Graham turned one year old last Friday! It's hard to believe that instead of the blizzard conditions from the previous year, we had 60 degree temperatures. Both sets of grandparents and a lot of Will's extended family were able to make it in, as well as a bunch of our friends from town. Graham was still recovering from a cold, but he was in a relatively good mood that day. Even popping the balloon that he was chewing on didn't phase him. Twice.

He enjoyed the cake, but he ate it pretty delicately (which was unexpected).





He loved his presents, and was especially thrilled with the tricycle with the G license plate.



We did a modified pinata where the kids just pulled the strings out from the bottom with the idea that the candy would fall out on its own, minus any blindfolded bat-swinging. Unfortunately, the packages were too big and when we pulled the strings, nothing came out. Very anticlimactic.



And what did Graham grab during the resulting melee? Not candy or cookies... Just the popsicle stick that held the pinata.



I think it's safe to say that everyone had fun, but we've decided never to have such a production again. His birthday memories from now on will consist of McDonald's and Chuck E Cheese, if he's lucky.

Thanks to everyone who was able to come and be a part of it!

Update

Being suddenly tossed back into the era of having a newborn has been interesting, but we are doing fine. The baby is gaining weight and still sleeping a lot. Unfortunately, we're not allowed to post pictures or information, so email us if you'd like to see some.

Graham seems to be adjusting a little better and is not quite so jealous. He is walking most of the time now, usually with his hands up in the air. It's either for balance or he's really excited--I can't tell which.



He's starting to figure things out, too. For instance, today he found out that it's fruitless to reach for the baby on the couch. Instead, it's much easier to pull the baby's blanket and see if he comes along. He's learning to go down the stairs and is babbling a lot. Doesn't really say words yet, but he understands things like "close the dishwasher" (one of his favorites) and "get your spoon off the floor and bring it here if you want some ice cream." Yes, we let him eat ice cream off of dirty spoons.

And finally, Will and I are coping pretty well. This morning when the baby started crying, I heard Will, fast asleep, start patting himself on the chest. He was also asleep at midnight when I dangled my pillow above my head, trying to find the baby inside. Hopefully we will start getting a little more rest soon.

Looking forward to seeing a lot of you at Graham's birthday party! Can't believe it's been a year!

A Steelers Fan

Graham got to enjoy his first Super Bowl with a win by the Steelers. Here he is decked out in his Pittsburgh garb, ready for the party:



Here's a random video of him trying to suck on his pacifier while it's still attached to his coat. When I stand up, you can see the chaos from the daily havoc that typically occurs in our family room.

Happy Birthday to Will!

Will's birthday is now stretching over 3 days... He had training on Saturday, so Graham and I met him for lunch at Noodles and he got his free birthday smoothie. Then we had friends over that night to play some Settlers, Seafarers, and Euchre. (Woohoo!) Yesterday he opened his present from me (Flight of the Conchords Season 1) and hopefully it won't be a dud. Today I am making sugar cookies and we're going to pick him up from work. Then we'll head out for dinner before we have a meeting at a coffee house for church (where he'll get another smoothie and we'll eat the cookies). Lots of activity, but he's not too old to handle it yet. :D

Another big day.

Today marked the first day that Graham went into the nursery at church. I realize this is no big deal for most parents (something akin to trying a new brand of baby wipes) but for us, it was a momentous occasion. We go to another building for our church service now--same church, but several blocks away. We'll call it "The Sidecar Church", simply because we've been told not to. Then we head over to "The Big Kahuna" or "The Mothership" to help with the 5th & 6th graders during the service. Graham has always been with us... For awhile we wore him in the baby carrier and he would fall asleep. Then he started refusing to sleep and he would just hang out. Finally, he got too big to wear and began interjecting squeals during the storytime. We knew it was time for him to move on.

Today I checked him in and it appeared he was going to be fine. When I went back up to get him, I found out that one poor lady had to hold him the entire time or he would scream. When the children's pastor asked how he did, she replied, "He had his way with me." Yikes.

Well, after we all recovered from that, we took him outside for his first romp in the snow. (It wasn't his first snowfall, as you'll recall he was born right before a blizzard.)



There wasn't much romping, mostly just sitting and wondering why his legs were getting cold.

He has also begun to hate getting his diaper and clothes changed. I really hope this is just a phase.

A Christmas Summary

We had a wonderful holiday season last year (and I can't believe I'm typing "last year")! We spent the week before Christmas at my parents' house, with my brother and his wife driving in and my sister and her family already there. Graham had a great time visiting his cousins and our extended family, and he got lots of loot as well.







Kaiden could not physically walk past Graham without squeezing him until he cried. Risa spent most of the week quoting John 3:16 and this epic poem:

"Trick or treat, smell my feet,
Give me something good to eat.
If you don't, I don't care,
I'll pull down your underwear."

Most of the time, it was just the last two lines.

We drove home the day after Christmas, then headed out to Will's parents' place to spend a few days. We got to see his brother's new baby (congratulations Joe & Gwen!) and most of his extended family. Graham enjoyed playing the piano with Nathan.



He also got to hang out with Grandma for awhile...



All in all, an excellent way to spend our vacation. Thanks, everyone!

Entropic Laundry

Quick story...

After being gone for nearly two weeks, we came home with a huge pile of laundry to wash. Will and I worked on it for an entire day and finally had it all folded and sorted into laundry baskets to be carried upstairs. Graham saw them and headed over, and by the time I got the camera out, he had emptied half the basket.



Graham's aftermath: