Graham is 21 Months!

​Oh, this kid.  We could not love him any more!  He already is showing such a personality filled with humor, tenderness, opinions, and smiles :)  I had every intention of posting an 18-month update at the beginning of December, but, that clearly didn't happen!  Neither did the 19-month update last month, or the 20-month update...  So, here we are with a 21-month update!  LOL  

Graham's vocabulary is definitely improving: mama, dada, touchdown, ball, car, woof, choo-choo, uh-huh and cheese as well as learning to sign "please" and "thank you!"  He mimics us to say, "Shhh..." by putting his finger to his lips and he likes to find any phone (pretend or real) and hold it up to his eye and say, "Cheese!" to pretend to take a picture.  It's hilarious!  He clearly has communication down pat, though!  He understands what we are saying, and he will follow directions to complete simple tasks.  He has entered the phase where he cries really big when he hurts himself, but a kiss makes it all better!  He wants to have a turn to do EVERYTHING!  I just love watching his face as he seriously watches Jackson, and then gets excited to try himself.  Right now, they are very happy chasing each other around the kitchen!

Graham still LOVES to eat!  Hotdogs, pizza, macaroni and cheese, chicken, hamburgers, green beans, carrots, strawberries, bananas, grapes, peaches, pears, pancakes, cereal, peanut butter and jelly, cheese, yogurt, and snacks!  

Graham LOVES books!  That makes this mama's heart super happy!  He is happy with a pile of books for a good length of time, but he really will only sit and listen to a story when it is sleep time and we are in his room rocking.  He insists that the routine include a snuggly blanket covering us as he sits on our lap!  Other favorite toys are the play shopping cart, doll stroller, cars, and the toy kitchen.

This is one happy kid who loves life!  We love him SO much and cannot imagine our lives without him :)

Our Weather Reward!

What a difference a week makes!  It was a BEAUTIFUL, WARM weekend!!!

 We headed right to the playground yesterday morning, and of course we headed to The Lion Park, because it's our favorite :)  Graham was able to do SO much on his own!  First stop: The Slide!

 Jackson remembered all of his favorite things :)

 Riding the racecars

 Whee!

Why it's called The Lion Park :)  Two cool boys by the water fountain!

Jackson wanted to take a picture with Daddy with their sunglasses on!

The Valentine's Day that Lasted for Six Days

It's a good thing we got all of our fun Snow Day activities in on the first snow day since Jackson came down with a yucky stomach bug Thursday night :(  He was sick all night, but seemed through the worst by Friday morning.  He spent the day resting, drinking as much as I would let him, and having a little to eat.  We felt like some fresh air and a change of scenery would do everyone well, and we continued with our plan to carry on our Valentine's Day tradition of having Qdoba for dinner!

My littlest Valentine!

Daddy and HIS littlest Valentine!

Looking much better...

Looking a little more lethargic :(  He ended up being totally fine, other than tired.  BUT, Graham got the stomach bug on Sunday!  That was sad and pathetic :(  He handled it REALLY well, and he got sick right after lunch.  For me, that was easiest, since it was a time I was awake anyways.  He and I just hunkered down in the recliner surrounded by towels, and I let him doze whenever he wanted and held him when he got sick.  By bedtime he was through the worst, and he just wanted to rest.  Josh and I each got milder forms, but it seems to be gone from our house for now--it's definitely going around everywhere :/

Monday was already a scheduled day off of school for Presidents' Day, so the Valentine's Day parties were rescheduled for yesterday and today!  I made Graham some Valentines to hand out too :)  His were monster Valentines.

The front with a little Hershey's Hug :)

Jackson handed out these cool airplanes on Tuesday.  They are made out of a roll of Smarties, two pieces of gum, and two Lifesavers.

"It's PLANE to see why we're friends!  Happy Valentine's Day!"  Jackson wrote ALL of his friends names on the Valentines as well as signing his own.  I was SO proud of him!

These were Jackson's Valentines for Wednesday: "You Make My Heart GLOW!  Happy Valentine's Day!"  There is a glow stick going through the heart.

All of my Valentines ideas came with the help of Pinterest :)  This was for the teachers: a bottle of hand-soap with a note attached: "Here's SOAPIN' You Have a Great Valentine's Day!"

Even though this is ridiculous how long this holiday lasted, it worked out really well that we already had a snow day called when Jackson got sick, so he didn't have to miss his class party!  I also went ahead and waited to give the boys their cards and a few little treats until they were both feeling better!

Jackson had a blast at school with Valentine's Day, and he couldn't wait to show us the cards he got from his friends!  

More Sledding!

Presidents' Day ended up being the fifth day of an unexpected long weekend!  We borrowed the Bashores' yard one more time for some sledding!

Sledding Smiths!

Graham found this icy, crunchy snow intriguing...

There goes Jackson!

Then Josh!

Pretty winter picture...with a crazy guy with a sled on his head :)

Chillaxing!

Warm snuggles :)

Snow Day Number Eleventy Nine

Here we go with more snow days!!!  This sweet snuggle on the couch lasted for just the few seconds it took to take the picture...  One day, Graham will understand the cozy feeling of snuggling under a blanket with a movie :)

Smooches!

I liked this picture of our porch with the snow just covering the chairs and railing!

Iron Man/Spiderman keeps any day interesting!

Jackson's first super-big coloring book page!

FOOD!!!

I am a Pinterest Goddess! I taped a paper towel tube that we had just finished to the wall.  Then I gave Graham some random utensils from the kitchen and let him drop the balls down the tube!

Ready to go make a snowman!  Look how cute they are!  Snowpants and boots are paying off BIG time this year!

Jackson was totally into climbing the huge mounds of snow!

There was A LOT of snow for Mr. Graham to navigate...

He liked walking through the paths we created first.

A hug for our new snow friend, Olaf (of course!)

Graham was a good sport and let Jackson take him sledding down our little hill!

Whee!

Headfirst!

Picking up speed!

Happy Sledding Monster!

Graham just wanted to explore the playhouse in the snow!

Silly!

This video has a slow start, but it's pretty cute at the end!

A delicious comfort dinner on a cold night!  Buffalo chicken tenders with homemade bleu cheese dressing and homemade fries!