Holiday weekend in review...

The past few days have just flown by in our house and both Graham and I have really enjoyed having Jeff around for a few extra days! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving visiting with family and indulging in rich, delicious food. Last year Graham wasn't really eating table food, so this year was a first for him and the traditional holiday foods. His favorites were potatoes-both sweet and mashed, stuffing, bread, and pumpkin pie...this kid loves carbs!!! He wasn't too fond of the vegetables (no surprise) or turkey and I wasn't going to push it. I can use another non-turkey eater in my camp! The beauty of having both families in town, according to Jeff, is that we get Thanksgiving food twice in one day!

The Olson grandparents were the first stop of the day on Thanksgiving. Graham loved playing with the toy keyboard before lunch!



For dinner, we joined the Greer grandparents. Graham spilled a giant cup of milk all over his cute outfit which is why he's wearing his pj's. With Auntie Lynn's assistance, Graham was pretending to play a horn while sitting in the toy box.

This mirror isn't normally sitting on the floor and Graham was very excited to discover it. He had a great time checking out his reflection!

Tracy, one of my best friends from St. Olaf, was visiting Minneapolis for Thanksgiving and we had the opportunity to spend some time together catching up. She hasn't seen Graham in nearly a year, so he's really changed since the last time she saw him!

On Saturday night, we decided to brave the cold and participate in a Minneapolis holiday tradition, The Holidazzle Parade! Only in Minnesota are we crazy enough to bundle up and watch a parade in dark! Luckily, street vendors were set up selling hot cocoa and warm dognuts so Graham was easily amused while we waited for the light covered floats to come down the street. We weren't sure what Graham would think, or if the parade would even keep his attention, but to say he LOVED it would be an understatement! He was clapping and cheering and letting out frequent 'Ohhhhhhh Wow's!' His reactions were so cute that our parade neighbors spent more time watching Graham than the parade!

Today we woke up to a snowy blanket on our lawn. We've had snow already this year, but it always melted away by the afternoon. I think today's white stuff is here to stay though. So begins another winter... We bundled Graham up this afternoon so he could play in the 'Nooooooow' (not to be confused with NO!). As you can see, Graham believes that golf is a year round sport. As long as he's got his clubs he's happy.

Random Wednesday Pictures

This morning, with my Mom's help, we got busy emptying out the guest room, which will soon belong to Princess Olson. Graham ended up benefiting from our decluttering morning because we were able to get out his easel! He received it as a gift last year but was too young for it, so into storage it went. He's at the perfect age for it right now, and was very excited to wake up from his nap and discover his new toy all set up and waiting for him!

Check out his masterpiece! :)

A handful of crayons is certainly better than one!

After dinner Graham entertained himself with a little box, and it kept him busy for quite some time!

Don't mind the missing pants. They were covered with chili and Graham got busy playing before I had a chance to get him clean ones. I wish I knew what Graham was thinking here....

'Night Night' Elmo!

Jeff thinks it looks like Elmo is resting in a coffin, but we won't share that idea with Graham!

Say 'Cheese'!

Since we knew ahead of time that Jeff wasn't going to make it home this evening to see Graham before he went to bed, we decided to have lunch at General Mills. In the middle of the meal I pulled out my camera and told Graham to 'smile'. His goofy expression definitely makes me laugh!

Camera Craziness

Growing up, I always hated having my picture taken and I swore that I wouldn't put my own children through the 'horrors' of having a camera in their face constantly. Well, things have changed....There isn't a day of Graham's life that we haven't captured on film! Graham is at a stage where he likes to imitate everything I do. So, it really shouldn't surprise me that Graham carries his toy camera around from room to room. As you can see in the pictures though, he still doesn't quite 'get it'. For some reason, he thinks the camera needs to be pressed up against his nose for it to 'work'. I've tried correcting him, but he still prefers taking pictures with his nose. It is pretty cute to watch, so I think I'll just let it be!

Another weekend flew by...

We all enjoyed a very nice weekend. The weather has definitely turned more wintry, which means our activities are more focused on staying indoors rather than allowing Graham to run free outside. I'm noticing that without time at the playground Graham definitely has more energy to burn off. Hopefully, I'm able to find enough to keep him busy for what I'm worried is going to be a long, cold winter!

Just being silly

Running around is a good time for Graham, but he's also proving to have a great attention span for coloring. He LOVES his giant coloring book and box of crayons. Thankfully, he's pretty good at keeping his artistic marks on the paper most of the time. He's yet to attack furniture of the walls, but I'm sure that's inevitable.

No, those aren't bruises on his face...Graham found real enjoyment in coloring on his face!

On Saturday, our friends Dave, Amy, and Alex joined us for brunch. Graham again surprised me with his willingness to share even his prized possessions with Alex. He's become obsessed with a certain stool lately, and he loves to stand on it which allows him a view out the window. When Alex made her way to the stool, I was impressed that Graham moved to one side in order to allow Alex to join him. I'm crossing my fingers that this generous spirit continues with his little sister.

Sharing a stool to get a view of the fresh snow outside

The boys in my family LOVE to play the board game Risk. It's become a tradition that one or two days each year are devoted to this game and today was one of those days. Although it will be quite a while before Graham is actually allowed to command his own armies, he did enjoy the view of the board from Uncle Peter's lap.

Just one of the boys

Back into the swing of things....

Going on vacation is always fun, but getting back to our 'at home' routine has proven to be a bit difficult for Graham. He's decided that meals are once again an unnecessary part of his day. Perhaps he's just so happy to be reunited with his toys that he doesn't feel he has the time to sit down and eat. I'm sure this phase will quickly pass, but he's had such a good past few months food-wise, that I'm really disappointed to again see a yogurt filled spoon flying across the kitchen. Annie, on the other hand, is thrilled to again be getting table scraps. It really shouldn't surprise me that at school this morning Graham was the last child to leave the snack table. He sat and ate raisins for 10 minutes straight-that's a lot of raisins! I guess not eating much for a few days finally caught up with him. I'm finding the need to remind myself that this too shall pass....


I'm pretty good at multi-tasking, but this morning, Graham took it to a new level. I've yet to carry on two different phone conversations at the same time, but Graham apparently has it all figured out. When I asked him who he was talking to, he held out the silver phone and said 'Ampa' (what he calls my dad) and then held out the plastic blue and white phone and said 'Zoo'.

Back home...

We arrived home today from our adventure out East, and what an adventure it was! Thankfully, most of the 'adventure' part just involved us actually getting to Philadelphia. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 10:15 on Friday morning. At 6:00 am the phone rang and I stumbled to answer it half asleep. What a treat it was to hear a robotic voice informing me that our flight was cancelled (no idea why) and we were rebooked on a flight that had us arriving Philly at midnight! I'm thankful that we were notified by the airline, but travelling with a toddler doesn't really allow for a midnight arrival. After talking with multiple ticketing agents on the phone, I had us rebooked to get in at a more reasonable hour but we had to make a stop in Cincinnati.

With the sudden change in our travel plans, it felt like we were scrambling around at the last minute. We were so busy in fact, that we left the house without Graham's blanket. That probably doesn't sound like a big deal, but Graham can't survive without his blanket...it's crucial to his happiness! It's really too bad that I didn't realize we were without Graham's prized possession until we were checking in at the airport! Things really got kicked into high gear at that point, when Jeff grabbed his boarding pass and the car keys and sprinted out of the airport to get the blanket... our flight was scheduled to leave in less than an hour at this point! It came time for us to board the plane and Jeff still wasn't back yet. Just as I was about to hand the gate agent my own boarding pass, a very out of breath Jeff came rushing around the corner with the blanket in tow-he saved the day!!!! To make a long story short, we made it to Cincinnati only to be delayed for several hours. We eventually made it to Philly, but it was sure later than our originally scheduled time!

Peek-a-boo on the plane!

Once we arrived, we had a wonderful time catching up with family. Graham was a bit shy at first but it didn't take him long to warm up to everyone and soon he was showing off all his latest 'tricks'. On Saturday we took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and wandered around the city a bit. Before this trip, I had never been to Philadelphia, and after having a small taste of the city, I'm anxious to go back. There is so much to see and the city seems to be so full of life!

Graham enjoys his first lollipop compliments of Grandpa Greer

Graham sure was impressed by the Liberty Bell!

Monkey boy tries to climb the wall at the hotel...he wanted my phone which was sitting on the window ledge

On Saturday night we enjoyed our 'Thanksgiving' meal and it was absolutely delicious! Unfortunately, this meal wasn't Graham's shining moment regarding his table manners, but I think his volume and behaviour stressed me out more than anyone else.

Hanging out with Great Grandpa before dinner

Graham's Great Uncle Richard gave him an adorable tractor toy and Graham was convinced it was a riding toy

First experience with a turkey leg!

On Sunday morning, we took the train from Philly into Manhattan to visit our friends Charles, Erin, and their son Baird. We all attended St. Olaf together and it was great to have a reunion and introduce the boys to each other! Baird isn't even a year older than Graham, so perhaps they'll be classmates at St. Olaf someday! Charles and Erin were fantastic hosts, showing us around the city and Baird was quite the big boy as he kindly shared all of his toys with Graham!

The boys in Central Park. Graham and Baird were less than enthusiastic to be posing for a picture because they were just removed from a very fun playground.

Baird and Graham reading together. How cute are they???

On Monday, we visited the Museum of Natural History which was quite impressive. Graham and Baird immediately took advantage of the wide open spaces and decided the museum was the perfect place to burn off some energy. The boys took turns squealing and chasing each other. Their volume did cause some heads to turn, but luckily they're both so cute, that nobody could say a word!

Graham taking a lap through a museum exhibit


After we felt that the boys had done enough running and screaming, it was time for lunch. Depending on his mood, restaurant dining is really hit or miss with Graham, and I was a bit concerned how the meal would play out after his morning of 'freedom'. Both boys must have really worked up an appetite, because our delicious French meal was very enjoyable. We were actually able to carry on a conversation and everyone left with a full stomach. Success!

Enjoying some fruit before the meal

Here is a video of Graham and Baird enjoying each other's company. They played so nicely together, and became very fast friends. Warning: There is a lot of toddler happy screaming in this video...

Our next adventure...

Tomorrow we leave for an adventure. We're flying to Philadelphia to enjoy an early Thanksgiving celebration with the Greer side of the family. Then, on Sunday, the three of us are taking the train to Manhattan to visit our friends from St. Olaf, Charles, Erin, and their little boy, Baird. Graham should be in his glory with two airplane rides and his very first ride on a 'choo choo'! Wish us luck, traveling with a toddler is never dull! There won't be any updates until we return, but when we are back, I promise many pictures of Graham enjoying himself in Philly and NYC!

Animals and Elmo

This morning we met our friends Kelly and Maddie at the Minnesota Zoo. From now on, we're heading to the zoo on a mid-week, cold and drizzly morning, because we basically had the place to ourselves! After fighting swarms of strollers there all summer, the wide open space was a welcomed change today. And, because we went so early, many of the animals were very active and entertaining! Thankfully, much of the zoo is indoors and the buildings are connected so we didn't have to spend too much time navigating through the puddles of water.

Two happy, well-fed, kids after lunch

This was the scene at our house this evening...

It's so much fun for me to see the nurturing side to Graham, and I like to think that he's practicing for his baby sister! He spends much of his day crashing his 'dumpa dumpa' trucks into each other, complete with loud sound effects. But, when things quiet down, he can often be found making sure that his 'animals' are well cared for. I even caught him trying to put a real diaper on a very patient Annie today... It is my hope that I'm able to continue raising a well-rounded little boy. Trucks, animals, dolls, trains, and I can't forget Elmo-he really can have it all!

What is he doing???

I often find myself wondering what is going through Graham's little mind and tonight was one of those occasions. Jeff was working late this evening and didn't get home until Graham was just about ready for bed. This made for a long day for me and I was feeling pretty worn out, and maybe even a little loopy, by the time evening rolled around.

Recently, Graham has made several attempts to lift his Diaper Genie but has always been unable to do so. In his defense, it does get pretty heavy when it's full of diapers. So, when Graham wandered into his room and I could hear him pushing the Diaper Genie around on the wood floor, I didn't think anything of it, since he can't lift it, right? WRONG! Here came Graham, grunting and huffing and puffing, and obviously working very hard to get his 'toy' out of his room. Because I was so tired, I just decided to just sit back and see what it was exactly that Graham wanted to do with his heavy hunk of plastic.

Dragging it into the hallway...

Lifting it (insert a loud Grunt!)...

Moving it into the kitchen....um, why?

Finally satisfied with the diaper genie's new placement.

Graham must have had a plan all along because he headed straight for the kitchen, never stopping once. When the Diaper Genie was lined up 'just so' in front of the sliding door, Graham moved on to his next activity. I really do wonder what he was thinking! And no, the diaper genie did not stay in the kitchen. Much to Graham's dismay, I did return it to the proper spot next to the changing table.

An overdue update

To all of Graham's fans, yes, we're still alive, we've just been so extremely busy!!! The past few days have been a whirlwind for our family and I just haven't had the time to upload pictures. But, better late than never, right? From here on out, I will make a true effort, to stay on top of the blog!

For Graham, the highlight of our busy weekend, was a trip to a farm. We attended a baby shower for Graham's Auntie Lynn this weekend, and the shower took place at her childhood home which happens to be a working farm. The house was full of children so Graham had fun making new friends but I'm certain his favorite part of the day was exploring the barns with his Uncle Peter. Even today, when I ask Graham about visiting the cows, he talks about the 'zoo'. No, the cows don't live at the zoo, but currently according to Graham, any place with animals other than dogs or cats, is a zoo.

Playing with the very cool tractor toys at the baby shower

Graham looks so little to me in this picture...and the cows so big!

If you listen carefully at the beginning of this clip, you can hear Graham 'mooing' at the cows. I also think it's funny how interested he is in the kitten that runs in front of him.



The following clip has nothing to do with cows or baby showers. But, it does make me laugh. Regardless of your political views, it is entertaining to me, to hear such a small child and answer the following question correctly.

'Dress for Mess'

Apparently the motto for Graham's classroom this year is 'Dress for Mess' and apparently, I never go the message. Gone are the days of Graham wearing his cutest clothes to school. As you can see below, painting on the easel was one of the activities set up today. Graham LOVED it! In fact, he loved the blue paint so much that he decided to share it with his shirt, the floor, and anything else with the reach of the paintbrush. As I steered my paint covered child to the sink in attempts to clean him up, one of the teachers started laughing at me and reminded me to 'Dress for Mess'. And no, I don't have any pictures of Graham's mess. When I saw what he was up to, I decided it was time for me to put the camera down...

Welcome Back, 'Pony'!

Millie spends a lot of time at our house. In fact, I think she believes this is actually her home! Since my parents are out of town, and Millie hasn't quite figured out how to fend for herself, she arrived again today. Recently, Graham has started treating Millie like a pony. He likes to ride on her complete with his own galloping sound effects. At times, poor Millie just can't catch a break though. She wandered into the bedroom probably for a few minutes away from her 'jockey' but it only took a few minutes for Graham to find her. As you can see, Graham was happy to be reunited with his 'pony'!

Meatball Boy

A trip to Ikea to meet up with Amy and Alex was on our agenda today. We really weren't there that long, but man, was I tired when I left! Two active toddlers who wanted to play with the toys rather than be strapped into strollers, two Mommies who actually wanted to shop, and one cafeteria style lunch for four was interesting to say the least! Graham must have really worked up an appetite playing, because his lunch was HUGE! He inhaled an obscene number of Swedish meatballs, an entire bowl of mashed potatoes, apple slices, and milk. And all this was after an unusually large breakfast!

Playing with the trains

Graham really liked this tent....I have a strong suspicion that Santa is bringing one for Christmas, but don't tell him!

Meatball time!

Technology is not my friend today...

Let me just start by saying that technology can be so frustrating!!! Half of my weekend pictures were taken on a second camera using a second memory card and for some reason my computer refuses to read that second memory card! So, although that's probably more than anyone really cares to know, it's too bad, since I'm missing half of my cute pictures!

On Saturday we had dinner with Alex and her parents at Punch, our favorite local pizza place. It's funny how early we started our dinner process in order to ensure the availability of two highchairs and the optimum table for those two high chairs and four parents. As you can see, both kids are getting so big so fast!
And then on Sunday I decided to play with my fancy new camera but my computer refuses to read that memory card, so I won't even go into details about our day since I have no images to back it up! :(

I know that Halloween is over, but I couldn't resist including just one more photo of our monkey boy. The following picture was taken by Jeff's cousin Mark, our resident family photographer. I think this might just be the cutest monkey ever!