School Day!

We still attend and enjoy our little class each Thursday morning. It's been a while since I've posted any pictures of Graham at school, so here they are. Enjoy!

Graham and his friend Evie-they were trying to hold hands!

Checking out the new toys for the week!

Graham really enjoys pulling each and every toy off of this shelf. This week he found a new favorite activity though....see the last picture for some more explaination!

Snack time!

Graham's activity of choice today (and the reason for my very throbbing headache) was pounding, no seriously he was POUNDING, on this table for about 15 minutes. I tried to redirect him to a different activity but he kept going back. His teacher just laughed, said that he was learning, and let him go on with it. There are only three boys in the entire class, but by the end of class, all three boys were pounding together....unfortunately my camera was put away by that point. It seems as though I've got a ring leader on my hands. He was able to rally the boys together to really create some noise! His hands are an absolute blur in this picture because they were moving so fast. Lately, it seems like the louder the noice, the more Graham is drawn to that activity.

Messy, messy, messy

According to the many parenting books I've read as well as at the advice of our pediatrician, mealtime for a child should be without distraction. We're doing our best to set a good example at meals and keep things calm. We want Graham to understand that when he's sitting in the highchair his one and only job is to eat. So, Jeff and I attempt to model good "mealtime behavior" while Graham frequently throws himself a personal party. His cup is thrown (and retrieved by us) countless times causing milk to splatter everywhere then he offers food to Annie and giggles to himself when the pasta hits her head rather than her mouth. What a treat it is to pick dried pasta from Annie's fur at the end of the day! I have officially given up on trying to clean up after Graham in the kitchen as the day progresses. I realized I was losing a never ending battle with Graham, the highchair, and the kitchen floor. The mess will still be there after Graham is tucked safely into bed for the night, so that is when the mess will be taken care of.

Graham's newest thing is trying to feed me while he eats. Occasionally, I'll actually open my mouth for him, and do my best to swallow whatever mashed up food it is that he's offered. Graham had a tomato stuck on the end of his finger that he wouldn't eat. He's trying to get me to eat it in this picture!

Indulging in his favorite fruit-mandarin oranges!

Graham loves his milk!

Being silly for the camera!

When Graham is done eating he tries to pull his bib off....just like he's doing here!

Our Tuesday Outing....

This afternoon we again found ourselves at Children's Museum. With the weather being as miserably cold as it is, the museum is a wonderful place to spend a few hours. We had a bit more time this week which allowed for a bit more leisurely exploring. Amy and baby Alex met up with us today, so it was nice to have some company too!

"Ice Fishing"....Graham intently studied the fish in the hole for quite a while. The pole is surprisingly heavy and Graham worked very hard to pull the fish up, but unfortunately the fish won this time. A split second after this picture was taken, Graham toppled over off of the stool.

Graham was a pretty happy guy to discover a corned filled with various drum sets. He's taking a pretty good swing in this picture which explains the beige blur heading towards the drum!

Graham goes to the doctor...

We found ourselves back at the pediatricians office today. Thankfully, it had nothing do with illness, but rather since Graham recently celebrated his first birthday, it was time for his one year checkup! I know that so many children are afraid and actually dread trips to the doctor, but as long as Graham is healthy, is seems to have a ball during his visits! Hopefully, he's able to carry his positive outlook regarding the doctor with him as he grows up. It came as no surprise to us to hear the doctor say that Graham is a very healthy boy!

Graham was supposed to be sitting still in this little chair to be weighed. He was still until he realized there were buttons above his head!

Taking matters into his own hands and calibrating the scale! Once we "helped" him sit still, we learned that he weighs a healthy 21 pounds and 6 ounces.

Amusing himself while waiting for the doctor to come in. I feel badly for whoever had the room next to us, because Graham had a lovely time pounding on the walls!

Who says going to the doctor isn't fun?

Today was a big day for Graham. Yes, he discovered his belly button. He's obviously seen it before, but has paid it absolutely no attention. Sticking his finger into his belly button repeatedly also helped pass the time while we waited for the doctor!

Twinsfest!

The weather was wonderful here today. Not only did the temperature finally climb above zero, but we hit 30 degrees, the sun was out, and it actually felt manageable to be out and about. We ended up heading to the Metrodome to explore Twinsfest this afternoon. Jeff was in his glory with all the Twins players signing autographs and baseball paraphernalia to look at, and Graham.....well, he was just trying to take it all in. It was absolutely packed and from the stroller, I'm sure he just got a really good view of random legs. As long as Graham had a cookie in hand though, he was quite the trooper!

Lately, Graham is very interested in lights-ceiling fixtures, lamps, candles-it doesn't matter. If it looks like a light he's infatuated with it. Here is Graham intently studying the light covered ceiling at the Metrodome.

If you grow up in Minnesota, you grow up knowing what a dome dog is. This is Graham's first experience with the infamous dome dog.

I think he likes it!!!

Hanging out at home...

It's amazing how much fun our little guy can have with a blanket!

Who is that hiding under the blanket???

It's Graham!! (and yes, much to Graham's delight, this game was repeated many times!)

A place to roam free...

Yesterday, Graham was a guest at the Children's Museum for the very first time. He had an absolute ball roaming around a completely child friendly (padded!) room and exploring at his own pace. He was lucky enough to receive a one year membership to the museum as part of a birthday gift (thanks Mom and Dad!) so we're definitely planning on spending many cold winter afternoons letting Graham experience all the museum has to offer!

Watching the cars pass on the street from five stories up...

Graham was up on a bridge and got a kick out of pointing at me down below. I'm sure he felt like quite the big boy!

Playing "peek-a-boo" with Mommy-notice the padded walls and posts? :)

Happy Birthday Graham!

One year ago today, Graham was born in South Korea! It's so hard for me to believe that he's already one! What a privilege it is that we get to be Graham's Mommy and Daddy. Seldom does a day pass that Jeff and I don't look at each other in awe over the fact that we have been given this honor. I am so deeply thankful for the love, sacrifice, and courage that Graham’s birth mother had. She has been on my mind so many times over the past months and I hope that she has found peace and healing in the past year. I hope someday she will know how deeply loved and cherished Graham is. I also think often of Graham’s foster mother who loved our son in deep ways until we could shower him with our own love. I feel like I owe both of these women so much, yet I don't at this point in time have to opportunity to share my extreme gratitude with them. I'm hoping that because we've all loved the same little boy, that somehow, they just "know"...

As corny as this may sound, I can’t count the number of times I tear up just watching Graham play, still in disbelief that this amazing little boy is actually my son. I know that these are some of the best days of my life…

In honor of Graham's fabulous first year, I've created a montage. Some of the pictures you've probably seen, and others are new. In any case, seeing the pictures all together is a good reminder of just how much Graham has grown! Enjoy!

http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=4a896a5f0daae886de174a&skin_id=601&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

The last of the party pics...

I know, I know, more party pictures! I promise that this will be the end of it. I'm just a really, REALLY proud Mommy! I can take absolutely no credit for the following pictures. Jeff's cousin, Mark, is an amazing photographer, and he captured the sweetest candid shots for us at Graham's party. In no particular order, here are just a few of them....

Birthday Video

In case you didn't see enough of Graham's birthday party in pictures, here is a video too. The video is compliments of Dave and Amy-thanks guys!

Graham blowing out his birthday candle...

It's time to PARTY!

It's absolutely unbelievable to me, that Graham will celebrate his 1st Birthday on Tuesday!
He's getting so big, so fast! Today, though, on the most miserably cold day that you could imagine (windchills of 30 below zero!) we had quite the birthday bash in his honor with close to 50 people to help us celebrate! It was a "fusion" celebration of sorts, with some Korean traditions to honor his heritage and of course some of the more familiar American traditions as well.

In Korea, the 1st birthday is a huge deal...think American wedding reception huge deal! We didn't pull that off, but I think we did a pretty good job incorporating some of the traditions and symbolism right here in Eden Prairie. One of the Korean traditions is to set up a "dol table" and this is a picture of Graham's. Each item on the table represents something. For example, the colored stacks of rice cakes are meant to help Graham grow strong. The fruit in the back is meant for Graham's descendants to multiply and prosper. The two blue candles are something that I added. They were placed on the table in honor of Graham's birth mother and foster mother as I know that both of these women are thinking of him as he gets ready to celebrate his first birthday.

In this picture, Graham is taking part in the "doljabee event". This is a ceremony used to predict Graham's future. We placed significant items on a tray and whichever items Graham chose first are the items that will shape his future. The first item that Graham chose was a calculator which means that he will have a job in finance like his Daddy! The second item he chose was a rice cake which means that he will have a prosperous life. The outfit that Graham is wearing is called a "hanbok". It is a traditional Korean costume that dates back to the Yi dynasty. Graham's foster mother in Korea gave him this outfit to wear on his birthday, so it was especially meaningful for him to wear it today.

He's already chosen the calculator, now he's going for the rice cake!

Trying to make a decision...

After the "doljabee event" was finished it was time to eat. This also meant it was time for Graham to change outfits as I didn't want to risk ruining his silk hanbok with cake and ice cream! Seriously though, could this Birthday Boy be any cuter if he tried?

Taking a break from the party to play with some toys and have a yogurt smoothie!

Time to blow out the candles and lick the frosting from Daddy's finger!

He has no idea what in the world we've given him on his highchair tray!

Frosting is soooooooo yummy!

Now that he's discovered that there is cake under that frosting, he's really gotten to the good stuff!

Time for presents! Graham was VERY tired by this point, so opening the gifts was mostly done by Jeff and I. He got many wonderful new things and was already sporting his new Minnesota Wilds jersey in this picture!

He's Back!

Graham is officially back! After a very long week, he's finally showing off his personality and smiles once again. He became very excited at breakfast this morning when he was actually allowed to eat normal, although bland food. His food disappeared as quickly as I could cut it up and get it onto his tray. And remember that problem we'd been having with him throwing his food??? Let's just say that Graham wasn't going to miss out on one bite and not one piece hit the floor...we'll see how long this lasts!

I had set up a "blockade" to keep Graham on one side of the room. He let out a very loud scream at this exact moment because Annie made an escape under the blockade! Who would have thought that Graham and Annie would be in competition with each other. It seems like a bit much sometimes...if Graham is eating, we better have something for Annie to eat too. If we're playing ball with Annie, we better be ready to play ball with Graham too. If Annie makes a great escape, it's only a matter of minutes before Graham attempts the same escape route.

Moms don't have time to get sick!

Things are finally starting to look up for the boys of the house. Jeff is back at work and it's been 30+ hours since Graham has been sick-WOO HOO! Graham is still moving slowly today, and after a few minutes of playing on the floor he starts tugging on me and repeating "up up up" as he prefers to be carried around and held. It's kind of unbelievable to me that I haven't come down with this mystery stomach illness. Not that I'm complaining, but I've been dealing with a sick baby for a week and a sick husband for a few days in the middle of Graham's illness, and still, I'm healthy. There is just so much to be done that I'm literally willing myself to stay strong-it just won't work with my busy schedule to be sick!

Here is Graham this afternoon starting to show some interest in his toys again!

Olson House Update

Many of you are probably wondering why the "Graham Updates" have been so sporadic this past week, and I promise you that I have a very good explanation. Last week Graham came down with a stomach bug and we got the impression over the weekend that we had seen the worst of it. Fast forward to Sunday night, and Jeff came down with the same exact thing. So, I've been dealing with two sick boys, one big, one little, and both in equally great moods! :) Luckily, the worst seems to be over for Jeff, as he's starting to show signs of his "big boy" appetite returning. This morning I ended up visiting the doctor again with Graham though. The doctor was pretty sure that he was dehydrated and wanted to run a blood test to check his electrolytes just to be sure. If his levels were off (which she expected them to be), we would be heading to the hospital for some IV fluids. Up until today, when Graham has needed blood taken, they've been able to take it from his finger, which he surprisingly doesn't seem to mind. Today was different though. It took 3 nurses and a giant rubber band around his arm for them to successfully get the needle into the vein in his arm. I'll be honest and admit that I cried just as hard as Graham did during the entire procedure. I learned this morning that there is NOTHING worse than hearing my child cry out of pain and fear, and not have the ability to do a single thing about it. This was one doctors appointment that I'm sure Jeff was glad to miss. After we had the blood draw ordeal behind us, we were on our way to pick up some special formula to help Graham's stomach and wait at home for the results. The special formula seems to be doing the trick and it's all staying in his stomach where it should be! We also just got our lab results and Graham's levels all looked good enough for him to be able to stay in the comfort of his own home and get his fluids from his "ba ba" rather than a nasty IV.

I have no pictures today, sorry! Nobody at our house is in the "picture taking" mood right now, but I did want to let everyone know what's been going on. Cross your fingers for Graham tonight. If things go well, he's allowed to eat solid food tomorrow. WOO HOO!

On the mend...

The past few days in our house have been anything but dull. Unfortunately, I can't say it's because of anything exciting, but rather it's been pretty low key as Graham was hit with a pretty nasty stomach flu. Other than a routine cold a few months back, Graham hasn't been sick since he's come home....he was saving that for when his Daddy was on a business trip! Thursday morning Graham woke up with the flu and since then, it's been a real challenge for him to keep anything in that little stomach of his. We actually ended up visiting the doctor on Friday who assured me it was nothing more than the flu and it just needed to run it's course. Graham was pretty miserable and wouldn't think about doing anything other than being held. He didn't let me put him down for a second. Even after his meals came up, he insisted that he be in my arms. I'm sure it must have been comical to watch me cleaning up after a sick baby, trying to calm a sick baby, and trying to get Annie out of the way-all at the same time. After all, for those of you that know Annie, you know how much "excitement" she adds to nearly any situation! Let's just say that Jeff was welcomed home with open arms! Today is the first day that Graham is acting even close to his normal self. He was pretty lethargic yesterday but appears to be on the mend. He's back in his walker, finally willing to explore rather than being in my arms, chasing Annie around the kitchen and throwing Cheerios at her. Hopefully his lunch stays down, and things will be back to normal soon!

First smile since Wednesday night!

The Resourceful Baby

Graham loves all electronics. He actually becomes very frustrated if he sees something like a remote, cell phone, laptop, or video game, and isn't allowed to play with it. He often sees his Daddy holding these items, so I'm pretty sure that explains why Graham thinks he needs to hold these things too. The PSP is one of Jeff's prized possessions, and only on very rare occasions is Graham allowed to touch it. Jeff is currently travelling for work and forgot to put his game away before he left. I didn't even notice it sitting on the chair, but Graham sure did! Graham isn't big enough to climb up on the chair unassisted, but being the smart boy that he is, realized that his little car would allow him the extra height he needed.

He's spotted the PSP...

Almost there!

Success! Don't worry Jeff, he only held your toy for a minute before his mean mom took it away!

Testing the limits.....

We have a new game in our house at mealtime. It goes something like this.
1. Graham sees that I'm getting his food ready and says "num num num" as he cruises around the kitchen in his walker.
2. I think to myself "Good, he's hungry and will want to eat the food rather than throw it".
3. I put Graham in his highchair and add the food to his tray. He will then eat a few bites.
4. Graham gets that sly look on his face as he slowly begins to unload every piece of food from his tray onto the floor...one little piece at a time.
5. I tell him "no" each time he throws a piece overboard and clap and cheer each time a piece makes it to his mouth.
6. As of this morning at breakfast, here is the newest step. Mealtime now includes putting his feet on the table. I'm not sure how well Graham's feet being on the table will go over in public....it's never too early to teach table manners, right? Notice the little foot in the black and white sock making an appearance at the table in the picture below???

Asserting his independence...

Graham has decided that he's in charge...or at least he believes he's in charge. He is no longer satisfied being fed. Yogurt is one of his favorite foods, but recently he won't even open his mouth for the spoon unless he's holding the spoon with me. Talk about stubborn! What he really wants is complete control of the utensil, but unfortunately it's going to be a while until he's coordinated enough to spoon feed himself yogurt. He's also made it known that he would rather drink water out of my bottle than any of his fun sippy cups. Why is my baby in such a hurry to grow up?!?!?!

January Thaw!

In Minnesota, when the temperature hits 40 degrees in mid-January, we all tend to come out of hibernation. It's not an indefinite wake-up call for Spring though. Unfortunately, we know the thaw is only temporary and before we know it, the forecast will again be calling for ungodly daily lows. Today, we were lucky enough to experience some unusually warm winter hours. I honestly don't remember such a warm January day, which gives me the right to call our 43 degree high, "balmy". Only after living in the Midwest can I get away with calling temperatures in the 40's "balmy". Regardless, it was the perfect evening to bundle Graham up and take Annie for a much needed walk.

Nice and warm on Daddy's back!

What a great way to get a piggy-back ride! Speaking from experience (I carried Graham just like this for at least 6 hours a day for the first 7 weeks he was home!), it's quite the workout as well!

Graham was annoyed at this point....Annie was being slow behind them, and he couldn't see her anymore. Annie and Graham have a funny relationship-they both need to know where the other is at all times!