A New Name And Other Happenings

In light of the fact that, in later years, I doubt Joey will appreciate being identified with the ponytails and pigtails sect, we're going to be doing a little tweaking to the blog. First change, the name. Lon and I discussed a few names, but thought that adding "puppydog tails" was probably our best option, though it certainly wasn't our funniest. I'll be attempting to make some other changes in the days ahead as time and know-how allow.

Joey had his first bath at home tonight and was less than thrilled. But after some new jammies, a warm hat and blanket, and a good feeding he was sleeping peacefully and ready for bed. After our first couple of nights of sleeping on the couch, he seems to have embraced a better sleeping/feeding schedule and is letting me get a little more rest. I'm hoping that trend continues!

The girls continue to be quite taken with him. Abby is very fascinated with him and wants to sit with me (and on Joey) whenever he's eating or in my lap. She calls him "O" and occasionally "Oey". It's too cute. Both Lainey and Sarah Grace are proving to be great helpers and really love him very much. I think we're blending quite well into a family of six. My heart is very full.

Here are a few bath time pictures as well as some random shots.

And Now Introducing. . .

Joseph Alton Graham

June 8, 2009

8:07 AM

7 lbs, 13 ozs;19 inches

Coming Soon. . .

A New Blog Name!

Dance Recital

Lainey did GREAT in her recital today! As promised here are a few photos!

Good Times in the Graham Home

We are so much closer now and anticipation is mounting! Wouldn't you know that the last week of my pregnancy is one of the hottest first weeks of June on record? I know my Southern friends and family will no doubt scoff at the idea that 80 degrees is "hot", but with no AC and this portable furnace I have living inside of me, trust me, it's warm. The girls have enjoyed lots of grandparent time this week. They've had time to read with Nana and have been able to spend time in Nonie's hotel room, a magical place of advanced cable and better snacks than mom has to offer! I am very grateful for their willingness to travel across the country to spend time with our family and I know that the girls are making great memories with them.

Thanks to the grandparents, Lon and I were able to have what many outside of parenthood know as a "date" last night. And guess what, this "date" didn't involve Walmart or any other errand running as many previous childless evenings out have. We went to see Star Trek (amazing on 2 levels: 1>Lon convinced me to see it and 2>This was our second movie in 6 days time; a feat which will not be completed again until the year 2030.) and went to have a nice dinner out. Our favorite restaurant is The Keg so we'd anticipated the greatness all day long. I LOVE their mushrooms and had nearly drooled throughout the movie thinking about how awesome they were going to be. Alas, when we pulled into the parking lot , we discovered that The Keg is no more! There was just a sign hanging on the door that said, "Thanks for the memories!" Oh well, my dreams of great mushrooms were dashed, but we still managed to find another good restaurant down on the water and had a view of mountains and boats and enjoyed our time together. The grandparents took the girls to our local eatery "Big Al's" or "Big Owl's" as Sarah Grace calls it.

As it has been so very hot this week, we've kept our windows open almost constantly. Our windows in the living room are without screens and therefore we are not able to open them too far as we fear Abby will use them to escape. As one of them is a little higher than would be safe for her to climb out of, we only open it a small amount and then lock it into place. While this does prevent for the escaping of Abs yet still allows for some slight breeze to come in, it does not prevent the entrance of birds into our home as we discovered yesterday morning. I was coming downstairs to suggest that Lainey read some of her writing from school to Nana only to have Lainey meet me at the stairs with the broom saying, "We have a bird in the house!" Sure enough, I looked up high on our window ledge and there was a baby bird perched as though he was surveying the scenery trying to figure out what he would poop on first! Nana attempted to lure him out with the broom while I tried to open up the windows and doors a little wider. He did manage to fly across the room a couple of times before he flew into the window and fell to the floor stunned. Nana, our caped crusader, came to the rescue and picked him up and put him back outside on the window sill. He seemed a little shocked by what had happened,but later flew off to tell his feathered friends about his adventure. I can hear him now, "Do NOT go in there! Sure they've got high ceilings, but this crazy lady will beat you down with the red broom of death!" It makes for a good story and Sarah Grace enjoyed telling Faz about how the bird "flewed" around the house, but then Nana holded him with her hand and put him outside.

We are gearing up tomorrow for Lainey's dance recital. She is very excited and has been anticipating it for sometime. She gets to dress up like a fairy and should be absolutely precious. We'll post pictures as soon as we can!

Almost There

Only 6 days left until Baby Graham makes his appearance and I gotta say, I'm ready! I've done my nesting, the house is as clean as I can expect it to be with 3 other children living here, clothes are washed and ready, and mama is ready to go. There is much going on this week so I'm hoping that means the time will pass by quickly. I have to say I'm ready to be "un-pregnant", but more than that, I'm ready to hold this precious little baby I've only known through kicks and bumps these last several months. My heart is full when I think of the blessings the Lord has given us. What a joy it is to see these girls grow and play together and to hear them laugh with one another. Now, to be realistic, it's not always so "precious" around here; we certainly have our share of whining, crying, back-talking, etc, but I still count it all joy.

Last night I was attempting to help the girls clean their room. This basically amounts to me sitting down there and pointing out what they need to pick up and put where as well as my putting up what they can't reach or refuse to see. I've discovered that it's amazing how blind they become when being directed to pick up a toy. Please pick up that doll and put her in the toy box. Where is she? You're standing right next to her. (Child steps over toy to walk across room.) I don't see her. This baby doll? No, the one you tripped over to get across the room. Where? I don't see her. (Mom's frustration growing by the moment.) Right there, you're now standing on her face; don't you feel the life squeezing out of her? OH! THIS baby doll? I didn't know what you were talking about. Right! Me thinks we have too much stuff. At any rate, it got clean enough. As Sarah Grace was coming downstairs to go to bed, she found her toy school bus and had also found the driver of said bus. Only when she told us she'd found him, she sounded like she might have had a little something "special" in her sippy cup. As she came down, she said, "I found the drus biver." I tell you, these are funny little people we live with.

In other Graham family news, the number of teeth in our family has now decreased by one. Lainey lost her second tooth on Sunday evening. It was literally just hanging on so Lon wrapped a piece of thread around it and gave a quick tug. Lainey was very excited and we celebrated with bowls of ice cream. She put the tooth under her pillow on Sunday night and woke up to find $2.00 in its place yesterday morning. When she came up to our room yesterday morning to show off her find, Sarah Grace (who'd already crawled in bed with us) said, "You got $50 Laine!" to which Lon said, "Well, it looks like the tooth fairy won't be eating as much this month!" and I said, "Looks like the tooth fairy won't be paying her utility bill this month!" Let's hope that when it comes time for Sarah Grace to start getting tooth fairy money, she still believes that $2.00 is worth so much!

Movies, Picnics, and Babies, Oh My!

We have made it a tradition in our familiy to have a movie outing just before a new baby is born into our family. Before Sarah Grace was born, Lon and I went to see The Chronicles of Narnia; before Abby was born, we took the girls to see Horton Hears a Who; before Lainey was born was too long past and I can't remember, but I'm pretty sure we saw something. So, in keeping with tradition, we took all of the girls out to see Up today. In hindsight, it would have been better to have let Abby sit this little tradition out because she was not up for sitting, walking, rocking, standing, or being quiet throughout the show and Lon ended up just walking around the mall with her. At any rate, and in spite of a few scary parts for the girls, Lainey, Sarah Grace, and I did enjoy the movie. Given that this is likely the last baby born in the Graham family (never say never, I suppose) and given that it cost us all over $30 to go to a matinee (!), this will likely be the last movie we see in the theatre ever. Okay, maybe not, but given the price to get us all there, it's definitely a rare occurrence. The movie was quite cute and I hate that Lon missed most of it because now I can't share funny lines from it without having to explain too much. During one scence, the two main characters, an old man named Carl and a little boy named Russell, are walking along and Russell is talking non-stop. Carl says, "I've got an idea; let's play the quiet game to see who can be quiet the longest." Lainey leaned over to me and said, "I'd bet you'd love that game, Mom. Especially when you're on the phone!" I think she knows her mother well!

We also went to a picnic today for Lainey's school. The weather was fabulous, the park was beautiful and the girls had a great time playing. Lainey got to be in a sack race and while she didn't win, she still had a good time. Sometime later, the lady who organized it came to Lainey and said, "You know, I think you left too early; I think if you had stayed, you would have won this medal." She then gave Lainey a little medal to wear around her neck. That was great, but the biggest prize for me was the ten mile wide grin Lainey wore on her face. I told Lon, "Oh, I'd do anything to see that smile."

So, we're now down to the single digits before little boy Graham makes his appearnce in the world. I'm ready to be unpregnant and just a have a baby to hold. My heart is very full as I ponder the blessings the Lord has given me and I am very grateful. Grandparents begin their travels today and will be arriving next week. We are anxious to see everyone and are grateful that they are able to be a part of this time in our lives. What a blessing that we live in a day and age when travel is so easy and families can be so quickly connected! I am very grateful for the help they offer and couldn't imagine doing this without them!

Busy Bees

We enjoy seeing how different our girls' personalities are. They're all very busy, but it's becoming evident, especially in Lainey and Sarah Grace, what they enjoy doing. Lainey LOVES to read. I went to the library this afternoon around 5:30 and checked out 4 chapter books for her. By the time they went to bed at 8:30, she had started her 3rd one. She loves to hunker down on the couch or in a chair and lose herself in a book. She is often oblivious to the world around her. What a blessing that at 5 (!) she has already developed this habit. I pray that it will be a lifelong one.

Sarah Grace, on the other hand, likes to be in the kitchen helping. She delights in washing dishes and being a part of any kind of baking project. Tonight, Lon made a cake (awesome by the way!) and for the better part of an hour, Sarah Grace stood on a chair playing in the sink. She moved water from cup to cup, played with the measuring spoons, etc. Her recipe was quite interesting. She said, "I need butter, sugar, cinnamon and soil." I'm not sure what she was making or that I'd want any part of it once she finished, but she was determined. I think she'll enjoy reading as well, but at this stage, she's very content to "help". Abby is too young to have shown much interest in any one thing, but she had a great time standing in the chair with Sarah Grace playing in the sink as well. Here are some pictures Lon got of them engaged in their various activities!

We have had fabulous weather here this week and have really enjoyed being outside some each day. A dear friend from church came on Wednesday and weeded my flower bed for me (this is the same friend who did most of the painting in our house; I'm going to hang on to her for a long while!). The girls enjoyed being outside with us and were quite taken with every worm and slug that we found in the dirt. Every one was "huge" and elicited a "wow!" from Lainey.

We are busy getting ready for the arrival of the Graham boy in just 17 days! The cradle is together and little blue clothes are beginning to appear in the laundry. I'm definitely nesting these days and find myself cleaning random things. The girls are excited about the arrival of Joey and talk of him often. I pray that they're as taken with him once he gets here. I'm certain that Lainey and Sarah will be, but I wonder just what Abby's reaction will be.

I've written here a few times about how Sarah Grace makes up words that just make us chuckle. Today, she was looking at something that was evidently messy and said to me, "This is a torrible mess." I said, "Oh, it's torrible?" She said, "Yes, torrible." Yesterday I took a nap with her. As I am not sleeping well at night these days, I find that these afternoon naps are great times of refreshing. When we woke up, I said to her, "That was a good nap." She said, "Well at least we did get a big one." She then stretched her arms out and said, "It was this huge." I stretched my arms across her face and said, "Oh, mine was this huge!" She said, "Ow, you poked me in the eye." I apologized and she said, "Well, it didn't hurt my feelings or anything." Okay, good to know!

Abs is beginning to talk more and more. She will whisper "hi", yell bye-bye, say pup-pup for most any animal, but especially for dogs, say mama, dada, and Nay-nay (Lainey). She has said Sarah Grace once or twice but that one isn't quite as easy. It's exciting to see the many changes she's made just in the last month. She walks like a champ now and is initiating games of peek-a-boo. She wants to do whatever she can to keep up with Lainey and Sarah Grace and can often be found playing near them. She's developed a fond affection for one particular baby doll and is really quite cute carrying her around everywhere she goes.

It is indeed an adventure; somedays are great, somedays leave me longing for bedtime to come early, and somedays I hope I can remember forever. We are very rarely bored!!