One In and One Out

Grady wrapped up his two years of Little Gym earlier this year and Graham started on his new adventure at Little Gym  Wow - time flies!  I am so grateful for this little hidden gem and the experiences it has allowed me to have with my children.

Grady grew so much in his time at Little Gym.  It was the first place where he learned to interact with other kids, to listen to a teacher and try new things.   I got to see what he excels at (jumping of course!) and also what he could use a little more practice with (overcoming some shyness in groups). He grew leaps and bounds (literally!) in his couple years at Little Gym. Grady has always impressed me with his ability to jump off big things with no fear whatsoever.  I know he will be jumping off of lots of big things in his lifetime, and in some small way Little Gym has set the foundation to prepare him for that.  

I'd say that my and Graham's Saturday attendance hovers around 50% due to weekend travels and other things, but it is so wonderful to have an hour set aside for just Graham.  Graham is a pretty easy baby, doesn't typically demand a whole lot of attention, and is blessed with a great big brother who typically does require a lot of attention!  For these reasons, I feel really lucky to have an activity that I can do with just my baby.  It is his time, which is just as important for me as it is for him.   While Grady excelled at jumping, Graham excels at hanging.   These kids are so perfectly juxtaposed. Grady was a bit wild and crazy jumping off of all things and Graham will just sit there and hang from the bar with a huge grin on his face.

End of an Era

My dad decided that the end of this summer was the right time for him to retire.  After years of building a practice, working extremely hard, and seeing a whole heck of a lot of teeth, he passed his practice on to a very nice, young dentist.  I have grown up with my dad as my dentist and his hygienists and secretaries have been a regular part of my life, attending weddings, baby showers, and always welcoming me with a hug in the office.  When I realized that it was my dad's last week and my kids hadn't been in for their first official visit, I promptly arranged for an appointment for the boys so that they could see Grandpa in his element.  It was the perfect farewell to to such a huge part of my Dad's life.  Graham was eating up his visit and loved having his eight teeth examined.  Grady, was not too eager to get his teeth looked at, but loved seeing Grandpa as a dentist and loved even more getting to play dentist spraying water in the face of his "patient". 

Dad, we are so proud of of all that you have accomplished. Our boys will always have you as an example as someone who built a business from the ground up based on respect for all, hard work, and a lot of fun along the way.   You have a lot to be proud of!  I know you will be sorely missed by many including myself!   Now you get to enjoy your time in the mountains  and travelling the country in your R.V.  Love you!

  

HBD Grady!

Greatest achievement to date, sitting on the Target red balls.

As we get ready for another big birthday party in the family (eek!), I'd be remiss if I didn't get over my bad blogging habit lately and document Grady's third birthday.  We thought we were going to be out of town for Grady's birthday this year, but it turned out that we were in town so we threw together a relatively inpromtu b-day party complete with bowling, Paw Patrol and LOTS of cake.  Grady had the best time bowling at Big Al's with his cousins.  The kids were so cute, high fiivng with the roll of each ball down the ramp, completely devouring Grady's huge ice cream sundae and just generally being cute little cousins.  I decided that three is great because Grady can bowl almost completely independently.   He has arrived  into the word of a independence!  Watch out people!  I'm telling you, these kids were so fun to watch and to play with.  

We came home after bowling for some cake and ice cream.  Grady's favorite thing about his birthday was probably not the presents or the bowling, but the cake.  He LOVES cake.   He started his day by asking for cake and ended his day by asking for an extra slice in his bath.  We let him have some and were happy to do so after such a fun day with him.  As he sat there chowing down on his blue frosted cake in the bath he looked at me and said "Mom, this was the best birfday ever. Thank you for making my birday so much fun, I love you."  He melts my heart. I love that Graham will always be special because he is my baby and I love that Grady will always be special to me because he made me a mommy.  I am so thankful that he is ours.  

Awkward little kid high fives might be the cutest things ever.

 This little guy was quite the tropper.

Goofballs.

Dinner time!

Now that is a sundae!

When I asked if he had a good time, this was his reaction. . . do you think he enjoyed himself?

This face, I will always remember my Grady boy's sweet little face.  When he gets this subtle grin, I know his heart is happy.  He makes my heart happy.

Paw Patrol explosion.

It's party time people.

This was my little boy on his last day of being two while waiting for his swim teacher.  It just captures him so perfectly candy in hand and all. 

Grady has a love for decorations.  When we get birthday or holiday decorations out, it is as if he has won the lottery.  He squeals and dances and is just generally quite adorable.  The origin of this particular sign was Grady's stories that he tells us at night "I was swimming and got bit by a shark and said, Hey that hurt!"  

Miss Kayla knows her boy well and gave him his favorite Paw Patrol characters, probably a favorite gift.

He's growing up, enjoying big boy toys like remote control cars.

I know I already posted this picture, but I just love it.  I love this age.  I love our Grady.  He makes my heart explode with joy.