How do I find these people?

Here's my random story of the day...I was at the post office this morning waiting in a line a mile long to mail a package. We waited so long that I actually went back to the car to get the stroller so Graham could be contained :) After patiently waiting in the stroller for 15 minutes, the post office decorations were no longer entertaining to him and he began to play with his shoes. He took them off, tossed them to the floor, I put them back on him, and this game repeated itself over and over. I grew tired of retrieving Graham's shoe so I began to tell him that he wasn't supposed to take his shoe off anymore. Well, off his shoe came again and sure enough he tossed it. The woman in front of me turned around and kindly asked what my son's name was. I told her his name was Graham and she smiled. Then, she got down on Graham's level and began to VERY LOUDLY scold him saying over and over again "Graham-do not take your shoe off. Graham, listen to your Mom!" I was shocked and told her to stop disciplining my son! What gives her the right to yell at my child? I really wanted to let her know that tossing his shoe after I asked him not to do so was hardly worth yelling about. After all, he was entertaining himself and as a bonus he wasn't using his very loud "outside" voice. I have met more random characters since I've become a Mom....how do I find these people? Or maybe, I should be asking, how do these people find me?

In honor of our random morning, here are a few random pictures of Graham playing outside this afternoon

We're still working on the whole bubble thing. Graham still thinks he needs to put the entire wand into his mouth to produce the bubbles. So far, it hasn't been too successful for him...

Taking a break with his prized clubs

Graham got into his wagon and immediately threw every single toy into the grass. He got right down to business working on the buckle. He's obsessed with buckles-carseats, strollers, booster chairs, wagons, baby carriers, if it's got a buckle, he loves it!

Future Ole Class of 2029???

Yesterday morning was our first class of "Toddler Time". The format of this class is a lot like our Thursday ECFE class, except this one is run by our adoption agency, Children's Home. As Graham grows up, it's important for him to know kids who also have families that were formed in the same way that his was and this class is a great way for us to make those type of connections.

Graham and his friend Liv working on a puzzle together

Yesterday afternoon we ventured down to Northfield for the "Defeat of Jesse James Days". As Ole's this was always a big social event (remember-it is a small town!) and we were excited to bring Graham down for his first time. We met up with Amy, Dave, and Alex (who was also experiencing Jesse James Day's for the first time) for a walk around campus before we headed into the actual carnival. Both kids were very amused by the crazy rides throwing people into the air. Luckily, neither one is old enough to ask because I have a feeling neither one of the Mom's would have said yes. I just can't say I'd feel safe allowing my child to ride a giant metal contraption fastened to the ground with wheels and a rope...

The boys and future class of 2029 and 2030 Ole's outside the "Pause". Together Jeff and Dave were in charge of the finances for this on campus student hangout.


Each time we visit campus, we take Graham's picture on one of the giant chairs. He sure is getting big!

Our family

No trip to Jesse James Day's would be complete without a visit with a real, authentic carnie. I think he thought we were nuts when we asked him to pose behind the strollers...what can I say, we have no shame!

Today, Graham decided that it was a good idea to wake up at 5 am! With such an early start to the day, we went out for breakfast and finished all of our errands by 10. Needless to say, the rest of the day was spent being very, very lazy. Sometimes, you just need a day of nothing to recharge.

Serendipity!

Today, we had the opportunity to enjoy lunch at Serendipity. It was just the cutest little place, and if it weren't on the other end of the city, it might have become my newest lunch hangout! After my mom had her broken nose fixed (think readjustment done with the doctors bare hands and no painkillers-ouch!!!) this morning, she decided a treat was in order. So, Graham and I made the trek up to her neck of the woods and met up with she and Linda. Fall is definitely in the air around here, but this afternoon provided the perfect conditions to sit outside and enjoy our meal in the sun. My normally picky toddler ate every single morsel of his kids meal. Either there was something very special about their macaroni and cheese and fruit cup or he was starving, which really isn't likely after his unusually HUGE breakfast. After lunch, Graham was a very patient shopper while we looked around the gift shop at the restaurant. It was at this cute little shop that I found the BEST adoption storybook ever. I got so emotional paging through it in the store that I had to close it and buy it, so I could finish it at home. This book answers even the toughest questions relating to adoption in such a gentle, child-friendly way. Who would have guessed I'd make such a discovery at a restaurant gift shop?

Cookin' with Abby

This morning we paid a visit to Graham's friend Abby. Two weeks ago, Abby became a big sister, and today we had the chance to meet baby Ellie. Apparently, Abby has been having a difficult time adjusting to the new baby in her house. She's been pretty demanding with wanting her Mommy's attention 100% of the time, so this morning we did our best to distract her for a while. Graham was the key-for the first time in two weeks, Abby left her little sister alone and had a great time with her little buddy.

Cooking up a storm!

Abby was showing Graham how her fridge farm works

After the kids played for a while, I realized that Graham hadn't even noticed Ellie all wrapped up in her swing. I walked Graham over to the swing and introduced him to Ellie. Graham either thought she was a doll (she is really tiny) or just didn't care....until it was time for Ellie to have her bottle. At that point, both Graham and Abby were VERY aware that Ellie was getting a bottle and they weren't. All of a sudden, we had a hungry infant, and two toddlers in the midst of tantrums over a bottle. That, my friends, was our cue to head home for the day!

I am NOT the nanny!

We're slowly getting back into the groove of our school year routine. School starts next week for Graham, but today was our first day back to Toddler Story Time at the library. Graham was happy to see that Abby is in his class and the two of them spent the session running around the back of the room in their own little world.

Before story time started I was waiting in line for a new library card as mine has mysteriously disappeared. Last time I saw it, I allowed Graham to "take care of it" for me in an effort to quiet him down in the car. The woman behind us in line was intently watching Graham, smiling at the two of us, and the following conversation ensued-

Random Lady-He's (motioning to Graham) just adorable!
Me: Thanks!
Random Lady: What do his parents look like?
Me: Well, you're looking at his mother (said with a smile of course!)
Random Lady: Oh, I thought you were the nanny!
Me: Nope, I'm his Mom.
Random Lady: (after a few moments of silence she whispers the following) Is he an adopted child?
Me: (whispered back with a smile on my face) Yes, my son was adopted but we don't need to whisper because it isn't a secret.
Random Lady: (said with extreme sarcasm) Hmmmm, interesting thing to do. (she then walks away VERY quickly)

Ok, message to the world-Those that know me, know that I LOVE to talk about adoption. I am a huge advocate and feel so blessed to know that an unfathomable number of variables had to line up in the universe for our son to make his way to us. BUT, that doesn't mean that I'm open to entertaining ignorant comments from random or even not so random people. I am proud that we were able to navigate the ropes of adoption successfully a first time and are in the midst of doing it again. I do wonder though, why people feel it's appropriate to negatively comment on the make-up of my family. I have a hard time believing that if a "mini Melissa" was following me at the library today that anyone would have felt the need to comment. On the other hand, I've also had some really great conversations with total strangers out in public. I think the best way I've been asked about Graham was by a Target employee. She was watching Graham play with a ball and said the following "Did your beautiful boy make a special journey home to join his family?" In my opinion, that was a great and respectful way to open things up for a conversation. As it turns out, her son and daughter-in-law were waiting to be united with their son from Korea and seeing Graham made her very excited. I think it's now my personal mission to educate people about positive adoption language.

Trying to choose which cd to borrow...

Waving good-bye to Abby

Toddler Team Work!

Today Graham and I had lunch with Amy and Alex. Each time we get the kids together, they interact more and more and it's so much fun to watch them! Graham is at the stage though, when he believes that everything he sees, belongs to him. Alex was great with sharing her toys, even when Graham tried to run off with them leaving Alex to crawl at lightning speed behind him. Much of the time, they were interested in the same toy at the same time which created the perfect opportunity for some toddler team work!

A xylophone for two

A push cart for two

Although the highchair is only built for one, it did entertain two kids!

The Unofficial end of summer...

Labor Day always signaled the end of summer for me-when I was a student, it meant school started the very next day, and when I was working outside the home as a teacher, it also meant school started the very next day. So, although the weather is still hot and sticky, my mind is telling me that summer is unfortunately over. We wrapped up our summer with a long weekend up at the lake.

Our weekend started out with a bang...literally...My poor Mom broke her nose not more than an hour after arriving at the lake. For several hours after her accident we all debated on the status of her nose-was it really crooked, was it just the swelling, etc. She finally decided that the only way to know for sure, was to head to the hospital for an x-ray. So, off my parents went to the hospital and my mom even had a smile on her face. They were gone quite a while, I was in a goofy mood, and to be honest, we really didn't think she had a broken nose, so Jeff, Graham and I headed off buy a "Get Well" balloon and chocolate...we had a special delivery to make! I wasn't sure the hospital staff would allow us into the emergency room, but sure enough, hospitals in small town America are VERY lenient with their rules! My mom was very surprised to see Graham peek around her curtain and it definitely put a smile on her face! She needed to be cheered up because shortly after we took this picture, she learned the fate of her poor nose....broken!

Graham and his Grandma in the Spooner Emergency Room

My mom is quite the tough lady, and despite her nose issue, we went on with the rest of our weekend as planned. On Saturday morning we took Graham to the farmers market. He was very interested in these beautiful gladiolas!


We then wandered through some of the cute shops that Spooner has to offer. Graham thought this teddy bear hat was pretty funny when I tried it on him. In fact, he growled at it (communicating with the bear I guess) when I took it off!

When we're away from home, Graham doesn't sleep. He LOVES his crib at home and despises any other sleeping arrangement. He falls asleep easily in his pack-n-play while we're up at the lake, but he always wakes up exactly three hours later and REFUSES to go back to sleep. This makes for some very long nights as Graham insists on "sleeping" between Jeff and I. As a result of Graham's sleepless Saturday night, he enjoyed some quiet time on Sunday morning.

After Graham's morning rest, he found this hat on a stuffed animal and thought it was hilarious! He ran all around the house laughing and screaming with glee at the top of his lungs!


Since our last trip to Duluth was a complete wash-out with rain and temperatures in the 50's in mid-July, we thought we'd try it again this weekend. The weather couldn't have been more perfect for a day to explore the shores of Lake Superior!

Throwing rocks into the lake

The view is much better from Daddy's shoulders


Graham really didn't want to be posing for pictures at this point-there were too many rocks to throw and boats to watch!

Here is a cute video of Graham experiencing the frigid water!