Grayson | 23 Months

My baby is almost two.

Excuse me while I go cry and stare at his baby pictures and wonder where the time went.

*sigh*

We have had kind of a rough month. Not going to lie.

We have no idea what we are doing. We see what other kids his age are doing and we wonder about Grayson. Sometimes we are comforted by the fact that he seems to be right on the money in terms of development (not counting the communication delay), but other times we are not so sure. We go back and forth. We have not gotten to the point where we cannot compare him to other kids. We are really working on it though!! (So please don't chastise me about this. Just being honest!) On a good day, we are excited and happy for him. On a bad day, I hold my head in my hands and just pray that the next day is better. 

But maybe that is just parenting in general.

So Grayson's communication delay. Right before his second birthday, our boy will be starting a play group two days a week for two hours each. They will watch how he interacts with others and work on developing his speech. Last week Mike and I met with his team and came up with a family plan for him with our goals for our little guy.

Grayson and Easton with Grandpa and Grandma S!

We know that he talks ALL THE TIME. Sometimes the words don't even sound like anything at all - just babble. He seems to think we know what he is saying. I told Mike today that I know what he is talking about now - for the most part. We have worked on sign language with him for the past month but he fights us on it. He just screams when he wants something or he throws a tantrum. Or more appropriately he takes our hands and leads us to what he wants. 

We have heard him say "cheese" "llama" "cow" - and most recently he has been saying NO quite clearly and loudly. Also he says, "YEAH" a lot of the time. His tantrums have lessened which is a welcomed relief. We have learned that time in his room until he stops crying has really helped us in managing the tantrums.

Could he just be exhibiting bad behavior during a tantrum?! ABSOLUTELY. Wouldn't put it past him. He's almost two after all. But there is always more to the story - like this communication delay and how we have been struggling for months.

For months. Grayson has been struggling, but we have been too.

Such a sweet boy. Such a funny kid with such beautiful blue eyes and a smile that melts everyone's heart. He is such a great kid.

He is so resilient. He decided today was the day to conquer the little sliding board my parents have. He had a few successful runs and then as he was climbing up the steps to it, he slipped and fell backwards. Lots of tears. Lots of snuggles with Mommy and Grandma and Grandpa as we encouraged him to try it again. And so he did. Fearlessly he climbed up those steps and then slid down the board to us cheering him on.

It was such a great moment. He broke out in a huge smile and giggled endlessly with us. He was so proud.

He is still a picky eater, but we have gotten into a rhythm with it now. We offer him everything that we eat, and he usually throws it on the floor. He insists on feeding himself with his spoon, which is so fun to watch. He picked that up rather quickly we think! :) It is probably too early to tell but it looks like he could be left-handed like his dad. Or maybe ambidextrous like his Great-Grandpa!

He is sleeping about 12 to 13 hours a night and taking at least a two hour nap during the day. For those of you shaking your head in disbelief...Easton will not be that type of kid. He has already proven that to us ;)

He LOVES his daddy. They are still best buddies. He likes me. Don't get me wrong, but Daddy is the preferred parent for sure. :)

 *We had family pictures taken a couple weeks ago. Grayson was a banshee but you would never be able to tell! That is a sign of a truly great photographer - Lindsay Spalding! :)*