Grayson - Four Years

Happy 4th birthday to this crazy cool kid!

Grayson is our little labor day baby so he is going to experience the holiday weekend birthday for most of his life. It was no different this year since his birthday fell on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend - while we were at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines with friends. I'd say that's #winning

Here's how we spent the BIG day:

The little man actually wanted to snuggle with me in the morning so I happily jumped in his bed - he can be so darn sweet sometimes :)

When he decided to get up Kevin had some breakfast tacos waiting for him in the living room. That's a big boy breakfast!

After he ate he came back into the room where I was and stood high on his tippy toes and asked "Mom, am I already bigger?" 

We opened up some gifts before heading out to the pool

Grayson is OBSESSED with Paw Patrol and was so very excited for his new Paw Patrol toys. 

During nap time Kevin took the boys off to explore. Ryan managed to sneak away into the gift shop to ask the clerk how much one of the candy bars cost. When he returned, he asked Kevin for $2 to buy Grayson a birthday treat. Kevin wasn't really sure what he was going to buy, but he let the two of them go into the little shop alone so Ryan could treat his brother. After five minutes Kevin poked his head in there and saw the lady giving them both scoops of ice cream - apparently when Ryan told them he was buying his brother a birthday treat they thought it was so sweet and decided to give them BOTH a free ice cream cone. So sweet :)

Enjoying their ice cream!

Later that afternoon we invited all of our friends to join us for some cake!

I love Mrs. Fields cookie cakes but as you can see their decor can be hit or miss. I'm not sure that Paw Patrol logo would pass QC.

I did actually decorate the room - all Paw Patrol. He loved it. 

Hayden was ready for cake. 

We ate cake then headed off to dinner. Yeah, kinda backwards with desert first. But it's his birthday. And vacation. 

After dinner we had a great time playing outside. We hit up the bikes, playground, fishing pond, game truck and then settled down in the lawn for outdoor movie night. This place has it all! 

Grayson had a great day and he loves being FOUR. Because he is SO big now. lol. 

Some little bits about Grayson:
- Kevin likes to refer to him as our "cool" kid. (Not that the others aren't cool, it's just that Grayson has a way about him.)  He's confident and everything he does is with such certainty. Even when he makes up words. He just makes it sound cool.
- Everything is banana. And banana is hilarious. Sometimes you add "hot" in front of it and it is even funnier. Yes, we realize this doesn't make ANY sense whatsoever....but after a while it starts to become funny. maybe? lol
- Is it as big as a hot banana? - G. Seriously, WTF. I know it sounds like we have a crazy kid but you know, kids say the weirdest things.
more bananas:
G: Hey mom - Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
Me: Hmmm I'm not sure, what are you thinking about?
G: BANANA!! What were you thinking about?
Me: ummmmm....(trying to come up with something weird).....A HOT POTATO
G: hahahahahha

Ok, enough with the bananas. Moving on. Grayson tends to be on fire or totally burnt out. There isn't much in between with him. When he has decided he is done with something he is "too tired"

I'm too tired:
- to buckle his car seat
- to pick up his trash
- to be nice
- to share (In Montana he said he was too tired to share his fishing pole. I'm not sure on his logic these days)
- to remember something
-He has even been known to tell me he is "too tired" when he is sitting on the couch watching a show. Seriously? Who is this guy?

- Specifically requests for cold milk/cold water. He likes his water ice cold.
- Loves to run around
- Still bounces up and down and shrugs his shoulders when he gets really excited

**going to have to come back and update this**

Four Year Interview:
1. What is your favorite color? Light Blue
2. What is your favorite toy? G: banana pants is. M: no really, your favorite toy. G: PAW PATROL!!!!
3. What is your favorite fruit? bananas!
4. What is your favorite tv show? Paw Patrol & Octonauts
5. What is you favorite thing to eat for lunch?
6. What is your favorite outfit? My beautiful shirt. Remember my shirt that has dark blue, and pink and light blue? 
7. What is your favorite game? hide and go seek
8. What is your favorite snack? string cheese
9. What is your favorite animal? cheetah and giraffe
10. What is your favorite song? Paw Patrol theme song - he just started singing it when I asked the ?
11. What is your favorite book? Don't wake the Bear
12. Who is your best friend? Perry & Hayes
13. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pancakes
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside?
15. What is your favorite drink? cold milk
16. What is your favorite holiday?
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Hop & Everest
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for dinner? Salmon
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday?
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A Zookeeper

Love you little dude! Four is going to be GREAT!

Grayson (17 months)

So little G is 17 months now - woah!
He is so much fun and full of the best expressions! When he smiles, his entire face lights up. He has started to make these silly faces when he is upset and they just make me laugh. He is such a ham and I am constantly getting comments on how darn cute he is! Here is a little bit of what we have been up to the past couple of months.

Was pleased as a peach when he discovered apples. He thought they were balls....and then found out you could eat them! Two of his favorite things!!!

This little man loves The Little Gym! His favorite things are the uneven bars and the balance beam. He loves doing it all by himself too - it's so darn cute to see him so pleased with himself!

Always a big fan of meal time - loves to use utensils as well. 

He loves to hang out with his older brother and his friends. He wants to do whatever they are doing. Everything.

Love to throw trash away and so dedicated to it. In fact, the other morning we were still all upstairs in our bedroom and I asked him to throw his diaper away in the trash can - thinking he would just throw it away in the bathroom trash that was the closest. However, he had different plans. He jetted out of the room and down the long hallway. I found him at the gate (thank goodness we finally got those installed). He was ready to make the long journey downstairs to the kitchen trash! That man loves to throw things away...I know its only a matter of time before I find non trash items in there.

He had been known to bite and hit...mainly just his brother. In fact, poor Ryan tells me that he wants a baby sister because his baby brother bites just like his dog. oh dear.

Grayson has learned his body parts and is as pleased as punch when he can show them off to you...especially his belly button. He can also identify animals and make some animal noises...

One of the biggest changes that we have seen is his new LOVE for books. I am not kidding...I have never seen a kid (mind you I only have one other) go from absolutely no interest in sitting down to read a book to being obsessed with them. It's kinda crazy! I love it though...now he will actually let me read and he checks out the pages so carefully. His favorite books are the superman and batman books that we have. He also loves the very hungry caterpillar. I love reading it to him because when we get to the pages with food he pretends to take big bites out of them! Ugh, his sound effects are so adorable - I can't get enough!

Over the past couple of months (December & January) all four of his molars came in. We definitely knew they were coming as we had a handful of sleepless nights - poor little guy! I think he is now working on his pointy teeth...not nearly as bad as his molars but something is def not quite normal with him.

Words:
Mama
Dada
Ball
Bubbles
Up
Milk
Ba - paci? Not sure why
Duck
Back pack

There really are new words everyday...and I am sure a bunch that I am forgetting. Love this little bug to pieces!

Grayson - Months 13, 14 & 15

Well back in October I started with Grayson's 13 month update and never got around to posting...and then again in November I had high hopes with his 14 month update...clearly it did not work out soooo I will just sum up the last three months now!

***

13 months

We started some fun activities! When school started up again we had two days of just G and me time so we started a new kindermuisk class (with kids his age), little gym & joined a playgroup for him! We are also taking swimming

Music: He has always loved this but we are super excited because they changed the program back to the old curriculum (which is the way Ryan did it) and so G gets CDs with class from music, books and a music toy.

Little Gym: He loves forward rolls, hanging on the bars and doing flips on them. He tries all of the skills and loves it when the balls and bubbles come out!

Swimming: Huge fan of splashing (he doesn't care if he gets water in his eyes). Loves plopping in the water and doesn't mind going underwater. Honestly, I am kinda over the whole swimming thing (since I have to get in the ater with him) but he really loves it so I am going to stick it out. Hopefully he will move up to the next level (so he can swim without me) sooner than later! lol!

Playgroup: So excited to finally have a group of friends for my little guy. A lot of the mommies from Ryan's playgroup have been talking about forming one for the littles but it wasn't possible until school started up. Once that happened we were able to form a group - there is a mix of old friends and new friends and its perfect!

Soccer: No, it wasn't his soccer team but he was probably much more interested in it than his older brother. He often tried to get out on the field and he actually knows how to kick the ball! Most of the younger brothers/sisters seemed to have much more interest in playing soccer than their older sibling!

You will still cuddle up on me when you are tired and it is so sweet.

You have started this awful scream when something is taken away from you. Ugh.

You give kisses. and they are all open mouth. oh dear.

One of your favorite activities is climbing. You love to climb up on this chair and then rock back and forth...you love it. love. it. 

Playing at the Little Gym 

Did I mention you are an incredibly messy eater? It's not enough to just get on your face...you like to rub it all over your chest as well. 

You love suckers after swim lessons! And you are also messy with these....

 Fire truck day at school! Loves riding around in this cart of a thing.

14 months

My little juicy fruit started WALKING! You know, everyone says...oh you don't want him to start walking because then it's really wild/hard/he will get into everything. Well people, trust me, him walking...doesn't cause that. He was already into everything...now he is much happier!

He is so incredibly proud of himself and it's adorable.

He LOVES peekaboo

giving hi-fives

We have also moved to ONE nap.  I wasn't rushing this one at all because it makes picking up Ryan from school a bit more challenging.  However I noticed that if I put Grayson down for a morning nap he would sleep for a long time and then not want to take another nap in the afternoon. oye.

Goofing around with Ryan's goggles

Celebrated Halloween as a clown!

15 months

You are walking more than crawling these days. There is still a lot of falling going on but you don't care at all. 

I got you a toddler seat so that you can sit at the table with us and you are much happier at dinner time. 

We have had a couple of sleepless nights - twice due from a cold/sore throat and I believe the last one is because of your molars - I am hoping they come through soon! you really haven't gotten any new teeth in a long time!

LOVES

Slides. seriously. you go nuts for them and have NO FEAR. It doesn't matter how high the slide is...if you can get up there. you are going down. and head first.

Putting you socks and shoes on

Ryan's underwear. Yes, a little odd but I think it's the characters? You go nuts if you see a pair in the laundry room, drawer or just out...you go nuts until you can have them. Of course we don't let you unless they are clean. I am hoping this love of underwear makes you easier to potty train than your brother! lol

You still love your paci

Dancing- which is shaking his hands up and down and shaking his head bath and forth....which makes you incredibly unstable

Anything and everything that Ryan is currently playing with. 

The broom. I bought you a mini broom which you seem to like, but if the real thing is out you prefer a challenge. 

Love my sweet little blue-eyed boy!

Had a yummy thanksgiving dinner with family and friends!

Loves his cozy coup and snack cup!

love you bunches little man!

Grayson's 1st Tailgate

I can't believe I haven't posted pictures from Grayson's first birthday party - it was so much fun! Of course I debated on if I would throw him a big party, but who am I kidding? I love to throw parties so of course I went all out for the little man! I decided on a tailgate theme since his birthday falls at the start of football season! It also worked out perfectly that the first Longhorns game was on a Saturday evening...couldn't have planned it any better :)

We hosted his tailgate party from 5-7pm and everyone came in their team colors. It was such a fun and relaxing party - I think all the kiddos had a blast. We had college football on, tons of tailgate food, drinks, a bounce house, ball pit and blow up water slide - what more could you need!?!

Hook-em Horns!

Gig'em Aggies!

Go Sooners!(?)

Not sure what they say...

I am kinda bummed I didn't get more pictures of all the guests but as you can see everyone was decked out in their team colors! Loved it! 

G bug with some buddies!

Ok, so here are some pics of all the party details:

I made a last minute birthday sign using a little chalkboard when I realized I didn't have anything decorative out front! Oops!

Let's talk food.

Recognize that backdrop? It's the same one I used for Ryan's train party! Not all the yummy food was out quite yet but we served: BBQ beef sliders, Hot Wings, Bacon-wrapped Shrimp with Jalapeno, Mexican Potato Skin Bites,  and Hot Sausage and Spinach dip. Yum! I also added some popcorn in those cute cups I found at Michaels!

I set up a separate table for the kids food. 

We put chick-fil-a nuggets in these adorable loaf pans and topped them with a custom flag made by Everything Design. 

I took care of the desert table with cupcakes (from Sam's), homemade football brownies and cake pops! I also made Grayson's smash cake! I thought it turned out pretty darn cute and G bug thought it was pretty darn tasty (as you will see later on). 

My Texas "T" was inspired by this picture I found on Pinterest. Didn't quite turn out the same BUT they tasted wonderful...and that's really all that matters, right? As for the cupcake toppers - I found them  on sale at Michaels - score!

And what's a tailgate party without drinks?

We used the courtyard for the drink station. I had plans to set up one of those tents, but that didn't quite happen. (It would have been pretty darn cute though!)

Custom flag straws by Everything Design

 Another pinterest inspiration

And some decorations:

I made a simple banner with pictures from each month

And created him a snapfish book with pictures from his first year! Guest signed the pages with sweet notes!

We set up tables outside for our guests

I made this little photo booth but didn't plan it out very well...the sun basically blinded everyone when they took pics. Oops! 

Ok so for some fun! Kiddos running around in the backyard! 

And it's cake time!

Little man LOVED all of the attention! He was so adorable!

He didn't mind the cake either....

And he doesn't mind a mess. 

Good work!

And a few more fun photos!

Love the Burrus family!

Last little party detail...made this chalkboard sign with fun tidbits about my little juicy fruit!

Sources:

Pinterest Board - here

Invitations, Banners, toothpick flags, Straws, Signs, Photo booth props - Everything Design

Victory Football Table Runner (used as backdrop)- Swoozies

Field Goals - DIY

Field Goal centerpieces - DIY

If you have any questions leave me a comment. Happy birthday and Hook'em!