Christmas all over again!

Posted on Jan. 18, 2009 at 2:12 PM - Post Comment

Well I am finally posting some pictures and stories from our visit with Gaga and Grandpa Schmidt.  They came to visit on New Year's Day, and we had lots of fun.

They arrived on Thursday evening, after Grady was in bed.  Friday morning we got up and did a little Christmas morning.  They gave Grady a big water table (which he has already played with and loves), a HUGE ride-on excavator for his big sandbox, a little drum, and some other little gifts. 

That afternoon we went to the mall for a bit and then went out to dinner with G, who was so so good.  I have just realized that he is not the normal 2-year-old boy.  He loves going to restaurants.  He is super social so I think that's why.  

The next day we went and had our pictures taken.  G was in a great mood, and they came out very cute!  That evening we went to Barnes and Noble where G just wanted us to endlessly read to him.   Then we went out to dinner again and G was GREAT again.  He actually ordered his own dinner for the first time.  When the waiter came to the table he said "I would like a pizza please".  Seriously - he said all that!  It was so cute.  He ate really well too. 

The last day that the grandparents were here we went to Monkey Joe's, a play place with all sorts of bouncy stuff to jump around on.  Grady had tons of fun and wanted to go down the bouncy slide again and again.  At first he went with Daddy, but then Daddy would just go up with him and then shoot him down by himself.  He looked so tiny going down that huge slide alone, but he had the biggest smile on his face.  Then he would get to the bottom and turn around so he could watch Daddy come down.

Here are some pictures of Grady when he first saw Grandpa the morning after they got in:

opening a new Hess truck!

A giant Sesame Street activity book:

toy drum:

The new excavator!

playing in his playroom while Gaga and Grandpa were here:

playing with a new giant trash truck (actually a recycling truck!) that Jim (who Daddy works with) gave him:

Reading, which has been his favorite activity lately.  He will either "read" alone, pointing out what he sees or reciting stories he knows, or he will endlessly bring books to me and ask me to read them to him.

Playing with his new Cozy Coupe, a late Christmas gift from Mama and Dada:

We have also been very busy with fun activities in the past week or so.  Last weekend we went to the science center, and Grady got to touch all sorts of animals - snakes, sting rays, and a chinchilla, to name a few!  We took Grady to the "Baby Symphony" yesterday (I just call it that).  It was so cute.  Small groups from the local symphony orchestra do free concerts for little kids.  They also read a story at the same time (read by an actress from a local theater group).  So she would read some and then they would play. They played Bach yesterday.  Then all of the musicians talked about their instruments and talked about how they work.  Grady was so good.  He actually sat in Eric's lap the entire time and just watched and listened.  It was a lot of fun!  They have several throughout the year, so we plan on going again.

The other piece of news is that Grady has been using his "teeny tiny toilet" for a couple months now.  It has been on and off, but in the past couple weeks he has been going more consistently and using it more often.  Way to go Grady!  We will probably not make a big effort with it until the spring or so, but for now he is doing great!