I was reading someone else's site that compared their "mommy-blog" to a baby book. Rather, she suggested that her blog was replacing the baby book, which sat empty on the shelf. In the first few months of Greyson's life, I was pretty good about filling out some of his book... who came to visit in the hospital, how we prepared for his arrival and survived the first few weeks, etc. But now, I really do hope that I can look back on my entries here to remember his early years. I may not have written in his book about his first words or steps, but surely I documented them here.
Today in the car on the way to work, Greyson said a fully thought-out sentence. He has been speaking in phrases and getting very close to sentences lately. He'll say "I like x" or "I love you" or "Bye bye Daddy" but this morning he blew me away. As always, we were identifying all of the trucks and buses on the road, I showed him where the train tracks were because he heard a train before we got in the car. Then we saw a school bus, which I pointed out. A moment later I heard "I saw a school bus, too!" Wow, where did that come from!?
Another huge effort on his part, yesterday on the way home (when our most important conversations happen, I guess) he was saying some of his numbers. A typical day sounds just like this "two, five, seven, nine, SEVEN!!" but when he finished that sequence, he busted out "one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, tenELEVEN!" He hasn't repeated it yet, but holy cow, my almost-two-year-old just counted to eleven. Maybe he's a fan of Spinal Tap...
Friday, October 23, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Pumpkins, Animals
This past weekend we took Greyson to a pumpkin patch hoedown. It was a little festival at a local church. We had seen a nice pumpkin patch while driving by, and then I saw in the paper that they were hosting a Harvest Hoedown on Saturday. We got there just as they opened, got a good parking spot, and made our way to the pumpkin patch. If nothing else, we could get some good photos there, and maybe take home a pumpkin or two.It is more challenging to take G's photos these days because he's so active, running around and not sitting still. Last year at the pumpkin patch he cried and we didn't get any pictures. This year we did better, but not exactly what I'd hoped for. (See all the photos here)
Greyson loved the pumpkins, and we spent a lot of time in the patch picking them up and throwing them, taking pictures, and enjoying the first hint of fall weather. Then we decided to head over near the festival games. We turned around and there was Clifford, the big red dog! Greyson recognized him and walked right over to him. We suggested he give Clifford a high five, so he stopped to do that, then grabbed Clifford's legs and gave him a big hug! I hope this is a good sign that we'll get a picture with Santa this year, I was so proud of him :-) He has been very friendly lately, saying hi to strangers and kids wherever we go.
Next up was the game area. This festival was really intended for very small children, we are so lucky we stumbled upon it. First stop was the petting zoo corral. Greyson saw two goats, two bunny rabbits, a piglet and a chicken. He was very gentle with all of them and really enjoyed his time there. He even bent over and gave the piglet a hug. After getting sanitized post petting zoo, we caught the end of story time, enjoyed the snack of animal crackers they provided, and sat on the tractor toy to pose for a photo. Of course these moments happen so fast and we weren't able to get photos of him hugging the piglet or Clifford... but we've got some lovely memories from this weekend.
Now we're into the home stretch, next weekend my parents visit and we'd experience the big church fair near our house, the following weekend is Halloween, then Greyson's birthday party weekend. We have so much work to do, but it should be fun. Loads of photos to come in the next few months.
Monday, October 19, 2009
I'll be your mirror
Having Greyson around, little mimic that he is, we're faced with a mirror of our own actions. He's at the stage where he copies what we do, what we say, how we say it. I am starting to notice things that sound a lot like me coming out of his mouth.
Often when Mike doesn't exactly understand what G is saying, he'll reply "Mmm hmm" and nod in understanding. Now Greyson is echoing that right back at him. On the way to school each day we talk about the cars and trucks and buses on the road. When Grey correctly identifies one, I'll say "that's right!" in encouragement. Apparently I say it a lot, because I've been hearing "That's right, Mommy" when he agrees with me. I got some good video of Greyson and Mike reading a book last night where he says "That's right, Daddy!" I'll post that soon.
Of course this is not always cute an appropriate. At the grocery store last night we had a bum cart, and Greyson repeated his dad's sentiment that it "sucks!" Could have been worse...
Often when Mike doesn't exactly understand what G is saying, he'll reply "Mmm hmm" and nod in understanding. Now Greyson is echoing that right back at him. On the way to school each day we talk about the cars and trucks and buses on the road. When Grey correctly identifies one, I'll say "that's right!" in encouragement. Apparently I say it a lot, because I've been hearing "That's right, Mommy" when he agrees with me. I got some good video of Greyson and Mike reading a book last night where he says "That's right, Daddy!" I'll post that soon.
Of course this is not always cute an appropriate. At the grocery store last night we had a bum cart, and Greyson repeated his dad's sentiment that it "sucks!" Could have been worse...
Monday, October 12, 2009
Opposite Days
Monday morning, I'm recovering from the weekend. Greyson was a handfull, for different reasons. Sunday night was a disaster, mostly due to my own actions. I had to teach a class at 7:30 this morning, so it was an early start to the day...
Let's see, Saturday I got up with G at 7:30 and he seemed fine, everything was going normally until I changed him into some play clothes so we could go outside to greet the day. He started whining and crying, and was inconsolable for a while. We laid down on the couch together and watched some Yo Gabba Gabba, we went outside and sat on the porch, we walked around the house and he was obviously not feeling well. We spent the day like this. He had a marathon nap from noon until after 3pm. We had lunch at Panera and he did alright. He ate half his sandwhich and didn't want his yogurt, which was a first. At home, we watched Cars on DVD and ate some dinner, bedtime was uneventful.
Sunday he seemed to be better! Mike took him to the park in the morning but the trip was cut short by a diaper mishap. The boys came home and then all of us went out for a little shopping. Greyson did great at Target, and it's getting more difficult to take him along for this trip. He loves to look at all the toys, but there's some whining and yelling involved. We made it out, with just a Foofa doll and a secret Christmas present in the cart. On to the Halloween section where we picked up part of his costume, and then we were quickly on our way home. After asking for seconds of his taco lunch, Grey ran around outside playing with his dad until naptime. Seems like his malaise from Saturday was gone, but both Mike and I noticed he was holding his head at a funny angle. I asked him to look at the ceiling and he couldn't look up, just tilted his chin a bit and raised his eyebrows to try to see the ceiling. Poor guy seemed to have a sore neck.
After a quick nap, Greyson turned into a little whirling dervish. He was into everything! I started a project to box up some baby toys, to make room for the onslaught of birthday and holiday toys sure to arrive in the next few months. Of course it's a bad idea to do this while he's around, but I figure he got one last chance to play with the baby toys before they disappear into the garage. Eventually I finished my project with Mike's help, and we were on to the next giant mess. It was our intention to get a lot of chores done this weekend, since we have plans for the next 32 weekends in a row (or so it seems). Usually when we have to power through our chores, Grey complies, finding things to keep himself busy near us while we work. This weekend it seemed like he was determined to make more work for us! He drew on the floors with sharpie while I was trying to update the wall calendar. He threw toys out the patio window, he threw dirt in the front yard, he brought books out to the living room, he wheeled the suitcases down the hall, he took the letters off the fridge, etc.
We survived the afternoon, and then it was dinner time. Here's where the focus shifts off Greyson and onto me. We decided to have spaghetti and meatballs, G's favorite food right now. I'm thawing the sauce and starting to cook the pasta. Dump the pasta in the boiling water. Bugs, yuck. Dump it down the drain, get more water on the stove to boil. Check the next box of pasta - Bugs! And the next and the next. Bugs, bugs, bugs, all that pasta down the drain. I'm giving the disposal a workout. We end up with egg noodles and meatballs for dinner, I guess the bugs couldn't get into the celophane bag. The pantry is bare, but surely pasta is on sale somewhere this week.
Greyson enjoys his meatballs, begs for more, but won't eat much else. Mike and I eat our salads and then realize the garlic bread is burning in the oven. Mike scrapes off the burnt parts while I finish. After draining the pasta we realize the sink is a little stopped up. Turn on the disposal and dirty water shoots out the other side of the sink. Mike gets the plunger and nothing's budging. The bucket and tools come out and it's determined that the entire pipe from the disposal to the wall is full of tiny little pieces of chewed up pasta, swelling with all the water, and totally clogging the pipe. Oops. Mike plays plumber while I give G a bath to get all the ink off his legs from his earlier adventures. I put Greyson to bed, Mike showers and we're on the couch by 9pm, a few minutes to relax before bed.
What a weekend. The Goose is at school with a crick in his neck, I hope that's all it is. Knowing me, I'll be googling menigitis all day at work worrying about him. But at least this crazy weekend is over...
Let's see, Saturday I got up with G at 7:30 and he seemed fine, everything was going normally until I changed him into some play clothes so we could go outside to greet the day. He started whining and crying, and was inconsolable for a while. We laid down on the couch together and watched some Yo Gabba Gabba, we went outside and sat on the porch, we walked around the house and he was obviously not feeling well. We spent the day like this. He had a marathon nap from noon until after 3pm. We had lunch at Panera and he did alright. He ate half his sandwhich and didn't want his yogurt, which was a first. At home, we watched Cars on DVD and ate some dinner, bedtime was uneventful.
Sunday he seemed to be better! Mike took him to the park in the morning but the trip was cut short by a diaper mishap. The boys came home and then all of us went out for a little shopping. Greyson did great at Target, and it's getting more difficult to take him along for this trip. He loves to look at all the toys, but there's some whining and yelling involved. We made it out, with just a Foofa doll and a secret Christmas present in the cart. On to the Halloween section where we picked up part of his costume, and then we were quickly on our way home. After asking for seconds of his taco lunch, Grey ran around outside playing with his dad until naptime. Seems like his malaise from Saturday was gone, but both Mike and I noticed he was holding his head at a funny angle. I asked him to look at the ceiling and he couldn't look up, just tilted his chin a bit and raised his eyebrows to try to see the ceiling. Poor guy seemed to have a sore neck.
After a quick nap, Greyson turned into a little whirling dervish. He was into everything! I started a project to box up some baby toys, to make room for the onslaught of birthday and holiday toys sure to arrive in the next few months. Of course it's a bad idea to do this while he's around, but I figure he got one last chance to play with the baby toys before they disappear into the garage. Eventually I finished my project with Mike's help, and we were on to the next giant mess. It was our intention to get a lot of chores done this weekend, since we have plans for the next 32 weekends in a row (or so it seems). Usually when we have to power through our chores, Grey complies, finding things to keep himself busy near us while we work. This weekend it seemed like he was determined to make more work for us! He drew on the floors with sharpie while I was trying to update the wall calendar. He threw toys out the patio window, he threw dirt in the front yard, he brought books out to the living room, he wheeled the suitcases down the hall, he took the letters off the fridge, etc.
We survived the afternoon, and then it was dinner time. Here's where the focus shifts off Greyson and onto me. We decided to have spaghetti and meatballs, G's favorite food right now. I'm thawing the sauce and starting to cook the pasta. Dump the pasta in the boiling water. Bugs, yuck. Dump it down the drain, get more water on the stove to boil. Check the next box of pasta - Bugs! And the next and the next. Bugs, bugs, bugs, all that pasta down the drain. I'm giving the disposal a workout. We end up with egg noodles and meatballs for dinner, I guess the bugs couldn't get into the celophane bag. The pantry is bare, but surely pasta is on sale somewhere this week.
Greyson enjoys his meatballs, begs for more, but won't eat much else. Mike and I eat our salads and then realize the garlic bread is burning in the oven. Mike scrapes off the burnt parts while I finish. After draining the pasta we realize the sink is a little stopped up. Turn on the disposal and dirty water shoots out the other side of the sink. Mike gets the plunger and nothing's budging. The bucket and tools come out and it's determined that the entire pipe from the disposal to the wall is full of tiny little pieces of chewed up pasta, swelling with all the water, and totally clogging the pipe. Oops. Mike plays plumber while I give G a bath to get all the ink off his legs from his earlier adventures. I put Greyson to bed, Mike showers and we're on the couch by 9pm, a few minutes to relax before bed.
What a weekend. The Goose is at school with a crick in his neck, I hope that's all it is. Knowing me, I'll be googling menigitis all day at work worrying about him. But at least this crazy weekend is over...
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Music Lessons
Greyson has been bringing home songs from school and reminding me of my own childhood lately. I know they do songs and stories at daycare, but I'm not exactly sure which ones... until Grey sings them for me! I'm so impressed that he can remember songs, and that he can sing them well enough for me to pick up on them.
A month or so ago I caught him doing the hand motions and trying to sing "I'm bringing home a baby bumble bee" so I've been re-learning that song and trying it with him. Then somehow I realized he knew "Where is Thumbkin?" and we've been doing that one too. He still loves Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Mary had a Little Lamb, and he often asks me to rock him and sing "Rockababy" (or Rockabye Baby as the rest of us know it).
He's also learning songs and things from his favorite educational program (read: TV babysitter) Yo Gabba Gabba. They have a little jingle for the knock knock joke of the day that the Goose was singing last night. Speaking of Yo Gabba Gabba, there is an episode that Jack Black is on, it's an unusual episode because he's like a guest star, in most of the scenes. It's Greyson's favorite thing in the world and he asks for "Jack Black" every day. How sweet, his first celebrity crush.
Today I'm brainstorming birthday and Christmas gift ideas to share with G's family and friends. At the top of the list: singalong CD and DVD's. Then we can learn the songs together :-)
A month or so ago I caught him doing the hand motions and trying to sing "I'm bringing home a baby bumble bee" so I've been re-learning that song and trying it with him. Then somehow I realized he knew "Where is Thumbkin?" and we've been doing that one too. He still loves Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Mary had a Little Lamb, and he often asks me to rock him and sing "Rockababy" (or Rockabye Baby as the rest of us know it).
He's also learning songs and things from his favorite educational program (read: TV babysitter) Yo Gabba Gabba. They have a little jingle for the knock knock joke of the day that the Goose was singing last night. Speaking of Yo Gabba Gabba, there is an episode that Jack Black is on, it's an unusual episode because he's like a guest star, in most of the scenes. It's Greyson's favorite thing in the world and he asks for "Jack Black" every day. How sweet, his first celebrity crush.
Today I'm brainstorming birthday and Christmas gift ideas to share with G's family and friends. At the top of the list: singalong CD and DVD's. Then we can learn the songs together :-)
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Baby Mulvihill
Greyson loves to use names. He learns names pretty fast: friends, teachers, relatives, and even parents/grandparents. It's super cute to hear him tell Pops and Jo that their "real" names are Frank and Nancy. He surprised me by answering correctly when Jo asked him what his mama's name is, while we were in Buffalo.
Last night Mike told me a story about a conversation he had with Greyson the day before. It went a little something like this:
G: knock knock
M: who's there?
G: Greyson!
M: Greyson who? Greyson Patrick...
G: Mulvihill!
I'm not sure who taught him - but he knows his last name! He is thrilled with our delight when he says it, so he has taken to saying it a lot. Sometimes it comes out Mullhill, or Mulmihill, but it's always adorable.
Last night Mike told me a story about a conversation he had with Greyson the day before. It went a little something like this:
G: knock knock
M: who's there?
G: Greyson!
M: Greyson who? Greyson Patrick...
G: Mulvihill!
I'm not sure who taught him - but he knows his last name! He is thrilled with our delight when he says it, so he has taken to saying it a lot. Sometimes it comes out Mullhill, or Mulmihill, but it's always adorable.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Polite
We've started saying our "please and thank you's" lately, in the hopes that Greyson will learn to be polite by example - rather than trying to drill it into him. We have started that annoying parent tradition of asking "what do you say?" to elicit the proper responses on occasion, and it seems like Greyson's starting to get it. Hearing him say "pease" in his little voice just melts my heart, so let's hope he doesn't start taking advantage...
The best moments are when he remembers his manners (also known as his new tools for manipulation) and uses them unexpectedly. Upon our touchdown in Orlando, I pointed out how fast the plane was speeding along the runway. Greyson loved it, and as we slowed down and approached the airport terminal, he wanted to feel that rush again. "Fast. More fast!" I told him we'd have to ask the pilot if we could go fast again, and he amended his request: "Fast, pilot. Fast. Pease!"
The best moments are when he remembers his manners (also known as his new tools for manipulation) and uses them unexpectedly. Upon our touchdown in Orlando, I pointed out how fast the plane was speeding along the runway. Greyson loved it, and as we slowed down and approached the airport terminal, he wanted to feel that rush again. "Fast. More fast!" I told him we'd have to ask the pilot if we could go fast again, and he amended his request: "Fast, pilot. Fast. Pease!"
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Cousins
Greyson met lots of cousins in Buffalo. That's how it is up there... especially at a family wedding, everyone's a cousin or related in some way. We watched cousin Leslie get married, from the cry room of the church. G slept through most of it, but that was ok. We got to be the first to congratulate the happy couple, as we impinged on what would have been their first moments alone together in the back of the church. Welcome to the family, cousin Charlie.
Greyson was the only child at the adults only reception, so he had the honor of being the one to dash back and forth across the dais as the best man made his toast. That didn't last long, we left the reception early and spent the evening at home watching Wedding Crashers - appropriate!
Grey also got to spend an afternoon with his third cousins, Nick and Alex. They are just one month younger than Greyson and have a backyard full of fun toys. It was a nice getaway to a kid-friendly place, a welcome distraction on an already busy day. The boys ran around, threw balls, slid down the slide, pushed trucks, rode on four-wheelers (motorized!), sat on the riding lawn mower, checked out the garden and soybean field, and caused some trouble. While I was pushing Greyson in the swing, cousin Alex ran into the line of fire and got knocked down, sporting a shiner for the rest of the day. We heard it wasn't so bad by Saturday. My only regret from our visit is that I didn't bring a camera! We didn't take a single photo on the trip - although I do have some videos to upload.
On Sunday, Greyson played with his cousin Sarah. We learned that Sarah will be a big sister next year, so G will have a new cousin in March! They kicked balls, ran around the backyard pond, donned matching sweatbands and danced like little fools. There were a few moments when we had to remind Sarah that G is still little and doesn't know how to behave like a big kid yet, but they seemed to get along great. I hope we will see Sarah again next year, maybe in Florida!
I have a lot of cousins, mostly in New York, and even though we are a little tired of travelling to Buffalo for weddings, it sure is nice to see Greyson and his cousins becoming friends.
Greyson was the only child at the adults only reception, so he had the honor of being the one to dash back and forth across the dais as the best man made his toast. That didn't last long, we left the reception early and spent the evening at home watching Wedding Crashers - appropriate!
Grey also got to spend an afternoon with his third cousins, Nick and Alex. They are just one month younger than Greyson and have a backyard full of fun toys. It was a nice getaway to a kid-friendly place, a welcome distraction on an already busy day. The boys ran around, threw balls, slid down the slide, pushed trucks, rode on four-wheelers (motorized!), sat on the riding lawn mower, checked out the garden and soybean field, and caused some trouble. While I was pushing Greyson in the swing, cousin Alex ran into the line of fire and got knocked down, sporting a shiner for the rest of the day. We heard it wasn't so bad by Saturday. My only regret from our visit is that I didn't bring a camera! We didn't take a single photo on the trip - although I do have some videos to upload.
On Sunday, Greyson played with his cousin Sarah. We learned that Sarah will be a big sister next year, so G will have a new cousin in March! They kicked balls, ran around the backyard pond, donned matching sweatbands and danced like little fools. There were a few moments when we had to remind Sarah that G is still little and doesn't know how to behave like a big kid yet, but they seemed to get along great. I hope we will see Sarah again next year, maybe in Florida!
I have a lot of cousins, mostly in New York, and even though we are a little tired of travelling to Buffalo for weddings, it sure is nice to see Greyson and his cousins becoming friends.
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