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.

Connections

 

Ever since Graham was born, Brighton and him have had this special bond.  I'm not sure if it's the opposite gender thing or if the age difference is perfect for them or if it's Brighton's innate nurturing sense, but these two are so sweet together.  I could leave them alone for hours and they would entertain each other.  Either Brighton won't stop making him laugh, or Graham will just snuggle up with her while she reads.  He loves her so much and she is so good about taking care of him.  I love that they are connected this way.  It makes me appreciate the sibling bond.  I hope this connection can last longer than Graham's infancy because 2 -year-old boys might not be as easy to snuggle with.  For now I'll enjoy the love they both bring into our home.

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!

6-Year-Old Sweets

Brighton turned 6-years-old in April but I just hadn't gotten around to taking her yearly pictures until now.  Brighton was super excited because I put together this outfit that she thought made her look like Fancy Nancy, so we were in for a fun shoot.  It was really nice to take her out, just me and her, and have a girls' afternoon.  I got to talk with her and hang out and loved my life.  She is such a sweet girl and I'm so proud to call her my daughter.  I love her spirit and I can't wait to see what an awesome young woman she'll become.

Gotta love the ruffle bum

She did so good throughout the entire shoot but after 2 hours of smiling, she felt like this…

A Reading Celebration

The kids have been working all summer long on the reading program at the library.  Brighton has really excelled in her reading ability and Porter can sit for hours if someone is reading to him.  So that has basically been our summer.  They both knew that if they completed the program there would be a great prize.  They finished and when they received an invitation to a library party, they were a little disappointed that their hard work amounted to a piece of paper.  They are all about tangible things, but when I explained to them the fun we would have at this party, they were excited.  Party day finally came and I was a little nervous that the kids excitement for this thing was far greater than the awesomeness of the party, but McAllen Public Library did not disappoint.  There was a ton of free food, games, door prizes, train rides, climbing walls, carnival rides, and amazing bounce houses.  And you needed a ticket for everything which you received with your invitation, so there weren't a ton of people there.  The kids had the best day ever.  It was a great way to close out this first chapter of our cross-country adventure and it will make us think fondly of the time we spent in McAllen, TX.

Art Fair Friday

Porter has started grabbing hold of his ability to draw and color in the the lines.  Here are a couple of examples of his newfound love of the arts.

Porter's first picture of the temple

This is our family at a bubble party with a beehive overhead.  Keep in mind we've never been to a bubble party.  He just thought it sounded fun.

On The Verge

With this kid, it seems like he doesn't take gradual steps to do anything.  It was like one day all he could do was lay there, and the next day he's rolling to get things.  That's why it was no surprise to us that when he figured out how to sit up, about a day later he's on all fours about to crawl.  He is in those serious rocking back-and forth stages and it's only a matter of days before he decides to take the plunge and reach out that hand.  Let the countdown begin!

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!

Sitting Tall

Graham is kind of a chubby little Gus so his chunky belly and arms made it a little difficult for him to sit very well.  Basically, he was top heavy so it was a tough balancing act to figure out.  Luckily, he's conquered it and is sitting up like the best of us.

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.

Gymnastics Camp

 

   
This summer Brighton and Porter have been able to do gymnastics camp.  I'm not one to go out of my way to find these things for them, but love it when friends do and we join up as well.  Our friends here wanted their two little ones in the camp and I thought it would be a perfect outlet for P and B as well.  Now they come home and do somersaults, cartwheels, handstands, and whatever cool trick they learned for hours before dinner.  The best part?  They wear themselves out so they are dead asleep by 7:00.  Thank you gymnastics!

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.

Happy 4th on the 6th

We had a great 4th of July this year. Luckily we have some great friends here who are in the program as well and have kids the same age and Kyle and Jed (our friend) were able to have the day off. We were able to do all the typical fun independence day things but with the kids getting older, they seem to really enjoy it even more. In the morning we went with the Hanks(our friends) to the parade, which in McAllen was basically 100 cars with beauty queens and no one throwing candy. Although the kids were a little disappointed by the lack of sugary sweets, they still loved seeing the princesses (Brighton more than Porter). Then we went to our friend's house for lunch and later we went back into town for a fireworks show at night. They had a good fireworks show, but nothing compares to the Melaleuca show in Idaho Falls. The Hanks are from Idaho so we were able to reminisce about the good old BYU-I days and traditions that go on there. It was a great way to spend an important day and I still get choked up when I hear the national anthem, so remembering our freedoms this day was great.

The parade was started by a little mouse scurrying down the road and stopping right next to us.  I was not a fan.

The actual start of the parade.

Jaxton and Porter admiring the cool cars.

Journee and Brighton enjoyed sitting and watching the beauty queens.

Little Chunk just loved his life because he got held all day by dad.

The boys enjoyed playing some football before the fireworks.

Finally, the show began and all was well with the world.

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.

How to Learn Spanish…Again

Ingredients to reteach yourself Spanish:

1. One mom with dark hair so it's difficult to tell if you're American

2. One super cute babe (blue eyes preferable)

3. One trip to Wal Mart @ 8:00 at night in McAllen, TX

Mix these ingredients together and everyone just north of the border will come up to you and start spouting off many compliments on what an adorable baby you have... all in Spanish. 8:00 at night or later(the later the better) is a preferable time because that is when EVERYONE (little children included) comes to the store so you will have many opportunities for Spanish conversations. You won't be able to leave the place without your baby being oogled over and vocabulary words like preciosa and nino bendito will come right back to you.

*Thanks little chicito for helping me get some Spanish back!

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.

Art Fair Friday

I have a friend who always showcases some sort of her children's artwork on her blog on a weekly basis. I have always loved this idea and in the back of my mind have wanted to do the same thing, if for nothing else, to lessen the guilt when I throw the papers away. Anyway, I figured I just need to start doing it. I can't make any promises that I'll be up to date or that it will even be weekly, but at least I can put up a few that I like this week.

This is Porter's very first family portrait. He has gotten so much more dexterous and it is showing. It makes me smile every time I look at this. He's the top right, then Brighton is holding his hand. THen there's mom on the bottom left (with my glasses) holding hand with dad and his crazy hair, and then baby in between us. I love it.

Brighton actually did this almost a year ago but I took the picture the day we moved from AZ because it was the last thing to clean out of the house. She made it for Porter and we kept it on his wall until we left. We are a big Monster Inc. family so you can clearly see that's Mike Wazowski. Porter was so happy that Brighton made it for him that he wouldn't let us take it down until the very end. For some reason this one was one of my favorite pictures she drew. Anyway, I'll try to continue to post more of their work as summer is a time for coloring and crafting at home. But if we really get bored of those things I guess we can always practice for the play Take that thing back where it came from or so help me.

To The Rescue

I woke up to these two superheroes zooming passed my bed and yelling at the top of their lungs, "TO THE RESCUE!" My first instinct was to yell back, "Be quiet! People are trying to sleep!" But I had to smile and grab the camera before the moment was gone. Sometimes they just make my heart happy.

Week 32

Graham has had quite a few teeth coming through all at once. He has been an angel baby up until this point which makes me feel so bad for him when he gets fussy and sad. I know he's in pain. Poor little guy. He's still our sweet, happy boy though and we love him at 32 weeks.