Graham and Elmo

Graham loves Elmo. I'm not even sure when he was first introduced to this furry red creature, but his love is undeniable. His Elmo books are tattered from being reread so many times, his favorite bath toy is an Elmo submarine, and he actually enjoys diaper changing time since his beloved Elmo adorns the waistband of his size 4 Pampers. So, when Graham walked into school today and saw a little boy wearing an Elmo shirt, it didn't surprise me when Graham followed this child around the classroom almost obsessively!

Graham has TONS of stuffed animals but really pays attention to just a few. He loves a black stuffed terrier puppy that looks like 'Anna', he loves his 'baby' from his crib, and most of all, he loves his Elmo. It's very sweet to watch how tenderly Graham cares for his Elmo. He carries Elmo around patting his back and carefully props his red friend up in front of books and toys so Elmo is never left out of the fun. As you can see in the following pictures, making sure that Elmo is well nourished is also one of Graham's priorities.

Getting organized....

Before our little princess comes home from Korea, we've got quite a bit of work to do. Currently, her bedroom is a fully furnished guest bedroom with a closet that I've happily used as my 'over flow' area for the past three years. Today with the help of my wonderful Mother, we got down to business on a project I've been dreading...we tackled the closet issue. It's amazing how much Jeff and I have accumulated since we moved in, and even more amazing how much a single closet can hold. It was quite an undertaking to completely empty it, give it a fresh coat of white paint, and install a brand new closet organizer. Home improvement projects are definitely not my thing, and I could never have gotten it done without my Mom-THANKS Mom! Now, I just need to find a place for all the clothes that no longer have a place to go....

Helping Grandma with the screwdriver...

"Yep, it's level!"

A visit to the Children's Museum

Graham enjoyed a very full morning at the Children's Museum today. It's been a few months since our last visit, and today I was able to see just how much Graham has grown. Activities that frustrated him just months ago made him grin today, and some activities that he used to love, seemed to bore him today. He's changing so quickly!

First, Graham got to play with some balls

Then, he amused himself by making faces in the mirror

Of course, the books are always a highlight for him!

Climbing through the 'ant farm'...*note to self-wear old jeans next time! This ant farm is two stories high and very dark inside so when Graham began his adventure as an 'ant' I followed closely behind on my hands and knees. It was VERY close quarters, but the fact that Graham kept calling out "Mama" then would turn around mid-crawl and grin at me, made it all worth it!

Driving the bus!

Filling up his basket at the 'grocery store'

Apparently his basket got too heavy, because it was soon abandoned in favor of this cart

Cleaning up the floor. He LOVES brooms right now, so this was a treat since I don't let him touch ours at home....it's just too tempting for him to chase Annie :)

Making a big mess with water-YAY for the museum supplied water proof smocks!

Eating bubbles

This last picture needs a bit of explaining. Going for a ride in the car in the middle of the day always puts Graham to sleep. The problem with this is that he refuses his normal nap once we get home. So, on our way out of the museum I got us some french fries to share in the car. I knew he was hungry and I figured it would keep him amused and awake until we got home. Apparently I left the museum a little too late because Graham just couldn't keep his eyes open. I turned around to hand him a french fry and a minute later glanced at him in the mirror and this is what I saw....

The poor little guy didn't even have enough energy to chew a single french fry so it stayed hanging out of his mouth until I woke him up at home!

Birthday Weekend

This weekend, Graham helped me celebrate my birthday! The entire weekend was picture perfect fall weather so we took the opportunity on Saturday to visit a pumpkin patch. This wasn't your average pumpkin patch though. This one was complete with pony rides, camel rides, petting zoo, multiple playgrounds for children, hayrides, restaurants, berry picking, apple picking...really, the list of activities goes on an on! We all enjoyed ourselves so much that we're thinking it might become our fall family ritual. It was very crowded though, and we did laugh to ourselves at the thought of navigating that place with a double stroller next year!

Graham's first pony ride. I know he looks afraid, but I promise he's not. He was actually very irritated when he ride came to an end.



In order to get to the actual pumpkin patch we took a ride on a wagon pulled by a giant tractor. Here is Graham watching the tractor as it began to move.

We didn't want to be responsible for carrying a giant pumpkin and a toddler so we decided we would bring home a pumpkin that Graham was able to pick up himself. Despite Graham's valiant attempt, this pumpkin was not meant to come home with us.

Success!

Pumpkin vines are a great form of entertainment!

Graham helped me blow out the candle on my birthday cheesecake.


In our family, we really like to celebrate birthday's. In fact, it's the norm for the birthday individual to claim the week around their birthday as their 'Birthday Week'. Initially, Jeff thought this was a crazy tradition, but it wasn't long before he was claiming his 'Birthday Week' as well. In fact, his 'Birthday Week' starts today! To conclude my 'Birthday Week', we had dinner with my parents and Peter and Lynn. Uncle Peter and Auntie Lynn know how much Graham loves trucks, and they had quite the surprise for him....3 miniature construction vehicles or 'Dumpa Dumpa' (dump drunk in Graham's language) as he calls them. He was one happy little guy!

Nothing is better than new trucks!

Graham's reaction to a certain piece of paper that Uncle Peter had with him has us all cracking up! If anyone has questions about what exactly was on this piece of paper, you'll need to go directly to the source and ask Peter.....:)

The sugar high from dessert is on its way...

Chocolate cake puts Graham is a very good mood!

A visit with Halmoni and Halabeoji

This week is MEA in Minnesota which means that students and lucky teachers have Thursday and Friday off from school. Since Graham's Halmoni is a teacher and was home from work today, we decided to pay the Olson Grandparents a visit. Graham was happy to play with his giant lego's and run around their house pausing only long enough to look at a few photographs to point out 'Mama' and 'Dada'. It was such a beautiful morning that we decided to bundle up and take a fall walk through the woods. Graham again enjoyed playing with sticks and leaves en route to the park. Thankfully, he's not too upset when I take the sticks away from him when it's time to go inside. I'm just waiting for the day when he wants to start his very own collection of sticks!

Playing with Halmoni

Graham is modeling a gorgeous hand knit wool sweater that one of his Halmoni's friends in Korea made especially for him!

What a beautiful day! As an added bonus, check out the amazing glowing stroller!

Bryant Lake

I know, I know, I'm behind on my blogging duties-sorry!!! I'm going to be honest, last night I was just too tired to make an entry. Once Graham was sleeping for the night we had to deal with Annie...I don't know what she got into outside, but whatever it was, was horrible. The stench was potent to put it mildly. So, despite Annie's protests, she took a very sudsy bubble bath in the laundry tub. At times, it took all of my strength along with Jeff's to contain her. She despises taking a bath, but there was no other option. After her stench was diminished to my satisfaction, I was just plain old tired and crashed on the couch!

Now, onto Graham...the past few days Graham has had the opportunity to explore the paths around Bryant Lake near our house. As you can see from the following pictures (taken on different days) there is a pattern to what he must have in his hands. The fact that leaves and sticks cover most of the path make it difficult to really walk too far. Each time Graham takes a step, he stumbles upon a stick that in his mind, is far superior than the last! It's slow going for us!

Rainy Monday

We woke up this morning to dreary, cool, rainy weather. I suppose the weather is exactly what we needed around here though. Graham's cold is nearly gone, but another day around the house without too much adventure probably did him good. We were really lazy this morning as we both hung out in our pajama's as I read book after book to Graham. His favorite books right now deal with anything related to transportation-planes, trains, trucks, tractors-if it has wheels, he loves it! Occasionally, I'm successful at throwing an animal book into the mix. but that's only if I'm lucky!



After lunch I brought out the play dough which happens to be one of Graham's new favorite toys. Thankfully, the play dough in our house is the homemade non-toxic variety since Anna (as Graham has recently started calling her) helped herself to a play dough worm that escaped the safety of kitchen table. I wish I understood why a blue blob of dough looked tasty to her.

While I got dinner ready, Graham entertained himself with his animal collection. His newest addition is a giraffe, which I caught him kissing on several occasions!