Buddy time

With Hope in school three mornings a week, I find that Grant and I have lots of "just us" time lately. And he's getting to be so expressive and funny, quirky and adorable, that I love my buddy time! It's hard to pinpoint just what it is that's so charming about him these days. There are just so many little things he does throughout the days that make him fun to be around. For instance, here's just a sampling of my favorite Grantisms:

1. He can and does say "please," "thank you," and "sorry" in the right context
2. When he gets hurt he rubs it and says, "Boo-boo, ow! Boo-boo, ow!"
3. He likes to pretend he's got a pocket-size baby that he feeds and tucks in :)
4. He's getting pretty good about asking "Up, peez?" to leave the dinner table
5. We play 'little eyes/big eyes' and both his squint and his big eyes are super exaggerated
6. He sometimes pulls his diaper down a quarter of an inch, squats in the grass, then celebrates that he peed "outside"
7. We're making progress in the church nursery, so throughout the week he says "Yay church!"
8. In the car, waiting for Hope to come out of school, he always says "Hope, [where] are you?"
9. Anytime he sees one of our cats he greets it "Hi Meow!"
10. During the prayer at dinner he bows his head and makes the cutest concentrating face
11. He'll often point to the letters in a word and recite "O...T...X..." Always OTX.
12. He loves blue, and points it out every chance he gets
13. He likes his Rolly Pollies class, and gets a huge thrill out of the songs and corresponding motions
14. When it's time for books in our bedtime routine, he gets in the chair and says "Read, read, read!"
15. Nowadays (and for a little while now) he goes to bed so easily!
16. When he's pretending to be a dog, he actually plays fetch
17. Anytime we leave a store of any kind he gives the cashier a big endearing "Bye!"
18. He is the embodiment of "glee" every time we play outside
19. As soon as he hears music of any kind he busts a move
20. When he's in the mood to rough-house he pulls Daddy and says "Wres? Ders?" (wrestle? downstairs?)
21. He is sooo proud of the stamps he gets at the end of Rolly Pollies
22. Every time he makes a poopy diaper, he wants to see the poop before we throw it away
23. When he needs a hand he calls out "HAELP!" It sounds so country :)
24. He likes for me to pour water over his back in the bathtub and he sighs "Ah, back!"
25. He also says a big "Ah!" every time we take off socks and shoes
26. When we're driving, he shouts out "Trash!" or "Bus!" or "Dirt!" for the different trucks he sees
27. He plops down on the rug for circle time every morning that we drop Hope off at preschool. Last week he even said, "Bye Mom!" and had a little fit when I picked him up to leave!
28. He is completely unhindered by the lock on my cell phone and our cabinet locks
29. Most mornings we have a routine where we tiptoe to the kitchen to make his milk and my coffee
30. He's very very into tickling, zerberts, and licking
31. When he's going to bed, his pillow and blanket have to be just so
32. He says "Buck" for bucket, buckle, and pocket
33. He's pretty specific about which songs he wants at bedtime "[S]tars," "Jesus," or "La-ya-oo"
34. The fire truck jammies are his favorites, and it's hard to get him out of them in the morning
35. When he's excited, he doesn't exactly run, he kind of gallops
36. He takes a 2-3 hour nap most days
37. Thanks to Tow Mater from Cars, Grant will now say "Dad gum!"
38. He refers to his fingers as "toes" every single time
39. Whenever he sees a place that appears to be a restaurant, he rubs his tummy and says "Mm-mm!"
40. He frequently plays opossum, but always with a huge tell-tale smile
41. Part of the bedtime routine, every time, is saying night-night to our neighbors when we pull the shade on the window that faces their house ("Bye Jessca, bye Ah, bye Ee!")
42. He doesn't say "baby" but calls all babies "Waah"
43. He loves the game where we lay in bed, him under the blankets, and he pops out, snuggles up, and cries. It's called "Getting Born" :)
44. We refer to both kids creamy skin as "puddin" and when Grant hears that word, he lifts his shirt to show it off
45. He's totally amused with himself when he pees in the bathtub
46. He thinks Grandma's purse is awesome and he explores it every chance he gets
47. Every time he offers a pretend bite of food, he says it's "hot!" and wants you to have a reaction
48. He pretends to be a monster by crawling across the floor, growling, and baring his teeth
49. He does a massive fake snore every time he pretends to sleep or sees someone sleeping
50. When I tell him "I love you" he replies "I-luh-oo"