Giggly Graham

Preschool Begins!

Tuesday was Lilian's very first day of pre-school! She did awesome! She hung her backpack on the hook, found her seat and gave us hugs and kisses and said goodbye. We were so proud of her and relieved to have such a great drop off the first day! The teacher had the observation room open for parents to peek in so of course we took advantage of that for a few minutes! She sat in her seat and seemed to be listening and doing a good job for the little time we stayed and watched. Brian, Graham and I walked out and I could not help but shed some tears on the walk back to the car, which I was not expecting. It was just an overwhelming mix of emotions...so proud of her and know she is so ready to begin school and learning more, however, sad to know this is only the beginning of her first days of school and her growing up! Brian and I emailed several times saying how we wish we could see how she was doing! She came home after Michele's and showed us the school bus craft she made and how they practiced writing and tracing their names. She seemed to really enjoy it and is excited about returning which is all we could have hoped for. Here are some pictures of her big day. We got her a special book, The Night Before Pre-School, and read that the night before, she loved it.






































Everyone tells you how fast they grow up and this put it all into perspective, it goes way too quickly! Today made me cherish the baby days of Graham and reminded me to not feel guilty about holding him too much...he will be in pre-school too before I know it!

3 Months

Graham man turned three months old this weekend! What a blessing he has been to our family. He is one happy boy (unless he is in the car for a period of time!) He has honestly brought so much joy into our lives...it has been amazing. Although summer has come to an end I have been fortunate enough to take the first six weeks off school to stay home with Graham and extend my maternity leave with him. I was not sure how I would like staying home since Brian and I are usually such on the go people but I have been in heaven! Though I know in a few months I will most likely be ready to get back into a routine at work, I have loved every second of being home with my boy. Because the car rides are still a bit rough we do not go very far away from home but we try to get out once a day for a trip to Target, go on a walk, the grocery store, or to get mommy a Sonic drink. I am just trying to soak up every minute of my time with him...our naps on the couch, reading books together, his sweet smile when we play, I cannot get enough of this sweet boy! I love that we have this one on one time together...truly a blessing that I am so thankful for. Some notes about Graham at 3 months...
He is a growing boy! Wears 3 months and some 3-6 months clothes. He wears size 1 diapers and we are starting size 2 shortly.
We estimate he weighs around 14 lbs!
He smiles all the time and it just melts our hearts! When he sees one of us his eyes light up and he gets the biggest grin on his face. He sure knows how to make our day with that sweet face! Just in the last few weeks he has started letting out some giggles too! I'll try and get a video soon.
He has really found his voice and will make lots of noise and chatter especially when playing on the floor.
He is a wiggle worm and can move himself pretty well on the floor. He rolls onto his side already so I think he will be rolling completely over in no time.
He has great head control and we have started putting him in his bumbo seat for short periods each day to practice. He is not a huge fan of tummy time but we practice that too to help with his head and neck control.
Our typical day...
He wakes up for the day anytime between 6-7 (still wakes once at night to nurse)
We play on the floor, read books, bumbo seat, play mat, swing, and just talk!
He is usually awake for about an hour and a half to two hours max before he starts to fuss to let you know he is tired and ready for a nap.
His morning naps have been in his swing. He usually goes down between 8:30 and 9 and naps for around two hours in his swing.
Then he is up and we play again until he gets tired a few hours later. I am trying to have him take his afternoon naps in his crib. He doesn't nap as long in there, usually only 45 minutes, and then sleeps on me for another little while. We are working on longer naps in our crib! We have also still been swaddling him for naps and at night. He looks a bit silly since he is a big boy all bundled up like a stuffed burrito! He just sleeps so much better when he is swaddled so we are going to work on that as well.
He goes down for the night around 9 and it just depends on the night when he wakes up to nurse....sometimes it is around 1:30 and other times it is not until 3 or 4. He has only slept for over eight hours once so far. We are hoping nights like that will come our way once I go back to work, fingers crossed.
For now I am loving staying home with him and enjoying extra snuggle time. We are so in love with him and so thankful for a happy, healthy baby boy!

Birthday boy

Our number one guy turned 34 on Friday! We started the celebration early and made him his requested favorite birthday cake...chocolate fudge with cool whip and Heath bar topping...on Wednesday night so we could enjoy it all week! 


On Friday one of Brian's best friends from home, Ryan Hart, and his fiancé, Stacy, came down from Omaha for a visit. We made plans to attend the Royals game together with them and some friends. Brian took a half day off work and my mom watched the kids so we enjoyed a nice tailgate at Kauffman with Ryan and Stacy, Colleen and Drew, and Seth and Hillary. We had so much fun! My dad hooked us all up with great seats as well and it was buck night! Although we lost the game it was a wonderful night celebrating both Brian and Drew's birthdays and spending time with friends.












I am so lucky to have such an amazing partner to spend my life with...love you, Brian! Happy birthday from your biggest fans!

Family Pics

Thanks to Rhoda we finally have a few pictures of our family of four! Brian's parents were sweet enough to come visit up us on Saturday for the day. We went to lunch at 54th Street, had yummy ice cream at Custard's and then played at Railroad Park. It was a perfect day! Lilian has to bring in a picture of her family for pre school so we had Rhoda snap a few pictures of our little family while at the park. Thanks so much for coming to visit us! Lilian kept repeating Saturday night, "I wish they lived closer!" We do too, sis!

Meet the Teacher

Meet the Teacher Night took on a whole new meaning for Brian and me last night. For the past ten years Meet the Teacher has meant welcoming our third and fourth graders at James Walker. However, tonight we took Lilian to pre-school to meet her teacher! So surreal that she is starting pre-school. She will be attending Jaguar pre-school at Blue Springs South high school. The juniors and seniors create and teach lessons to the pre-schoolers under the supervision of a lead teacher. What I love best is that Lilian will be paired with one of the high schoolers each day and have lots of one on one help. She will attend every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8:20-11:55. Either Brian or I will drop her off in the mornings and then her babysitter, Michele, will pick her up each day and take her back to her house for the rest of the afternoon. We are excited for Lilian as she takes this first step in her education! It is very bittersweet to know our baby girl is growing up! Yay for Lilian! Her first official day is August 27th so more pictures to come! Stay tuned.

Twins Turn 7!

On the 11th our niece and nephew, Lauren and Andrew, turn seven years old! Where does the time go? I cannot believe they are going to be first graders next week, so crazy! They celebrated with family on Monday in Iowa. Unfortunately, the whole family could not make the trip because Mr. Graham is still not a happy camper (at all!) in the car and it would have made for a very LONG drive to Iowa for three hours. Brian ended up gong and taking Lilian while I stayed home with Graham. I was so sad to miss out on the fun but know it saved a lot of headache! We were there in spirit! Lilian had an absolute ball. She loves our trips to Iowa and spending time with some of her favorite people on earth. She got to play at grandma and grandpa's house with the twins, spend time on the farm playing with the kitties, and of course the highlight of the trip was the birthday party! Lilian helped pick out a Barbie for Lauren and a Lone Ranger Lego set for Andrew. Happy birthday guys! We love you so much!!



I love this picture so much. Lauren and Lilian are quite the duo! She looks up to her big cousin so much and this picture captures the pure joy Lauren brings her! Such a sweet friendship!



I heard all about the horse and guitar cakes for days after she got home! She was already planning out her next birthday party...you have a ways to go, sis!












Lauren's and Andrew with their cousins! Thanks for a great party. Graham can't wait to be in the cousin pic next year!