This boy is just high on life!
Some of you may remember that New Year's Day means it's "Forrest Day" to the Graf Quad Squad. For those of you new to our blog, we kept track of each of our kids' release day from the NICU. They will always share their birthdays, they share their clothes and toys, and everything else that multiples share. So, their “going home” date has become their own special day to have each year….all by themselves. To read last year’s Forrest Day Tribute, click here.
We got to bring Forrest Michael home on January 1, 2008. What an incredible way to start off the new year! Some of this may be repetitive, but Forrest was our second biggest of the squad. He weighed 3 lbs., 9 oz. and had blonde hair. Forrest probably had the smoothest stay in the NICU, and he was a pretty happy baby boy.
And the spoiling begins…..Gramma Bicki has her hand over Forrest while he was still inutero. Budda has half of Laine and half of Danna.
And then he was here in all his glory. The NICU was an uneventful obstacle for our Frosty. He graduated with flying colors!
Forrest was the 1st one to christen the Phoenix apartment after the NICU gave him the boot.
Who could forget that “jump out and poke you in the eye” umbilical hernia he sported for so many months?!
Those earlier days are hard to remember because little Forrest has turned into quite the brute. He usually is the heaviest and longest (not by much over Pius), but he is big. His head is big, his voice is big, his feet are big. We haven't had to worry about Forrest fighting the normal preemie size battle since he was about 6 months old and caught up to the normal age/size measurements.
Our plan this year is to go through each of the kids' strengths and weaknesses on their "day."
Forrest's strengths:
Forrest is a very physically strong boy. Some of you may remember me taking them bowling about 6 months ago and him carrying around a 10 pound ball with relative ease. We are pretty relieved that Forrest doesn't quite realize his strength just yet, because when battles occur in our house it pretty much comes down to who attacks first (usually Laine). I really think if Forrest used his strength to his advantage he would be the dominant alpha male in our house.
Braun AND Brains…..no big deal.
Forrest is the farthest along verbally of the four. I have stated before that he repeats EVERY word out of everyone's mouths, and that is still true. Forrest has some favorite words: NO, Jiggieeee (as in “get jiggy, Forrest….dance!”), Bwoncos, Bankie, TV, Peez-Dankooo-Welcome (in that quick successive order….all one phrase with him) and reindeer, just to name a few.
He is EXTREMELY SMART! Forrest starting saying his "ABC's" at around 20 months old. No big deal some may say, but he's also been able to pick out any letter separately since before that. You can ask him to find a “T” (or any other letter) in the room and he’ll hunt one down like a bird dog on a mission. That is a 2 1/2 year old skill and he has been doing that for quite awhile now. We’re not proud, or anything! Forrest also loves to count. He can count to twenty relatively easily, and that also is well ahead of schedule. Maybe that abnormally massive head of his is holding an abnormally large-sized brain. I don't know.
Forrest is a good-hearted kid. He likes to make people smile (most of the time), and does some of the funniest things. I have a Broncos text with sound on my phone that all four love (any old school gamers out there that can recognize the tune to Tokyo Magnum?!). But when they catch me looking at the messages on my phone, they all start saying "Broncos, Broncos" with the hopes that I will start it. When I do inevitably start the music, Forrest begins dancing and saying, "Jiggy, jiggy, jiggy" over and over. It is freaking adorable.
Forrest: “Uh-Oh….here’s where things start getting a little dicey for me. Better put my serious face on.”
Forrest's biggest areas for improvement (AKA weaknesses....we just don't like to call them that):
Forrest is easily the worst at sharing. If one of the kids so much as touches a toy that he is playing with, he starts throwing a fit…..usually traipsing off into another room to scream and huff-n-puff, throw himself on the ground, and pretty much just be as dramatic as possible for as long as possible, or until something else distracts him. Now if the others try to mess with his most sacred green blankie, all bets are off and he REALLY flies off the handle! It’s funny because if Forrest wants something the others are playing with, he will walk up, hold his hand out and say (so sweetly), "Share? Share?" But when HE doesn't get the item HE wants, the tantrum mode returns in full swing. You know the saying, “What’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine”? Frosty fully believes that “What’s yours is mine and what’s mine is ALSO mine!” He guards his belongings fiercely.
Sweet Fo didn’t even want to bowl because he did not want to let go of “HIS” ball! So he sat and watched everyone else play with his ball tucked securely in his lap and arms.
When Young Forrest goes into said "tantrum mode," he becomes extremely irrational. I don't know if that is a 2-year-old thing or a spawn of Billy Graf thing, but it can be very frustrating. That is also when his favorite word "NO" comes out profusely.
The beginning stages of a melt-down. They started at such an early age!
Forrest also has an unsettling attachment to his blankets. He doesn't want just ONE of his blankies either. He wants all FIVE of them AND his pillow to be taken out of his crib immediately after we pick him up in the morning, if not before. Most days he won't even eat breakfast without at least one of his blankies in hand. After obtaining his blankies and they are properly secured, he shifts to his next major attachment…..his thumb. The thumb goes directly to his mouth (he no longer has a normal-looking right thumbnail due to it’s constant state of dampness). It’s actually quite cute and endearing, but I’m sure it’ll be a bear to have to break him of his thumb and “blanks” down the road. Let them be little, right?!?!
So those are some of his best traits and his worst traits on Forrest Day 2010. We could not have asked for a better second child and we thank God for him everyday. Because of all the things we have mentioned and so much more, we can not wait to see what kind of man he turns out to be! We already know that he is one of the best boys in the whole world and we’re excited to throw ourselves into these tumultuous TWO’s . We love you so much, Fo-Fo!
Love,
Daddy, Mama, Pi-u-see, Dannie, and Wainer
