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 :)

A Super Duper Awesome Summer Day!

We actually discovered Locust Shade Park on Monday.  We went to try out one of their playgrounds and took a picnic.  It was a perfect morning outing!  Josh took Jackson back on Tuesday morning (while I took Graham for a weight check at the pediatrician) to play putt putt!  Apparently Tuesdays are Buy One Get One Free--SCORE!

They had an awesome time!

Jackson keeps talking about "playing putting with the colored balls."

We are definitely planning to take advantage of this wonderful spot more this summer :)

Another attempt at a picture of all three of us!

Josh had a super surprise for Jackson: camping in the backyard!!!

Jackson was really excited to help Daddy set up the tent outside.

Putting the poles together.

Getting ready to raise the tent.

Almost up...

Jackson even had his own tools to help!

Hammering in the stakes.

Dragging over the sleeping bags.

Checking out the tent.

All set for sleeping!

The boys and the tent :)

Nothing says camping like a little pre-bedtime fire!

Someone is excited for smores...

Graham's first fire!!!

Helping add kindling to the fire.

Roasting a marshmallow.

   

Two of these boys will be sleeping in the tent.  One will not ;)

Side note: Graham's weight check went well!  He has gained some more weight.  The nurse practicioner we saw was wonderful!!!  She said he looks great aside from the slow weight gain.  She isn't really worried, but did want us to come back in five days, so we have another appointment for Monday.  She also encouraged me to wake him after three hours to eat if he hasn't gotten up on his own.  We'll see what we can do!

Brothers!

We are SOOO in love with this Monkey Moo, Scrunch Monkey, Buddy Bear, Grahamy, Graham Bear!

I know how fast the time goes, so I am desperately trying to soak up every minute of Graham!  So far, he has a very laid back attitude (like his daddy) and fits in just perfectly around here :)  He really only gets upset if he is hungry, needs some snuggling, or has some tummy issues.  We are getting more and more stretches of awake time from him each day!  I love that!  It is very clear that he and Jackson are brothers, and the baby pictures of them sleeping will indeed be very hard to tell apart, but once Graham opens his little eyes, you can see his own little self!  

Sleeping is going very well.  His favorite place to nap (when not in our arms) is backwards on the recliner!  We know we don't have too long where that will work, but for now it keeps him snug and happy, so we'll go with that.  At night he pretty much sleeps exclusively in the Pack-n-Play next to our bed.  He enjoys his swing MUCH more than Jackson ever did--woo hoo!

Graham is eating like a champ!  Well, in terms of the mechanics of nursing...  It is all clicking a bit better than with Jackson...  I am crossing my fingers extra hard that this keeps up because I LOVE getting to nurse my little guy!  The doctors, however, are a little concerned with Graham's weight gain.  He lost almost a pound in the hospital, and still hasn't reached his birth weight again.  At his two week check-up on June 19th, he weighed 8lbs 8ozs (45th %).  They want us to come back in one week to have his weight checked again.  Josh and I aren't terribly worried since Graham seems content after each feeding and sleeps for long stretches between them.  But, we'll keep an eye on it...

Graham loves to be swaddled (maybe not quite as much as his big brother did), and it continues to amaze us how magical swaddling can be for a sad baby!  He sleeps swaddled at night and usually takes one of his naps in the swaddle during the day.  He enjoys rides in the car, but I feel like he doesn't sleep as soundly in his carseat and stroller as Jackson did.  When we are out and about he is more likely to get fussy or want to be held.  Maybe as he gets a little bigger he'll zonk out more deeply???  I've noticed when he is really fussy and not taking the paci, if I hold my palm to his cheek this helps him calm down and catch his breath so he can latch onto the paci.  Yes, he does like his paci!  Again, I'm not quite sure if he will be as attached to it as Jackson was, but there is a love already :)

Overall, we are doing really well!  I am trying hard to make sure I give Jackson enough attention during the day as well as not expect too much from him.  He IS the big brother, but he also is only 3 1/2.  I can't expect him to help me as much as Josh does or to be on perfect behavior all the time...  Josh has THE BEST job (and boss) and is not going back to work until Labor Day!!!  I originally was worried about how having him home so long would affect my routine I know and love, but a couple weeks in, I have NO idea what my days would look like without him!!!  It is summer, we have no need for a strict routine, and we are just soaking up all of this family time :)

This big brother thinks Graham is pretty awesome too :)

Hanging Around the House for Week 3

Never get tired of this sweet face!  We started Graham's third week off by going for his hearing screening!  Thankfully, he passed right away!  YAY!  On Tuesday, we took him to the pediatrician for his two-week check-up.  He weighed 8lbs 8ozs (45th %), and while the doctor said he looked great, she was a little worried about how far he still was from reaching his birth weight.  She asked us to make an appointment for next week to check Graham's weight.  We did the same thing with Jackson because he didn't get back up to his birth weight as quickly as they would have liked.  Josh is really not worried since Graham is eating so well, but since I'm the one providing the food, I'm a little more worried.  I can't help but take it a little persoanlly!

Eyeballs!

This picture cracks me up!

It got pretty hot, so we broke out the pool!  Jackson loved helping to use the hose to fill it up :)

Such sweet little fingers!

This really doesn't do Graham's true personality justice, but it's one of the few, better pictures we have of his eyes open!

Our silly Big Brother!  He got these cool sunglasses as a Big Brother gift--they go with special Transformers bubbles and are supposed to make the bubbles look 3-D.  They don't fit Josh or me, so we aren't sure what the bubbles actually look like, but Jackson thinks they are AWESOME!  That's what counts!

Graham LOVES napping like this: backwards on the recliner, propped up on the Boppy, and snuggled with a blanket!

The Rest of Graham's First Week

We were barely home before it was time to take Graham for his first pediatrician visit!  We went in yesterday morning and saw Dr. Parente.  She said Graham looked great :)  By the time we got home, we were all ready for a nap!

Jackson practicing his new favorite hobby!

Jackson asking me to kiss him while he kissed Graham :)

Susie, Joe, and Rachel came over to visit!  Joe and Rachel loved getting to meet Graham!

Even though she has already met Graham, Susie was not shy about getting in more snuggles :)

Graham trying out Jackson's little blue chair!

I was inside pumping while Jackson napped and Mom was at the grocery store.  I had left Josh on the porch with Graham, and when I came back outside, I found this cute girl with her face painted holding my baby!  It was a funny site :)

Aimee meeting Graham!  He will soon join our weekly walking team :)

We have not seen Tish and Will in so long, and had not met their daughter, Madelyn, yet, and they just happened to be in town this weekend!!!  It worked out perfectly for them to come hang out AND meet Graham!

Graham's first bath--he was NOT a fan!  Jackson does not seem fazed by his crying, and was happy to help us and to help soothe his brother.

Clean and snuggly :)