Grady Turns 4!!

We can't believe how fast time has gone! Our little Grady turned 4 on June 15th!

It seems that at every age I say that particular age is my favorite, and 4 is no exception. Parenthood is never easy, but Brandon and I both agree that Grady is a joy to be around right now. (Not that he hasn't always been a joy to us, but certain ages are definitely easier than others!) He's independent, yet still very loving, and is absolutely hilarious with the things he says. We find that we can have these long conversations with him about anything - deep conversations about why there are some mean people in the world (recently this was brought up because we talked to him about staying safe and not talking to strangers, etc.) or silly conversations about why birds poop on cars or why God made thunder. :)  He is this little person that is just full of questions, and it's really neat to see him take in information, think things over and come up with a conclusion about something. Grady is really laid back, kind of cautious and shy at times, but also really funny. We're really proud of our little guy! 

Since Grady's actual birthday was on a Wednesday, we decided to make that day special for him (even though his official party was the following weekend). He always asks Brandon to go to work with him (and did this one time before), so for his birthday Brandon decided to take him. He got all dressed up in his little tie (which was Brandon's when he was little...hence the 70's look!), packed his backpack (full of toys) and went to work. He only stayed for a couple of hours before Brandon brought him home, but he had a great time and told me work was hard (even though he mostly watched toy story videos on the computer!). :)  That afternoon/evening we brought the boys to Chuck E. Cheese for pizza and games.

After Chuck E. Cheese, we went home and had a mini celebration with a cupcake and one present. (I think you should always get something little on your actual birthday!) He got a few Toy Story characters, which we had to give him early because I was going to use them on his birthday cake!

The following weekend we had a little gathering at the park with some of his friends to celebrate!

Major props to Ella for being the only little girl at the party - with 8 boys! :)

After the little party at the park, we came home to find that Mimi, Popeye and Ma had arrived and were beginning to put together his big birthday present - a swing set! (This was a gift from Mimi, Popeye, Granny and Gramps! Thanks!) To say this was a big project is an understatement. Not to mention it was brutally hot, and our yard has very little shade. Soon after, Aunt Carleen and Uncle Kevin came over and helped with the construction of the swing set, which took the entire day!! Thanks everyone for all your hard work!



This is from today! They absolutely love it!



After dinner, we had Grady's official party! Grady has recently gotten very into Toy Story, so I decided I was going to make him a Toy Story cake. I was actually quite proud of how it turned out! (For those of you who have seen the movie, this is Andy's bed with his toys on it.) :)

Grady got an umbrella from Aunt Carleen and Uncle Kevin. This is one of the two things he asked for! :)

Grady got this - a cookie set - from Aunt Kelly, Uncle Louis and Hannah, which is the other present he asked for!

The next day was Father's Day, so we went over and had lunch at Carleen and Kevin's new house in Hillsborough. The chickens (and their eggs) are always a bit hit!

We also celebrated Carleen's birthday! June is a busy month!

Grady drew Brandon a picture of our family for Father's Day! He and Popeye got to open a few gifts and cards!

On another note, I got to go to Washington DC the weekend prior to spend time with my roomies from college! :)  My former roomie Jean was up there for a work conference, so we all met the weekend before to have a mini reunion. It has been 11 years since we graduated and all lived together (yikes!), but when we get together it's like no time has passed. Girl time is definitely a must! :)  Special thanks to Brandon for watching the boys so I could have a weekend away!



Jerri, Jean, me and Deborah at the National Zoo!

 

Deborah, me, Jean, Jerri and Laura out to dinner (with no children!!)!



Saying goodbye at the metro!