Graham at 15 months

15 Months!!!  Okay it happened a while ago but I still wanted to write an update about G and how he is growing into such a toddler.  He is such a funny and silly little boy.  He is friendly and is learning quickly.
He loves to listen to music, dance, read books (so many books), he has taken off walking, and is talking.  What a change!  We counted up the words that we understand and he knows how to say 32 words.  The most used words are "all done", "eat", "mama", "dada",  "bye bye", and "up."  He is starting some actual play with toys.  He especially loves his bus with little stick people and pretending anything is a phone.  He is enjoying playing outside and loves to climb up any type of stairs.

Catch Up

It has been a long, long winter.  The bonus is that Trent has been able to work from home on all the snow days.  It is wonderful to have him around.  We did not get out much this winter.  Mandy dislikes the cold and there is not too much going on.  However, Christmas was another story. It started out by going to the capital tree lighting.  We have a friend that works for the Architect of the Capitol as an Arborist. He helped put up the tree and got us some fancy tickets to be right up next to the tree.  Graham was dressed warmly as a polar bear. He was adorable!  He almost stole the whole show.  Christmas eve was spent friends and Graham got to be Joseph as we told the Christmas story. Christmas was a fun day full of presents, talking with family, and dinner with friends.  

Christmas Fort

Graham's favorite present from Santa - a baby piano

Graham's hair was growing so fast and was in his eyes so Mandy found a clever solution.  The pictures below show the solution. Trent did not like this so it led him to cut his hair.

Valentine's day started out with Graham getting dressed up with his heart patch pants.  Trent made a clue Valentine's game for Mandy that included names of board games we own.  Yes, we are that dorky.

For Mandy's birthday we went to a Mardi Gras celebration.  We roasted marshmallows for smores and ate gumbo at a cafe with live jazz.  Graham loved the gumbo and swayed to the music.  He is so hip.

Graham Turns One!

He is so big...sooo big.  When did this happen?  I look at him now and think that he looks more like a little toddler than a little baby.  I wish I could freeze him right now.  He is absolutely perfect!

 First snowfall...he looks happy in the pics but he was more unimpressed than anything.

Some Things about Graham at One

Favorites:
Foods  Green Smoothies, Cheesy Breads and Fruits. Feeding Graham continues to be a lot of entertainment. He makes a loud, growling sound as he eats.  Sometimes it sounds angry and sometimes it sounds happy.  He is pretty independent and only wants to feed himself.  He will allow us to feed him with a spoon only if we throw our hands up and shout "Yay!" after each bite.

He likes to move things. All day he pushes around chairs, trucks, and bikes.  He has a bright future as a mover.

He loves to open and close doors.  He will often close himself into rooms, even dark ones, and he does not seem to mind.  Along with doors, he likes to open cabinets.  He lost a knob to one of our cabinet doors and he figured out that if he opens a drawer then there is a small opening for him to open the door.  Baby genius.

Music.  He loves to listen to, dance to, and make music.  He directs the hymns at church and will "sing" along...boisterously.

Books Graham will reach for book after book and sometimes after the ninth book I have to direct him to do something else.  He is now turning the pages and will often kiss a baby or person in the book.  He especially loves to kiss Baby Jesus....and himself, when he looks in a mirror.

Mini Tantrums Graham likes to have his way and when he does not sometimes he will have a small tantrum where he lies on the floor and kicks his feet. Most of the time he will just put his fingers on his lips and make move them to make sounds...what is the word for that?

Words  We are just starting to understand some of his words.  His current english language skills consist of Momma, Dadda, Books, Keys, Bye, Woof, and Moo.  Not even close to fluent.  He will also wave hello and goodbye and will shake your hand...he is a formal baby.

Affection  For a while I wondered if he would ever be affectionate.  He is a busy boy that does not liked to be captured...unless you are going to tickle him.  However, lately he has been handing out kisses and hugs with ease.  He loves to kiss mom and dad, books, the ipad when talking with grandparents, and Santa's picture.

Growth  He is still small for his age.  He is 19 pounds and 29.5 inches.  

Birthday
For Graham's birthday we wanted to celebrate some of his favorite things and foods.  He also had to have a cake.  Trent made sure it was a healthy banana cake with strained Greek yogurt frosting.  He seemed to like it. At first he was unsure but when Trent broke it up for him he was as happy as he could be.

The food:

Fall Festival, Halloween, and Grandparent Visit

October is the best month. The weather is nice, the trees are turning colors, and the food is delicious.  Plus, Halloween is my favorite holiday.  I was so excited to share all these wonders with Graham.  Early in the month, we took him to a fall festival.  I loved this particular festival in Germantown, Maryland at Butler's Orchards.  There was food, live music, a hay ride, and a pumpkin patch.  Graham had a wonderful time playing on the toys and with the pumpkins.

Graham made a perfect Pinocchio....and Trent was the best Geppetto around.  Seriously, am I a lucky girl or what.  He will someday be a good looking old man!  Graham was amazed by all the commotion that is Halloween.  He loved seeing the costumes and decorations.  We attend our wards Trunk or Treat and made our car into a whale.  We won Best Car!  Halloween night we went to Old Town Alexandria.  There is an idyllic street where most of the historic homes are decorated and handing out candy.  Some even have spook allies. 

In early November, my parents traveled from Idaho to Arizona and drove to see us.  Graham loved having them here.  He laughed so much with his Grandpa... my dad is pretty silly and Graham ate it up.  While they were here we were able to see some sights that we had not made it to.  We went to the Dulles Air and Space Museum, the Woodlawn Plantation, the Pope-Leighey House built by Frank Loyd Wright, the Botanical Gardens, and the Frederick Douglass House. 

Air and Space Museum

Botanical Gardens

 This kids faces make me laugh.