Next step: steps

The Wilkinson household continued to battle illness this week.  We had lots of plans for the weekend, but then we thought Grady came down with pinkeye since his eyes were watering and, well, pink.  I called the doctor Sunday to see if we should get antibiotics, but was told it probably was not pinkeye but was instead a symptom of the cold he's had.  So, dropped him off on Monday only to get notice a few hours later that it had turned into ... wait for it ...  pinkeye.  Good news is it went away by the next morning.  Better news was Grady wasn't allowed back to daycare for 24 hours so we got a bonus day together on Tuesday!

Grady's goal for the week was to climb the stairs.  He is drawn to them, and goes after them whenever I let him into the hall.  On Saturday he could stand up against them, but couldn't quite figure out how to get his knees coordinated.  On Monday, he made a few tentative steps (ha ha).  I will spare you the several-minute-long videos of him struggling!  On Monday evening, he made it up several steps with the iPhone as a target.

Matt went out on Tuesday, and while he was gone, Grady climbed the entire set of stairs!  We have stairs so you go up about 10 or 11 stairs and hit a landing, then turn the corner and there are 4 or 5 more stairs.  Grady hit the landing and kept right on going!  He repeats the feat any chance he gets.  Here's the play-by-play.

Look at the joy and accomplishment on that little face!

It's been raining like crazy here.  Grady and I went for a short run during a break in the rain on Tuesday.  He was pretty impressed by the flooding at Johnson Creek in the background!  It was as loud as a waterfall.

I finished knitting a sweater vest for Grady that I started a few months ago.  Grady was a big help, as you can see.

Here's the finished product.

The other exciting thing this week is Grady has started saying a few words.  I gave him a bath on Tuesday and handed him a rubber duck and he said "du."  He repeated it a few times.  That could have been a fluke though since he makes the "da" sound a lot.  He became quite attached to that duck for some reason -bringing it up with him to change and then back down to his circle of neglect while I got ready.

Today he very clearly said "shoe."  "Sh" is a new sound for him - just started within the last week.  He likes to play with his shoes like they're toys, and when I gave it to him today and said "shoe" he said it right back, then kept saying it for a solid 30 seconds or so!  For the most part he only says it when I say it first, but once today he said it on his own when he saw the shoe.  Here's a video.

One funny thing Grady picked up this week is drinking one-handed.  Here are a few shots capturing this new "skill."

Of course, Besa still loves to get in everything (literally), and Grady still loves to torment her.  I'm sure you're all tired of these pictures, but they continue to crack me up.

And I just think this next photo is funny.  What cat sits like that?

This weekend I will be leaving Grady overnight for the first time.  I'm visiting a friend who is very sick with cancer, and I really want to see her.  I am still feeling very anxious about it.  He'll be in great hands with daddy, but it will be hard for me.