One Day at a Time...

Graham is now 8 month old and just getting cuter by the day :) He loves being outside and is really enjoying swimming, both in the baby pool and in Memaw's big pool. Right around Logan's birthday, we made the move to having him sleep in his crib all night long. (We were putting him to sleep there and then I was bringing him to bed with me around 2am or so for the remainder of the night.) I had been sleeping in the upstairs bedroom/sewing room to be closer to him, and now I'm back downstairs. Shane's been helping (I go up and nurse him and then he comes up and rocks him back to sleep) with the 2nd feeding which is wonderful. Graham's been doing really well with the change! He's down to waking up about 2 times (sometimes 3) to nurse, but that is in a 11-12 hour time period. Both of our boys are asleep by 8pm every night. Graham sometimes by 7 or 7:30pm.

I'm not worried about the night feedings because he is really not eating much solid food at all. His little tummy is having trouble adjusting from breastmilk to solid foods and he gets terribly constipated. Right now, he's only able to handle about 1 container of baby food per day. I've been working on some different things so that hopefully he can start eating more soon. He loves it so it's kind of sad that I can't give him more. I know that he'll be so happy when he can have some finger foods!

Here are some recent pictures of him. He's sitting up really well now.Hanging out in the bumbo (I think he's done with it now though. If I try to put him in there, he bails out now.)The boys are kind of getting to the age where they can "play" and interact more together. I love to read both of them books together. Logan is a big help with Graham and is constantly watching out for his little brother.



Sweet faceStanding up! He's not pulling up, but if you hold his hands or lean him up against something, he can stand up. Crazy!!

And the biggest development lately....the ARMY CRAWL!! He is using his arms and dragging himself all over the place. When that doesn't work, he power rolls. He is now putting some weight on his knees and moving forward one scoot. He'll be crawling before long....I have a feeling life is about to get even crazier!!

Posted in: on Monday, June 13, 2011 at at 1:37 PM 0 comments  

The day before Logan's birthday, I let him pick anything to have for breakfast the next morning. He picked chocolate chip muffins! That afternoon we had his Pirate Birthday Party! Here's our kitchen all decorated for the party. My friend Megan made this awesome banner for us. Isn't is beautiful?! I ordered a bunch of simple cupcakes and made pirate cupcake toppers for them. Me and the birthday boy

I can't believe he is FOUR!

This was the first year that Logan really had input on his party. It was fun to hear what kind of party he wanted to have, who he wanted to invite and what he wanted to do there. We played a couple of games, starting with "Sink the Ship." Basically, Shane drew a pirate ship and we put it on a cardboard box. The kids had to throw bean bags into the box to try to "sink" it. Next, we had a Treasure Hunt! Shane drew this awesome map of our backyard and made it kind of like an obstacle course.

Through the tunnel...Checking out the map.... Up the swing set, down the slide...."Walk the plank"....And, find the buried treasure.

TREASURE!! (I love all these blond heads checking out the "loot!")

Last, we played Pin the Tail on the Crocodile. I drew out the crocodile on cardstock and then drew a bunch of tails. We just blindfolded the kids and let them try to stick the tail in the right place. I think that the boys had a great time and certainly enjoyed their cupcakes!

Yummy!! Cake!!After the party, we had a couple of hours to regroup before our family came over for another one :) We kept it simple, got a bunch of pizza and ate left over cupcakes. Logan loved it!

Here he is with his family presents

A sweet picture of Uncle Marty and Aunt Jill

Hugging Grandma

I love this one of Logan with his Grandpa

Our "big" present for him this year was a bike. (It's a wooden one with no pedals so they learn to ride without training wheels.) Here he is trying to get the hang of it. (And, yes, we're working on a helmet ;) )

Mmmmmm....More cake!

It was a wonderful day! We are so grateful for all of our wonderful family and friends that helped make this one special for him.

Posted in: on Sunday, June 12, 2011 at at 3:32 PM 0 comments  

My sweet boy turned FOUR on May 25th. I'm still catching up on pictures but here are some birthday shots from the last few years.

ONE!TWO!THREE!And, now...he's FOUR! Lot's more pictures to come :)

Posted in: on Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at at 9:53 AM 1 comments  

I just finished reading books to Logan and putting him to bed, and this was our conversation:

L: "Mommy, when I'm 4, will you still be my Mommy?"
K: "Of course! I'll be your Mommy when you're 4, 10, 20, 30, 45, and 62. I'll always be your Mommy."
L: "But, what if you die?"
K: "Well, if I die, I'll be in Heaven, but I'll still be your Mommy."

pause

K: "Just like Granddad is still my Daddy even though he is in Heaven."
L: "But, what if I have to tell you something?"
K: "If you have to tell me something, I will listen. I'll always be here with you and I'll always be able to hear you."
L: "I want to tell Granddad something."
K: "Okay, tell him. He can hear you."
L: "Granddad! I love you and I miss you!!" (Loudly)
then whispers to me "see, I told him and I didn't even wake Graham up!"
K: "And, he heard you and he misses you too."

long pause

L: "But, what if you die and we're all still here?" (meaning him, Graham and Daddy)
K: "If I die and all of you are still here, I'll be in Heaven but I'll see everything you do and I'll always be with you. I promise."

Wow. Along with the age of (almost) 4 comes lots of tough questions.

Posted in: on Friday, May 20, 2011 at at 8:17 PM 0 comments  

Last weekend was the most beautiful weekend. Ever. It was gorgeous outside and we took full advantage of it. I always sew on Saturday mornings, but I took a break for a picnic lunch on a blanket in the backyard. After I wrapped things up, we took a walk and and relaxed in the yard. It was so nice just to sit and catch up with Shane and play with the boys after such a busy week. And, what a wonderful thing to be able to just sit and enjoy our beautiful yard and our sweet boys.


I was looking through all of the pictures and I was blown away by how much alike Graham and Logan look in this picture! The way their heads are tilted, the half smiles, the eyes....it's amazing! I didn't think they looked this much alike!I love this picture of them all in a big heap :)

I thought this was the sweetest picture of Logan

Sweet Graham (7 months)On Sunday after church we ran home, changed clothes, grabbed our picnic lunch and headed to the park! We had a wonderful afternoon of bike riding, soccer playing, kit flying, lounging...it was awesome. Such a beautiful day. We even took Logan to get frozen yogurt afterwards. He loved it!

Graham is starting to sit up on his own now! (He's wearing Logan's hat in this picture because there was no shade where we were.)

We've been playing catch up on house work and laundry all week, but having some uninterrupted family time was soooooo worth it. I love my boys!! I also have to say that my husband is amazing. Amazing. He's been doing double duty these days in order for me to maintain my business and get orders out on time. Everyone always tells me that they don't know how I find time to do it. I say that 1-I don't sleep and 2-I have an amazing husband :)

Posted in: on Thursday, May 19, 2011 at at 8:43 PM 0 comments  

Today it has been 7 months since my Dad passed away. There is a song that's popular on country radio (A Little Bit Stronger, by Sara Evans) that I find myself listening to over and over these days. It's about a breakup, but I feel such a connection to the heartbreak in the words....

Woke up late today
and I still feel the sting of the pain
but I brushed my teeth anyway.
I got dressed through the mess,
and I put a smile on my face.
I got a little bit stronger.

I know my heart will never be the same,
but I keep telling myself I'll be okay.
Even on my weakest days,
I get a little bit stronger.

Seven months. Sometimes I think how can it have been that long? He was just here. Just here with us. Just here. And then other days, I think about all that he has already missed. How many things have changed in these past seven months. I look at Graham and wonder if he sees him. Does he see him growing and changing? Can he hear Logan and how much he is talking now? How descriptive he is? Can he see how hard I'm working? My business? How it's growing? I know he would be proud. IS proud.

I snapped at someone a few weeks ago. Not meaning to really, but I had just heard the same thing one too many times. She said, "Well, at least you and your Mom have each other. You can comfort each other and be together." I know that she meant well, just as I know everyone else who has said similar things to me over the last seven months means well. But, I couldn't help but say, "Yes, that is great BUT...she is not my Daddy. I am not her husband." Most of you know that my Mom and I are best friends and a wonderful source of comfort for each other, but that doesn't take away from the extreme sense of loss we both (we all) feel. The sense of disappointment. The sense of just feeling ripped off. I know that people say things for many reasons. They want you to look at the positive side of things. They want to feel like they've said something that helped you. Take it from me and don't say things like this to people when they're experiencing something like this. Just say what a terrible loss it is and move on. Tell a story about the person who passed away. Tell them why you loved him or her. Or, just say you're sorry, but don't try to make them see the positive side of it. It makes me feel like I'm not allowed to grieve or that it's not okay to talk about how crappy it is and how much I miss him. Don't get me wrong, I'm a positive person and I DO amazingly see many blessings that have come from Dad getting sick and passing away. But, none of them bring him back and none of them take away my grief.

Logan still talks about him regularly. For months, he'd ask about him every day and talk about how sad he was that he died. Last week, he shared with me a true memory of him. It was beautiful. We took the boys to the columbarium on Easter Sunday and Logan talked to Granddad. He told him he missed him and that he loved him. He said Happy Easter. And, I held it together and didn't cry. I got a little bit stronger.

Posted in: on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at at 10:48 PM 2 comments  

Happy Easter from our family to yours!

Our Easter celebration started a week early at our church's Easter Egg Hunt

Here we are with the Easter Bunny

Gaham enjoying the celebration

Memaw and LoganMemaw and Graham Logan hunting for eggs on his school playground

Logan and Katelyn (my SIL's sisters daughter) It was really cute to see them together :)

Logan got his face painted!

Mommy and Logan riding the Easter train

Here's a random picture of Graham taken from the week just because I thought it was cute! And, yes, we cloth diaper :)

Easter weekend we spent Saturday with Shane's parents at their church Easter Egg hunt and then at the park. It was a beautiful day but WINDY!

Logan with the Easter Bunny

Logan with Grandpa and Grandma

Graham sleeping in the sling at the park

Easter Morning
The Easter Bunny brought Logan an Easter basket and some new board game. He was so excited!

He didn't forgot Graham! He brought him the new light up car toy. (Yes, I am wearing my Christmas pj's. Don't laugh at me.)

Easter Sunday we went to church as a family and then over to my Mom's for lunch. We HAD to make the bunny cake which is a family tradition. I'll have to find some pictures of early bunny cakes and post them because I've been doing this every Easter for as long as I can remember.

We let Logan decorate him this year. Enough said. Uncle Marty and Graham

Easter dinner for Graham-Sweet Potatoes! Yummy!

Posted in: on at at 12:52 PM 0 comments