Grady Beck Gardner

Grady Beck Gardner. What?! Yes, we changed our baby’s name. Get over it. It took us two full days after his birth to scratch Joshua on the birth certificate. It didn’t fit. Poor Mark could never call him by the name Joshua. I got pretty good at it, but only if I called him Joshua Beck; every single time. Mark suggested we change his name. After a couple of days of thought I agreed. The poor kid went another four weeks without a first name, and was known throughout the house as Baby Beck. We tried on a few, and finally came to Grady. Stick. Success. Sweet. I am pretty happy and relieved, because I can now actually call him by his name and not cringe as I say it because it feels all wrong.

 

Russell is the most confused by this, and prays, “Please bless baby Joshua, no, I mean . . . baby Grady to never cry every again.” And two days ago he said to us, quite concerned, “Are we going to change my name?”

“Why do you want to?”

“No, I want to be Russell.”
“Ok, we won’t change your name.”

Grady is a treasure and we love our little boy. He started giving us huge grins which makes melt my heart immediately. He can be pretty fussy, so we spend hours daily bouncing him on the exercise ball, to keep him from crying. But, by the third time around we know that this will pass.

Whenever Grady's "eyes are open" Russell insists on being in his view. If Mark or I are next to him, talking to him, Russell scoots right in between so he can have the number one spot.  He is such a sweet big brother. 

Sometimes when Grady is crying and I come in from another room to pick him up I see Russ trying to give him his binky saying, "It's ok baby, I'm here, shh, I'm here." 

He also often squeals and says, "He's so cute!" 

When Grady has a crying fit Russell says a prayer for him to stop crying, and as Russell's prayers are always answered, this is a great help.  Except that prayer I mentioned above that "Grady would cry never again."  We explained that babys have to cry because they can't talk yet and tell us what is wrong.  Now Russell prays, "Please bless baby Joshua, I mean Grady, will walk and talk."