13 years later...

On this day thirteen years ago, at 8:31 in the morning, I was blessed to have Grant enter my life.  He was born 10 days early and still weighed 8 lbs, 3 oz.  He was a beautiful baby.  I was a happy, proud mother.  After a couple of weeks, Grant started crying.  He didn't stop crying for 7 1/2 months.  I was no longer a happy mother, I was a crazy, insane lady that was ready to throw myself off a cliff.  If Grant was awake, he was crying.  I took him to the doctor MANY TIMES.  He would say things like, "Some babies just cry more than others", or "You just got spoiled with Garrett".  Then one day I had Grant at the doctor with Garrett and I was talking over his screaming, and I was cleaning up his constant spit up while I was talking to the doctor about Garrett's ear infection.  The doctor was just staring at me, not hearing a word of what I was saying.  Finally he said, "Kori, you act like this doesn't phase you".  I told him that this was what I had been doing for the last 7 months.  He told me that it wasn't normal and that something was wrong with Grant.  The doctor had me start eliminating some things from my diet, we started with dairy.  He also had me supplement some of his feedings with a soy formula.  I honestly had a new baby within 2 weeks.  Again, I was a happy mother.  Grant has been an absolute joy ever since.  Grant is super laid back, very quick witted, and quite social.  He is also very independent and self-entertaining.  Here are 13 reasons I love Grant...

1.  Grant is our comic relief.  He is just down-right funny.  He always has a joke, or a quote, or a re-enactment of something silly.  He doesn't embarrass easily, so he puts himself out there.  I love that about him.
2.  Grant has more self-esteem than the rest of our family put together.  Grant is very confident in himself and his skills.  He is not afraid to try new things.
3.  Grant is an individual.  What I mean by this is, he is not concerned about other people's opinions or thoughts on what is cool.  He just does what he wants to do and then is able to convince everyone around him that what he is doing is the coolest thing.
4.  Grant is a happy kid.  He is always smiling.  He can make anything he is doing enjoyable.  Well, except when he has dishes... it seriously takes him 2 hours to do the dinner dishes because he plays with the water, does handstands after each dish is put in the dishwasher, and gives me 89 reasons someone else should be helping him.
5.  Grant is a leader.  He isn't afraid to talk to adults, take on extra assignments at school and church, attend his practices and meetings with a good attitude, and make everyone feel like they are important.
6.  Grant is a good friend.  Grant is truly accepting of everyone.   He loves everyone.  He has many friends and I am certain each one of them thinks he loves them better than the others because he makes whoever he is with feel accepted and liked.
7.  Grant is a talker.  I have one son, and I won't mention his name, who hardly says anything.  He limits himself to 100 words a day.  But Grant is a talker.  When I ask him how is day at school was, 30 minutes later we are just getting through 1st and 2nd period.  I get the minute by minute details of his day.
8.  Grant has attitude.  I love watching Grant play sports because he has a little attitude.  He is usually one of the smallest guys on the field, yet you will see him out there "staring people down", trash talkin', throwing a good shoulder into someone.  You would think he is 6'5", 225 pounds by the attitude he is giving.
9.  Grant tries new things.  He isn't intimidated to step out of the box and try something different.  You can see that by his choice of extra-curricular activities.  He plays the bass.  He plays lacrosse.  He is a gymnast.
10. Grant gives the best foot massages EVER!  I am not sure when he developed his magic hands, but I am often the recipient of his great talent.
11. Grant is responsible.  Grant gets himself up in the morning.  He gets himself ready.  When he gets home from school he gathers whatever he needs for lacrosse practice or gymnastics and is ready to go on time.
12. Grant is smart.  He has become such a good student.  He gets his assignments done and does well on them.  He loves math and often wins their morning competition in class.  He comes home everyday with a candy bar or soda.  He won't eat or drink his reward until he is sure that I have seen it.  He remembers details about his lessons.  I will be very honest... these are words I never dreamed I would be typing about Grant.  For years, all of his teachers would say, "Grant has a hard time staying on task".  But something clicked last year and I have had two years of great parent/teacher conferences.
13. Grant honors his priesthood.  He loves to serve other people.  Last week we had a mentally challenged boy in our ward that was passing the sacrament for the first time.  He got somewhat confused and was just standing in the aisle.  Grant was at the back of the chapel when he noticed Brady.  He quickly came back up front and took Brady by the arm and helped him serve.  Brady was so pleased with himself that he had passed the sacrament and Grant came home from church and said that was one of the coolest experiences he has had.  He loves to help others.

We are so excited to have another teenager in our home.  It is exciting to see our kids changing and growing and becoming young adults.  We love you Grant for many reasons!  Hope you have a great year!