Pumpkin Patch 2012

 We took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch with our friends, The Grices.   We got quite a few good shots!  It wasn't quite as cool as it was last year, so this year we were in shorts and short sleeves.  Hoping that crisp, fall weather is on its way shortly!

 So many pumpkins....so little time!

 Shayna Punim. :)

 "Step away from my pumpkin!"

 We tried to get some pictures of the boys together.  They were kind of doing what I like to call "the hokey pokey" and just walking circles around each other.  These are a few where they are both facing the camera.

 How precious is this.   Grayson's hand on Cooper's shoulder.   I should point out that this was right before Grayson pushed Cooper out the way, but as far as pictures go, it looks precious. :)

 Look at those faces!

 A similar picture to one we have on last year's Pumpkin Patch blog.  Crazy, what a difference a year makes!

 G's favorite game is now, 1,2,3 Wheeeee!  He was getting a little bored by this time, so we did this to pep him back up.  It worked!

 What a smile.

 Anker Family Pumpkin Patch picture 2012.

Grayson's First Haircut!

 Today was a big day!  Grayson had his first hair cut.  We had done a lot of research to find the perfect, kid-friendly place to go.  Well it seems that all of the places that specialize in hair cuts for children have not made it in this market and have closed. So off to the Hair Cuttery we went!

  We had to wait about 15 minutes when we got there, so he enjoyed a light snack and water.  He walked all around the front of the store while he was awaiting his turn.  They finally called his name!

  He sat on Daddy's lap and watched Miss Spider on the DVD player.  He did great! He only squirmed a little when they used the buzzer around his ears.  We all know how ticklish he is.  His hair is so thin that I barely was able to get a few scraps to take as a momento.   Now he looks a little less like he has a helmet on his head.  What a big boy!

 We even got a cool certificate for his baby book.  :)

 The finished product.  What a handsome boy!

 The below picture was taken a few days ago when he shared a raspberry and chocolate popsicle with Mommy.  Figured we would put it on as the "before."

Labor Day 2012

 You would think that Grammie is watching these boys by herself all weekend because we literally got no pictures with other people in them. :)  This year's roster was: Grammie, Gramps, Aunt Jennie, Uncle Bill, cousin James, Uncle Andy, Chelsea, and Layla. We rented a house in Orlando and again  had a good time with family.  It was neat to see the boys interact now that they are a bit older.  They hadn't seen each other since before Grayson was even crawling.  James liked to lower his face, about a head lower than he is, to check G out.

 Gramps was exhausted after one day. :)

 Feeding time at the farm.

 Laundry basket fun with Gramps.

 All suited up to see the Gators!

 Games through the door.

 Guess what he had to do to get these beads?

 Another meeting at the gate.

 So we took over 100 pictures for this shoot.  These are the 4 that they are both smiling in. :)

 A kiss for Grayson.

On our last night there we were walking around the patio.  Grayson was eyeing the pool so we went to stick our feet in.   We started kicking and both Mommy and Grayson were soaked.  Gramps was still in his bathing suit so he had a skinny dipping session with G.   Grayson had a great time.  He was using his arm like a rudder, he must have liked the way it felt.  You will hear in the video, one of the two "words" that he says are "Ah" and "Uh."  The latter means up, meaning pick me up right now or I will scream.  Ah is more like Shalom and has many meanings.   It's most consistent one is more.  Enjoy!

16 months and Grammie visit

 Adam went to his camp's 50th reunion so Grammie came up for a weekend visit.  Well, then Hurricane Isaac hit and delayed her return trip.  We ended up having a week of Grammie!
We had great intentions to do all kinds of arts and crafts activities.   Grayson on the other hand, had other ideas.  We were going to do "dot art" with these Bingo markers.  No no, G decided that it would be way more fun to roll them all over the house.  Below we tried to do edible finger paint. Started to go allright, but decided he really wasn't into it.

 We played another cool game with the Bingo markers.  Grammie rolled them up to the threshold and then they rolled back.  G thought this was amazing!

 We also tore up some tissue paper.  Not into it at first, but I think he enjoyed it in the end.  I am still finding neon green pieces of tissue paper in the sun room.

 G and Grammie dancing to the music.

 So Layla had to have some minor surgery and was required to wear this cone to prevent scratching.   Grayson thought it was the best toy ever.  He wore it, put toys in it,  he was very creative!

 We have been going outside to watch bubbles from our bubble machine.   It is so interesting, when we are out there, he just stares at the bubbles, doesnt really make any movements.  But he does get really mad when we turn the machine off!  Check out his new sneaks!    He has more shoes than I do.

 If he could talk I feel that he would say, "hey guys stop buying me toys, I will just play with random stuff."   He invented this game, where he would go behind the drape, we would say, "Grayson, where are you?"  And he would run out laughing.

 He likes to play "How close can I get to Mommy when she is trying to take pictures of me."

 He also likes to throw his shoes off of the table where they are all lined up.  He moves them to another room or puts them back.  Again, and again, and again.

 This was another fun game where he would go from side to side under this table, grab onto the bottom level and roar.  He thought it was hysterical.

 The new Grammie chair.

15 months old

 We have been busy over here!  We went to the doctor for our 15 month check up.   Grayson weighs 23 lbs and 12 oz and is 30.5 inches tall.  That places him in the 60th percentile for weight and the 17th for height.  Interestingly enough, the doctor said that genetics don't really play a part in growth until about age 3.  Big news! Just this past weekend we finished up our time with the bottle.  We are now using only sippy cups for water and milk.  You could tell he was excited by this change.  He would finish his milk and have a huge smile on this face saying "That's right, I did it!"

He was having some type of fear of the big bath tub so we were continuing to bathe him in the baby tub.   Well, even being in the 17th percentile, he was outgrowing it.  We asked the pediatrician her opinion and she said to get in there with him to make it fun.  So Adam took one for the team and has been bathing with Grayson in the tub.  It has been two days now and so far so good.  We are going to give it a few more days and then remove Adam.  We shall see!

A couple weeks ago we also eliminated our morning nap.  For the first week, he was a champ.  Such a happy guy all day and long almost 3 hour naps!  Which for Grayson is huge!   But we are still working on tweaking our schedule.   Timing snacks and meals is crucial to maintain a good mood.  There have been a few days of extreme fussiness and tantrums.   We are hoping not to have too many more of those.

We know that clapping is a skill that most have mastered long before they are almost 16 months old, but our baby boy did it for the first time last night when he was eating tacos with chicken.  We were so proud of him, because our little boy who used to eat everything in sight, was becoming quite the picky eater.   He was very proud of himself and clapped often during the meal.  His walking is getting quite good. He walks all over the house and is now able to crouch down, pick something up and stand back up.  He still needs to crawl over to something or someone to stand in the first place but he is making good progress.

Time for some photos!   We, and by we I mean I, have been getting BORED of the same old stuff all the time, so I have been doing a lot of research for activities to do during the day.   Coloring was a bust, all he wanted to do was roll the crayons around.  So I searched for some pre-toddler activities and found a bunch of good stuff.   The top picture is a water tub filled with different types of items, for example, a comb, a spoon, a funnel, a toy, a tupperware lid.  This was meant to be an exploration time. Well, all G wanted to do was take the toys out of the water and throw them behind him.  He did this a few times and we ended the activity.  Maybe we will attempt this again in a few more weeks. :)

 Poppi Elliot came to visit for the weekend.  Grayson had a great time with him.  He especially LOVED his glasses and tried to take them off constantly.  We went to Chuck E Cheese for the first time.  Grayson seemed to like playing some of the games, with help, and riding the carousel. Below is a great moment where Grayson was throwing Elliot's hands down repeatedly with such force they were making a huge BOOM sound on the floor.  He got quite the kick out of that!

This day was a treat and Grayson got to cuddle up in a blanket with a bowl of snacks and watch some TV.   Of course his monkey was close by.

                                    
 Mommy's creative play attempt #2 was way more successful than the above mentioned water tub.  I made an "Explore Me" box with objects from around our kitchen.  These included a plastic spoon, whisk, pill container, oven mitt, funnel, small tupperware and lid, napkin ring, measuring spoons, hat, and a chip clip.   I brought the box over to the floor and let G explore.   He was smiling and stomping all around the box so I decided that I would be the one to flip it over.   At first, all he wanted to do was "clean up" and take all of the items that I had dumped out and put them back in.  After about 10 minutes that game was over and he really began to play with all of the items.

 His favorite at first was the whisk.  It had a small ball inside of it that made noise when he shook it so he played with that for a bit.

 Every time I whipped out the camera he would walk over to me and get right in my face.  Extreme close up!

 Here is where we are playing put everything back in the box.

 He had a good time with the pill bottle.  He opened them and closed them until they clicked.  He also had a lot of fun putting the napkin ring in the tupperware and then putting the lid on top, not correctly, but he at least got the idea.   I am hoping in the future that this will be a lot more Grayson led and not Mommy, but I still consider it a success.  We played with these items for over 30 minutes!

We are having a great time at MyGym still.  We moved up to the next class called the Waddlers and got to go on a hot air balloon ride this week! :)

Mommy is gonna get you!!!

Walking around the house holding his monkey

First time doing some real clapping