Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Well, we made it through our first 14 months as parents! I can't believe it's been that long! I remember the first few nights we had Graham at home, when Drew and I were both wondering how in the world we'd get through. I was recently in the attic packing away some of the clothes he's outgrown, and I couldn't help but open the "0-3 Months" box just for fun. I can't believe how little he was! I miss the teeny infant months, but I MUCH prefer where we are now. We are more comfortable as parents, and Graham clearly enjoys life more! Drew and I are entertained just to watch him walking around and playing with such purpose. He laughs, claps, dances, and will stop in his tracks for a good cartoon. He also loves books. The reading part is optional...he just likes to pull books off his shelf and bring them to us. No matter how much energy we put into reading a book, he'll usually bring another within seconds and insist we take it. The beach has already been a hit this year. Now that Graham can walk easily, it's so nice to be able to set him free (well, semi-free) to play in the water and sand. He's taken a few face-dips, but they haven't seemed to bother him at all. He's also been gearing up for group swim lessons at the neighborhood pool with his friend Madeleine. So far when they go to the pool together, they are content in the water, but really excited about the poolside picnic lunches. Graham eats like a champ now, and I can't believe there was a time when he couldn't keep textured foods down! It's convenient that we can just order a kids meal in restaurants (usually a grilled cheese, torn into pieces) if we don't have time to pack a meal for him. One new, not-so-good thing that's begun is tantruming. It's just a little hint of defiance, but it surprises me when he starts to stomp or hit. It's also pretty cute, but we can't let him know that! He understands he's done something wrong when we say "no," and he'll look at us and shake his head "no." Maybe his testing the limits will be our next challenge. For now, I think we're at a nice place. I think of it as a parenting plateau...where we feel comfortable and want to stay, but we know there will be a new mountain to climb soon! My plan is to end this blog here. There may be an occasional "PS" that I post from time to time though. Thanks for reading, and Graham thanks you for checking on him.

Baby In a Basket

Graham at Easter 2011 (almost 13 months old)
















Graham at Easter 2010 (only 6 days old!)

"Look, I found an egg!"

...Actually, he didn't. We went to an Easter Egg hunt at the beach and were two minutes late, so all the eggs were already picked up. A little girl (well...her grandmother) gave one egg to Graham. He had such a good time walking around in the baseball field holding his egg way up above his head. That weekend we discovered how much Graham enjoys playing outside, even if it's just walking in a field.

Party Pictures

Graham had a great 1st birthday! Even though we’d only been in our house a couple weeks, it still seemed important to have some people over to help celebrate his big day…even if we had to dodge moving boxes. We had family over on Saturday to spoil him with kisses, cake, and lots of attention. Great Grandpa and Grandma Hardison even drove down from Virginia to visit with him for the second time! On Sunday we had some friends over for playtime. Graham seemed to enjoy walking around visiting with everyone, but he was definitely a little reserved because of all the action. He impressed me though by (1) being pretty independent during the day and never getting upset, and (2) eating cake! If he had refused cake, I would have questioned whether he got any of my genes! Anyway, we all had a great weekend and really appreciate family and friends who made the birthday special.

Happy 1st Birthday, Graham!

The Move

Farewell Poets Glade...












...Hello Walden Creek Drive!

First Haircut

This past week, we've been in the process of moving into our new house. While Drew dealt with all the nitty gritty of that, Graham and I have been hanging out in Clinton with my parents. He started the week with his first haircut! We were going wait until he turned one, but since we were only a couple weeks shy of that birthday (and since his hair was ridiculously long), we went ahead and had it cut. It was nice to be in Clinton for this so a friend's mom could take on that huge challenge! Graham fidgeted and fussed almost every time she was ready to take a snip, but we got through it with a cute little hairdo -- not too short to look like a "grown-up boy", but not as disheveled as it used to be.

Here are some other things Graham has accomplished this week: ~ Refined his walk. He can now make it across the den. ~ Continued to point to things and say "Dah." Is he asking for us to name stuff? That's what we're doing, just in case his little brain is ready. ~ Learned to lick his lips and make weird sounds. Thanks to my dad for that. Ugh. ~ Tasted lots of new foods and drinks - yams, ham, mashed potatoes, grits, tea, and Frosty! So maybe these weren't off plates of nutritious, home-cooked food, but no need to pretend that we eat like that.