Grayson Daniel: 2 years

When I wrote G's 18 month update, I thought we had hit the peak of "fun" in the parent department, but then came 18 - 24 months. And I think this has been even better. Will I annoyingly think 24 - 30 months is the "best yet" come January? If it means that we are having so much fun with our sweet boy, that's ok to me!

Height: 36 inches (90th%)

Weight: 30.8 pounds (80th%)

Gray continues to be sweet natured, sensitive at times, yet rough and crazy in other times. He is so curious, and is quite the talker. We get a play by play of the day and often things are repeated many, many times. Watching him process new things is truly remarkable and something both J&I love to see with him. Its so rewarding as a parent to see your baby learn and growing into a smart little boy. He loves to help. Bring a paci to Carter, sweep, help with laundry. I feel like his memory is abnormally good. Which makes for reminiscing with him so fun. He will lean over for a hug or a sugar out of no where. He will play with my hair while sitting with me or if I am carrying him. He truly is the sweetest and so full of love.

Gray knows and recognizes his numbers, counts to ten and sometimes to 20 pending on his mood. He loves to sing songs (that include taking bows when he is done), do puzzles, play matching games, he recognizes letters, and is obsessed with gloves (sock hands, hand puppets, etc) Reading books continues to be a favorite. G is able to speak full sentences most of the time. There are still times that we aren't quite sure what he is saying but I would say 95% of the time we fully understand him.


This summer he has really embraced the water. He is loving swimming, splash pads and running through the sprinkler at home.


He loves all sports. Soccer, football, baseball, but he has recently become obsessed with golf. Which Daddy is embracing with open arms. He is so obsessed with being outside. He has a new balance bike, scooter  and jeep to keep him outside as well. So fun for all of us!

Becoming a big brother was so exciting for G. It came with some resistance, but he has adjusted so well and loves on Carter multiple times a day. He holds him daily, they bathe together and share lots of hugs and kisses. I cant wait to watch their relationship continue to grow over time.

eat & sleep. Every month when I fill out G's baby book, the sleep and eat category is quite boring. He is a great eater. He continues to eat his veggies like a good little boy :) He is taking 2 hour naps at school and is still sleeping about 10 - 12 hours at night.


We have just decided to push bedtime from 7pm to 8pm this past week. Several weeks ago we went to the lake house with Supper Club and since we have gotten back G has been having nightmares (maybe?) nonetheless he wakes in the middle of the night crying at the gate upstairs 2-3 times a week and at bedtime most nights we were receiving resistance to get in bed, which we had never experienced before. When we let him go to bed a bit later he doesn't fight it, so we will see how this works over the next few weeks to see if we will keep this schedule when school starts (he moves to the 2s class mid-August that will be more curriculum based).

Carter Grant: One Month

How?! I cannot believe a month has already flown by. Somehow having two and doing this newborn thing all over again has been bizarrely easy. Don't get me wrong, I am still tired, but compared to how I felt with Gray those first few weeks, its been a cakewalk.

Carter Grant Dunaway: 1 Month Guestimates

~11 pounds

~22 inches

EAT. Champ. He has been latching and eating like a champ since birth. After my experiences with Grayson, I am so thankful that this has been so easy. He has only had 2 bottles, which were only 2 ounces each for Gray to be able to help feed him and then I fed him afterwards. With that said, I am not sure how much he is eating at each feeding. He went from 15 minutes on each side, to anywhere between 8 - 10 minutes on each side. He is eating every 3 hours. I am having to wake him during the day, and I am letting him sleep until he wakes me at night, which can go anywhere between 3 and 5 hours... more of the 3 hour mark, but here's to hoping soon he sleeps a bit longer!

SLEEP.  Carter has also been a great sleeper. He likes the rock and sleep, but truly prefers to be swaddled and in the pack and play. Gray loved to snuggle on me and would sleep there for every nap had I let him. Carter was the same for the first two weeks, but now once he starts showing that he is tired, he wants to be put  down. If you try to hold him too long he will start his real cry (that produces real tears... ALREADY! its so sad!) Over the past two weeks he has also started to stay up longer after each feed, but definitely still naps for at least an hour in between.

PLAY.  As far as play goes, we do as much as you can with an itty bitty. We do bicycle kicks, stretches of the arms, make sounds to see if he will turn his head. He isn't much f a fan of tummy time on the floor yet, but he can hold his head up pretty well while on my chest, over my shoulder or sitting in my lap. hopefully these floppy head  days are numbered.

• Nicknames - Sweets, C, Mr C
• He makes sounds like a little lamb
• Ive noticed that he tends to lay his head to the right. Which has me paranoid about flat head or torticollis. I also thought Gray was blind at one point, so this may be a paranoid mom thing, but I intend to talk to the doctor about it at G's 2 year check up
• He is are stingy with your smiles so far, but when he does smile, its with his whole face. I cannot wait until he gives us real smiles!
• His eyes look like they are turning blue. Now to wait and see what shade of blue they will be!
• He doesn't take the paci very well yet, but when he does get ahold of it he sure does like it. He will even rest his hand on it to hold it in.
• He likes white noise to sleep - thank goodness for portable sound machines
• He has moved into size 1 diapers/borderline for needing size 2, and has fully grown out of any newborn clothes/jammies. He didn't even get to wear everything!
• Layla has acclimated to having the new baby so well. When Grayson isn't around or once he has gone to bed, Layla is right by Carter's side. She is such a sweet friend to both of the boys.
• When he wakes up and is unwrapped from the sleep sack he makes almost identical faces while he stretches and toots - just like Grayson did. I laughed so hard the first time he started to do this, as it was one of my most favorite things that Gray did as a baby.
• He doesn't cry very often. He fusses more than anything. But if he gets into a full cry, he turns so red, he is almost purple. But the good news is, he doesn't take long to console.
• He is a super loud eater.
• He gets the hiccups often
• He holds my finger tight or my shirt while nursing. He has started to rub my side with his other hand just in the past few days.
• He had his first hair cut at 5 days old. & is due for another!
• He seems to be very relaxed/chill. He is certainly making this transition to two easy for everyone. I am sure that this will change at some point, but for now I will take it and not complain a bit!