Super Sonic Speed

I think Gray's gear shift is stuck on super sonic speed these days. Rarely do we actually see him any more...he's more like a blur...kind of like Dash from the Incredibles. Come to think of it, they do look quite a bit alike. Sometime I'll have to include a picture of him in a superhero mask. Spitin' image. Ironically, I thought about naming him Dash. It was on my list of cute boys names. Spencer vetoed it.

Yesterday the family was hanging out in the family room and I didn't want to be excluded so I brought the laundry in to fold and Gray unfolded it faster than I could get it folded. He figured out how to get past all baby locks...he can't open them, but he knows how to break them. He can open doors. In fact, he learned how to open doors BEFORE he even learned how to walk. If you ever can't find him, check the garage. This only proved to be a problem once when the garage was accidentally left open and I found him down the street. He won't be held. He throws EVERYTHING. In fact, he has quite an arm. Gray's my first kid who's a natural with a ball...now if we could just limit his throwing to balls. He empties cupboards and drawers. He can finagle himself out of a stroller without the slightest bit of struggle. And the second you start to unbuckle his car seat, he's out and half way to the street before you realized what happened.

Kids this age always tend to be mischievous, but he has been my worst by far. I'm pretty sure Parker got into just as much as Gray, but not at lightening speed. Honestly, Grayden is constantly on turbo drive. One time, about a month ago, I saw him sit down for a combined day total of 45 minutes when he had a fever. Other than that, he is on the go ALWAYS. ALWAYS. That kid can't hold still for anything.

But in all his craziness, he thankfully is not a climber (besides the stairs). We have some small kids chairs that he is deathly afraid of. You put him on there and he's stuck until you get him off. Gray just doesn't get that his feet are only a couple inches from the floor. On a grown-up chair, he'll flip to his belly and slide off, but he can't do that on these pint-sized chairs. So last night, I set him on there so I could finish up folding my laundry. It was the perfect time out. He of course couldn't hold still, but he was distraught. He sat backwards and sideways and was all over that chair, but wouldn't for the life of him get off. I thought it was so cute and funny (I know I'm not nice) that after I finished my folding I kept him on a few more minutes to snap some pictures.

I never thought I was much of a baby person...and I'm still not a newborn person AT ALL. But I'm finding I can enjoy this age despite the mischief. Grayden is 16 months now. When the other two crazies hit this age, I was so pregnant I didn't take the time to enjoy it. I was busy whining about pregnancy and preparing for the next kid. Gray is freakin' hilarious. He makes me laugh all day long. Even his trouble is funny. It's so hard to believe such a small body can pack so much personality.

He loves to make us laugh. It's not just by accident. He LOVES to tease...mostly Reid because Reid can't stand it. But he teases the dog a lot, too. And he even teases Parker when he knows Parker is vulnerable. He loves his brothers. He talks baby gibberish a mile a minute. Neither of my other two did that. He is high drama. He puts on an act for everything. Gray loves to be silly. He loves to wear costumes (hooray). And not to mention, he is unbelievably CUTE.

I just can't wait to see how this personality evolves as he grows. I hope he continues to entertain me...that's why I had kids in the first place.