Graham is SIX Months!!!

Our sweet little Graham is 6 months, how can it have been half a year ago that we welcomed him into the world?  I grow more in love with him every day!  He is a [very] tiny guy still, at 13#s 2oz & 27", he's still pretty easy to carry around.  (Which is good 'cause he likes to be carried all. the. time!)  He babbels a lot, but just recently looked across the room at me & said "mama".  No dada or buba yet, but I'm sure they're coming soon.  He does an army crawl & doesn't seem very interested in switching to be on all 4s, but who knows what he'll decide to do in the next few months.  His diet is still 99% breastmilk, but he does eat a few things (bananas, celery, apples, applesauce, broccoli, carrots mostly).  He is a calm baby & doesn't usually cry much - as long as mommy is nearby.  He doesn't always like to sit up, but he LOVES to stand.  His favorite toys are his bubble book & balls.  He  has just recently started to get interested in toys that light up or make sounds too.  Most of his naps still require mommy laying beside him or holding him, and he still sleeps in 2-3 hour spurts (yeah, it's been a long 6 months, but I've pretty much gotten used to it).  He will still nap pretty much anytime I let him though, which is kinda nice when I want a nap.  ;)

This weekend he got to swing fir the first time.  He LOVED it & laughed a lot! 

...this is where he spends most of his time. 

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving meant a feast for Kasen at school & a trip to Dallas for all of us.  

Kasen's feast was so great!  His school is just so amazing, I love it!

 Here he is with his wonderful teacher.

The boys really enjoyed spending time with Auntie!

 Kasen was really happy to have other kids to play with after lunch on Thanksgiving.

 He was pretty happy to have dinner w/Mimi, Papa Wayne, & Cathy too.

 Graham learned a new trick - sleeping in daddy's arms instead of mommy's!

 The boys enjoyed time with Papa Vergil

and Ma too. 

 Graham didn't think Auntie needed her glasses.

 We got to spend time with Great Grandma Iva & Great Grandpa Jim too.

 Mimi & the boys.

What's New?

What's new?  Well, it's NOT new that Graham is the cutest 5.5 month old around...

It IS new that Starbucks puts Miracle Whip on their drinks.  ;)

"The top tastes like chocolate Miracle Whip", per Kasen.  

 It's also new that we lost our minds & thought spending 8 hours in the car with 2 kids would be a good idea. (In all honesty, it wasn't THAT bad, but we won't be doing a one-day-only trip again for a long time!).  We decided Mimi needed a nice surprise for her birthday, so we loaded into the car & drove, & drove, & drove...  then we sent Kasen, balloon in hand, to ring the doorbell.  We had a wonderful visit & we're all glad we made the trek, Mimi's joy was a present back to us!

 Surprise!!

 Also new?  I had a parent-teacher conference with Kasen's teacher.  Turns out (okay, this isn't so new), the kid is brilliant!  ;)  He's doing really well in almost everything, but we decided it is time to focus on numbers more.  He's great at addition (and subtraction), but he writes his numbers backwards & wonky, so I've got to find fun ways to get him practicing.  Attempt 1 - shaving cream!  Which turned into an afternoon of playing with shaving cream & water outside.  Gotta love sensory fun!

 Also new?  Luke voted.  For the first time EVER.  I'm so proud!  (They had no stickers at our polling place, boo!)

 Not new - I voted (haven't missed a major election yet).  New - Graham "voted" with me!

 New - Kasen & I (and Graham, he's always along for the ride), checked out a fun park, after an afternoon at the zoo.

 New & fun! - Graham is on the move!  He's got this scoot-crawl thing going.  It works for him, so I guess that's okay, even though it's weird.  Plus, he's still a baby, waaaaaaah!  Time is going so fast!

The problem he has now though, is that he gets to some place & then gets stuck.  Not so new - I'm the kind of mom that gets the camera before offering help.  hehe

Also new - Graham is "eating".  I decided to do baby led weaning instead of purees this time around.  He's not really eating much of it, he's mostly sucking any kind of juice he can get out of it & mushing it, then dropping it on himself or throwing it on the floor.  He seems to enjoy getting to east when we do though, & he REALLY liked the taste of banana.

A Party, Redecorating, & Halloween

Kasen went to his first birthday party for a school friend.  It was a gym, which was the best idea ever!  So much to keep the kids busy & wear them out!!

Remember these scooter things?

Luke had almost as much fun as the kids.

Their teacher even came - how cool is that?  (I can't sing her praises enough, she is SO great & Kasen loves her so much!)

There was even a bounce house!

Kasen made the birthday boy a book.  He has such a sweet heart & loves giving things (especially things he makes) to his friends.  (Here they are reading the book.)

The coolest thing was the rock wall!

Kasen came running out of his room one afternoon & told me "I made my room look really cool mom, come see!".  I immediately prayed he'd covered the room in stickers.  Nope, not so lucky.  He has NEVER done this in our house before so I thought at 5.5 we were past an age to worry about it.  Not so much.  He took a paint/marker roller thing & drew all the way around the room...

His punishment was to help me scrub the walls & furniture, he lost free reign with markers, crayons, etc, & he had to write daddy an apology:

Graham had a Halloween play date that wore him out...

Kasen was a ninja.

Graham was Tigger, just like Kasen was his first Halloween (same costume).

Aren't they cute???  :)

Papa Vergil & Ma Visit + Kasen Rides a Bike!

Papa Vergil & Ma came to visit, and it was a surprise for Kasen!  (He loves surprises!)  They came over shortly after he got off work on Friday, and Ma stayed the whole week!  Kasen loved having a fun visit & Graham actually let Ma hold & play with him without crying for mommy (whew!).  We all had a fabulous week, especially since it also happened to be the week Kasen really started riding his bike!

Ma & Papa Vergil brought new Legos!!

 This is the first day he really rode his bike, and he was still a bit unsure of himself.

 Luke has looked forward to this day for 5 years!  Since Ma & Papa Vergil were around to entertain Graham the next weekend, I was even able to get in on the action & took a ride around the block with Kasen.  So much fun!!

 I thought this was super sweet, Ma was reading her Nook & Kasen grabbed a book & sat beside her (for a few minutes) & read too.

The week came & went quickly (they all seem to do that lately!  - the days are long but the weeks are short), but it was a fun.  Thanks for visiting us Ma.