Dear Graham, 21 Months

Dear Graham,
Your 21 month continued much like the string of months before it, reminding me again how much I am enjoying you at this age.

You are smart and sweet and so, so studious; learning from all that is around you. At the risk of sounding too much like a doting mommy, I'll also tell you that you are stubborn, impatient at times and hate being away from me for long any periods of time. To help with this, we have been working on getting you to try to use the words you know or to learn the new words to replace the "uhh?" sound you say so frequently or the whining that seemed to rear its ugly head this month. But don't worry, even whining, we think you're cute (we just try not to let you know it).

I want to pause for a moment and go back in time to a year ago when we took you for your first picture in the blue bonnets.

Aw, aren't you so cute?

Now, let's look at a picture of you this year in the blue bonnets.

(crickets...crickets...) 

Oh, wait. There are no pictures of you in blue bonnets. That's because when we attempted to take them, you preferred to do this.

Or this:

Or even this and this:

Here's perhaps the best one that actually involves blue bonnets. Clearly, you were really happy about sitting with flowers. 

But, you were really happy when I finally gave up and left you alone to run all around. Such a boy.

Also during your 21st month you and I flew to Florida for a fast trip for Easter weekend. Your daddy had to work and surprisingly there were open seats on flights that allowed us to get there and back. You were the best baby ever during those two flights. Apparently the Target dollar spot knows what they are doing when it comes to entertaining kids. For around $5, I found all kinds of great airplane toys for you, but your absolute favorite were the Sesame Street stickers. You love all things Sesame Street, and most of all Elmo, so you loved naming all of the characters, peeling the stickers and then moving them all around.

While in Florida, you managed some pool time with your Uncle Troy:

Some park time with grandma, grandpa,  Uncle Troy and Auntie Shan:

Reading time with your G-Ma:

 And, of course, an Easter basket too:

Not bad for being on the ground about 52 hours.

Another big milestone during your 21st month was your first real haircut. You woke up from your nap one Sunday looking like Medussa. Let me just tell you that's not a good look. Especially if you are a boy. Your hair had clearly grown beyond the ability of your dad and me to cut it, so off to the hair salon we went.

Fortunately for you (actually, fortunately for me and your daddy as you'll have no recollection of this), we found a place that specializes in cutting kids' hair. Frankly, with so much going on around you, I don't even think you were truly aware of what was going on. You didn't cry, aside from when we made you leave the train table in the waiting area. Overall, it was a positive experience and  your hair is no longer a place for food to hide or bugs to make nests. I'm kidding. (I think.)

During the last month you have started to understand the concept of cleaning up. My favorite example of this is after dinner when you help me to pick up the peas that fell on the ground and throw them into the garbage can. You see, you adore peas but I despise them because somehow you manage to only get 1 out of every 596 peas into your mouth. The remaining find their way onto the floor. So this new exercise not only saves me the time from sweeping peas, it also takes you significant time to pick up 595 peas while I clean the kitchen.

Another favorite recent story comes from your nighttime routine. You love to "brush" your teeth by yourself, which always creates a little bit of a battle between you and me. (It would probably be in your best interest to learn now that I'm not going to give up on hygiene issues.)  I was trying to explain to you that we needed to brush your back teeth. So, you proceeded to take your toothbrush out of your mouth and attempt to brush your back.

And at that I could just smile, and thank God again for the many joys you bring to our lives.

Love,
Mommy

Dear Graham, 20 Months

Dear Graham,
Your daddy says it's getting too confusing to spout off your age in months and then require people to do the math to figure out you're 1 and a half. I say there's no way I'm ready for you to be that grown up and that people can use a little math lesson in their day-to-day lives.

So perhaps the biggest 20 month milestone is that we finally turned your car seat around to face forward. You kind of got the short end of the stick when it came to this whole car seat thing...about a month before you were set to transition to facing forward at a year the American Academy of Pediatrics issued guidance to keep toddlers facing backwards until 2 years old (or 24 months for all you mathematicians). We decided that since you didn't know any different and since you tolerated fairly well riding backwards, we'd keep you that way for as long as you could. But when your little legs started having to be bent during the entire car ride, we decided to move you to face forward.

And boy do you love it.

Speaking of love, I know I mentioned last month how much you love being outside. That has only intensified as we pretty much can't put you down when arriving home from anywhere or you want to run the opposite direction. For some reason you don't stop even when I use my best "I mean it" mommy voice...apparently I need to practice that a bit. Instead you stop, turn around, flash a huge, dimple-laden smile and turn back around and keep walking.

Because we don't want for you to get hit by a car, we attempt to spend the majority of time outdoors in the backyard. Which you seem to equally enjoy, but it comes without the added stress for mommy and daddy.

You love reading and now will repeat whatever the last word is on each page back to us. You haven't quite mastered putting many words together, unless it's signing "eat" "more" "please", at which you are an old pro.

I previously told you of your ability to count to three. Well you surprised us in the car one day and counted to 10. Kind of. You see you skipped 6 and 7 and went straight to 8. We thought it was a cute accident but then realized you do that every time you could to 10, regardless of how much coaxing we attempt. It is awfully cute to hear you say 8 for the numbers 6, 7 and 8.

During the last month you decided one day that after daddy got out of the shower you wanted to get in the shower. I totally didn't think this experience would go so well, but I'm learning to let you experience things on your own rather than attempt to prejudge a situation. You couldn't have proved me more wrong: you loved the shower.  I thought you'd be annoyed by the water in your face or by the constant stream of water, but instead you were fascinated and cried when I took you out. 

Your grandma and Auntie Shan came for a visit during your 20th month and you didn't quite know what to think at first. You quickly warmed up to grandma, although you were a little hot and cold with your Auntie Shan. Your attitude didn't set them back: they loved spending time with you.

 

Speaking of hot and cold, you are so fun to watch when introduced to a new situation. Instead of charging full speed ahead, you like to take a few minutes to study your surroundings before making any rash decisions. You are always very curious, but choose to make your own assessments before jumping right in.

 
This quality of thinking before you act is one I hope will grow with you...it is always better to think about your decisions and be deliberate in making them. Just one of many life lessons that you have ahead of you, buddy.

Love,
Mommy

Dear Graham, 19 months

Dear Graham,

I’ve told several people that you are in my favorite stage yet and it’s so true. While all stages are magical and wonderful in their own way, right now you can communicate what you want (and clearly don’t want) but you don’t yet know how to talk back. This communication stuff is a glorious, glorious thing.

One of your favorite things to do is to be outside and you will say “side” and then grab my or your daddy’s hand and lead us to the door. Wagon rides are also a favorite, but we’ve learned not to say the word “wagon” until we are walking out the door to it as you clearly don’t have the patience for mom and dad to get their shoes on once you’ve heard the word wagon. You also love to push your toy lawnmower down the sidewalk…one day we walked the entire cul de sac and then you got upset when we couldn’t keep going further. 

 

You love to roughhouse, especially with your daddy. You’ll grab our hands (see a common theme here?) and pull us to hallway where you try to tackle us or push us over. I know it sounds like a version of the WWF going on inside our house, but instead it involves a lot of laughter and tickling.

I haven’t talked about your sleep in a while (because I clearly know not to say anything positive about it in the event of being jinxed), but there’s really nothing positive to say, so here goes. You love waking up early. And during your 19^th month early meant anywhere from 1-2 hours before the sun comes up. Fed up after one particularly early morning, I went to Amazon to purchase the Good Nite Lite. While it’s not the magical wand that I hoped it would be in terms of getting you to sleep in later, it has caused you to be aware that when the moon is on, it’s time to sleep and when the sun is on, it means good morning. When we ask you what the moon or sun mean, you reply “night, night” or “morning” just as clear as can be. When saying good night to either mommy or daddy, you then say “buh-bye” as you know we are leaving for the night. I still love your sweet cuddles and know that they will someday be rare, so I try to implant that experience as clearly as I can for my brain to forever remember.

You now know most of your shapes and point them out to me when we are reading or playing with your shape sorter. Speaking of reading, you like to get every book that you own out and then sit on our laps as you flip through one and then move on to the next. Anything with animals continues to be your preference as you make the animal sound while we flip through the books. 

During your 19th month we celebrated Valentine's Day and you loved playing with all of the valentines you got from school, which totally proved your mom (who thought they were a complete waste of time at a year old) wrong. We finally had to throw the bag that they came in away because it ripped beyond repair after so many times of you taking your valentines out and putting them back in. Apparently I need to buy you a deck of cards and a paper bag and you'd be good to go for hours. 

 

We also often play music for you off of the Toddler Tunes from our TV and you have become quite the little dancer. You twirl around or bend your knees or sway side to side, depending on the beat and your mood. And normally your daddy or I are right there next to you, doing the same thing and encouraging you as you go.

You completed your transition into the next class at school during your 19^th month and you’ve done so well. It normally takes you a few days to acclimate…you like to study any situation before you decide how you’re going to approach it and new classes are no different. But once you’re comfortable with your surroundings, you’re good to go. This new class features art every day and more structured time at centers and with themes. I always feel like you advance so quickly in the first few weeks and months of starting a new class, and this time is no different.

One of my favorite experiences last month came during a routine night of getting you ready for bed. We do the same thing every night as part of your bedtime sequence and you were brushing your teeth while your dad and I were with you in the bathroom. Your daddy leaned over and gave me a hug and patted me on the back. After observing me, you then reached up to me, gave me a hug and your little hand deliberately tapped me on the back. Just like daddy. 

Love,

Mommy

The best day of Graham's life

Okay, so he couldn't really tell me that it was the greatest day of his short life. But by process of elimination (and due to the fact that we've been around each other for all the days of his short life, minus a handful--thanks mom!), it has to be tops.

Presidents' Day is one of those amazing bank holidays. It always sneaks up on you, unexpected, and it always seems to come just when you need a 3-day weekend most. It's like finding a $10 bill in a pocket from last winter's coat. Only better.

We decided to take Graham to the zoo to celebrate Washington, Lincoln and the other 42 presidents.

Seriously, it was the best day ever.

Graham has been learning his animal sounds over the last two months. He knows cows, horses, cats, puppies, frogs, fish, elephants, owls and more. His fascination with animals stretches into any book we're reading or any animal that he happens to spot on TV.

So, we knew the zoo would be a hit. We just didn't know it would be a homerun.

I think he liked the elephants most, as he lifted his hand to show the trunk of the elephant and made his "phrooo" noise, which is the noise he thinks they make. He might have liked giraffes second best, judging by the number of times he said giraffe (5,000).

Here's a few pictures of the best day of Graham's life. Don't let his serious look in these photos fool you. He is studying everything that he's seeing. While loving every minute.

Dear Graham, 18 Months

Dear Graham,
You are now closer to two than one.

(Pause for dramatic effect.)

And the fact that you're getting older comes across more and more every day. It's probably most noticeable in your face, where you've lost some of your "baby cheeks" as your face has elongated. That hasn't stopped your adorable dimples from shining through every time you smile.

We also finally had to give in and cut off some of those straggly curls. Somehow in the span of those 10 minutes, you aged even more. With your new handsome haircut you could easily be mistaken for someone twice your age. (Or maybe more like a month or two older. But older nonetheless.) It only took some serious bribing with goldfish and Baby Einstein to make you sit still. But I think your mommy and daddy did a pretty good job considering it was our first time cutting hair. (And no, we didn't tell you that in advance of the haircut.) 

During this past month you've learned to count to 3. It's probably more accurate to say that you can say the words "one, two, three" in sequence, as you really have no point of reference as to what the words mean. But it's adorable to see your excitement.

Speaking of excitement, the two things you love most right now are Elmo and trains. Your fascination with trains has only continued to grow and you like to play with trains, read about trains and watch trains on You Tube. You'll lead us to the computer by hand to play them for you and you can't wait for them to appear on screen.

Your obsession with Elmo is just as cute. You dance to his Elmo's World intro and pretty much don't blink the entire time he's on screen. Apparently those Sesame Street writers know what they're doing: we had some friends over one afternoon and all of the kids joined you on the bed to watch Elmo.

While there's not a cute picture to go with this experience, during the last month you had your first outpatient surgery as you got tubes in your ears. The five ear infections you suffered through over the last six months finally took its toll and we decided to help give you some relief. I think the entire experience was much harder on your mommy than it was on you, but we're three weeks in with no ear infections yet (knock on wood).

While all of these developments have been significant and critical to cross off your "he's growing/developing/learning just fine" lists, to me the biggest development isn't on any list. And yet it's the one that gets me every time.

You hug back.

For a long time when we've asked you to give hugs you would lay your head down on our shoulder and pause. But now you squeeze us in return. It's like taking every life happy life experience and putting it into your little arms as they wrap around my neck.

Love,
Mommy

P.S. And, just because I have to have a few embarrassing pictures to put in the video that will be shown at your rehearsal dinner, here's a good one for you.

Dear Graham, 17 Months

Dear Graham,
I know I keep wondering how you could bring any more joy to our lives but then your 17th month rolled around (which included Christmas) and that question was quickly answered. Last month was So.Much.Fun. Seeing Christmas through your perspective (which, by the way, is probably the perspective of "I have no idea what the heck is going on"), made things even more magical, if that is even possible.

 

We decided to go ahead and set up our Christmas tree as we always do, except for the fact that our tree had no ornaments on the bottom two feet. You did amazingly well, only touching ornaments a few times before our constant "Look but don't touch" was completely comprehended.

Our Christmas featured quite the traveling adventure that included visits to two states in totally opposite climates, so we opened many of your Christmas presents before we flew out. Many of your relatives sent gifts directly to the house, which made for a fun evening of presents. We brought you out after your bath and you weren't quite sure what to think.  You kept going from one thing to the next and then back again, as if you were worried we were going to take something away.

That next morning bright and early we flew to Chicago. During all of our flights on this trip you were really good...I think you're pretty used to it by now, as these Christmas flights were your 12th round trip flights in your first 17 months. That, and mommy comes prepared with books, DVDs, my phone, toys and, of course, food. My carry on bag has grown dramatically in size as you've become more active. (This should serve as a warning for anyone who may be sitting next to us on a future flight.)

The day after we arrived in Chicago we took a train from the suburbs into the city. You were mesmerized by the scenes passing you by outside your window.

However, once we got off of the train, your good mood ended. Immediately. Apparently you don't like cold weather. Or at least not 30 degrees with the wind blowing cold weather. And you didn't like your coat either. Or mittens. Or pretty much anything else the entire day. This next picture of me trying to find Baby Einstein on my phone for you pretty much sums up the trip. You couldn't have been more excited to get home that night and I couldn't have been more excited for a big glass of red wine (or two).

 

This was the first time that you've seen your cousins that you have actually wanted to interact with them. You adored Emelie and Christopher and would follow them around all day. This is probably because Emelie could often make you laugh with her silly faces and noises.

Santa brought you the Rock N' Roll Elmo this Christmas, which you loved. For about 5 minutes.

Then you comprehended what your cousin Christopher got from Santa: A Polar Express Train. And so began your obsession with trains. Every time the train wasn't in motion you would say "choo choo" to anyone who would listen, which apparently to you meant "Go and start the train right now." You watched, mesmerized, over and over again as the train went around the tracks. And you were surprisingly content just to watch it and not try to  touch it.

 

After celebrating Christmas in Chicago you and I said good-bye to daddy who had to return to work and flew to Florida, where there was none of that cold weather you didn't like. You played and played and visited with lots of family and friends. Our trip included a visit to the playground where you tried to go head first down the highest slide. Sometimes I worry about this lack of understanding of cause and effect. You, of course, giggled the whole way down.

Your 17th month brought the onset of a larger vocabulary for you and there's something awe-inspiring about language development. Nearly every day brought a new word for you, including wagon, cow, banana, apple, up, kitty cat, banana, grandma, grandpa, outside, water, and airplane, which you quite seriously said 500 times between our three flights. You are so proud of yourself as you utter each new word, but it probably doesn't begin to match the overwhelming pride we feel as your parents.

Love,
Mommy