graham log

fifteen months old
august 13 - september 12

fourteen months old
july 13 - august 12

YOU DID IT!  YOU STARTED WALKING!
good job, buddies!

you love to tickle me. 
and you say "tickle tickle tickle" SO clearly!

notes to self
- mechanics
- hands in the air

- dramatic belly flops

thirteen  months old
june 13 - july 12

aren't you cute?  you are still laid back, but you have started asserting yourself much more.  you sure do let us know you are hungry.  which is often.  anytime you SEE food, it's time to eat.  you also let us know when piper has taken a toy or you can't quite get what you're reaching.

you're so much more playful and exploratory, and i love watching you as you learn or figure out how something works.  you are really good at building and stacking.  you're also really into banging things.  and you like your toy trucks.  it's so cute and boy-like to see you pushing your trucks along the floor.

you still have just four teeth.

you're not walking yet!  but you at least started spending more time practicing.  you don't really like it much though, it seems, so looks like we still have some time.  it's kind of nice though, because you're my baby and i don't mind carrying you!

and your crawl is THE cutest.  you're a very skilled crawler.  :)
so fast.

you say "thank you" pretty clearly.
did i ever mention that you do say mama?  and you use "dada" a lot?
but you don't say piper or sissy, at all.
you DO say, "ta-da!!!!" with a big smile and lots of show.
you also say ...
"I SEE YOU"
when playing peek a boo.
you say "i see you" ... but you hardly say mama.
just pointing that out.

twelve months old!
YOU'RE ONE YEAR OLD!!!!
may 13 - june 12
you have been such a fun and easy baby.  you really melted my heart all over the place,
and i want 500 babies just like you!!!

we wish you the best, best birthday and we love you!

eleven months old
april 13 to may 12
{photos to come}

you love playing peek a boo all by yourself now, hiding behind your hands smooshed to your face, and then peeking out and laughing.  you also do this weird turning your head fast thing.  and sometimes you just like to twist, twist, twist (your upper body) while you're sitting on your knees.  not sure what it's all about, but you love.  you constantly open the lowest drawer in the kitchen.  correct, there is not a child lock on it.  but piper learned quickly when we said, "no, no, no," moved her away and redirected.  you, on the other hand, crawl right back and open it again.   you also crawled up and onto a chair this month.  i'm beginning to think you might be pretty mischievous.  and i'll tell you what you're not interested in ... WALKING!!
you're not saying mama, like i thought you were maybe kinda starting to say. at all.
you only say, UH-OH!  
you kind of say ALL DONE. 
and sometimes you grab little toys and put them right to your ear and say HO (hello, maybe?)you love waving and high-fiving, but seem to have become bored with "where's your head??"

your two lower teeth and one giant top tooth came in all at about the same time!
finally, TEETH!


you are also LOVING all the foods you're eating, there's been no deficit in the eating department.  





you took your first international trip at 11 mos, just like your big sis.  we took a family trip to mexico, and you LOVED being in the water.  you did not love sand.

ten months old
march 13 to arpile 12
{some photos to come}

oh, you're clapping upon request, waving hi and bye, and playing peek-a-boo!  not sure if this maybe started while you were still nine months, but you're doings so great! and you just started showing us where your head is when we ask.  you love eating!  you ate mimi's japanese curry when we all had lunch one day, and when i dropped you off recently, you were eating your own cut-up french toast with the kids at school.  you'll be on miss amanda's toddler menu in no time.  

you're still so mild-mannered and people always ask if you're always so chill.  the answer is pretty much still a resounding yes!  but you just cut your first tooth, and it was the first time we saw you cry that wasn't for being hungry or hit/pushed by an older sister.  your big sis has actually passed the phase where she would knock you down or push you over for no apparent reason.  she's really nice to you now, and is starting to realize it's not nice to take toys from you.  

i love how when i blow into your face, you smile, laugh, and then try to blow back.  

nine months old
february 13 to march 12
{some photos to come}

oh my little bud, you are just like a puppy.  you're so happy.  you're soft.  you do little tricks.  you eat. you sleep.  you're fun to carry but getting heavy.  and you're sooooo so cuddly.  i just kiss and kiss you.  you're starting to eat a lot. you prefer to feed yourself by hand (finger foods: puffs, banana, and pear are your faves) and are getting really very good at grabbing your bowl of food and the spoon out of our hands to try and feed yourself if we're not feeding you fast enough.  

we kind of think you're trying to distinguish "mama" and "dada," but not sure, because i don't think your sister was doing that this early at all.  i'm going to have to go read some stuff and see if it's possible yet.  :)  mehhhh, not long after writing this, decided you weren't making any distinction, and your "m" sound disappeared.

you haven't started cruising yet, but you are really good at pulling yourself up and onto anything now, jumping and bouncing all the while.  

you had your nine month appointment and are doing great!

eight months old
january 13 to february 12

{some photos to come}

oh little buddy! since last month, you've become such an adventurous and daring little guy.  you are all over the place, pulling into standing on your own, and tumbling over a lot.  you bump your little noggin all the time, and i'm sorry i don't always catch you! but there is no stopping your activity!

you are still easy and chill, but you are starting to get frustrated by the things you can't do -- like when something is just out of your reach!  

you've been enjoying your new foods, and love those little veggie puffs, but can definitely still down a big ol' bottle.  

you can clap when asked to!  it used to be a little up and down clap, but now you've got the regular clapping down.  you're making the "mama" sound more, and you know i like that!

seven months old
december 13 to january 12
{some photos to come}

this was a big month for you, little one.  you figured out how to really crawl! you also figured out how to go from your tummy to a sitting position!  and you did it on christmas! it's hard to believe that last christmas, we opened up an envelope that told us you were going to be a boy, and now we have a crawling baby on our hands!  your sister got a toy wooden oven/stove for christmas and you LOVE to climb on it.  but it has pretty sharp corners and you've already managed to bang yourself up, mostly from your grip slipping.  no matter where we put the oven, trying to place it out of your way, you manage to find a way to get to it.  your little motor skills are improving too.  you are fantastic with holding your own bottle now, and now fully understand which side you need to drink from!  you're really good at grabbing it and putting it to your mouth and feeding yourself without even having a little prop under your arms.  if you're in your jumpy chair, you still drop the bottle though. you look so sad as it falls to the ground and rolls away. i don't know when it started, but it's so fun to see you recognize object permanence.  when you drop a toy out of your sight, you try to look under your chair/bouncer/etc to find it. also your little pincer grasp is getting really good, and you find every little thing on the floor and pick it up, and it heads right for your mouth.  also, when you eat, you pretty much insist on holding the spoon yourself and smashing it against your mouth yourself.  which is cute and great, and wonderful for your development and all that, but MESSY!! we try to trick you sometimes by giving yourself a different spoon to hold, but you've caught onto our ways.  you really love playing the call and response game where you make your noises and we copy them back to you.  while you've been making the "dadadada" sounds for awhile, you started making the "mama" sounds! ya! i am going to try to get you to use "mama" as a real word before you use "dada."  you LOVE to watch your sister and go nuts when she pays attention to you.  you live for it.  it doesn't even matter if she is bossing you around or what she's saying, when she is looking at you, you just light up and smile and laugh! oh and you are just so cuddly!! you are always so giddy when we pick you up, and so ready to play and cuddle and snuggle.  and i almost forgot to mention the best thing ever: you started sleeping through the night!!!! thank you buddy!!!!!! even though you're a big boy, you're still little and light compared to what you'll become soon and so i savor these days while you're little and i can scoop you up like this. you're just a great baby and we love you so much!  

six months old
november 13 to december 12
{some photos to come}

half a year has flown by! we still call you little buddy or buddy, but don't you worry, your sister knows your name is graham. you're the one who made us realize that when other parents were talking about morning cuddle time in bed with their little babies, that they actually weren't lying!!  your sister was not a morning cuddler, or a cuddler at all for that matter, but you relish in the attention.  you smile so big in the morning, and love the snuggles. before piper is up, you like to sit in our bed right between us, and hold one of our hands and explore our fascinating fingers. when you fall over, you get kisses and then it's usually time to pull ourselves out of the warm covers and get you and piper ready for the day.  you are doing a great inchworm/frog leap to get around and are quite proficient.  i'm not sure if you'll even bother with the crawling thing, since you sure do make your way around the room with the method you've got!

your stats

weight: 19lbs 9oz (75th-90th percentile)

height: 98th percentile!?!?!?!

head: 98th percentile. duh.

five months old
october 13 to november 12
{some photos to come}

we do have some pictures of you learning to sit up, and also of your first time trying rice cereal.  you still nurse in the evenings and mornings.  you do still wake up overnight sometimes, it's just not all the time.  you had a cold, then must have caught another back to back, and this one turned into a bad cough.  i got this one too, and i really felt for you because it's not a fun one!  it made it hard for you to sleep, and this was of course while your dad was traveling for work.  but even with this mean cold, you are super smiley, cuddly and happy.  we can't believe how cute & cuddly you are.

we haven't pointed out the funny little thing you do as you fall asleep in your bassinet.  even as you are so close to sleep that your eyes are already shut, you roll to your left and lob your right arm up until you grab the side wall of the bassinet.  once you grab it, you fall asleep with it still in your grasp.  i'm not sure why this is so comforting to you, but my theory is that it reminds you of being held in your mama's arms as you nurse.  especially if nursing in my bed, that't the way you would be lying.   

four months old
september 13 to october 12
{some photos to come}

your stats

weight: xlbs xoz (x percentile)

height: x percentile

head:  x percentile

three months old

august 13 to september 12

little buddy,

this month you started at daycare. you transitioned seamlessly and they report you're a happy baby at school. by the end of your first month there, you already had a girlfriend. her name is zoe.

she's holding your hand.
you look mortified!

right after i went back to work you started waking up multiple times, and inconsistently, overnight. so while i thought you were on your way to waking up only once, you definitely went back to waking up twice a night. around 12:30a and 3:30a.

you're still our laid back little buddy though. even our friends at miss amanda's say you're super easy. and they agree that you are very unlike how your sister was at your age. baby piper was colicky. even though the colic started to subside by the time she started daycare, she was still a little gassy and cranky when she started at miss amandas. there is no way around it: piper was a difficult baby, and you are not!

not long after going back to work, we transitioned you to half breastmilk/half formula because my supply just couldn't keep up. we're trying to find the perfect formula for you. maybe it will help you sleep? you went from drinking 3 1/2 to 4 ounces per feeding to 6 ounces per feeding by the end of the month. i think miss amanda tried to increase your ounce-age too quickly at first, but now that we're a few weeks down the road, it seems to be working ok.

you started rolling from your tummy to your back around 14 weeks. and you're even extra super smiley now. you just love to hang out, "talk" and be with the group. and we love you being with us!

xoxo,
mama

two months old
july 13 to august 12
{to come}

one month old
june 13 to july 12
{to come}

newborn baby brother

may 13 to june 12

you took our breath away the secnod you made your loving and peaceful entrance into this world at 9:51am on mother's day. you are a sweet, smooshy, cuddly baby. your family sure does love you so!

you started at 8lbs 15oz, 20in. -- a big, healthy boy!

after coming home from the hospital you had a little bit of a rough start with fever, jaundice, and weight loss, but you bounced right back and by your one month appointment measured in at 10lbs 2oz (50th percentile), 22in. (75th percentile), and head circumference at 15.5in (98th percentile). my kids have big heads. so smart.

blond hair!?!

we didn't quite know what to call you at first, but we sure did call you lots of things. while we decided between callum or graham, we mostly took to calling you "baby brother." your mama often called you "buddy" and when you gave us your little looks, i called you my little "angry bird." you have a very serious look to you!! how can you be so sweet and have such an angry face at the same time? angry bird, we can't wait to see you smile.

your sister piper really loves to help you. at first she tried to bring you all sorts of things (toys, books), but soon realized you didn't know how to hold anything. a few toys might have landed on your face, but you're a tough little guy. she gives you your "fire" (pacifier) when it falls out of your mouth, and even helps feed you. sometimes she even holds you and that makes her so happy that she can't stop giggling. she's still learning how to be gentle with you, but you are so great and rarely cry when she's a little too rough.

you are such a good baby. you cry when you're hungry, need a new diaper, or want to be held. you love being held. i mean, you are mr. cuddles. this is so different for us!

you had a hard time latching during your first month, but we were able to feed you breastmilk exclusively. you sleep in a bassinet in our bedroom.

your little feet are the softest. i love how when we unswaddle you, you remain all curled up. i love how when i pick you up, you arch your little back so far. i forgot what it is to have a newborn. i love to smell your head. you smell like a little baby and i have spent a lot of time taking it all in.

my little son, it is so special getting to know you. how quickly i loved you so much! how has our first month with you already sped past? i can't believe how amazing such a little person can be!