Six Weeks Old

Graham is six weeks old - actually a few days older. The past week has been really good - and really busy. I find that the pace of life these days is "quick". Quickly go to the store while Graham is asleep. Quickly get Graham's bottle warm to feed him. Shower quickly. Work out quickly. Fold laundry quickly. Get to bed quickly - and early. Whew! Our girls have adapted very well to having Graham in the house and have settled back into their normal routine. And, Graham is doing great - smiling so much these days! We're getting more sleep which makes us feel a bit more human. (Let me be clear - we're still tired...we have two states these days - tired and really tired.) Graham sleeps from about 10PM to 3AM. After he eats, he sleeps again until about 7AM.

This past week Kyle had a business trip to Orlando, so Graham and I stayed with my parents for a few days. I honestly don't know what I would have done by myself. Molly went on vacation to the kennel, and Kona joined me at Papa and Gigi's house. Papa and Gigi were unbelievable! They just adore Graham, and it ended up being a really special time. Graham also went to BB and Buddy's (Brenda and Verne) Christmas open house. His grandparents just adore him - which is particularly dear for Kyle and me to experience.

We're excited to have Graham for Christmas this year - it makes Christmas that much sweeter to have him with us!

Our girls love getting new toys. They even play together sometimes!

In our newly renovated playroom - the girls have claimed the couch. (Graham will eventually claim this room, I'm sure...one of the walls is a chalkboard wall. He will legitimately be able to write on the wall and not get in trouble!)

Now you might think after these three pictures that we live at a zoo, but I promise we'll get to Graham very soon. We do have quite a few animals in our yard (in addition to Molly and Kona). Yesterday Molly caught her second squirrel. (How I wish she would catch the moles that ruin my flower beds...) And, today Kyle found this little guy in one of our trees! The owl is about 8 inches tall - so not that big. But how cute!)

Graham doing what he does best.

Why in the world did my parents put me in this stupid swing...

Graham must have thought his mom took a curve too quickly in the car...hold on tight!

Molly longing for summer and us to open the pool. (I long for summer, too Molly!)

Graham - Five Weeks Old Yesterday

Graham hit the five week mark yesterday! He got his social security card in the past week, he's been to Target three times, he might be going through another growth spurt right now, He enjoys going to lunch with Papa and his mom, he went to Gigi and Papa's Christmas party this past week, and he's going to BB and Buddy's Christmas party next week. He's met so many people that have been praying for him ever since he was 30 weeks along in my womb. It's been humbling to chat with people that barely know our little family but because of their love for my parents and Kyle's mom and step dad, they've been praying for Graham for many months. That's been powerful. (I have no idea why this entry is underlined, and I can't seem to figure out how to reverse it. Ah technology.) This past Thursday, Graham's late night get togethers finally made me go completely loony. So, Gigi spent the day with Graham while Graham's Papa and I went to lunch and did some Christmas shopping. That afternoon I took my first nap. (I'm terrible at napping.) The next morning I was back to normal. When Graham woke up, I told him I was the crazy girl from the day before. He didn't seem to mind.

All right - so I'm interested to see who you think Graham looks like. Weigh in! Kyle, Brenda, and I think he looks just like me. Everyone else thinks he looks like Kyle. Let's tally the votes!

We take lots of walks, and Graham is always bundled up - in fact he's usually a bit too warm by the time we get home. He has this snuggly "sleeping bag" type thing that attaches to his car seat.

If someone could figure out how to keep a pacifier in an infant's mouth, he/ she would be a millionaire.

Trying Our Hand At Christmas Pictures...

Every Christmas we get this great idea to send a family picture with our Christmas cards. And every year it's traumatic to try to get the picture just right. The perfect Christmas picture always seems just out of our grasp. We thought this year it would be cute to put Graham in a stocking. Guess we should have run it by Graham first. We found our stockings to be rather snug on him. And, I guess he didn't appreciate the "sausage" type fit. While I'm at it, I thought I would put in some of our attempts at a Christmas picture from last year. (Recap - this time last year Molly had been part of our family for about a month and was still rather unpredictable. Actually who am I kidding - she's still unpredictable! Last year she was not at all interested in the camera but instead completely mesmerized by the puff ball on the end of Kyle's hat.) Hope you enjoy our rejected Christmas pictures! Maybe we should have tried a complete family Christmas picture with both our girls and our little boy in stockings...

New pictures of Graham

Graham will be 4 weeks old tomorrow! While it feels like time has been flying by, it also feels like Graham has been a part of our family forever. That might have something to do with the fact that Kyle and I have more waking time than ever before...although last night was a great night! Graham went to bed around 10:30 and woke up at 3:30 and 7:30.

One of our greatest blessings is living just down the street from two sets of grandparents. Kyle's mom and step dad (BB and Buddy) live about 10 minutes away, and my parents (Papa and Gigi) live about a half mile away. They have all been so gracious to babysit - they even thank us for letting them babysit!! My grandmother was our baby sitter the evening after Thanksigiving and tells us that she can come down to babysit anytime!

Something else that has been special during this time is to have Graham's Papa around so much. He retired on November 10th and has been available to take me and Graham out to lunch regularly! Papa and Gigi usually come by every day to see Graham, and we get to see BB and Buddy at least once a week. We're really excited for Graham to grow up with so much family around!

Our girls...

After a long evening of playing and keeping an eye on Graham, the dogs piled into our bed before going to their own beds. They were so zonked that Kona even put her head on Molly's bum to fall asleep. (Yes - Molly is that long. One of her names is string bean.)
Graham went outside to watch Molly and Kona play frisbee for the first time! They play in our next door neighbor's backyard, and Molly has a hard time giving up the frisbees when the game is over...

Old friends, new generations

Kyle and I were able to get together with three of my oldest friends over the Thanksgiving holiday! I wasn't so on the ball for one of our visits, though - I completely forgot to take pictures with my friend Cheryl. My friend, Cheryl (from high school), came to visit us with her two year old daughter, Cara. My friend Christy (we met the first weekend of college) and her husband, Brian, were in town with their new son, Kallen - the first picture. And, my friend Corrie (from high school) was in town with her husband Frank and their two girls Alaina and Amani. (second picture) I love these girls!!!

First Bath

Graham enjoyed his first bath!! (Truth be told, we assume we enjoyed the bath because he didn't cry...)