Halloween!

Bob and I love Halloween. Well, I think mostly I love Halloween and try to make it fun and now Bob likes it too. I love costumes and parties, so since our engagement Bob and I have always tried to do a theme together with our costumes.

When we were engaged we were Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable (yay Disney!). I even made Bob a naked mole rat to carry around in his pocket.

              (I can't find any pictures of us from that year, but I know they exist!)

Our first year of marriage we were Ken and Barbie from Toy Story 3. We loved those costumes and had so much fun that year!

Our second year of marriage I was pregnant, and since Bob likes puns and jokes so much I dressed up as an oven with a bun inside and Bob was the chef.

This year, we really wanted to play up Graham's awesome red hair. In talking to some friends about how we can incorporate that into our costume this year, my friend Karen mentioned that Peter Pan had red hair. It was such a perfect idea! So we went with it.

Bob was Captain Hook.
His costume was a mish-mash of thrifted, bought, and borrowed items.

I was Tinkerbell.
I made my costume from 2 t-shirts, a tulle tutu, and thrifted shoes with some fake snowballs glued onto them.

And Graham was Peter Pan.
I designed and made his costume, from head to toe!

We attended a costume party at a friend's house up near Escondido, CA on Friday night. Saturday was the trunk-or-treat at church. And on Halloween we went to Chipotle and got $2 burritos for wearing our costumes there.

It was such a fun holiday this year. I can't get over how adorable and how perfect Graham's costume was! Well, I think that all of our costumes were perfect, really. I'm really pleased with how they turned out!

Now, to start thinking of next year's costumes....

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!

Growing Graham: 4 Months

August 6, 2012

4 months

Graham is sucking on his hands all the time now. Sometimes he'll get his fingers in too far & gag himself, but he's not doing it on purpose... Yet.

He's also discovered his feet and toes. When he lays on his back he'll pull his feet up to his hands, roll over to his side, and then let go. He does that over and over again. When he lays in his play gym, he grabs his dangling toys with both of his feet as well as both of his hands. It's too funny.

We've also discovered a little brown dot on his scalp, right on top of his head. I'm pretty sure it's a mole. It sure is cute!

He's wiggling everywhere. The other day he almost squirmed out of his swing. I guess we'll have to be sure to buckle him in from now on!

"Umm, hey Mom, I'm not sure what happened here..."

He's started pushing himself up onto his knees, but he can't quite get his hands underneath himself yet. So instead, he just starts pushing himself around with his face on the floor. We have to keep an eye on him, because if we don't he'll wind up in a completely different place than we left him.

The other Sunday at church, Graham joined in for every one of the hymns we sang. Then he didn't want to stop. So after the organ had stopped playing and everyone was closing the hymn books and preparing for the next part of the meeting, there was Graham, still "singing" away. Loudly, might I add. He loved it.

"Hey guys!!!! Guess what!!!"

He talks a lot more than ever. And he loves when people smile at him. He cheeses it up and gives the biggest, cutest toothless grin I've ever seen. 

"Well, my dear Watson..."

He's also started giggling. But it's not always consistent. He has to be in a good mood, not tired, and sometimes when tickled he'll laugh. Otherwise he'll either start crying, or he'll just hold his breath and grunt while turning bright red.

Laundry day....

We love this boy more and more every day! He's a good napper. He loves to be held by other people. And his hair is still red as ever.