Watermelon, Parties, and Presents

Grady had a full week this week.
Hair cut last week, 1 year old pictures this week at the Heritage Center, birthday supper with just the four of us at McDonald's...and then his party. For a guy that doesn't control his own date book - that's a lot to keep track of.

We took his pics on Monday night - his have been relatively pain free (a couple of E's were solid work) but Grady is pretty easy going, for the most part - quick to smile, and hasn't been too worried about being on the go. This shoot was a lot of sitting but the boy did concentrate on taking some steps. We tried to get some of the two of them... but I've had cavities that were easier to fill. I know someday they may take pics together well - just not anytime soon.


Birthday night for us was a pretty big deal - we went to McDonald's... Grady has always eaten really well there.. loves the burgers, the nuggets, the sausage... he likes it all. He did well again. E mostly used the fries to transport the ketchup to her mouth but I guess you can't win them all. After supper we went over to the Firefighter park where it's themed with trucks and fire fighting equipment. Both loved it - especially the rope
merry-go-round. We closed out the night with a little treat at Cold Stone Creamery - unfun fact, they do nothing for birthdays, no matter the age. So we tried to do something special for his first. E was in heaven as she sampled from both varieties that we got.

 

The morning of his birthday was the start of a tradition with his Dad. Matt always buys flowers for Eleanor and he wanted to do something different for Grady that he would appreciate. So they went out to breakfast. G got a waffle and a sausage patty. Matt said he did pretty well eating it and was on his best behavior. When they got back, we gave him our first gift which were little go vehicles- a truck, a car, a plane, and a helicopter.

The afternoon was his party. I themed it watermelon... afterall he's a summer baby, how could I resist. We had a full house! Along with the regulars of my parents, Matt's parents, our siblings and significant others, we had my grandparents,

Shantelle and family, Wade & Lynn, Kate and family, Grace, and Kyle and Angie. Grady did so well - smiles and all. We opened presents, had snacks, and then dove into the cake. I made both of this cakes - I was actually very

happy with how my decorating turned out. His cake was a banana based cake with yogurt and a blueberry center. He was pretty calm in getting into it... the one finger poke but then dove in and really demolished it down. Made me smile to see him enjoying himself. My Grandma Elaine wasn't so wild about the mess - obviously she's not a fan of the smash cake, but I thought it turned out pretty well!

We gave him his present of his own truck for the yard. Other gifts he got included a toy box, a ball pit, a personalized stool, a tonka truck, books, clothes, puzzles, farm set, flash light, plate set, and more! The evening was pretty calm - we finished with playing in the yard and a bit of supper. It was a beautiful day!

365 Days of GRR

The one with one-year old boy

Oh my beautiful Grady Boy.

You are one years old.
I'm not ready for this.
Everything about you from your pregnancy, to your first days, to today has been quiet and sensitive. You are my boy with a smile and you constantly charm people. I keep thinking what a blur your first year has been. The only time you've ever made too much fuss was the first few minutes you were born. Your sister was so quiet taking it in but you weren't... so loud with your disapproval of the cold and prodding new world.

Your maternity leave was not quiet either... you were but I drug you and prodded you with work - taking you to the Workforce Conference when you weren't even a month old. You were quiet at work and fairly easy to keep. The hardest part over those first couple months was your dry, sensitive skin and then your ear aches.

E took to you fairly fast.. she was saying your name before her own granted it sounded more like GA-EEE than Grady but it was fun seeing you two become a pair. Her crawling in your crib or you trying to get to her. Now, she's an incessant hugger/kisser and you can only take so much love for so long before scowling her out.

Over the past year the only problem with you is getting you to sleep through the night.. .smiles and laughs all day. You are a healthy eater who will gobble blueberries all day long. And squash watermelon through your hands before taking down the pulp.

I have so many wishes for you little boy. I want you to keep your gentle spirit. You are so happy to see people, so quick to smile, so willing to play and give love. You look to see how things work and how they fit together and seem to grow where you are planted. It's not that I don't want you to see the world but I am amazed at how happy you are with your surroundings. You are good with all personalities and I want to embrace that in your attitude, to be accepting of those that enrich your life. I want to see you find love and happiness in the things you do and the people who you chose to put in your life. I hope you see your father and I as potential role models and I hope we can life up to the task and worthy of that role.

You are so loved little boy and as you begin to grow out of my arms I hope you know how hard I try to be the best for you,

Love your mama.

Larks, Cousins, Haircuts

Mom and Dad took us to GRE's Larks Game this week. I'll admit, taking those two kids of mine to a game is not exactly the picture of easy. Their attention span is short, they do not care for or understand baseball so we had a bit of a challenge. So after dinner, while the game happened, we headed over to the play area and while G hung out in the stroller, E took on the bounce house and inflatable slides and fun. I was amazed at how she figured out how to careen the wall to go down the slide. She struggled a little but took it on! When she got to the top, she didn't know what to do with the slide but quickly caught on! It was fun to watch her go up and down and up and down. What a great experience for her.

 

We also went to Kyle and Angie's baby party/picnic. They've been married for over a year now and this is their first so to see their excitement in the planning and announcement was cute. My goal was to not overshadow their news as we really hadn't made any big announcements ourselves with our news. But it had gotten out so we talked about it a little. And the guys commiserated a bit together. Angie and I didn't feel too bad for them!

Regarding the kids - Grady's independence is
further developing. It's hard to believe he's past 11 months now and moving on to his birthday soon. He is into exploring and defining himself. I had said no playing with the watertable and he insisted he play with the water table. Sometimes there's no winning with these kids. He's still a giggling garbage can that
gobbles food by the fist full.
E is becoming a copy cat for sure.

Kid-related that was big for me... both kids had their first hair cuts. Now Matt's been anxiously awaiting this for some time, he's concerned about Grady becoming a hippie

and that Eleanor is heading down the path of a mop. I am sentimental and their hair, especially Eleanor's was one of the things that they've had since birth. They came out of me with the hair whether it be that red patch or the brown - granted Grady pretty much lost all of his hair but one of my memories of E is rocking her and watching her hair blow with each rock. So there we were at Candy's office, getting cuts. E did great. It probably helped that it was Candy doing it, her and Candy are soul mates and drawn together at daycare. She sat well and got her certificate. G didn't do as well. He shifted and didn't want to sit and was antsy. He had way more taken off than she did and I couldn't believe how grown up he suddenly looked when it was all over. Candy even used an electric clipper for him. No tears either way and the whole thing only took 1/2 an hour!

MJR: Eleanor, we are going to go to Candy's to get a haircut.
EER: Yes, go see Can Knee.