Helmut and Kari Granda

It’s been quite a while since I’ve updated, but we haven’t been taking many pictures lately so we got out with the camera the past couple days and tried to make up for it. We were able to find some fun used toys for the backyard this week so Hayden has been learning how to go down the slide and climb. The weather here has been absolutely beautiful, 70’s and 80’s during the day with full sun.

In baby news, I’ve finally quit loosing my cookies. Something which I’m really excited about. I was never good at that sort of thing as Hayden AND Helmut can attest too. It’s embarrassing really. I’m still pretty low on energy but am hoping that will start picking up this month. I’m so thankful for “fake Jack” the cat. He’s become Hayden’s playmate. He’s so tolerant and no matter how hard his tail is pulled or how many times he’s poked in the eye he still seeks out Hayden to play with. This allows me to sit in a chair most of the time we’re in the backyard and relax.

The following are some pictures from the past couple of days..

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First belly pic….13 weeks. No bump yet. This baby has been much easier on the wardrobe than Hayden was. I’m still able to fit almost all my clothing like normal.

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This post has been a couple months in the making as I have been exhausted and nauseated due to a new baby! I’m 9 weeks now and we had our first official doctor appointment and Ultrasound on Tuesday. It went really well and I’m really happy about the new doctor. We had to switch from the guy we had with Hayden because we changed insurance. The new guy seemed to think I should wean Hayden or I might have trouble eating enough for 3….he obviously isn’t familiar with the Livingston pregnancy appetite!

Hayden is doing several new things now. He figured out how to climb onto the couch and all the chair and basically everything else, and has started saying some words. He says “car, eye, cookie, apple, cat, dog, diaper, daddy and hi.” He has also learned how to call the cats i.e. “pssswsswsswss.” He’s also eating sandwiches. The picture above is of his first attempt at PB&J cracker.

Helmut is doing great. He’s been working really hard to finish a project for Universal Studios which should be online in April. He’s been animating something called “script your trip.” He’s also been working hard to finish www.thegatestep.com for Dad. We also finally got his official Green Card yesterday!!!!! We’ve been waiting for this for about 6 months. We’re so relieved that we didn’t have to have another interview. Praise the Lord.

I’m including a few pics just for fun.

I have no idea what brought on this face.

Climbing the new light fixture.

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This is a picture of the wonderful birthday cake that Helmut made for my birthday. In case you can’t tell it’s German Chocolate Cake. My Favorite!!

We’ve been enjoying 70’s - 80’s and sunshine for the past week, reminding us of why we love Texas so much. I actually layed out 3 times last week, reminding ME of why i need to go on a diet. We are about to embark on a new exercise regime after making over the garage into a work out area. Starting tonight when the baby goes to bed, we go to work out….instead of sitting on the couch eating chocolate chip cookies (which we never ever do). I’ve included a few pictures of Hayden helping me fold the laundry…..

Yes, those are socks hanging out of his mouth…

This one mommy?

Who would have thought a child’s hamper could be hazardous?

Dad trying to get an edge on our weight loss challenge.

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I dreamed a couple of times that i made this post already, but realized the other day that i actually hadn’t posted anything since Hayden’s birthday. So here are some pictures from our stay in Mexico. We spent 4 days with Helmut’s family there over the Christmas break and had a really great time. Looking back all i can remember is eating. We ate ALOT. Nothing is quite as good as green salsa and corn tortillas. Just thinking about it now makes me want to go back.

We have Helmut’s biometrics meeting on wednesday for immigration. We’re so relieved that we’re not going to be interviewed again. Last time was such a nightmare (mostly because i was so nervous, the people there were really nice).

Helmut’s dad is baby proofing the screen door.

The very cool Christmas present turned weapon a few days ago, notice the cut under his left eye in the next picture…

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Hayden turned 1 year old yesterday!! We had a great little birthday party for him with some great friends from church. We ate a huge chocolate cake and some ice cream. Here are some pictures of the event…

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Helmut was out fixing the gutters the other day and left the ladder up next to the window. As you can see we’ve got a peeping tom. I blame Helmut….haha. Hayden is taking a nap at the moment and I am contemplating making some cookies. We finally got the immigration letter in the mail today so we are excited about going to Mexico soon and visiting with Helmut’s parents.

We had a great time with Dan and Erin on Monday and wished they could have stayed longer! They’re continuing to get support for Lahash, which is an organization that Dan started to support orphans and widows in Africa. It’s a really unique organization which Helmut and I fully support. At the moment they’re raising money for a number of things, one of which is a new school building for children in the Kibera slums. The school only costs 8,000 dollars and would mean a world of difference for those children and the people who have taken the responsibility of raising them. Hope is alive.

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We recently had two of our cats go missing, so being the responsible pet owner that I am I decided to call the Humane Society and see if either of them had turned up there. They told me they had one that matched the description I was looking for and to make a long story short we ended up bringing home a cat that looked identical to one of those that we had lost. For the first 2 hours Helmut and I were convinced this was one of our missing cats, then the reality donned no us. Our cat had a notch in his ear and this one doesn’t. At the time we both thought this cat looked a little bit crazy in the eyes, but I just thought it was because he’d been locked in a cage for 2 months. NOPE. So here we are with a new cat which Hayden loves. He’s been chasing it around the house and pulling it’s tail to his hearts content. We decided to name him Mr. Ripley since he’s such a good look alike. In this picture he’s trying to follow the cat out the cat door to the garage.

All the cat chasing got him so excited that he stood up all by himself for the first time on monday….yay!!

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Hey all, Things are going good here. We’re getting ready to celebrate Hayden’s 1st birthday in a couple of weeks. We went shopping on black friday and decided to get Hayden’s picture taken with Santa….so i thought i would share….on second thought i can’t seem to figure out how to get the picture to look bigger than a postage stamp, so i’m going to put up some different ones.

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We had a nice and relaxed Thanksgiving here. We spent some of the day decorating for Christmas and the other half we spent baking and eating, then topped it off with two movies (Oceans 13 and License to Wed). Don’t ask me what i was thinking when i picked out a 16lb turkey for only the three of us. There’s about 15 1/2 lbs left in the fridge. That should last us right up until we get another turkey for Christmas. This year actually turned out good I think, the only thing that bombed was the gravy. Hayden enjoyed his first taste of cheesecake as well as turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes(of course) and homemade bread… Now the weather has dropped to the icy 50’s and we’re huddled up in our house trying to keep warm.

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