Hello there faithful munchkin monitors. We’ve been quiet in blog land but busy at the Grant Family Ranch. Owen is going on 11 weeks old and blowin’ (literally) through diapers, milk, and baby clothes. He’s been breaking out some adorable smiles and noises. He recently discovered his tongue and it looks like his drool switch has been flipped to the “flood all” position.

Mom and I have learned some valuable lessons, some of which are as follows:

• Always bring an extra change of clothes, no matter where you go. This helps to avoid commandeering a baby girl’s onesie from a fellow church-going mother.
• Have a burp-up rag on you at all times.
• Noting is more rewarding after a long day at work then coming home to see your baby boy stare at you and smile.
• God can use babies to bless other people. Owen puts big smiles on everybody’s face, both young and old.
• Enjoy every day with your little boy. He changes clothe sizes, weight, and looks by the moment.
• God’s grace is sufficient to get us through any trial and gives us the power to love Owen–regardless of sleep deprivation and exhaustion.

We hope you enjoy some of the pictures below. They’re from our mini-trip to the North Cascade Highway, Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa Grant’s, and fun time with Auntie Amy.

Thanks so much for your continued prayers and support.

Matt, Adelle, and Owen

Owen is sleeping a little bit more at night… last night he went 4 hours between feedings so we only had to get up at 1am and 5am (instead of the usual midnight, 3am and 6am)!  (Daddy gave him a bottle at 5am, so I got to sleep!!)

We can tell Owen will be smiling SOON!  Every now and then we get little mini-smiles out of the corner of his little mouth.  We can’t wait for this!

We take him for lots of walks (we even got stuck in the thunder and lightning storm on our walk this week!  Owen stayed dry…  mom got SOAKED!)  Luckily the weather the rest of the week was absolutely beautiful!  We love walking around downtown Edmonds, and the regulars at the downtown Starbucks know us well by now.

So many facial expressions these days!

Baby Owen turned one week old Thursday, and boy was it an exciting day!  Owen’s cousin Jaxon was born one week and three hours after he was!  We went to the hospital to visit them, and it took everything in me not to cry when I saw Auntie Kristin and baby Jaxon… partially because of some serious empathy for the long hard labor Kristin when through, and partially because of my crazy hormones. Plus we’re all just so excited for the arrival of Owen’s little cousin!  Here they are together for the first time outside the womb!

We’re slowly but surely adjusting to our new life with baby around here.  It’s quite the challenge to manage our days around feedings, nap times… mom’s nap time… more feedings, diaper changes, etc!  Just when we think we’re getting the hang of things, Owen comes up with a new little challenge to throw our way.  I guess life with a one-week old isn’t supposed to be predictable!

Owen already is looking much bigger than he did on his birthday.  He had gained 3 ounces at his 4-day old check up!  He also was already lifting his head up strong at this first doctor’s appointment!  He’s a strong and healthy boy, that’s for sure.

Here’s a video clip of Owen with his 95 year old Great-Grandpa Earl!  He’s excited Owen has big feet.  Maybe he’ll catch up to his uncle Greg’s legendary size 18′s!

Baby Owen with Uncle Greg!

Daddy plays guitar for baby Owen

Matt and I are so in love with little Owen.  We just sit and stare at him sometimes in awe.  We’re amazed by this little gift God has given us!

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.

-Psalm 139:13-16, NLT

Thanks for all your prayer. Labor was very difficult but better towards the end and overall everything went very smoothly. Owen is such a blessing and beautiful child from God. Adelle and I are rejoicing in a great God who gave us such a precious gift.

I don’t have access to his pictures yet, but will upload them ASAP. For now, you can see little Owen looking into his grandma Cindy’s cell phone.

We hope to head home from the hospital this afternoon.

Matt

Anyhow, Adelle and her friend Jessica made applesauce today. Below are some pictures of the process and end product. We’ve got enough to last us through the mortgage crisis, but no pork chops to go with it.

We’ll keep you posted….

Today was Adelle’s EDC (Estimated Date of Confinement) commonly referred to as her “due date.” Don’t worry, nobody forced her into confinement and she’s not under lock down in the condo; but she has been nesting up a storm today. Here she is cleaning the kitchen for the fifth time in the last 10 hours.

We did go to the doctor and everything looks fine. The baby has descended quite low, but looks to be pretty comfy. Mom is not so  comfy though. She gets rib kicks and bladder blasts on the hour.

Overall it’s looking like the munchkin is coming another day. Stay tuned.

I have been having some sporatic contractions that started while out of town, but I was still able to enjoy our mini-vacation!  Stay tuned!

We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of baby Grant, and we would love to keep you updated through this blog! Please subscribe if you would like to know when our little one comes! We will be able to post updates while at the hospital, pictures and all!

We love you all and look forward to sharing this exciting time with you.