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!