Fun Fall Afternoon

One recent afternoon we headed outside and took some pictures of the Autumn leaves and our sweet boy of course. I wanted to document our last Fall for awhile. I am going to miss the Georgia Autumns. Oh leaves, please don't go...

First Haircut

Grant had his first haircut on October 2nd. Dorothy from our small group through church cut it for us at her salon.

He was an absolute angel and mighty handsome might I add.

Sweetest Pumpkin in the Patch

One of the things I've looked forward to for quite some time is taking Grant to a pumpkin patch in the Fall. We went to Burt's Pumpkin Farm in Dahlonega, GA.

He loved picking up the leaves and putting them in his mouth more than anything I think.

He did not want to keep on the cool poor boy hat I got him. Such a crying shame because it was so stinkin' cute.

Savoring it

The days fly by and Grant is nearly one whole year old.

It pains me to think he won't always be this little...that his hand won't always fit in mine or that I won't always have his fingerprints on my windows and that the day will come when he won't want me to rock him to sleep any longer.

Thinking about all this also reminds me of my great responsibility to him, to make the most of every moment and training opportunity for the few years I have with him.

"Your task as a mother...is to build a man out of the raw materials available in this delightful little boy, stone upon stone. This task should be your highest priority for a period of time. It will not always be required of you. Before you know it, that child at your feet will become a young man who will pack his bags and take his first steps into the adult world." Bringing Up Boys, Dr. James Dobson

In love

Is anyone else in love with the footed pj's? There is something so snuggly about them. And him.

Mission Accomplished

After 10 weeks of intense training, Josh and I met our goal of running a 10K (6.2 miles). We ventured down to Disney's Race for the Taste on October 11th and ran through some of the parks there.

It was hot, humid, hard and exhilirating. I never thought I could do it, but we crossed the finish line together. It felt so good to set a goal and accomplish it.

Now to decide if we will train for a half marathon next. Maybe?

Sweet Times

Is there any better feeling, really?

Goodbye, Brighton Lane

Well, September 26th came and went and we are now moved into Josh's mom and dad's home until January.

The move went smoothly although not without some tears. We grew up a lot in that house. Almost seven years of growing. We brought Grant home there. I spent many a nights up with him there. It was our first home.

I will miss watching the day lilies bloom in June and watching the leaves change color in the Fall through my breakfast nook's windows.

I'll miss watching the tree at Easter bloom white and red flowers like it always did and the way the morning sun lit up my nursery.

Goodbye, Brighton Lane. Thanks for all the memories.

Flitterin'

One of my favorite movies is "Summer Magic". I think this sweet song from it sums up our big news:

It's time for flitterin'
Dusting off the trunk and flitterin' far
Where the grass is greener
Now and then, comes the time again, for flitterin'

We'll soon be packing up
Stacking up our dreams and bric-a-brac for
Some destination
Don't know where, but we're going there
We're flitterin', again

New places, new faces
New friendships will start
While old places, old faces
Stay dear to our heart

As we go flitterin'
Following a rainbow, flitterin' bright
Over the horizon
Maybe then and maybe there
We'll settle down and never care
For flitterin' flitterin' flitterin' again

So, Josh, Grant and I are headed for Los Angeles, CA in January 2010! Josh's dream and career goal is to be a film director, which he already is having written, produced and directed his first feature film, Dangerous Calling, with his brother Jeremiah.

We have prayed for many years about the timing to head out to LA, and it seems now is the time. We are excited at the opportunities that await living where the industry is.

Of course I am sad to leave my beloved Atlanta. I truly love living here. The weather is beautiful and I love the changing of seasons to behold here. The Fall is my absolute favorite. It's so gorgeous here during that time. More than all of that, I will miss all my sweet friends. I will miss you all so very much. I am counting on many visits from all of you!

As for my sweet Grant? He's game. A California boy he shall be. He even offered to help Mama pack!

8 Months Old

Grant is more and more fun each day! He is the absolute joy of my life. I love being this blue-eyed boy's mama!

Here is what he is up to at 8 months:

- Says and signs "all done" or "ah da!" It's more of a jerking motion with his arms, but it works!
- Eats Gerber Puffs and Cheerios and LOVES the puffs.
- Lunges forward for toys he wants with both legs and lands on tummy.
- Very vocal and "talkative"
- Top two fang teeth are coming in
- Has become attached to his blankie (seen in picture below)

In other news, Josh and I have started training for a 10K we will run in October, so Grant will be tagging along with us in his jogging stroller. Let's just say I'm looking forward to some cooler weather. Whoo hoo!

One Decade

A decade ago this summer, I had my first date with Josh Daws. Here are a couple pictures from the Summer of 1999. More in love today than I was 10 years ago. Blessed.

A Summer of Firsts

We took a vacation to Florida at the beginning of June to visit family. Grant did so well, even on the 10 hour car trip home.First time on an airplane. He loved it and did so well! Everyone on the plane was pleasantly surprised and told me so. :-)
First time to Tribble Mill Park in Grayson, GA. We went 6 miles that day. What a trooper!

First taste of Josh's favorite ice cream, a pineapple dole whip from Disney's Polynesian ResortFirst time at Disney's Grand Floridian. LaLa was able to get him to sleep in her arms.First time on the Monorail at Disney World. First time of many!

First time in his new float in the pool.
First time in a bubble bath.

And just because this is the cutest picture ever.

7.5 Months

I really do believe those that told me that the time flies with our babies, so enjoy it. Time has flown! I try my best to soak up every last second with my baby boy, but it still doesn't seem to be enough at the end of the day.

Each night I go in and stare at him for several minutes before I go to bed. The other night, several hours after he'd been put to bed, I swooped him up and rocked him while he was still sleeping. I couldn't help but think of the book, "Love You Forever."

Here's what Grant is up to at 7.5 months:

- Has 2 bottom teeth
- Sits up all by himself
- Rolls around in his crib
- Babbles "dada", "baba", "ghee", "hey", and "mmmm" when he's eating something he likes
- Gets up on his knees sometimes - crawling is just around the corner!
- Can put his pacifier back in by himself
- Loves food. Really anything I give him, but especially peas!
- Loves books, especially the plastic or cloth kinds
- Sits in the grocery cart and restaurant high chairs
- Plays independently with his toys
- Drinks from a sippy cup or my cup

Here are some pictures. He wouldn't let me see his teeth or show me how he gets up on his knees, but I did get some pictures this morning of him hoarding his pacis! He interchanges them all throughout the night - even while he is asleep!

And lastly, this is my very favorite part of him to kiss - the nape of his neck! Pure sugar, I tell ya!

First Mother's Day

Today was a momentous day in the Daws home. Grant was dedicated to God, he turned 6 months old and it was my first Mother's Day.

Today Grant is 6 months old. I can hardly believe that my boy is half a year old and that he's both been with us for 6 months and at the same time I can't believe I've lived 29 years without him. He is my greatest joy.


This boy is worth it.

Every doctor's appointment over the 2.5 years we spent struggling for him. Each surgery I had. Every needle stick in my stomach and arms. Every painful procedure. Every tear. The countless fertility drugs that didn't work. Every single-no-every-single-month. The humiliation. The heartache. The hopelessness.

He is worth it.

Every single no and every single tear lead me to this baby. God had him waiting for me all along. It was he that I was supposed to have.

Sometimes I just look at Grant while doing something mundane like changing his diaper on any regular day and I'll just start crying. I longed for him so long that not one single day goes by that I take for granted what a miracle he is.

Today I celebrated my first Mother's Day. I got to hold my son in front of the church and dedicate him to the Lord. I didn't want to dissapear like in years past and I didn't have to fight back tears when unknowing strangers wished me a Happy Mother's Day.

I am Grant's mama.

At last, I'm someone's mom on Mother's Day.

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This touching entry was written by my mother-in-love, Sheilah Daws. She truly is the best mother I have ever known AND she is Grant's "La La".

I can’t believe our little girl has graduated college. Where did the last 22 yrs go. For that matter the last 32 years since God first made me a mom.

Deuteronomy 6 says we are to teach our children “at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again.” This indicates that we are to spend much time with our children. Don’t waste one moment with them because they don’t stop growing while we are busy doing other things.

I am so thankful for all the tea parties, for bedtime prayers and tucking in, for snuggle times we had, books we read and Bible stories we talked about.

I am thankful for all the tents we made inside with sheets and the huts we built outside, for nerf wars and sock wars.

I am thankful for the picnics and the lazy summer days swinging together as we pretended to take some sunglasses to the sun.

I am thankful for the pretending with dolls and GI Joes, for the hours watching Mister Rogers and eating peanut butter sandwiches...

To read the rest, click here:

Happy Easter!

Well, we got our first Easter family photo together. I hope to make it a tradition that we take one every year at Easter. It will be fun to see how Grant grows each year. It was such a beautiful day in the ATL. Do you know how hard it was to get him to look at the camera? Really hard.We had a great Easter serving in our church nursery called, "Waumba Land" and then went out to lunch at Cracker Barrel with a good friend.

And, Grant is still more interested in looking at the designs on his bib then eating the cereal, but I'm okay with that. Oh and have you tried these Bumkins bibs? They are fabulous! They are waterproof, rinse right off and dry in no time and they have this great velcro adjustable collar. AND you can just throw them in the washer. They are like a fabric material -- not that plastic, so you can even fold them up real easily. And they come is super cute designs. I am in LOVE with them!