Graham''s First Haircut

On Saturday morning we took Graham to cool cuts 4 kids for his first haircut. Let me tell you - he did not appreciate it! I could have easily cut it myself, but my good friend Cassie Nickle told me that at this place they give you a cool certificate when your child gets their first haircut, and I couldn't resist getting one for Graham's baby book! I highly recommend cool cuts, they did a great job! Although they are a little pricey, I think it was worth it for a great 1st haircut.

Here's a couple of "before" pictures:

As soon as we put him in the cool race car he was to sit in, he started crying and didn't stop until it was all over.

The "after" picture:

Doesn't he look so handsome? After his haircut he unfortunately had a nasty fall and got upset all over again. We decided to take him to McDonald's for his first happy meal as a treat. Perhaps he didn't feel well after his fall, but he wouldn't eat any of it! We did, however, get a really cute picture:

Hopefully his next haircut won't be so traumatic! Now that his soft baby curls are gone, he looks a lot less like a baby and a lot more like a big boy. I'm a little sad, but really I think he looks adorable!

Graham Update

Today was my first time to shower/get ready while taking care of Graham by myself (since he dropped his morning nap). I gave him some toys and shut him up in the bathroom with me. Considering that Graham dumping a box of q-tips into his lego box was the worst that happened - I'd call it a success! Anyone have any good advice for accomplishing this??

Cleaning up messes like that have become an all day, every day job for this mom. A job that I am happy to do! I know that it is normal and healthy for Graham to be curious and explore (in a safe way, of course). And so he is constantly rummaging through out cabinets and drawers. It's his favorite thing to do. Well that, and climbing! The ever-present bruises on his legs and head and are a testimony to how much this boy loves to climb on everything. He can climb onto our chairs and couch, and he knows how to get down too! He is really getting the hang of this whole walking thing. We are so proud! He still relies a lot on crawling to get where he wants to go, but more and more he is stepping out and taking several unsteady steps. And tonight, for the first time, he got from sitting to standing without pulling up on anything - what a big boy!

Sad news! We have decided that it's time....for Graham's first haircut. =( His little curls are sweet, but they are starting to look a bit scraggely. So we'll be taking care of that this weekend.

That's all I can think of right now...hope you enjoyed the update on our favorite boy!

Better Late Than Never!

Yesterday afternoon Graham started walking! The day after our doctor's appointment, of course! We are so proud of him.

15 months

Today we had Graham's 15 month appointment. He is now 34.25 inches tall (above 95th percentile) and weighs 27 lbs 4 oz (85th percentile). That's the good news. The bad news is that since Graham is not walking or talking yet (he still hasn't said any words) the doctor wants to have him evaluated by ECI (early childhood intervention). This certainly wasn't the news that we wanted to hear, but we are willing to do anything we need to do for Graham.

On a happier note: Chad has found a job! He starts on Monday the 25th. We are thrilled! I hope that I can still manage to be a stay-at-home mom on my own...I have been spoiled rotten by having Chad around to help me with various things during the day. It will be another adjustment for both of us, but we are looking forward to things getting back to "normal."

Summer Vacation 2011

Last night we returned home from a week long vacation on St. Simon's Island, GA. Chad's parents own a vacation home there and have generously allowed us to come every year! We DROVE in 2 cars with my parents, my 2 brothers, and my brother's friend Tess. I loved getting to spend so much time with her and getting to know her! OK, so we left on Thursday the 7th at around 6 pm. That night we made it to Jackson, MS where we stayed the night (well, we stayed a few hours at least). It was a hard night for me because the hotel did not have a crib for us like we thought it would, so Graham had to sleep in the bed with my mom and I. Now, I have never allowed Graham to sleep in our bed at home, so he really had a hard time. We got about 2 hours of sleep! The next day we drove about 10 hours and made it in time to eat pizza from C.J.'s, our favorite place for pizza on the island.

The days we spent at the condo kind of run together in my mind, so I will summarize some of the fun things we did. During the day, most of us would go walking on the beach, bike riding (we brought our bikes), swimming in the pool and ocean, sailing, and paddle-boarding. We rented paddle-boards for 2 days. It was challenging but really fun! Chad and I had an especially fun time this year because Graham was old enough to really enjoy the pool and beach. And he took 4 steps one day! At night we took turns cooking fabulous meals or going out to eat at our favorite restaurants like Barbara Jean's and Gnat's Landing. After dinner we played games - my favorite! My brother Jon brought the video game Rockband and we all had a blast singing, drumming, and guitaring together. I loved it! And of course, we played my favorite game of all time - peanut (AKA nertz). We also had an incredible birthday dinner for me (yes, I turned 28!) at Bonefish the night before we left.

We left to come home on Friday morning the 15th. As we were packing up, a big thunderstorm came and the power went out. Convenient! We all got soaked as we got our car packed up to head home. I was really sad to leave, we had had so much fun! That night, when we were about an hour from Jackson (where we planned to stop again) Graham threw up for the very first time...all over his car seat! What a mess. We couldn't get it properly cleaned up on the road, so his car seat reeked for the entire rest of the trip. And let me just add that keeping a 15 month old entertained on a 17 hour car trip is no easy feet, especially when your child refuses to sleep in the car! But we made it and we're now back at home working on laundry and unpacking. Hope you enjoy our vacation photos.

Graham loves his daddy!

We had a blast bike riding with Graham around the island!

Graham loves to get in things. =)

Graham's grandmother was nice enough to provide some toys for him to play with. He loved them!

This is the group that went sailing getting ready to go.

I got Graham laughing so hard one night at a restaurant. He thinks everything I do is so funny!

He loved the beach!

Graham and Grandpa.

Family photos at my birthday dinner. It was delish!