Happy Birthday Grant

Happy 4th birthday to my Granty-pooh. I love 4 year-olds, it is one of the funnest ages, ever. And Grant sure lives up to that. Here's what we did to celebrate his birthday:

We started the day with his traditional Birthday Bath

 

How many people get to start each birthday in the exact place they were born?

Is it ironic that he loves taking baths?

Then we had the traditional birthday breakfast. I always let the birthday boy choose what we have for breakfast. All the boys always choose Crepeles.

But this time I brought out the small pitchers and let them pour their own syrup and milk

Then we sang to Grant

and he blew out his candle

Then we let Grant open a present before we left for soccer games

After the soccer games, we played at the park

Then we went to a family friend's birthday party. Afterwards we went home and Grant opened up his presents

He got a dollar from Grandma Williams

and he got a gun

and a sword

Then we had cake

Grant's cake had quite a surprise, and he was pleased about it

When I played indoor soccer there was a quarter machine that would give little "Diny-Dinies" is what my boys called them. They were little animal figurines. Since I have been pregnant, I haven't played soccer and Grant has missed getting a Diny-Dinie. So, I made a secret trip out to the soccer complex and got him a couple of dollars worth of his favorite toy. Put them on top of a football field clipboard on top of the cake. It was a hit.

In celebration of Grant, I am going to write about the many things about Grant.

All children have imagination, but not many have an imagination as great as Grant's. The stuff that he comes up with, just blows me away. Everything is an adventure to him, and he is always willing to let us be a part of it. Whether it is that there are sharks that we are trying to escape or that we are statues that come to life, life is fun with Grant.

Grant is all boy. With my experience of having 4 boys, I feel qualified to make this classification. He loves anything that a boy would love. He loves to wrestle and "fight", pretending to be a superhero.

He loves guns and knives. Even at a young age, Grant would pretend that different objects were guns. I know that there are parents that don't allow their children to have fake weapons, but with kids like Grant, you could not give them a weapon, but they will make them up. My favorite was when he would use a spoon like a gun. Made mealtime interesting.

 

 Grant loves balls, always has, and he has some pretty good coordination when it comes to playing sports. All of my other boys liked balls, but with Grant it is different, he came out LOVING balls and games. He will play outside with a ball for hours by himself (all while pretending that there is a life-saving task at hand).

Grant is great at coming up with his own games and contests. They can be hilarious to participate and watch. He really enjoys being the facilitator or the MC of the games, and not so much a participant. He will usually do a little awards ceremony when it's all over as well.

The only difficult thing with Grant and playing games is that he can be a poor sport. He does not like to loose, or even be scored on. When he played soccer he would have a hard time (and I mean like huge tantrum) if anyone stole the ball from him. If we are playing a card game, he will freak out if he feels that he is loosing. I actually try to make sure he doesn't win (am I a bad mom?) so that he can learn to control his temper.

Those that know Grant are probably surprised when I mention Grant's temper......wait, no you're not. Grant can have a terrible temper. He is infamous for "hit first, then ask questions". His poor siblings have had to deal with this attitude for years, and William has even started hitting back. The funniest thing is that Grant views himself as the victim. Yep, that is something we're working on. I will say that he has gotten better.

Grant can handle a lot, if he is warned or told about it first. He does not like to be surprised, but is usually good at dealing with things if he know they will happen beforehand. One example is that he hates having to wear his floaties in the pool. If I warn him beforehand that he will be wearing the floaties, then he will have a good attitude and do it willingly. The only problem is that I will have our plan in my mind and forget to vocalize it to Grant.

Being the youngest of four, he has (already) had to watch his brothers participate in a lot of activities while he has had to just sit and watch. He actually is really good at being patient and well-behaved while watching. He will often tell me such things as "When I get bigger, I am going to...." as it relates to what we are watching. He can be very patient. If I ever have to go to a meeting or such, Grant is one kid that I know I can take with me. He can keep himself quiet and entertained (isn't that a sign of a genius?) all while sitting besides me.

Though he claims to be "Daddy's Boy" (because they both have blue eyes), Grant is in reality a Momma's boy. He likes to be around me and always prefers me.

Grant can be very shy with kids his own age. He theoretically likes to play with kids his own age, but when he is put in the situations, he has a hard time talking to them. When he warms up, he will do fine, but it sometimes can take him a while. He has no problem, however, playing and talking with older kids. There are several 11 year-old kids (or close to) that think Grant is hilarious for Grant will approach them and play with them no problem.

Grant loves to suck his thumb.....still.  A year ago we had gone to the dentist and she had told him that he needed to quit. Well, he pretty much quit cold turkey (he really is good if you can reason with him). Unfortunately he would still suck his thumb at night and that kept the habit alive. Now he is still trying to quit sucking his thumb, but it's not always easy.

I know that sometimes by his behavior people think that Grant is self-centered, which in a lot of ways he is (he is a 4 year-old). But one of the reasons he seems self-centered is not because he thinks he is more important than other people, but because he is ultra-sensitive to his feelings. He can be easily hurt or offended. Which, I guess goes a lot with the age territory.

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Grant can be one of my most giving children. When I threaten to throw away toys, he is the one who brings me toys telling me to give them to other kids for he doesn't need them anymore. He loves quarters, yet is always giving them to his friends or brothers. If a friend comes over to play, he will try to give them something. He really is a sweet boy who loves people and relationships.

Grant has been such a blessing in our lives and in our home. I am so thankful for him. Life would be much more boring without his smiling face around. He is wonderful.
Happy Birthday Grant