Terrific Tubtime

Graham loves his tub time. If we've had a terrible day, we can just put him in his little tub and all is right with the world again. He is all smiles and belly laughs the second his toes touch the water. It reminds me a lot of our other two, although I'm sure most babies love the bath. I've heard it reminds them of the womb. Whatever it reminds this baby of, I just hope he keeps remembering it because he can't get enough of it, and we can't get enough of hearing him laugh and seeing him smile.

Week 12

I took about a bajillion pictures for Graham's 12th week and none of them truly captured his personality until I got to this one. He only made the face for a second and I only got one shot of it, but it made us all laugh like crazy because he's never made it before. He definitely withholds his smiles and expressions until there's something worth being happy over. His is a somber face most of the time, and then when you do something to make him laugh or frown or whatever, you know it's something big because he doesn't just throw his expressions out there like a piece of candy. Anyway, he definitely has been a happier child and it's been a much better week. I think it's the fact that I'm completely off dairy and chocolate. Coming from a cheese and chocolate (not together) lover that says a lot. But I guess it's worth it to see the infrequent smile on the little man's face.

Lemon fields

For family night this week we went to the lemon grove they have on campus here at Midwestern. I know you're asking yourself what school has a lemon grove, but if you were to drive down the road in Glendale, seeing lemon and orange trees is a common occurrence so it's not really out of the ordinary. Anyway, we went there for a family night activity to pick some lemons and it was a fun little activity. They even have some hybrid orange/lemons that we thought we'd try and they tasted like the most sour and disgusting oranges I've ever had. Porter seemed to be a fan of them for a minute, but once the sour started to kick in, he was done. Luckily, our little chunky was all gummy smiles the whole time so that made it more of an enjoyable trip.

Kyle just had to take some awesome pictures of me in the trenches of the lemon trees. If anyone needs an awkward fruit model, I am available for booking.

Inner Peace

We checked out Kung Fu Panda 2 at the library the other day. I'm not sure if that was a mistake or a blessing because now Porter is beyond obsessed. If he could, he would eat, sleep, and breath Kung Fu. He knows the entire movie by heart and has me fast forward the movie to specific scenes so he can act it out as the movie is playing. In the week that we had it checked out, we must have watched it at least 20 times and I am not exaggerating (Don't judge me for letting my kids watch so much TV. It was a tough baby week). I am not joking when I say obsessed. So, for anyone who hasn't seen the movie, the whole plot is that Po (the Panda) is trying to find his inner peace. He does some tai chi moves as well in order to find it. That's a very rough synopsis. Anyway, now when Porter gets mad or frustrated or is about to go into meltdown mode, we just say, "Porter, find your inner peace." And most of the time he will start doing his thai chi and chant "Inner peace. Inner peace. Inner peace." It makes me laugh every time, but it seems to be effective, thus our blessing unfolded. Thank you Po for going on your emotional conquest to find inner peace so my son could find his.

Week 11

We are at 11 weeks now. It's been a little bit of a rough week. You might say it rocked my world (Get it?! With the guitars? That was bad, I know.). Anyway, this kid is a crier. He is constantly wriggling around as he gets upset so I think that he might have some tummy issues that we are trying to work out. We'll see how he does when I tweak my diet this next week. Other than that, nothing is really new with the little Chunk. We just can't get enough of him and his chunky little face, even if it is teary-eyed most of the time.

Week 10

Brighton chose this week's background. She found it in our fabric box and insisted that Graham would love 'laying on a cow' as she so elequently put it. Anyway, we had Graham's 2 month appointment with the doctor and here is the rundown of his stats:

Height: 23.25 inches- 56th percentile

Weight: 10 lbs 9 oz- 10th percentile

Head Circumference: 38 cm- 15th percentile

I keep feeling like he is getting bigger and bigger but the numbers say he's not that large. I think all the weight is going to the cheeks. Those things do not stop growing. His face in this picture captures just a smudge of his jumpy behavior. Our new nickname for him is Crazy Eyes (not very original I know) because his eyes look like they are going to pop out of his head when someone surprises him. He startles SO easily and the second you put him in his carseat, his hand and fingers are spread eagle like he's bracing himself for landing. To put a positive spin on it, he's a very aware baby. Anyway, we love him and all his little quirks.

Shot through the heart

Little Buddy got his shots today and always makes me sad to see his face when they poke him. This time I had all three kids with me and Brighton insisted on holding Graham's hand to make him feel better. She got a little teary-eyed when he started crying but gave him kisses to make him happy. Her tender heart can only handle so much. Well, gratefully they both feel better and we are all happy and immunized.

Steppin' It Up

I know I wouldn't have been able to manage having 3 children at this point in my life if it weren't for Brighton. She has been so helpful and responsible these past several weeks that I was sad to see her go back to school. She's the first to make sure Graham's diaper is changed, that he's happy, and that the house chores are taken care of. If things get a little hectic, she is there to pick up the slack. I've stopped having to ask her to do things more than once before the task is done. Things have just been running smoother in our household and I know it's because of little B. Now I know this sounds a little exaggerated because I'm only talking about a 5-year-old, but she really has stepped it up when it comes to being thoughtful and dependable and I am so grateful for her. Thanks Sweets!

Week 9

We've made it past the 2 month mark! Graham is 9 weeks old and getting chunkier and happier by the day. I feel like that's all I keep saying about the kid but it's true. Something new is that he's started to smile a little more on demand. You can even see a little smirk on his face in this pic. We love our little guy and can't wait for more new things that come our way!

What's In a Name?

I figured now would be as good a time as any to share how we came up with Graham's name. His full name is Graham Edward Comin. He is a really special spirit and very deserving of the name that he has to honor. First off, Graham is a name Kyle and I both really liked but it's even more important to us because Kyle's best friend in college, Sterling Graham, set us up. If it weren't for Sterling's push, we might not be where we are today. If fact, if it weren't for Sterling's entire family, Kyle might not be the person he is today. In college, Kyle went up to live with Ster's family during the summertime and they were the best 'second family' anyone could ask for. He grew to love them dearly and for that reason, Graham was a perfect name for us.

Now as for Graham's middle name- Edward. This is a very special name to us for two reasons (and it has NOTHING to do with vampires!) 1. My grandpa passed away while I was pregnant with Graham and the last conversation I had with him was to tell him that we were having a baby. He was a great man and will forever be missed. This might sound looney but I felt there was some sort of connection between this new little life on earth and my grandpa making it beyond this life that linked the two of these people together. Maybe they knew each other for a brief period up there. Thus, I felt it appropriate to name our little guy after my grandpa whose name was Carl Edward Hotchkiss. I hope his legacy of love can live on through his great-grandchildren.

2. If that's not enough, Kyle's grandfather is named William Edward Comin. Kyle's grandparents are converts to the church and because of it, hundreds of lives have been affected. He sealed us in the temple and means a great deal to us. He continues to be a great man. With 2 grandparents both named Edward, we felt it was meant to be.

And with a sweet, lovable face like his, he's got to have a meaningful name to go with it. Anyway, now you know how Graham Edward Comin came to be!

A Sad Day

I know this is a little late, but my mom left right before the new year and it was a sad day for all of us. She has been missed immensely! She was such a help with the baby and the kids. I honestly don't know what I would have done on my own. Everyone needs their mom every now and again and my mom came to the rescue at the exact moment I needed her. So, thanks mom. We love and miss you!

Week 8

Everybody says that chunky babies are sleepier and happier. Well, Graham seems to be living proof of that. He has gained quite a few pounds and the chunkier he gets, the less I see a crying, mad baby and the more I see my sweet little sleepy head.

The other night we were gathered in the living room for family prayer and scripture study. The kids were going crazy, running around, and being loud. Finally we got everyone quiet and reverent and the second I said "Dear Heavenly Father..." Graham lets out the biggest belly laugh we had ever heard. We all looked at him and couldn't help but bust up laughing. All that work trying to get everyone quiet and the baby brought us back to square one! But I will never forget that family moment. It was priceless. Hopefully that's a foreshadow of things to come. He truly has been a blessing in our lives and bring us all together.

*And anyone who knows us, knows we are huge Red Sox fans so I made Graham his very own Red Sox blanket for Christmas. We gotta start them young in this fam!

P if for Primary

January is always the start of something new. New goals, new beginnings, and for some of us new stepping stones. Porter made it through one of his stepping stones today by going to primary in church for the first time! It was a monumental day. I don't think I've mentioned this before, but when we moved here, Porter regressed in Nursery and became super clingy. Normally in every other situation he is an outgoing kid, but for some reason, nursery was not doing it for him. He would not go without many tears shed and it's only been very recently that he's been doing better. With that being said, I was nervous for him and this new step. I thought we would see his weekly nursery melt-downs all over again, but that was not the case. He was a little cautious but when he saw that Brighton was in there too, he did much better. He sat down with his class and tried to put on a brave little face. I'm sure there were just a few tears during that first class, but at least he knows what to expect now. I'm still proud of the milestones that he's gone through and the many I know him and all of us as a family will go through for the 2012 year!