Weekend Staycation

THANK YOU so much to my Mom and Dad for keeping Graham this weekend!! And thank you also to my brother Jon and my Grandparents who were there and helped! Here is what life was a little bit like this weekend:

I put away toys and no one pulled them all back out.

I put the throw pillows on the couch and they stayed there.

I actually left the house in the afternoon, that hasn't happened in a while!

I slept in!

I went shopping by myself. No stroller.

Chad and I worked in the yard for hours. (beautiful weather!)

Chad and I went on a date out to eat and to the movies. We got popcorn and candy.

All in all, it was a fun, amazing, free weekend!!!

But then....on Sunday...I started to miss the living room being messy. I missed cutting up Graham's breakfast. I felt sad to see his room dark and empty. It had been fun....but I was so so glad to get back to my little buddy! I definitely needed a break and thoroughly enjoyed it, but I was happy to return to my normal life when it was over.

Rainy Saturday

This past weekend my brother Jon came to stay with us. We always enjoy having him. He was at a football conference all day Saturday (he's a coach). Saturday afternoon my dad was off of call so he came over to see us. My mom was busy all day Saturday with a choir she has joined so she didn't meet up with us until that night. Saturday was a very cold, wet, rainy day. So we were all pretty content to just stay home and visit all afternoon. Jon played guitar for us, which Graham loved - he sat down and listened intently. Then Graham had to try to play too! When my mom came we all went to eat at Macaroni Grill. Sunday morning as an extra bonus we got to have Jon with us at church. Even though we didn't do much, it was a pretty fun weekend!

Can it be??

That this little guy is turning 2 in less than 2 months???

New Words

Graham is so proud of his new words! He is gaining confidence each day. He is very comfortable with "Dada" and likes to label anything that reminds him of Chad with an excited "Dada!!" For example: his shoes, his gatorade bottles, his toothbrush, etc. Yesterday he learned to say "Daz" for Razz, our dog. Since then he's brought me Razz's bone and brush with an enthusiastic "Daz!" It thrills my heart to see him learning to speak! I am so infinitely thankful for Graham's speech therapist, who has taught both of us so much. Graham keeps surprising us with new words. Last week he saw a mattress commercial and said "bed." These little successes make each day special. He is also very enthusiastic about animal sounds. His favorite being the elephant. He makes elephant noises every hour of the day. I am so very, very proud of our boy!

Books....lately

I haven't really had anything new to read in a while, so I've done what I usually do and reread some of my old favorites. Most recently:

Persuasion has, in recent years, been my favorite of Jane Austen's novels. It's an under-appreciated story, and I love reading it again and again. Although lately my favorite may be Northanger Abbey.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle was by far my favorite book as a child. I've probably read it 15 times. It's a story full of adventure and surprises, and every once in a while I like to read it again.

I really like Frances Hodgson Burnett's book The Secret Garden and I like to read it now and again, but I haven't read A Little Princess since childhood. One night before bed I was searching our shelves for something to read (I can't really fall asleep without reading for a while first) and I chose this book. I truly enjoyed it, but I do prefer The Secret Garden.

I was finally tired of rereading old books and I ordered a few new ones. The first of which arrived yesterday and I'm a little ashamed to admit - I've already finished it! One of my FAVORITE time periods to read about is the 1800's during the pioneer days. So I decided to read Love Comes Softly, which I've heard about. It's Christian historical fiction. I loved it, I'm getting the sequels.

As you can see, I'm in desperate need of some new book recommendations!

Climber

Graham is an exceptionally good climber. He can now climb on to the side our tub (which is very high!). Balancing on the edge, he can climb on top of our vanity. Earlier this week when I got out of the shower, this is what I saw:

I had to get a picture. :)

Play/Work Day

Chad and I are in the process of re-doing our laundry room. We are planning to try to sell our house again this spring, so we are doing a few inexpensive projects here and there to spruce it up. Our laundry room was the most boring room in the house. Plain white walls, white washer and dryer, and one really high plain white shelf above them. That shelf is now gone and we (well, I) have painted the room a beautiful flagstone gray.

I have admired my good friend Emily's laundry room. Well, I admire pretty much everything in her house!! She has exceptional taste and a husband who is very handy and can create just about anything that she imagines. Her laundry room is gray and her husband Wayne built some beautiful shelves for it. I decided to copy her and I invited their whole family to come over this past weekend for a play/work day.

Wayne and Emily have a beautiful daughter named Hailey, who is almost exactly a year younger than Graham. Graham, Hailey, Emily and I played in the living room while Chad and Wayne installed our new shelves. I LOVE LOVE LOVE how they turned out! I will post some pictures when I get it all finished.

I didn't take many pictures Saturday but I did get a couple shots of Graham and Hailey playing at Graham's table. I'm telling you, she is such a sweet, CUTE little girl. Love her!

Graham looks SO big in these pictures!

Thank you so much, friends, for coming over!

Hand Prints

Now that I've finally finished and handed out all the hand prints Graham and I made, I can post about it! You may recall this post about our friends Jaxon and Tara coming over to make salt-dough handprints.

I had fully intended for these handprints to become special Christmas presents. But with all the holiday traveling and the unfortunate hand, foot, and mouth disease, I did not have time to finish them and send them out before Christmas. But I was determined! So after Christmas I painted them, wrapped them up, and gave them away. I think they were a big hit.

I did, of course, keep one for myself. I wish I had done one the year before! They are so easy to make, the only thing I had to buy was the paint. Here is a tutorial on how to make them. I found this tutorial on pinterest, which I am currently obsessed with.

How We Play

I love watching Graham's little mind work. He is always finding new, creative ways to play.

Lining up puzzle pieces just so, and making things ride on the back of his flatbed truck:

Graham loves trying on Daddy's shoes:

Pretending to go somewhere with lunchbox and basket in tow:

Pulling his rocker up to the couch to make a "desk" to look at books:

That book he's looking at is his favorite book, his truck book. A word must be said about this current obsession. Graham LOVES trucks right now. He points out trucks everywhere we go!

I sure do love playing with this little boy. In all the ways he plays!