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Grady is Three!Posted on Dec. 5, 2009 at 1:43 PM - Post CommentThis post has been very difficult for me to write, and if I don't just do it now it will never get done. I guess it has been hard because Grady is SUCH a person now, at three. He's a happy, mischievous, warm, kind, and loving person. We laugh and smile together all day long (with some exceptions, of course!). We are just like best friends, seriously. That sounds silly, but it just feels that way to me. We are so very close, and I am so grateful about that. So it just seems impossible to put that all into words. How can you possibly describe what is great, special, and important about your child? How can you CAPTURE them in words? I wish I could, but it's not possible - not even close. Grady is a larger-than-life sort of guy, and my love for him is certainly larger than anything I ever imagined could exist. Above all, what I would say about Grady is that he makes me so proud. When I see a bunch of kids playing or his class walking out of his school, I look at him and think how very lucky I am that he is my child. Children are born already being who they are, to a large degree, and I am just so happy that he is the person he is. So that's the emotional aspect of it all, now let me try to capture some of his latest milestones and developments... *He was extremely easy to potty train. I think this was a combination of him and the fact that we were very laid-back about it. He has been potty trained during the day since September. We had about 2 days with a few accidents, and that was it. There have been a couple random ones here and there since but not in a long time. He still wears a pull-up at night and for nap. I'm not in any big hurry to change that since I really believe it will be obvious when he's ready. *I still consider him a somewhat picky eater, though I think I may be overstating that based on what I see other children his age eating. He is funny though - doesn't care for french fries but love some really healthy things like fresh fish and yogurt (has to have that basically every morning). He'll even eat plain yogurt with just a little honey and fruit. He loves fruit in general and will eat basically any type. *He's really a great sleeper. Naps are hit and miss now, which I really think is normal at this age. If he doesn't nap he has "quiet time" for about an hour. He really does stay quiet and relax too. If he takes a nap he sleeps about 12 hours at night (7-7) and if he doesn't nap, he sleeps about 13 hours at night (6:30-7:30). He goes to bed with absolutely no problems at night, which I consider quite a blessing! *He is now a very healthy little boy. The reflux seems to be gone, and he is now off of the Prevacid. And this summer he was tested again for food allergies, and they found none. Our food trials confirmed this, and he can now eat anything without problems. *He is a very good sharer and really always has been. There will be times I have to remind him, but it seems to come naturally to him. His teachers have even commented on it. *He LOVES trucks and always wants to learn all about them. He can name most types (excavator, backhoe, etc). He definitely now knows more about trucks than his Mama. Luckily Dada can help him out. And then there is always Grampy Bruce for those really tough questions :) *He asks tons and tons and TONS of questions. I would say this has been for almost the past year. But now he often asnwers them too. He'll ask something and before we can answer will say "I think it's because..." He also asks very involved questions and lots of follow up questions. *LOVES babies - this was true even before I was pregnant. If there is a baby in the room he will be attached to its side. He is SO very excited about another baby joining the family. He asks when it can come out just about every day. He also often refers to it as "my baby". He hugs and kisses my belly a lot. *He is VERY observant - our little FBI agent :) He just notices everything and you can pull nothing over on him. He definitely gets this from Eric. *He is starting to get more excited about getting big. For a while he would say he wanted to stay little. Now he has been saying "I am getting to be a big boy!" But he generally refers to himself as a "little boy". *He can do simple little math problems. Like if we ask "if you have three and take away two, how many do you have?" he can figure it out. We actually started with this because he asks all the time "what is five and five?" Maybe we DO have a future engineer on our hands! *He's a very verbal little guy, especially for a boy. He is more verbal than most girls I see, and I don't just mean his great vocabulary. He just talks more than really anyone I know or have ever met - oh, except for myself. *Is a great rhymer - started this about 6 months ago maybe. He loves to just start saying things and then rhyme and rhyme.. Sometimes the words are even made up - but they rhyme! If yoiu ask him what rhymes with something he will always play along. Lately he has been getting more talented at this like "hamburger...bamdurger!" *He knows just about every letter in the alphabet consistently. J and S still confuse him though. He also can tell you the sounds that many of them make. And if you ask him what letter a certain word starts with, he can often figure that out too. *He knows his colors and shapes very well. Of course sometimes he will forget one, but he's pretty darn good with that. *He will give his full name (first, middle, and last) if asked. *He knows lots of states (it helps that we have relatives all over and have travelled to a lot of those places with him) and seems to love geography. If he sees a globe, he will shout "the world!" and want to look at it. *Knows the state and city he lives in. Sometimes remembers the road but more often says we live on "Pelham Road". I have no idea whay - it's a major shopping area, so maybe I shop too much? Haha. Oh, it's also funny that he often tells strangers "I live in South Carolina - where do you live?" Such a social guy! *Probably the thing that defines Grady and what everyone notices is his HUGE smile that is almost always on his face. It's not just a smile but a full body excitement that he gets over every little thing. He just seems to love life. *He is very social and loves to meet new people, especially adults. *He is a very affectionate boy. We get so many hugs, kisses, and "nosey noseys" every day that I can't even count. I just truly enjoy that child and look forward to another exciting year with the "G Man"! For a little fun... Grady on the day he was born On his first birthday On his second birthday (Thanksgiving) And here he is at three!
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