Happy Birthday Sweet Carson Graham

What a wonderful celebration…small but sweet. Carson enjoyed  his cheese puffs and his cupcake…evident by this video. Thanks to everyone for the great gifts and to those who helped us celebrate.

This morning we enjoyed a great church service and afterwards we went down front for Carson’s dedication. It was a very sweet dedication and we had several friends there with us, as well as my parents and Aunt Laura.

Here are a few pics from the weekend. One last thing…big congrats to Paul’s brother James and his wife Sue. They welcomed Seth Robert Graham to the family on Saturday. We’re so happy for them and can’t wait to meet our new nephews in Canada.

Where’s the Kitty Cat?

Just had to share this quick clip. Carson is really getting into his books at night. We’ve been practicing pointing to the kitty cat. He finally pointed to the cat all on his own…until Paul came up with the camera. It’s still cute watching him point!

Goodbye Olympics

We’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching the Olympics and cheering for the US and Canada! It’s fun to cheer for two countries and teach Jack to be proud of both National Anthems & Flags. As I type we’re watching the closing ceremonies and they’re awesome!

Just a couple of updates:

Paul and I enjoyed a night in Nashville while Aunt Laura kept the boys. We were actually supposed to go up Friday night but I got hit with the stomach bug. We went for my friend Kristin’s wedding, which was very sweet. We got to meet up with some other friends later in the night.

Jack has been a busy kid! He’s enjoying swim lessons two nights a week with Daddy. And he also started “Playball” at school and he loves it! It’s the first thing he tells me about when I pick him up on Tuesdays.

Carson is a hoot. He’s very determined and strong willed. He will throw a fit in a second if we take something from him (like a fork when he’s trying to walk around with it!). He’s definitely mastered walking and loves to be outside! He eats like a champ and is very good about going to bed. He is really enjoying books now which I’m happy about. Books have always been a big part of our bedtime routine so I’m happy that he enjoys them! Oh, another funny thing, he loves to put things to his ear, like a remote control or phone, as if he’s talking on the phone. Super funny!

Carson turns one in 9 days! We’re going to celebrate next Saturday so I’ll post pictures afterwards. Here’s some pictures from the last few weeks:

This is Carson’s “Hello”

Enjoying a popsicle with Daddy

Jack’s 1st ride in the vette (he’s in a booster). He rode with Daddy to the gas station.

Paul and  I at Kristin’s wedding

Hilarious bath hair

Jack & Aunt Laura playing Candyland.

Carson LOVES this ball game.

 

~So blessed

So much to blog about

We had such a great visit with Kenneth & Anissa. I was so sad the day they left because Jack just kept saying he was going to miss them and didn’t want them to leave. These are the little reminders of how much it stinks to be away from our families. While they were here we enjoyed several great meals together. Paul cooked a wonderful beef tenderloin and then we used the leftover beef to make fajitas the next night. We took K&A to the mall and Target (no skin off my back!) and just enjoyed being together. Anissa is such a great addition to our family and I just wish we could spend more time together.

Here are a few pics from their visit:

Me, Laura, Julie & Anissa

Paul took everyone down the Cahaba River

In other news…
Jack thoroughly enjoyed all the time away from school while K & A were here. We’ve had a nice quiet weekend and he’s currently playing on my iPhone…his new favorite thing to do.

He also started swimming lessons this week. All was going well until the end of the first lesson when the teacher asked the kids to jump in. He got water in his eyes and it was all she wrote! Thursday night he declared that he would go to swim lessons, but he would NOT be jumping in the water.

Carson has really come in to his own and is such a happy guy! I’ve been praying for these days as I feel like his first few months he just seemed so unhappy so much of the time-whether it was because of his reflux or the fact that he wanted to be more independent. He is walking more & more every day. He babbles a lot and seems to try to repeat a lot of words. He has such a temper, which we just laugh at.

We’ve done several projects around the house…I will post some pics soon. We put crown up around the bathroom mirrors and I just finished sewing my first set of curtains! I’m quite proud…they’re even lined! Hopefully we can get them hung tomorrow.

That’s all for tonight. It’s 8:15, the kids are down, Paul and I are about to watch a movie. Ahhhh…life is good.

-Jill

Carson’s first steps!

Carson has been gaining confidence everyday! We’ve noticed him letting go of whatever he is holding on to, and sometimes taking a step or two before realizing he’s not holding on to something. Tonight we were eating dinner and he was “all done” so we let him roam around and kept noticing more and more steps. Of course when I got the camera out, I couldn’t get a good angle and Jack was VERY hyper! Here’s the best one:

He’s also started signing more & more. “All Done” is his best, but it’s only one handed right now! Better than nothing. He also seems to “say” it at the same time. This was after a spaghetti dinner. He’s a GREAT eater!

Also had to post this hilarious picture of Jack. I had their clothes set out and Paul got Jack dressed and sent him in to ask me if this was what he was supposed to wear:

Ummm…those are Carson’s clothes…

Hope everyone is having a great week! We’re so excited to have Kenneth & Anissa here this weekend as well as Mom & Dad!

~So blessed!

3 trips to Lowe’s kind of weekend

It’s a long weekend for me & the boys. We’re off tomorrow, unfortunately Paul has to work. I’m not sure what we will do, but maybe a trip to the park is in store!

We’ve been  busy. I made three trips to Lowe’s today, Paul made one.  We (mostly Paul) finally tackled the crown molding in the sewing/play room. It was a beast because that room has all kinds of weird angles as it was added on to at some point so it was a mess. We still have to finish all the caulking and paint touch up; I’ll post some before & after pictures later.

The boys are great. Jack is learning that he can’t leave his cups or snacks in arms length of Carson…he’ll grab Jack’s juice or his snacks in a second! He’s also learning that anywhere he goes, Carson wants to go. Ahhh…the start of sibling rivalry!

Speaking of Carson…what a pistol! He’s got the most amazing temper. Paul and I just have to laugh at him sometimes because it’s hilarious how mad he gets if you take something from him. His favorite things right now-the dishwasher, an immediate attraction. The stairs, if the gate is down and he’s quiet-watch out. Anything Jack has- if Jack is at his little table with a snack, Carson is practically pulling him out of his chair. This morning Paul and I cracked up because Jack was standing with a toy, Carson went over & pulled himself up on Jack, which pulled Jack’s “comfy” pants down. Needless to say Jack was NOT happy…especially because Paul and I were laughing!

Here’s some pictures from the last few days! Enjoy!

Excited to be in the chair with Jack. Jack is NOT happy.

 

Have Paci’s, will travel

This is Jack & Paul’s new game. Jack calls it the spiderman game, but it’s just he & Paul throwing balls back and forth at eachother. Jack gets inside the boat every  now and then for cover.

Welcome 2010!

We had an excellent Christmas and now we’re excited to see what 2010 will hold for our family! 2009 was certainly full of blessings…Carson’s arrival, good health, a warm house, good jobs etc. I’m certain the year ahead will be as busy as usual! Kenneth & Anissa will be here for a visit in late January and then Paul’s birthday is in February and we’ll also have a weekend in Nashville for a wedding. The following weekend we’ll celebrate Carson’s first birthday and also have him dedicated at church the first Sunday in March. My sister Amy is planning to be here so I’m so excited about seeing her. We’re going to Idaho in May for my nephew Gavin’s high school graduation…so you see we've already got a full schedule! :-)

This Christmas was by far the best! Jack was so excited about Santa visiting! He got everything he asked for (a sword, dinosaurs and transformers) among other things. Carson got a ball pit from Santa and we get a lot of laughs watching him dive in & out of it.

Carson is ALL over the place these days. He’s finally mastered turning his car walker so when he gets stuck he can turn it around…big relief. He loves to hold on to fingers and walk. He’s started climbing too. He discovered the stairs and loves to climb on the dishwasher door and anything else he can get up on.

Here are some photos from the last few weeks:

Snapfish Photo Album