Grayer: A 2-Year Snapshot

Our littlest guy (well, only for a few more months) turned TWO last month! He is growing up so stinking fast, and I want to make sure to take a little snapshot so I can remember all he's up to at this stage:

Also, let the record show that according to Grayer himself, he's actually THREE like his bubba :)

The Stats: We went to his well-check visit last week, and he weighed 27lbs and was 34 inches tall. He is in the 50th percentile for both height and weight. He is currently wearing 24 month and 2T clothes and size 6.5/7 shoes. We are about to get potty training underway (#helpus), but he is currently still wearing a size 4 diaper.

Sleep: He takes one long nap each day (usually about 1.5-2 hours). At night, he usually goes down without a peep, and it is rare for him to wake up at all during the night. Grayer is our early riser. He doesn't wake up ridiculously early or anything, but he doesn't ever sleep in past 7:30ish. Even if we are out or it's the weekend and he goes to bed WAYYYY later than normal, his little internal alarm clock wakes him up right around the same time every morning. Just like Wells, he always sleeps with his muslin blanket at nap/bedtime.

Talking: For the longest time, Grayer was a man of few words. Let me just say, that is in no way true anymore! He is constantly talking! I would say his vocabulary is pretty advanced for his age - I'm guessing because he has an older brother who is always around (and who is also always talking! haha!). Here are some of my favorite things he says:

• "I sited" - which means "I'm excited!" He says this for lots of things. The other day he said it when I told him we were going to Sam's Club. Crazy kid.
• "Uh-Tuz" - which is "because." He answers any "why" question with this. Example: "Grayer, why are you up so early?" "Uh-tuz, I need to get up." :)  
• "Sumpin sticks" -  which is "something stinks."  He got this from a silly video that he and Wells watch with Eric, and it is so funny to hear him say it.
• "I tant" - "I can't" ...he says tgis all the time when you ask him to do something. Sometimes it means that he really can't, and sometimes it just means that he doesn't want to :)
• "Luh you _____" - when he tells you he loves you, he always says your name at the end. #meltsmyheart
• "Amen" - when it's his turn to say the blessing, it's mostly just the word "Amen." He likes to keep it short!

Brotherhood: He loves Wells to death. He is quite the little copy cat - always wanting to do/say whatever it is Wells is doing or saying. They love playing together and are very bored on the rare occasions they aren't together, but they also know how to push each other's buttons! Grayer has no clue what is coming up in June when he will be getting another brother! I think he will adjust well, but I also think he is going to make it seem like he is growing up SO FAST! 

The Smarts: Grayer knows all his colors and lots of shapes. He likes to sing his ABCs. He also likes to count - he can count to 10 but sometimes needs a little help. He is a smart little fella, and like I said above, his vocabulary is ridiculous.   

Playing: This kid used to be awful at entertaining himself. He was our most high-maintenance baby for sure, always needing attention or to be held. Now, though, he is awesome at entertaining himself. He loves playing trains (he's obsessed just like Wells), cars, sitting down with a book, etc. He is much better at playing by himself than Wells is right now. But he does love playing with others, too. And my favorite thing is listening to him play pretend with his trains. I overhear him all the time having little conversations between them. It is just about the cutest thing in the entire world.

Those Eyes/That Hair: On his last snapshot (at 18 months), I said that it looked like Grayer's eyes were going to be hazel. For a long time, they were blue then gray then finally hazel. Well, his eyes have finally decided that they are going to be brown after all. They are not as dark as mine and Wells', but they're brown! I think they're finally done changing now. As for his hair, it's finally growing in more. He does still have a lot more in the back than up front, but we're getting there! It is very straight, not a curl in sight. And it is a dark blonde.

The Laughs: This boy keeps us laughing all day long. He has such a unique personality. Here's a classic example: During Christmas break in Fayetteville, we were eating out with Eric's family. He called across the table for Eric's sister, Crystal. Once she was looking at him, he looked right at her and licked all the ketchup off of his french fry. Once the whole table was laughing, he repeated the process by calling Eric to look at him. What a nerd.

Dancing: Grayer loves, and I mean LOVES, to dance. If there is a song on, there is a 100% chance he is dancing. In the car, he is always calling our names and then asking us to dance with him to whatever is on the radio. The other day, he was dancing to a video playing on the TV...he decided he wasn't putting on quite enough of a show apparently, so he went to the bathroom and dragged the step stool into the living room to get on top of that and dance. 

Mr. Courageous: Grayer is definitely our daredevil. He does not get scared super easily...unless you take him to the doctor or to get a haircut. He absolutely HATES going to the doctor. If you even mention the word, he cries. It always makes for a fun visit (#not). And he cries the ENTIRE time he gets a haircut, too.

The Paci: Grayer has always taken a paci. But he wasn't hugely attached to it, except for when he was upset or when it was time to sleep. So, I always thought weaning him from it would be easy. Well lately, he has become SUPER attached to it out of nowhere. So, I can see that we are going to need to start limiting it to nap/bed time, and then work our way to no paci at all. 

Favorite Things Right Now:

Toys/Activities: TRAINS. He plays trains for most of the day. He also likes to be outside, likes to race with Wells (either running or racing with cars/trains), and LOVES swinging on our playground.

TV Shows: He is all about Thomas and Friends. He will watch other things, too, but Thomas is his #1. He does really like Bubble Guppies, Doc McStuffins, and Mother Goose Club.

Food: He loves sausage, strawberries, blueberries, yogurt, toast, and pizza. He asks for toast almost every morning for breakfast. He just recently started eating carrot sticks with ranch (one of Wells' favorite snacks), and he is OBSESSED with chips of any kind. We are constantly having to stop him from raiding the pantry.

Songs: Twinkle Twinkle (my favorite to hear him sing), the Thomas & Friends theme song, the Doc Mcstuffins theme song, and Thunder by Imagine Dragons

Books: Right now he really likes his book of Thomas stories he got for Christmas. 

Coming Up:

A couple of nights ago, we took down Grayer's front rail to transition his crib into a toddler bed. We want to get him transitioned into sleeping in a bed so that when we move him into Wells' room in a couple of months, he'll already be used to it. So far, he's doing great with it. He never tried to get up until nap time today, but once we went in and made him lay back down twice, he fell asleep. Fingers crossed that it continues to go as smoothly as it has.  

Potty training is our next project :) He just got some training underwear (Thomas the Train of course), and all we've got to do is get the little potty out of storage. This is another thing we want to get out of the way before the new little guy gets here.

Hard to believe this little fella is 2 already. He is such a joy to us all and keeps things fun and exciting each and every day! We love you so much, Grayer-Bear!