The Growing Gant Family...

He took his first steps...Now we'll see how quickly he catches on. I better go get my running shoes! (Haven't caught it on video yet, but I'm sure it won't be long before we can post a clip.)

What a joy it is to celebrate Christmas with your child. Not that William was really interested in any of the toys, but he LOVED all the paper, bows and lights (don't worry, he got interested in the toys later)! My parents came up for Christmas so we were blessed to be able to spend Christmas day with both my family and Curtis'. My brother met up with his biological family a couple weeks before Christmas and was actually able to bring his bio brother and cousin along with him on their trip to Oregon. It was nice to meet them and spend some time getting to know them. Here's a pic of one of the Christmas presents we made with them...some handmade marshmallow shooters. William's Aunt Lori arranged for all the cousins to have matching sweaters. It was way too cute to see them all matching. I am so blessed to have the family that I do. Me and my men.

So, our camera went missing for a few weeks...William's now 10 months old and I can hardly beleive how quickly time passes. He enjoys pulling himself up on everything ! Mom can't take her eye of him for very long before he's gotten into something (o: He flashes that mischevious smile after I've told him "No" and reaches out to try it again...Just in case mom's changed her mind. He's definitely said the words "Dadda" and "Mamma" and enjoys eating almost anything mom puts in front of him...as well as many things she doesn't (o: Here are some recent pics... William decided he could help mom with the dishwasher... My litte boy in his snow hat...minus the snow (o: Helping Mom wrap Christmas gifts The smile that melts my heart...Even when he's in trouble.

We had 2 Thanksgiving's this year. Daddy had to work Thanksgiving Day while William and I spent the day at his Mom's with all the step-relatives. It was a great time, as always. It's taken me awhile to get this post up, but I had a few fun pics to post. Ray, Colby and Jessie decided they'd try William's method of getting around... Colby just loved William! The girls (Kennedy & Jessi) and I with William. How they make me laugh. Our 2nd Thanksgiving was spent in Kelso at my Aunt and Uncle's house. Here's some fun pics from that day too! One of my favorites...Me and my sweet cousins Syd & Addi So Sweet...My 93 year old Great Grandma and William...Love it. My Aunt Lisa and cousin Syd

William's first Thanksgiving. We actually made a trip back to MN to visit my Mom's side of the family for the holidays. Curtis had never been and I couldn't remember the last time I had been back to see everyone. We actually left before Thanksgiving Day because Curtis had to work, but were able to spend some quality time with my grandparents, aunts & uncles, and cousins. I'll post a few pics on this post, but there were far too many to post them all. For those who want to see the rest, I'll get them on Facebook...eventually (o: Some time with Grandma Great. William is her 8th great grandchild! Having a laugh with Grandpa Great! Getting to know Aunt Pam Meeting Aunt Cindy and Todd for the first time... Getting to know Aunt Cindy's mules while visiting the Amish... William was quite intrigued

Mom decided it was time to give William his first haircut. I know, he hardly has any hair, but those little hair "wings" above his ears were driving me nuts (o: I sat him in his highchair and snipped away. The photos aren't much, but you can see that he decided after the first snip that he wasn't too thrilled with having to sit still. I saved the little "snips" for his baby book. I also recently gave William a bath in the kitchen sink...Hadn't done that in awhile! It was a nice substitute for our current lack of a bathtub in the house (due to a little remodeling). He loves water; cried when I went to take him out (o:

It's really not going to be long before William's walking. He's learned that he can muster up enough strength to pull himself up to things and he's loving it! He loves holding onto our hands and walking all around. He gets a huge smile on his face and it's pretty cute. Here's a pic of when he found mom's small stool....A very nice height to pull himself up to. He got into a stand and then just stood there for a very long time. Didn't get frustrated, just talked and smiled and bounced around like "Look at me Mom...Look what I can do!" I even left the room to see if he'd cry. Nope. He enjoyed himself for quite a while until he had to figure out how to get down on his own. He made it...little bump on the head, but he made it. I'm sure there will be many more "bumps" to come. **William's definitely starting to talk too. He says "Dadda" all the time. And when he's not saying "Dadda", he's ...

And along came tooth #2...same spot on the top just the other side. Now we're wondering where the front two are..."All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!" (o:

Curtis joked before we left for CA that William was going to come back walking, talking and with a full mouth of teeth. Granted, they do change quite a bit in 2 weeks, but I assured him that he wouldn't change that fast (o: So, William saved his first tooth for Daddy...We noticed it popped through the day we came home. Now I wonder, "What's he gonna look like with teeth?" It's gonna change his smile, but I'm thinkin' it's gonna make him even more cute! (*No pics...can't quite see it with the camera yet)

William got to spend some extra time with his Uncle Maurice during our CA visit. It was a lot of fun watching the two of them bond. Maurice has a way with the little ones. Here are a few pics of the two of them together... William learning guitar from Uncle Mar There was always giggles while they were together...from both of them.

We're down here in CA, just William and I, while daddy spends some time remodeling our home. We miss him alot, but it's been a joy seeing my mom and dad as grandparents. It's definitely going to be different around here when we leave. William's been quite the entertainment. I got a halloween costume and brought it down here (even though we won't be here for Halloween). I thought it would be fun to put it on while we went to the pumpkin patch. Here are some pics of our times at the patch... My little bumblebee! It felt like 80 degrees...I'm sure it felt a lot warmer inside his costume! Sportin' his John Deere hat on the tractor. Kickin' it in the squash bin Sitting with Grandpa and Grandma amidst the pumpkins

We went and hung out with William's cousins the other day. It was nice so we were playing outside...in the dirt (they're boys...where else?). I plopped William down with Zane, Luke and Cade to play in the dirt with them. They were a bit surprised I let him. Zane was even more surprised when William picked up a stick and started chewing on it. He asked me if I thought he was chewing on it because it tasted good. I told him he'd better try it and see (o: Luke had to check it out too. Conclusion: sticks don't taste good. I then explained why babies stick EVERYTHING in their mouths. *They later came up with the same conclusion about grass..."It's kinda bitter!" Zane told me. My little stick eater Let's see if I can find a good one... Zane chose his stick and took a taste! Cousin Luke telling Aunt Melissa that Zane was right "Sticks don't taste very good!"

A lot of my time this summer has been working in the garden; using it's harvest to store away some food for the year. William's been my right hand man when it comes to helping (I guess you'd call it that!). Today I was picking basil leaves to put in my dehydrator. He decided to taste one (didn't like the flavor too much)and was always on the go to try and grab all the leaves I had already set on the racks. William's also discovered that he can now get to the dogs wherever they are. He enjoys pulling their tails and grabbing fist fulls of hair. He gets a big smile on his face when he does it too...And although Rags tolerates it (he's such a good doggy!), he's still not too sure about the little guy that can now come and get him!

So it's taken me awhile to post a video of William crawling. The first time he crawled I caught it on camera but the video clip was so long it wouldn't upload. Since then, every time I've tried to video William's crawl, he looked at me, smiled and didn't move (o: I finally caught him in action today, smiles and all (sorry it's crooked...not sure how to fix it)!

Here are a few of my favorite family pictures that we took while in California with my family (it was tough choosing favorites!). It was a lot of fun having the whole family together.

Our little boy is rolling himself all over the place! He's also inching his knees up to crawl...Rest assured it won't be long before there will be no stopping him! He holds his head up high and enjoys waddling around the house in the walker we bought him. I had to include this bath picture. Check out William's California farmer's tan (o: He's been enjoying the tastes and textures of some solid foods, but still thoroughly enjoys mamma's milk. It's been fun using my garden's harvest to give him the opportunity to try so many different things.

How do I sum up 2 weeks of vacation...We were blessed with a fantastic California road trip and a wonderful time with my family. Here are some of the highlights while there... *We got the entire family together for the first time in a long time (and I'm not quite sure when it'll happen again) for a family picture...Mom, Dad, Mel & Thomas, Tune, Maurice, Chris, Curtis, I & William. It was a lot of fun. Stay tuned and I'll pick some of our favorites for a separate post. *William got to meet all the boys of the family for the first time, Uncle Maurice, Uncle Chris and Uncle Thomas. It was pretty fun to see the reactions on all their faces when they met him for the first time. *William enjoyed the California beach for the first time. Of course, the camera batteries died while we were there so we only have a few pics for proof. None the less, he had fun trying to eat sand and splashing his feet in the water. *We enjoyed the Wild Animal Park near mom and dad's...