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Grant's Toddler Adventures

November 30, 1999

Hi. I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Jennifer and I am a stay at home mom of 1 year old Grant. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. My husband Brent and I have been married for 5 years. I am 28 and DH is 29. Each year our relationship grows and deepens. He is not only my husband but my bestfriend.

We decided we wanted to make our family a threesome about a year before we conceived. Do to our crazy schedules and DH traveling it took us a little longer than we thought to get pregnant. In late October 2000 we finally got two pink stripes on our home pregnancy test!

I had an incredible pregnancy. I had nausea and was a little tired but I had never felt so beautiful or happy in my life! When I was 20 weeks along we decided to find out the sex of our little one. I had always assumed that I would be the mother of a girl. That was probably due to the fact that of the close relationship my mother and I have always had. When DH and I opened the envelope to find out the sex, I was in for a shock! Me a mother of a boy? I have to admit I cried and DH was secretly thrilled. Of course now I think that there is nothing better in the world than knowing the love of a little boy. God works in funny ways.

The light of my life was born on Friday, June 30, 2000, a day before he was due. I had 17 hours of labor. After 20 minutes of pushing my little one was placed on my tummy and my darling husband and I shed many tears of joy. Our beautiful little boy was finally here to make our happy twosome a family. The first three months of Grants life we much harder than I ever imagined. We struggled in the beginning with breastfeeding (which ended up being one of our most special times spend together). Had endless sleepless nights (he never slept). At three months everything got much easier, at 6 months we began having fun, at 9 months I couldn’t imagine anything getting better, at 12 months I look forward with anticipation to toddlerhood.

Even before we were married, our goal was always for me to be a stay at home mom. Although living in the ever so expensive Silicon Valley and having a great job I decided to go back to work when Grant was 4 months. I wasn’t ready for the financial burden to fall solely on DH (although he was ready). I missed Grant terribly. My heart ached. I scaled down my hours to part time but I still felt like I was missing out on precious time with my little one. I finally gave up my job when Grant was 10 months old. It has been the best decision I ever made. I feel so blessed to get to share all my time with my little one. Being a SAHM is the best gift DH could ever give me.

To our surprise we found that Grant is going to be a big brother at the end of March. I went to the doctor for a regular annual visit and the nurse broke the news that I needed to talk to the doctor about prenatal vitamins. As I had just weaned Grant I had not yet had a period. After the initial shock we feel very blessed and I’m looking forward to watching Grant with his sibling.

Our days our filled with many actives. We go to the library, Gymboree, playgroup, support group through our hospital and visit with our wonderful group of friends. My favorite time is when it is just Grant and I spending time at home together. Whether it is playing on the floor with his favorite toys, just sitting on the porch or snuggling, each moment is precious. It is hard for me to imagine anything better in life.

So here we are…from baby to toddler in a blink of an eye. Grant is 14 months now and officially a toddler. He is a big boy. He is 32 inches long, 26 pounds, wears size 2T, says about 20 words and is on the verge of walking. He is the most affectionate and cuddly little guy. He loves to give kisses. His smile lights up a room! I’m looking forward to sharing all our milestones, celebrations, challenges and thoughts.