We're Alive!

Hello Everyone! Are you finally ready to see Grant all grown up, crawling, with two teeth?! A lot has happened since the last update. It has been an eventful 4 or 5 months.

We left California in November on Emily's birthday and headed to the Grand Canyon. It was the first time seeing the canyon for Emily, and it was a wonderful experience. The whole family went on a helicopter ride to see the sights!

We then zig-zagged across the country seeing family in New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Alabama and South Carolina before getting to our final destination, Jacksonville, NC. It was great to see so many loved ones. Grant got to meet all five of his living great-grandparents. We got video of each meeting! He also had his first horseback ride (thanks, Fred!), his first helicopter flight (as mentioned above), his first Cesna flight and his first commercial jet flight.

Grant was a champ throughout the trip. He put up with a lot. That poor baby stopped sleeping well during the move and didn't sleep through the night again until he got his own crib in is own room in his new house! But we're skipping ahead. Nutmeg, who was on probation before the trip, won back a special place in John and Emily's hearts. She is an exceptional traveler and did very well.

When we arrived in NC, we stayed in a hotel for a while. Then we lived with some dear friends in New Bern for a few weeks. We were also invited to have Thanksgiving with some fine people at Carolina Beach! Some of those wonderful pictures will have to be uploaded later. We spent Christmas in AL with Em's family. We've also had quite a few visitors here already.

It took a while to find a home to buy, but we finally chose a new construction on a beautiful piece of land. There are woods, a creek and plenty of room to grow and play. We had to wait two long months, however, before the house would be ready to move in. Em and John thought it was the perfect opportunity to live on the beach one last time, so we lived in a rental for a couple of months. A mini-move in the midst of a big move! We finally got into our home in early February and have taken our time getting settled in. Some walls are painted, most of a fence is built, and plenty more will take place over the next few years.

John's work got going quickly. He started in a Cobra squadron, but got selected for a MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit) and "chopped" to a 46 squadron for that. He is doing work-ups for an upcoming deployment, but we'll leave out specifics of dates, etc. The east coast squadrons are certainly less laid back than the west cost.

Emily and Grant are doing well. We have a lot of friends in the area and try to get together for playdates from time to time. Em is starting a Bible study that she will host so she can get her friends to come over more often!

Grant is Eight months old! He's doing all the normal things that a little boy his age should and is keeping Mommy on her toes! Babyproofing is the new priority. Grant loves being tickled and says "Ba Ba Ba" all the time. For those who have heard it, he is still growling but enjoys making other sounds now too.

More later on things we forgot to tell you and new news! Love, Us!

(Pics below are in no particular order. One is from the squadron Christmas party. One shows how Grant loves his books. Seriously, we have to read him about seven books before bed each night or he protests!)

Time Flying, Baby Growing!

Hello Everyone! We're sorry that it has been a while since the last post. A lot has happened in a month!

Grant turned two months old on September 17th and went to the doctor for his first shots! He was quite mad about it but did fine. He is pictured here with his cool purple band aids! Also shown here are the first two mornings that Grant slept through the night! He is not currently sleeping through every night, but most of them. That makes Emily very happy!

That weekend, his Aunt Erin (Emily's Sister), came for a visit. Grant had fun meeting his first aunt! While Erin was here, we visited our Aunt Jean and Uncle Harold in Anaheim! So many new relatives. He had a great time at their house even though he doesn't really look like it in the picture!

The following weekend, Grant got to meet his Grandpa Davis! Yea!! We all just hung out and rested. It was a nice relaxing weekend. John went that weekend to Fort Worth to see his folks and attend his TCU Rugby reunion. It was a good time for him to catch up with the "old guys".

On Saturday, October 6th, John and Emily celebrated their 6th anniversary! The day was spent going to wineries in the Temecula Valley. Everyone had a lot of fun. Did Grant have too much fun? :)

John and Em also went on a date for the occasion! John surprised Emily with a dinner cruise on the San Diego Harbor that featured a speaker from the Natural History museum. He was an entomologist speaking on the role of insects in myths and religions. Sounds dorky and weird for dinner discussion, and it's right up Em's alley. ;) John enjoyed it too! That evening was the first time we got a babysitter. Our friend Kristen, down the street took care of Grant and they both did great! Mommy had the hardest time.

John finished his training on the 10th!Congratulations, John! We are now working on the details of our move to North Carolina in early November. John will be at the rifle range for a week and a half before the move, enjoying his time out of the office!

Finally, to celebrate the season, we went to a pumpkin farm last weekend! Grant was too
young for many of the fun events, but we had a good time. Enjoy the pics!! One of these last pictures is of Grant flying on Mommy's knees outside on a nice day. He's now three months old!

The Fam is Having Fun!

Hi Everyone!

Just wanting to show all the fun new pics of the family. We sure are having fun together! Right after the Labor Day weekend, we took a trip up to Hollywood to see the sights. We rode the train and the subway, took a tour of Kodak Theater (stood in the same place as Kelly Clarkson), rode a touring trolly to see all the big movie companies and walked along the stars on the Hollywood walk of fame. There were a lot of firsts for Grant! He was a champ. (It's hard

to see the name on the star that John is with. Can you guess? It's Charlise Theron. )

We've also spent a lot of time taking walks down to the beach and going to Jitters, our neighborhood coffee shop. Emily enjoys

taking Grant and Nutmeg to the Thursday morning farmers market which is in walking distance and the whole family goes to the Sunset Market Thursday evenings. There is live music, art, crafts and interesting food booths that sell things like savory waffles. Many of you have shared waffles at our table, so you know that is a hit! The library is also within walking distance. Armed with our library cards, we enjoy military history, parenting books and books about fuzzy farm animals!

We met our cousins Mark, Mari, Emiko and Aiko in Temecula on Saturday. It's nice to be close to family that we've never gotten to be near to before. Grant's little cousin Aiko was only 2 weeks old in this picture!


John is staying so busy, but is doing very well. This week included: getting gassed on Monday, night flight on Tuesday, two shoots on Wednesday (shooting from a Cobra at white painted rocks on the ground), a nav route on Thursday and forms on Friday! He's really keeping his cool through all the stress. Emily and Grant do their best to be cute and cheery for him at home.


Grant is eight weeks old today and is rolling over regularly. He turns his head vigorously to see who is talking, and he's having fun practicing standing (with Mom and Dad's help of course). He does not, however, enjoy tummy time. Grant is pictured below with his funny booties that rattle, helping him to notice that he has feet! He's such a cute, sweet boy. Enjoy the pics!

Our First Blog...

Hello family, friends and loved ones. This is our attempt at staying better connected with you and sharing information about what is going on in our lives! We especially want to show off Grant and how he is growing, so we'll be posting pictures as often as we can remember.


Grant is 6 weeks old and is just about to grow out of his newborn clothes and diapers. He's not really chunky, just very long! He measured 24 inches at the doctor's office this week, meaning he's grown an inch every week since birth! (Can you imagine if that continued?) He's beginning to smile a lot more and fix his gaze at things particularly Mommy and Daddy's faces. He's also much more talkative. Mommy could not keep him quiet in church this morning, and everyone got to hear him go poo poo!

John and Emily are adjusting to parenthood fairly well. Except for the plaster of paris hand print incident, we are all smiling and having fun. Slowly, Emily is getting a bit more sleep, and John gets to help with feeding from time to time.

The whole family went for a walk yesterday down to the pier and back. Lot's of people, surfing, fish and fun! Today, after the worship service, the wonderful people at our church threw us a baby shower! Grant made out with all sorts of cute new outfits, a baby bathtub and much more! We're so blessed by the people we've met here in California.

More soon on John's work and Emily's exciting days at home!