Graham at 22 Months

I am a little late on this post. Graham turned 22 months old on Tuesday!! We have had a great month packed with fun and milestones!

Graham recently learned how to use a fork! We are so proud of him! He has used a spoon for awhile now, especially with easy to eat things like yogurt, applesauce, and oatmeal, but now he's careful enough to use it anytime and is able to use a fork to pick up pretty much anything. He loves to show off as this usually receives lots of praise and applause!

He has also developed his first movie obsession. He LOVES Finding Nemo. He's always semi enjoyed watching some of Jack's shows like Veggie Tales, Sesame Street, Toy Story, etc. but Nemo he asks for by name and could sit through the whole thing if we'd let him. My favorite thing is when Nemo is swimming toward the boat and is about to get snatched by the diver. Graham can't even sit down to watch that part and he always screams, "NEEEEEEEEEMOOOOOOOOO!!!!" It's pretty cute.

A big perk of being 22 months old is that Graham is now able to play in the "big kid" area at the gym. Up until now he's been stuck in the baby gated area with the swings and the exersaucers. We call it baby jail. It's bugged me for awhile because he is just such a big boy and those toys aren't really age appropriate. So finally he's free where he can run with Jack, slide down the slides, color, etc. He and Jack love playing together there!

We are very much looking forward to watching Graham experience his second Christmas this year!!

Sooner Born and Sooner Bred

Saturday was a big day. A day that Randy and I have been anticipating since we found out we were pregnant with Jack back in May of 2006. His first OU football game! Yes, perhaps we are slightly insane but OU is so special to both of us and we were just so thrilled to be able to share that with our son. Jack has been "Sooner bred" for awhile now so he was already familiar with the fight song, the chants, the alma mater, the name of our coach and QB, etc. But we didn't feel he was old enough to actually enjoy a game until this year. I'm glad we waited and to be honest, we probably should have waited one more year. He did so well and enjoyed much about the experience (peanuts, popcorn, sprite, more sprite...), but it was a little too long to hold his attention. Luckily, we were using my parents' seats so we were able to go inside and take a break as needed. We actually had six tickets so we were lucky enough to have some good friends join us. They moved here fairly recently from Nebraska and were missing their team so they appreciated the opportunity to go to a good college game. Their son is Jack's age and he did great and had fun as well!! All in all, it was a great day. Randy really wanted to walk around campus and point out certain buildings to Jack and we did get to do that. It was a beautiful day. Afterward we asked Jack what his favorite thing was and he replied, "the fireworks after the touchdowns!" When asked what his least favorite thing was, he said, "it was long." Ha! Well, I'm sure he will enjoy many more games in the future and eventually he won't mind that they're long!

Halloween

We had a wonderful Halloween this year! My parents and grandparents came over to have dinner and watch the boys trick or treat. It was so fun to spend time with everyone and see the boys have so much fun! Even though it was Graham's first "real" year to take part in the action, he followed right along and acted like an old pro. He was so cute when he walked up to the door and said, "Happy HallEEN!!!" And Jack, oops I mean Buzz, "flew" all through the neighborhood leading the way. They were both just so cute and sweet and I love watching them have fun together.

Piano Man Graham

Jack, the Tool Man, Biggs

Fall Festivities

I just love fall!! It is finally feeling cooler outside so I am officially in fall mode- filling up the house with the scent of pumpkin spice, making chilis and soups, carving pumpkins, watching the kids run around in their costumes, etc. Love it! The end of October really begins the holiday season for me. It starts those sentimental feelings that lead into Thanksgiving and then on to Christmas, such a meaningful season for Christians. It's a time that reminds me that the little things in life are what matter. I am loving this season of life with my family and hopefully making memories every day. God has blessed Randy and me so richly in our marriage. We have grown so much together especially over the past couple of years- spiritually and emotionally. And we've been blessed with two absolutely amazing boys who bring us and indescribably amount of joy and teach us about true, unconditional, sacrificial love which helps us to understand how much God must love us.

Speaking of thankful, I am so thankful for a church that loves on its children. Jesus said that to receive a child in His name is to receive Him and also the Father. (Mark 9:34-37) I love that our church provides such loving care and fun activities just for children. The fall festival this year is one example of that. I have to admit (as much as I love children) that I was sort of dreading this event. It is always so crowded and there is an element of chaos and lots of waiting in line (not Graham's strong point...) But, I really thought about it and reminded myself that this is part of being in a community of believers. It is a blessing that we have so many people in our church and so many children. This perspective made the whole evening so much more fun and meaningful. We got to spend time with so many friends and watch the kids shriek with delight about things like scoring a soccer goal, knocking over the "wall of Jericho," receiving a treat for their efforts even when they didn't win, and riding on a makeshift train. It was such a blast! Not to mention, our boys looked so cute and loved every minute of it!














Here are a couple more pictures, from Grahams fall party at MDO and Jack carving pumpkins:

Happy 21 Month, Graham!

Today our little Graham turns 21 months old and we are on the downhill slide toward him turning the big TWO! Graham continues to light up our lives (literally- he is still obsessed with turning on lights everywhere we go) and bring much joy to our home. He has a sweet way about him that is difficult to put into words... he seems to always be smiling and you can't help but smile back at him.

This past month has not been monumental in the way of milestones and developments. It just seems as though Graham is getting better and better at things he was already doing. He continues to use more words and longer phrases every day. He is adding more songs to his repertoire. And we feel that he comprehends about 99% of everything we say to him. He has started singing along with Jack's prayer each night at dinner and loves to do his prayer hands and say, "Amen." We find that sweet and hope that he will grow to have a very strong prayer life in the future.

Current favorite things- Going to the gym (he squeals like a little girl and almost dances his way in!), blankie (which he refers to as "blank"), binkie (which he refers to as "bink" and which we need to get rid of!!!!), playing "owside" with his car and going on walks. He especially loves finding puddles of water or piles of dirt to play in. This kid is all boy!! He loves going to the park and is getting very good at climbing ladders by himself. He is also loving going to small group. He enjoys all of the friends there but seems to have a special fascination with Stella. One time I asked him whose boy he was and he answered, "Stellaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Not so fast, little one, you are still mommy's boy for awhile longer!