Celebrating 11 Months of Graham

Graham, 

Quite a struggle...

Holy cow it is so hard to wrap my head around the idea that in one month you will be ONE year old!  11 Months old Boom Boom, the time sure is flying by.  Life has been busy lately and every time we turn around you are doing something new or have changed, especially this past month!

So there is no better place to start than with your milestones....

YOU ARE OFFICIALLY A CRAWLER!  

You remind me a lot of your big brother Reece in that you don't love crawling around everywhere but definitely utilize it as a means to an end which mean you crawl to get yourself  to the nearest table, couch, toy, or leg to pull yourself up on!  While you are really enjoying sitting playing with your toys you would much rather be standing up checking out the action, and I don't blame you there is a lot in our house!  

You also got your first AND second tooth!

So one day a few weeks ago you were needing some extra Mommy snuggles and a little extra attention which I certainly wasn't minding but had no idea what was going on, needless to say I pulled something out of your mouth and felt a small little razor.  Otherwise you handled you cutting your first tooth like a champ.  In fact your second tooth no biggie, Reece noticed it first a week or so later.  

 First swim in the lake this year

First time at the farm park

I am not sure if it is coincidence but as soon as you got your first tooth you have also become a picker eater.  You love and really only want fruit or pasta....EEEKKK!  So I have quickly learned that I cannot give you an assortment of food but instead start with vegetables or a protein, then after you completely and utterly refuse it by spitting and more spitting then straight yelling at me with your fist clinched, I get the idea and we move onto your favorites!  I have been trying to give you some new and different food but yep that doesn't work either.  I am hoping this is just you trying to voice your independence and you will go back to be a great eater.  

Your Likes....

Your brother is on the top of the chart.  You adore him and him you.  It doesn't seem to matter if he carries you around, is shooting basketball, or singing you songs, you think Reece is hilarious! Watching you two together is better than I could have dreamt!

Bedtime stories

You want everything and then to determine if you like it or not, you give the object a full inspection with your mouth.  

Mostly you love to be a part of the crowd.  You love the activity of having people and other kids around. You love to stick your tongue out, all the time!  And you still love to take a bath and to be outside !  

Your Dislikes...

Going to sleep.  All I can figure out is that you do not want to miss anything but oh my Lordy you are giving us such a hard time about falling asleep. Once you fall asleep though generally you sleep great.   Also, you hate to get dressed and have your diaper changed.  We try to offer you many different distractions with toys or songs but I have just realized that the quicker I get it over with better for all of us!  

Your stats...

Well I am not sure how much you weigh but I would guess you have to be around 19 pounds.  I know you weigh enough that I can hardly carry you in the car seat carrier anymore;)  You are sporting 6 to 12 months clothes and still in size 3 diapers.  You take four or five 4 ounce bottles a day and eat three meals a day.  We have started a later afternoon snack because you seemed to need a little something more before dinner but don't ever want a bottle.  You are also working on using a sippy cup, but not all that crazy about it other than being a good grocery store distractor.

Watching your brother march in your first Memorial Day parade

You have developed quite the little personality and love to share it.  You are silly, but quite an observer of the world.  You are fiesty, yet will go with the flow just when our lives get crazy.  Your shy with people you don't know.  You have a lot to tell the world with your babbling, booms, raspberries, and constant coos. As Daddy and I both said you really are just amazing.  We feel incredibly lucky that God chose us to be your parents.  

Completely stealing our hearts

Tomorrow is Mommy last day of class and I cannot tell you how excited I am to soak in every single day of the next month before you are a year old .  To say that you have completed our family is an understatement Boom Boom -  We Love You!

Summer bucket list

It is hard to believe that tomorrow is Reece's last day of school.  The school year has flown by and while I feel completely unprepared to embark on summer vacation with two boys, we have decided that making a summer bucket list would be a great way to help us.

So while we are still working on adding all the details here is what we have come up with so far:

• find a penpal to write to
• play putt putt golf
• learn to wakeboard
• have a lemonade stand
• go camping for at least one night
• attend a summer concert at the Zoo
• learn to paddle board (Mommy's)
• play at the beach
• go to the movies
• go to a fair or summer festival
• go to a Tigers game
• read a few new chapter books
• take a trip to Rainbow Lake in the Adirondack Mountains

Of course we can not leave out having several playdate with friends, eating smores by the bonfire, and many bike and boat rides, soccer matches, and baseball games.  Even if we accomplish none of these my greatest hope is that it is summer filled with laughter, lots of sun, and memories for us to share at bed time for a long time to come.  Well we better get busy because there is certainly one six in a half year old who will hold me to HIS MUSTS!!

Celebrating 10 Months of Graham

Double digits!!

I know we say this every month but holy cow 10 months old, how did this happen?

Graham, you make waking up every day so much better.  The minute we lock eyes, you are excited, kicking, smiling and blowing raspberries.  After a quick head butt of a hug, your ready to take on the day.  While you are not yet crawling you certainly have little problem getting around whether spinning on your bum or slowly and meticulously scouting to what you want.  You have also discovered the world of pulling to a stand and tonight you figured out how to go from a lay down to a sit.  Needless to say you are very proud of your new skills.  

You have had a very busy month.  You flew for the first time.  You visited Florida and the ocean for the first time.  And while we had a great time, you spent the last half of vacation pretty sick:(  But you still managed to really enjoy taking in all the sights, warmth, and even managed to see a few dolphins!

  You now weight 18 pounds and are a great eater.  Although I will say you much prefer to eat finger foods than anything we puree for you.  Graham, you love food and will eat just about anything.  Although when we were in Florida we did quickly find out that you ARE NOT a fan of grits, at all!  Otherwise you don't discriminate.  You love fruits, veggies, yogurt, any meat, and LOVE pasta.  Your bottles are a struggle, but I think more just because you don't want to slow down taking in the world to actually sit and drink a bottle.

Graham you absolutely adore your Daddy and brother.  After not seeing them all day nothing brings a bigger smile to your face than when Daddy and Reece come home.  You love to watch Reece dance, play basketball, or simply just be in his presence.  10 months ago I had no idea who you would be but I certainly dreamt and hoped for the moments I am able to watch you light about or talk with Reece.  It is so much better than I could have ever imagined, you adore him and he adores you, my heart explodes every time!!

Your a pretty happy and busy little guy and only really complain when you are tired, hungry OR on the boat.  YIKES, this is certainly going to be something we need to figure out.  Other than the boat, you love to be outside.  You love to be sung and talked to, and then sing and talk back to us.  You love to pull up to a stand.  You are quite the observer and really enjoy just checking out the world.  You are becoming quite silly and love to laugh when you and Daddy chase Reece or Presley around the house, or we find one of your ticklish spots.  

I had no idea how you would so complete our family 10 months ago.  We love you so much and look forward to watching you continue to grow!!

Being Mom

It's been a while since I have posted and while I have so many reasons, I spend tonight reflecting upon this amazing opportunity to be a Mom.  Anyone who has had the opportunity to be a Mom, Mommy, Mother or even to love a child know the conflict between protection, love, support, and growth.

 As a Mom I want to see my boys succeed and struggle when they struggle.  There lies my problem.  Reece is a great student, his teacher tells me often how easily he picks up on things.  His strongest area is math by far, and he is constantly surprising Gregg and I , not only with his ability but with his desire to continue stretching and challenging his knowledge in math.

With that said writing and reading are the complete opposite.  Yet I find myself succumbing to"Mom I'm too tired to read tonight" or "Daddy is going to just read one of my chapter books tonight!"  This is clearly one of his tricks in his "backpack" to avoid working through something which he struggles with.  Ugh, I know full well in my heart that while reading and writing are not his strong suits the more I allow him to not practice every night, the more he will struggle.  I know full well that it is my job as a parent to help provide my boys with the resources to ease their struggles.  Furthermore, I am a soon to be teacher specializing in language arts with many tricks in my own "backpack" which help struggling readers.  Shoot, we have read books to Reece every night since the day he was born.  I get it, I understand the importance of literacy and here I have a child who not only struggles with it but also doesn't enjoy either. 

While after school usually consist of little free time and rushing to get the boys dinner, baths, and bed time, Gregg and I made a concerted effort that we would tackle this together and as soon as Reece gets home from school he writes a few sentences in his journal, and completes his homework, including his 15 - 20 minutes of nightly reading.  Well here it is May and the journal hasn't been touched in easily a month and we find ourselves letting Reece read a shortened amount before bed when he's exhausted.

So I began this post Mother's Day night thinking wow I am really failing in my efforts, but now two days later I ease up a bit and realize that life happens.  Sure we are busy, but that is really just an excuse to not pushing through.  As a teacher I know that the long term struggle is fair greater than the small tugging which Reece is clearly capable of working through now.  It is my job as his mom to continuously help and encourage him not only with his strengths but more importantly with his struggles!!  Raising children is no easy task and I find myself constantly needing to remember to turn off the cruise control and refocus.  This is certainly one of those times!

Graham is 9 months old!

Graham,

Our little man is becoming a bigger guy with an even bigger personality.

It seems like this path month you have grown so much and are really changing.  You want EVERYTHING everyone else has.  Whether it is your brothers basketball, mommy's bagel or cell phone, or daddy's face, you want it and get upset when you can't have it!  

My favorite time of the day - giving you your last bottle just the two of us, when I could snuggle you with no resistance for hours!!

Graham you have become so social and love to be a part of any and all activity going on.  So much so that you are giving us such a hard time about napping.  This past week you have been waking p at 5 am ready to take on the world.  OM you have us exhausted!!  While I have tried to let you know how great rest is, seems like your not having it right now.  I am certain this needs to be a temporary phase!!

Showing us your personality hasn't stopped with when you want to eat.  While you take your bottle great first thing in the morning and at night, during the day it is a struggle at best.  I am thinking maybe we should try a sippy cup.  You love your food and are eating more and more finger foods.  There are very few things we have found that you won't eat.  You shovel in the finger foods we have introduced - peas, cheese, turkey, chicken, strawberries, watermelon, cheerios, and pancakes.  You love yogurt and still do great with anything pureed from sweet potatoes, butternut squash, broccoli, mangos, apples, pears, bananas, even papaya.  You are a great eater!

Graham, you love to be sung to.  A few of your favorite songs seem to be the Wheels on the Bus, the Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Old MacDonald.  Singing to you brings the biggest smile and giggles!  You love to play peek-a-boo, and have figured out how to do it yourself!  You still love bath time especially splashing or feeling the water come out of the facet.  You could sit and play in the bath for hours. OM goodness you love Pressley.  She is going to be in trouble when you start to crawl because you watch her go everywhere.  Anytime she gets in your proximity, you are reaching for her and tryin to talk her closer.  

We have figured out that you are ticklish, under your arms and the side of your ribs.  You laugh so loud when we "get you", I can't get enough!!  

What you don't like?  Well you still don't like to get dressed or have your clothes changed.  And you DO NOT like to be told no or that you cannot have something when you want it!  You have no problem letting us know your disagreement.  

You have developed quite a feisty personality.  Sometimes you break out into full crying/yelling  kicking or arching your back but often times you begin with blowing raspberries louder and louder until you know you have been heard.  I am certainly that you going to give us a run for our money Graham!   

At the same time you are really showing your excitement and happiness, and talking so much more.  When I come to pick you up from day care and you squeal because you are excited to see us or when I take you for a run, or seeing Daddy or your brother, or putting you in your highchair to eat, or setting down a toy you love to play with, your happiness is contagious!  

I am not exactly sure on your weight but I would guess between 18 and 19 pounds.  You are still wearing size three diapers and sporting 6 to 12 month clothes.  Your hair is really growing, except for the straight line bald spot in the back.  We love the way it sticks up on the top especially after a bath.  Reece says you have a mohawk:)!

While each stage has its challenges, we cannot get enough of watching you grow and change!  You are such a blessing to our family and love you so much!! 

Dear God,

 Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Ephesians 6:16

Like so many I was shocked and horrified to watch the news of the Boston Marathon bombing yesterday.  Having run a marathon, having been a spectator at the finish line hoping to spot my family I can identify with jubilation, joy, and celebration which should be taking place.  As a mother, a sister, a wife, a human my heart is aching for the people affected by yesterday tragedy! It seems to senseless to me, but as I try to make sense of this world in which we live, I pray for Boston, the individuals, and families affected by this tragedy!

Graham is 36 weeks!

So I have been neglecting Graham's weekly updates for no good reason other than being busy and life passing us by too quickly....

It is so hard to believe that Graham is already 36 weeks old.  I am definitely trying to soak in this time and enjoy each stage.  Gregg and I find ourselves saying how much fun Graham is right now.  He is so responsive especially when I get home after a long day away or going in to get him in the morning or after a nap.  He is reaching out to be picked up with a huge smile, kicking his legs and then leans right in to give me a head butt ( or hug!!)

First time in a swing, and HE LOVED IT!!

Sleep:  We have had some set backs lately (thinking maybe a growth spurt) but these past several days he is back on track with a late night feeding (10ish) and then he sleeps until 6 am when we make a quick trip in to give him his binki and he falls right back asleep until 7 am ish.  Gosh, I love the extra hour!!  We have also started playing the IPad with classical music instead of the "hideous music" on his sound machine.  Gregg says maybe he was as sick of hearing it as we were.  So we are sticking with it because it seems to be working for now!

Food: Graham is eating like a champ.  He still loves his pureed fruits and veggies but is also experimenting with some finger food, everything from fish to pancakes. He devours three meals a day.   I still nurse him in the morning but have been also having to give him a bottle of formula afterwards:(  Otherwise Graham has 4 - 5 formula bottles the rest of the day.  

Milestones:  Graham is FINALLY rolling over both ways!!  He also celebrated his first Easter which was a lot of fun.

" I need to taste this Easter bag first Mommy"

Likes:  The weather has finally been warming up enough to get back outside and Graham loves it!  He is so content when in the fresh air.  Graham loves to put everything in his mouth from his toes, to my hair.  If he wants our attention he turns our face right to his and tries to get anything into his mouth!  Graham still loves bath time but is also really starting to enjoy playing with his toys, including getting and keeping his big brother attention.   Graham also loves to be a part of the mix of things.  He has become a pretty serious little man, saving his smiles for special occasions, but is so content watching everything and everyone, especially Pressley - our dog.  

Graham and his best buddy Malone!

My favorite time of the day is after he takes his late bottle and is sound asleep in my arms.  I snuggle him, brushing his sweet cheeks and hair, trying to treasure the moment and relish in how blessed I feel to be this little man's Momma!

XOXO