The Next Iron Chef

 Sampling the ingredients





 Setting up his cooking station





Practicing his techniques





Piano Man

Isn't he a natural?



A Bragging Blogger

I was realizing that it has been a while since I gave an update on the new things that Graham is doing, and what kind of a mother would I be if I didn't dedicate an entire blog post to bragging about my amazing child?  As my faithful readers know, Graham started walking a couple months back.  Walking and running and constant motion have become a big part of our daily lives.  Graham is on the move.  ALL THE TIME. 
He loves to play with all of his toys - cars are a big favorite.  He has become pretty good at interacting with his toys (pushing buttons, pulling levers, putting objects into slots, etc.).  He picks up how new toys work pretty quickly too. 
His constant babble has moved into saying words!  Right now "mama," "dada," "pretty," "no no," "yeah," bye," uh-oh," and "what's this" have made it into his vocabulary.  Lately I've noticed that he seems very engaged when I'm talking to him and is attempting to respond in some way.  He is also able to answer yes or no questions that I ask him (usually by shaking his no if the answer is no and smiling if it is yes).  He also lvoes to make crazy noises with his tongue and mouth.
Graham has quite a few "tricks" and loves to show them all off if he has a captive audience.  He can wave bye, shake his head no or yes (although shaking yes is far and few between, he prefers no), clap, raise his hands in the air to show that he is "soooo big," stomp his feet (this is his version of dancing), and blow kisses (my favorite). 
Let me tell you, this kid can SLEEP.  When you get pregnant, people always tell you that you better prepare yourself for complete sleep deprivation for the next several years.  Yes, we got up a couple times during the night when G was a newborn, but he was sleeping through the night by the time he was 2-3 months old.  After that it was pretty much smooth sailing.  Of course we'd have a restless night here and there, but never the horror stories you hear.  And at nearly 14 months he sleeps 11+ hours every night.  I can't remember the last time I had to go into his room in the middle of the night because he was fussing.  And we have to wake him in the morning to get him ready so we can leave for day care/work.  How did we luck out so much in this area?
Graham is such an easy, happy, fun child.  I almost hesitate to consider having a second child because how can one improve upon perfection (okay, that was a little over the top, I agree, but it's every mom's right to brag a bit now and then!)

Happy Chrismukkah!

 Last year at this time, Graham was just about 2 months old.  The holidays were not a big deal for him, and I'm fairly certain that he slept through opening presents on Christmas last year (he just might have been alert when we opened presents for Hanukkah, though!).  What a difference a year makes!  There really isn't anything like spending the holidays with a little kid.  Graham was fascinated with everything and was in complete heaven with all of the attention being showered on him.  We found out that he ADORES holiday lights and everytime he saw a Christmas tree all lit up, he would simply stand in front of it and say "pretty" over and over while pointing at the tree.  He's going to be so disappointed to see that tree come down! 

Our first celebration was Hanukkah with Michael's family!

All of that partying left G pretty tired, so he got ready for bed and went to sleep while the grown-ups continued to enjoy Hanukkah!

Next we celebrated Christmas with my family. 



As you can clearly see, Graham MADE OUT when it came to presents.  Seriously, we're going to have to build an addition onto our house to fit all of this stuff!  But we do know that we are so fortunate to have so many people that adore our little man as much as we do and helped make his 2nd holiday season a memorable one!

Parents' Night Out

Last Friday Michael has his holiday party for work.  It was quite the event!  The president and CEO (a husband and wife team) were in from Nevada as the husband was celebrating 30 years with the company.  Governor Hickenlooper also attended and made a speech!  Michael and I had a great time spending a night out together, and Graham had a great time spending time with Grandpa and Grandma Dozeman in Evergreen!

December Starts with a Bang!

Figuratively and literally. In the Pretekin household, December began with...the stomach flu. Yuck. I was the first to get hit. I haven't had the stomach flu in 10 years and had a flu shot!  Out of work and in bed for two days straight. Michael and I did our best to minimize Graham's exposure to me. I don't even want to think about a 1-year-old with the stomach flu. Double yuck. Just as I was on the mend, Michael got hit. He got sick Friday morning, so Graham and I headed off to my parent's house in Evergreen for the weekend. We weren't taking any chances. The trip was unexpected, we missed M, but did end up having a pretty great time. Graham really loved the Christmas tree. We also headed down to an outlet mall where G and I rode the carousel, and G got some new kicks. Since Graham is running and walking everywhere, all the time, I figured it was time to get him some proper shoes. So cute (and a good deal)!

 

Michael was feeling better by Sunday, so we headed home.  Then, last Friday, we had our literal bang.  Graham and I were leaving daycare for the day and his bag got caught up in a snowflake decoration that had come loose.  Next thing I know I'm falling and trying desperately to hang on to Graham with one arm (my other arm is caught up in the bag, in the decoration).  Luckily I was able to hang on to Graham, so he didn't come flying out of my arm and land really hard on the cement (he could have broken something - yikes!!).  He did however slide face first on the cement once we had come crashing down.  He ended up having a bloody lip, but luckily (again, I mean, it was terrifying at that moment and I felt so horrible, but he could have gotten hurt so much worse) he didn't hit any of those brand new pearly whites.  Here's a look at the damage:

As hard as he cried in that moment, 5 minutes later it was no big deal.  He didn't seem too bothered by what I'm sure was the first of many cuts/scraps/bumps/bruises.  He's happily back to investigating anything with wheels, our cellphones, and just having fun with his papa!



And please excuse all of the pictures containing wet bibs.  My drool-factory of a child is working on some serious teeth, therefore making bibs the latest wardrobe necessity.

Birthday Cake for Cookie

Happy Birthday to Linny, also known as Cookie to little G!  We celebrated Michael's mom's birthday on Sunday with a casual brunch.  G had such a great time playing with the birthday favors, helping open presents, cruising Grandpa and Cookie's house, and just having fun with his papa!