More Elmo!

As I was rushing through Target to pick up a few things, Graham suddenly became very animated and began to yell 'Elmo!'. Elmo is plastered everywhere at Target so I had no idea what type of Elmo it was that caught his attention this time. He was pointing and going crazy trying to climb out of the cart so I turned around to see what it was that was so exciting to him. I couldn't miss it...an entire display of toddler Elmo slippers. I pushed the cart towards the display so I could get a better look and before I knew it Graham grabbed a pair and began kissing them. Then, he got very quiet, looked up and me and in a very sweet voice said 'Pease?' How could I say no to that???

So, Graham is now the VERY proud owner of Elmo slippers. He jumps, runs, and dances in them, and Annie chases close behind convinced that Graham has two stuffed dog toys attached to his feet. Here's the problem though-not a single pair of shoes lives up to his new slippers. Leaving the house is a bit of a problem as I have to remove the slippers only to replace them with boring brown shoes. Hopefully the novelty of the slippers begins to fade so changing into shoes isn't such a traumatic experience!

Both of these video's show how excited Graham is to be wearing his new slippers. In the first video, you'll have to excuse the fact that Graham is making Elmo burp. What is it with boys and bodily functions??? He isn't even two yet and he's amusing himself with burping noises! He calls himself 'Am' so when he starts saying that and coming towards the camera he wants to watch the video of himself.

In the second video, you can hear Graham asking to play football. He's suddenly very interested in sports and every time he passes a tv that's on, he asks for football. I wonder if this is any indication of what is constantly on the tv at our house???

Just Being Silly...

As you can tell, Graham is still working on his 'natural' on cue smile. In my opinion, his forced smiles are pretty cute though!

Rara, Boy Rara, a Shark, and a few Otters

Sadly, our Christmas vacation is coming to an end. After nearly two weeks home, Jeff returns to work on Monday. Graham will surely miss him, as he's become accustomed to having his Daddy around all the time! We've had a great break though, and this weekend was no exception.

Last night our friends Sara and her fiance' Chris ('Rara' and 'Boy Rara' according to Graham) joined us for dinner. Graham LOVES to spend time with both of them and had a fantastic time dancing around the living room with Sara. Graham was even kind enough to share his coveted dance pad with her. You know that Graham really likes you, if Graham is willing to share his favorite toys!

For the past few days, nearly every time we're in the car, Graham insists that we're heading to the zoo. When the car stops and he gets out to see the grocery store or the mall, he often says 'zoo?' in a very sad voice. So, at Graham's request, this morning the three of us decided to brave the cold and visited the zoo. A good portion of it is indoors, so we aren't that crazy as we braved the below zero windchill to check out the animals. Not surprisingly, Graham was most intrigued by the large aquarium. He was very impressed by the shark that repeatedly swam in front of him.

Check out the 'fishy face' he's making for the shark!

Today was the first time that Graham paid any attention to the small clawed otter exhibit. I normally walk through very quickly because to be completely honest, I think that specific exhibit smells horrendous. But, since Jeff was with today, he was the good parent and offered Graham a new experience. Graham continually 'meowed' at the otters as if they were cats, but they did provide some good entertainment. I guess next time I take Graham to the zoo, I'll be stopping to see the otters...

Graham and Daddy enjoying a morning at the zoo...happy after the stinky otters :)

Happy New Year!

It's hard to believe that the new year has already arrived and 2009 promises to be an exciting year for our family! I'm still in shock (a giddy, excited shock!) that in a matter of weeks we'll be lucky enough to have two little ones. Never in a million years did I imagine, that I would have the privilege of parenting two children so soon. I am one lucky lady! I know that in raising Graham and Amelia, my dreams are coming true, and I hope that 2009 brings fulfillment of the dreams of our friends and family too!

We've been very busy this week which is why recent posts have been non-existent. We've been lucky enough to have Jeff home all week so we've been visiting with family, visiting with friends, and just hanging out. With no schedule, I kind of lost my discipline to update the blog. But, Jeff does have to go back to work on Monday, which means I'll be back on a schedule, which means you can count on more regular Graham updates! Until then though, here are a few pictures and video from the past week. Enjoy!

Graham and mini-Graham playing with trains

Graham and mini-Graham looking out the window...notice a pattern? This baby (bee bee as Graham calls him) goes everywhere with him!

One of my very best friends from high school Sue ('Foo' according to Graham), is in town from California. Here they are playing in Graham's new tent.


The following video is Graham playing with his dance pad, one of his new Christmas toys, and as you can see, he LOVES it! Graham's great grandparents sure know what Graham likes!





**A warning about the following video-it might become annoying!** Yesterday morning Graham figured out how to actually play his recorder. He obviously has no clue what he's doing note wise, but ever since he mastered actually blowing air through it and making noise, that's all he wants to do. I'm not sure if I should be happy about this or not...it sure didn't help my headache today!

Frozen Yogurt on a Freezing Cold Night

At the suggestion of my brother, we went to a Chinese restaurant this evening for dessert, frozen yogurt to be exact! It sounded like a very unlikely spot for such a treat, but it was voted the best frozen yogurt in the city, so this evening we gave it a try. We paid our local Leeann Chin a visit and had the BEST frozen yogurt ever. I'm not kidding, it was fantastic! As you can see in the following pictures, Graham thoroughly enjoyed his treat!

Going...

Going...

Gone!

A Quick Christmas Recap...

Here are a few pictures from our busy days surrounding Christmas-better late than never, right?



On Christmas Eve, we joined Jeff's family for a delicious Christmas Eve dinner. The highlight of the evening for Graham was getting his very own remote controlled train from Halmoni and Haraboji! At first, as he worked to figure out the remote, he was a bit afraid of the train as it rolled around on the floor, but it wasn't long before Graham was the conductor in charge of his train. I'm still amazed that a child, not even two years old, can understand how a remote control works. Graham does have experience watching his Daddy 'work' the remote, but it's still pretty funny to watch Graham and his train in action.

Graham and his Great Uncle Michael playing with the train

When it was time for bed, we headed to my parents house to spend the night...and what a long night it was. Not long after we put Graham in the pack-n-play to go to sleep, he decided he wanted to get out. So, he climbed out. Needless to say, none of us got much sleep as Graham moved between the pack-n-play he could now get out of, and the bed with us. He had so much fun with his new freedom! I wonder how much longer it will be before he attempts to climb out of his actual crib! Thankfully, he really does love his crib, so I'm hoping he remains content contained behind the bars for at least another 5 years! :)

Morning did finally arrive though, and we made our way downstairs to find that despite Graham not really sleeping the night before, that Santa did indeed come! Graham had so much fun opening his presents, and Jeff and I had so much fun watching him. Last year, Graham wasn't very interested in the gifts, but this year, he wanted to open every single gift, no matter who it was for! Amelia even had a pile under the tree. Although we would have loved for her to be home and sharing the holiday with us, it was touching that she was included too. It was a strange feeling on Christmas morning though, to know that I'm the Mommy to two children who happen to be on opposite sides of the world. Thankfully, with each day that passes, we're one day closer to uniting our family!

Helping Grandpa make scrambled eggs for breakfast


Loving his new tent from Santa

One last gift on Christmas Day from Haraboji and Halmoni-his very own 15 inch Saxophone!!! Is there a more perfect gift for a little boy obsessed with horns? Of course we had to have Grandpa get his saxophone out too!

Because we weren't going to be at home on Christmas morning, Santa dropped off a big gift for Graham a day early. Here is Graham's reaction to his new train table. As you can see, he's shocked. So shocked, that he drops his blanket and Elmo, both objects we normally have to pry from his hands each morning. And no, the train table isn't taking over our living room...it's going to live in Graham's bedroom...safe from his baby sisters hands!

PS How great is his bedhead???

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!