Music Together

This morning Graham and I started his summer music class put on by http://www.musictogether.com/. Since Jeff is home for the week, Graham got to bring his Daddy to his first class as a special guest. I'm sure Jeff was thrilled to be the only Daddy in the room, but he was a good sport and sang songs with the other Mommies and tots. Graham LOVED his class and it appears that we've got a very social child on our hands. Most kids sat in their Moms lap for a while while they warmed up to all the new people and surroundings. Not Graham. He marched around the circle with confidence checking out all his new friends and stopping to give his signature grin to many. I'm sensing that we've got a real leader on our hands and I can only imagine what we're going to hear down the road at parent/teacher conferences. I'm guessing we'll hear his teacher say "I love his enthusiasm but he does have to sit still and listen at the appropriate times". I guess there are worse things than having such an extroverted, social, and confident little boy! :)

Checking out all the musical instruments... Of course Graham chose the biggest item in the pile-a giant drum with mallet to swing around!

At one point, we were singing a quiet song and the kids had scarves to wave around. Graham put his on his head and walked directly up to me. You can't see his face, but he's grinning under there. What a clown!

Completely unrelated to our music class this morning was an edible discovery Graham made last night. After Jeff helped my Dad with some yard work, we had dinner with my parents and it was during dessert, that Graham was introduced to Redi Whip. As you can tell by his face and expression, he LOVED it!

June 29, 2007

Exactly one year ago today, we saw Graham’s sweet little face and chubby cheeks for the very first time. I couldn’t believe that this amazing little boy was the person who was going to make my dream come true. I was a Mom!!! Yes, it’s true, that for 80 LONG days all I had to hold on to was a picture instead of actually holding my little boy, but it didn’t matter. On June 29, 2007 when I saw his face for the first time it was love at first sight. I couldn’t imagine looking at a more perfect little face and he was mine. He was ours. He was our SON!!!!

Exactly one year ago, I knew that our referral would be coming sometime soon. But for some reason, on that Friday morning when the phone rang and I saw on caller ID that it was Children’s Home, for some reason I was caught completely off guard. After 2 failed referrals, perhaps I was protecting myself and not allowing myself to get my hopes up that this call could actually be “The Call”. But it was, and it couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. Previously, both referrals calls came when Jeff was at work. One call he took and reported to me and the other I took and reported to him. Looking back, it makes sense that when the call came for our son, that we’d be together to celebrate. I know that we were both meant to be home on that Friday morning. Jeff should have been at work, we could have been up at the lake…we could have been anywhere. But, we were both at home when the phone rang that morning and we got to celebrate becoming parents together. I will never forget listening to our social worker on speaker phone as she described our son to us. I will never forget what it felt like to breathe deeply and know that this time it was finally for real. I will never forget the look on Jeff’s face when our eyes met and we realized that after a horrendous wait, this was finally happening. I will never forget anything about that morning…

It’s hard to believe that an entire year has passed since that morning. In the past year, I can say with complete certainty that Jeff and I have felt more love, joy, and happiness that we ever dreamed possible. It is amazing how much more wonderful our life is with Graham. Saying that our life is more wonderful with him hardly does it justice. We hardly remember what life was like before him, and we don’t want to try. Thank you Graham for making our dream come true!!!

Dinner with friends...

This evening we joined our friends Amy, Dave, and Alexandra for playtime and dinner at their house. Graham made himself right at home and got busy immediately with Alexandra's box of musical toys. He especially loves her hand bell set. Each time we play at their house, he always goes for the bells so perhaps he needs a set of his own if he enjoys them so much!


The weather has really cooled off here (20 degrees cooler than yesterday!) so it was actually comfortable enough to eat dinner outside this evening. Alex enjoyed making the most beautiful mess with fresh strawberries and Graham enjoyed sitting in his booster chair like a big boy. It was pretty amazing that we were able to carry on adult conversations for an entire meal in the presence of two very active little ones! When Graham finished his very large meal he did become a bit restless and out of boredom, made the most amazing discovery....his nostrils! Yes, that's right, Graham has discovered two little holes in his nose that fit his fingers just perfectly. He amused himself for quite a while with his nose, but I suppose he knew that we were all laughing at him and continued for so long on account of our attention. I can only imagine which body part Graham will discover next!

TGIF!

Yeah for Fridays! I'm normally happy for Fridays because it means that Jeff will be around for the weekend to help with Graham duty. This Friday is extra great though, because Jeff took off an entire week off from work and we have no real plans!!! We'll head up to the lake at some point next week and stay through the 4th, but we're looking forward to just playing things by ear for the next few days.

In mid-July, the three of us are taking part in The Relay for Life up in Duluth. My mom is organizing one of the teams and our team has chosen a Hawaiian theme. Last week Jeff's group at work hosted a party with the same theme and they were just going to throw out all their decorations. So, Jeff was kind enough to lug home an entire SUV full of stuff and it's been filling up our guest room. This morning my mom came over to organize the decorations and in the bottom of one of the boxes was a child size grass skirt so of course we had to try it on my little model!

Hawaiian Boy

To kick off our weekend we visited the Children's Museum-our Friday nights have REALLY changed! Graham and I visit the museum fairly often, and I have to say that as far as crowds go, Friday nights are the best time to go! Because we normally try to avoid places like museums and zoo's on the weekends in order to avoid the crowds, Jeff usually misses out on seeing Graham's excitement as such places. Graham had a great time showing is Dada around the toddler room, a place he's grown very familiar with!

Attempting the rope ladder


Practicing the stairs

There was a fairytale display set up in one room and this is Graham working on a pair of shoes from "The Elves and the Shoemaker"

We ended our evening at Cosetta's, one of our favorite local Italian places. This was the first time we've taken Graham there and judging by the amount of food he ate, we think he loves it there too! Let's just say that he ate so much we were honestly worried about him throwing up on the car ride home! No worries though, we made it home without incident! :)

Zoo Day

We took advantage of yet another nice day outside and headed to the zoo where we met up with Graham's friend Abby and her Mommy Wendy. Graham was most impressed with the bears today and wasted no time trying to communicate with them. He began to growl loudly in their presence almost immediately. Yes, my LOUD growling child did get many stares from other zoo visitors, but what can I say, he knows his animal sounds and his proud to show them off! We then headed over to the tropics exhibit and just as we were checking out this fish, the following happened....

Abby nearly tipped her stroller over trying to kiss Graham. Both Abby and Graham (only 6 days apart in age) are going through a phase when they LOVE to share kisses, so who better to share them with than each other? We had to laugh at these two though, because when they weren't trying to sneak a kiss, they were holding hands...

Our last stop for the day was the butterfly house. After being strapped into his stroller for a good part of the day, Graham welcomed some freedom and the opportunity to run around and explore.

Lake Harriet

Today we headed out to brave the heat and humidity to meet up with our friends Tiffiny and Liv. We decided to meet at Lake Harriet to take a morning walk and have a picnic lunch. No trip into the "city" for me is complete without getting lost which I not surprisingly accomplished both heading there, and coming home. And yes, I'm embarrassed to admit that I got lost even with my GPS. Graham and I did arrive in one piece and on time though for a great walk around the lake. The babies took turns babbling to each other and eyeing up the other ones cup of juice. Hey, in the world of a baby, a sippy cup is a pretty hot commodity! We found a great picnic shelter with tables and a much needed breeze and had a great lunch. I'm always surprised by how much attention these two babies get when we're out in public. While we were eating, a cute little lady came up and told us how beautiful our children are, then just continued to smile and stare at them. I have to agree with her, they're both simply adorable! I'm also pleased to report that Graham ate his picnic lunch today. I don't want to jinx anything, but I really feel like we've turned a corner with his food throwing issue. I think that was just a phase (a horribly annoying one) and I'm sure now that I think I've got him figured out, he'll go ahead and change again. I guess that's his job, to keep his MaMa on her toes.

Checking out the water....I promise that there really were ducks the kids were watching. We didn't just park them in front of green murky water for their entertainment!

Liv is showing off her cute white sandals for Graham!

We Survived!

Well, I'm pleased to report that our home study was completed this afternoon and went off without a hitch! I'll post home study details tomorrow on Graham's little sister's blog (http://www.princessolson.blogspot.com/)... I love the way that sounds!!!

We decided to go out for dinner this evening to celebrate completing our milestone. Graham obviously had no idea what we were celebrating, but he did know we were happy, and not even the flying bread compliments of Graham could have put a damper on our moods!

Amusing himself by trying to cram his puffs into his straw...

Making his "kissy" face

As if we weren't full enough from dinner, we decided to go get some ice cream at what I consider to be the absolute best ice cream in the entire city-Sebastian Joe's! Graham was happy to see that not only did they have child size chairs in their outdoor seating area but also a giant turtle sculpture! After our delicious treat and a walk around the neighborhood we strapped Graham back into his carseat and headed home. Graham was fast asleep long before we pulled into the driveway....definitely the sign of a really great night!

Working Weekend

We didn't head up to the lake this weekend like we usually do. Instead, in honor of our first home study visit tomorrow, we stayed in town and had a working weekend. Saturday we spent the day doing yard work, and today was spent working inside. There's nothing like a little scrutiny to get your house in tip top shape! I know in the end our social worker will spend no more than 2 seconds taking a quick peek into each room, but still, we want to have a nice clean, and organized house to show. After working from a "to-do" list all weekend, we realized just how hard it is to completely finish a task while chasing a little one around. Trying to get work done with a toddler sure is a challenge. Yesterday, Jeff and I took turns working in the yard and while it wasn't our turn to be doing yard work, we were on Graham duty. Luckily, he's thrilled with his new pool so it wasn't too difficult to keep him entertained on the deck.

Graham is giving Annie a drink of water straight from a watering can.

Today Graham was a bit cranky. He's got three teeth coming in right now, and it's really throwing him for a loop. When he woke up from his nap he just wanted to be held. He didn't want his Daddy to touch him and he didn't want his precious Annie anywhere near him. All he wanted to do was sit quietly on my lap. So, sit we did. I was finally able to pry him off my lap with the promise of some milk and soon enough he was smiling and eating dinner. The night only got better for him when he got to "drive" his new car all around the neighborhood!

Comfy on Mommy's lap...

An Afro and a New Ride...

Now that we have Graham's passport to prove his American citizenship, we are able to apply for his social security number. So, this afternoon, that's just what we did. I have heard nightmare stories about how long the lines are at the social security office...we're talking hours. So, I packed worlds most complete diaper bag this afternoon and off we went. Little did I know, that for a few different reasons, in the end, I wouldn't need my bag of tricks. We arrived, got our number, and got settled into the waiting room. Graham was amusing himself by growling at the lion in his book when someone caught his attention coming into the room. A very large man with a very large afro to match was slowly making his way towards us. In Graham's defense, this man drew quite a bit of attention for his extreme look, but I'm embarrassed to say that nobody gave him as much attention as our little guy. Graham locked his gaze on him, began to point and loudly repeat "Oooooooohhhhhh!!! Oooooooooohhhhhh!!!. There was no way that Graham was about to let his entertainment out of his line of site so he began to lean waaaaay over in his stroller. I'm not sure Graham could have been any more obvious if he tried. Thank goodness that children can get away from these things because if an adult acted the way he did, I'm not sure the outcome would have been too good.

For the regular blog readers out there, you'll remember that a few days ago Graham fell in love with his friend Abby's car. Well, tonight Graham became the very proud owner of his very own new set of wheels. Actually, Graham owns two cars. One he has to move himself with his feet but he doesn't quite understand that yet and his newest car is almost a stroller of sorts....don't tell him that though! It's actually a pretty cute toy. It's got a tall handle in the back so I can push him along while he happily "steers" and honks the horn all the while being strapped securely into his toy. It will be perfect for short walks around the neighborhood or if I'm in a good mood, maybe even a trip to the zoo. We didn't even have it put together in the kitchen tonight before Graham began to squeal and climb right in. Even though it was getting past his bedtime, we let him drive around the kitchen for a while. I think Jeff and I knew he was going to have a meltdown when it was time to pry him out of his car so we were just delaying the inevitable. Sure enough, chaos ensued, and he spent his entire bath trying to peer down the hallway for one last glimpse of his car all the while calling out "Vroom Vroom". I think I know what Graham will be doing tomorrow

Pool Party!

It was another hot day here, which made it a perfect day to go visit Amy and Alex. Alex has her very own kiddie pool set up on the deck which she very kindly shared with Graham. Like usual, Graham loved playing in the water and would have happily spent the entire afternoon in the pool had I let him. But, at the risk of sunburn, and two babies who needed naps, the fun did eventually come to an end. I think I need to treat Graham to a little pool of his own. Other than a ride-on car, there isn't much that keeps Graham in one place for very long. Besides, playing in the water on a hot day would actually be fun for both of us!

Graham and Abby

We spent most of our afternoon hanging out at the park with Abby and her mom. It was a great day to let the kids burn off their energy playing in the sun. Even wearing a hat and sunscreen, both of with Graham usually doesn't tolerate well, he had a great time. Each time we go to the park they display more and more bravery or I guess I could also call it a lack of fear. They both love to climb and sure do their best to attempt what the big kids are doing!

All was going very well with our play date until it was time for lunch. We walked to our cars so I could get my stroller for Graham to eat in and Wendy walked to her car to get Abby's car. Yes, her car. Graham is OBSESSED with cars...do you see where I'm going with this? Graham was very upset that he had to eat his lunch in a boring stroller while Abby got to dine in style strapped in her car complete with horn. After we finished eating (yes, Graham actually ate lunch) we moved back to the sandy area so the kids could continue with their digging excavations. While Abby was content with her bucket and shovel, Graham had other ideas and they had nothing to do with sand or a shovel. Graham decided to hijack Abby's car. This is where he spent the next 45 minutes-sitting in the car and just staring at me. If looks could kill....

The real meltdown occurred when it was time to pack up and head home. Graham threw an absolute fit when Wendy put the toy car into her car. He was crying and pounding on her car as if that would really make it reappear. I really believe that he wanted that toy to come home with him more than anything in the world. On the drive home I had to listen to Graham scream with intermittent "Vroom Vroom" (his version of a car noise) before he finally tired himself out and crashed in his car seat. If Graham really is content sitting in this little car for close to an hour without moving, perhaps we need one...

Picnic!

This evening we attended a picnic for Grandpa Greer's company. We were lucky enough to have a beautiful evening to spend outside and eat picnic food without worrying about the rain we've become so accustomed to lately. Graham really enjoyed having the space to roam around freely and look for bugs in the grass. He also showed a real interest for trying to pick gum off the sidewalk. I can handle the bug hunts (I've shocked myself with my willingness to help him on his quests), but the hunt for chewed gum has to end now! The highlight of the evening for me though was Graham's willingness to eat dinner! I know that probably sounds crazy, but after the extreme pickiness Graham has displayed lately, any meal he eats without a fight is a victory! In all of his life, he's never eaten an entire hot dog, but at this evenings picnic, Graham made history for himself when he not only inhaled his entire hot dog, but also a huge scoop of potato salad...I was speechless! It was definitely a great night!

Making friends with the pinata

Attempting to kill the pinata

Slides are the best!

Enjoying the opportunity to dig in the sand

A great way to spend a Monday...

Today Graham and I had a great day. After being gone all weekend it was nice to be able to hang out at home and catch up on my "to do" list. I can't say I was able to get everything crossed off my list though, because the weather was just too perfect to be stuck inside. Instead, we spent most of the day playing outside! Here are some pictures from Graham's fun day!

Helping me with watering the flowers

Could he be any happier if he tried?


Checking out his new golf clubs....we start them early in our family! :)

Graham ALWAYS wants to hold Annie's leash when we're taking a walk, but since Annie pulls pretty hard, I can't let him. The compromise lately has been to allow him to "drag" her around the house against her will.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day! Today was special for our family because it was the first Father's Day that Jeff was celebrated and I have to say that Graham's Daddy is surely the best!

We spent most of the weekend up the lake and it was actually sunny! This was the first time all year that it was warn enough to sit on the boat with out being bundled up. Hopefully the warm weather continues so the water will soon be warm enough for us to get in. Even when the boat was still docked, Graham enjoyed playing on it. He made a game out of throwing bobbers into the water and having us retrieve them with a net. He also LOVED looking the minnows in the live well. He was so amused by the minnows, that I can only imagine how much fun he'll have when the minnows aren't all floating on their backs! :)

Here is Graham trying to finish off his banana. He wanted to walk around with it so I told him he needed to sit down with it and when it was all gone he could get up again. Apparently cramming the entire thing into his mouth was his solution to not wanting to sit down!

One of our Spooner rituals is going into town each weekend for a Dairy Queen treat. Once we have our treats we all crowd onto an old wooden bench that faces main street. Small town Wisconsin offers some of the best people watching ever and it doesn't get much better than enjoying it with a little ice cream. This weekend was Graham's first experience on the DQ bench and I'm pretty sure he enjoyed himself! When I look at Graham's messy, but delighted face in this picture I have to admit that I'm pleased with myself. I'm trying very hard to just let him be a boy and enjoy what he's doing regardless of how messy or sticky he becomes...I think I've come a long way! :)



P.S. As of this weekend, Graham is eating like he's a different kid. We're talking full meals without a single piece of food on the floor. Way to go Graham!!!

Stubborn Boy Strikes Again!

Lately, our sweet, adorable little boy is showing us just how stubborn he can be. I'm beginning to dread mealtime...it's a battle for me to get any food into Graham's mouth and a game for him to try and block each and every one of my attempts. There is NOTHING physically wrong with him that is causing him to not want to eat. I know this because he'd drink milk and eat cookies all day long if I let him! No, this is a battle of wills. Graham thinks that he's in charge and tries to control mealtime by throwing each and every piece of food. The pasta flying all over my kitchen tonight was frustrating to say the least....I guess this is a lesson in patience for me. Being a mom is hard work, but I guess it's that hard work that makes each and every little milestone and day so extremely rewarding. When the food stops flying, we're going to have a party because that's a milestone worth celebrating! :)

On a more positive note, in between meals aka "Food Throwing Hour" today, Graham and I did a little shopping with my mom. It was a beautiful day outside so we wandered around an outdoor shopping area. Graham was patient in his stroller while I picked out some new summer things for him from the Gap but what he really loved was playing with all the bottles of lotion at Bath and Body Works. Thankfully, nearly everything in that store is plastic!

Checking out the funny plants with Grandma

"How much does this lotion cost?"

Picking up a few groceries at Trader Joes.....I caution anyone who see's Graham coming with a cart to run....he's a CRAZY driver!

And finally, on a completely different note, we received Graham's American passport in the mail today! After we finalized his adoption, we had three things left to do and the passport was one of them. Now that we have his passport as proof of citizenship, we can apply for his social security card. Once we have his social security card, we can apply for his Certificate of Citizenship. Then, we're completely, finally, officially done with anything adoption related for Graham! We're getting there!

Another rainy day...

It was another rainy day here in Minneapolis. I'll be honest-with as rainy as our spring/summer has been, it's getting increasingly difficult to keep Graham entertained indoors! This afternoon I taped a giant sheet of paper to the kitchen table and let Graham have complete artistic freedom as he created his masterpiece.

When Graham tried to eat the crayons, I decided I needed to make things more "exciting" for him and things only got better once I offered him stickers. I handed him an entire sheet and while a few did actually make it to the paper, you can see that a great many of them did not....

Bon Voyage!

No, we're not heading off on any sort of adventure, but Grandma and Grandpa Olson sure are! They're leaving for Korea followed by Hawaii, so this evening we brought dinner to their house so we could say good-bye. It wasn't much of a surprise to us that Graham again chose not to eat his dinner but decided that throwing it onto the floor was a much better option....this has to end sometime, right?!?!?!?! His food issue on top of teething has left me completed exhausted with a headache tonight, so please excuse the short update. It's the pictures that everyone wants anyways, right? :)

Upside down Graham!

Studying his new friend

Graham won't be stopped by doors for too much longer!

Hanging out with Grandpa Olson

BBQ

This evening we attended a BBQ at Grandma and Grandpa Greer's house with a few of their neighbors. This was the first time that my parents' friends had met Graham and they got to see him in his prime...after a long day of teething and a haircut, they got to see Graham burning off energy as he went running around screeching gleefully at the top of his lungs! I still don't know what his screeching was all about, but it must have been something important to him because his volume and happy facial expressions were certainly impressive! Here are a few pictures from our evening...