Kelly in NC

Gage,
You are now two and a half years old, although you frequently claim that you are five like Grayson. With these additional months, you independence has blossomed. You are currently at a stage where you insist on doing everything for yourself. From putting on your shirt to climbing onto the changing table, you prefer to be the one in charge. I recently read a parenting book- Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood, that reminded me of the importance of allowing you to explore your independence and learn to do things for yourself. Since instituting some of their techniques, both your and my frustration levels have decreased. I now watch you attempt things for yourself and only intervene when time dictates that I must or when it is obvious that you need some assistance. I have enjoyed seeing your problem solving skills increase. You have a brilliant mind that is always looking for a way to tackle the next challenge.
Speaking of tackling, Gage you are quite the aggressive little boy. Now I mean this in only the most pleasant way. You LOVE to wrestle, especially with Grayson and Daddy. The problem is that sometimes you become a bit too physical- hauling off and hitting or scratching someone in the face. I am certain that this is a “second born” trait. Because in addition to your stamina, you also seldom cry when you get hurt and you often attempt (and often complete) things that are advanced for your age. You love to play in the jump house and do forward flips (sometimes without hands). You have an excellent sense of balance. You can hang and swing from the monkey bar on the swing set and you love to play with Grayson’s legos. You can balance on one foot, hop, walk backwards, and you can throw/catch a medium sized ball. Your are pretty good at soccer and can make a running kick.
Academically, you learned to sing your ABCs, understand “yesterday and tomorrow”, and you use shape and color words. You can count to 10 and seem to understand sets of one, two, three, and four. You continue to LOVE books, often asking for us to read one book right after another. You know how to turn paper pages one at a time and you coordinate text with pictures. Your coloring is getting better, but continues to be mostly scribble.
So Gage as you can imagine the last month of your life has been very busy. You never sit still for long and you often have something funny to say (such as how you whisper in Daddy’s ear every night at dinner, “Tractor cut grass.”) You are so active that you still take 3 hour naps in the afternoon and you still LOVE to sleep at night. Daddy and I love all 29 pounds of you and are so glad to be your parents. I can’t wait to see what the next 3 months has in store for you because it is obvious that you are growing up in a hurry.
I love you more and more each day.
Love, Mommy

Tim and I took the boys up to Bass Pro Shops again for their annual ‘free” photo with Santa. Both boys were all ‘pumped’ up for the visit. They waited in line patiently and watched Santa as he visited with some of the other children. When it was finally their turn, Grayson grabbed Gage’s hand and attempted to go see St. Nick. However, at that point Gage got stage fright and refused to move. Grayson gave Gage one final tug before letting him loose and running to Santa with his list in hand.
Gage watched from afar as Grayson recited his Christmas list- including the items that Gage requested. By the time Gray finished talking to Santa, Gray took one final look at Gage, realized that there was no way he was going to be part of the photo, and then smiled his biggest smile for the camera. So no Santa and Gage photo this year. But I have an awesome photo of Grayson and Santa. Maybe next year, Gage will be back into the Santa spirit!

In the car on the way to school, Grayson asks Gage, “Hey Gage. Are you awesome?” Gage replies, “No. I’m cool!”

Grayson was telling me all about his upcoming Thanksgiving program at school. I said to him, “So what are you in the play? A pilgrim or an Indian?” Grayson looked at me in total exasperation and said, “Umm Mom. I think you mean ‘Native American” and I am a pilgrim.” Whoops. Guess it is time to start getting PC lessons from my Kindergartner!

Dear Grayson,
At 5½ years old, you continue to amaze me. I have begun to realize that all of the hard work that Daddy and I have invested is finally beginning to pay off and you continue to make me proud. While I can see many of the great qualities we have instilled in you such as your creativity, imagination, love of learning, and social nature, this has also been my first glance at where we have let you down and the qualities that we still need to impress upon you. My work as your mom is not complete, nor will it be for quite some time.
Beginning Kindergarten this fall was a challenge for you and, to be honest, for me. I tried to hide my tears on your first day of school, but there were too many to easily disguise. There are too many emotions wrapped together on that day to accurately define the cause of my tears. I big part of me was sad to say good-bye to the “baby Grayson”. I knew that as you walked through those doors, you would begin the journey away from my mothering arms where I have taught you and protected you for so long. I also felt worried. Would you like your teacher, make friends, do well in school? Would academics come easily for you or would your struggle? Would everyone get to see the wonderful qualities about you that I see? Your funny wit, considerate heart, and warm smile? Would kids be nice to you and make you feel as special as Daddy and I always tried to make you feel? Will you treat others in a way that will make me proud? I also cried because I felt so overwhelmed with pride. I looked at you and thought, as I often have, “how did I get so lucky as to be your mom?” You looked so grown up in your school uniform, carrying your backpack. You were so excited to walk into school with me and Daddy. You said hello to kids and adults as you went through the halls and it was obvious how confident you felt… at least until Daddy and I had to walk away. Now perhaps it was because of the tears rolling down my own cheeks, but it was at that point that you became anxious. You cried, “I want my Mommy” and ran back to give Daddy and me hugs and kisses. We reassured you that everything would be great and then sent you back on your way to Mrs. Laufer’s class. Kindergarten would be the first test of how well we had prepared you (and ourselves) for the real world.
Your first day in Mrs. Laufer’s class went well, but on the second day we saw that there was much you still needed to learn about going to “big school”. Mostly you were too social for a large classroom; not wanting to stay in your seat and often wanting to talk to the teacher or classmates. Furthermore, when you were reprimanded your heart broke in disappointment and you went into a frenzy of emotion. This patterned continued for a few weeks and to be honest I struggled with knowing the right way to help you. I knew that you were a great kid, but I also knew that you needed to learn how to follow the classroom rules. I knew that your level of anger and frustration were because you knew your teacher and parents were disappointed. It broke my heart to see you come to my office each day upset with yourself, calling yourself “stupid” because you did jumping jacks in line, didn’t sit in your chair correctly, or forgot to raise your hand. Finally I met with your teacher and we decided to try a different behavior plan for you; one where one mistake did not have to make you feel bad about your entire day. We began using a sticker chart about a month ago and you seem to have finally learned the self-control needed for Kindergarten. Thanks to the patience and kindness of Mrs. Laufer, the last few weeks have been excellent.
Aside from learning how to follow the rules of your classroom, the rest of Kindergarten seems to be a breeze for you. At the parent conference, Mrs. Laufer indicated that academically you are doing well, toward the top of the class in your reading and writing. You have made friends easily and you seem to love every activity at school. It is impossible for you to pick which special you enjoy the most. PE, Library, Computer, Music, Art, Spanish? All of them you find fun. You love eating in the cafeteria, especially on Chick-fil-a or pizza day, and you enjoy your time at recess playing dinosaurs, or watching the work at the lime rock mine behind the play ground. By far, your most favorite part of going to school is riding the bus each morning and afternoon with your bus buddy, Jake Rape. Every afternoon, you fill my ears with stories and ideas you and Jake have created on trips between campuses.
In addition to all that you have learned since entering kindergarten, you also learned a lot this summer. This past summer was the 1st summer that you & Gage stayed home with me for the entire 6 weeks. We had so much fun going on field trips each day. We went to the zoo, many museums, lots of libraries, and plenty of parks. Each day was a fun adventure for us. From swimming to playing t-ball you have kept us busy; as I am sure you will for the next 13+ years!
Yes, Grayson, since the day you were born, I have always been proud of you. I have shown you off at every opportunity I could and I have pointed out to others all your accomplishments (which most likely other people have gotten a bit tired of ☺). Truthfully, with you starting Kindergarten, I again felt the wonder, excitement, and anxiety I felt on the first day of your life. I felt the pressure of wanting to be the best mom for you but I also felt the knowledge that you must learn how to take care of yourself. So at 5 ½ years old, I have sent you off into the real world. It has been a challenge for both of us, but I am glad to say that we have risen to the challenge and we are both better for it!
I love you more and more each day.
Love,
Mommy

Gage,
The past 3 months have been jammed pack with lots of fun, learning, and growing. For the first 6 weeks, we spent the summer together going on field trips and having fun at home. You loved seeing all the trains at the NC Transportation Museum and you could have spent every day in the pool. You love to swim and are not afraid to wade into the pool until the water reaches your ear lobes! You try to swim by kicking your legs and moving your arms, but are not very good at keeping you mouth closed yet. In July, you spent 5 full days away from Mommy and Daddy- the longest we have ever been away from you since birth. Nagy, Pop-pop, & Mimi kept you so busy that I am not even sure if you realize that we had left.
At the end of July, you began at your new school. You cried every morning when I dropped you off for almost 2 weeks, but then decided that you like your new school and haven’t cried since. Matter of fact, I now have to demand a hug and kiss before you go inside because otherwise you will be too busy to give me one! Your teacher Ms. Sheena loves having you in her class and she says that for the most part you are a welcome addition. There are of course some days that you decide to pinch or not share, but I guess we can’t expect perfection at all times! Around the time that you began at 1st Assembly, you also demonstrated an interest in potty training. For almost a month you were very excited about using the potty, but lately have lost all interest. I am not pushing the issue yet, but I do feel perplexed about why you would just decide to stop using the toilet.
It terms of you motor development, you have gotten much faster at running and you no longer use the chicken wing for momentum. You enjoy coloring, or more accurately, scribbling. You can identify red, blue, green, white, yellow, orange, and purple. You can now climb up and down stairs while standing unassisted, although we still have a rule that you must still have supervision. You have gotten very good at driving the John Deer Gator; narrowly avoiding hitting the car or driving over my flowers and often showing off by driving with no hands! You can now balance on one foot, hop off the ground on two feet, climb over the back of the couch (although that is against the rules), and you can walk backwards. You are now allowed to climb the swing set by yourself and you still love going down the slide. I am most amazed at your ability to kick a ball (while running) and you are also pretty good at throwing.
Academically, I have also seen lots of growth this quarter. I already mentioned that you know most of your colors, but you are also good at identifying shapes and the numbers 1-5. You will finally count to 5 without skipping the number 2. Your vocabulary is immeasurable. You often say things that I had no idea that you understood. One of my favorite saying of yours right now is when you say I don’t know. When you say that it sounds like, “Mmm Mmm know.” and you complete the phrase with a shrug of your shoulders. The other thing you say that always makes me laugh is your response if we ask your name. You reply, “gage.” Then if I ask what is your whole name you say, “Gagey, Pagey, Poo.” I cannot convince you that your full name is Gage Chancey. Too funny!
As for growing, you are now wearing 24 month/ 2T clothes and have moved to a size 6 shoe. Your back molars are finally breaking the gums. You must be growing taller as you are now able to reach the widow button in the car.
So Gage, as you can tell, a lot has changed over the past 3 months. YOu seem to get bigger and smarter with each passing moment. Luckily you haven’t gotten too big for cuddles, hugs, and kisses. I plan to steal as many of the moments as I can before you out grown them. As always, I continue to enjoy watching your grow and change. I am forever proud to be your mommy.
Love always,
Mommy.

Gage,
This marks the 730th day of your life. A lot has changed about you in the two years since your birth. I can remember how much Daddy and I anticipated meeting you on your birthday. I remember thinking as the epidural quit working on one side of my body, that you had better make your arrival soon. As luck would have it you arrived within 3 pushes, and that began the first of all my worries about you. As you entered the world, I waited and waited to hear your first cry. You were completely blue and even after the nurses vigorously rubbed, you still did not make a sound. I remember watching them whisk you away and crying as I realized that something was not right. When I finally heard you let out a scream it was music to my ears and nothing felt as wonderful as when I was finally able to hold you. Daddy and I were amazed at how small and perfect you were. You had a head full of dark hair and you constantly scrunched up your forehead like Uncle Joe. Your skin was perfectly clear and to me you looked like an angel.
So yes, a lot has changed since then. You have grown from 6 pounds 12 ounces to 27.4 pounds (50%) and your height has changed from 20 inches to 32, 3/4 inches (25%). We have watched as you have discovered your independence and your “spunk” as we like to call it. Let’s just say that your angel face is really just a disguise for the little devil who lives inside. To say that you are independent or determined is an understatement. In your mind you are as big and as tough as Grayson and you do not appreciate anyone who tries to tell you differently. Within the last month your favorite words are to say, “Gagey do it!” as you insist on doing EVERYTHING for yourself. From putting on your shoes to climbing into the car, you would prefer to prove that you are a big boy now. As for your “toughness”, truth be told you are actually tougher than Grayson. For most bumps and bruises, you just continue right on your way without letting out a peep. Sometimes you will say, “Oh gosh. bump head.” and that is after receiving a goose egg on your forehead. You have had more bumps, bruises, and cuts than any other child I know and yet you never let them slow you down.
Gage, as I think back over the past two years and compare all the ways that you have changed, it dawns on me that there is one thing that has not changed…my love for you. From the first moment I saw you, I was smitten. I love watching you grow and I love all the laughs you give me. You are a ball of energy mixed with a big dose of sweetness. I treasure each of your Gagey kisses and I squeeze just a little big longer than necessary on your Gagey hugs because I know that these sweet cuddly moments will not last forever. I promise to love you forever and to let you grow up, even though there is a part of me that would like to keep you as my “baby” forever. Happy 2nd birthday Gagey!
Love,
Mommy

Gage,
You are now 23 months old, only one month shy of your birthday. You may not be 2 yet, but in my opinion, you already act that old… if not older. You now weigh ??? pounds and your vocabulary continues to grow and grow. You now talk in 2-3 word sentences and I have been amazed this month to see you try to piece together phrases in a effort to tell a story. For example you said to me one morning, “Boo boo. Knee. Kahen ouse (Karen’s house). Maggie. Fell. Gate.” What you were trying to remind me about was how Karen’s dog Maggie pushed you down by the gate at her house, causing you to scrape your knee. I swear that I can see the wheel turning inside you head as you try to think up the right word to use. You seem to understand EVERYTHING and before long Daddy and Grayson are going to have some serious competition in the talking contests that go on at dinner time and in the car. (Lord, please help me now!) Besdies your vocabulary growth, not much has changed in the past month. So instead of discussing milestone on this post, I thought it might be fun to document YOU at 23 months, with a Day In The Life montage. By photographing each moment of the day, I hope to capture some of the more mundane tasks, that I otherwise never write about.
I love you more and more each day!
Love,
Mama

8:00- Time to get up! Gage, for whatever reason, you never cry out when you wake up. You will stay in your bed, playing happily until someone (usually Daddy) walks in to wake you up. Even then you resist getting out of your crib. you often throw yourself to the mattress, laying as flat as possible, laughing, saying “no”, waiting for the moment you are scooped up. You always bring your “taggie” and paci with you to the changing table when you get dressed for the day. Before leaving the room, you throw the taggie and paci back into the crib

8:15- Brush your teeth! Gage, you insist of brushing your own teeth for at least the first 60 seconds. What you are really doing, is sucking all the baby toothpaste off the toothbrush. Afterwards it is Mommy or Daddy’s turn to really clean your teeth. Sometime you comply, other times we have to put you in a headlock and scrub away.

8:30- Waiting for breakfast. Daddy almost always makes breakfast on the weekends. This gives you time to read your books or play with your toys…
and sometimes time to steal toys from Grayson.

9:10- Feed Ollie. You and Grayson love to chore of feeding the dog. You each get to give him one scoop of food and then fight over whose turn it is to pour water in his dish.

9:15- Breakfast. At 23 months you are a picky eater. Sometimes you will eat 2 or 3 helpings of oatmeal. Other times you will take two bites and declare “all done.” By the way, you still give the sign for all done, which I think is pretty cute! This morning you ate ok, but insisted with whining and crying for more ketchup and on having more salt. This occured after you saw Daddy add it to his plate. Also, you love your “chaulky mik” (chocolate milk).

9:45- Diaper change. You asked me, “Daddy dough” (Daddy go?) and I pointed you toward the office. You ran right in there, found him, and said, “Daddy, poopy!” I guess you wanted him to change it!

10:00 Play time! Gage, you have gotten so good at playing by yourself, at least for a little while. You love to play with trucks, tractors, and trains. Eventually you will try to get Grayson to join you, although in my opinion your techniques may need to be adapted. Stealing Grayson’s toy, slapping him in the back of the head, and kicking him are not the best ways to get your brother to play with you.

10:30 Play with Mommy. I intervened to stop you from tormenting Grayson. We sat on the couch and played a fun game of giving raspberries on each others stomachs. You laughed and laughed, saying “mo gin” (more, again?) over and over. On my last attempt to give you a raspberry you tried to escape, slamming your head into the base of the lamp next to the couch. What a surprise. Gage being rough and getting hurt. Nope, that is not a surprise. You get hurt EVERYDAY! Just this month you lost your 2nd fingernail by slamming it in the door. You have more bumps and bruises than any kid I have ever seen- yet you rarely seem to mind.

10:50- Popsicles. This is one of our famous cures for a bump. So outside we went to enjoy a Popsicle and to forget about the gigantic knot on your forehead. (Could this be why you get hurt so much? Have I positively conditioned you for receiving a frozen treat?)

11:00 Play Outside. From petting Ollie to asking Daddy to help you “dunt” (dunk), you have a blast playing in the sunshine. You never stay at any activity for long and are always on the move.

11:30 Play with Katie. If there is one person in this neighborhood who loves you as much as Mommy and Daddy, then it must be Katie. And your feelings for her are mutual. Today when you saw her get out of the car you called her name, “Ka-tee. Booboo.” and pointed toward your head. Of course, Katie could not resist. She came right over, scooped you up and played with you for at least 20 minutes; chasing you round, tossing the ball for you, throwing you up in the air. You love your Katie time!

12:15 Lunch. At lunch time, you often get to choose what you want to eat. Today, you refused to give any indication of what you wanted, most likely because I had gone against your wishes and put another band-aid on your head. You were in such a fit that you answered “no” to every option I presented. I threatened you with going to bed, and then you finally agreed to yogurt. Once you started in on the yogurt, you then asked for my pizza, and ate some of my oranges. Being a mom means that you never eat your entire meal.

12:45 Upstairs for Nap Time. Since his is one of your favorite parts of the day, you neer complain about going upstairs to got to bed. Matter of fact, you are often very excited about it. Today you insisted on climbing up the stairs by yourself. I put you in the crib, you popped the paci in your mouth, snuggeled down with your yellow taggie, and I coverd you up. I turned on the sound machine, shut the door, and off you drifted to sleep.

1:00- 4:00 Nap time. You LOVE to sleep. On the weekends you will sleep for 2.5- 3 hours. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

4:00- Wake up! Again, you made a game of staying in your crib. After I finally got you out, we changed your diaper and then looked outside. You heard the neighbor’s tractor.

4:05- Tractor Time! We must have sat on the front porch for at least 10 minutes watching Mr, Dave mow his field with his big blue tractor. You proclaimed, “Paw-paw Al Tractor” every time he drove by.

4:30- Play in the yard! Grayson got out the John Deer Gator and you hopped on for a ride.

4:40- Timout. I guess you decided that it was your turn to drive the Gator. Grayson did not agree, so you decided to hall off and hit him. This of course resulted in 1.5 minutes of time out. You end every time out with saying, “Sorry”, and then giving hugs and kisses.

4:50- Gage the Recycling Man- Eventually you convinced Grayson that it was your turn to drive. Since it was a Sunday, you drove the recycling down to the curb for Monday’s pick up. You have gotten much better at driving the Gator this month. You now prefer to drive in the fast gear and love to turn the wheel as you come to a stop in order to slide as you stop.

5:00-Evening Fishing. While you are too little to fish, you still love to pretend. You stand out there by the pond, fishing pole in hand, usually splashing the end of the pole in the water. You may not catch any fish this way, but you are sure having a blast!

5:30- Dinner Time. Usually by this meal, you are NOT interested in eating. You pick at a few bites and then say that you are finished. Daddy and I have decided to not fight you on this request. We leave you plate until about 6:45 incase you decide later that you are hungry.

6:00- Play Time. This begins the wind down before bed. You often choose to read books, or play with trucks before being directed off to bath time.

6:45- Bath Time. Or on this day- shower time. You love to play with trucks while in the shower, and washable crayons are your favorite in the bath. You think it is hilarious to blow suds around the bathroom and often lay down saying, “no” when it is time to get out!

7:05- Jammie Time. After bath, we dry you off, put on your night diaper and jammies.You insist on holding you taggie and paci while getting dressed. Because of your eczyma, we have to coat your legs and arms in Eucrin and cover you chest and back in baby powder. You love to help with the baby powder. After getting dressed, you go to the bathroom to brush your teeth.

7:15- Story Time and Song Time. These are the last 2 steps before being put in your crib. For this part of our routine, we sit in the rocking chair and I read you which ever book you pick out. Your favorite books these days are, “Little Blue Truck”, “Go Dog Go”, and “Good Night Moon.” In all of these books, you are now able to finish lines of the story! After reading a book, we turn out the light and I sing you three songs. Sometime you will pick out the song- such as “Wheel. Bus. Tracto.” which mean you want me to sing the Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round, but make it about a tractor instead. Your other favorite songs are Take Me Out To the Ballgame, The Gator Song, and Itsy Bitsy Spider.

7:30- Bed Time. You hit the deck upon being placed in bed, with the taggie and paci in your hand. We cover you up withe you brown polka-dot blanket, turn on the sound machine, say love yous and good nights and then shut the door. I usually check on you a few times before calling it a night. You often fall asleep with in 20 minutes of being put in the crib. You are still a great sleeper and almost NEVER wake during the nigh.

Whew! Now that’s a full day!

Grayson,
For weeks you have been waiting of this magical day, April 27th. Your Birthday. The day your finally turn 5! I asked you this morning when you woke up if you felt any different being 5- you said that you had grown much bigger Obviously! You also indicated that you were still a kid and not a grown up yet though. What a relief! I am barely ready to see you start school this fall, much less let you be “all grown up”. One milestone at a time, ok?
In the past year, your academic skills have blossomed. You do not start kindergarten until the end of July, but you already know how to count to over 200 and you have learned how to read all by yourself. You have advanced through reading books with short vowels sounds, and have moved on to books with word families and long vowel sounds. With learning how to read, your interest in writing has also increased. You can write all capital letters of the alphabet and are pretty good at attempting to spell words by sounding them out. Also in fine motor skills, you coloring has greatly improved and you are now able to color inside of lines. You are able to draw more complex pictures, usually of dinosaurs or trucks.
In physical skills, you weigh 38 pounds and measure ???inches tall. Your upper body strength has improved and you are able to hang from trees and rope swings using only your arm strength. You practiced and practiced this year until your figured out how to get your legs up on your trapeeze bar and swing upside down. You also taught yourself how to swim underwater this summer.
More recently, you asked to play soccer and so Daddy and I signed you up for Mint Hill Soccer league. You play on a team with 5 other kids who are between the ages of 4.5 and 6. If I had to be honest, I would say that you fall toward the bottom of the pack if we ranked all the players in soccer skills. But it is your first season and we have already seen lots of improvement in only a few weeks of practice and games. I will say that in terms of stamina you rate toward the top of the pack. You never complain at practice and hate when it is your turn to take a water break during a game. You would prefer to play the entire game. It is such fun to watch you learn your first team sport and to see you make new friends. I will admit that when you first asked to play soccer I was not very excited about having to go to all the practices and games, but now I absolutely love going. Grayson, you have turned me into a Soccer Mom!
So Grayson, as I look at you today, officially 5 years old, I can’t help but reflect on how much you have changed since birth. I remember the very first moment I saw you and I looked into your tiny eyes. You were itty bitty with the whitest hands I had ever seen. I remember when you were three months old and made a ritual out of urinating on Daddy every time he put you in the bath tub. At eight months, I can still hear in my memory your baby squeal when you learned how to stand up by yourself in your crib. And I remember how proud of you I was when at almost a year old you were finally brave enough to try walking but only if Daddy and I were there to catch you. I remember the day when you were 18 months and you gave me your first spontaneous kiss on my hand as we left your preschool. And at two years old, when you would insist on picking out your own shirt- usually with a tractor. I remember when at the age of three you met Gage for the frist time and how sweet you were to him right from the start. You were then, and today still are, proud to call him your baby brother. And how at age four, you learned how to read, and swim, and hang like a monkey from a tree.
Grayson, you have changed so much since the first day I met you and because of you, I have changed a lot in the past 5 years too. I imagine that there are parts of me that will never stop feeling this way. As one mom put it, ” I bet I won’t ever stop having a portion of my brain dedicated to the thought of where you are and what you’re doing, won’t ever be able to escape the constant, nagging hope that you are happy and fulfilled.” My life is forever changed because you are not just a part of it but because for 5 years you have been my life. Grayson, I cannot thank you enough for all the ways you have made me happy, proud, and fulfilled.
I love you more and more each day.
Happy Birthday!
Love,
Mom

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Through cold, drizzle, sunshine, and heat, we celebrated Easter this year. We were blessed this holiday and Mom, Jennifer, Aliyah, Maw-Maw, Joe, Amy, Adler, and Alexandra all came to North Carolina. We celebrated the holiday all weekend, starting with a cookout (in the rain) and Mom B & GBs house on Friday. Their dinner was fantastic with a menu that included Renee’s mac and cheese, Hummingbird cake, sweet potato souffle, the creamiest green beans ever, and ham. GB and Tim even salved over the fire pit, making Greasy Bread! The kids all participated in an Easter Egg Hunt and Pop Pop evened the playing field by making sure everyone found the same number of eggs and that everyone received “prize eggs” with money.
On Sunday, TIm and I took the boys to church. Gage went to the nursery for the very first time and Grayson stayed in the sanctuary with us. After the Easter services we drove to Renee and Kevin’s house for Easter lunch. Grayson and Gage were excited to see the bunnies that Kellynn and Ella received for the holiday and for at least a little while I was worried that we might be going home with a few baby chickens. After eating a delicious lunch, the kids then went outside for another egg hunt. Gage figured out the premise of the hunt this year and ran from egg to the next filling his basket. Grayson turned on the speed this year and when it was finally time for him to join the hunt, he collected so many eggs that he tied (with Kellynn) for the prize of finding the most. Gage received the Golden Prize egg, but only because Maw-Maw Billie found it and gave it to him.
To say that this Easter was fantastic would be an understatement. I was reminded this past weekend of how precious these moments are and at how lucky I am to have such a healthy, happy family.

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This year we celebrated Grayson’s Birthday party with a snake themed party at the Nature Museum. Grayson begged for a snake birthday party for about 6 months, so against my own desires I gave in. As it turned out, the Nature Museum was the perfect location for the festivities. Grayson loved seeing and touching all of the reptiles and declared his favorite part of the party as when “Gus (the black snake) are those dead mouses.” When I added the snake feeding to the party plans, I couldn’t decide if it was going to be really cool or really awful. I took the risk and was glad that I did. All of the kids laid, watching in amazement as the snake swallowed his prey whole. After the private viewing of reptiles, the kids then went on a tour of the rest of the museum. Gage loved seeing all the butterflies, but Grayson could not wait to get back to the party room for the cake and presents. Carri (and Dave) made the cutest snake cookies that were devoured by the kids between bites of gummy worms, and twizzlers. Grayson declared his 5th birthday as “awesome”, Tim and I declared it as a success since we didn’t have to host it at our house and someone else was in charge of entertaining all of the kids!

Gagey,
Bigger and bigger you get! At 22 months you now weigh ?? lbs and stand ?? inches tall. With the change in seasons, you have finally moved into 24 month/2T clothes. I swear that you have worn the same size for at least 9 months. You have also moved into size 5 toddler shoes this months. So yes, this month, you have started growing bigger again!
This month we also saw growth in your language skills. I am constantly surprised at the words your repeat and can say on your own. You have learned many of your colors this month: orange (”o-anch”), blue (”boo”), green (”geen”), pink, gray, and yellow (”el-o”). With this growth in better vocabulary, we are finally getting to see bits and pieces of your memory at work. Just last night I said to Daddy, “Gagey needs a hair cut.” You interrupted saying, “Yesh- Jee-ill,” and pointed to your head. Now it has been since Christmas since Aunt Jill cut your hair (which by the way you HATE getting your hair cut) and still you remembered. Now that’s pretty smart! At 22 months, you can identify the shapes circle and heart and if I begin counting, you will now pick up after one, saying “two, free!” Your favorite word this month seems to be the word go (Which you say dough). You use it all the time, saying it while pulling your elbows in close to your body, palms open up to the sky. “Ollie dough?” “Tractor dough?”
In physical accomplishments this month, you climbed your very first tree this past weekend; keeping up with Grayson and your cousins Ella and Kellynn of course! You now insist on independently climbing up and down the the stairs- except for when you are in a hurry and then you demand “up” while pointing at me or Daddy. You finally figured out how to make a tiny jump into the air and have gotten much better at driving the motorized green John Deer Gator.
Sweet Gagey, you continue to be full of spunk and personality. You can be full of piss and vinegar one moment and in the next moment be the sweetest, snugly baby ever. Of your accomplishments this month, my favorite has been that you have learned the word “hug”. You can now demand a hug (and frequently do), wrapping your chubby baby arms around by shoulders and squeezing with all your might. I especially enjoyed those hugs after I came back from Florida this month. Apparently you must have missed me while I was away because upon my return you insisted on me carrying you around so that you could constantly give me hugs or put your head on my shoulder. Gagey, I wouldn’t trade those moments for anything. I steal each and every cuddle, kiss (if the slimy ones), and hug you throw my way. Everyday I watch you growing into a little boy and I realize that I only have limited time left to carry you in my arms, rock you at night, and to treat you like a baby. Already I see your desire to be “big” and while I celebrate each milestone you cross, I also grieve that the moments of you being an infant are gone forever.
Gagey, I love you more and more each day!
Love,
Mommy

Gagey,
Today you are 638 days old. You celebrated this momentous day at home, sick. We have all been sick for the entire week. Each of us caught a nasty virus which then settled into some sort of infection. For you, the infection is in your ears, not a big surprise. Both tubes have fallen out of your ears now and so I worry with each ear infection, that you may be headed back to the ENT. I am praying that this round of antibiotics will clear up the problem so that another surgery will not be in order. The good news is that even with this nasty cold, you are still fun to be around. You are like “hell on wheels”, always busy, moving from one thing to another. This month you have discovered how to pull yourself up on the back of the couch and you now love to climb up our barstools to sit at the island. Grayson’s toys are no longer safe. To be honest, it is usually ok. That is if Grayson will allow you to play with him. Surprisingly this happens frequently these days, especially if Grayson decides to play with the train set. Choo-choo trains are one of your new fascinations. Just today I watched the two of you build train tracks and then chase each others trains. You did all this, playing together, for over 15 minutes straight. That is quite a long time for someone your age.
I continue to be tickled by how much you watch and mimic Grayson. From how you try to repeat whatever he says, to laughing at all of his jokes (even when you do not know what he is saying), it is obvious how much you idolize your brother. I am most pleased to say that the feeling seems to be mutual between the two of you. Grayson is usually very patient with you, tries to include you in his activities, and often looks out for you. To be honest, you are the one who is a bit more “mean”, often hitting Grayson or taking something that belongs to him as a way to get his attention. You do always follow up this mischievous tasks with a “sorry” and a hug- so perhaps this is the reason for your devilish ways. It’s an excuse to get love from your very best friend.
In other news this month, you have now learned the names of many of your favorite books and will request them by name. “Are you My Mother”, and “Go Dog Go” are two of your news favorites and you can now even fill in some of the words if I leave them out. You can name and point to most of your body parts- the newest ones you have learned are arm pit (which you squeal about every time), elbow, wrist, ankle, and putzu (and yes, you do say this one).
So Gage, I am not sure where this month went so fast, but I am hoping the next month will be filled with better health and lots of time outdoors. You and I are both sick of being cooped up in doors!
I love you more and more each day!
Love,
Mommy

Gagey,
You are now 20 months old and getting closer and closer to your 2nd birthday. I swear that as my second child you are developing more quickly than your brother. Perhaps it is because you think that you are as old as Grayson and so you try to do everything he does. Perhaps it is because of your determined, independent attitude that you cannot be deterred from accomplishing something to which you have set your mind. Most likely, it is the combination of both. I watch in amazement each time you learn something new; such as how to climb up of kitchen chairs or scale the side of the jump house. With each day you experiment with another skill and because of your adventuresome personality, you discover all kinds of ways to have fun. This month you learned how to jump- although it frequently results in you falling and laughing and you most enjoy this new activity in the bounce house. Yes, it took over a month, but you have finally gotten over your fear of the inflatable jumper. You can now run without tripping and when you want to run really fast, it often includes you pumping your right arm in a chicken wing fashion, (especially during your “races” with Grayson). You finally figured out how to blow your nose since for at least 4 months you thought you were blowing you nose by putting the kleenex to your face and making a razz noise with your mouth. You insist on washing your own hands and brushing your own teeth.
Yes your independence is out in full force these days! You refuse to let anyone feed you- except for when the treat is ice cream, you’re favorite food on the planet. Anytime you see Daddy open the freezer you starting yelling, “ICE, ICE, ICE” and continue yelling until Daddy is finished scooping the treat and is sitting beside you. You really only stop screaming then because you open your mouth as large a humanely possible waiting for Daddy to insert the spoon. After each bite you again open your mouth like a baby bird waiting for Daddy to continue sharing! Yes, ice cream is your favorite food, but also at the top of your list would be oatmeal (”o-me”), and anything with ketchup. You love pickles, yogurt, and oranges (”own-ch”).
Your vocabulary is getting bigger and bigger. You can repeat just about anything you hear and are learning how to use possessives. “Mommy shoe”, “Gage bowl”, etc. YOu have started to string together lots of unintelligible words when you “read” to yourself or play with trucks.
Finally this month, you have started the hitting phase. According to your teachers you have started hitting your friends when you want your way, which on at least one occasion resulted in you being sent out of the room. Now I must admit that this aggressive streak has also been noticed at home. We have since cracked down on the hitting and you have been sit to time out numerous times for that behavior. Your other aggressive behaviors include purposefully taking things from Grayson, usually with the intent of getting Grayson to chase you. When we make you return the item you always comply, but not without first flashing your mischievous little smile!
Yes Gagey, at 20 months you are still keeping us on our toes. We try to not laugh when you are being a devil and we are trying to teach you the right way to do things. But as this entire note points out, you are a very determined boy and in the end you are most likely only going to do what YOU want to do. So now the question becomes, how do we trick you into thinking that it is YOUR idea to share with your friends or YOUR idea to let Aunt Jill cut your hair?
I love you more and more each day!
Love,
Mommy

As I was watching the boys play independently this morning I was kidding around with Tim and said, “These boys are getting big. Maybe it’s time to have another one. I have been thinking about it.” Grayson stops playing and quickly chimes in, “Well, mommy? Did you brain say yes?” Ha ha ha. Grayson has been petitioning for another “Gagey” for a few months now. (Not anyone else- only another little Gage. HOw cute is that?) By the way, for those who are jumping to conclusions, no Tim and I are not talking about having another one!

Grayson,
You are now 4.75 years old- making you closer to five then 4. You are already looking forward to your 5th birthday and you bring up quite frequently your desire to go to my school next year. It’s hard for me to believe that you are so close to entering kindergarten. Every time I think about it, I feel the tears puddle in my eyes. I am just not ready for you to be “that” big yet. So rather than rushing the next few months, I plan to enjoy all the moments until then, celebrating the days you have left of being four! So it’s time for another snapshot of who you are and how you think at this age. So heres’ the All About Grayson survey:

1. What are you often called? Grayson, Gray, Day-Day (by Gage)

2. What food will you eat every time? Hot Dogs, any fruit, candy

3. Describe a usual lunch for you? Chicken nuggets, fruit, water

4. What’s your favorite drink? Sweet tea, although you do not get it frequently.

5. What are your very favorite songs? Ba Ba Black Sheep, Gator Fight Song

6. Who are your favorite fictional characters? Dino Dan

7. What is your favorite TV show? Dino Dan

8. What is your favorite movie? Incredibles

9. What/Who are your favorite stuffed animals? Lena, the big horse & Baby Ozzy. You sleep with both of them every night. It is funny how many times I have gone in your room after you are asleep to find you cuddled in the arms of Lena, with Baby Ozzy inside your embrace.

10. What are your favorite electronic toys? It is still the TV. You also like to watch YouTube videos on the computer with Daddy.

11. What are your favorite non-electronic toys? Legos and plastic dinosaurs

12. What are your favorite books? Treasury of Bed Time Stories

13. When’s your naptime? Naptime? Um, we call it rest time now since you very seldom fall asleep. You do still have a rest time and it is usually after lunch. You are required to rest for at least an hour.

14. When’s your bedtime? 7:30

15. What’s your bedtime routine? Bath, brush teeth, get dressed, read a book with mommy, give mommy and Gage kisses, sing 3 songs with daddy, have Mommy tuck your blankets around you tightly, lights out, go to sleep.

16. Besides the obvious, what’s in your bed at night? Baby Ozzy, Lena the horse, Your tag blankie, your “big blankie”

17. When is your happiest time of the day? morning

18. What can make you laugh 100% of the time? tickling

19. What makes you mad 100% of the time? Not getting your way or when Gagey takes something you are playing with.

20. What do you do to make others laugh? tell funny stories or make funny faces

21. What do you do that drives Mommy crazy? WHINE!

22. What do you do that drives Daddy crazy? Refuse to TRY to do something

23. What word(s) do you say incorrectly every time (but it’s so cute that you can just go on saying it that way for a while)? anything with the soft “th” sound- somfing, nuffing, fumb.

24. What are your favorite words or phrases? “Watch this!” “Did you know that?”

25. What physical feat have you just accomplished? You have gotten better with yoru fine motor skills, coloring in the lines (when you want to) and you are now able to draw things- such as our family, houses, animals, etc.

26. Who are some friends you play with often? (School) Abby, Jack, Nora (Home) Gagey, Jack B., Ella, Kellynn

27. How did you celebrate recent holidays? For Halloween this year you dressed up as an Army soldier and went asking for candy around our neighborhood. For Thanksgiving we celebrated in Florida, taking the time to see ALL of our FL family members. At Christmas, we celebrated at home although you and I were both very sick with a stomach bug. Your favoirte gifts this year was the jump house from Mommy and Daddy.

28. How big are you? You now weigh 38 pounds and can almost wear size 5 clothes.

29. What are you recent academic skills? writing all of your letters and numbers.

30. What do you want to be when you grow up? A firefighter or a soldier

On January 25th, I turned 34. Thanks to Tim, the girls at work, my students, family, and friends, I was able to celebrate my ENTIRE birthday week! I may have gained 25 pounds from all the ‘celebrating’ I did; such as eating out at Jakes’ Good Eats, devouring cheesecake for 3 days at work, and chowing down on some delicious spaghetti and Tres Leches cake at my birthday party. I couldn’t have planned a better birthday week even if I had planned it myself. Thank you to everyone who made my birthday so special!

This week because of the snow, the boys stayed home Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On Thursday when I picked Grayson up from school, I noticed that he was the only one who had his nap time sheets and blanket tucked into his cubby. Everyone else’s nap things were still on their cots in anticipation for the next school day. As we were leaving I said to Gray, “Why was your blanket and sheet in you cubby?” He stopped walking, looked up at me and said, “Well, Mom. I was thinking about it and decided that I’m just going to stay home with you tomorrow!”

Also on Thursday, as I was jumping with him in the bounce house, Grayson sat down exhausted and said, “Mom, one day I’m going to marry you!” Finally! I have been waiting for him to say something along these lines!

Gagey,
This has been a very busy month with a lot of time spent at home- both because of the holidays and because of all the snow we have gotten this winter. You did not quite appreciate the snow when it fell the first time, but with our second snow, you were quite the trooper. You enjoyed being pulled on the sled with Grayson and requested “moe, moe” after each ride down the hill with Mommy, Katie, or Jessica. Without a doubt you are the dare devil in our family. YOu take risks that cause me to catch my breath or scream “NO!!” Occasionally you cry when you get hurts, but usually you just brush yourself off, say “Uh-oh”, and then continue on your way.
Due to your daring nature, we have begun giving you time-out. Sometimes you cry when we put you there, sometime you snicker, but so far you always stay there until we ask you to come out. You now understand the process of the punishment and will actually rethink your choices when we question, “Gagey, do you want to go to time out?” Now sometimes you smile and then continue with head-butting or throwing a toy, but most often you will say “Noooo!”, shake your head, and obey. After time out, you know to say “saw-ee”(sorry), give a hug, and then you go back to playing.
At 19 months old, you have gained your bottom, right canine and have learned to walk backwards. You HATE haircuts and love candy. YOu enjoyed Christams- especially your “bike” and “trat-or”.
In terms of accomplishments this month, Daddy and I are most pleased to see you move to playing by yourself. It is fun to watch you lying on the floor, rolling your favorite monster tractor (which you got from Santa), back and forth as you watch the wheels turn. You now drive all kinds of trucks and tractors all over our furniture (and walls if Daddy is not looking.) In addition to playing by yourself, you also LOVE to play with Grayson! Now your big brother is still learning how to include you in his play, but we are making progress. No matter what Grayson is doing, you always want to join in. From building train tracks to playing dinosaurs , it always seems to be more fun when “Day-Day” is involved!
Your vocabulary has continued to grow and this month you have gotten better at putting two words together. You have also figured out that if you do not know how to say what you mean, then you can act it out in an effort to get you meaning across. You are able to name familiar objects, such as most of the items in the “Good Night Moon” book- your favorite book by far.
It is hard to decide what your favorite activity is these days. You request to “yellow” all the time- which means color. You also love anything that has to do with tractors. One of your favorite activites to do with Daddy is to sit at the computer and Youtube videos of tractors. Since learning to climb up and also slide down the stairs (both with supervision), you also relish those opportunities. YOu still find fun in dancing, books, and puzzles. And, as always, you still enjoy going “nigh-nigh” (night-night). I guess it is hard to say what’s your favorite thing, because you seem to enjoy most everything!
Sweet baby Gage, I hope you know how proud I am of that you have already accomplished at 19 months, but especially how pleased I am that you find fun and happiness in everything you touch. People love being around you because of your smiles, giggles, and laughter. You make all of us laugh and pray that you will always be filled with sunshine and joy no matter how old you get!
Gage, I love you more and more each day!
Love,
Mommy

I say that I am back to blogging, but I almost forgot to journal about Christmas… Really???

Christmas this year started out on a good note. We went to Mom B and GB’s house for our annual Christmas Eve Appetizer Feast. All the North Carolina Bruns were there, as well as the Krugers, in from Iowa. As usual the food was plentiful and the drinks were flowing! This year we limited the gift exchange to only kids and according to Grayson they had to wait FOREVER to open their gifts. Unfortunately, Joe, Amy, and family were not able to join us, so we spent an exorbitant amount of time Skyping with them in Florida. Around the time that the party was wrapping up, I began to feel nauseous and from there the actual event of Christmas went down hill.
After getting sick and going home, I then had to get the kids in bed and force myself to finish all the Christmas morning tasks. Between at least two trips to the bathroom, I finally had all the stocking re-hung and gifts laid out and settled down in my bed when at midnight Grayson began screaming at the top of his lungs. He was sick with the same stomach bug. Tim took the lead on calming Grayson down and giving him a bath, and after another trip to the toilet, I assisted in changing his sheets and cleaning the floor. I then spent the rest of the night in bed with Grayson, waking every time he moved since I was worried he might become nauseous again.
Christmas morning finally arrived and Grayson was excited to see that Santa had found our house and left gifts for him and Gage. He helped Gage open his stocking and find his stack of toys from Santa. Gage immediately found the little tractor Santa left him and spent most of the morning playing with it. Grayson found the energy to open all of his gifts (and help Gage with his) and he was so surprised by the Bounce House Tim and I gave them for Christmas that he forgot how sick he had been and jumped with glee! I mean while was feeling better, but felt completely drained. After opening gifts, i went back to bed and slept for four hours.
On Christmas afternoon, my mom and sister from Florida, Jennifer, arrived. They spent the day playing with Gage and with Grayson (when he wasn’t laying on the couch with me). My Mom even made us a big pot of Chicken Noodle Soup for dinner- not exactly your traditional Christmas dinner- and we ended the night by watching the National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and watching the snow begin to fall.
On Sunday, we woke to a beautiful blanket of snow about 6 inches deep! Luckily Grayson and I were feeling much better. After we quickly ate breakfast (the strata I had prepared for Christmas but didn’t get to eat), everyone bundled up, and went outside to play in the snow. Grayson and MiMi made a snowman. Jennifer tried getting Gage to play in the snow, but he hated every minute of it. Gage did settle for riding hi John Deer Gator around the driveway (at least until the tires froze up). Tim spent the morning chasing Ollie over the yard, who seemed to love his first snow. After all the fun in the snow, Renee, Kevin, and the girls came over to exchange gifts. When Grayson opened a big garbage truck from Kellynn and Ella, he exclaimed, “Now THAT’S what I’ve been thinking about for Christmas!” and the girls seemed to love the set of Webkin animals that they opened.
All in all, it wasn’t a terrible Christmas. It just did not turn out quite the way I had hoped. However given my temporary illness, there were still plenty of things for which to be thankful. And, hey- what could beat getting snow on Christmas (even if it was Christmas night!)

Gagey,
You are now a year and a half old. You weigh 25.6 pounds (25-50%), are 23.5 inches tall (50-75 %), and your head is 49 cm in circumference (75-90%). You wear 18-24 month clothes and have gained your upper, right canine tooth. You have a bottom tooth still on the way. Unfortunately this month has not been the easiest for you- health wise. After a trip to Florida for Thanksgiving, we took you to the doctor for a suspected ear infection. Our suspicions were correct, you had an infection in your right ear. It also appeared as if that tube was falling out. After 10 days on antibiotics we took you back to the pediatirician to find out that you did indeed loose the tube in the right ear AND that the tube in the left ear was no longer working either. Somehow even on antibiotics, you then had infections in both ears. You are now on the strongest antibiotic available for toddlers and if this does not work, we will head back to the ENT to look at re-inserting tubes. I am crossing my fingers that we do not have to put you through that again.
Given the issues with your ears, surprisingly it hasn’t impeded your ability to kick up your heels and have a good time!. This month your dance has taken on a new life. You’ve learned a new move Daddy has dubbed “The Chicken Wing”- where you throw your left elbow up and down as you dance in a circle. It is hilarious!
Over Thanksgiving, you enjoyed a one week trip to Florida which included rides on an airplane, a trip to Animal Kingdom and Universal Studios, and of course visiting with all of your family that live in the sunshine state. You loved all the animals at MiMi’s house and couldn’t get enough of riding the tractor (both the big one and the toy John Deer) at Paw-Paw’s house. You met your new niece Alexandra while visiting Adler, Uncle Joe, and Aunt AMy, and on at least one occasion your attempted to ride Aunt Jennifer’s dog, Lilly. The funniest to me was listening to you call Maw-Maw (said with your llips forming an “o” at the end of maw) and watching her eat up every moment she could with you around. All in all, you seemed to have a good time on our trip, but nothing on the trip reached the level of excitement you had when you got home and saw your own bed! Yes, I was exited to sleep in my own bed too- but not nearly as excited as you were!
Speaking of excitement, I think that everyone around here is starting to anticipate Christmas! You included. You went with Grayson to see Santa Claus early in December. YOu cried when I first left you on his lap, but quickly recovered. You only stole one glance at who was holding you and otherwise, kept your eyes glued on me! You seem to be enthralled with our Christmas tree. You broke a bulb on the first day we put the tree up, but have had no incidents since then. You love to look at all the ornaments, especially those that have photos, and love to touch the lights! You have shown some curiosity about the presents under the tree, but have not really figured out what they are all about. Daddy and I cannot wait to see you open your gifts in only a few more weeks.
So Gagey, as I think about all you’ve experienced over the last month, I cannot help but think about how much you have changed in a year. One year ago, you had just begun eating baby food and you enjoyed most anything we put in front of you. Now you can eat almost anything by yourself and have become much picker in what you want to ingest. (You would prefer candy- especially after discovered the new Candy Cane flavored Hershey Kisses.) At 6 months, you were still nursing and drinking from a bottle, now you are learning how to drink from a cup without a lid. For over a year now you have been sleeping through the night- yipee and you have stretched the night from waking up at 5:45 (a year ago) to at least 7:30 now! You’ve moved from barely being able to sit up unsupported to now running all over the house and learning how to climb up on things! The quiet, observing baby has turned into a toddler who is not afraid to express his opinion and knows over 30 words. Yes, sweet Gagey, much has changed the course of year. Almost everything, except for one thing…how much a love you! I still think that you are the most fabulous baby in the world! i still find you funny and sweet- even if in slightly different ways than a year ago. You still hold the hearts of every person in this family and we cannot remember what life was like before you were born.
So happy 18 months old!
I love you more an more each day!
Love,
Mommy

This afternoon I took the boys to Bass Pro Sports Outlet for our annual visit with Santa Claus. Thanks to Nagy, who agreed to help corral the two boys, we made it through the 30 minute wait ok and we even got some video! Grayson was very excited to see Santa this year, running right up to him and sitting on his lap. However, I was surprised that once he was there, he clammed up not knowing exactly what to say. He smiled his best smile, but only said “hi”, “bye”, and “thank you” to Santa. He did not really want to leave, but wasn’t quite ready to talk either. I finally told Santa that we would email him Grayson’s list since he had such a long line and Santa liked that idea. So did Grayson.
I had no idea what to expect out of Gage with this visit. He was not very pleased with me leaving him on Santa’s lap, and so he cried for just a few moments. Once there, he quickly recovered, although he never did smile about being put on the strange man’s lap. He took one curious look up at who was holding him and the rest of the time looked straight ahead as if .in a trance

Ok- so I know that I have been VERY slack about blogging. Truthfully it has been ever since I began Facebooking! The problem now is that I have always used my blog for journaling in my scrapbooks. Since I blogged almost NOTHING about 2010, I am now finding it next to impossible to remember the details of 2010! So my early new year’s resolution? I will be back to blogging about 2011. No more letting these memories slip by!

While driving in the car by ourselves Grayson states, “Mom, I’m going to move out to the woods one day.” I responded, “why would you do that?” He replied ,”Because sometimes I just need a little peace and quiet!” Yeah- me too!

When we were headed to the mountains in October, Tim and I were arguing about directions. Grayson calmly said to Tim, “Dad. I think you should just be quiet. You know Mom’s right!”

A few weeks ago Tim went camping with his brother Marc and for the first time in a year they did not take the boys. When I picked Grayson and Gage up from school I made the mistake of thinking that Tim had told Grayson where he had gone. When I mentioned that Daddy was camping with Uncle Marc- Grayson completely melted down. He screamed at the top of lungs, began sobbing and said, “I am sooo mad.” I told him that I understood that he was disappointed, but that we would have fun while Daddy was away. Grayson then said, “When Daddy comes home, I am not going to kiss him or hug him.” I responded that was fine, it was ok to be upset. Grayson then stated, “When he comes home…I’m going to punch him in the face!” Whoops- too far! IObvioulsy we then had a talk about how hitting is NOT an appropriate way to show disappointment!

Well, we are back from a week of doing the “Florida Circuit”! Tim and I flew with the boys down to Orlando last Friday. I can’t explain how glad I am that we made the decision to fly. No, we did not save any time (with all the waiting you have to do at the airport)- but we did save our sanity. Keeping Gage contained in our laps for 1 hour and 15 minutes was much better than keeping him strapped in a car for 9+ hours. The flight went well- except Grayson and Gage fighting over looking out the window. But I guess we should have expected that! At the airport we picked up a rental car and then we were off to Webster.
We stopped by Maw-Maw’s house for a quick 15 minute visit before scooting on to our final destination that night- MiMis!
At MiMi’s house, the boys enjoyed petting all of her criters- including a tortoise, a goat, and two ponies. MiMi and Poppy Glenn took the boys to Universal Studios on Saturday, while Tim and I went up to Gainesville for the Gators Vs. App State football game.. Grayson LOVED the Jurassic Park ride and was even more excited when MiMi and Poppy Glenn bought him an Allosaurus as a souvenir. Tim and I spent the day tailgating the Yvonne and Pete and we were lucky enough to have our tickets up-graded to box seats by a friend of Pete’s.
On SUnday, we made the trek down to Tampa to visit Joe, Amy, Adler, and our new niece Alexandra. What a sweet and tiny baby she is! Grayson and Gage had a hoot playing with Adler and Adler was sad when it was time for us to leave. Spending the day with them was bitter-sweet. It really just left us all wanting more time together.
On Monday, we all went to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Tim, who had previously tried to skip out a trip to Disney, even went. The kids enjoyed the Dinoland activities, eating at Rainforest Cafe, and the Bugs Life Show. After lunch, we visited the Magic Kingdom (minus TIm, Gage, and Glenn). Grayson and Ella loved “Small World”, as they waved at all the dolls the entire boat ride. The highlight of the day was definitley the Electric Light Parade and the fireworks over Cinderella’s castle. Grayson was very impressed by seeing Tinkerbell fly out of the castle.
By Tuesday, everyone was exhausted! We spent the day recuperating from the long weekend y relaxing at MiMi’s house. The kids (and MiMi) played in the “hot pool” (as Ella called it) and with the hundred’s of toys on MiMi’s porch. Tim and Kevin left that afternoon to visit friends in Dunedin and that evening I was lucky enough to visit with three friends from high school- Trisha, Kimber, and Tiffany. I loved to have the opportunity to see them- it had been 5 years since my last visit. I definitely need to make this a required stop on my next tour of Florida! After visiting with my friends, the boys and I went to Paw-Paw’s house for bed time.
On Wednesday, Grayson and Gage spent the entire morning playing in the dirt! They were covered from head to toe in black florida dirt from all of their adventures around Paw-Paw’s farm. Gage enjoyed driving the little toy tractor, but LOVED when Paw-Paw took him for a ride on the real thing. Gage would actually go to Paw-Paw with arms out-stretched saying “trator, trator, begging for another ride! Grayson had a ball digging for worms with Paw-Paw, chasing (and catching) lizards, feeding the donkeys, “digging a volcano”, and of course riding the tractor! The boys loved playing with all thier cousins on that side of the family- Kellynn, Ella, and Kylar! Paw-Paw and Nana topped the day off with a fish-fry- complete with hushpuppies and cheese grits! Yum!
On Thanksgiving, Maw-Maw, Uncle John, Kristan nad her crew all came over to Dad’s for turkey and the fixin’s. We even had the chance to meet Jennifer’s boyfriend, Gary. The kids again spent the day playing in the dirt and giving people “train rides’ on the double glider. The day ended with roasting marshmallows around the campfire and teaching Kevin how to make s’mores.
By Friday, everyone was exhausted. After packing all of our things and having a much needed heart to heart conversation, Tim and I loaded the boys in the minivan and headed back to the airport. By the time we reached NC that night, we were all ready to be home and excited to sleep in our beds!

Gagey-
Another month has passed and you are now 17 months old. With each passing day you get bigger and bigger, learning new tricks along the way! Your vocabulary has really grown this month and you seem to pick up a new word almost every day. You now say bus (us), truck (tuk), helicopter (el-uh-totor), Grayson (nae-nuh), eat, cup, help (which sounds a lot like up but you use the sign for help so that we can tell the difference), more, milk (muk), night-night and bubble. You have discovered how to squeeze when you give a hug and some where along the line you began trying out your “picky eater” routine. By the way, I am ready for the picky eater business to go away!
Your love of music surfaced this month and you love to hear Jack Johnson’s “At or With Me” which you request by saying “o.o.o.o.” while moving your hands in a piano-playing fashion. When you hear any kind of music, you stop what you are doing, and begin swaying your hips back and forth. You also have a move that involves throwing your arms up and down. Your other favorite songs are “If your happy and you know it”, “The B-I-B-L-E”, and “Alligators swinging from a tree”. I think that it is obvious that you have gotten the rhythm genes in this family!
You continue to love going outside and have now learned how to climb the big ladder on the swing set. Daddy had to up fit the ladder to make it safe for you- since on more than one occasion you almost fell through the ladder. You love to go down the big slide and have even figured out how to drag you feet and hands to slow yourself down. You love to play with the broom (yours or mine), and you never get tired of playing catch (or more accurately named retrieve) with the ball. YOu now fight with Grayson over the tricycle- which you push by using your feet on the ground. If we would let you, you would stay out there all day- but alas, with the time change, it now gets too dark to stay out there for too long. Stupid time change!
So in one month, you have gotten better at expressing yourself and celebrated your 2nd Halloween. This year you were dressed as a Marine soldier. You have one more tooth (your upper left canine) and have finally learned how to really give hugs. YOu continue to be a ham and you love to make people laugh. You love to cuddle and are always up for someone reading you a book. Gage, you are a very special little boy that I love more and more each day!
Love,
Mama

Grayson,
You are so proud to be 4 “and a ½ years old” and you really think that the ½ is something to brag about! Daddy and I are also pleased at how old you are- but more because of all you have accomplished in the that half a year. At the beginning of August you moved to Mrs. Riley’s Pre-K class. You had no problem making the transition (I think that I was the one most sad to leave Ms. Wendy behind) and you raved about her plastic sea turtle. In the three months of being in the Pre-K classroom, we have seen a drastic increase in your academic skills. You have begun to take your time coloring (“Mrs. Riley says, “No scribble, scrabble.”) and you can now (mostly) stay in the lines. You can recite the Pledge of Allegiance, and you know the 12 months of the year. On your own accord, you learned how to count to over 200 without making a mistake (I have witnessed you count to 221.), except for one mispronunciation. You say “five-tee” instead of fifty. I think that it is cute- so I do not correct you on this mistake. Even more exciting, with Mrs. Riley’s focus on sounding out words, you read your first book to me “Brown Bear, Brown Bear”. I was pleased to hear you sound out the few words you did not already have memorized. I love that you are showing an interest in reading. According to Mrs. Riley, you are a great student who gets along well with your peers. Daddy and I are so proud of the excellent “student” you have become.
At home you have accomplished a few physical feats. After weeks and weeks of trying (for the most part refusing help), you finally figured out how to swing upside down on the trapeze bar. Recently you discovered how to make a flip off the bar, although you are not quite landing the flip on your feet. You are also now jumping out of trees (yes, I am worried about you breaking a bone- but your insist that you are “careful” and only jump off the low limbs). After I lowered your seat (Thanks Amy G. for making this suggestions) you have now mastered riding your bicycle with training wheels…even up hills. You have not figured out how to use the brakes, so we are still working on that. You have asked about removing the training wheels from your bike (after seeing you cousin Riley cruising without them) but until you grow a couple more inches we will have to leave them because the bike is too tall.
Over the last three months, you interests have continued to expand and change. You discovered Jack Johnson and he quickly became your favorite musical artist. You ask for me to play the “O,O, O, O song” (At or With Me) everyday on our way home from school and have memorized many of the words to his songs. In August, cousin Adler’s dog Ollie cam to live with us, and you were immediately smitten with the new (although possibly temporary) member of our family. You often say that you “want to keep him forever”. You enjoy chasing him around the yard and are often found laying next to him- giving him hugs and offering him sticks.
Your capacity to pretend has increased and you sometimes have trouble distinguishing between fantasy and reality. You can make up fascinating stories with amazing details. You continue to love dinosaurs and recently became interested in the military. For Halloween you insisted on being a “soldier with a shootin’ gun” and so I bought you your first toy gun.
Grayson, at 4 and a half years old, you continue to amaze me each and every day. You are sweet and kind and you frequently hug my legs and tell me you love me(melting my heart each and every time). You are funny and witty and will do most anything for a laugh. You are a wonderful friend and an even better brother. Daddy and I could not be more proud of the “little person” you have become and we treasure each and every moment we get to share with you. Thank you for all the hugs, kisses, laughs, and tickles you have given us. Please stop growing up so fast.
I love you more and more each day.
Love,
Mommy

Gage,
It seems that I have been giving you a bad reputation over the last few months; saying that you had a terrible temper and by comparing you to the way your brother was at this age. I would often say that you were full of determination and full of mischievousness. But low and behold, I found out your secret. When Daddy and Grayson went away on a camping trip this month, you and I were able to spend an entire weekend alone. And what did I discover? That when you aren’t competing for attention you are an absolute angel- easy to please and a joy to entertain. You even gave me your first spontaneous hug that weekend! So sweet Gagey, I apologize for the times that I have called you a “devil”. It seems that in those devilish moments, I was most likely the one to blame.
In other discoveries this month, you learned how to climb up and slide down your toddler slide. You’ve gotten good at un-velcroing your shoes and you love to pull off your socks. You can now find any Florida Gator emblem and say “Gator”. You also say “ball”, “Tractor”, “up” and “Ollie”. You are finally working on saying “Grayson” as opposed to the grunt you have previously used. You discovered how to thrust your leg up in order to climb up on furniture. You have not mastered the couch yet, but you are pretty good at most chairs. Your molars are continuing to give you trouble, but in good news, your two lower, lateral incisors have finally broken the skin. You love to work on puzzles with mommy and you enjoyed hiking with Daddy on a trip to the mountains this month. Your favorite part of the hike was definitely pulling on Daddy’s ears. (Not so much Daddy’s favorite part.)
With 16 months behind you, you are one month closer to growing into a big boy. Please don’t rush things on my account. I’d like to keep you as a baby as long as I can.
Gage, I love you more and more each day!
Love,
Mama

Gagey-
Whew weee- has your personality really started to explode over the last month! I have known all along that you were an independent thinker and that you had a bit of a temper, but I was not expecting all these tantrums already! If only your vocabulary could catch up to your demands, I think that everyone would be a lot happier around here! Luckily this month you did learn how to shake your head yes or no to answer a question, as well as you learned to sign “more”. THose two feats have at least curbed some of your meltdowns. The others- usually brought on by not getting your way- just have to run their course. “Their course” most often involves you lying on your back, slamming your head onto the floor, and screaming in the loudest, most ear piercing wail available. For big offenses- like hitting or trying to climb up the stairs- you receive time out; and surprise, surprise- you actually stay there… without crying. Go figure. What is particularly puzzling is that your teachers in your new class at school say that you are an angel. According to them, you are always happy and you love to follow directions. They have actually called you the “star student” on more than one occasion. Seriously child? Couldn’t you give those ladies hell and be nice to us? Tisk. Tisk.
So given your communication troubles, I have really focused this month on trying to build your vocabulary. Animal sounds has been you biggest interest and you can now make noises for the following animals: frog, sheep, elephant, dinosaur, rabbit, monkey, gator, duck, chicken, and snake. YOu have learned to wave hello in addition to goodbye. You are also learning the names of all of your aunts, uncles, and cousins and have gotten pretty good at pointing at the right person when a name is mentioned. You continue to show a preference for Pop-Pop- often standing at the fridge, poiningt at his photo, saying his name over and over.
In motor development, you have learned to throw a ball and to be honest- you’re pretty good at aiming and you have strong arm. You discovered crayons this month and love to scribble. At meal times you now insist on feeding yourself using a spoon or fork. Any attempt to help you always results in one of the above mentioned tantrums. Surprisingly you are pretty good at getting the food to your mouth and you continue to show a preference for your left hand. You love to turn light switches on and off and taught yourself how to turn off your night light using your foot- as you witnessed Daddy do on one occasion.
Your favorite game is still peek-a-book although you have finally figured out your shape sorter and your piggy bank toy. You have now figured out how to play with your nesting cups and stacking rings and you enjoy playing with blocks.
So Gagey, as you see, you have grown a lot this month and you still have a long way to go. Fortunately, your “trying” times are mixed in with lots of laughs, giggles, and snuggles. I love when you put your head down on me or the times when you laugh so hard you cannot breathe. The best part of this month for me is that you are finally big enough to sit in my lap before bedtime. I treasure the end of the day when we sit in the rocking chair, with your head on my shoulder and you allow me to sing you three or four songs before going to bed. I often smell your whispy baby hair and snuggle my nose into the soft skin of your neck- thinking that no matter how rotten you may be, you will always be my baby. All those tantrums just fade away during those few quiet moments we share together and as I lay you down I’m already looking forward to our next day together.
Without a doubt, I love you more and more each day.
Love, Mama

Gage-
Yikes! Fourteen months old? How can that be possible? You seem to change each day right before my eyes. From new words to new motor skills you continue to learn and develop. Next week you will officially move up at school into the “Waddlers” classroom and I couldn’t be more excited. I think that you are ready for the daily trips to the playground and art activities. I am certain that Mrs. Audrey and Mrs. Emily are probably also excited to see you move up since you’re the oldest baby in your class and you do not have much tolerance for the smaller babies who do not quickly get out of your way! I can’t wait to see all the things that you will learn in your new class with Mrs. Elaine.
For this month, it’s hard to decide in which area you have shown the most progress. Both your vocabulary and your motor skills have shown vast improvement. You now LOVE books and are often seeing carrying one around in your hand, saying “a book, a book.” After handing the book to me or Daddy you immediately sit down, hoping that we will read to you. You love to turn the pages of the book and enjoy pointing out the pictures of things for which you know the name or sound effect. You say “duck, ball, ribbit (frog), tock-tick (clock- and no, I cannot convince you to say it in the other order), and bubble”. You have also learned to say “Hey!” and have gotten better at saying “bye-bye”- now saying it immediately when we leave.
Your receptive vocabulary has also grown and I was surprised earlier this month when I realized that you understood commands! “Sit down.” “Get your shoes.” “Close the door.” “Put in the trash.” And those are only a few of the amazing things you have learned! You can distinguish the meaning change made with the tone of voice. Stopping when we say “No” in a firm manner, and giggling when we say it jokingly. Unfortunately, your fits did returned this month…and I was so optimistic! Now they surface when you see your tooth brush. You are adamant that you should be the one holding the brush and you pitch the biggest of fits since you can’t have your way. What is funny is that for some reason if you lay down in the bath tub (picture just your little face sticking out of the water) you lay calmly and allow us to get those pearly whites clean. If it works, don’t knock it right? Anyhow, you are now up to 7 teeth. You now have your right, top, 1st molar. I am patiently waiting for more molars to surface as I am sure you are too. You have no patience when it comes to eating and would prefer to skip the time it takes me to cut things up into tiny pieces.
In motor development, you have spent lots of time and finally figured out how to spin! You were so pleased with yourself after the first time of doing it, that you literally sat down and clapped! Besides spinning you are also officially running. And when I say running, I do mean all over the house! You continue to be good at crawling up the stairs (when you have permission) but refuse to listen to me about how to go down. Getting down the stairs will be a skill for a later date! You are now trying to figure out how to jump. YOu bend at the knees and pump up, but cannot figure out how to get your feet to leave the ground. Maybe next month, little buddy! Just keep watching Grayson. Finally, in the past 31 days you figured out that when you kiss someone your mouth should be closed. Whew. i’ve been waiting for this one. Now your kisses are a little less slobbery. Notice I said a little!
So Gagey, 14 months are gone and you are doing your best to grow into a little boy. I guess that I cannot keep you as a baby forever… although I may try! Stop growing up so fast and let Daddy and me enjoy the tiny, little you. There’s plenty of time for you to be cranky and independent! Please let us love on you and baby you while we can!
I love you more and more each day!
Love, Mama