Who likes cookies?

You'll have to please excuse the crazy hair Graham is sporting. We were playing in the snow and walking in the woods this afternoon and his crazy hair is nothing short of amazing hat hair!

This video clip isn't really that exciting other than the fact that Graham busts his Grandpa and his love of cookies! Graham was devouring his lemon Girl Scout cookie then he started smearing it all over his face and the table so I grabbed my camera since he was acting so goofy. I think it's pretty funny that out of everyone in Graham's life, he answered 'Grandpa' when I asked him who likes cookies....not a good answer since his Grandpa is trying to eat healthy foods and stay away from sugar. But, he is correct, Grandpa does love cookies!

At the very end of the clip, it's hard to understand what Graham is saying, but luckily as his Mother I'm able to translate! Since he knows I was recording him he's asking for the camera so he can watch himself.

Messy, Messy, Messy

Graham had the opportunity at school this morning to get very messy! He's wearing a very serious expression as he concentrates on his masterpiece, but don't let him fool you. He LOVED this foamy white paint and protested when it was time to move on to the next activity. I'm not always the best at encouraging these types of messy projects at home, so I'm thankful that his teacher is more than happy to let 10 very independent toddlers go to town in her room!

Speaking of messy, Graham isn't the only messy thing today...our weather is messy enough that I feel compelled to mention it. Yesterday it was beautiful and warm and right now as I sit at the computer I can barely make out the neighbors house through the blowing snow. Yes, a blizzard has arrived to dump the largest amount of snow that we've had all winter. Lovely.

'More Owl!!!"

Graham and I enjoyed a nice morning together at the zoo. The weather is near 40 degrees today which is fabulous. Yes, 40 degrees in a Minnesota winter does qualify as being fabulous! At the suggestion of a few of our friends, we decided to check out the 'World of Birds Show', something we've never done before. The show is about 3o minutes long and I worried that it wouldn't hold Graham's attention for that long. Boy, was I wrong! As the large hawks flew very close to our heads, Graham was extremely entertained. He was also very impressed by the talking parrots, although now I'm wondering if he assumes all birds can hold a real conversation. His favorite though, was a giant owl. I didn't know it made such an impression on him until he decided to announce it to the entire auditorium. The host of the show had the audience clap for the owl, then it flew off stage. The room got quiet as the trainers got ready to bring out the next bird, and Graham chose that exact moment to yell at the top of his lungs "More Owl!!!" Much to Graham's dismay, the owl did not reappear, but Graham's request did get the audience, and trainer, laughing.

Laughing at the monkeys

Waving to other guests at the bird show. He has a mouthful of milk here, and he was threatening to spit it out....that explains the goofy look on his face!

Stickers for everyone!

We had lunch downtown today with Sara and like usual, Graham thoroughly enjoyed his time with her! Sara was kind enough to allow Graham to decorate her Blackberry with yellow smiley face stickers. Then, Graham decided that not only should he wear a yellow sticker on his face, but Sara should also. What a great sport Sara is! Graham was in such a great mood today that I was able to find the perfect pair of shoes (I conveniently parked at the big downtown Macy's and the elevator conveniently opened into the giant shoe department!) to match my bridesmaid dress for Sara's wedding. Although the wedding is still a few months away, I was happy to find something now, because shopping for shoes with two children doesn't sound appealing!

A hat model in the making?

My parents have been vacationing in Hawaii and recently returned. Graham was so excited to see them and turned into a wild boy when he saw his 'Ahma' for the first time. Every day while they were gone, Graham would tell me 'Ahma Back' meaning that he wanted her to come back home. Finally, on Friday morning I told him we were going to the airport and did he know who we were picking up. He thought for a moment and said 'Amel ya ya!' I wish that was the case, but he quickly forgot about his sister when my mom jumped into the car next to him. Once back at our house, Graham discovered my Mom's beach hat in her suitcase and then the party really began!

Graham loves showing off his tongue

Being our silly guy

Graham didn't stop smiling for my Mom!

Today we ventured down to Northfield to visit St. Olaf. Although very cold outside, it was beautiful and sunny and we thought it was the perfect opportunity to stick Graham in the big chairs we always take his picture in. Too bad we didn't realize that all the outdoor furniture was taken inside for the winter! I guess the next time Graham sits in his chair he'll be sharing that spot with Amelia! Despite the missing furniture, we did have fun wandering around campus and letting Graham get used to his school! :)

Checking his mailbox

Very pleased with with what St. Olaf has to offer!

Sitting on the famous 'Who's meeting me for lunch?' bench (you have to be an Ole to get it!)

Taking care of business...

Things have been just crazy at work for Jeff lately. It's been hard for him to make it home at a decent time and when he is home, he's working. So, we thought lunch at General Mills sounded like a good idea for today. When Graham and I arrived, Jeff let me know that he was running behind and had to attend to a quick meeting. Because of security, my options were to hang out in the lobby or in Jeff's office. So, off we went to Jeff's office while Jeff attended to his business. Unfortunately, much of what looked appealing to Graham, was off limits to him. He wanted so badly to reorganize the organized stacks of paper and folders. Jeff should thank me for keeping his 'stuff' safe, because it really was no small feat! Entertaining an active toddler for 30 minutes in a quiet office proved to be a challenge, but we survived thanks to pens (normally off limits to him), calculators, a toy Dough Boy, and Jeff's iTouch (complete with Elmo podcasts) that we discovered at the very end of our stay! Enjoy the pictures of Graham taking care of business before lunch!

Writing a memo to his staff...

Double checking his numbers...

Socks or Mittens?

Since Graham has demonstrated the need to sleep in backwards pajama's, we had to cut the feet off in order to get the best 'fit'. The weather is still very cold here though, and I worried he'd be cold so we've been putting socks on his feet each night. Each morning when I get him out of his crib I find his socks are on the floor and he proudly shows off his bare toes. Today though, when I cautiously (after my discovery yesterday, I'm going to be cautious for quite a while!) walked into his bedroom, I heard him exclaim "Mama, mittens!" and I was greeted with the following sight. Life is never dull with Graham!

"Mittens!"

Graham was very proud of himself!

The Children's Museum

Today, we joined Kelly and Maddy for a trip to the Children's Museum. Both kids had a fantastic time exploring and especially loved playing in the water! Graham and Maddie also got to experience a tyke sized grocery store, Clifford play room, and a Minnesota habitat themed room complete with climbing structures. After playing so hard all morning, I was certain Graham would come home and take a very long, restful afternoon nap. But, he had other plans...

I thought he was sleeping, but instead he was quietly peeling off each layer of clothing including his VERY messy diaper. I was shocked at what I saw when I went into his room. Let's just say I had quite a bit of scrubbing to do, and several loads of laundry in very hot water. I learned a lesson today...not only does Graham need to sleep in backwards pajama's at night, but also during nap time too. Life is never dull with a toddler!

Just a few pictures...

Graham was downstairs playing tonight and discovered one of his Dada's sweatshirts. Since Graham wants to do everything the big boys do, of course he had to model it. Pretty cute if you ask me!

Graham's Baby

My parents are currently soaking up the tropical Hawaiian sun, but they left Valentine's Day presents for both Graham and Amelia. Graham is now the proud owner of a toddler version of Candy Land (he LOVES it and I highly recommend it for kids his age) and Amelia is the proud (or at least I imagine she would be proud) owner of her very first Cabbage Patch Kid. Since Amelia isn't around to open her gifts yet, I let Graham have that honor. Graham and I have been talking so much about our baby arriving though, that as soon as he saw the baby doll, he proclaimed her to be 'Amel ya ya'. After many conversations, I finally convinced him that this doll isn't Amelia, but that she actually belongs to Amelia. Then, after consulting the very official Cabbage Patch Kid birth certificate, I discovered that this baby's name is actually Reese. Luckily, Graham is able to clearly pronounce that name and he hasn't called the doll 'Amel ya ya' since yesterday. Graham has taken real liking to Reese and I'm hoping that he is willing to hand her over to Amelia when she finally makes her appearance. Until then though, Reese is in good hands....

Notice the backwards pajama's...thankfully the diaper now stays on!

Valentines Day Party

Today at school Graham had a Valentines Day Party. The kids got to decorate 'mailboxes' with glitter (tons and tons of glitter on top of mountains of glue) so they would have a place to deliver their Valentines Day cards. I was having a hard time imagining each child willingly parting with the cards they brought from home, but they all did a great job. Graham looked so grown up walking from bag to bag dropping off his Winnie the Pooh cards (he picked them out all by himself at Target). He had even more fun when it was time to dump out his bag and look through the cards he received. Once home, lining up the cartoon character covered cards entertained him for a good part of the afternoon. It was so much fun to watch him take such pride in decorating his mailbox then examine each and every card over and over over. It made me remember how exciting it was to dig through my own bag of Valentines way back when I was in school, and it was hard not to relive that excitement right along with him!

All dressed up for the big party!

Glitter and glue...Graham decided he couldn't do his best work with his hat on, so as adorable as it looked, he took it off.

Our Busy Day

We started our morning by visiting with our friends Tiffiny and Livia. Liv was very kind to share all her toys with Graham, and the two of them got down to business playing immediately. Graham was thrilled to find that Liv is lucky enough to have her cozy coupe in the house (his is in the garage for the winter) and he spent a good part of the morning riding in the car, pushing the car around while Liv went along for the ride, or squeezing into the car with her.

These two couldn't be more adorable if they tried!

Kissing in the cozy coupe!

This evening we paid baby Miles a visit. Graham thankfully showed no jealousy while I fed Miles his bottle and spent a good part of the evening cuddling with him. I was worried that Graham would see Miles' bottle and want to drink it himself, but luckily, he couldn't have cared less, and I'm hoping this trend continues when Amelia comes home! Graham was very impressed with the baby swing, but unfortunately he's too big for it. Instead, he had to settle for allowing his trucks and crayons to take a ride. I'm still impressed by the gentle nature Graham displays towards Miles and again, I'm hoping this behavior continues because soon, (NOW, PLEASE!!!) Amelia will be coming home!

How cute are these two?

Bath Time

Graham was very excited to come home from Target with a new tub toy. He clutched it all the way home and actually laughed to himself like he thought he was getting away with something...like we didn't know he still had a death grip on his bathtub rocket. He begged in the car "Mama help!" then "Dada help!" as he desperately wanted it out of the box. We told him repeatedly that his toy could come out of the box when he took a bath. When we got home Graham immediately RAN up the stairs and climbed into the tub. As you can see by the fact that he still has on his coat, hat, and shoes, he was a bit excited!

Playing Outside

It's hard to believe it, but the temperature was actually above freezing all weekend! So, in honor of our mid-winter heatwave, we decided to spend the afternoon soaking up the sun! We bundled Graham up, loaded him into his sled, and headed to the walking paths in the woods. Graham had a fantastic time eating snow and yelling 'Fun!' each time his sled hit a bump. He tried walking for a bit but quickly realized that getting through the deep snow is quite a bit of work and soon settled back into the sled for the remainder of our trek. Enjoy the pictures of our happy guy!

Graham and Annie

Most of the time, Graham and Annie really like each other. The other small bit of time, they're jealous of each other. Heaven forbid I offer Annie a treat without having something for Graham or vice versa. Lately though, I've noticed Graham trying to engage Annie in his imaginative play. For example, Graham really enjoys his view finder so it makes complete sense to him that Annie would enjoy it as well. The problem is that most of the time I end up saying "Sorry Graham, Annie doesn't like the view finder pressed into her eyes." On another occasion Graham was playing with his airplanes and Annie was forced into the game when her back was used as both a runway and landing strip. Yesterday though, I witnessed a very sweet moment between Graham and Annie. Both of them had their noses pressed to the sliding glass door as they observed a few squirrels playing on the deck. Graham reached out to Annie and for a split second it looked like he was going to choke her. Instead though, I watched Graham carefully give Annie a big hug then I heard him say "Iluvuh". Translated, that means "I love you!". How sweet is that???

Graham and his buddy 'camping' in a tent

Dinner with RaRa and Boy RaRa

I'm once again finding myself a big behind on the blog, and this picture is actually from Saturday night when we joined our friends Chris (Boy RaRa to Graham) and Sara (RaRa to Graham) at their house for dinner. After Sara and I spent the afternoon shopping for her wedding invitations, we met up with the boys for pizza. Graham had a fantastic time catching up with his friends (he absolutely adores both Sara and Chris!) and had an appetite that rivaled the big boys! Even after his giant meal, Graham had room for his very first ice cream sandwich. As you can tell by the chocolate the covers his face, Graham thoroughly enjoyed every last bite!