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Thursday, August 17, 2017

Wells: A 3-Year Snapshot

In June, our big boy turned three years old. Three years?  HASHTAG HOW IN THE WORLD!?


I always love recording what our guys are up to at different stages and ages. It's so fun to look back and remember the little things we loved or may have even forgotten. So, here is what Wells is up to as a three year old...

The Stats: Our guy is still big for his age :) At his 3-year checkup, he was in the 80th(ish) percent for height and weight. I can't remember his height, but he is currently weighing in at around 37 lbs. He wears 3T shorts/pants and 3T-4T shirts. He is in a size 9.5/10 shoe. 

Talking: This child never stops talking! :) and his vocabulary is out of this world. He amazes people at how much he talks and how big his vocabulary is. Here are some of my favorite things he says:
  • When he says "because" he switches it around, saying "kee-buzz" ...and I don't want him to ever stop saying in that way. I <3 it!
  •  He uses "maybe" or "I think" at the beginning of a lot of his sentences, even when he doesn't need to...for example, "I think maybe you can play with me?" :)
  • He mispronounces "restaurant" in the cutest way - "rester-not."
  • If I tell him no to something he will sometimes say very calmly and softly, "I am so sad." Thanks, Daniel Tiger. 
  • He has started saying, "actually" a good bit now...the other day, one of his TV shows asked if there were hippos on a farm, and he said "ACTUALLY, there are hippos on farms SOMETIMES." :)
  • The other day, he exclaimed, "Sasparilla!" I asked him where he heard that, and he told me that's what Donald Duck says. 
  • If he wakes up in the morning or from a nap before Grayer, he will go to Grayer's crib when he wakes up and say, "Hi Grayer, did you have a good nap?"
  • He will call "Eric" instead of "Dad" every now and then because he hears me do it all the time. The other day, he exclaimed, "Hankin!" instead of "Eric" - in the exact same way and in the exact same situation I would have! Too funny!

Favorite Things: 
  • Toys/Activities: Wells is still a train-loving boy (his bedroom at our new house is train-themed)  and loves to play at his train table all day. He likes to play firefighter, too - we will give him a "mission," like saving a stuffed animal, and he'll throw on his firefighting hat & coat and rush to do the job! :) Watching him play pretend is so much fun.
  • TV shows: Right now it probably a toss-up between Daniel Tiger, Bubble Guppies, and Thomas the Tank Engine. 
  • Color: His favorite color is red. 
  • Foods: Strawberries & blueberries, carrot sticks & ranch, cheese quesadillas, PIZZA, and french fries :)
  • Books: He loves all his train books (Little Engine that Could, Little Red Caboose, etc), and he really likes one we got at my mom's book fair, called There's a Giraffe in my Soup! 
School: Wells just started PreK3. He is at a different school than last year because it is closer to our house. He is currently going on Monday & Wednesday mornings, and we may add Friday in January (to prepare him for the longer week that PreK4 will bring next fall). He seems to really be enjoying it so far and is, of course, so excited that there are train toys in his room.


Brotherhood: Wells is a great big brother! He loves Grayer so much and enjoys playing with him. He does get pretty upset when Grayer doesn't play like he wants him to (or destroys his train tracks), but we are working on that! Grayer adores him and is always calling for "bubba." Watching the boys play together is so sweet, and I love watching their bond grow stronger each day.  

Scaredy-cat: Wells is definitely our cautious child. He wasn't too sure about the pool/beach when the summer began, but he slowly warmed up. It takes him time to get used to something new if he isn't too sure about it to begin with. He spooks easy (like his mama) and some nights, bedtime is a struggle because he hears every possible noise inside and outside while he is laying there. He yells out from his bedroom, "What was that noise?!?!" several times before he finally falls asleep.


Sleep: He still takes a good afternoon nap, and even though he always tells us that he does not want to take a nap, he usually ends up sleeping for about 1.5 - 2 hours :). He normally sleeps pretty well at night without waking up. He is still not a morning person - he likes to relax in his bed for a while before he actually gets up.

Future Weatherman Material: Any time Wells says it's going to rain, it rains. Every. Time. He will look up and say, "those are storm clouds" (even when they are just barely dark and I wouldn't have even noticed). He cracks me up with his weather observations, and I know that I'd better prepare for rain if he predicts it.

Potty Training: Wells has been potty trained since the end of last year, but we were still putting him in diapers at nap/bedtime for a while. We stopped that a few months ago, and he has done great! I think he has only had two overnight accidents, which is a much lower number than I thought it would be!

Blankie: He still loves to have his blankie at nap/bedtime, but he isn't as attached to it as he used to be. He hasn't had a paci since before his 3rd birthday. He was using his paci when sleeping, but we told him that when we moved into our new house back in May and he got his big bed (he had been in a toddler bed), that he wouldn't need a paci anymore. He didn't fight it, and it was a lot easier than I expected!

Sense of Humor: Wells has always been a little ham. He loves to make us laugh and is such a goofball. I don't see that changing any time soon - I mean, have you met his dad? ;)


I can't believe we've already got a 3-year-old around the house. This boy keeps us running around, keeps us on our toes, keeps us laughing, and keeps us hoping he'll stay little forever. We love you, Wellsie-Man! 

Thursday, August 3, 2017

Grayer: An 18-Month Snapshot

I fully intended to do a 15-month snapshot for our Grayer Bear, but by the time I finally got around to it (AKA now), he was 18 months! We have been so busy moving into the new house that it totally got away from me, but I definitely wanted to document all the things I want to remember about our littlest guy at his current age.


Weighs: At his 15-month doctor's appointment, our boy weighed in at 24lbs I think. I know that he is in the 50th percentile for weight and only the 15th percentile for height! Our stout little guy has a check-up later this week, so I'll know his stats for sure :)

Sleeps: Grayer has been a fantastic sleeper for quite a while now. It is rare for him to wake up at any point throughout the night. His bedtime routine consists of a bath with bubba, PJs, getting his teeth brushed (which he is NOT a fan of), and then a story. I turn on his sound machine & projector, say prayers, give him his paci & blankie, and lay him down in the crib. Every now and then he will put up a fight, but he usually goes down without a peep. As for naps, he sometimes still takes a morning snooze. If we are in the car in the late morning, he will fall asleep at that time, and sometimes at the house if he is extra fussy, I will lay him down for a 30-minute max morning nap. He takes a pretty good afternoon nap - lately it has been about 2 hours. #allthepraisehands



Eats: Our boy is still a big eater. He is always jealous of anyone who is eating in front of him. He doesn't usually have a huge appetite for breakfast right away in the morning but always wants his milk first thing. And he will plop himself down on the kitchen rug to drink it every single time. He LOVES to snack all day long, too. His favorite foods right now are fruit (specifically blueberries & strawberries), cheese, french fries (#getsitfromhismama), and sausage & ham (#getsitfromhisdaddy). He is literally always in the pantry pulling out food like a crazy man.

Wears: He is wearing 18-month clothes right now. Because he's a short fella, I can sometimes put a pair of 12-month shorts on him :) He is in a size 5.5 shoe.

Plays: While he would still rather play with non-toys (like my keys, wallet, the remote), he has gotten so much better than he used to be at playing with toys and keeping himself entertained. He and Wells have really started playing well together...when Grayer isn't trying to snatch Wells' toys or rip up the train tracks! He loves chasing after his brother, wrestling with brother & Daddy, baths, being outside, and "reading" books to himself.


Other things to note

-Grayer LOVES LOVES LOVES music. If he hears even the faintest sound of a song, he immediately starts dancing. If any kind of song comes on a TV show, it's got his full attention. He likes to "sing," too. He has a little tune that he either made up or is trying to mimic some song he heard - he was singing it at the top of his lungs for days and we thought it was the funniest thing!

-He likes to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Bubble Guppies, Daniel Tiger, Mother Goose Club, and Barney...basically whatever Wells is watching :)

-He is our little trouble-maker. He is always into something. ALWAYS. Whether it's emptying dirty clothes out of the hamper, going through the kitchen/bathroom cabinets, emptying the silverware out of the dishwasher, or trying to get in the trashcan - the boy is mischievous!

-This child has a temper!!!! He will throw a tantrum like a crazy man if he doesn't get his way. We are working on this, but it is a little funny to see how dang dramatic he is! (See below. Ha! This was because I wouldn't give him any more fruit snacks...after he ate like 3 bags!!!)


-He is still a big-time Mama's boy. He was having major separation anxiety for a while, but I think it has gotten better. He does want me to pick him up a lot during the day when we are home - if I am in the kitchen, he will come up to me and wedge himself between me and the cabinet and reach up for me to hold him.

-He has not a been as big a talker as Wells was at his age, but he is becoming more and more vocal by the day. He can actually say a pretty good number of words, but he would rather babble. And even though he doesn't talk a ton, he understands everything we say! It's a little scary how much he understands sometimes! :) Here are some of his most-used (or just my favorite ones!) words he says:

  • Mama, Dada, Bubba, Pappy (Paci) Baa-Baa (Bubble Guppies), Dog, Fishie, Milk, Grandma, Grandpa, Ashie (Ashley), Gat (Gatlin), Bird, Gigi, Papa, No No, Yes, Annie (Granny), Juice, Cheese, Bye, Night Night, Hot Dog (what he calls Mickey Mouse), Uh-Oh, Train, Choo-choo, Car, Dump Truck, and the animal noises for a monkey, elephant, lion, tiger, cow, and dog.

-This kid still puts things in his mouth even though I think he should be well out of that phase by now. If there is something small around, he cannot be trusted! Like I said, mischievous!!! :)


-He is our early riser. It is rare for him to sleep in in the mornings.

-Having grown up with a train-obsessed brother, Grayer had no choice but to like trains! Haha! He is now a little train lover, too, and likes to get a train out of the train box in the playroom first thing in the morning.

- He also likes to play with some little animal figurines that we have. He will take each one out and babble about them and say their noises if he knows what that particular animal says :)


-Just like with Wells, it has taken forever for Grayer to get hair! It seems to be coming in faster lately. He has a lot in the back, but not very much on top still, so he has a bit of mullet! Haha! And his hair is kind of a medium-dark blonde as of right now.

-I think he got a true mix of mine and Eric's eyes because his appear to be hazel. For a while, they stayed blue, so I thought he might have Eric's eyes. But eventually they started to darken. They aren't quite brown like mine and Wells', though. On any given day they can look gray, blue, green, or brown.

-Grayer is our little daredevil - he is not scared or hesitant about ANYTHING. He gives me mini-heart attacks all day long.

-He loves Wells so much. In the morning, they will give each other hugs. And randomly throughout the day, I will see them loving on each other. They get on each other's nerves, too! But seeing them play together and be sweet with one another is just the best thing ever.


We love this little stinker so much! Can't believe he's already a year and a half! Happy eighteen months, Grayer William!