Hi everyone,
Here it is . . . what you all have been waiting for . . . Grants up-to-date journal entry!!! :-)
It is very long, hopefully I can be more consistent now that we are back. Enjoy! :-)
Wow, five months have past and I hope to recap and get back on track. We moved back to Provo about a month ago and our home is nearly back to normal. Grant is still adjusting, which seems a little strange considering that he has spent most of his life here. The first thing Grant did when we arrived is run from one end of the house to the other. He loved the balcony and the trains. Every time a train came by (and even when it wasn't) we had to go outside and see it. Not only see it, but have me hold him in my arms so he could see the 'choo-choo' more clearly. The next couple of days were unloading the 30+ boxes of stuff from the attic. I decided to unpack Grants' stuff first. It was better than Christmas because he remembered how all the toys worked. In fact, while I was trying to blow up his ball pit, he kept trying to get it, and then when it was all blown up, he swam around in the balls. It was so fun to watch.
Okay, I will now back up and try to preserve some memories from the summer. Grant made his first friend in Michigan. His name is Curtis and he's 4 years old and his mom is the nursery leader (Jenny). We spent a lot of time together and a couple of Grant's first words were 'Curtis' and 'Jenny'. At times, Jenny and I would tend for each other and Grant did not even wince when I dropped him off - he wouldn't even give me lovies and kisses goodbye. Then when we would tend Curtis, Grant just wanted to follow him around. That little Curtis had the best imagination and we could 'pretend play' in a single spot for a very long time.
Grant and I would often drop Paul off to work and go for a morning jog on a path by a river and then play at the park. It was so beautiful, but Grant didn't seem to care about all the beauty of nature. Perhaps this was because he was forced to sit in a chair for and hour and half (driving time plus my jogging time). At first I would entertain him by pointing out all the squirrels and ducks, and then would find flowers along the path for him to blow. Finally, I bought him a few toys (harmonica, magna-doodle, and spin-wheel). At first, he just liked the box of the harmonica better than the harmonica itself but soon discovered the joys of playing loud. On one occasion, Paul was playing the broom and Grant was stomping while he played his harmonica. Very cute! I do believe that Grant really enjoys music. He created a game with Paul and me. Grant would turn on the radio on our clock radio and we would all dance in the living room, then suddenly, he would turn it off and we would freeze. He would laugh and start the game all over - and would play until we got worn out.
Another of Grant's favorite games was throwing rocks, especially into the water. He would throw rocks for a very long time and was always extremely sad when we had to leave. He would pick up the rocks off the sidewalk and put them back where they belong. He would pick up and throw a single rock down a path or just be content to hold it in his hands (and sometimes in his mouth - yuck). In fact, Grant liked rocks so well that I would often have a few tucked away to help distract him into his car seat or into the jogging stroller. He would even try to lift the very large rocks. Grant became quite vocal over the summer and began to say no or 'Nnna-oh" to everything. I would say something like, "Grant do you want to eat lunch?", and he would respond with a very emphatic, "Nnna-oh". So, I would say, "Grant do you want candy?", and he would again respond with a very emphatic, "Nnna-oh". But then quickly say, "Nanny?" So, I would ask him again and get the same emphatic response. I informed him to say, "Yes" in order to get some and he would smile and say, "ess". I don't know how many times we went back and forth with questions and "Nnna-oh's" before I was able to figure out what he wanted. He also began counting, kind of. He would say, "Three, three, three" whenever he wanted to do something exciting like jump of the couch. Grant also learned how to say, "Baba Debi", and would sometimes say, "Debi-Baba". We, of course, clapped and cheered no matter how he said it.
We went to many parks, water parks, lakes and to the Detroit Zoo. He enjoyed watching the animals especially when they made loud noises or swam around. We even had our own little animal friend that lived in the bushes of our complex - a cute little bunny. However, one time we saw it with a bite out of its bum, so I called animal control and tried to keep it in one spot by giving it carrots. Now every time we see any kind of bunny, Grant always says, "boo-boo, bum". Another one of Grant's favorite things to do was to play on the stairs in our complex. At times, the weather was so hot and muggy that this was the last place I would want to be. This, of course, began another game that he loved of chasing him up and down all the stairs. Needless to say, I am not sad to be back in Provo without so many stairs.
This week we began potty training and I am looking forward to the day Grant has it all figured out. He is so finicky about using the potty. We've gone from using his potty on the floor to using it on the toilet to standing over the toilet to sitting on the back of the toilet and using honeycombs as a target to using toilet paper as a target and reading stories. I have even put the potty in the living room while he was watching a movie (because he refused to leave the movie to sit on the potty). He doesn't seem to mind when he has wet his underwear and thinks the accidents are fun puddles to splash in. He does love the candy and was very excited to tell daddy all about it on his first day. I got the phone and Grant brought his potty out into the living room to sit on while I dialed the number to Paul's lab. Grant kept saying, in a very excited voice, "pee-pee, potty, nanny (candy)". I keep trying to be positive when he pees in the potty and not make a big deal when he doesn't. I can't believe how much I keep watching the clock for his sleep times, because then he gets to wear pull-ups. Well, I do believe that I am pretty much caught up.
Ta-ta for now,
Love,
Paul, Kate and Grant