Birthday Girl

Yesterday I celebrated my 30th birthday!  I had a wonderful time celebrating with Michael's parents and his brother.  Unfortunately Michael (at a conference in San Diego) and my parents (on a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia) were out of town and missed the festivities.  We had a delicious brunch and the BEST red velvet cake I have ever had.  And I LOVE red velvet cake, so it completely appropriate for me to judge it.  People were incredibly generous, and I received many thoughtful gifts.  Thanks to everyone for helping make my big day such a special one!

Cute decorations!

The best birthday present there is.

Seriously.  There's nothing better than this little man right here.

Have a Seat

Graham has been all about sitting on the couch and chairs and sitting in his little chairs.  He even decided that the bouncy chair at daycare (which was taken out for a new baby) was just the right fit for him.  He has started pulling himself into the chair in his room and he couldn't be prouder.  Next up, getting onto the couch by himself.

About A Boy

It has become so apparent that Graham has made the transition from baby to little boy.  And my goodness, he is all boy!  He is on the move constantly and into everything.

Graham on the Go

Graham is ALWAYS on the move.  He likes to go everywhere and get into everything.  Lately we've been seeing a small tantrum here and there when he doesn't get what he wants or is frustrated with something.  Welcome to parenting a toddler!

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!)