Friday, July 17, 2009

what a difference a week makes

a colorado native, that's for sure...graham is already climbing mountains.  well, to him they are mountains.  to us, they are flights of stairs.  he climbs them effortlessly.  with a smile that can only mean "i am FREE"! 

and now that he has accomplished "mountains", everything else in the house is just a "mole hill".  my life is getting much more busy!  : ) 


Saturday, July 11, 2009

trying to play catch-up

these are the images of life over the past few months (in no certain order)...
we have loved playing outside.  harrison's "school" teacher gave him these golf clubs for his 2nd birthday.  harrison loves to golf (just like his daddy).  he even throws the clubs (just like his daddy).  heehee
denver's spring weather was absolutely gorgeous.  we went for lots and lots of walks.  this picture of the boys cracks me up...especially graham in his sunglasses!
jeremy was a groomsman for his buddy norg (aka jason norgren).  we were so thrilled that norg finally got hitched to a lovely girl named leslie!  also, jer and i just celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary...and we are still very much in love!!   
a rare moment...the boys are actually holding hands and smiling at the same time!  miracle.
harrison has enjoyed building "forts" and "houses" with the living room furniture, blankets and pillows.
playing outside.  love that sweet face.  harrison has been in his big boy bed (which he calls his "good boy bed"!) for quite a while now.  it's just been over the past month, however, that he has realized that he can get out all by himself.  he loves to come climb in bed with mommy & daddy at 6:30 in the morning.
MOST of the time i want to get a picture of the two of them it turns out like this.  graham is so happy, and harrison wants nothing to do with it.  although it is frustrating for me at the moment, looking at this always makes me laugh.
one day (i think this was in the month of may), harrison decided he wanted to go outside to play.  we explained that he couldn't go outside unless he got dressed.  apparently, he thought pants were optional.  i suppose the mittens and snow boots would keep him warm enough.
graham is now officially one very happy camper.  it was a long road, filled with lots of tears, but we have made it to the other side and could not be more in love with our littlest munchkin. graham smiles and laughs so much more than harrison ever did.  he is much more social.  he began sitting up and crawling at seven months.  now, at almost eight months, he would rather pull up to a standing position and "cruise" around.  he is desperate to climb the stairs!  he still does not have any teeth...but he sure is teething!  and drooling!  and still spitting up everywhere!  i long for the days when he won't need a bib anymore.
harrison is just starting to enjoy playing with graham.  he loves to stand on the back of the walker and graham pushes and pulls him around the house.  while watching a baby einstein video, harrison will narrate the story for graham.  and while he has definitely used the words, "no, mine" quite a bit, he is also very happy to share toys with graham.  graham could care less...he's just thrilled when harrison looks his direction!  : ) 
on father's day morning the boys climbed in bed with daddy and gave him their presents. jeremy is an amazing dad and the boys are enthralled with him!
over the fourth of july weekend we took a road trip to iowa to visit with my family.  this is a picture of harrison and ty (my cousin, lisa's, son) in the bathtub together.  you can't see their faces, but i thought it was cute that they were playing with their cups the exact same way.  ty is six months younger than harrison, but referred to harrison as "baby" the entire time we were there.  they had SO MUCH FUN together.  the road trip was a huge success, with the exception of sickness that we picked up along the way.  graham and i are still getting over some kind of yucky bug.
harrison got to do sparklers and see fireworks for the first time while graham slept peacefully inside.  
we went to iowa to celebrate my grandma glady's 90th birthday.  she may be 90, but she really hasn't slowed down a bit.  she raised four children all by herself (my grandpa died when my dad was really little).  she has eight grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren (if i counted correctly) and she made a loaf of banana bread for each one.  she also made two pecan pies for the event...a really great pie-maker!
one final pic of our sweet graham-er boy, playing in the grass during the picture-taking process at grandma's party.  a random little note about graham:  he's been "blessed" with rockstar/mohawk hair.  in fact, instead of the typical cowlick that most boys/men have , he has a double cowlick, in the shape of a figure eight...one with the hair patterned in a clockwise fashion and the other with the hair patterned in a counter-clockwise fashion.  just another of the adorable little things that makes him so cute and so special!!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

just a day in the life of this mom...

giving bathes...

laughing...

more laughing...

rolling with the punches...

smiling...

cleaning up drool and spit-up (and toys and crumbs and hands and clothes and....)

lots of playing...
being a mom is so much fun!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

to my almost six-month old boy




dear baby graham, 

you light up our lives like no other.  my favorite thing about you is that just a quick glance in your direction makes your face BEAM!

you are SO loud... hilariously loud...pay attention to me loud...give me more of that yummy applesauce loud...i love to be tickled loud...i'm so happy to be alive loud...

you make us laugh out loud.

we are just now beginning to see some semblance of your schedule.  mommy has tried hard to force you to get with the program - to no avail.  it has been obvious from the beginning of your life (since eight weeks in utero...i mean the very beginning) that your plan has been to keep us guessing.  and you have not failed at accomplishing this goal.  we have a feeling that you are going to be our outgoing, outspoken, "think outside the box" child.  and, truth be told, your daddy & i think that makes you the absolute perfect addition to this family!  

you LOVE your big brother.  you are enamored with him.  and harrison loves you, too.  he likes to put you to sleep by putting your binky in your mouth, giving you your woobie (blanket) and saying, "night night baby gwaham".  he works magic with you...sometimes better than mommy.

your favorite things, at the moment, are toys that have faces.  you like to "talk" to your stuffed dog and lion.  you love to be free on the floor - rolling and scooting.  no sitting up for you yet. you love to eat fruits and veggies, although green veggies take a bit of coaxing.  when you eat you wail with delight in between every single bite.  you love to be outside.  you still love to be swaddled.  you love to be held...and tickled...and read to...and sung to...and played with...you love interaction.  

your daddy & i love you so much...with an unconditional love (and, trust me, you have already tested those conditions).  we think you are the sweetest, brightest, most light-hearted, and cutest boy.  we feel SO extremely blessed to call you "son"!!


Tuesday, April 28, 2009

happy burbay!

that's "happy birthday" in harrison-speak.  

i could listen to him say "happy burbay" over and over and over again.  because i have a feeling that he won't be saying it when we celebrate year number three.  

this year we celebrated with a monkey theme.  his invitations said "monkey see, monkey do...harrison is turning two.  so, swing on over and go bananas with us".  the original plan was to meet for a play-date at the park but the weather forced us inside.  everyone came over here to play, then we made "monkey" cupcakes and ate them.  messy, but fun!

after our friends left, meme & papa stayed to eat lunch, cupcakes, and to open presents.

harrison was SPOILED!  he got a sandbox with sand toys, a big wheel, a thomas the train set, a bosch tool/work bench, one of those big balls that you sit and bounce on, a ball pit, and some bubble toys.  the child is not hurting for things to do.

the pictures: 

i had to take this one of harrison's curls.  yes, some might call that a mullet.  i call it precious.  i live for the days when he takes a shower in the morning with daddy because then his hair stays cute all day.  if he takes a bath at night the bed-head is ridiculous.  hilarious, but ridiculous.  he actually got a haircut yesterday, so it will take quite some time to grow it back out to this stage (if ever).

our friend cadence and harrison had a great time running around outside after they decorated and ate their cupcakes.

too cute for words.

our beloved meme & papa...the best grandparents a boy could ask for.

a monkey cupcake.  i made this one.  cadence's cupcake turned out pretty great.  harrison's little monkey had a "smile" in between his two crooked eyes.  it all tasted the same, though!

graham wanted to play with harrison's new train set.  i'm sure one day the boys will have a fantastic time playing together!

happy burbay to you, happy burbay to you...  harrison didn't want to blow out his candles because they are "hot".  daddy and i had to help.

riding his new "motorcycle" off into the sunset.  did i mention that he is spoiled??!
truthfully, though, jer & i are the ones who are spoiled!  we have the most amazing two-year-old a mommy & daddy could hope for!

Monday, April 27, 2009

a pictorial of winter

even though we have been watching the flowers bloom and the birds build nests in our trees, it is still winter around here.  we woke up to a fresh blanket of snow this morning.  i think i've finally figured out that the phrase "april showers bring may flowers" doesn't really apply in denver.  unless, of course, you think of the "showers" as snow showers rather than rain showers.  

in any event, we've had a lot of fun this winter...

harrison woke up one morning and decided this is what he wanted to wear...

baby graham (4.5 months) in jeans and tennis shoes...

our sweet boy is getting sweeter each day.  he loves to smile, laugh, and talk to us...

we got to take the boys to the zoo.  harrison had a blast...

he loved all the animals, but the rhino, elephant, and mongoose were his favorites...

harrison got to go sledding with daddy and papa.  it goes without saying that he LOVED it!  in fact, as we were driving to school this morning (looking at all the snow), harrison said, "swed papa".  (translation: i want to sled with papa).


when daddy works from home harrison likes to play with his headphones...

graham is getting bigger, rolling more, scooting around, getting more hair, and crying less.  he gets to eat fruits and veggies now and LOVES it.  

harrison turned two on april 14th.  due to how close his birthday was to easter, we did not celebrate until this past weekend.  and, boy, did we have fun celebrating!  the birthday pics deserve their own post...

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

this morning



could a mom ask for anything more?