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!

Fun with Granddad

Hello again!
We decided to finally get around to taking a few pictures while Granddad is here-- he is working so hard that we don't find much time to stop and snap some shots! We also have forgotten our camera for all of the fun we've had; Graham went on his second hike in the Gorge, a 3 hr jaunt up to the top of a cliff to our favorite spot "Angel's Rest". He LOVED every minute of it, couldn't seem to get enough of the trees, birds, and breeze, and of course had radiant smiles for each of us and any fellow hikers we encountered. In spite of blowing right through his usual nap time he was a bundle of joy all day. We also took Granddad to the International Rose Test Garden, another favorite for all of us, and Graham especially liked grabbing the old shriveled blooms to crush in his little hands. But, as I said, we forgot our camera for all of the fun, so a few cute shots from around the house will have to do! I will also post a video of one of Graham's favorite new past-times, clapping hands with us.

In other exciting news, we recently invested in some beautiful new appliances to improve our kitchen. Here is a picture of me with the inaugural apple pie! I'm so excited because not only do I have a wonderful new oven (that actually cooks at the set temperature!) and refrigerator that doesn't freezer burn everything, but I get a dishwasher that will be installed in just a couple of days! YEAH! Life will be just a little bit easier. Enough writing, let me post the pictures and get to eating some of that pie... Love you each and every one!
Kate, Jonathan, and Graham

Enjoying the summer

Hello all! It's been way too long since we've posted; things have been busy lately with Jonathan tying up work at the church, and then our trip to Virginia for Grammy Shaw's 80th, and a chance to see the extended fam. What a great time we had! I'll post some pictures of his six month right now, because unfortunately we weren't good about getting the camera out during our trip, so we'll have to rely on pictures we get from everyone else. Graham LOVED meeting all of his new family members, and playing with his second cousins. While in Virginia he also got to enjoy the ocean, the swimming pool, and a few thousand hugs and kisses. Not only that but he's now "creeping" around all over the place, and really enjoying the activity. Oh, I'll also put up a picture of Graham enjoying some food (he's really getting into eating these days!) One of his favorite things is when I make him a smoothie with lots of his favorite berries and bananas. Yum! Love to all, Kate

6 months old!

Hello all! We're a little late publishing this, but life has been BUSY as usual lately. We've also had some increased work with getting Graham to sleep. He just does NOT want to take a nap longer than 15 minutes in the morning, in spite of the fact that he's absolutely exhausted. So, the amount of "free" time we have is dramatically reduced when he doesn't want to give up part of the morning. But anyway, we have to let everyone know the 6 month stats; our appointment on Aug.1 found Graham to be very healthy, just under 18 lbs, 28 inches, and doing very well developmentally! Our doctor also remarked that he seemed particularly engaged in the world around him, which we had thought, but it was nice to have it confirmed as not just something that all doting parents assume. So, he's healthy and strong, but we do wish he'd sleep!!! I guess that's the trade-off to being remarkably engaged with the world around him. :)
I'll add a few pictures of Graham with me and with his dad, and then whatever else cute I can find. We're looking forward to seeing some of you soon, Graham can't wait to finally meet Babu, Aunt Rapunzel and Uncle Michael as well as the rest of the extended Shaw clan! Oh, and to make all of you extra excited, I will post a video of the "kisses" that Graham now likes to give! Hint for those of you who might want one- be sure you've got your hankie!
Love to all,
Kate