2 1/2 Years Old

• Height: 36 3/4" (he's grown 2 inches since his 2 year check up)
• Weight: 29.5 lbs (gained 4 pounds since his 2 year check up)
• Wearing: 2T & 3T. Almost all his 2T pants are too short. It seems like he's really shot up since his two year check-up but all 3T pants have to be adjustable because he's still a string bean! Most of his 2T shirts still fit but we're buying 3T in any new stuff.
• Grant's got a favorite movie now! It's been weeks since we've watched Monster Jam because Grant can't get enough of the Cars movies. He's always telling us "I need to watch Cars" or "I need to see Mater on the TV". 
• Potty training...is actually going pretty well at home. We're still not pushing it too awfully hard (not like potty training boot camp or anything) but he is wearing pull-ups instead of diapers and he's getting much better at telling us when he's got to go. He's not good at telling the day care teachers and he doesn't want to go yet when we're out and about...but I know we'll get there. I'm really happy with how it's going. It's certainly not easy but its getting better. As soon as we have time, we're going to take a weekend and do the "no pants weekend" and I'm thinking that should help things.

• Still doing well in the big boy bed! He has his nights where he doesn't want to lay down but so far *knock on wood* he stays put even when he doesn't go right to sleep.
• Grant loves to sing the ABC song and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Also loves to hear all the jingles my mom used to sing but that's a post for another day.
• Doing really well with colors. The only two he won't really name are black and red.
• Also doing really well with counting. A few months ago he would just yell out numbers - sometimes in order, sometimes not. But now he's slowing down and actually pointing and counting things out and he can tell you "how many" when you ask as long as it's small numbers. I think the Poke-A-Dot book we got him for Easter last year helps.

 

• LOVES hockey! When we took Grant to his first (and only) game, Husband bought him a little hockey stick & puck set and he can't stop playing with it. Phrases that Grant has been known to yell while playing hockey: "I'm a hockey man!", "Lets go Hurricanes!", "I'm Jordan Staal! You not Jordan Staal! I'm Jordan Staal!", "I'm Cam Ward! You not Cam Ward! I"m Cam Ward!", "Put the puck in the net...I scored! YAAAAA!"
• Working on learning to spell his name. He'll tell you his name is Grant but if you ask him to spell it he's a little shy about it. And he usually misses the N. He'll tell you it's G-R-A-T but if we slow him down and say it with him he knows where the N goes.
• Energy to spare! Sometimes after dinner when we're in the living room he'll just look at me, say "I gonna run, ok?" and then take off through the house.
• Talking, talking, talking...all the time! He seems to be saying more every day. Bigger words and bigger sentences...it's crazy. He's not just repeating anymore, he's saying all the stuff that pops into his little head and we're having actual conversations. It's so fun! (And funny!)

I told him to pose. He did what you see 
above and yelled "Muscles!"

"I see you!"

Dad Stories and What-Not

This was my Dad's yard work uniform. Hard hat,
eye protection, and yup, even chaps.

Today it's been two years since my Dad died. Over the past few years I've shared some stories about my Dad and all his craziness. Like last year, I shared our last conversation. Today I'm back with some more stories. Some amusing stuff my sister has come up with and some stories and things that I've remembered over the last few days.

• My Dad's nickname for my husband was "Sasquatch". My Dad wasn't short but Husband is much taller. The first time we took a trip up to visit we decided to order pizza so Nate could taste some of my favorite pizza. Dad ordered something else (lasagna or veal parmesan probably). Nate peaked over my Dad's shoulder when he opened and asked what he got. Dad said "It's mine! I feel like there's a damn Sasquatch trying to steal my food!"
• On another trip to visit my family we decided to take a day trip to Alexandria Bay. My Dad insisted on taking one of the boat tours. One of the long ones, because they served drinks. There were a lot of asian people on that tour all of them carrying several cameras. As we were all getting off the boat after the tour (that stopped off at Boldt Castle) my Dad turns to Nate and says - mind you, he's been drinking so there is no more inside voice - "Jesus Christ! Nobody told us we were boarding the Orient Express!"
• My Dad was a super emotional guy. I've posted this one before but it's still one of my favorites: A few years ago when Mom and I were on the phone - around Christmas - she told me that she and Dad had watched a Christmas special. Well, Dad was watching it and he called Mom into the room. "Hey! Come watch this. I think it's that guy Tara likes." I think my Mom was a little surprised (as was I) that he even knew who he was let alone that I liked his music. Mom said "Oh yeah, Andrea Bocelli". So they listened to his song and at a break in his singing my mom noticed my Dad crying silently. She said "Ugh, what's wrong?" Thinking he would say he missed me or something like that she waited for him to calm down a little and he said:
  "Look at him. He's praying." And then he started crying all over again.I can still picture what my Mom's face must have looked like when she said to him "Oh my God. He's blind, you ass!" 
• This one is from my sister: Back when my Dad was in the hospital but not yet moved to Rochester for the transplant program, my sister was visiting him. When they were alone, he pointed to a bag and asked my sister to take it home with her and get rid of it. He actually said "Hey, you see that bag in the corner? Can you take that with you and 69 it for me?" My sister said "Excuse me?" He said "Yeah, take it home and throw it out. I shit my pants and I don't want the nurse to find it". My sister said "Let me get this straight: you want me to drive home with your shitty underpants when you could just throw them out here?" (She refused and threw them out at the hospital and YES my Dad did think he was telling her to 86 his underwear.)
• Adding to that and remember my last conversation with him when he told me that he had an accident the day of our last conversation, apparently the nurse gave him a hard time about it. Telling him that my Dad should give them more warning. He told her "Honey, you had as much warning as I did."
• One Christmas after all our presents had been opened there was one little box left. It was for my mom. She opened it and it was a little gold band with little diamonds in it. My Dad was, of course, crying and told her that they'd been together 20 years and had never given my mom a diamond. He thought it was so special (and, ok, it was). My mom said "I don't know why you did that! I never wanted one."

Random things about my Dad:

• I'm pretty sure he never watched the end of a movie. He always fell asleep.
• He had the most impressive goatee of anyone I've ever met.
• He loved Christmas, especially Christmas lights.
• He took any and every opportunity to dress up. The dressier the better.
• He could have a conversation with anyone, anywhere, any situation.
• He was extremely emotional! Over everything.
• He was allergic to caterpillars.
• He loved yard work and was really good at it.

I know that's not a whole lot of "special" stuff. But it is to us. My Dad was not without his faults, but he did leave us with a lot of good memories to keep us laughing :)

The Little Birdie's Visit

Two weekends ago while I was sitting at my kitchen table working (not on anything fun, actually working) I noticed a gorgeous red bird - assuming it was a cardinal, not sure what their winter habits are - in a tree behind our house. By the time I grabbed my camera, snapped on my zoomier lens, and made my way outside it was of course gone. But there were other birds out there so I ventured out in my yard.

All the other little birds pretty much blended in with the trees and I didn't get any good pictures of them, so I headed back to the house. When I got up on the deck I saw a little birdie sitting on our doormat that couldn't possibly have been there when I walked outside because I'm sure I would have stepped on it. Our guess is that it had a head-on collision with our door and was composing his/her little self before flying off to join it's friends. It let me get really close so I knew it wasn't right.

It didn't seem alarmed by me. I guess maybe it knew I wasn't going to hurt it, who knows. I didn't touch it...because there isn't enough soap and sanitizer in my house to make me think I wasn't going to get sick from it. But I did take pictures.

Then I propped open the door so Grant could see it. Again, no touching. I don't even let him touch petting zoo animals. But I thought he'd like to see the bird.

Grant said "Ooooh a birdie!" in this cute high pitched voice he's been using lately when he talks about baby animals. And he was really good about not trying to touch the bird when I'd told him not to. (And the bird didn't try to come in the house when the door was wide open even though Husband was super concerned that it would.)

After that I shut the doors and let him be. I checked back a little while later and he had made his - presumably safe - departure.