Happy Holidays!

It's about time I got another blog up here! December has simply flown by, and suddenly it's pretty much over. Before we get any closer to January I have to put up some pictures of Graham's first Christmas, which was a very fun affair indeed.

We celebrated with Shosho and Babu on the 22nd before they headed down to Georgia, and then Granna and Granddad came to visit for the day itself. Wow, he had a great time! We all got some great presents, and Graham had a ball with all of his, as well as with the various sparkly and shiny Christmas paraphenalia, and most of all with the extra people around to hug and kiss on. He is such a loving and cuddly boy, and that just seems to increase as he grows and becomes more aware of what it means to relate and to love. I've said it before, but we are so blessed!

In addition to hugging, kissing, clapping, dancing, singing into his tin can, and jabbering all the time Graham is determined to walk any day now- he cruises around and takes mini-steps between objects or people, but doesn't quite have the confidence to strike out on his own yet. Sometimes he forgets that he's not holding on to anything and he will stand for many seconds at a time. It's amazing that he's already so big...


For Christmas Jonathan got a new camera, which will hopefully jump start his new videography business, so some of the pictures I'll add will be extra beautiful as a result. Today it was almost 80 degrees here in Virginia so we got to try out one of Graham's new gifts, the sandbox! I haven't downloaded those pictures yet (of sand everywhere, including in the mouth- thankfully it only took once to learn that lesson!) so you'll have to wait until next time for those.

Much love to everyone, and I hope you had a very Merry Christmas!

I just found this great picture I had to post- what a ham!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I can't believe it's already December... Blessings to all. Kate

Quick update

We just wanted to let you know about some of Graham's latest tricks, such as:
Driving
Surfin' the web
Eating (he's really good at that one!)
Pointing
and of course, just looking cute

What a guy! He's so much fun, and has the best attitude, even with all of the changes going on with his life as we all juggle new jobs, places, and schedules. We're excited for our first road-trip to Kentucky this week as well (well, we're excited about getting there, anyway!)

Love you all! Kate

Ps- sorry it's all underlined, I don't know why, or how to fix it. Oops.

More pictures

I can't believe we're already halfway through November! Graham is continuing to grow into a wonderful little boy-- here are a few pictures of him with me and his dad. We're having so much fun lately; we had Grandma Douglas here to visit a couple weeks ago, so now Graham has officially met all of his great-grandparents. Also, on top of lots of great time with Shosho and Babu, he got to see Granna and Granddad last weekend when they drove our car down to Kentucky.

We really think he's finally working on his first tooth as well. It looks like at least one and possibly two bottom incisors are about to break through. What with the fussy moods, returning sleep issues, and drool everywhere, we're about ready for those puppies to pop into place!

I start training at my new job (at Patient First Urgent care and clinic) on Thursday, and Jon is going to start working part-time at Starbucks until he gets his video business going. So, things are getting busy around here. We are looking forward to whatever God has in store for us, and hope that Graham will settle in to our new schedule well.

Blessings to all of you from us!

Favorite games

Fun times:



We just got some videos of Graham's favorite new games, affectionately known as "Gallopy" and of course good old Peek-a-boo:































He's also just darn cute:
















Here's him "putting up with picture time", less than enthused:
















And one last one, when he's sick of the paparazzi:

Happy Voting Day!

Hope you are all getting out to vote today! We have already voted by mail-in ballot in Washington, so now we're just sitting back and waiting for the results.

I have been meaning to post some pictures of Graham's room, because he loves it so much and it is so cute, so I will do that now. These aren't the best, but you get the idea anyway!

Love you all,
Kate

Happy Halloween! (soon)

For those of you who aren't nearby to stuff this pumpkin full of candy and treats, we wanted to post some pictures of his costume. Have you ever seen a cuter jack-o-lantern?? Graham has settled in to his new home and is the sweetest, funnest boy we could ask for. He has been sleeping through the night (huge answer to prayer!) which has made us all feel better, and is jabbering almost non-stop with his adorable "Dadas" "Babas" and occasional "Mamas". Sometimes he even whispers, which is really endearing. He has also learned to scrunch up his nose and mouth to make a "funny face" with us, which is delightful. Other recent accomplishments include rolling a ball back and forth, and using his thumb and forefinger grip quite dextrously. He's also having lots of fun his Shosho and Babu, reading books, playing, and laughing together. It's going to be hard to go back to work. I have my first job interview Wednesday, so that might happen soon. We'll see!
Much love and I hope you have a cute pumpkin to give you a kiss this Halloween,
Kate

Fall leaves

Hello all! It's been too long since we've updated the blog... we had a wonderful 2+ weeks of transition time in Kentucky visiting with family, but somehow didn't manage to post much during that time. We've now arrived in Virginia and are just settling into the cozy house and beginning to investigate our surroundings. Graham's new room is just wonderful, lovingly set up by his Shosho and Babu prior to our arrival (with some last minute furniture help by Daddy after his arrival here) so I will take a picture and post it soon for all to see. Graham seems VERY happy to have such a great space to play in, and is sleeping well back in his familiar crib again (that's a relief for all of us!)
The pictures I'm posting are from KY, where we took a fun hike down to the river, and also played in the first fall leaves. We had such a great time together, and Graham grew so much- he is determined to learn to walk and did a lot of pulling up and cruising. He also learned to feed himself, and the last day in Kentucky he started saying "Mama" and "Dada"! What a surprise, and joy, to hear! He is really focusing on his vocalizations now, and I can't wait to hear his speech evolve.
As for Jonathan and I, we're getting back into the groove of "real life", applying for jobs and tweaking resumes. We are excited to see how God provides for us in this important next step, He has already paved the way in so many areas.
Love to all, Kate

Kentucky time

Hello everyone! It's been a while since we've posted pictures because we just got the camera working. It's been a busy week, too. Graham had his first ear infection and was out of commission for a few days, but is back to his usual happy busy self now. He has made a new best friend (Marquis, the dog) who is just fascinating. This week he's also perfected pulling up on anything and everything, trying to take steps holding on to whatever he's pulled up on, feeding himself finger foods for the first time, and climbing steps with supervision. Whew! What a week! I'm afraid he's going to be walking before long, but frankly I'm hoping he'll slow down a little before he starts that! Enough talk, here are some pictures. Sorry, the camera is kind of old so that quality isn't great on the indoor shots. Enjoy!

Grandma Brandon's Here! Yippeee!

So we now have a visitor/moving helper: Grandma Brandon. Hooray!!

It's been wonderful to have her here. She came in yesterday afternoon and already had Graham enough that I've just about finished the deck and filling in our little pond with river rock.

This is how seeing her makes Graham feel:

And Kate and I feel very similarly.

Love,

Jon

Soccer Star

In spite of all the craziness around here, we're still trying to find time for some fun, relaxation, and enjoyment of all the beauty around us. There's nothing quite like early fall in the Pacific Northwest; we hope those of you who haven't gotten a chance to visit us out here will get to if we ever move back long-term. Graham just can't get enough of the outdoors, so we try our best to indulge his senses in as much grass, trees, water, and nature as possible. We'll look forward to seeing those of you on the eastern side of the country soon, but we'll miss the clear Northwest air as we stroll the quiet streets of our neighborhood... I'll also add a video of his soccer skills- a little work yet before he's ready for the Premier League...

Leaving soon?

Well, big news today-- it looks like we might have some renters for our house! It really feels like God's hand in things; a wonderful young family from our church is in need of a new place to rent and it looks like things will work out perfectly. They need to move out of their old place (a bad situation through no fault of theirs) by the end of the month, so that means we're going to have to get going, too! Crazy! Just thinking about leaving this little house is so sad for us, but we're also excited for what God has in store next.

Graham has gone from crawling a shaky few feet to whizzing around anywhere he pleases. It's making life much more exciting to say the least! He now requires a full pair of eyes at all times, and quite often a quick hand to keep him out of trouble. But we just can't get enough of our sweet boy- he's simply amazing. He is so happy and bright, and most nights now he even sleeps well! We are spending lots of time at our favorite local parks swinging, and at the beach of the river discovering sand and other fun galore. We are so blessed.

Blessings to each of you,

Kate

Picture commentary:

-Go Huskies!

-Graham with our friend Julie Weisner

-Graham's Rockstar 'do (key ingredient: pureed carrots)

-Zerbets from Daddy

-Mischievous looks in the bathtub

Crawling!

We finally managed to get Graham to perform his crawling feats for the camera! Isn't he impressive?? I think this is actually the longest he's ever stayed just on his hands and knees without "cheating" and doing a few commando crawls in between. However as I type this he is continuing to crawl circles around me all in the new style--what a big boy. He is the best, sweetest, cutest baby in the world! I guess as his mom I'm allowed to say that, right?? But, his Granddadthought so, too. Here are a few pictures from before we left for the airport, and playing in the yard last night. Sorry there are several from the same "photo shoot" but I couldn't choose! We're having a beautiful end to the summer so far. I hope the same is true for each of you!