Kelly's family blog

Maw Mawbowl
Nooooo
juice

truck
pass (paci)
dog
hot
moon
ba-la-la (balloon)
eye
ear
nose
poop

Words he says:
usss (Bus)El-uh-totor (helicopter)
Gator
Chomp- Chomp
help
cup
eat
Da DaMaMA
Nae-Nuh (Grayson)
Ollie
up
tractor
duck
ball
ribbit
tock-tick
bubble
Hey
bye-bye
Pop-Pop

Words he says:
usss (Bus)El-uh-totor (helicopter)
Gator
Chomp- Chomp
help
cup
eat
Da DaMaMA
Nae-Nuh (Grayson)
Ollie
up
tractor
duck
ball
ribbit
tock-tick
bubble
Hey
bye-bye
Pop-Pop

After lowering the seat, Grayson has finally figured out how to ride his bike (with training wheels) all by himself- even up hills!  He's still working on how to break though...

He now has his left, upper, canine tooth.

Gage squeezes when he hugs

Gage gave his first spontaneous hug today.  I guess growing up won't be all that bad...

Gage has begun shaking his head yes and no.  He can point to the requested family member in his book and is finally big enough to want to be rocked to sleep at night.

Grayson can now recite the pledge of allegiance and can recite the months of the year.

Gage's vocabulary in growing:  * means he can also say the word
duck
ball*
frog (ribbit*)
clock (tock-tick*)
bubble
Hey*
bye-bye

Pop-Pop*

Gage has finally figured out how to shake his head "yes".  He will also say More with sign language.

Grayson has learned how to count to 100- with a little help at 40 and 60.  The funniest is that he says Five-ty instead of fifty!

Gage's receptive vocabulary continues to grow.  He surprised me today by following commands.  when I asked him to sit down and he did.  Then I tried other commands.  He cleaned up his books, picked up trash, got his shoes, etc.  

Finally, on his own schedule of course, Grayson learned to swim under water.  He began holding his breath and dunking his head under water a couple of weeks ago.  He finally got up the courage on Friday to try to swim too.  He made it from a few feet from the steps to the steps and he was so proud of himself.  

For the first time, I saw Gage spin in one complete circle without falling.  He has been working on this accomplishment since last week.  He was so proud of himself when he figured it out today!

Now he is up to 7.  His left top eye tooth just broke the skin today.

Gage will now carry books around the house and bring them to you saying "book".  He has also learned one animal sound- Ribbit!  When you ask what a frog says, he sticks out his tongue and says his version of ribbit in a dip throating voice.  Too cute!

appears to prefer the left hand for eating

Loves to push his little broom around the house

For the past week, we have been coaxing Gage to walk between Tim and me.  With alot of spotting, he was able to do it.  This week, while cruising along the couch, Gage took his first steps to Tim without any prodding!

One of Gage's Top teeth finally broke the skin on Sunday.  It's about time!  He has three more that are ready to show themselves any day too!

Tim and I encouraged Gage to take his frist steps today, by sitting on the floor with him.  We started off by helping him walk between us while holding on to our fingers.  Gradually, we quit giving him our fingers for support and he began taking steps between us, without holding on to anything. Of course, he was lunging for us at the end of each turn! He is now able to stand up without holding on to anything too! 

Just this week, we discovered that Gage "knows" our names!  If you ask, where is mommy, he will point to me.  Where is Daddy?  He points to Tim.  Where is Grayson?  He points to Gray!  What a smarty.  He also started pointing at things and grunting at them this week- most often the fan!

up, but not down!

 

4 years old, 35 lbs, 40 inches tall

My sweet Grayson,

Another year has passed and with it has come so many happy memories and accomplishments. Of course, the biggest news this year was that you finally became a big brother- and an amazing big brother, at that! You have exceeded my expectations in your kindness and love for little Gage, always looking out for your little brother and often trying to include him in the things you do. This kind spirit has always been a part of you, but now we have seen a new side to this trait. YOu often say that Gagey is your “best fwind” and you are definitely proving that that is true.

In the past year you have learned so many things-from just recently figuring out how to swing all by yourself, to giving yourself a bath and getting dressed; You continue to become an independent little boy. Now, at the age of four you are able to brush your own teeth with some assistance and can clean up your toys (with lots of threats about throwing them away). You love your job as the “Recycling Man,” jumping up and down anytime you see a box, bottle, or plastic container to put in the bin. On recycling day, you load the bins in the back of your Gator and haul them down to the road. Once the recycling truck has picked up, you then drive back down to the road to retrieve the bins. Another chore you have been given is unloading the silverware from the dishwasher. For this job, you receive 25 cents… and the appreciation of your Daddy who HATES unloading the dishes. So with this year, you have changed from a toddler into a little boy who is an active, “responsible” member of the family.

With the last 365 days, you have increased many of your motor skills- both gross motor and fine motor. On your birthday you received your first bike (which you declared was awesome) and within two days learned how to pedal it. You can balance on one foot, throw and (mostly)catch a football, hit a ball with a bat, kick a soccer ball, and run without tripping. You are a very active boy and you never sit still for long-except to watch tv. You love to show off your ability to jump-once resulting in a trip to the doctor for x-rays this year (nothings was broken, thank goodness), especially from high places. You have learned the importance of landing on two feet and are always so proud of yourself when you land a jump without falling. (By the way you proudly stated, “But I did it mommy!” about the jump that ended with x-rays!) This year you mastered going up and down stairs without holding the rail (which still makes me nervous) and you learned how to go fishing; casting and reeling in your own line.

In fine motor, your love for creating things has continued to grow. You received your first set of Legos at Christmas and you now let your imagination run wild, creating some of the most fantastic trucks and tractors conceivable. You love to create snakes and balls out of play dough, and while you do not really like to draw, you are able to create the letters of your name (not in a line; they are all over the page) and make a stick person. You are pretty good at tracing objects and have gotten much better at cutting with scissors. You can now put on your own shoes (you still like assistance with socks) and you can button and zip (when you WANT to).

Your ability to pretend and play make-believe occurred this year and I have spent hours just listening to you as you play with your dinosaurs or super heros. It is funny listening to the things the “mommy T-rex” tells the baby, especially since they are often words that have come right out of my own mouth. Many times (especially on the playground) you will pretend to be spiderman or a dinosaur and it is fun to watch you get “the bad guys” with your “shootin’ gun”. (Yes, I did try to put a stop to you pretending to use guns, but finally I gave up. I guess it’s a boy thing.) While you love to play with others, you are very good at playing independently and will play for long stretches of time all by yourself. Recently you learned the importance of moving your toys up high, to avoid the clutches of you brother; an example of your budding problem solving skills. Another area of your pretend play is in your kitchen, where Daddy and I enjoy the fruits of your efforts as we sample some new “drink” you’ve created (like dinosaur drink) or a plate of plastic food.

In language development, you grammar has continued to advance. Most often, you correctly use plurals, pronouns (he, she they), and prepositions (on, beside, under, etc.); making some very complex sentences. You love to tell stories- acting out what the person/animal said and giving very specific descriptions. You love to make up explanations as to why things happen- usually ending the explanation by saying “did you know that?”. You seem to understand time in terms of today, yesterday, tomorrow; although you will refer to anything in the past as yesterday and you often wish that the distant future would be “tomorrow”. You have learned the days of the week and you know that Monday-Friday are “school days”. You love to rhyme (although you prefer to rhyme words using the beginning sound H) and have started to learn about syllables. You can count how many words are on a page and track print from left to right when we read books. You can identify all of the letters of the alphabet (upper and lower) and can count to 30.

In other developments from this year, you can:
recite your telephone number and address
count to 10 in Spanish
say your colors and shapes in Spanish
identify at least 10 different types of dinosaurs (and tell you how to tell the difference)
spontaneously tell you the difference between an arachnid and an insect (just ask our neighbor Mr. Perone)
remember the names of people and animals better than me or your father
remember details of an event from over 6 months ago (like trick-or treating, or seeing a train with Nagy)
give the biggest hugs and slimiest kisses aound!

Grayson, as I write down all you accomplishments over the last year, I can’t help but think of the ways you have made me “develop” since your birth. I often think about who I “was” before 4 years ago and realize that because of you I appreciate so much more about my life. You make me realize that everyday is a gift and that dropping a glass isn’t the end of the world. Because of you, I slow down and take the time to catch a cricket in the grass or watch the ants eat a grasshopper. I have become an expert on identifying a T-rex and can now accurately name almost any heavy equipment that we may pass on the road. I no longer tap my fingers impatiently at a railroad crossing and now count how many cars go by or guess where the train may be going. Because of you, I have remembered the fun in coloring or playing with Play-Dough and I secretly look forward to the next holiday so that we can put together a new Lego set. I guess what I am saying, Grayson, is that even though I write these letters to you documenting each little step you take, what I am really doing is documenting my love for you and how excited I am to share my life with you. When you were just a tiny baby inside my belly I dreamed about what it would be like to be your mom, but I never expected how deeply I would love you and how special you would make me feel. You are an amazing little boy and I am always proud to call you my son.

Grayson, I love you more and more each day!
Happy 4th Birthday.
Love,

Mommy

pretends to be spiderman, or dinosaurs!