to see Miss Trina, too!

Eight Months (November 24-December 23)

Grant officially celebrated Thanksgiving on his last day of being seven months old, but extended his celebrations into eight months with Smith Thanksgiving on November 25th. Grant’s school was closed the entire week of Thanksgiving so we enjoyed extra time at home and visited EB and GPa to keep him entertained!
We had a few bumps in the road this month with our first family stomach bug and Grant having to be rushed to the doctor after a fall at daycare. Luckily everyone is okay and we are hoping for a healthy Christmas break!
Grant is getting more coordinated by the day (despite his fall!) and easily goes from crawling, to sitting, to crawling and is pulling up on everything! He is still working on getting down from a stand, but is learning to put a hand down and bend his knees. He is also loving chasing a ball around and loves his stacking toys.
We did all the traditional getting ready for Christmas activities this month including getting our Christmas tree, decorating, visiting Santa at Indian Hills, going to see the lights at Enchant Kansas City, and visiting Crown Center and Union Station. Grant had no reaction to Santa this year, but is hoping he will bring him a dino! We (mom) also made salt dough ornaments. The plan was to use Grant’s hand print for Santa, but we only got a few of those since his cooperation was limited. They still turned out very cute!

Seven Months (October 24-November 23)

Grant is officially crawling and pulling up to a stand! We had to drop his crib to the lowest setting and put up our baby gates right before Thanksgiving. When looking back at videos from the month it’s crazy just how fast he is crawling now compared to late October!
This month was full of celebrations with Halloween and Thanksgiving. We dressed Grant up as a baby dino and had the best time “Trick or Treating” at the church and Grammy and Pop’s house. Grant did not love getting in and out of his costume, but once he was dressed was so cute crawling around with this dino hat and tail!
We also headed to Nashville (Grant’s second time!) to visit the Froends and see Grace! I carried him on a long hike and he got to meet baby Franklin and see Lucy again. He did great with the travel and slept in my arms most of both flights.
Grant is loving his purees now and by Thanksgiving was going through two Little Spoon containers a day! At Thanksgiving we did try to give him mashed potatoes but he was not a fan. It was a special holiday weekend celebrating Grant and Adeleinn’s first Thanksgiving at Grammy and Pop’s and Hanlin cousin time with Graham and Aubrey.
Grant also got to celebrate Dale’s birthday at Minsky’s, and an evening at Sophie and Alex’s house for EB’s birthday. We are learning to revolve our plans around his new two nap schedule! He naturally dropped a nap around his Thanksgiving break.

Six Months (September 24-October 23)

At the end of September Grant was working on sitting up and rocking on his knees and by the end of October Grant sits up easily on his own, scoots all over and army crawls! He is so close to crawling all over!
Grant ended the month with his front four teeth all coming in at once (in addition to the two coming in on the bottom). He is starting to like purees better and we are working on introducing more new foods.
Grant spent lots of time with family at six months old! Dale’s parents watched him during Alyson & Kale’s welcome party and my parents stayed with him overnight during the wedding. We also went on our first trip away from him when we traveled to Hawaii for Dale’s work. He loved his time with EB and GPa but we missed him a lot! After we got back in town we headed to Turkey Hill to celebrate Dale and Sophie’s birthdays.
This month we transitioned to Fall with my first full month back at work and headed to the pumpkin patch with the Smiths and Hanlins! We had beautiful weather and even got a great family photo with Grant on top of a pumpkin.
Grant also had a small surgery this month to remove a dermoid cyst. He did well (despite his late surgery time) and we are so grateful and relieved to have the procedure behind us!

Five Months (August 24-September 23)

Despite two colds (after traveling to Nashville and after traveling to Colorado) disrupting his sleep some, Grant was a very happy guy this month! He did great on his second set of flights to Ben and Kirsten’s wedding (Colorado is the fourth state he has visited) and even slept while we danced at the reception!
Grant is definitely close to being on the move! He is pushing way up on his arms, sometimes lifting his whole chest off the ground, and can scoot himself in circles and backwards. His rolling has improved and he easily rolls both directions whenever he wants! Just before six months he started pushing up onto his knees and rocking, we bet he will crawl SOON!
Grant is still a huge fan of tummy time and does well playing independently. This month he loved reaching for toys and banging his wooden rattle and bell toy on the ground. He is also chewing on everything! At the the end of the month we noticed his first two bottom teeth starting to poke through! We think this explains him waking up a bit extra at night.
There were a few big milestones in September as Grant started daycare and I headed back to work. He loves his teachers, Ms. Trina and Ms. Ericka, and has adjusted well after the first day when he cried every time another baby cried. I love being able to walk to drop him off in the mornings and am so grateful to know he is happy and safe nearby!
We also started introducing solids when he was 24 weeks old. He is NOT a fan of pears, but did seem to react better to his bananas mixed with formula. Savory foods like sweet potatoes and butternut squash are favorites (when we are in the right mood)!

Four Months (July 24-August 23)

Month 4 started out with new milestones (Grant started standing on his legs while being held and reaching for his feet) and his first cold! Thankfully it was just congestion and no fever. He also discovered he could do a loud screechy squeal/scream at the top of his lungs! Dale is great at making him laugh when he tickles and kisses him.
I always want to remember the routine of putting Grant in his Magic Merlin Sleep Suit, rocking him back and forth while he grabs my finger before falling asleep. Sometimes he makes the silliest “going going going” noise right before dozing off.
On August 13th Grant rolled for the first time! We were so excited but soon realized this meant a major change in his sleeping (no Merlin, lots of checking on him as he choose to sleep on his side and stomach). By the end of the month he was rolling all over and pushing up on his arms! He just doesn’t love to roll back to his back from his stomach.
We were very social this month as Grant spent lots of time with Grace before she headed off to college, we helped Sophie set up her third grade classroom for a day, we had breakfast with Tim, Kelsea & Chloe as well as my college friends and their kids, we hung out with Austin, Ali & Baby Luke, and spent time with Sonya before her move!
This month Grant flew for the first time when we went to Nashville to move Grace into Belmont! He also got to meet Jenn and Lucy! He did great on the flight and was very patient with his disrupted schedule during the trip.

Three Months (June 24-July 23)

Grant started the month with lots of changes as he moved into size 2 diapers, 3-6 month clothes, and had to stop swaddling at night. This was the hardest change as he was not a fan of having his arms out of the swaddle and now has to sleep in his crib at night. Once we transitioned to the Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit we were all (mostly) sleeping again!
I took Grant to River Market Antiques and he surprised us all by giggling away at the end of the trip as I bounced him up and down in his carrier! Sophie was able to capture the moment on video, we love hearing Grant giggle and ooh and ahh at us during play time.
Grant is showing signs of rolling from back to front (he occasionally arches his back and lifts his legs) and he sometimes likes to roll from stomach to back during tummy time. He loves looking at new things and really enjoyed making his Lovevery Play Gym into a tent.
Grant may have been to the most musical performances of any baby! This month he attended Grace’s show at The Folly, The Little Mermaid and Footloose. Mom has also played several musical soundtracks while we hang out at home including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Mary Poppins. Thankfully he is starting to like his baby ear protection!

Two Months (May 24-June 23)

At two months old our smiley boy is getting better and better at tummy time, still loves kicking on his mat, and loves to stare intently at his mobile and black and white cards.
Grant continued to meet and spend time with family and friends (coffee with baby Luke, visiting Grammy and Pop’s house for the first time) and took his first overnight trip to Turkey Hill! While he didn’t sleep great in his pack and play, we loved getting to relax with him on the screened-in porch. He also had his first swim at Indian Hills in his crab float!
We had an eventful weekend in early June when our air conditioner broke and we headed to GPa and EB’s house. That was also the weekend Dale and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary which was our first night out away from Grant! The next day we celebrated Grant’s baptism with family and a wonderful lunch after church. Sophie & Alex officially became Grant’s Godparents as well! That wasn’t the end of the month’s celebrations as we also attended Alex’s 30th birthday party at KC Bier Co. and celebrated Dale’s first Father’s Day with lunch with both my family and Dale’s parents (and a cutie book I made from Artifact Uprising entitled Mom, Dad & Grant).

One Month (April 24-May 23)

Grant turned one month on April 24th and we headed back to the pediatrician for his one month check-up! This month was much harder on mom than baby as I continued to work on feeding him and struggled with mommy’s wrist. Thankfully it resolved with a wrist brace!
This month Grant went to the zoo for the first time (Graham’s birthday weekend) and there were lots of celebrations! Mother’s Day 2023 was extra special (we had an amazing brunch at Indian Hills) and he also attended Grace and Sophie’s graduations and parties!
Grant really started to enjoy his play mat this month (lots of kicking!) and I was able to capture his first smile on camera! Grant’s personality really started to shine through and we are having the best time soaking up all the snuggles and smiles we can get!

Weeks 3 and 4

Grant had an eventful week 3! We celebrated his first holiday, Easter, with lunch at my parents house (and a brief appearance at the church pancake breakfast). It was perfect outside and it was so special getting to introduce him to extended family (especially his second cousin Chloe who was born on March 7th)!
On March 12th Grant attended his first musical! It was a special occasion because it was the musical Reverie, written and composed by my sister Grace. We were even able to stay for both shows with a quick feeding break in-between.
When Grant was three weeks old Dale flew to California for Perry & Emily’s wedding and my mom spent the night with Grant and I! Our friends Mary & Kam also were kind enough to drive us to Megan and Matt’s house so we could celebrate Harper’s first birthday.

Week 2

We continued to have lots of visitors Grant’s second week of life! Leslie & Laura brought us Thai Orchid and got to snuggle the baby and Sophie also spent an entire day helping us adjust to life as a family of three. She even made us homemade banana bread!
This week we also got Grant’s newborn photos taken! We are obsessed with the photos and Lora + Ted (who we hope captures many future family memories!)
One April 6th we went on a short walk down to Sierra Winter Jewelry for a JLKCMO event. I was still taking it super easy but it felt good to get out of the house and I bought a gold bracelet with an aquamarine stone in the center in honor of his March birth month.

Week 1

On March 29th we had our first family outing to the pediatrician where thankfully Grant had gained a bit of weight. That night Dale’s family stopped by to bring us food and snuggle our little guy. Our nephew Bruce really loved holding him!
On March 30th our big outing of the day was getting outside to take another photo by our stork! That morning Dale made us waffles and was already a pro at multi-tasking as he held Grant football style while finishing breakfast.
On March 31st we had several visitors as our friend Holly stopped by since she was in town and that evening Grammy and Pop visited as well. Grant got his first little walk from Pop!

Hello, Grant! (March 24, 2023)

Grant was born via a scheduled C-Section due to being breech. The surgery went by quickly (after getting prepped and waiting for a few hours) and it was super surreal to be rolled to recovery and get to spend time with our little guy!
We ended up staying at the hospital for four nights (longer than expected!) as we figured out feeding/Grant’s weight gain and got my pain medication under control. I was super grateful and amazed by all our nurses who came to check on us, especially during the middle of the night. Our tiny room at KU was also filled with lots of family visitors (including the Chicago Smiths who were in town) and some of Dale’s co-workers!
We finally headed home on March 28th and were greeted by a giant stork from Aunt Sophie and Uncle Alex. My parents sadly had Covid so greeted us outside in masks as we brought Grant home for the first time. Dale mastered swaddling with the blanket at the hospital and we were all glad to be home and managed to survive our first night on our own!