Pumpkins!

Wade has been learning all about pumpkins at school this month. For the first time we carved pumpkins with him, rather than after he went to bed. He was very into the pumpkins at the time, though he has kind of forgotten about them now. Turns out the giant inflatable pumpkin in our yard is much cooler. Who am I kidding? He's right!

Graham was so patient while we carved our pumpkins. He laid on a big blanket on the kitchen floor and was all smiles when we got outside to display the pumpkins. Happy Halloween everybody!

Graham's Baptism

Graham was baptized at our church this morning. Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Chris, Evan, Mommo, Aunt Kiki, Mam Maw (Ryan's grandma), and Great Aunt Jenny were all in attendance to witness the event.

Graham was baptized at St. Thomas/Holy Spirit Church, the same church where Wade was baptized as well. We are now members there and attend regularly.

 

After the service we headed back to our house for lunch from Rich 'n Charlie's and Wade opened Graham's presents while Graham took a nap. 

We want to thank our family members for celebrating with us, especially Graham's sponsors, Chris and Kristin.

Wade is Two & a Half

Graham turned 6 months this week which means Wade also had a half birthday this week, on October 8.

Life is good for our busy two year old. We are happy that he (mostly) outgrew a phase of fighting bedtime. His favorite toy is a red truck with a yellow trailer. The truck is driven by a Little People toy with yellow hair that he calls "Mommy" and a goat with a hat rides in the trailer. He plays with this toy constantly. It even rode with us to school yesterday. Trucks, in general, are very cool. His old favorite, an orange jeep-like truck that I found at a garage sale, has been proclaimed Graham's truck which is a good start to sharing. (And Graham does sort of wheel it around while he plays on his belly.) Most trucks are called "Grandpa's truck" whether or not they look anything like Grandpa's actual truck.

Wade shared doctor's appointments with Graham last week. We talked about potty training, something we've dabbled in but plan to try officially soon. We also discuss sleeping, eating, and talking and we're feeling fairly comfortable with his development in these areas.

Ryan joked that Wade is a perfect square - 38 x 38....he measures 38 inches tall (94%) and weighs 38 pounds (98%).

Here are some fun facts about Wade:
he loves school
he can name several of his colors
he recently learned his shapes
he can draw a circle
this month he is studying apples and pumpkins
he wants Mommy to put him in bed every night, but in the morning he often asks for Daddy
he likes to sing Take Me Out to the Ballgame, his ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Happy Birthday, amongst others
his favorite food is a Nutrigrain bar (aka "bar") but he'll eat anything and is known as the non-picky eater at school
he thinks every school that we drive by is Daddy's School
he helps Mommy make Graham's baby food while wearing an apron
he likes to go for walks every night after dinner and he dictates the direction we go
he loves pictures of family, videos of strangers or people he knows, and watching Curious George (Elmo is so 3 months ago!)

Happy Half Birthday Graham!

Graham turned 6 months old yesterday. Everyone says it, but that doesn't make it any less true - where has the time gone? The first couple months were tough, but lately Graham has turned into a happy, easy baby. He smiles and giggles often. More than one stranger has actually said - does he really smile this often? With that being said, I don't always capture them on camera...

We are struggling a bit with Graham's overnights. He slept through the night in early August...then stopped...then slept through the night...then stopped. Each time he stopped we gave in and gave him a bottle in the middle of the night to put him back to sleep. The pediatrician talked us out of that behavior this week so we're cracking down. No more overnight bottles and hopefully Graham will officially be sleeping through the night for good soon. In the meantime, we go into his room to soothe him back to bed which luckily is fairly easy.

So checking in at 6 months, here are the stats:
19 pounds, 13 oz (87%)
27.5 inches (86%)
I hate to compare, but you're wondering, aren't you?

Wade's 6 month stats:
23 pounds, 7 oz (97+%)
29 inches (97+%)

Graham is sitting up for brief periods of time and is scooting around too. I think he'll be officially crawling in no time! Time to baby proof again, I guess. I'm making all of his baby food, like I did for Wade, and he's been enjoying fruit and veggies for about 2 months. He just moved into the high chair this week and is now attempting to use a sippy cup and is eating puffs too. He is trying all sorts of fun things and has many more fun things ahead of him!

I hope the next 6 months slow down, but I imagine it'll be April before I know it.

Wade Plays Soccer

Wade is a Kickaroo! He's taking part in a parent and kid soccer class on Thursday nights this fall.

Soccer class is a bit intense. He started the first class by putting a cone on his head, so it was kind of a challenge to kick a soccer ball between the cones by the end of that first class. Also, 45 minutes of soccer is hard after a long day of preschool.

I was impressed though with how well Wade can follow directions (when he wants to). They do a lot of follow-the-leader type of drills and he does great with those. Sometimes though, he prefers to sit on the sidelines and drink a glass of water.

Also, judging by his decision to wear Mardi Gras beads to soccer practice, you might also decide that he's not the most serious soccer player at this point. And, of course, we're okay with that! After all, he's only two, even if he is a head taller than the other kids in class.