Happy Birthday, Granty-Guy! He truly loved the individual cake that may or may not have been shared by Isaac.
I'm pretty sure, since writing, we have added two pets. For those that know me, I promised myself for a while that we weren't ready for a dog. What sane person needs 3 little boys and a puppy, right? To reward Nolan for putting up with more moves than you should have as a 5 year old, we said he could get his first pet once we were settled. So, a year after being "settled" he was going to get a fish.... mostly because spongebob accessories were available in a tank. But, as we visited pet stores, he kept being drawn to lizards. We did lots of research, he got to know the workers in the store, and we finally came home with a very loving bearded dragon. Loving may not be the right word, but he does a very nice job putting up with the boys' shenanigans (I also now keep crickets alive).
Oh, and two weeks later, we rescued a dog. Oscar. The timing wasn't ideal, but he's a good dog. He's very much our little horse, and still very much a puppy. He fits in with the neighborhood pups well, and loves our kids. When we took him on vacation, one of the older ladies said, "Why would you ever get a puppy while also having such little babies?" And, I had no answer. I still don't.
Moving on and speaking of babies, our littlest guy is one. Gosh, where has a year gone!? It hit me today that we no longer have a "baby" and that was really sad. I'm so eager for him to start running around with the other two, but also still not ready. Every parent reading this is nodding along saying "Yep." Most people ask how he is different than the other two, so here's a bit about Grant to celebrate him.
Size: Largest. I'm not sure if he's the chunkiest, but he's the tallest. He may be the chunkiest, too. He's got the sweetest cheeks and thighs. I'm not ready to tuck those thighs away for winter.
Looks: Hair color - he's definitely the darkest. A darker blonde than Nolan's, and not red. Eye color - pretty blue eyes. Nolan has gray eyes and Isaac has brown eyes. They are all big and very pretty with long lashes.
Personality: He's definitely the calmest. We haven't seen Nolan's energy or Isaac's comedy come out of him yet. But, he's sweet and calm. The perfect third child.
Foods: Follows in his brother's footsteps. He's a big fan of mac and cheese, apples, and anything sweet. He really loves to walk around with an applesauce packet hanging from his mouth.
Sleep: By far the worst. We're still not sleeping through the night. I've tried crying it out, pushing back bedtimes, moving up bedtimes, and nothing works. He throws his pacis at dad when he tries to console him, because, well, dad's milk just isn't the same. ;)
Development: Exactly the same. All of our three have walked right around the week of their first birthday. He may have beat the other two by a week or two for those first steps. My other two were slow, careful, and cautious. Grant tries to go at full speed. But, he's been a trooper with his inevitable falls into walls, cupboards, kids, etc.
All in all, he's a perfect little guy to round out our three musketeers. I can't wait to see his personality shine through in this next year. Has anyone learned how to freeze their kids at these ages? I'm interested.
