our child :)

Here lately, Ray and I have been talking about how we can't get over Grayson sometimes. He's just something else! The things he comes up with are amazing! You'd just have to witness some of the things he says and does. What makes it funnier is that Grayson has to pick up a lot of what he says and does from Ray and I. But of course, some things he does are a result of his own ideas. Ray and I will accept no responsibility for them! ;)
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There's no doubt how incredibly smart, creative, and expressive Grayson is. A few weeks ago, Ray put on his LSU apron to cook. Grayson walked up to him and said something only he could understand. It was obvious it wasn't just jibber jabber. He knew exactly what he was saying and was very confident about it. We knew he was talking about Ray's apron because he studied the LSU emblem on the front strongly as he talked. Next thing we knew, he turned around, ran into the living room, dug in his bin of toys, retrieved his talking LSU football, ran back into the dining room, and tossed the football at Ray's feet! Our boy is so smart! :)
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Because I'm trying, I can't think of a story about G's creativity. But every single day, he does something that exhibits such creativity. And of course, that is a direct link to his smarts.
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Now regarding being expressive, I have so many examples! I could sum it up by saying how much Grayson talks. Sometimes, he does talk in a normal voice. But more often than not, he talks extremely loud, bellows out big laughter, yells, and squeals! You should hear him "mooing". Once he starts, he moos for a while. :) Each time, he moos louder, longer, and deeper! Ray and I joke that sometimes his "moos" sound like their coming from a dying cow. ;)
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Grayson prefers to be gotten out of bed by Ray and I. We always make a point to go in his room on Saturday and Sunday mornings together. G loves it! When I go in there before Ray, G calls for his "BaBa"...and vice versa. It's so sweet! The bad thing though is when one of us isn't there. I've had to deal with this several mornings when Ray had already left the house for work. Gray was glad to see me but wanted to see his dad walk in behind me. Fortunately, here lately, G has been waking up in time to see us both every morning (before Ray leaves for work). To my surprise, Gray seems to understand that his dad has to go to work. We walk him outside, wave goodbye, and usually don't throw too big of a fit. ;)
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One of the new things G likes to do is dump his plate of food onto his high chair tray. He knows how to lift it level and move it onto the dining table next to him. He has done it many times. But in the last few days, he picks it up, turns it over, and dumps all of his food onto the tray when he's no longer interested in this. It can be quite frustrating - and even moreso when he misses the tray and the food falls to the floor. But I must say that he has good aim! Only once has he missed the tray...and even then, most of it went on the tray and only a few morsels fell on the floor! Regardless of where the food goes, we don't want him doing this. As I always say, Ray doesn't do it. I don't do it. And he won't either. So, we'll continue teaching him it is wrong and eventually, he'll stop doing it. Today, he did it during lunch time. I walked over to him, removed the tray, and firmly told him "NO" as I raked up the pile of food. He smiled at me and said, "YEAH!" as loud as he could. Taken off guard, I said, "NO! You do not dump your food. You move the tray to the side if you are finished with it!" I continued picking up the food and said, "You don't do this. NO". Again, he smiled and yelled, "YEAH!" I was so glad I had all of his food in my hands and was turning away to go dump it because I couldn't hold my serious face anymore! His yeah's in responses to my no's were not okay but were so funny! I'm glad Ray wasn't here. If he would've been, I'm pretty sure I would've broken the stone face I was trying so hard to hold in front of Grayson. :)
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Another thing Gray does that isn't new but is a "no-no" is standing, walking, and running on the couch. I have Ray to credit for teaching Grayson that habit. ;) G finds it so fun! I thought (and hoped) he would've gotten his fill of it by now, but he hasn't. Many times a day, we have to tell him to sit. We explain that a couch is for sitting or laying - not standing, walking, or running on. He knows this but can't get past how fun it is to stand, walk, and run on! I always start by giving short corrections - i.e., I'll say, "Grayson! SIT!" This probably sounds horrible, but that is what we were told to do with Hobbes, our Chihuahua/Terrier Mix, when we took him to training years ago. Grayson isn't a dog of course. But I do think maybe it is more effective to at least start with short corrections that he can make sense of (less confusion). Once I say, "Sit!", "No!", or whatever, I do follow with a more detailed teaching/explanation that will make sense soon if it doesn't already.
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Before lunchtime, Grayson was standing on the couch. He was peering at me over the counter that divides the living room and the kitchen (where I was). I firmly said, "Grayson! SIT!" I saw the little 3 foot man slowly shrink down to inches and then disappear behind the counter. It was funny to see! :) But again, I couldn't let Grayson see me smiling. Within seconds, he was standing on the couch AGAIN! More firmly this time, I said, "GRAYSON! NO!" Again, he slowly lowered himself and disappeared. But this time, as he went down, he said, "Sit!" This isn't the first time he's repeated what we say back to him. It is wrong, and I let him know it. I walked over to him...and believe it or not, he was already standing on the couch again. I said, "SIT!" He did exactly what he did the last time - sat but said, "Sit" as he went down. I said, "No. YOU sit!" Our boy is something!
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I try my hardest not to let him see me smiling when he does these things...and I do a good job. But man, he does crack me up! Where does he come up with these things?! Sometimes I look at him and can't believe he's mine and Ray's child. He's very much his own little person, but he's half of me and half of Ray. How can we have created such adorable rotten-ness?! :)
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