Too Sweet!

Pics

Recently we had our friends, the Pinkston's, over for dinner. Their daughter Virginia gave Graham a kiss...Graham tried to return the kiss as well!

Here's Graham so proud of himself because he can now sit up by himself. It's a whole new way to see the world!

Intent on playing with his piano!

Push-up

Graham's most recent trick is to be able to do push-ups. He gets up on his hands and then pushes up and is on just his hands and feet. He's gotten up on his hands and knees a few times as well. He can currently push backwards across the floor, but hasn't figured out how to go forward. It won't be much longer now! Sammy better watch out!!

Busy Weekend

What a busy, fun-filled weekend we had. We went up to Willa's parents on Friday to spend the weekend with them and to celebrate our nephew, Porter's, first birthday. Graham spent some time visiting with Great Grandma Lowery, making cupcakes and a cake, playing with Grandma & Grandpa and his cousins, Suzanne & Porter. It was a great weekend, although Graham was exhausted by Sunday afternoon. Thankfully we had a long car ride home in which he could get lots of rest! Here's some pictures:

Spending some time with Grandpa Lowery. He makes lots of fun animal noises that Graham loves to laugh at!

Porter's birthday party was a bit overstimulating for Graham. He needed some cuddling time with his Daddy to soothe him!

Porter's birthday cupcakes - Froggies!

Porter's own birthday cake!

Porter reaching for his cake. He did a great job of blowing out his candle!

He also did a great job of demolishing his cake!! His mom and dad asked for white cake and white frosting, but his Aunt Willa decided chocolate cake and green frosting were more fun!! :) She did help clean up though!

The cousins all sitting together for a picture. However, it looks like noone really wanted to be sitting...they wanted to be playing!

Visiting with Great Grandma Lowery. Graham loved showing her all his new tricks. Like sitting up, moving around in a circle, push-ups, etc. He also talked quite a bit and blew raspberries at her! Graham is one of seven great grandchildren, with I'm sure plenty more to come in the future as the rest of her grandchildren marry and settle down.

Showing Great Grandma how I can sit up all by myself now! I can stay like this for quite awhile and even play while sitting up! I'm getting so big!!

Faces of Graham

Graham makes a lot of cute faces. Here are just a few pictures snapped while he was playing the other day. He knew the camera was there and was posing for it!

Swinging

Here is a short clip of Graham swinging for the first time. He didn't quite know what to think of the whole experience, but seemed to enjoy it the longer he swinged! I'm sure we'll be making many more trips to the park this summer!

First Easter Basket

Grandma and Grandpa got Graham his first Easter basket. It was filled with a book, bath toy & stuffed animal along with some chocolate! Graham wasn't sure what to think at first, but he quickly grabbed hold of his basket and looked at what was in it! He loves his bath frog. It floats in the bathtub with him every night now and lights up while playing music. Sammy also enjoyed the basket, trying to get the grass that was in it and Eric & I enjoyed the chocolate! :)

Super Graham!!

Graham attended his first birthday party last weekend, for his buddy Lauren Haas's fourth birthday. He had a very good time, although it was a long day for him. He loved seeing all the other kids running around and playing. He can't wait until he can join in and jump around in the jump house with everyone else! All the little girls at the party were given tu-tu's to wear and the boys capes. Here's a couple pictures we took afterwards of Graham in his cape. He looks too cute! We referred to him as Super Graham all night long. He had fun as Daddy would fly him through the air and his cape would blow in the wind!

6 Months Old

Happy 6-month Birthday Graham!! In so many ways it's hard to believe that Graham is already six months old! Time has really flown by, however in other ways it's hard to remember life without him. We have been so blessed by his presence in our lives. We thank God every day for such a blessing that has been given to us!

Graham enjoyed his half birthday with Daddy staying home from work and a visit from his Grandparents! We had a wonderful day with gorgeous weather! We went to the park, where Graham enjoyed his first time in a swing. We saw ducks in a lake as we spent some time walking. Graham also played outside on a blanket while everyone else enjoyed a good game of cornhole! Overall it was the perfect day...until we went to his Dr's check-up and he got his shots. :( Although, I think Mommy has a harder time with them than Graham does! Here are his current stats:

Weight: 17 lbs 8 oz (90th percentile on preemie growth chart)
Height: 27 inches (97th percentile on preemie growth chart)
Head Circum: 43.5 cm

We are so thankful that Graham is growing just like he should! He had a great check-up and the Doctor was extremely pleased with his growth and progress. He's reaching all of his milestones and beyond!!

Sitting Up Practice

Graham has been practicing sitting up more lately. He's not quite there yet. He can do a few seconds unassisted, however after those few seconds he topples over. Part of the problem is that he can easily get to his toes while sitting up so he forgets that he has to balance. Like my mother used to tell me (often), 'Practice makes perfect'...so, we keep on practicing. Thankfully he can't talk back yet or he might respond like I used to, 'Nobody's perfect, so why practice?'. :)

Sleepy

With the beautiful weather we've had lately, we've been getting out and taking a lot of walks. Graham & I will take walks during the day, but many nights we will take a second walk when Eric gets home from work. Some days Graham stays awake for the whole walk, other days he doesn't quite make it for our whole two mile trip. These pictures were taken recently after a walk where he had completely fallen asleep. The first picture he had already waken up some, but the second picture was when we first got in. He was being very cuddly!!

If Only I Could Crawl!!

Graham is really wanting to crawl these days. If he could he could get into a lot of things. He could also get his best buddy, Sam. Although, I think Sam will be quicker than him for awhile. However, as you can see in this video, Sam currently has a sense of security since Graham can't get to him. Oh how that will be changing!

All I Want For Christmas is....

MY TWO FRONT TEETH!!!! Oh wait, already coming in! Graham's two bottom teeth have both broken through the gums. They aren't completely in yet, however they are making good progress! And, no, this picture was not easy to get! :)

Sweet Potato

Graham's first food was sweet potatoes that his mommy made for him. He wasn't sure at first, but after the first couple bites he liked them a lot and wanted more!! He currently eats just once a day. His meal consists of 1 TB of rice cereal, 1 oz of milk and 1 1/2 oz of sweet potatoes (or whatever food we move to next) all mixed together. He usually eats almost all of that although we stop feeding him whenever he shows signs of being done. We're just starting this slowly and will wait until he shows the signs of needing more food in a day before we start any additional solid feedings throughout the day. I'm hoping to hold that off until after our vacation to Arizona is over (end of May!).

New Sound

Graham has a new sound that he likes to make. It's fun, because he can blow bubbles or spray you with drool if you're too close. He's constantly making this 'blowing' sound! It's kinda cute and awfully funny! He does this while taking walks, riding in the car and even during diaper changes!

New Outfits

Look at all the new summer outfits Graham has!! Miss Cheri, one of Willa's old co-workers generously gave them to us for Graham. The sleeper he has on fit him perfectly and he can even begin to wear the 12-month outfits as well, although they should last him most of the summer! Thank you very much!!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Today was Graham's first Easter! We reflected upon Jesus's death and resurrection so many years ago and how He sacrificed everything so we could have eternal life! Thank you Jesus for loving us that much!! We enjoyed a great sermon at church and Graham got lots of love in the nursery (little sleep though!!). Grandma Tatman joined us for church and a very yummy dinner following! Here are a few pictures of us from this morning!

Walking

We have had some beautiful weather recently. Since the weather has been so nice we have taken the opportunity to get outside and get some fresh air while walking. The past couple of days we've met up with friends to get our walks in! Here are the three adorable kids in their strollers. They seemed to enjoy their walks almost as much as their mom's did!

Cereal

This past week we began a new adventure...the introduction of cereal! We were given the go ahead at our four month appointment, however at that time there was no need to begin. Graham was happy with being exclusively breastfed and he was growing quite well. However around 5 1/2 months his appetite began to increase. We added an extra feeding everyday and that still didn't seem to do the trick. So, after much debate we decided to go ahead and begin solids! We started with just rice cereal however will quickly be moving to homemade puree's! Graham loved his cereal!! Here's a few pictures: