I took these photos last night for fun since we didn’t get any on Halloween.

I took this video on my camera a couple weeks ago. He grabbed his oatmeal bowl off the table and had a great time playing with it all over the floor. I was playing Pandora on my phone. This is a song we listen and dance to at the library each week. He never participates during story time and prefers to watch everyone else. He clearly knows what to do though because he started doing the movements to the song without me prompting him or showing him what to do. He is doing it all on his own. He only does the clap and shake verses, but he is trying to jump now. He loves to “jump”, but only one foot comes off the ground. I will have to get a video because it is very cute.

We rented a cabin way up a mountain with a wonderful view. The only bad part being you don’t want to drive on that road in the dark and it takes awhile to get places. But, why go anywhere when the cabin has everything? We did go hike at Chimney Rock on Saturday and we went on a tour of Lake Lure. I found the tour extra exciting because they pointed out a few Dirty Dancing sites and I LOVE that movie. It was very cold though thanks to a cold front that came through the day before we arrived. Figures. At any rate this is the same time of year they taped Dirty Dancing and we saw where the water scenes were filmed. While on the boat we were wearing jeans, long sleeve shirt or sweatshirt and heavy winter coat…. and we were still cold. So I really don’t know how they filmed in that weather in the WATER! In summer clothes! Since the leaves were turning at the time they came out every morning and sprayed all the trees with green food coloring to make it look like summer. We also saw some big houses where the rich “summer”. I would love to know where all these people get all their money. Maybe they could share a little with me or get me a nice cabin.

I still have some other pictures of Graham and some videos so hopefully I can get to them this week, but for now here are some Lake Lure pictures.

View from the porch and kitchen window:

Hot tub and we did go out there last night even though it was really really cold (probably 40 something). We didn’t read the instruction until about 6:30 and then realized it could take 6-8 hours to eat in cold weather. So we made a fire inside, roasted marshmallows, filled the house with smoke since Casey made an outdoor sized fire inside, watched a movie and then sat in the hot tub around 11:00. There were so many stars and it was a perfectly clear night. I really didn’t think it was that bad outside, but Casey ran inside like a little girl while I tried to fix the cover and lock it down. The strange thing is I freeze in my own house after I take a shower in the winter and it way warmer in here than it was outside!

Fire pit area. I was really hoping to use this area, but after being in the cold and wind all day Saturday an indoor fire sounded much more relaxing…. until the house filled with smoke.

The front porch which I wish we could have used more, but again too cold.

Lake Lure from Chimney Rock:

The top of the trail:

Chimney Rock from below:

Lake Lure, the stairs in Dirty Dancing – watermelon scene

Lake Lure, this is where the water scenes were recorded when they were practicing the big lift

Our house should be ready soon, just need a few finishing touches:

Playing with the hay:

Hayride:

Pumpkin patch:

Not sure what is going on here, probably mad because he wants more animal crackers. We didn’t realize it was almost 12 at this point and boys had not had any lunch yet! Sam handled it much better than Graham.

Graham
Graham has molars! Being the observant mom that I am I discovered this after they were pretty far in and only by accident. I was tickling him one day and he leaned back and was laughing. I saw some white way back in his mouth so I had him laugh again and then just stuck my finger back there to feel and sure enough there were two molars on top. So perhaps that explains the not wanting to sleep and need to be held non-stop a few weeks ago. Considering at the time he had 4 total teeth in his mouth and 2 that were just barely coming in I didn’t expect molars to show up already. It looks like he grew teeth numbers 3-6 on top all at once (including two molars which I hear are the worst, so I say he did pretty good with them). He still only has 2 bottom teeth, but his gums are a bit puffy and he is chewing his fingers a lot so I think more are coming. I didn’t realize molars would show up so soon. He loves walking and is going pretty quickly now. I still love watching him walk. He is really into words and trying to repeat the words he hears. Here are a few of his favorites. None are said “correctly” which really bothers Casey, but we can tell what he is trying to say. Cracker, cookie, truck, JD, bib, button, mama, dada, banana, blueberry, grape, night night, bunny, light, gate and diaper. We also drill him often on his body parts and he knows most of them. He actually knows a lot of words and points to things when we ask, but can’t say most of the words yet. We of course think he is really smart.

Lindsay
Several weeks ago while sitting on the couch editing pictures I managed to pull/strain a muscle in my back. It hurt pretty bad for awhile, but I figured it just needed time to heal. Then one day I woke up and no pain, but the area felt almost numb. I guess my muscle finally decided enough was enough and turned itself off. I didn’t realize it at first, but my right arm doesn’t function at full capacity anymore. I can’t lift it higher than shoulder level in any direction and my shoulder blade “wings”. Awesome. I work out all the time, eat right and still manage to pull a muscle while sitting on the couch. Am I 90 or something? So now I get to go to physical therapy so I can teach my muscle how to work again. At least I am not in pain, but not looking forward to the process of bringing this muscle back to life. And speaking of muscles, I have joined Stroller Strides and I love it. It has been a great way to get exercise and meet some new moms. Some of which are clearly a million times richer than me, but that’s okay. They are all really nice and maybe one day they will invite me to their awesome beach houses. Graham enjoys the class and running around with the other kids after class. Oh, wait this is supposed to be an update about me! Yesterday I realized the following:
1. I am not a morning person and no matter how many times I tell myself I will do it, I will never get up early to exercise.
2. I have no ability to dress myself and need a personal shopper
3. I need more money
4. I look horrible in skinny jeans, they are clearly not meant for short ladies with hips that have birthed a child (or the thighs that go with those hips), also they make me feel like I am in 7th grade again
5. Old Navy sucks
6. I love Starbucks
So as you can tell I made an attempt to go shopping last night which never ends well for me as I hate shopping and would actually rather be cleaning my house. I am not one to buy trendy clothes. Since I never shop I need clothes that are pretty classic and will last me many years. Tonight I tried to find at least one trendy outfit in my price range and maybe find some shoes to go with it. I have decided I should just give it up and accept that I am now a mom and it is okay that my style is about 10 years old, my jeans aren’t cool, I wear tennis shoes or flip flops at all times, my hair is always a mess and/or dirty and all the exercising in the world will not make this extra belly fat go away. Okay, really I can’t blame any of these thing on being a mom because this was all true before I had Graham.

Casey
Casey works. Done. Ha! He is a man of few words…. written, not spoken.

JD
JD continues to puke on a regular basis (irritable bowl) and get fur/litter all over my house, but I love him. He is harassed most days by the little one and tolerates a good amount of hitting and pulling. Most days he sneaks off and sleeps, but some days he is dumb enough to hang out with us.

Tuscan and Moose
They continue to be annoyed by the presences of the new creature that makes a lot noise and grabs at them. I don’t let the creature around them much since he can be a bit rough and doesn’t fully understand his strength or that they are tiny and fragile. Most nights they still enjoy running around the bonus room with us, but have started leaving us a lot more presents to clean up at night. This is their way of protesting against said creature.

Graham is walking now. Really walking. He walks about 85-90% of the time now. I love watching him walk around. He is still walking pretty slowly so it is still fun. I might not think it is as cute when he is running from me, but for now I love watching him walk around. He hasn’t figured out that he can stand up in the middle of the floor and walk so he crawls over to something and pulls himself up to standing. Then he walks. He looks so proud every time he walks and he is getting faster. He was going pretty good today and got a little too fast and tripped. He didn’t get upset though and got right back up so that is good. He is throwing less fits lately and his temper has been better. He is getting a little better at playing and being independent as well which is really nice for me. He has been pretty attached to mommy the last few weeks. Last Sunday he decided he didn’t want to sleep unless he was sleeping on me. At first I thought he was sick or teething since he never sleeps on people. Not even as a baby. So the first night he slept with us because we thought something must be wrong. By 10 that night I just wanted to sleep and I felt bad for him so he slept with us. I really don’t know how people sleep with kids in the bed with them. At least at this age. He was all over the place. I think he was the only one that got any sleep. He was moving, kicking, punching, crawling, moaning…. so one night was enough. The next day he wouldn’t nap either, or the next. Since I had a busy week and I just needed him to nap so we took naps together. I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it a little. He was never a baby that liked to sleep on people so it was nice that he wanted to be with me! This weekend we got him back to napping in the crib. He naps much better in the crib. He would get really sweaty sleeping on top of me and wouldn’t take a very long nap. I know in the blink of an eye he will be too cool to be with me, won’t want to hug me, kiss me or look at me and smile with so much love and joy in his eyes. Can you blame me for wanting to hold on to this time a bit? He is only little for such a short time! Casey is hard core though and has put an end to my naps. Boo.

His favorite activity lately has been throwing things in the trash. I often will give him items to throw away, but he also likes to throw away any other item he happens to find on the floor. His favorite is unloading the silverware from the dishwasher and throwing them away. You have to really watch him so he doesn’t throw away something important. I have a little video from a few weeks ago when he first started this new activity. He also likes to take the trash out of the trashcan. Gross.

I also have this video of him eating toast one morning. This is how he eats most things. In large handfuls stuffed into his mouth. He loves to eat. Well, loves to eat fruit, dairy and carbs. I gave him several toast sticks which he promptly grabbed into one hand and tried to stuff into this mouth. We are working on using a spoon to eat and he can do it, but it takes too long so after one scoop he drops the spoon and scoops it up with his hands. This goes for anything he is eating including yogurt. He is usually covered in food and most of it ends up on his hands, between his fingers, on his bib or beside him in the high chair. He has no patience for the spoon. It is much easier and faster to use his hands to scoop food. He eats like he hasn’t eaten in days and isn’t sure where or when his next meal might be arriving. It is amazing he hasn’t choked yet considering how much food he stuffs in his mouth!!

This past week I volunteered and shopped at a consignment sale in Wake Forest so we are pretty well set on clothes for this fall. At least I hope we are! The biggest problem is shoes. Finding shoes that fit him is pretty much impossible. I think it is time to just invest in a good pair of shoes from Stride Rite. Once I know his size in their shoes I can be on the lookout for more at sales and consignment stores, but I think first I need to have him sized and have at least one good pair in the closet. I am also trying to find some athletic shoes for myself. I am going to some stroller stride classes and my shoes are so old. Like I bought them in college old. Seriously. They are just so expensive and ugly. I hate athletic shoes. I hate shoes that cover my toes in general, but with winter coming I won’t be able to walk in my Merrells anymore. Again, I think I need to just suck it up and go to some professionals to get a good shoe that fits well and works with my foot and the way I walk, however that is I have no clue. Considering I get shoes every 10-15 years it is probably worth the money to get a good pair. I hate the pair I have now and they really hurt my feet. Perhaps because they are 10 plus years old and have no support. My toes hurt just thinking about being cramped up in those stupid shoes.

As usual Graham had a hard time napping and sleeping while we were away. In his defense it is pretty loud there and there was a lot of construction going on while we were visiting. By Sunday he was pretty tired. We took him to a graveyard that I needed to visit quickly (family tree research) and he didn’t want to walk around. He kept sitting on all the grave markers! On the way back to the house he fell asleep in the car!! I know to most of you this isn’t a big deal, but my child NEVER and I mean never falls asleep in the car. Even on long trips he sleeps about 30-45 minutes tops. He never falls asleep while running errands. Not even as a baby when he was supposed to “sleep all the time”. So I had to grab a couple pictures since this never ever happens. I put him down when we got back to the house, but he refused to sleep so I tried an hour later and he slept for 2.5 hours. Guess he was pretty worn out from all that not sleeping.

He looks just like Casey to me in the last one.

It is fun to see him learning so many new things and trying to say words. You can tell he is trying to say the words we say even though he can’t make all the sounds yet. He says several words now, but like I said in previous posts I am most likely the only one that understands them. He also love to imitate sounds and try to make animal sounds. He is walking more the last few days, but still wants to crawl a lot. He will often come over and take my hand so I can walk with him. I will try to have more photos next week!

Fun with Easter props.

Sitting pretty for his Easter pictures.

Saturday Easter with Casey’s parents.

Sunday Easter at my parents.

Our eggs.

Black and white expression of the week.

There isn’t much else going on around here this week. Graham is still cruising around the house, but not walking on his own just yet. He has decided sleeping on his stomach is the best thing ever and now will only sleep on his belly. This is something most babies figure out around 4-5 months. It took him awhile…. now that he is sleeping on his stomach he is waking up and scooting around the crib on his belly. I figure it won’t be long until he is crawling in there and pulling up. Since until now he has refused to be on his stomach he is pretty far behind on the skills that come from being on your belly, like crawling and pulling up from his belly. He can only pull up from a seated position for now.

JD and the rabbits are all doing well. JD figured out a few weeks ago that he could hit the pantry door to open it and then help himself to his food. Since I am lazy I often don’t seal the container. I would come downstairs, see the pantry door wide open and think “jeez, Casey left the door open again”. I thought this many, many times. Then one morning I got up, got Graham up, fed the bunnies and no JD. He is always following me around all morning crying for food. I actually thought he might be dead! Seriously. I was kinda scared to find him. Eventually he came wondering out of the bonus room and didn’t seem hungry which I thought was strange. When I came downstairs the pantry door was open and his food was all over the floor. This is when I realized what he was up to! He was helping himself all night to his food. Now the food is on a higher shelf and sealed. The rabbits aren’t up to anything new lately. They get out every night so life hasn’t changed much for them. I do bring Graham in there in the mornings and he loves to watch them run around. I had him in there this week when I was cleaning up their room some. I had him on a blanket and away from all the stuff on the floor, but he managed to find a poop. I looked over and he was chewing on something and he did not want me to take whatever it was out of his mouth. Well, I got it out and it was a poop!! Gross. He didn’t seem to mind it and I guess he had another one in his hand because a few minutes later he was chewing on something again and I saw some brown drool coming out of his mouth! I guess he likes to eat poop.

Last night after writing this post I became very sick with some type of stomach flu. I will spare you the details, but that is why I don’t have new pictures yet. I was going to do them today, but I can barely move right now. So I will put some sleeping pictures because I think they are so cute.

On Monday Graham clapped his hands and I was so excited. I ran down the hall to tell Casey and show him. His response was, oh yeah, he did that the other day. You didn’t tell me!?!?! Men. Once I knew he could do it I started clapping and making him practice. Now he loves to clap his hands. This week he has found a new fascination with his hands. He looks at them like they are magical. He did this many months ago so not sure what the new fascination with them is, but it is fun to catch him looking at his hands. His expression is priceless. He has also figured out how to use his sippy cup. He has used it a few times on and off for the past few weeks, but now he really gets it. Some days I have to take the cup away for a few minutes so he will eat his meal. He likes to take a drink after every bite. I guess he feels pretty independent being able to use it himself now. He also loves to walk now, but of course still needs our help. He reaches for our hands to let us know he is ready to walk. When he sees something he wants across the room he wants to walk over to it and still doesn’t try to roll or crawl to it. I have to say it is nice that he is still content to sit and play. Today it was so nice outside so we put down a big beach towel and sat him down with a sippy cup and some toys. We raked the yard and he was happy as could be sitting on his blanket drinking from his cup. Yes, he picked drinking over playing. That is something we wouldn’t be able to do if he was moving around! I think our time is running out though because he is really motivated to walk and get around so I am interested to see just how long it takes him to do it himself.

Loving his sippy cup

Loving rice cakes

A few black and whites from today

Hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa

Enjoying his teether

3 boxes cinnamon cheerios
2 boxes golden grahams
2 boxes total
2 boxes fiber one chewy bars
4 boxes betty crocker fruit snacks
3 boxes green giant veggies (small boxes)
4 boxes betty crocker potatoes
3 wishbone dressings
6 simply lemonade (already made stuff in the oj section)
1 crunchy taco kit
1 taco seasoning packet
2 bags dried bananas
1 single serve edwards cheesecake
1 single serve edwards chocolate cake
5 old orchard juice (large size, reg price 3.19)
2 frozen pizza (small ones)
2 gain dish detergent (large size)
4 pillsbury crescent rolls
6 pillsbury pizza crust
2 pillsbury french bread
2 pillsbury sweet moments
6 pillsbury grands
2 organic tomato paste
3 12 count frozen white rolls

For a grand total spent of $20!! I am going back one more time this week. I can’t resist. It has been a long time since super doubles were this good!

In other news we are waiting for a kidney specialist at Duke to schedule an appointment. Our pediatrician called last week and nothing major was wrong with his test, but there was one small issue with the urine test. I really don’t even know what it was, but something was too negative? pH maybe? Anyway, the doctor said it was nothing major, but he wanted us to see a specialist to see if they agree and if there may be an issue preventing Graham to grow. In the mean time I have started putting formula in all his cereals, purees and giving him a bottle or two a day in addition to breastfeeding. I am hoping the extra calories will help out some. He still loves to eat and tonight I let him eat some chicken and peas, whole! He loved picking them up, but made a huge mess. He can eat the cheerios pretty good, but had some issues with the chicken and peas. Most of his dinner ended up on the floor. It is painful letting an 8 month old feed himself. It requires a lot of patience! He didn’t like me trying to help and wanted to do it himself, but then fussed because he was hungry!

Here are a few pictures for the week. I will try to post more later this week.

I love sleeping pictures. Sorry the sizes are crazy. I don’t have the patience to fix it right now. If you click on one it will make them larger so you can see them better.

Valentine’s Day

JD enjoying Graham’s new toy.