Happy 2nd Birthday Grady!

This weekend we had a great time celebrating our little buddy.  My family came down on Friday night, and then Pat and Roger came over Saturday evening for dinner and presents.  We also got a chance to FaceTime with both Beth and Tara and all the kids which was really great.  Grady enjoyed all the extra attention, would have been very happy with just one gift (we even saved a few till Sunday because he just wanted to play with what he had opened), sang Happy Birthday to himself, blew out his candles on the first try, and was so tired from it all he took a 3.5 hour nap on Sunday!

What can I tell you about Grady:

At his well-child check yesterday, he weighed in at 25 pounds (16th percentile), was 33 inches tall (16th percentile), and had a head circumference of 20.5 inches (95 percentile).  Dr. Menke, whom he was super shy with, said he was looking good and doing great.  Poor little guy had to get two shots and his finger pricked.  It was all a bit emotional for Buster/Buddy (as we like to call him these days).  A few other size facts:  Grady wears size 7 shoes, 18 month-2T jeans with the bigger ones rolled over the waist and up at the bottoms, and 24 month-2T shirts.

I'm pretty sure (although I am obvioulsy bias) we have one of the happiest two year olds out there!  He loves being tickled and giggling, throwing balls of any kind (football, basketball, baseball), shooting hoops, jumping and dancing, playing cars, and going to the park and hanging off whatever possible.  He's clearly a pretty physical kid, but he's also so darn sweet.  He voluntarily tells me his "woves" me, gives the best fishy-face kisses, and gives great hugs - all this just about melts my heart. He gets so excited when Brian gets home and runs and kisses me when I pick him up from daycare.  He says "thank you" or wait, it's "hank you" often without even being asked these days, though we're still working on please.

Currently, Grady's also obsessed with my phone or the iPad and knows how to use them disturbingly well.  His favorite movie is Brave because of the bears, and he also likes to watch Diego, Sherriff Callie, and whatever else his sisters convince him is a good choice.  We try really hard to not watch too much television, but it's inevitable that its on a little bit every day.  Grady also really likes his books - we often read the same ones...anything about trucks, the fish book, Dinasaurompus, Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny, Are You a Cow?, and Five Little Monkeys.

Grady has also started to show interest in puzzles and coloring, and I need to remember to get these things out for him more often.  He really likes helping me start the washer and dryer and is a great helper at the grocery store.  Overall, Grady's a pretty independent player - it works out well because if I need to get something done, he'll come along and do his own thing while I do mine.

I feel like Grady has been trying to be big for a long time - in fact my sister-in-law commented on this even back in summer.  Maybe this is because he's so vocal and so determined to do whatever it is the big kids are doing.  It's definitely not because he's a big kid as his percentiles show!  In terms of talking - Grady has a large vocabulary and says a lot of 2-4 word sentences - if I can call them that.  I understand him really well, and Olivia and Grace usually know what he wants if I can't understand him which is quite convenient!  Overall, he's really good at expressing himself, and while he occasionally gets frustrated because we can't figure out what he wants, he's decent at showing us and not having a total meltdown.  He's definitely "2" though, and I've seen more of the opinionated, occasionally stubborn, and sometimes naughty Grady come out as of the past month or so.

Speaking of naughty, one of my least favorite things right now is Grady's biting.  I know this won't last for too long and is totally related to his teeth.  Overall he's been our kid who bites, but usually this is related to teething.  He went through a spurt a few months ago - got his bottom 2-year molars.  He's been doing it on and off lately, and I spied his top molars last week.  Sometimes Grady hits, but mostly he likes to tattle - "Wivia (Olivia) hit Gady (Grady) head" or "Gace (Grace) push Gady."  Despite what those sentences imply, Grady loves his sisters big time, and the feeling is mutual!  They all play together really well, like wrestling, and Grady certainly seeks comfort from them.  He never really gets upset when we have a babysitter because he's just excited to play and knows the girls are there to mommy him - in fact, a few times we've come home to reports that Olivia put Grady to bed!

In terms of a schedule, Grady wakes up between 6:30 and 7, takes a nap around 1 (usually 2-2.5 hours), and heads to bed around 7:30-8.  He likes books before nap and bedtime, still loves his wabi (his paci) and blankets, and requests to sit and cuddle in the chair.  We put up his big boy bed this weekend, and he did sleep well in it for that one crazy long nap, but he's otherwise requested to sleep in his crib - so glad I didn't take it down.  He keeps biting holes in his pacifiers, so we're down to two, and I've told myself I'm not buying any more (we'll see if I have the self-discipline)!

I'm sure I could go on and on about this little guy, but I think I've got all the main stuff covered and then some.  Can't express how very shocked I am that Grady is two already.  How does time fly so fast? Brian asked Olivia the other day if she remembers when Grady wasn't a part of our family, and she said not really.  I love that.  So happy our little buddy is here with us.

Here are a few birthday party pictures: