Week 52

The final installment of 52 weeks of Graham has arrived!  I don't know what we would have done these last 52 weeks if he wasn't in our lives!  We love him to pieces and can't wait to spend many more weeks with our sweet Graham Cracker!

Week 51

He's dazed and confused.  I think he's just about done laying down and having his picture taken every week.  Luckily, he's only got 1 more week to endure!  I can't believe my baby is going to be a year in a few days!!

Week 50

We have had a sick little dude on week 50.  And it's gotten a lot chillier out (thus the snowmen) so being sick and cold is no fun.  He's been running a fever and as result has been so lethargic and sad.  I feel so bad for the little Gus.  Is it bad to say that one of the perk about sick kids is the cuddle time I get because they feel rotten?  Probably.  But I love it.  Graham was a little snugglier than my other 2, but ever since he started rolling over and crawling, there is no way I can get a cuddle in edgewise.  So this week I let other duties fall to the wayside and just loved up on my little sick guy.  And he loved the attention.  I only hope he gets out of this funk before we have to travel across the country!      

Week 49

Well, Graham is 49 weeks and this background represents fast and crazy this kid is.  He hasn't learned how to walk quite yet but he zooms everywhere on his little knees and if he can pull himself to standing, he is all over the place.  And maybe it will subconsciously make him love running like his parents?  Hey, it could happen!  Anyway, this kid is so fun.  He figured out how to give kisses, which is basically keeping his mouth open and lunging toward your face.  Hilarious.  We love our little Graham and can't believe 52 weeks is almost up!

Week 48 and 4-years-old

(Brace yourself for this long post!)  So today Graham turned 48 weeks old and Porter turned 4-years-old.  We weren't planning a party, but wanted to do something special for his day.  So to him that meant taking his whole family to the Science Spectrum.  We decided to invite our good friends the Buckners as well, so he could enjoy a little more company.  Porter has been obsessed with superheroes too lately so that's what we themed it a little bit.  Graham wanted to celebrate it with his weekly background.    

 Dad and Mom with their super dude.

Graham got to hang with Dad most of the time.  This was a super special privilege because it was the first time he wasn't stuck in the stroller the whole time we were there.

Besides the friends that introduced us to this place, we will probably miss this museum the most when we move.

After the Spectrum, we went back to our house for lunch, cake, and crafts.  We had some fun cupcakes (thanks to kikicreates), made superhero sundaes, and even made our own super masks.

Happy Birthday little dude!  We love you so much!  

Here are a few of Porter's favorite things at age 4:

Favorite food:  Pizza

Favorite thing to do:  Hang out with my family 

Favorite TV show:  Busytown Mysteries

Favorite Book:  Leonardo the Terrible Monster, by Mo Willems

What to be when he grows up:  A nurse doctor 

Favorite Candy:  All of it!

Loves:  Batman, wearing superhero masks, his daddy, Boston Red Sox, running everywhere, digging outside in the dirt, wearing rain boots with shorts all the time, and back scratches.

Week 47

Last week it was standing.  This week it's clapping.  If I thought he was excited about standing last week, doing the combo makes him go over the moon!  Slapping those hands together is just about the cutest thing I've seen.  It is so fun to see him overjoyed about learning new tricks.  And he's getting long too! It's getting harder and harder to keep him on a small piece of fabric.  At week 47, we love him and that cute little dimple of his!    

Week 46

This week squishy face has been a happy kid.  He is all over the place lately.  He has been standing on his own now and thinks it's the best trick.  He gets so excited that he's doing it, that he falls right on his bum after about a second.  It's pretty cute.  He is getting so active and crawling all over the place that laying down is the worst form of punishment for him, so major distractions have to be made in order for this little stick to stay put for these weekly photos.  I honestly can't believe it's almost over!  Graham will be 1 in a few short weeks and I am trying to deny this fact.  He has been such a sweet little baby and I just want him to stop growing up!  But such is life, so I guess I better cherish these last few photo active shoots while I can!  

Week 45

This week's shoot could be described with one phrase:  Not amused.  Graham has gotten to the point where I can do anything to try and make him laugh and he is uninterested if he's laying down.  Any other time he's rolling with laughter, but on the ground, life is just not as fun. Poor kid.  He just wants to play and all I want do is constrain him.  Oh well, he'll just have to live with it for a few more weeks.  In case you didn't catch that I said few more weeks.  I can't believe in a little over a month he'll be 52 weeks!  Where did that year go?  I'm so glad I've documented it so I can actually look back and see what I feel like breezed by way too quickly.

Week 44

Graham has been doing better this week and he's just about back to his old sweet self.  Things are going well for everyone else around here too.  Brighton is loving school and Porter and I are finding a groove being on our own together.  Doesn't it look like he's giving the sign for more in this picture?  I guess thats kind f representative of his personality as well. Now that he's not only eating baby food, but real person food, he's an unstoppable force.  The second he sees some sort of food product in your hand, he's staring you down with his big goofy grin, chomping at the bit.  It makes for interesting dinners.  We love all these new little steps he's taking and it's fun to experience it with the whole family.  Brighton LOVES giving him new foods now and thinks it's hilarious to watch him try new things.  We love our little guy and can't complain about life at week 44.  

Week 43

I've been going on and on about how great this baby is all year.  Well, this week he turned the tides a bit.  He's caught a cold and on top of that has been bumping and bonking around everywhere while trying to pull up on things.  Don't get me wrong, he's still been a good baby, just not as happy as we're used to.  So this is as good as it gets for week 43.  Let's hope week 44 treats us a little better!

First Day of First and Week 42

So this Monday was an eventful day because Brighton started first grade.  Graham thought he would celebrate the occasion with his week 42 background.  Anyway, Brighton was excited but pretty nervous which is understandable because we moved here a week ago so everything in her little life is new and different.  She handled the new experience with grace and did very well.  We were fortunate enough to meet a little friend at church the Sunday before school, who was in her class as well.  This alleviated a ton of her nerves so she felt not as lonely on the first day.  Anyway, I was sad to see her go, but excited for her and the new experiences she's having. 

As for Graham, this week he has been trying to master pulling himself up to standing and has given himself quite a few bumps, bruises, and a forehead gash in the process.  It makes for interesting times.  But we still love him to pieces. 

New school shoes are always so exciting

This is Brighton's classic excited face.  Made me laugh.

Week 41

It's our first week in Lubbock and we're enjoying ourselves here.  With adjusting to the move, and his mobility progressing, Graham is almost impossible to take a picture of lately.  He is getting too fast and laying on his back is like a punishment, so finishing this project will definitely be a difficult mission to accomplish.  Luckily, he has a second or two of sweetness in him for me to grab a shot before he rolls on his belly and crawls away.  It's a little frustrating but we love how fun he's become so we're okay with it.

Week 40

It's our last Monday in McAllen and we are just tying up all our loose ends.  Graham is officially crawling and the kids are super excited about it.  We are all getting excited for the new move, and although it's not ideal, we wouldn't have it any other way.  Our family will be stronger for it.  And this little 40-week-old keeps us all entertained with his new tricks that we don't have time to think about things being tough.

Week 39

Look at this chunk.  He is quite the ham (after all, GraHAM is his name).  And those chunky thighs are ridiculously squishable.  We love our little guy at 39 weeks and the weeks just keep getting better!

Week 38

This week was a monumental one for Graham.  He said his first word.  I'm sure he doesn't know what it means and it's just some nonsense sound that randomly makes a word (I'm saying these things to justify it).  The word, you ask?  Dada.  Of course I'm home with him all day and Kyle sees him for maybe an hour at night and G comes up with "dada".  Just my luck.  But I'm actually okay with it because it kills Kyle that he can't see the kids more due to school and the minute he heard Graham say it, he lit up.  He's such a great dad and he needs these little highlights.  I'll let him have this one.

Week 37

Each week gets wigglier with Graham so it's getting more and more difficult to get this guy to cooperate.  But thanks to my 2 photo assistants (especially Brighton)  we are able to get him happy for a second or two.  His teeth are really popping out and he is a champ through the pain.  Have I ever mentioned he's a happy baby?  If you haven't read any other post about Graham maybe that's news to you but anyone who knows him, knows he's fat and happy.  We love our Graham Cracker!

Week 36

G is 38 weeks and I don't know where the time is going!  Maybe it's the fact that I just looked back at the beginning of this photo project and realized that my baby is definitely no newborn anymore , but I can not believe how big this kid is getting!  When I had my other 2 children I loved them and they were sweet babies, but I couldn't wait for the next steps with them.  I always thought, "I can't wait until they're eating solid foods or walking on their own."  I'm ashamed to admit it, but I was a little excited to get out of the baby stage with them.  But I have to say, with Graham I am loving the baby stage.  This baby has made my heart melt.  He is the most easygoing and sweetest baby I've encountered which is probably why I'm loving this age.  Anyhow, he's doing great and I am wishing I could stop time and keep this squishy ball of happy forever.

Week 35

Here is Graham at 35 weeks.  He is happy all the time and starting to get close to crawling which means he will be getting into things all the time.  Yay for us.  It's a good thing he's so cute because it will be hard to get mad at a face like that.

Week 34

Tomorrow is the 4th of July so I thought I'd ring in the patriotic spirit with some festive fabric. Graham is getting to be so much fun. I think after those 6 months of basically laying, smiling, and rolling, he is fed up with doing nothing. So all at once he decided he's going to do everything. First, more teeth are growing in (I swear this kid will have a whole set by his first birthday!). Second, he's starting to roll to actually get to places. And third, he's starting to almost lift his body into crawling stance. I'm fearful of what's to come. He was such our sweet, simple baby. I think we're in for some change soon, but I guess change isn't always bad. And hey, maybe this kid won't get into everything like every other child, right? Fat chance. Well, he is still very loved anyway and at 34 weeks, he's still our sweet, simple chunk.

Week 33

Our poor little Graham cracker is teething again..or still (he's about to break his two front teeth) and even though they are clearly irritating him, he has tried to be a tough little boy. I guess you've got to be when you've got 2 older siblings that oogle over you and sometimes don't know how to be soft in all their oogling. Anyway, he's a champ and hopefully his pearly whites will break free and he'll be a happier Gus again.