September Trip!

We took a road trip up to Utah to visit some friends and family back in September. It was so good to visit and take the time to catch up with so many people. I just wish it could have been longer.

We stopped in Las Vegas to see one of Bob's good friends and his wife, Scott and Janel. We also visited with one of Bob's mission companions, Louis.

Then we went to St. George to see my friend Lindsi and I had the opportunity to be her escort as she went through the temple for the first time. We got to meet her entire family and we had so much fun with all of them.

Then we went to Cedar City to stay with Aunt Judith for a night.

And then we went on up to Herriman to visit Russ and Ashley and their kids as well as Ben, Trina, and Peyton. We went back down to Provo one day to have dinner with a bunch of friends--Scott, Adam and Aimee, Jennie Ray and Jared, Stephanie and Justin.

We even got to go with Russ and Ashley to watch William and Jonathon play in a soccer game while we were up there. They did such a great job! And I got carried away with the camera.

Ashley, their kids, and Bob and I took Graham on his first ever hike too. It was an easy hike. More of a walk, really. But it was fun to go outside and enjoy the beauty that Utah offers as autumn was approaching.

We stopped to see Ben, Trina, and Peyton in Provo at some point while there too. Peyton was really cute and kept trying to play with Graham, but he was just a little small for her to be able to really play at all. But she read him a book and kept handing him toys. It was sweet.

And I got photographic evidence of Ben tossing away Peyton's My Little Pony that he had been playing with.

On the way back to San Diego, we stopped in St. George again for a night to visit Linda. Then we stopped in Hesperia to have dinner with Aunt Donna and Uncle Bruce the following evening before making it home.

We crammed in a lot of fun visits (and I wish I had been better at taking pictures everywhere we went) and we're excited to take another trip again soon!

Growing Graham: 6 Months

Graham is halfway to his first birthday and I can't believe it. Time has gone so quickly and it's already nearly time to go through and change out his clothes from 3-6 month sizes to 6-9 month sizes.

He smiles and giggles all the time and we can't help but encourage it. His favorite time is when Bob tickles his belly with his facial hair (if he hasn't shaved). Graham will squeal with delight and crack up nonstop. He also really likes it when Bob tosses him in the air, balances him in one hand, or holds him upside down. He laughs and smiles the whole time during any of those!

He sits up but doesn't like to for very long. He would much rather be rolling around on the floor or trying to stand and walk instead of just sitting in one place.

Graham is starting to kind of like tummy time. The other day I was watching him in his crib when he couldn't see me, and he rolled from his back to his stomach, pushed up onto his hands and knees and sat like that for a while. That sneaky little boy has been teaching himself how to crawl when we're not looking! He still face plants when he tries to go anywhere, but he's getting so close! But the other day he sort of crawled. I got it on video!

He enjoys bath time much more now too. But his favorite part isn't even the water. It's when he gets out of the tub and we wrap him up in his fluffy orange hooded towel. He squeals with delight every time!

We think Graham is starting to teethe. He's been extra drooly and extra fussy lately, and when he cries he grabs his gums a lot. The poor boy!

We finally trained him to sleep for most of the night, but now he's refusing to take naps during the day, and every time we lay him down for one he screams and cries for a good hour before finally dozing for 20 or 30 minutes. Sometimes he doesn't fall asleep at all though. I think it has to do with teething.

Graham's also got ridiculously good dexterity in his hands, fingers, feet, and toes. He passes toys from one hand to the other without looking sometimes. He can even hold his own bottle perfectly.

He began eating solid foods at about 5 months. He gagged on his first bite of rice cereal. Then, on the second spoonful he grabbed the spoon to pull it into his mouth. He loved it! He basically had the same reaction to oatmeal cereal as well as applesauce and pears too.So far so good!

His hair is still bright red (although he's been pulling a lot of it out when he throws fits--I find it in his little clenched fists sometimes) and his little legs are still toned and mostly muscle, but he does finally have one little baby-chub roll on the inside of each thigh.

He's got a big personality already, complete with a huge grin and bubbly laugh. He'll talk to his toys or to himself frequently. He started growling too. He's also experimenting with his vocal cords and breathing, so sometimes he'll inhale in a really raspy way and stare at us with his huge blue eyes until we react some way, then smile. He's going to be one silly kid!