Wow, buddy! FOUR?! You are getting so old!  You are such a joy, Grayden.  We love you so much and are so proud of the boy you are becoming. You are so sweet and silly. 

Your third year proved to be the most difficult for us as parents, to date.  We struggled with listening skills and talking back, but we've been seeing improvement, bud! I think year number 4 is going to be the  best year yet!

Here's what you've been up to lately:

You are a good {slow} eater, pretty willing to try new things. We usually have to remind you to take more bites as you are typically quite distracted at meal time, but you finish your plate eventually, and even ask for seconds. You love eggs, pizza, tomatoes, tacos, milk, yogurt, chicken, pork chops, pasta, pickles, and 'cheese hamburgers'. And you have a BIG sweet tooth!

You play so good by yourself, but also love to play with others.  Sharing is still a difficult task for you, especially when it means sharing with Sadler.

You have absolutely loved 3school. You have done so many fun things and made many great memories. One of my favorite times of our week is on our twice a week drive to school, when we pray in the van together. It's been so amazing to see your prayer life unfold over the past year. We started the year with me praying and you repeating after me, but for the past couple months you pray out load yourself and I  just love to hear you talk to Jesus! You've also learned the Lord's prayer recently and pray for us before meals and bedtime.  

 You love playing outside riding your toys in the driveway and in the sand box. 

You still LOVE playing with John Deere tractors, matchbox and hot wheel cars. You love Jimmie Johnson. 

Your favorite colors are blue and orange.

Your favorite shows are: Wild Kratts, Henry Hugglemonster, and Sadler's gotten you hooked on Sofia the First. ;) Such well-rounded taste! 

One of your favorite things we've done this past year is taking the train to Chicago and going to the aquarium. You still talk about it and remember every detail.

You've become a little back seat driver, always telling us to slow down, look at the road, keep two hands on the wheel, and stop all the way. I really have no idea where you've picked up these drivers tips, but I think you'll be a great drivers ed. student in 11 years!

You are the king of compliments, and such a gentlemen. You often tell me you like my outfit or tell me to "be careful walking in those heels!' Although, I do have to mention what you said to me the other day after giving me a kiss! "Mom, you need polish for your lips! lol, better get some more chapstick!

You sleep about 10 hours at night and take a nice long nap (2-3 hours) about 2-3 times a week. Still not completely dry at night but were in no rush, you'll do it when you're ready!

You say the cutest, funniest things to your brother, like "Buddy, your cheeks are so rosy, are you sure you don't want to go back to sleep,?" in the sweetest, most motherly voice! You almost always call him honey, sweetie, or buddy and then usually hit him two minutes later. Ugh, brothers! That's normal, right!?

You have no fear of strangers, and are almost a little too friendly to people. You'll strike up a conversation with anyone who makes eye contact with you! Those poor Target cashiers ;)

We couldn't be more proud of you and your verse memorization we've been working on with you.! We're working our way through the alphabet of Bible verses (see Pinterest) and were doing about 1-2 a week for awhile, then we took a break so you could work on Psalm 100 with your Rev. Kids class. Now that you're finished with that we have to start back up! You have such a thirst for learning and my heart bursts to hear you recite scripture! Keep it up, buddy!

Although you do have your moments of willful defiance, deep down you really do WANT be obedient, and you are so thrilled with yourself when you remind us of the times when you make good choices and listen the first time!  You even tell us to forgive Sadler when we have to get after him! You love having our praise and approval. We don't tell you enough how proud of you we are. You are a good boy, Grayden!

We know that God has big plans for you, Grayden. You are such a special boy, and we love you SO much!

Photo credit: Kim Egedus 

*I've gone back and added a few more adorable and hilarious pictures to Sadler's birthday post too now that I've gotten all the proofs back, so click here if you want to see those, and trust me, you do! :)