My little man!!

I woke up this morning looking at my little guy and realized that he is the exact age that Lila was when he was born. I just can't believe it. Lila seemed like such a big girl at the time, and Graham still seems like such my little baby! Maybe it is because he isn't walking. Yes, he is almost 16 months old and isn't walking yet. Hey, don't judge me! It is not that he can't, he just won't. As I have mentioned before, this boy is both lazy and stubborn and only does things in his own time. He has been pulling up on things and walking around them for months. He even stands up in the middle of the room by himself. He just really likes to be held, and yes, I do it! And boy, can this little guy crawl. As did his sister, he crawls with some major force. When he sees something he wants, he goes as fast as he can to it. Poor thing has bruises all over his shins and callused knees.
Graham is almost 16 months old and each day develops more and more personality.
Here are Some things he LOVES:
-Trains, trucks, cars. He says his version of vroom vroom. He makes anything into a car, including a piece of bread or puzzle piece. He zooms it back and forth. Boys will be boys!
-Balls and balloons: He crawls after them as fast as he can and when he throws them he puts both hands all the way behind his head onto his neck and then throws it.
-Going down the slide. We moved his birthday gift to the bonus room and this provides lots of entertainment for him and his sister. He likes to go down on his belly the best. When we went to our church's playdate to Jumpzone I made the mistake of taking him down one of the slides soon after we arrived. The boy wore me out! He would try to climb up as far as he could and then stand there and pitch a fit until I finally would give in and take him down. Needless to say, I was dripping in sweat when we left. (On a side note: Lila found a little blonde hair, blue eyed boy friend who taught her how to go down the slide backwards, forwards, and every which way. Although it is against the rules, she was having the time of her life! Unfortunately, she seems to be a little too easily influenced sometimes! She was fearless though and also had a great time. I just knew that they would take they longest nap ever after playing so hard....nope!)
-G also likes to sing and dance. His favorites songs are itsy bitsy spider and the wheels on the bus. He likes the "Shhh Shh Shh" part. He shakes his little shoulders back and forth when he dances and while he is excited about waiting on something...usually it is food.
-Speaking of, that is something else he loves...FOOD! Anything that is on our plates, he wants. He eat likes a champ and is constantly signing more and making that grunting noise he does that gets him what he wants. He is never going to learn to talk, but he does say several more words now. His favorite is...MILK! He is also so sweet that when he sees Lila's cup, he will hand it to her. He also calls both my mom and dad, Pop, for PopPop. He still calls me daddy for the most part, but says my name when he really wants something.
Putting things in and taking them back out is a hobby of his right now. If he can't do it, then he will hand it to us to help him. If we are working puzzles, he takes the pieces and hands them to us as if to help. He loves to stand on his step stool and brush his "tee" (teeth). Who knew that a stepstool could provide so much entertainment.



Another source of entertainment is our new piece of workout equipment. I am certain someone is going to get hurt soon.



-Climbing stairs and boy is he fast. He hasn't quite figure out how to get down though. He has just recently figured out how to get off the step stool and how to slide off the side of the bed.
At his 15 month check up he weighed 24 pounds and was 33 1/2 inches long...tall boy!
He also has 3, yes 3 molars already!! He is cutting his other one too. He barely has his top 4 and bottom 4 teeth, so I was surprised when I see this big white thing in the back of his mouth. The other two followed quickly.
Graham cut out his morning nap a long time ago...WAY sooner than I wanted, but it does make it easier some days to get things done or to go places. However, he doesn't make up for his missed nap in the afternoon. I don't know what it is about my children not being good nappers, but that ONE hour a day is just not enough time to get anything done.
-He loves to use a marker and write on the art easel or use chalk on the chalkboard.

Some of my favorite things that Graham does:
Whenever we are talking about getting ready for bed, he starts smacking his lips as if to give kisses.
When we say, "Let's Pray" he clasps his hands together in preparation...so sweet.
He loves Chloe and always goes over to pat on her and lay his head on her.
He still gives the best hugs...they just don't last too long! :)
He grins at me through his paci and has this look he gives when he gets what he wants...after pitching a royal fit of course! BOY, can this boy throw one!

Oh, my sweet sweet Graham boy! We love you buddy.

Happy Birthday to ME!!

Yes, I am 32! Wow..that sounds like I am IN my 30's. A little scary to think about.
I had a great week! My wonderful husband came home and stayed with the kids for 3 different nights while I went out for the evening. Monday night was bible study,(but I still totally count that as a night out), Tuesday night, (my acual birthday) was family night out, Wednesday I went to dinner and a movie with some girlfriends. Dinner was kind of a disaster because they chose to give us the trainer, but the movie was hilarious! I went back out to dinner on Friday night to celebrate another friends birthday. And then Saturday was date night with Michael! We went to Virago's and to a movie. Not too exciting, I know, but it was nice to just be together! I did spend a lot of my week, including my birthday at the Dr's. office with sick kids, but at least I got a break from dinner and baths! :)Oh, the things that make us happy these days.
Here are some pictures from my big week!








And here I am at 18 weeks, 2 days. I actually got asked tonight by someone if I was having twins. I think her exact words were, "Are they sure it is just one, because you are a lot bigger than I am." This was coming from someone who is also 18 weeks and is pregnant with her 3rd child too. Her 2nd child is only 8 months, so they are going to be close together. I at least made it to 27ish weeks with Graham before I started getting the twins questions.

Mina's Birthday

UPDATE:
Lila has now assigned a friend to Graham. Her name is Heidi and she is two. She also has green hair like Mina. Also, it looks like Mina's birthday party is everyday. We sing Happy Birthday to her and Lila makes her a cake out of whatever she can find. Usually it is a coaster or her little people camper. Hey Mina, that camper was MY birthday cake! :)
Apparently today is Mina's birthday. At first Lila told me she was 3 and then just said, "No, she's just two. I'm silly!" Lila told me that after her nap we were going to Mina's birthday party. When I asked her what kind of party Mina was having she said, "A Princess Party, like me."
Oh great...I guess we have a princess party in our future! :)

G's 15 minutes!

So, Big G had his first chance at fifteen minutes of fame this morning and he gave us this:


Yep, this was his facial expression for the whole Kindermusik performance. I would post video of him, but its not much to look at. What you will see is a silly mommy doing silly things just to get a grin out of her adorable little boy. I could make excuses and say he was tired or that we have missed several classes so he wasn't use to it, but honestly my children just have this thing about checking out everything around them. Both of my kids came out of the womb...no, they were IN the womb with this look on their face:

I truly believe he was having a good time, he just had to take it all in first. This was proven by him showing his temper when we had to give back the bells and when Michael took the ball from him. This was pretty much Lila's look on her face too as she was taking it all end. She would get excited when we would come by in our circle and give us a wave and then it was back to the eyebrow furrow. She did get to go out and do one number with daddy and brother.

I am still very proud of my little man! However, I think we will try gymnastics next!

Mina

Let me start by saying that I literally have like 6 posts written waiting to be posted once I finally get a chance to go through pictures to add to them. So please check back...I did not forget about Christmas and the new year. In the meantime, I have a post that doesn't require pictures and if I don't post something soon I will never get caught up.

Today my friends, a "very good friend" of Lila's came over to our house. Her name is Mina. I guess that is how you spell it. She pronounces it Mean-a.
Mina has Green hair and wears a pretty pink dress with butterflies. Her coat is green "like Kaley's" (our friend in Alaska).
Mina drew a smiley face on our chalkboard, and slid down the slide. We took Mina on a ride in the storage tub, and we worked puzzles with her. She even had lunch with us. As I read books at lunch time Lila asked me to make sure that Mina could see the book. On book #2 she said to me, "Can Mina see?" After lunch Mina went poopy in the potty and Lila was sure to cheer loudly for her and tell her what a great job she did. Mina also took a nap in Lila's room. I secretly thought when Lila woke up from her nap that Mina would be forgotten. I was wrong. The first words out of her mouth were something about Mina taking a nap and waking up. We had to get ready to take Graham to the Dr. and of course Mina had to ride with us. I asked Lila in the car where Mina was. She told me as if I should have known that Mina was beside her.
I am not sure what to make of this imaginary friend. Should I be concerned, should I ignore it, should I encourage it? I did not have an imaginary friend, so I am not sure what to make of it. Lila has always had a great imagination, which I love. She carries on all kinds of conversations on her phone. She plays music on it and takes pictures with it. She cooks dinners for us and takes our temperature and gives us medicine and listens to our heart. My favorite part of her playing Doctor is that she gets her princess laptop and carries it around and makes sure she logs our information in. It sounds like Fisher Price needs to update their kit to include a laptop! :)
She takes the bumper pads from the crib and uses them as napmats and beach chairs. I love seeing what she is going to come up with next. So, tell me...good thing or bad having Mina around. When Lila said to me, "Mina is a VERY good friend" I thought that maybe its not such a bad thing to have her around.....

Cuteness

Just because, I think they are super cute.



These two are so great together. They love each other dearly...most of the time anyway! :)
When Graham wakes up from his nap, if he is not crying, he is usually yelling for her instead of me. He gets up before her in the mornings and when she wakes up, he is quick to get to her room. He will kindly hand her her milk cup when he finds it. Many times she thinks he is trying to get it, so I have to remind her he is being nice.
Lila always goes straight to him when she awakes. I love when she says, "Good morning buddy." She talks often about "her brother." She gives him LOTS of pats. Some gentle and some not so much. She loves to get his belly and his bum and to kiss his hand. Many times he is fussing about this and doesn't want her to touch him, but other times he giggles at her. We brought our outdoor slide in and it has provided lots of entertainment. The love to slide down together and stand on the top together. Lila likes to do something called. "Shake your booty." They stand on it back to back and Lila shakes her booty against Graham's. She then does "Clap your booty" where she tries clapping with, yes you guessed it... their booties. Our new elliptical has also become a source of entertainment.


I hear too many times throughout the day, "NOOOO Graham, that is MINE!" or "No whining Graham, no whining" or "You do NOT throw that Graham" or "Oh you're pitiful Graham." But then I hear sweet things such as "Hear ya go Buddy" and "I love you Graham" and "You are going to fall Graham." Lila definitely tries to mother him and tells him what to do, but secretly I think he loves it!
Most of these moments were captured with my cell phone so they are not the best, but still Oh SO SWEET!

We are the Champions!!!

Undefeated 2009 National Champions!! And yes, I love this man!!! To Michael's dislike, I am training them well:

Twas the Night Before Christmas....

and..... everything is different. Yet different in a bittersweet way. Different in a sad way, yet different in a good way...in a way that is the best for my family. Although it has taken me years to be comfortable with the idea,(Michael has been trying to get me to do it for years) I am now actually really excited about it. See, this is the first time in my almost 32 years of life that I have not spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at my parents house. Although I will be super sad to not be with my parents, siblings, and nieces and nephew, I am still thankful that I do get to see them and spend time with them. I am finally understanding that it is not about the actual day that the holiday is celebrated, but that it is about the fact that we get to be together no matter the date. I will be honest...this is the first time in a long time that I am a little giddy about Christmas. I get to spend it here in my home with my husband and children. I get to relish in the joy of Christmas morn on my children's faces. This is the year for our family to begin many new traditions, and I couldnt be more excited!
What a great Christmas Season we are having! Christmas Eve was super fun, as daddy got up and made us pancakes and we spent the day playing. We then met up with some great friends whose church does a beautiful candle light service. This service has always been one of my favorite things when we are visiting our parents, so I was excited to find one here since our church doesn't do one.

Dinner was in the crock pot and the house was clean so we could sit and enjoy our evening together. We did have a few meltdowns, but that is to be expected!


We made MORE cookies for Santa! Let's hope Santa LOVES sprinkles because Lila sure loaded him up! No doubt he will be on a sugar high when he leaves our house. I am sure that he will definitely make it to all the houses now. :)




We snapped a few pictures in our dress-up clothes. Again, G wanted to be held and wasn't into getting his picture made with his sister.









We can't forget to include #3 in our pictures either. Here I am at almost 15 weeks.

WOW! This pregnancy has FLOWN by. We also made and put out some reindeer food for rudolph and his crew.
We then called Grandmother and had her read Twas the Night Before Christmas on speaker phone. Her and Aunt Karen amazingly know most of this by heart. IT IS A LONG POEM!! I think Karen had to memorize it in her 8th grade English class. Quite impressive I must say. We then gathered in the living room and sang a few Christmas carols while I pecked them out on the piano. We then read the TRUE christmas story from Luke 2.

The kids and I have actually read this quite often over the past month and we have been sure to talk about the reason for the season. I struggled with whether or not to "do Santa", but decided that as long as we always talk about the birth of our Savior, our children will know what Christmas is really about. As noted in a previous post, some of Lila and Graham's favorite play items have been baby Jesus from our nativity's. Lila even put a dish towel from the kitchen over her head and looked at me and said, "I look like Mary, Mommy." She also exclaimed when we were driving up the road and she saw a horse who had it's "coat" on, "That is what Mary rode." I guess several of her books have Mary riding a donkey with a blanket over it's back. She knows every word to Christmas Carols I didn't even know existed. I must say I am quite impressed with her lyrics to Joy to the World and Hark the Harold Angles sing. They are not easy songs and she does them quite well. My only fear is that we will never be able to sing normal songs again. I have a feeling that these are now in our song line-up for the whole year!:) We had a very fun, quality time evening together. I wish every day was like this!
Now....the cookies and letter are set out so it is time for Mr. and Mrs. Claus to get to work!

Santa, we've been looking for you!

We decided to venture up to Opry Mills/Opryland to finish up some shopping and see the lights spectacular. We did this last year and had lots of fun. Ok, more like a little fun. I spent most of the night in a chair at a spinning resturant nursing Graham, while Michael took Lila around. Still, it was a first for our family and a tradition I think we will keep.










This year, I was kicking myself that I STILL had shopping, especially since I started before Thanksgiving. To give ourselves a shopping break we thought we would take the kids over to the Bass Pro Shop and let them see Santa.
A few weeks prior, daddy's friend from work put in a special phone call to his elf friend and asked Santa stop by while he was out collecting letters before Christmas.
Here he is reading Lila and Graham's letter.

Yes, Santa came to Mason's house! Both Lila and Graham were not so sure about this. Lila did end up giving him a pound when he arrived and a hug when he left. She did not, however want to sit on his lap. Surprisingly, neither did Graham. They both clung to their daddy like no other. Even after mommy took a turn on Santa's lap, they still didn't want to.



He even bribed them with some candy canes and gummy life-savors, but it didn't work. (Although everytime Lila sees them she is sure to say that that is what Santa gave her.)

This actually helped me make up my mind that I would not stand in line for hours to see Santa to only have them not participate. However, since we there and the line wasn't too long, we thought we would give it a shot. Well, soon before it was our turn, Santa had to take a break to go check on his reindeer. Boo! I guess we do want to make sure they are feeling ok. :) Anyway, we went back by after a little more shopping and the line was even longer. I had come to terms with the fact that I would not be getting official Santa pictures, so I was ok with that. We went to grab some dinner before heading over to see the lights. While we were at dinner, Lila kept asking where Santa was and even told me she wanted to sit on his lap. Michael and I looked at each other with that, "Yeah right, not in a million years" look. However, after dinner we went out of the food court and Lo and Behold, guess who was there with not a soul in line?!?! SANTA! After riding the "up and down horsey" I asked Lila is she wanted to go over and see Santa.





When I pointed him out, she took off running saying the words this post is titled..."Santa, we've been looking for you." She sprinted up to the ropes and tried to climb under them. We eventually led her in the right direction around to see him. Hearing those words and watching her run up to Santa to give him a hug made the whole trip worth it! It totally melted my heart. I think she blurted out she wanted a Dora Backpack and babydoll before she made it to his lap. I am not sure he even heard her, but he gave her a big blue sucker anyway, which I am quite positive was her favorite part of the whole experience.

Even Graham sat on Santa's lap without crying, but by golly he sure was checking him out. Although for some reason, I did not get a picture of either one of them smiling, they were happy and I, well, I was standing there with my mouth wide open in disbelief. Yet I too, was very very happy!