snuggle

This never happens.

I blame those darn teeth breaking through his gums.

But I'll take it. A snuggle is a snuggle.

(Oh, and pardon my extra chins??)

three in a tub

A few weeks ago we had a few friends over for dinner. Then the babies all took a bath. Every parent has pictures of their kids in the tub, but how many grown adult friends have pics of themselves taking a bath together. Seriously embarrassing. We parents will definitely enjoy these. Forever.

Can you handle these eyes? Precious.

Seriously, adorable. That smile!

G wasn't in the "smiling" mood. He was way more interested in chewing on the duck.

Three clean babies. Asleep in 5 minutes flat.

14 Months

Has it really been that long? Wow. The other day we went to the zoo with some friends to enjoy the absolutely beautiful weather we were having. The day after this, there were flurries. No joke.

So we stopped by the fountains in Forest Park to take some pictures. Graham loved the fountains and the sunshine and....really just being able to run free outside. Have I told you that he loves being outside? I thought so.

Enough pictures? Never for me. Seriously, there were like 40 from the 30 mins we were out there.

Our little guy is growing up so much. He recognizes his little buddies and goes to hug them. Precious! When we were at the Christmas program at our church the other night, he heard Matt's dad over the microphone and went crazy (we were in the cry room so he was playing at the moment.) He immediately wanted up and was saying "guh, guh, guh (obviously referring to his grandaddy)" pointing to the stage.

We are so incredibly thankful for our little Graham. We treasure each and every day with him!

typical Mable...

I brought some Christmas decorations up from the basement in the basket. Emptied it and turned my back for a second. This is what I found when I turned back around.....

Best cat ever.

all things G.

Graham is a hoot. A true ham. The light in my day. Well, besides Matt of course. He had to get the genes from somewhere.

His personality amazes me every day. Seriously, I wish I had one of those little hand-held tape recording things so that each time he does something cute/funny/utterly weird I could take down a little message to myself.

I'll try and document some of his craziness over the last month.

- He loves to pretend he's talking on the phone. He holds it up to his ear (read: throws his arm back over his shoulder so that it's more like his elbow that he's talking into). He's obviously been watching and listening to us as we talk on the phone because he walks around bobbing his head and saying things like "uuhhh, ughhhhh, yyaaa, hoohoo" which is probably meant to be like us saying "uh-huh, yeah, hahaha".

- He loves the intro songs to pretty much any show on nick-jr. or disney (in the morning, none of that miley cyrus etc. in the afternoon shows). He'll get a look of pure joy and dance his way up to the TV so that he can stand right.in.front. of it until it's over. He could care less about the shows. If I'm in the room I'll just restart the intro a couple of times just to see him be so cute.

- He loves him some daddy time. Every morning he has to be *in* Matt's arms throughout his breakfast routine. If Matt pauses while making his coffee, G will point to the next thing that Matt needs. Rediculously observant. He's also obsessed with the cereal boxes.

- He loves shoes. He'll bring us some of ours (like, he'll take Matt's to him and bring mine to me) so that we'll help him line them up so that he can put his feet in them and try to walk around.

- He's discovered his temper. And when I say "his temper" I know full well that I'm seeing "my temper" from 26 years ago. The kid has some serious lungs. Serious. One day last week I took something from him (probably breakable or dangerous as most things he loves are) and he turned around, took a few steps, sat down in a very deliberate manner, then turned and lay down on his belly and then a second later rolled over. While screaming the whole time of course. It was the most slooooow motion tantrum we'll probably ever see. Gosh I can't wait for the next few months.

- He says dad and momma most clearly. He's understanding verbal instruction so much more these days. I can ask him to go find his lovey knowing that it's like 3 rooms away behind a toy and he'll go find it. I might have to say that it's in the kitchen or something, but he can understand me. Totally cool.

- He's eating so much more these days. He decided that he likes raisins, cheese quesadilla, pumpkin pancakes, and spinach and cheese omlettes. I know, not too much, but it's huge for us. Still no pasta, veggies, or meats....maybe one day....

- He's still rather short and small. And he's also recently taken up running. So instead of running, it's more like tiny scurrying. He likes to sort of bob his head and laugh while he's doing said scurrying and it's maybe the cutest thing ever.

- Bath time is super fun too. He drops what he is doing immediately and runs to the bathroom when we say that it's bath time. He sings and splashes around and eats the bubbles. He used to cry when we were washing him and then cry more when we took him out. But now he plays and plays and plays some more, then is quite content when we get him ready for bed.

- Speaking of bed.... someone is learning to go to sleep all on his own! We're super proud of this new skill. We've been rocking him to sleep all these months. Now I still nurse him right before bed, rock him a little, say a prayer...then lay him down. He rolls around a little, hums to himself, then drifts off to sleep. Sometimes it takes 5-10 minutes, other times it takes an hour. We know that learning is a process so we're trying to be patient with him!

- He also loves him some dogs. My parents have two dogs (a sheltie and a german short hair pointer). He goes crazy when we pull up into the driveway and chases them around....super cute. We're planning on getting a dog ourselves in February. A sheltie. I'm sooo excited!

We took some pictures the other day that I'll post probably tomorrow.

eat your heart out.

I love him so much.

park buddies

the rain boots

And we're back.

So that break was a little longer than I intended. But I'll do my best to get the blog all caught up on what's been going on.

In the mean time, here's a fun one. It's quite a long story, so if you'd like to hear more, please email me privately. But the details don't really matter. There are two precious, beautiful, snuggly little boys in our lives! These two little guys are such a blessing and we are having such a wonderful time getting to know them and help take care of them. God is so good, all the time.

Gosh don't they make G look like a giant?

I'm loving being an aunt and so proud of my seester!

preoccupied

It's been a while since my last post. It's not for lack of material by any means. Too much material maybe...

There is a lot going on in our little world. Maybe I'll write about it one day. Maybe I won't. Seems heavy for a blog.

And so I'm taking a little blog break.

Hopefully I'll be back soon.

his very own swing

For G's birthday present Uncle B built him a swing set to go with the swing from Grandaddy and Nana.

G loves to swing. What's not to love?

Flying through the air in the sunshine sounds awesome.

We have enjoyed it these last few days with all the sunshine.

Thank you Uncle B!

12 months

I know it's a little after his birthday but I need to post about what all Graham is doing as a big ol' one year old.

We had his 12 month Dr. appointment this week. He's doing well, growing and such. Dr. lady is pleased with him. His shot this time was for chicken pox. Am I that old that I remember the days before the vaccine when, gasp, we just got the virus? Not that I liked having it mind you. It was miserable. But anyway, it was either chicken pox or polio. She thought he was slightly more likely to be exposed to the pox germs than to polio. I have to agree.

His stats are:
Height: 28.5 in (10th percentile)
Weight: 18 lb. 8 oz. (2nd percentile)
Head Circumference: 17.9 in (28th percentile)

So much for being a big boy. We're not suprised. Matt and I aren't unusually big people. Poor G, always the short kid these days...

I get stopped all. the. time. by people asking how old Graham is as they watch him run all over the place. Their response is always "my, he is just so small to be walking so confidently." I just laugh.

So he's walking everywhere. Close to running. I have a feeling once we get there, we're never going back.

He is becoming more verbal by the day. He says "ball, baby, bird, mama, dad (sounds like dat), uh oh (sounds like uh uh uh uh uh, he is trying so hard to make the oh sound but can't figure it out), up, and hot (sounds like hhaaaa). His intense screams at us have mostly stopped since he's figured out how to sign for "more" and "all done". He understands many more things that we say like outside, bathtime, go get your binky etc. It's amazing to watch him learn new things every single day.

As far as eating goes, he's getting a little more adventurous. The boy still hates his veggies. So in order for him to eat them, I'm still mixing baby food purees into yogurt. He'll eat cut up fruit pieces all day long, but not a pea. Not even one. He eats grapes, strawberries, banana, apple, loves some blueberries and raspberries. He also eats oatmeal, little cheese crackers, whole wheat pitas, little bity peanut butter and cracker things I found at Trader Joes, greek yogurt, and recently I discovered that he likes scrambled eggs. I'm so glad he likes those because we eat them like twice a week!

Some things I regularly try to get him to eat and he rejects are: raisins, veggie pieces, pasta, cheese, and meat. Oh well, maybe one day....

He is one ball of energy these days. The house is mostly baby proof, so he just runs around with his toy of the day until we help him realize that he really does want a nap. The other day he found a small flashlight and carried it around all day, through both naps, and into the night. He found it each morning and didn't let it go for 3 days straight. Can we say determination? Ha!

He's very much in a daddy-phase and only wants Matt if he's not working. We spend a lot of time outside while he explores the grass and dirt. Such a boy.

Such a sweet time in our life with him. With each new phase we are more in love with out little Cub and this journey as parents. We rely heavily on God for the grace to get through the hard days and praise Him for the joy in the sweet ones. What an amazing gift this little guy is and such a sorce of joy for our family.

a train party

A little baby friend turned one over the weekend. We've had many a baby birthday and for some reason I've always forgotten my camera. Jess and I were in the same childbirth class and our babies were born two weeks apart. You wouldn't know it though because sweet Will is so much bigger than our little Cub. It has been so much fun watching all of these little babes grow up and see their sweet personalities emerge. Happy Birthday Will! We enjoyed your party!

The train table was a huge hit.

Sweet Kate. Seriously...cutest little girl ever.

Parker and Will in the "bounce house".

The babies would go in and immediately fall all over each other because they're new to standing and the floor was squishy.

Jess and the birthday boy. This picture was all sweet until he started furiously shaking the balloon in her face. Now it's just fun!

Family coloring.

I think this picture captures their personalities perfectly.

Will is biting the balloon by the way. His favorite part of the bounce house.

Also, G has a new talent...death grip. He picked up a train piece and a crayon and didn't. let. go. the whole party.

Babies and mommas.

There were way more cute babies than I was able to capture.

I guess it's the price of mobility...

Great party, Happy Bday Will!

in with the new

I looove my new car! Meet Haley. As in Haley Honda. She was born in 2007 and has been a great addition to our family. Graham especially loves her tinted windows. I love that her navigation system is so polite as she tells me where to go. Oh, and when I am in reverse, she even has a camera to show me what's back there!

We're bonding quite well. Welcome to our family!

privacy

I've been doing some thinking. With G getting older, I keep taking more pictures of him and his little friends. Then I want to share them. But do I want to share them with the world?

The other night Matt typed the blog address into the URL bar with a minor typo. What do you know...there is another family with a Matt and Leslie and kids that they love to blog about. As I was looking at their private family pictures as a total stranger I realize that if we just did that how easy it is for others to do it too.

Don't get me wrong, I want any and all readers to share our lives with us. Any and all readers who intentionally come to our blog.

So, I think we're going to go private.

Don't worry, this isn't going to be just family. If you readers would just leave me a comment with your email address I'll make sure you're invited to keep spying on our lives! Even if you feel like I might not know you, just comment...if you've been reading I want you to keep reading!

It'll be several days, maybe a week until we make the switch so that y'all can let me know your email addresses.

I don't want this to deter anyone from blog stalking. Seriously. I do it and totally expect it from others. I hate to ask you to come out of the cracks. But it's ok, if you comment now I won't expect you to keep commenting. You can go back into the shadows if you want, haha.

Or you can email me privately. leslie dot steel at gmail dot com.

Happy reading!

a sock monkey birthday

We had G's birthday party at a park near our house. That park is special to Matt and me because I walked around it every. single. day. that I was pregnant (ok, so I missed like 5 days.). Matt and I often walked together talking about our day and talking about our future and what our lives would be like once our little boy arrived. So we really like that park.

Graham loooves him some outside. He goes crazy if one of us goes out without him. And when we go on walks now, he gets so still and doesn't make a peep except to shriek with delight. Now that he is walking, this is his absolute favorite thing! I swear he would run around until passing out if we let him.

Do you like this face? Its his "I think I'm funny, play with me" face.

Please notice the look on G's face....

Parker and G were beside themselves with their love for the balloons. Great gift uncle B!

The theme was sock monkeys, they're so cute! A friend made this cake because he is oh so talented. Isn't it awesome?

We tried to take a picture of all the babies on the slide. Mistake. With every squirm them squished the babe in front of them. I was holding G in place, so poor Parker was holding them all up! Ok, try again...

Then we tried the stairs. Great idea if only they'd all sit still. HA.

Not sure about what to do...

I love the eyebrows in this shot!

We love you little Graham! You've added unspeakable joy to our lives this past year!

*Thanks to my friend Becca for the awesome pictures! She's a professional people. So hire her! Email me if you want her contact info.