July 2012 - Part 2

July 2012 - Part 1

Addy's and Joey's first lemonade stand, for St. Leo's Soup Kitchen. She raised $27.35 - about $20 from Pops, Buscia, Marge and Al, mommy, neighbor, and last - an actual customer :) 

March/ early April 2012

Memories from March/early April '12:

- We were putting the kids to bed Easter night, after a long day of egg hunts and church and eating candy and just hanging out, the 4 of us. Tucked beneath her covers, Addy said, "This was the best day of my life." It was so sweet.

- Joey is officially potty-trained. He looked in the toilet and said "My poop looks like a number 1."

- Addy has 3 friends who run up to her and give her a big hug as soon as she walks into her class - Alexa, Brandy, and Tyanna. She gets the biggest grin on her face and it makes me feel sooo happy for her :)

- Joey is obsessed with singing the full version of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" after reading a book about Jack Norworth.

-  Danny severed his achilles' tendon. Nothing too funny about that. Joey did say the first night of Danny's surgery "Sorry Daddy that I broke your foot."

- Addy just sang, "Oh dinosaur, oh dinosaur...Joey peed his pants, he told me so, oh yes he did, I promise you. Oh dinosaur, oh dinosaur, oh how I love thee dinosaur."

- I was doing dishes and Addy yelled out from the bathroom "Mommy! I wish I was a boy because it looks like so much fun stand up and pee!"

- We formed an assembly line from the washer to the dryer. I was unloading the washer, handing clothes to Joey, who'd hand to Addy, who'd throw them in the dryer. I was going to tell them about the "assembly line" concept, so I said: Do you know what this is called? Addy said "underwear" while she threw Joey's underwear in the dryer.

February 2012

A few explanations:

Addy stuck her legs in one pant leg and her hands criss-cross in her t-shirt and said she was from Mercury.

Today, Joey disappeared into his bedroom wearing jeans and a long-sleeve shirt. Came out and said he was ready to play basketball (see yellow pirate shirt, orange shorts, shoes on wrong feet).

Later, we were bopping around a balloon. Joey disappeared in his room, came out and said "I'm a boxer" (see picture w/ socks on hands)

Earlier today, Joey set up the guitars, stood on them (I know I know) with his drumsticks and said "I'm goin' skiing."

Joey typically "scribble scrabbles" (as Addy says), but WOW, I gave him a dry erase marker and I was astonished that he could draw lots of shapes and things - just a lot easier than crayons I guess. He's since drawn me all the Little Einsteins, Uncle Mark, ice cream cones, and forte giant.

Addy set up a freight train w/ bins to match Joey's recent favorite book, Freight Train.

A few other funny things:

Whenever anyone does something good (finishes a puzzle, jumps really high, etc.) Joey yells "Oh BAAAMS!"

Whenever Joey does something good, Addy smiles and says in a high-pitched voice "Wow Joe-yee! Good job budd-yee! I'm so proud of you!"

Today, I was telling the kids about Danny's internship this summer. I said,"SOOO, Daddy...is going to accept an internship at..." and Addy said, "Walgreens."

Also today, Addy brought out the mop and set it on the floor. She said, "Joey, want to wash the floor?" He said, "Suuure" and picked up the mop. Then Addy turned to me and said, "Mommy, want to play a game now?"

Joey was playing w/ his plastic basketball hoop and made a shot and ran up to me and said, "Mommy! Did you see that? I couldn't have done it without you." (all credit to Little Einsteins for that line fyi).

Joey and I had it out. He had been whining and screaming about everything since he woke up. My patience was expired before breakfast. After 3 hours, we all needed out. I had a terrible idea that we should treat ourselves to lunch out. It was a DISASTER of colossal proportion. Kicking, shrilling, throwing, snotting, wailing. I had my own tantrum when we got in the car. God thankfully put Joey to sleep. When we got home, Addy said, "Since he's already here I'm glad I have a little brother but if I think about it, if he wasn't here I think it would be a little better because then I wouldn't have to hear something screaming all the time, and then the big sister and the Mommy could just talk and not hear something loud all the time." Then she said, "I think we should let Joey rest a little longer." Now that I agreed with.

Dec 2011 - Jan 2012

A few things:

I had a few amazing pictures of the kids in the airport and I don't know where in space they went. But I'm happy at least that I remember what the pictures look like in my mind.

I gave the kids, essentially, as much candy on the plane as they wanted. By the second flight Addy said "I think I've had enough unhealthy stuff." So Joey and I finished off the twizzlers, starbursts, and yogurt melts by ourselves.

I gave each of the kids a dollar spiral-bound journal and then designated one for me. Addy wanted to draw me my first journal entry that she described as "a rainbow tunnel to a land of so many rainbows." i loved it.

I made Addy scrambled eggs. Joey said "But I'm afraid of scrambled eggs."

I was singing to the kids before bed. Joey stopped me and said unprompted "when Jesus comes he's going to show me his smiley face."

Traveled a ton over christmas break. I wish I would have taken more pictures. I took pictures of Ethan with Brian's camera and wish I would have dug out mine too.

Addy says "I love palm trees" now that she's been to FL. A simple reminder about the power of experience. Though, I remember when we moved to Boston and before we even arrived Addy told us over and over us how much she loved a place she'd never been - the ocean.

Joey is still afraid of clocks but says "the clock wants to watch a little show so i'll turn on a little show for the clock."

Addy is in a "and like" and "so like" conversational phase. She sounds like a teenager. But mostly she sounds like me.

We told Addy that Daddy was her special Valentine and I was Joey's special Valentine. She said "But he was my Valentine last year cuz he took me ice skating and you took Joey swimming." Holy memory. Seriously. Makes me a lit-tle nervous that the kid remembers ev-er-y-thing so well.

When Joey squeals - when we chase him, when he's being tickled - he sounds just like a little girl.

Joey was eating breakfast quietly, then busted out with "hey mom guess what i'm taller!" then he stood up to show me.

When Addy reprimands Joey she starts with "Joe-seph Grr-rant..."

Nov-Dec 2011

Some memories from this month:

1. Danny came home at 7pm on a Monday two weeks before Thanksgiving, turned on Christmas music and said, "Let's decorate!" By 10pm, our house was Christmas-ready (almost).

2. Danny and I were talking about the inefficiency of housework, like the antiquated system of doing laundry. Sitting on Danny's lap and listening the whole time, Addy offered - unsolicited - her first invention idea (that's my girl!):  "Have a tube connect the washer and dryer, where, like, the clothes pass from the washer to the dryer, and then another tube out of the dryer that puts the clothes in the laundry basket." I thought it was GENIUS!

3. Speaking of laundry, Addy spent an hour hanging up clothes one Sunday evening because she said "I don't want you to have to do all the work."

4. Joey has discovered that pot lids look and sound magnificiently similar to cymbals.

5. Addy was watching a video of herself when she was two. We had to turn it off because she began to cry...she couldn't explain why but I know it's because she misses her family :(

6. We had such a great, relaxing Thanksgiving break together as a family. It was memorable because it was meaningful.

7. Joey has been saying our dinnertime prayer. Each time it goes like this: "Dear God. Thanks Mommy Jesus God."

Halloween 2011

A few memories: 

Joey took off his diaper and stood in front of his potty seat. Five seconds later he said, "It doesn't work."

Addy passed gas in a long rumble, looked at me and said, "Tractor!" Later that day she tooted once and I said, "Tractor!" She said, "No...car."

Friends asked Joey what he was going to be for Halloween. He said, "A big, fat pig!" The next day he told another friend he was going to be a "big, big rocket ship."

I went into Addy's class and she was diligently coloring a turkey - every feather a different color, the body, the feet, etc. Her teacher, Ms. Sullivan said, "We're just waiting for Addy to finish coloring her turkey so we can start our Halloween party" (candy, food, juice boxes, games, etc). Addy continued coloring, unphased.

I liked the day after Halloween better than Halloween. The three of us stayed in our pjs til noon, built a tent, and ate popcorn and Halloween candy.

October 2011

A few things I want to remember about this month:


Joey uses chopsticks as drumsticks, and as air guitars. He has lost almost all of our chopsticks. We just went into the corner Chinese restaurant and asked for 2 sets of chopsticks, smiled, and left.


Addy loves to utilize hand postures to support her storylines (see video).


Joey gets put in time out. After he comes out, no matter what you ask him, no matter what emotional state he is in, he says, "But, I'm still cryin'."


A boy that Addy calls "Bucket" (his name is Beckett) - ran over to her and gave her a hug when I picked her up from school on Thursday. The innocence of it melted me.


At dinner tonight, Addy said she was grateful for her brother. Joey said he was grateful for big jet.




Addy's Long-Winded Explanation of her Classroom Reconfiguration

Kids Dancing - Video

Addy's 1st Ballet Class/School Pictures

Video of Addy's 1st Ballet Class
(At the end of class, they get to do a short "performance" for parents. This was the 1st day's performance)

2011 - August/September

Joey's Concert Video

2010 Jan-April

Happy Spring!

Here's a (relatively) small collection of pictures from the last few months. Not included are a visit to Grandma and Grandpa Teller's house, Bree's pictures from Easter, and a ton of pictures that I've taken with my phone that I just haven't downloaded yet. We can't believe that Joey is going to be 1 year old at the end of May...this year has flown by. He's growing so much and in that incessant learning phase where it seems like everyday he learns something new about the world...it is quite amazing to witness. It is interesting with your second baby - everything seems like it is happening again but yet for the first time - we love watching him discover his own world and realizing that he's the center of ours. He's just a smiley, laidback, sweet, sweet boy. For as long as it lasts, we'll embrace it. Addy is becoming a little girl and is fast outgrowing the toddler stage. She's just a little person dancing and singing around the house, making funny observations, defying boundaries, and developing her own sassy, smart, and curious personality. In September she'll start preschool so we're cherishing our lazy pajama mornings and our unmapped afternoon walks...we know it won't last forever. Hope life is great for you!

Our First Home & Fall/Christmas 2009

Our First Home

Fall & Christmas 2009

Hey All,

Happy New Year! It's been a long time since I've posted and lots has happened. First, we moved into our first home in Springfield - we love our house and are happy to be settled despite being further from family. Our favorite part...the storage...or...maybe the tricked out bar.

Then came Halloween - Addy wanted no part of dressing up until 5 minutes before we left to trick o treat, and then realized that she'd be getting candy, so that was the clincher. It was fun to have Danny's family come out and to see Grant and Addy all dapper in their costumes.

In late November Joey was baptized back in Allen Park and we were fortunate to have Danny's second cousin, Father Bob Spezia, perform the baptism. Also, a special thank you to Aunt Sun who knit Joey's baptismal vest. She's so talented!

Then the kids and I headed out to my parents for the Thanksgiving week, to Chicago and Huntley for the following week, and then back to Allen Park for Christmas. My parents, Brian, and Sun came out the weekend before Christmas so that we could celebrate the holidays in our new house - Addy was a pretty big fan of opening up all her presents! On Christmas Eve, she knew that Santa was coming, so that made Christmas pretty fun this year. We were able to celebrate with the whole family on several occasions and to spend some time with Dzaidzui and Great Grandma Grant, which was very important to us.

Now we're back in Springfield and settling back down. Joey is saying "mama", is crawling like mad and pulling himself up on furniture. Oh lord. The days of sweet, stationary Joey are over. He's still sweet but he's everywhere and into everything, especially on Dude's bed, which Dude is naturally thrilled about. Addy is 2 1/2 now and is just growing into her own everyday - she's a chatterbox and surprises us when she says things like "actually, mom..." and "seriously, dad...," putting Dude in time-out and "reading" books to Joey. Her shyness is slowly being replaced with smiles and hugs.

Danny and I are good, just busy like all of you!

Also, congratulations to our good friends, Kevin and Lisa Johnson, who welcomed their daughter, Ava Sophia on Dec. 19. She's a beaut!

Ok, check back soon...I'm going to try and post links to a few videos of the kids over the weekend.

Happy 2010, hope it's the best year yet!

Summer 2009

Joey and Addy Video - click link below to see a video of the kids
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/uih_cBDrWIosj5ni7q6K_w?authkey=Gv1sRgCOTt4qXy2v_kggE&feat=directlink

Happy Fall Everyone!
Sorry it's has taken me so long to update...it's been a hectic summer as I'm sure it's been for you. After throwing Addy an early birthday party the first week of August, we packed up our place in Chicago and moved down to our rental house in Chatham. We continued house hunting and finally found our first house in Springfield, put in a bid, and are closing this Friday, Oct. 9! Thank the Lord!!! We're so excited...it's a 3 bed/3 bath ranch with a finished basement, so we're thrilled to be moving into a "move-in ready" house. We're SO ready to stop commuting every week and to finally unpack our life of boxes and suitcases into a home of our own. A word to the wise: Don't move twice in 2 months with 2 kids under the age of 2, or 3 times in one year. Id' rather eat salmon ice cream and poke my eyes out.

Updates: Addy's birthday party was so fun - she wanted a Barney birthday party, so that's what she got, along with a zillion presents and a homemade b-day cake from her Aunt Lisa - thanks again :)

In late August, I got the chance to see my bro do the impossible - he finished his first Ironman competition (that's a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run). He finished in 10 hours and 45 minutes...I ate a brat, fries, a Wendy's chili, Frosty, and took 2 naps in the meantime. Seriously. His wife, Sun and I, along with my parents followed him around Louisville for the whole day and then saw him cross the finish line...it was amazing. Go Bro!

Then, on September 14, Bree and Sean welcomed 6 lb 14 oz Jillian Katherine into the world. She's the sweetest little thing. I can't believe that Joey and Addy were that small at one time! I stayed in Huntley to watch Grant while they were in the hospital, and then got to stay to hang out with my first niece. Also, we went to see my parents and spend some time in MI with them - Addy had a great time at their county fair.

As for our little guy - he's getting so big! Joey tried his first rice cereal last week and he just sat up by himself for the first time today! He's a smiley, sweet guy who puts up with a lot of crap from his sister. Addy loves him so much, but she'll smack him around a bit and she's already yelled at him for pulling her hair and "playing" with her toys. He'll get his revenge soon enough.

I'll post pics of our new place - hopefully by late October. Springfield is on the way to nowhere, BUT, that said, we'd love to have visitors. Come see us! We've got the Abe Lincoln Museum (actually very interesting) and a hip store called Kohls. Hope to hear from all of you soon - love to all!

Stacey, Danny, Addy, Joey, and Dude

July 2009

Two Months Old and Smiling


Happy Summer Everyone,

So I'll post more pictures from earlier in the month later in the week, but I wanted to share a few that I took today. Addy and Joey are getting bigger every day. Addy is excited for birthday presents soon and wants a Barney birthday party, much to my dismay since he's annoyed me since I babysat in high school, but hey, she only turns two once. Joey is starting to hold his head up and really focus in on faces - he gave me his first "I see you!" smile a few days ago. It definitely melted me away. He was smiling a ton this morning, hence, all the consecutive pictures from today!

Also, we want to share the news with all of you that, after much deliberation, we have decided to move our lives down to Springfield. Since Danny started his job at the VA, we have been commuting back and forth between Chicago and Springfield nearly every week. But now that our family is complete with 2 beautiful kids and, of course, Dude, we feel ready to settle into stability; actually, it's a welcome change from the transiency of the last half year. We'll be out of our apartment by the end of August and possibly into a new house - we are considering buying our first house...we'll keep you posted! We're going to miss Chicago like crazy, especially since we'll be moving further from Bree, Sean, and Grant, and because our friends Kevin and Lisa just moved a mile away from us, but family and friends endure even as life rolls on. I posted a few pictures of our place in Chicago...I snapped them for Craigslist and figured I'd post a few for those of you who'll never see our place. Alright, hope you're enjoying your summer!

Early June 2009

Hi Everyone!

Joey is officially 3 weeks old today! Here are pictures from the last few weeks. We spent most of the time in Springfield (actually, we live in a small town outside of the capitol called Chatham). We had a great visit with Danny's parents and grandpa, and then Bree, Sean, and Grant came out for a nice, relaxing weekend. We got back to Chicago last week and Bree came down this past weekend (Sean was on a golf trip with Pops...Danny in the meantime had Daddy duties to attend to). Actually, Danny won MAJOR brownie points by surprising us and watching all three kids (and two dogs) on Saturday and sent Bree and I out for the day. We went to the Second City show, Rod Blagojevich Superstar, and out to a fun tapas restaurant downtown - it was a much needed (and appreciated) break. Then on Sunday, Bree and I took the kids to the Lincoln Park Zoo - it felt great to get out on such a beautiful day, and Joey slept most of the time! I am not taking for granted this short phase when he just sleeps like an angel - I'm sure it won't last long!

Joey is definitely filling out more but he's still a little guy. I imagine he's around 7 1/2 lbs now - we'll see when he has his check-up next week. We'll keep posting when we can. Happy early Father's Day to all you daddy's and daddy's-to-be!

Joey's First Days at Home

Addy's I Love You Video link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/staceygrant1/AddyILoveYouVideo?feat=directlink

It's been 3 days since we've been home as a family and it's been awesome. I was released from the hospital Thursday afternoon and when we got home, Addy was waking up from her nap. My mom told her before she went to sleep "If you take a nap, then Mommy and Joey will be here when you wake up." It was a sweet sight to see her rubbing her eyes with sleepy excitement as we walked through the door. She kept saying "Baby Joey" over and over. She's been so patient and the best big sister - she wants to hold Joey all the time and give him hugs, rub his head, watch Daddy change his diaper, and "make him laugh" with her silly antics. Addy seems so big to us now that we've got such a tiny comparison. She's putting her sandals on as I write this...how she's grown.

Danny surprised me and took Friday off of work, so we've been able to just hang in as a family. Today, Joey had his 2-day check up and everything went well. While he's down to 5 lbs 8 oz, he's within the normal weight loss range (most babies lose weight in the first week and then start gaining weight after that). He nurses all the time so we know he's doing just fine. In some pictures it looks like he's got light brown hair - he does! His hair is definitely light, probably similar in color to Danny's hair when he was little. We haven't determined what color his eyes are exactly, but they aren't quite brown - they are like a dark blue/slate grey, so they could still turn any color. We'll see!

My friend Leana sent me such a sweet gift today - it's a custom made necklace with Addy's and Joey's names etched on small medallions - you can see a picture of it in the slideshow. I love it. There's something very moving about seeing your kids' names etched together. It has hit me that I'm now a mom of two and I couldn't be happier.

I hope that you can view the video of Addy. She's singing "I love you" to Joey. It not only showcases her chops (singing is one of her favorite things) but also her funny, silly personality - a side of her that some of you don't get to see because of her shyness.

We'll try to post more pictures by mid-week!

He's Here!!!

It's a BOY! On Monday, May 25, 2009 at 5:21pm, we welcomed into the world our son, Joseph Casimir Grant. He is 6 lbs and 20 1/2 inches of perfection!

The whole day of delivery was a surprise to us, for many reasons: (1) I was 38 weeks and thinking that I still had at least a week if not two until I would deliver, (2) Danny predicted that it was a girl, weighing 7 lbs 2 oz, (3) I predicted that it was a girl, 6 lbs 15 oz, and (4) I had just seen my doctor 5 days prior who confirmed that the baby was head down and ready for natural delivery, but when I went into the hospital (dilated at 7cm for those of you who know about that stuff) I was told that the baby was breech and that I was being rushed into a c-section surgery! Thank God that everything went well and that I didn't have those few slices of pizza I was contemplating before I went to the hospital. I told Danny that I had schemed the whole thing as a good PR headline for him: "Director of IL VA has son on Memorial Day." As a sidebar, Danny's sister Bree came to stay with me on Monday morning because Danny was the keynote speaker at the Lincoln National Cemetery Memorial Day Service where (I have to brag) Obama made the keynote in 2005. Danny wanted to bow out but I said no way, so after he rushed there and back, we headed to the hospital. Here's a newsclip about the event: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=6831002

Addy has been handling the whole thing so well - Aunt Bree, Uncle Sean, and her cousin Grant stayed with her the first few days, and then our friend Sunhee and her mom watched Addy Wed. morning, and now she's with my parents - a big thanks to everyone! She has come to see us in the hospital a few times, and each time she says goodbye without tears, so it has gone well. She is pretty mesmerized by Joey and we can see her growing up and becoming a big sister before our very eyes. Sometimes life changes without you realizing it, but then there are other times when you realize how life-changing certain moments can be...watching Addy with Joey for the first time was one of those moments.

Joey is just so sweet, and, (knock on wood) a crazy sleeper! While Addy was up and alert for hours on end, even in the first few days, Joey just snoozes away and is awake for 5-10 minutes at a time. Danny was up with Addy for a few hours her first night, trying to get her to stop crying - Joey, on the other hand, slept for 8 hours last night! I tried to wake him up to feed, but he was zonked out. Not that I think it'll stay that way for long, but for now, we're enjoying the peace of just watching him sleep (and sleeping ourselves).

The recovery has been going well...the usual pain that accompanies a C-section, but other than that, no complaints. Mom and Dad Teller are here to stay with Addy and to meet their new grandson, and Danny's parents and Grandpa Studz (who Joey gets his Polish middle name Casimir from) are coming out as soon as Grandpa recovers from a mild illness.

I included just a few pics of Addy from this last week at home and at the park - it's her last week of "just her" pictures.

Thank you for all the well wishes and support - we feel so blessed!

37 Weeks and counting...

May 2009 (1)


May 2009 (2)


Jan-Feb 2009


So, I've committed the biggest tech faux pas a modern-day parent can make - we've gone months without posting blog pictures AND we've done without a camera for several months after two of our cameras broke. But now, our newest little one is going to be here any day, so we bought a new digital camera and have been snapping away, trying to catch up a bit and getting ready for the flurry of pictures we're about to take.

Addy update: She's awesome! We've been busy this spring hanging out at the park, watching local baseball games (she spent over an hour glued to a baseball game at the local park on Tuesday), playing with her neighborhood friends, going to the zoo, kids' museum, dog beach, and hanging out with all our recent visitors. Addy is already 21 months old and talking a ton - she knows her alphabet, she can count past 20, and she can name her shapes and colors, so we're sending her off to kindergarten once the baby arrives (just kidding!) Best of all, she's just a happy, healthy toddler who has a terrific sense of humor and a contagious smile. As for her personality, Addy still has her shy tendencies with strangers, but she's a ham once she's comfortable with company and she can be pretty bossy (e.g., she was telling an older girl at the playground today "Be careful, go down slide NOW!") Speaking of being bossy, she says "Baby inside mommy's belly" and "Addy is the big sister" - so she knows that she's going to be a big sister soon. We're going to try and give her extra attention to help her adjust to her new sibling...we'll see! And no, we still don't know if it's going to be Joey or Chloe - we're excited for the surprise.

During the last 4 months, Danny has been traveling every week between Springfield and Chicago for his new job, and until recently Addy and I (and Dude) have been traveling back and forth as well, so we've been adjusting to the new transient and sometimes hectic lifestyle. Our rented ranch-style house near Springfield is in a quaint residential area near Lake Springfield and is a nice change of pace from the city life of Chicago.

And last, Dude is good, but he looks at me sometimes like, "What ever happened to the days when it was just me?" As an indication of Dude's life, when you ask Addy what her name is, she says "Adelyn Grace Grant" but when you ask her what Dude's name is, she says "Dude No." Poor Dude.

Ok, that's all folks, we'll send out an update once the baby is here!