All the Way to 10!

I apologize for another month of limited posting. I feel like we're constantly running around in circles as we get closer and closer to finishing the house. Speaking of which, our front door went in last week, our brick is going up this week, and next week the drywall is being installed. All great news, but this also meant that I had to get our light fixtures, appliances, and miscellaneous other items picked because I was running out of time. And that's pretty much what I've been doing.

As for Grayson, he's doing very well. He still loves tools and thanks to toys we received from his cousin Brooks, Grayson has discovered Bob the Builder. I recorded it the other day and let him watch it (we usually only watch Sesame Street when we watch TV) and he was mesmorized. He also still loves dinosaurs and the bedding we ordered for his new bedroom came yesterday. He wanted to open it right away, of course. He is now also counting to 10 all by himself, without missing any numbers. He's been counting for a while, but would often skip a number, but now he does it without error. He counts to 20, but once we get past 11, he's not quite getting all the teens in order, but we'll get there!!

Here's a picture from this morning. Our contractor is working on the stairs that come into our basement, so whenever someone is working downstairs, Grayson has to put on his toolbelt and "build a house" on his slide (one of the places he's allowed to bang his hammer) while he watches them work. As you can also see, he's wearing dinosaur pajamas. I ordered these because they were on sale, even though they are too big for him to wear right now, but that didn't stop him. He HAD to wear them to bed last night and really, they weren't that big on him. (which is scary because I fear he'll be in 4T's for the summer).

Third Time's A Charm

Last year Grayson was having some problem with his white blood cell count. Each time we had his bloodwork done, it was elevated. We always found the results amazing because other than colds and an occasional fever, the kid is never sick. He's never had an ear infection, has only had to take antibiotics once (just before he turned one), and he only just recently had his first stomach virus.

At his two-year-old doctor appointment, we knew we were going to have to have the bloodwork done again, but Grayson got his flu shot that day, so we were told to wait until the following week. Well, that week came and went, and then the holidays arrived, and then Grayson was really sick (that stomach virus I mentioned), etc., etc., so we didn't have the blood drawn.

Tuesday Dominic was off work. Since getting the blood drawn requires one of us to hold him still, we decided to do it that day and have Dominic hold him. When we arrived in the room, the technician had planned to do it herself with Dominic holding him. The look on my face must have convinced her to get some help because she asked someone to come in with her. They blew his vein with the first stick and Grayson was screaming. He's not only crying, but also yelling that it's hurting him. Ugh. The other technician tried it on his other arm and they were able to get the blood.

The next day Grayson woke up with a stuffy nose, so I just knew he was going to have another elevated white blood cell count. When we got home today after visiting a preschool, there was a message from the doctor's office to discuss his results. I was dreading it. Once the doctor got on the phone I was waiting for the bad news again, "His white blood cell count is high, you're going to have to have the blood drawn again. Blah, blah, blah." But to my surprise, that's not what he said at all. He told me everything looked great!! EVERYTHING!! This was great news. So, we finally have that behind us and I'm very glad it's a happy ending.

Preschools, Ack!!

I'm hoping to get Grayson into an excellent preschool that will then get him on the fast track straight to Harvard, Princeton, or Yale and boy, is this quite an ordeal.

Just kidding. All I'm looking for is a nice place where he can learn how to count to 100 and how to play with other children, while also discovering that there are viewpoints in the world other than mine. You would think I was asking for a million dollars to fall into my lap (although that would be nice right about now, too).

I have seen the parents on television who are eagerly trying to get their child into the best of the best preschool. This requires numerous interviews with the parents and the child, enormous application fees which don't even guarantee a spot in the school and are non-refundable, and then a wait for an acceptance letter. Yes, an acceptance letter!!! If these poor kids are already under this much pressure at three, I can't even imagine how much worse it is going to get.

Luckily, I have discovered there are quite a few schools in our area that seem to meet my and Grayson's needs. And getting into them isn't going to require any of what I mentioned above nor will I have to stand in line at 4:00 AM hoping to get in quick enough to get him a spot or sit on a waiting list for months. Don't get me wrong, education is very, very important to me and I look forward to Grayson's school days, but the kid isn't even three yet. Do I really need to begin pressuring him already?

Appreciating My Son

These past couple weeks have been pretty rough on Grayson and me. Not only because we have both been sick, but also thanks to the holidays, our routine was completely off kilter since most of our normal events like playgroups and gym class have been canceled. As a result, we have been stuck in the house, which means the basement since that’s where we are living right now. Since Grayson is a very social kid, just like me, we’ve been going a little stir crazy.

During this time, I was emailing one of my friends back and forth. They have also been pretty sick over the holidays and we were exchanging battle stories. While we were discussing our holidays she wrote something interesting, “Two is such a fun age.” As I read it, I laughed out loud and then I told her how amusing I found the statement. She then pointed out how funny her daughter is now and how she is able to reason with her, unlike when she was one.

I thought a little more about this and then started to reflect back on the past couple weeks and how really great Grayson had been. Sure, we had our tough moments, but overall we really enjoyed our time together. This prompted me to think more about why I love my son and why I am going to try even harder to appreciate him as a two-year-old. Here’s my list:

He’s hilarious and he tells you so. Now that he speaks in sentences, he says the funniest things and he tells me all the time, “I funny, Mommy, I funny.” Perfect.

He says please and thank you. And very rarely needs to be prompted. This is something I take pride in because manners seem to be disappearing a bit nowadays. He's also really big on saying "bless you" after you sneeze. And after you cough. At first I was trying to distinguish between the two, but then a friend of mine said, "sometimes coughs need blessing too," and I realized she was completely right.

He loves to go to church. Pretty much every day he asks to go to church. I’m sure he doesn’t understand why we go to church at this point, but I’m also sure that when he’s 16-years-old, he’ll probably be fighting me rather than begging to go, so I’m going to appreciate it while it lasts.

His energy is unstoppable. I am amazed at how he can continue to go and go and go. Because of this, he motivates me to do the same. Then again, do I really have a choice??

He enjoys music. He would much rather listen to music than watch television. He also loves to sing and when his Daddy and I practice singing with our group at church for our contemporary services, he really has a blast. Just today I saw him mimicking our drummer as he tapped his drumsticks together, counted, and then started playing his drum. We had always planned on starting him with guitar lessons, but we may have to rethink that!!

He has a mind of his own. This one is hard to appreciate as he pushes my buttons, argues with me, and fights me on almost everything; however, if I take a moment and really think about it, I know I’m raising a strong, independent thinker and that will serve him well as he becomes an adult. And also, all those challenging moments are making me a better person and mother.

This year at Christmas, he got more excited over the tree lights than the gifts themselves. I had mentioned in my previous post about how hard I had worked to have the gifts under the tree for him to see when he awoke on Christmas morning. I did this because his face lit up the first time we turned on the tree lights and it continued to do so the entire month before Christmas. I really thought he would be incredibly excited over seeing the gifts and couldn’t believe he didn’t seem to care at the time. At first I was disappointed, but the more I thought about it, the greater it became. He found appreciation more in the “spirit” rather than just getting toys. I hope he always feels that way.

He tells me he loves me all the time. I remember the first time he said I love you and it has only become better each time. I don’t think I will ever be tired of hearing it. The best sentence someone could ever say!

The Holidays Are Behind Us Once Again

Even though Dominic and I are in the middle of construction, we chose to still host our family on Christmas Day. As my brother said, this was the 50th consecutive year Christmas has been hosted in this house. The house may not be the same as it was 50 years ago, but it’s nice to know we were able to keep up the tradition. Luckily it hadn’t rained in a few days, so the mud had turned to dirt for the day and it made it much easier for people to get in. I’ve started posting construction photos for you to view if you’re interested. You can click here to view them and the link is also listed on the side of the blog.

As for the rest of the holiday week, we had kicked it off by visiting Dominic’s sister Maria in Baltimore and had dinner with his family. Grayson had a blast playing with his cousin Paul that day. I survived singing in the Christmas Eve cantata at church. I was very worried I was going to get sick, but that actually came later in the week, luckily.

Grayson enjoyed opening his gifts on Christmas, but I think he was more excited about tearing the paper rather than the gifts themselves. He had been so excited when we put up the tree I thought he would really love to see all the gifts Christmas morning, but the first words out of his mouth after he woke were “I wanna eat.” Go figure.

His favorite gifts were definitely his ride-on gator (which we bought from my sister), his football helmet (he hasn’t wanted to remove it), and his iPod player that is a stuffed elephant.
Unfortunately, Grayson got rather sick the next day at my mother’s house during her open house. This started a very rough week for us. Although I survived our first stomach virus, I’m still sick today and it made New Year’s Eve a little harder for me to handle (but I was still up until 1:00 AM), I’m still very miserable and we missed our gym class today because I just didn’t feel up to leaving the house. Hopefully this will pass soon and we’ll be back to normal.

Discovering Playdough

I'm not sure of where to even begin since it has been so long since my last post. December has turned out to be even more hectic than November, although I guess I shouldn't be surprised. We are, after all, not only preparing for the holiday season but also remodeling our house.

This past Saturday Grayson went to a birthday party for two of his friends (they're twins) and while there he played with playdough for the first time. We actually have plenty of playdough which we have accumulated over time but we have never actually sat down and played with it. It was fun to watch him form it into shapes and then smash them just to start all over again.

As I watched him I discovered I need to be more like playdough right now. Life is crazy. The week prior to the party we were told by our contractor to plan to move to our basement by the weekend. We then spent the entire week packing and moving. At the end of the week I found myself very sick, so sick that had to ask my mother to come help me with Grayson for a little while. The night of the party, Dominic and I went to dinner to celebrate our seven-year anniversary and at one of my favorite restaurants, I couldn't enjoy the meal because I still wasn't feeling quite right. When we got home that night we found that it was raining in our house. I should clarify...it was pouring down rain in our house. There were so many leaks through the roof (or lack thereof) we didn't have enough buckets or trash cans to catch them all. And this continued all night long. After a rough night, I still made it to church and then to cantata practice afterwards. When I got home, our power went out for about 12 hours. So within a week's time, I found myself over and over again feeling good about the progress I was making only to be smashed down once again to face another challenge. I was being remolded, just like playdough.

I guess I can learn a lot from the new discoveries Grayson makes each day. I have learned to be more flexible and roll with the obstacles thrown my way. I'm going to do my best to look at each situation as a valuable experience. Hopefully, with each remolding I'll become a better person.

Whining!!!

Grayson is a pretty tough kid. When he falls down, he usually gets up without even a whimper and if he is crying, I know that means it must have hurt. A lot. But lately I've had to put up with a different type of cry, something I knew was coming, but I guess I wasn't prepared for it - the whining.

Oh. My. Gosh. I don't know if I'm more annoyed by the whining itself or the fact that it's coming from my son who is normally so verbally expressive. I'm reading up on the ways to deal with it and how to hopefully make it stop, but it's taking a lot of patience. Something I've been short on these days.

On a much happier note, Dominic and I decided to start decorating for Christmas yesterday. I really didn't think Grayson would "get into it" that much, but I was very wrong. He loved decorating the tree and his face would light up when we pulled out a new ornament. I just wish I had recorded it because it was so much fun to watch. Oh, well. Hopefully next year he'll enjoy it just as much.

Being Thankful

November is a rather important month in our family for obvious reasons. Two years ago at this time, Dominic and I were in New Jersey learning how to take care of our new baby while waiting for the phone call telling us we could head home. It was a crazy time since we hadn’t been prepared for a baby because we thought the process would take a long time – little did we know that our son would be in our arms less than a month after officially switching to domestic adoption – and we had no clue what we were doing. Everything we had with us to take care of Grayson was borrowed and we knew we were coming home to a house that was not ready for a baby.

So, when we reflect on Thanksgiving, not only do we think about the delicious turkey dinner we had eaten in the hospital two years ago, but we also are thankful for the family and friends who were, and continue to be, so supportive in our lives. We wouldn’t have been able to survive without them during those first insane months of adjusting to a newborn in our otherwise party-like lifestyle (at the time) and we know we continue to be lucky to have them in our lives now.

Now Grayson is two. He is a thriving little boy who we find incredibly intelligent and beautiful (or should I say handsome). At his doctor’s appointment last week, he has landed in the 92nd percentile for height and the 89th percentile for weight. The scale at the office said he was 31 pounds, but at the vet’s a couple weeks ago, he stood on their scale and was 32.5 pounds, so we’re thinking he’s realistically somewhere in between. He talks non-stop and is learning something new every day. I also enjoy watching him interact with his friends. It reminds me that he really is a little man with his own emotions, ideas, and personality and I thank God for him every day.

November is also important to us because it is National Adoption Awareness Month and November 17th (Grayson’s birthday) was National Adoption Day. I know I don’t often blog about adoption specifically, but it is obviously a key part of our lives. I try to stay active with our local adoption group, Adoptive Families and Friends, and I am always very willing to answer questions about adoption and/or the process we went through. So if you’re ever thinking about it or are just curious, let me know and I would love to talk about it.

I Will Catch Up Soon!!

This has been one crazy month!! I will post all the details very soon, but since it has been almost a full month since my last post, I wanted to go ahead and share Grayson's birthday party pictures. He actually had two parties again this year - one with his playgroup friends and one with our families. You can see the pictures from the family party here. The theme for both parties was dinosaurs and Grayson had a blast. I'm amazed at his interest in dinosaurs and we're going to continue to roll with it as we decorate his new room when the house is finished.

His two-year doctor's appointment went very well. Once again, he's very tall for his age. I'll be back soon with more information and more pictures.

So Very, Very Tired

I have now realized that the end of October and most of November is my busiest time of year. I remember last year, I was very stressed while trying to stay on top of things, and it has only gotten worse this year. It's all stuff I bring onto myself - planning Grayson's birthday parties, handling the publicity for my adoption group's National Adoption Day event, doing dictation for my sister, singing with the praise and worship group at church, dealing with house building stuff, keeping up with Grayson's schedule (which includes toddler time at the library, gym class, playgroups, parties, etc.), potty training, assisting with a baby shower, and trying to balance my own pathetic social schedule in the middle of all of it - but it still takes its toll. I'm not complaining, just sharing. I love my life. I love being busy. I'm just amazed at how busy I actually am sometimes and I'm now very, very tired.

At any rate, I mentioned that I would hopefully have some good pictures to share because this past week offered up some great photo opportunities. Of course Grayson was his normal "non-photogenic" self in that he refuses to look at the camera, let alone smile for me, but hopefully I think I was able to capture the moment in most cases.

Our first event was a birthday party for one of Grayson's friends. It was at a pumpkin patch and unfortunately, after many months of a drought, it decided to rain most of last week which resulted in some rather miserable weather for an outside party. Luckily the first hour was fairly clear, so the kids got to play outside. Grayson's favorite thing to do was climb on the haystack and here you can see his reflective look as he sits atop a hay bail.

Since the kids couldn't go out to the pumpkin patch on the hayride, they brought the pumpkins to them and allowed the kids to paint them. Grayson definitely enjoyed this and I had a blast just watching his concentration. His final masterpiece is proudly displayed on our porch.

Last Friday Grayson was invited to a Halloween party with his playgroup friends. This year Grayson dressed as a firefighter for Halloween. This was for practical reasons in that I purchased one of those fancy dress up outfits at an expensive kid's boutique a few months ago. The plan was to give it to him for either his birthday or Christmas, but when I started looking for Halloween costumes, it seemed rather stupid to spend the money on something else when I already had this. He loved wearing his costume and his friend Griffin gave him an early birthday present to go with it - firefighter boots - so he now likes to wear his boots all around the house. (The picture is from before we left for the party, so he's wearing his Chucks since he didn't have the boots yet.)

This past Tuesday we went to another pumpkin patch. We took Grayson's cousin, Brooks, and we also met up with a few of Grayson's friends there. The weather was much, much better than the previous week, so the kids truly enjoyed themselves. Grayson loved the giant "pillow" and he also loved going down the slides and through the tunnels.

On Halloween, we went Trick or Treating with his cousins, Tevyn and Trevor. This was not only Grayson's first time Trick or Treating, but also mine. We went to the local "neighborhoods" so the boys could be seen by people we know. It was a lot of fun, but a lot of work. Since we live out in the middle of nowhere, the houses are not very close together, so we did a lot of walking and after about an hour, Grayson was getting pretty tired and wanted to be held, which made it even harder on me. But we had a blast and Grayson brought home a ton of loot. And contrary to popular belief, I am allowing him to have some of it on occasion, but only after he eats all of his fruits and vegetables!!

Accident-Free

Yesterday we finally closed on the loan to remodel our house. It has been a very, very long road to get the loan thanks to all the recent changes in the market, but we finally succeeded. There weren't any "accidents" but it wasn't without some serious last minute kinks, but we were able to handle them and walk away with the construction loan we needed.

The contractor dropped off his equipment this morning and when Grayson and I got back from playgroup today, it looked as if he had already started working on tearing down the shed. The shed is going to be replaced with a two-car garage. This is where we'll keep Dominic's Jeep and all our yard equipment. It will also have a second floor for storage. Here's a picture of the original shed:
The house will also include a two-car garage, plus we are building off the back and adding a second story. Here's a picture of the current house:
I will start adding pictures to dotphoto soon just like I did for the basement, so people who are interested can watch the progress. I'm excited, but I'm also very nervous. This house was built by my parents 50 years ago. All of us grew up here and now I'm making some major changes. I know it is going to be worth it and we're also trying hard to include parts of the original house in the final plans, but I'm still anxious about the whole thing.

In other "accident-free" news, Grayson went without any potty accidents on Sunday - this was even with us going to church. He's doing a really great job so I guess he was definitely ready! Yesterday we were out on the road most of the day and the poor boy asked to go to the bathroom a couple times while we were in the car, but there was no place to go, so I'm going to invest in one of those portable potties for kids. Hopefully that will help with our long car rides. We have a pretty busy week ahead of us, which will allow for some great pictures (as long as Grayson cooperates), so I should have a decent update sometime soon.

We're Surviving

One puppy almost completely house trained, one who isn't at all, and a toddler who is being potty trained. Right now I feel like my life is all about "going to the bathroom." What fun. But, we're surviving.

Grayson is doing much better than Melah who is insistent on not going outside. Grayson's mornings go very, very well, but after nap he starts to go a bit downhill. I really think it's the use of his diaper during nap time. I was always worried I was going to send a mixed message this way and I think he's picked up on that, but I keep trying to reiterate that diapers are for sleeping and he needs to use the potty when he's awake.

I'm actually trying to remember what else we've done this week to share with you, but I feel like it's been all about the potty training.

I guess the other "big" thing is that I'm also working on Grayson's birthday party. He's really interested in dinosaurs (for those of you who know me from childhood, you'll remember this was a big interest of mine as well) so we decided to make that the theme of his party. I've been enjoying it. I have even tried to find some of my old dinosaurs. So far I've only found three stuffed ones - I think the rest are gone.

Hopefully the planning will continue to go well. I really feel like I'm just constantly on the go, but then when I look back on the day, I feel like I haven't accomplished anything. I guess that's how it is with Stay-at-Home Moms sometimes. There are days that feel like you've reached new heights and days where you feel like you're just surviving.

New Things to Share

Well, Dominic and I did it again. We got another puppy. After the loss of our last dachshund, Marie, our new puppy was all alone and we could tell she was lonely. Plus, we always knew we wanted to have two dogs at a time and I knew I always wanted to have a dachshund. So, last week we did a little research and found a few breeders in the area who had some available. That is how we found Melah. She is one of the most beautiful red dachshunds I've ever seen. Where our previous reds had black highlights, Melah has white, so her red coat is much lighter. She also has a red nose, which is just adorable. Sookie and Grayson are both happy to have her in the house.

As for the other piece of news, Grayson has decided he wants to be potty trained. This has actually been going on for months, but I kept putting it off because I thought he was too young. Well, this past weekend he stayed with his Aunt Maria and proved he knew what he was doing. He regularly asked and used the potty without any problems. So this week we've started potty training officially. Today he has been in "big boy" underwear and we haven't had any problems. I guess we'll see how it goes!

He's Not a Baby Anymore

Okay, so I guess Grayson really hasn't been a baby since he was about nine months old - when he started walking. Actually, my Mom and I were looking at his pictures and noticed how at that time his face really transformed from "baby-looking" to full-on toddler. But this post really isn't about his physical or mental milestones which seemed to come fast and furious. This post is more about the maturity I've noticed in him this week.

Our week has been a busy one, as usual, and it started this Sunday with a birthday party for one of Grayson's friends who turned two on the 22nd. At this same party last year, Grayson was the only child who was really walking around and the entire time I was running after him. This year, I had Dominic to help me, but I also noticed how well Grayson interacted with the other children, how well he listened to both Dominic and me, and how much he enjoyed the moon bounce. It was really neat to sit back and watch.

But it didn't stop there. On Tuesday, our playgroup was held at his friend Ella's house and it was a celebration for her second birthday. Ella's parents set up finger painting for the kids and Grayson had a blast, but was even cooler to see was how he would go to the correct color when I called it out and come back to his own sheet to paint. Also, each child was given a flower pot in which we planted seeds to bring home and watch grow. I was amazed at how well Grayson followed the directions as we put the pot together.

But the most obvious example of maturity occurred at gym class again. As I mentioned in my previous post, gym class has been a true learning experience for Grayson, but yesterday he was even better than before. This time, not only did he participate in the warm-ups but he was actually watching the instructor and doing what she was doing. He almost made it through the entire warm-up session without losing interest. Fingers crossed for next week!

Oh, and speaking of those mental milestones, here are a few to brag about - he seems to know all the basic colors at this point, he is able to identify half the alphabet (in no particular order, which I really appreciate), he can sing half the ABC song, and he can count to five. He also really, really acts like he wants to be potty-trained. Of course, this has been going on for a while, but I haven't really been doing anything about it. I'm starting to think I need to begin the process - something I'm not really looking forward to doing.

A Great Day in Gym Class

This fall many of my friends and I decided to try out a new gym for the kids. I was a bit apprehensive at first because I absolutely loved The Little Gym, but I also didn't want to go back and do the same exact class we've been doing. We decided to check out the Frederick Gymnastics Club and since we can't sit in on a class, we went to their open house. I was still a little concerned because I just didn't get a good "vibe" from them, but I really liked the variety they offered so we all decided to sign up with them.

Grayson's first class was the last Wednesday of August and it was terrible. We arrived early and had to wait in the viewing area until they called us into class where Grayson would not sit still. When class started, Grayson immediately started screaming and holding onto me. He refused to participate in any of the warm-up activities. Once he realized all the really cool things in the gym to explore, he decided he wanted to run wild so I was holding him down until it was time to move. After warm-up, he still wanted to run around and not actually go through the obstacle courses they had created for the kids. By the end of it all, I was exhausted. I got more of a work out chasing after him than he did participating.

Each week seemed to get a little bit better. The next week he still screamed through the warm-ups but was willing to do the obstacle course. However, in the middle of class he decided he wanted to leave so he began to throw temper tanturms. Last week he made me carry him during the warm-ups, but didn't scream and he didn't ask to leave. Then there was this week and it was great!

I figured out that part of the problem with his behavior was that he was getting his lunch later than usual, so yesterday I decided to give him some raisins and animal crackers before we left the house. When class started, he wanted me to carry him, but I refused and he actually started doing some of the warm-ups!! Then, he did the obstacle courses without any fuss. He even swung from the rings without any assistance. He also tried out the parallel bars and the horse. I couldn't believe it! I finally feel like I'm getting my money's worth and Grayson is getting to use up some of his energy.

On a completely unrelated note, thanks to Aunt Heidi for Grayson's awesome football jersey. I took a ton of pictures the other day to try to get that perfect shot. I don't think I actually got it, but here are a few:

Going Back for the Pass

Running for the Touchdown

In the Huddle with the Other Players

Reflecting on the Game

Wow, What a Trip!

I know it has been way too long since my last post, but Grayson and I were on the coast of Alabama last week visiting friends I have gotten to know over the years on IVF Connections. When we got back, I was in a lot of pain because I pulled my back out on the plane trying to keep Grayson on my lap (this actually occured on the way down), plus I was completely exhausted. And then yesterday I got very, very sick. So here I am. Finally. And I'm feeling much better.

As for the trip, it was incredible!! It was so amazing to actually meet the people I've gotten to know on-line. Grayson had a great time playing with the other children, although he tired me out. He wouldn't take naps and he stayed up late with the rest of us. Plus, he didn't want to sleep in his Pack-N-Play (I think this was more because he wanted to stay up rather than the PNP itself) so he slept with me. In a twin bed. And this is something we've NEVER done. Needless to say, given the fact that I had pulled my back on the plane, was sleeping in a bed with a little man who is squirmy, and the bed was a tad bit on the firm side, I didn't get much sleep. It didn't matter though, I loved getting to know the girls and their children. Plus one husband! I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

Some of the definite highlights of the trip for Grayson were playing in the ocean, jumping off the side of the pool into my arms, and the boat trip. The pictures I took really don't capture his absolute joy, but you can take a look at a few of them here. He saw the ocean for the first time last year, but at that point he wasn't even crawling yet. This time he would run toward the water and throw himself into the waves. It was so much fun to watch.

As for the pool, we've been in my sister's pool a number of times this summer, but because it's an above ground pool, there's really no way for him to sit on the side and jump in. Once he discovered this was something he could do, he wanted to do it over and over again.

On the boat trip, Grayson had a blast. He loved standing at the front of the boat, but he loved to help steer it even more. Oh, and honking the horn non-stop. Unfortunately we didn't see any dolphins, but I don't think Grayson cared in the least.

I think we're finally back in our groove here. Grayson went back to his schedule almost immediately, thank goodness, but I've had a harder time as I mentioned above. I look forward to another get-together!!

I have learned that toddlerhood is not just an uphill battle. There are moments when you are struggling to make it up the mountain, but then there are times you get to go down into a valley or canyon. And then there are times you can simply hike along the bottom of that valley or canyon and just enjoy the scenery around you before you have to start making your way back up. Last week was a treacherous hike uphill, while this week was a leisurely stroll down into a glorious canyon!

I’m not trying to be philosophical or deep, I’m just trying to embrace what is happening and as I mentioned in my previous post, help Grayson learn through it while I’m learning as well.

So much happened this past week I really could have blogged each and every day about it, but we were so busy, I simply didn’t have the time. Not to mention that our Internet went out on us again and we’re still on dial-up so getting on-line is a frustrating experience.

Grayson was so good this past week it’s almost as if he were a completely different child, but I guess that’s the way it’s going to be. We went to two fun playgroups and he did great with the other kids. We took a trip down to Baltimore to visit Port Discovery and I don’t think I have ever seen him have so much fun. He climbed all over the jungle gym, which is three-stories tall, and generally had a blast running around. We went out to dinner with my parents on Friday night and he was an angel at the restaurant and afterward when we hung out in my parent’s backyard. He was great in the nursery at church, both during Sunday School and during the worship service. And we visited his Aunt Maria’s and Uncle Jay’s for dinner that night and he was great as he played with his cousin Paul.

Coming Down a Tube in Port Discovery - Three Stories Up

I guess I’ll just have to remind myself of these times when he’s completely disobeying me or screaming at the top of his lungs because he’s not getting his way or running around like crazy because he has more than enough energy to spare. It is what it is.

Playing on Paul's New Scooter

When Does Toddlerhood End?

This has been a challenging and emotionally draining week for me as a mother. Grayson turned twenty-one months old on Friday, but really, I think he's been in his terrible two stage since he turned one. The highlights of the week?? Let's see...Tuesday morning he learned to move a chair to our sliding glass door, climb up, unlock the door, open it and then run outside; that afternoon we had to leave our adoptive families playgroup early because he wouldn't behave and started running all around the coffee house; Thursday he tossed his hat into the river near my sister-in-law's house - it was not retrieved; Saturday he vomited all over himself in his carseat and in my truck, what a lovely smell; and today he had to be removed from nursery at church because he was throwing toys and hitting.

I'm starting to realize I have one of "those" children. You know, the ones you see throwing temper tantrums in the grocery store because their mothers told them they couldn't have something, or the ones who steal the toys from the other kids and think it's funny, or the ones who, like Grayson, run obnoxiously around the coffee house. The ones you said your child would never be like.

I guess it's a trade off. Grayson was an excellent baby, so toddlerhood seems like it's going to be a challenge. He loves to eat anything, so instead of the child who refuses to eat his vegetables, I get the child who refuses to take a nap. He's very polite, he says "please" and "thank you," plus he takes the time to say "bless you" after someone sneezes. So I suppose the trade off there is the continual energy he seems to have, constantly running away from me when I call him, giggling all the way.

I guess I need to get myself ready for what's to come. I know toddlerhood isn't going to end any time soon, so I might as well do whatever I can to survive the ride and do what I can to help Grayson grow from his experiences during this turbulent time. Like one of my best friends always says about her daughter, these qualities may be stressful now, but that independent, strong-willed nature will serve our kids well when they are adults.

Reading is Fundamental

That's what they always say, right? Well, I'm happy to report that it seems to be becoming fundamentally important in our home.

Reading has always been important to me and it's something I greatly enjoy doing. I have always wanted my children to feel the same way. I can remember begging my mother to read to me when I was little and I always hoped I would be on the receiving end of that begging when I became a parent. This has definitely become the case, but I have also noticed that Grayson enjoys reading books by himself as well.

When he and I are home all day, I try to split our time between his playroom and his bedroom. Lately I've been encouraging him to play by himself so he's not always so dependent on me for entertainment. Most recently he has started to go in his room and close the door. I'll usually allow him his "privacy" for a few minutes and then I go in to check on him. Well, today when I checked, this is what I found:He had pulled half of his books off the shelves and had them spread out all around him. As you can see, he's enjoying a good book in the picture. After I caught him, we proceeded to read a few together. Does it get any better than this?

Lazy Summer Days

Grayson and I have been pretty busy this week, so it was nice to simply take a break today. We didn't leave the house and since it was rather hot as well, we decided to stay inside all day. This meant we did a lot of reading and playing. One of Grayson's favorite things to do is read, so he decided to sit down with a couple good books on his own. He really enjoyed reading the story to me.

The day was also spent learning to count to three; learning the colors orange, yellow, and blue; and Grayson practicing to dress himself (that's why he's not wearing any shorts in the picture). So I guess "Lazy Summer Days" isn't really the right title because even though we didn't go out, we still stayed pretty busy.