Graham is One Month Old!

Look at that face!!!  I LOVE these stickers!!!  I found them at BuyBuyBaby and they also had a set for your belly while pregnant.  They were equally as cute, but too bad I bought these for Graham about a week before he was born so I missed the boat on the preggo ones :(  There is one sticker for each month!

That's one happy baby burrito, if we do say so ourselves :)

Even thought my posts are posted in the correct timeframe, I clearly am backdating.  So, since that's out in the open, I'm feeling free to include the rest of these pictures of Graham even though they will look like they were taken in the future ;)

Some pre-bath cuteness!  LOVE these wide eyes :)

Tummy time!  Graham has SUCH a strong neck!

Bathtime!!!  Baby tub inside Mommy and Daddy's huge tub :)

While the first few baths did not go so well, Graham now loves his bath as long as he is post-nap and well fed...

Squeaky clean!

All snuggly and ready for bed!

Graham is doing great!  We have really been blessed with another sweet boy :)  He is pretty much eating me out of house and home already--not going much longer than three hours between feedings, even at night.  But, that's ok!  At his one month check-up (he was really five weeks), he had gained NINE ounces in a week!  WOO HOO!!!  The doctor was THRILLED :)  He now weighs 9 lbs 12.6 ozs (36th %) and is 21 inches long (32nd %).  His head circumference is 15 inches (77th %)!

He doesn't have much of a schedule yet, but he does like to hang out in his swing in the mornings.  This tends to be a good little awake time.  The longest stretch of sleep he gives us is in the later evening, but of course not when we are ready for bed yet ourselves :/  If he wakes up to eat around 6 or so in the morning, he is usually not interested in being laid back down by himself.  He lies there and grunts and fusses until we pick him up and hold him up right.  For the most part, however, even though he gets up a few times in the middle of the night, he goes right back to sleep.  I can handle that!

He LOVES Jackson, and the feeling is still very much mutual!  Jackson cannot give him enough hugs and kisses and he has started singing him songs--so sweet!  Graham is becoming pickier about where he naps during the day :(  His favorite place is in Mommy's arms, but that is just not always possible!  He does LOVE being carried in the Ergo or Moby Wrap carriers, but I'm sad to say he does not love the stroller yet :(  We haven't have very long strolls, so maybe once we get him on a nice, long walk, he'll like it...

Graham is lying in my arms as I type this, and I just cannot get enough of his sweet face!  I could not be any happier that we had added another boy to our family, or that he looks just like his big brother and daddy :)

Happy 4th of July!!!

We kick-started 4th of July this year with a neighborhood bike parade!!!  Here is Jackson's bike all ready to go!  I dropped the ball a little on decorations, and didn't have time to run out for anything.  I took the paper chain idea and ran with it--he had a red, white and blue chain dangling from each handlebar.  A homemade sign complete with pom poms, some streamers, and some red, white and blue paper stars on his helmet and Jackson was ready to go!

Josh wore Graham in the Ergo for the parade and I decked them out with some stars too :)

Baby Graham :)

Izzy

Reagan

Avery

Riding around the cul-de-sac pre-parade!

Levi

The parade leader complete with  an American flag!

En route

All the Otter Pops you could eat at the end :)  It was already into the 90s by this time--10:30 AM!!!

After cooling off and a nap, the Yanceys and Bashores came over to eat a yummy grilled dinner!  I had the kids help me decorate our patriotic dessert...

Taking turns adding the blueberries...

Then the strawberries...

Finished product!!!  And, it was DELICIOUS!

Levi was in HEAVEN when I pulled out all the baby toys!

Kids' table

We relaxed at the house, and then we headed over to Montclair (subdivision about ten minutes away) to join the Walburgers for fireworks!  They were invited by their bishop from church who lives on the golf course there.  He invites the church members to watch from the hole behind his house.  While it was no DC or Chicago display, it was just perfect for our little audience!

Aimee was nice enough to adorn Jackson and Rachel with light-up bracelets and necklaces!

Silly faces!

Happy 4th of July, Graham!

Jackson did cover his ears during the fireworks, but overall, they were a hit!  We had SUCH a fun day full of good friends--our favorite :) :) :)

Allison and Jonah Visit!

Late one night I got a Facebook message from my friend, Allison, telling me they were coming to visit in Virginia and did I want to hang out!  YES!  Allison and I were roommates for two years of college, but we don't get to see each other very often :(  She moved to Virginia while Josh and I were living in Illinois, and pretty much right before Josh and I moved to Virginia, she and her husband moved to Ohio.  Such bad timing!  We haven't seen each other since right around Jackson's first birthday, I think.  I hadn't even met her son, Jonah, who is 2 1/2!!!  So, yes, we were thrilled to have a playdate :)

Of course, the Handy Manny toolbox was a hit, and Jackson and Jonah found things to fix together.

Jonah was a big fan of Flicker too, and spent some time "sneaking" around!

Being silly

More silliness!

LOVE this picture since I have one of Allison holding Jackson at a similar age!

After playing for most of the morning, we took the boys to Chik fil A--an excellent activity!  The boys played in the play area while Allison and I had even more time to catch up :)  Hopefully we'll see them much sooner than last time!

I just had to include some cute pictures of the boys :)  Jackson LOVES snuggling with Daddy and Graham!

Look who is awake!

Jackson SO wanted me to take this picture.  Too bad Graham didn't agree :(

Sweet brothers!

Graham would probably be smushed if Jackson loved him any more ;)

Jackson LOVES when Graham's eyes are open!  This was great since Graham was looking AT Jackson :)

Prince William National Forest

The woods behind our house are part of Prince William Forest.  We cannot, however, leave our back door and wander right on to the trails like at the townhouse.  Josh has done a ton of bushwhack hiking this way since we moved in, but that's not exactly family friendly.  We decided to buy a year's pass to the forest so we could have access to the real trails any time :)  These pictures are form our first family hike as "members" of the forest!

Pretty scenery :)

None of the hikes I've been on so far are very long since they are Jackson friendly (2 miles is about his limit), but that works well for Graham and me too!  LOL  

Josh is loving wearing the Ergo carrier when we hike!  I have used that one too, and really like it (I'm excited about how long it will last us), but I've been loving the Moby Wrap for our outings most recently.  It's wraps Graham so snug to my chest and it's just like me holding him all snuggled up, but my hands stay free :)

We briefly saw this playground as we left on our hike, but it wasn't until we were all finished that we saw how COOL it was!  This is at Pine Grove Picnic Area, and Jackson LOVED it :)  We will refer to it as the bear playground :)

Stepping stumps

The lantern sconces on the outside of this slide are super cute!

The huge bear actually houses this neat climbing wall

A log to climb up

Happy camper :)

Ladybug car

Jackson loves anywhere there is something to balance/walk across!

We plan to get a lot of use out of our pass to the forest!