Dear Gray: Month Fourteen

Dear Grayson,

Well, if it's possible, this month was harder than last month! That's because your selfish mama wanted to squeeze in a trip to England, and I totally underestimated how hard that would be on you. You had a tough week, poor thing. Part of the reason it was so hard on all of us was that the day before we left you spiked a super high fever (105?) and I had to rush you to the ER. Then, in the middle of the trip your Auntie Diane called to tell us that you had been losing your balance and you had been really lethargic... which threw us into a panic. She took you to the doctor, who assured her (and us) that you were FINE. When we got home, your teacher just said "I think he was a little depressed and he just missed you." Oh baby, I am so, so, so sorry. I really never thought you'd even miss us.

Since we have been home, you've just been... gleeful. You are so happy to have your parents around! The weather has been lovely this past week and you want to be outside at all times and pitch a total fit when we finally drag you indoors. I'm glad that you love being outside! I am constantly after you saying, "what's in your mouth?" and you will spit out whatever it is... dirt, a rock, a stick. This past weekend we did a 5k together at the park near our house. I mis-read the start time, so when we got there we had an hour to spare. So you just wandered around, looking at the pile of Gatorade and ice, the bouncy castle, the grass, the people... we shared a pancake breakfast and you entertained a lot of people. You can be shy at first, but once you warm up to someone you are a total ham. We went to Costco yesterday and eight people (yes, I counted) said "that HAIR!" and one woman actually asked if she could touch it.

I wonder if you're teething, since you have not been such a good sleeper lately and we are holding fast at only SIX teeth. You woke up a bunch of times on Saturday night so I finally gave up at 5 AM and put you in bed with me. You looove to snuggle with your mama! But, of course, when you woke up your first word was "Dada?" (Dada fell asleep downstairs the night before in front of the TV.) Luckily, just in time for Mother's Day you learned "Mama" and it is SO CUTE when you say it.

The vocabulary you have is amazing! I certainly will forget something, but this is what you can say right now: Dada, Mama, ow, wow, taco, cheese, apple, cracker, bubble, tick tock, ta-da!, cold, school, eye, hot, uh oh, ball, hat. (Just for the record, you have never had a taco but your Dada taught you that word for some reason.) You will sign: eat, water, cheese, apple, more, hat, all done. You shake your head "no" and can point to your eyes, nose, mouth, tongue, hair, ears, tummy and toes. You are so clever!

You will try just about anything, and I think it's hilarious to watch. You take big "April bites" (well, that's what your Dada calls them) of anything I offer you. Sometimes you are horrified that I would feed that (cheeseburger) to you, other times you can't believe I just put that (cake) in your mouth! At Costco yesterday I would just hand you a sample cup and you would scoop up whatever it was and eat it (turkey, chicken salad, yogurt).

The other thing that is new for us is the testing and tantrums. Gray, I'm sorry, but it is almost impossible not to laugh at you when you throw a fit. You will be heading toward the cable outlet for the millionth time and I'll say "No, no, Grayson!" and you will look at me, smile, and yank it anyways. When I come over and take you away from it you will sit down in a full body slouch and sob. It is so precious but it is also so funny.

You are such a pleasure to be around, little boy. I had such fun taking you to the 5k this weekend, and even doing errands with you is fun for me. Last Mother's Day I was working my way out of a post-partum fog and I don't think I appreciated how lucky I am to be your mom. This year, I KNOW how lucky I am.

I love you,
Mama