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.