Graham - 12 Months

H A P P Y   B I R T H D A Y   G R A H A M !!!

So many days this past year I wondered if we would make it through that particular day...that week...that month...but somehow, someway we conquered the first year!  The past few days I have been reflecting on all that has transpired this past year...  It has most certainly be a year full of "firsts" for us, some good and some not so good, but nonetheless we survived!  I remember someone asking me what I thought of motherhood when Graham was about 2 months old and at the time I said, "It is the most difficult and most wonderful thing I have ever experienced."  I have to say that one year in I still feel the same way.  Being a parent is MUCH more difficult than I ever imagined, and it is also far more WONDERFUL than I ever imagined.  Graham brings us such joy and delight.  Nick and I laugh louder and harder than we ever have when we are with him.

Graham you are a precious gift, and your dad and I are so very thankful that God allowed us to be your earthly parents.  We love you!

For documentation sake...this past month has yet again been full of sickness.  We returned from Camden after celebrating Thanksgiving with Nick's family and Graham started running fever yet again with the SAME ear infection he has been battling since November 1st.  So on December 3rd we headed back to the pediatrician.  We learned that Graham indeed still had a double ear infection and started our 3rd round of antibiotics.  The day we finished this round I was still convinced that the infection wasn't gone so back to the doctor we went on December 13th.  We were finally referred to an ENT which we miraculously saw that same day, and thankfully Graham got tubes just a week later on December 20th. The tubes seem to be working so far... fingers crossed that this will help keep him well.

Even through all of the sickness he has been such a trooper.  He is cruising around much faster and even started taking a few steps behind a push toy over Christmas.  I still think we are a month or so away from actually walking, but he is making progress.

He babbles all the time which is really funny, but the only "words" so far are dadadada and uh oh.

He has 8 teeth (4 on top and 4 on bottom).  He has finally gotten the hang of brushing teeth, and now he loves when I do it right before bath time.  Speaking of bath...he loves taking a bath.  Nick and I usually end up just a wet as he is, but we love seeing him get so excited.

Eating has been rather interesting lately.  He won't have much to do with baby food anymore, but I introduced the baby food squeezers, and he loves those.  It is essentially that same thing as baby food, but he likes that he can feed himself.  For the most part he eats what we are eating assuming I can cut it up in bite size pieces, and he can gum it down.  He has the sippy cup figured out, and he can even drink from a straw.

We love to read books especially ones that are interactive, but he is getting to where he will sit long enough for you to actually read a short book to him.  In addition to books he is still mesmerized by his TV shows (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Jungle Junction, Little Einsteins, and Jake and the Neverland Pirates).  He and Nick usually watch one in the morning while I am getting ready then he watches another one later in the afternoon when I have run out of things for us to do and I'm trying to get dinner ready.

Our schedule has changed slightly since Graham was consistently waking up around 5:20...too early! We had to push his bedtime back a little bit, and now he seems to be right on track.  This is what our schedule looks like now:

6:30  Wake Up and Bottle (7 oz)
7:30 Breakfast (yogurt and cheerios)
8:45-10:45 Morning Nap
11:30 Lunch (turkey and cheese sandwich, fruit, leftovers, mac n cheese, goldfish)
1:00-3:00 Afternoon Nap
3:00 Bottle (7 oz)
4:30 Snack
6:00 Dinner (typically whatever we are having)
7:00 Bath
7:30 Bottle (7oz) and Bed

The monthly posts are now over!  Thank  you to all of our family and friends who have loved, encouraged and prayed for us throughout this first year of partenthood. We couldn't have made it this far without you.

Happy Birthday sweet boy!