Photo Op? Hardly...

Saturday was an absolutely beautiful day. Gary and I were so looking forward to it because we actually had nothing planned. There is a church not far from our house that has a pumpkin patch, so we decided to take Grant for a few cute pictures.

"I don't think so, mom!" Grant has this thing now where he does not want to be held in any form or fashion. You can't hold him because he squirms. He can't hold his hand because he'll lie down. You can't touch him because he'll scream. I know that one day in the near future someone is going to call CPS on me because they think I am trying to kidnap him. Grant also loves to run on sidewalks or in aisles or rows. Anything that goes in a straight line and then suddenly turns. Grant, PLEASE, look at the camera...

Yeah. I think you're getting the idea. Our photo op was a bit eventful. Although Grant did burn lots of energy. Unfortunately, it was after his nap.

This picture just makes me laugh. What kind of face is that?

Someone was hosting a birthday party at the church while we were there. And they were passing out orange and white balloons. Grant really wanted a balloon, but we kept steering him away from them. He eventually made his way over to a playground. There were two little girls sitting under the playground looking at all their birthday loot. They also had two balloons with them. Can you see where I am going with this? Grant made a beeline for those balloons, grabbed them up and ran as fast as his little feet could carry him. Then decided he was going to let go...

I was a few feet behind him and couldn't get to them in time. Gary was blocking him in from the front and just managed to grab the balloons before they became small specks in the sky. We gave the balloons back to the girls, apologized to the dad and left (our heads hanging low).

There is so much I love about this age (and about this kid). But his streak of independence is starting to wear a little thin. Every time I get frustrated, I try to remind myself that he is going to grow up to be a strong, successful leader. He will not follow the crowd. He will not have low self-esteem. He will not let others walk on him.