Grant is THREE!

Grant Joseph is THREE years old today!!!

That seriously blows.my.mind. I feel like I was JUST documenting his first year of life! 

Here is just a quick peek at what Grant is like at 3 years old!

-Grant still LOVES Barney and Elmo. He sings and dances along every day! He really likes to watch short Sesame Street Songs on youtube...his current faves are Pentatonix Sings to Five and the 3 Primary Colors song.

-Grant loves pretty much all breakfast foods (just don't mix his cereal and milk together-hysterical tantrum will ensue!). He's currently stuck in a chicken nugget and milk routine for lunch that I'm trying to break, and dinner is definitely a toss up.

-Grant can count to 20 (well, with a couple of extra 13's thrown in there, ha!). He can count actual objects up to about 10, he can sort colors and some objects into like groups, he can identify his numbers up to 5,  he can say his ABCs, but we haven't really gotten to identifying them yet! I'm pretty sure he knows his colors, but likes to blurt out any color he can think of before I even point to something, so it's hard to quiz him :) *I'm documenting this so I can look back to see his progress. Grant has come SO far in the last year and still has a way to go to get caught up, but I am SO SO proud of him!

-Grant is still working hard in speech! He's about to start going twice a week and I really think it's going to be good for him. He started putting words together and can identify more objects than I can count...our next step is really working towards answering us when we ask him questions and then speaking more spontaneously (instead of just when he wants something).

-Grant LOVES music. He can memorize just about any song effortlessly...his guilty pleasure is Taylor Swift, haha!

-Grant's favorite place in the world to be is outdoors. He loves to run freely and jump on the trampoline any chance he gets.

-His favorite books are Goodnight Moon and Brown Bear.

-His favorite songs are Baby Bumblebee and Bingo.

-Grant absolutely LOVES Carson and Harper. He follows them around and does and says anything they do. He goes to their room while they are at school and plays with their light sabers and gets into all the stuff he normally isn't allowed to touch ;)

-Speaking of which, Grant spends most of his waking hours teasing the boys ANY which way he can. While they are doing their homework, he runs in, snatches their homework sheet and then runs for his life, lol! He especially loves to take Carson's legos. He dives into a fetal position with Carson's treasures tucked tightly into his chest. SO funny. Well, to me...they don't think it is, ha!

-Grant is literally the most stubborn child/human being I have ever met in my life. He is like a grumpy old man trapped in a 3 yo's body. He doesn't like change. He doesn't like new stuff (all of his old stuff works just fine!). His stubbornness has really gotten into the way of his developmental growth. When his speech therapist is trying to get him to say/do/look at something, Grant will look at the ceiling and sing his ABC's at the top of his lungs. Or close his eyes tight and name any and every family member he can think of. And when he's tired of that, he'll pretend to be interested in what she's pointing at long enough to grab said object and chunk it across the room, always with a big smile on his face. Sigh. It is both hilarious and frustrating at the same time. SUCH a little stinker.

-Sweet boy still loves his Barney stuffed animal. He sleeps with him tucked in his arm every night and carries him around quite a bit during the day.

-His current favorite thing to do is to make a loud farting noise and then say, "EWWW Mama!" Or Daddy, or "Artin" or "Arper" or whoever may be around. :)

Grant absolutely adores Clara. He smothers her with kisses and hugs alllll day long (bless her heart, ha!). He watches carefully when I change her diaper and makes sure I always put "pow-per" on her. He calls her Twara and I secretly hope he always calls her that.

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We had a small party at our home yesterday. He LOVED when we sang Happy Birthday to him and he actually was somewhat interested in his presents (which was big surprise!) Here are some pics:

Singing Happy Birthday...I have a video I'll upload later!

Waiting patiently to open presents :)

He kept hugging all of his new clothes, haha!

He was NOT in a picture taking mood!

Happy THIRD Birthday Grant!!! We love you SO much sweet boy-words cannot even express!!!

Grant is TWO/Barney Bash!!

I cannot believe I'm typing this, but our littlest love is TWO today! 

Here is a little bit about Grant at 2:

Grant LOVES Barney...we have several DVDs from when the boys were little and Grant loves to sing and dance along with the big purple guy...he has a stuffed Barney that he carries around and sleeps with every night, too!

His favorite food is pizza, bananas, and chicken nuggets...Not the healthiest group of food, but he has become quite the picky eater lately, so we are just going with it.

He can count to 10 and loves the ABC song (even if he only gets some of the letters :)

Grant thinks his big brothers are the best things in the world. He loves to follow them around, watch what they are doing, and wrestle with them!

His favorite place to be in the world is outdoors. He loves to explore, stop and look at trees, and go full speed to his hearts content.

He still takes a solid 1-2 hour nap everyday, and would sleep longer if it weren't for having to pick up the boys from school. Bedtime at night is 8pm, and he is normally awake just after 7.

His favorite toys are his stacking cups (I need to video this...it is hilarious...he stacks his cups as fast as humanly possible), balls of all shapes and sizes, and his counting Lion...when he imitates the Lion, his "roar" sounds more like "Wow!" which might be the cutest thing in the world. 

Grant loves to sing and dance along with all music! The boys are always blaring some horrible Kidz Bop junk (haha...seriously, though!), and Grant just LOVES to dance along with it!

He has the best personality...always so sweet, and will do anything for a laugh. I'm sure I'll be eating my words in a few months, but I rarely have to get after him...And when I do, a stern voice will send him into puddles of tears. Typing that makes me want to go pick him up from his crib and kiss his chubby cheeks a million times.

He really loves praise...when he figures something out or says a new word, he gets a huge smile on his face and claps for himself.

He still takes a paci every night (but not during the day)...I don't think we'll  take it away for a while...we didn't with the boys until they turned three...which is also when we potty-trained them...that is prob the same route we'll go with Grant!

He LOVES shoes. And showers. Just not together.

Grant still has therapy twice a week (and will continue to for the next year). He is doing SO well, and has blossomed so much! When he's being stubborn and ready to be done with the session, he'll ask me to pick him up, look at the therapist, and with a big smile say, "BYE!!" LOL!! It is both rude and hilarious at the same time.

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Switching gears....we had a small Barney bash today at our home with our immediate family...Everyone had a great time! Here are some pics from his Barney Bash! :)

I made the cake, and bought the personalized Barney icing sheet from Etsy. Loved how it looked, and will def be doing it again in the future!

My mom got a Cricut for Christmas and made his birthday banner! Also..side note (bc its bothering me, ha! I rearranged furniture and am crafting some things right now, so please ignore the off-centered family pic above the tv) :)

I'm throwing this pic in simply bc of the NC sign I made is in it :)

LOL! I had to throw this one in...he was super cranky when he first woke up from his nap!

Luckily he cheered up pretty quick! :)

Harp got this firetruck from the treasure box at school and gave it to Grant for his bday. Heart bursting.

Found a Barney pillow pet on Amazon! He LOVED it!

All for now! Happy Birthday sweet baby! You have blessed our lives beyond comprehension, and we love you SO much!!

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2 kid parties down, 1 more to go in a few weeks! Then we are done until 2015!

Carson's TMNT Party!

I've been telling myself for almost two weeks now that I would sit down for 10 min and do a quick post about Carson's birthday party...so here goes! 

We gave Carson the option of what kind of party he wanted....a big party with all of his friends, or a smaller party with just family and a fun outing....he chose the latter! :) I think he made the right choice...with his birthday being so close after Christmas and New Years, it is hard getting everything together in time! Besides, I took cupcakes and juice to his class on his birthday, so he was still able to celebrate with his friends.

Here are a few pictures from his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle party:

I decided I would just order a cake this year instead of making one...but guess who forgot to order one? yeah...I had to improvise!

After we sang happy birthday, he asked if we could sing to him one more time....he doesn't like being center of attention, or anything.... ;)

sweet card Harp made Carson!

For his fun outing. we are going to go see the Lego movie when it comes out in a few weeks...he is so excited about it!!

On Carson's actual birthday (the 14th) I took cupcakes and juice to his class...This was when his class was singing to him :)

I made him a giant cookie for his birthday, too!

 It was a fun, whirlwind of a birthday...still can't believe is 7! And can you believe I'm already starting the party prep for Grant's bday next month?!?! Now THAT is hard to believe! 

Hope everyone has a great week! Kane and I are headed out of town for the weekend! 

Until next time!