Getting closer to being a big brother...

Hello all!

I've been meaning to do another post for a while so I might as well just do it! My belly continues to grow and Graham is loving it, looking forward very much to being a big brother. He has named his baby brother "Bebo" and calls him that all the time. Each day he must have several opportunities to "Snuggle Bebo" which consists of a lot of hugging, kissing, and generally loving my belly. Although the other day my baby bump got in the way while we were trying to play a game and he politely asked "Mommy can you take belly off, please?" Not yet! A little less than 2 months (give or take a bit) to go!

Graham and I have both enjoyed the beautiful spring weather, spending lots of time at the sandbox and nearby playground where we have met lots of new friends. He is generally quite wonderful with other kids and loves to see them; if he sees anyone over at the playground he's yelling "Hey kids! What're you doing? I'm happy to see you!" While we walk over. His other favorite new game is hide-and-seek, which he thinks is just hilarious, and he loves to try to count to 10 while I hide.

We're both looking forward to spending a bit more time with Jonathan/Daddy once his classes are over next week, although he will still need to be doing lots of writing and other work. Hopefully we'll even get to the beach a few times as a family before our new addition arrives.

Hope all is well with you all- Much love!

More Graham stories!

Hello everyone!

We recently got back from a wonderful visit to see Manna, Granddaddy, Aunt Keely, Uncle Jovan, baby cousin Mia, and Aunt Emily. What fun! In spite of the long 10 hr drive each way Graham kept a (mostly) great attitude and was always ready to get back in the car to "go to Kentucky!" When we finally arrived Grandaddy was across the street at one of his gardens. We waved wildly and Graham called exuberantly "Hey Grandaddy! Hey! I'm happy to see you! Come back over to Kentucky!!"

We spent lots of time playing and enjoying being together, although Graham wasn't too sure at first about having to share his grandparents with a new baby. He was very sweet to Mia, though, and worried about her any time she cried. She is a beautiful little girl! Unfortunately we somehow managed to come away without any pictures of them together. We'll have to get some next time... She is truly precious. Keely and Jovan are great parents, and it's fun to see them enjoying their new daughter so much!

Graham just had a two year check up. Some results: he is 75th percentile height (almost 35 inches) and 50th percentile weight (26 pounds). He's doing great, and the doctor was very impressed with his language ability, although Graham immediately remembered where he was and put his hand on the stretcher and said "'Member this? I got a shot." And was thus nervous about the whole operation, but the doctor put him at ease.

And finally, Graham's a "modol mite" or a "noble knight" depending on the moment:

Graham's Birthday Blowout

I know it's been a month but

here's a little video from Graham 2nd birthday

Much love.

Belated Birthday Pics

Hello everyone! I promise that our delay in blogging about Graham's birthday and the surrounding time with Granddaddy has not been from a lack of desire to do so; we've been even busier than usual lately with Jon completely overloaded with projects at school, church, and work, plus working on a paper for a conference presentation in March. I'm continuing to work full time and trying to find time to keep our house together and cook at least an occasional healthy meal!

Graham has continued to go with the flow well and I think is enjoying being 2 yrs old. He (and we) had such fun while Granddaddy was here for a visit. We had lots of time playing outside, a meal at Chick-fil-a (a favorite of Graham's) and for Jon's birthday on the 28th we ate at a wonderful French Bistro in Williamsburg. Unfortunately Graham was starving and not in the mood to be wowed by the ambiance or menu choices. When the waitress came up to our table he immediately looked up at her and said, in a commanding tone, "I want FOOD". She kindly obliged very soon by bringing him some incredible soup and the best mac and cheese I've ever had. We had a party for Graham and Jon on Sunday night Jan 31 and I made him a special truck cake. He thought it was pretty awesome, and I'll get Jon to post a video of his response soon! We had a few friends over and had a very nice time. To both of the boys' delight the menu was sausages, fries, and a huge fruit salad as well as some hummus, salsa, and guacamole with chips/veggies. Fortunately they have a lot of overlap in foods that they like! We had a great time, and thanks to all of you for the books, cards, and gifts that you sent to both of the boys! Graham LOVED opening the gifts, and loves reading the books, playing with the trucks, "cooking" with the utensils and pots and pans, and adding appendages to his "'Tato Head".

We will also try to get a picture of my belly soon. We had our ultrasound last week and we have another boy on the way! We're excited, but now we have to decide on another boy's name...
I've also posted a picture of Graham the first night Dad was here; together they came up with the idea of trying on some of Granddaddy's tube sox, and the result is pretty funny. What fun we had!

Much love to all of you!

Funny Conversation

Graham and I just had fun conversation while changing his diaper.

As I was drying off his bum before putting on the daiper Graham grabbed his bum. He said, "bum." Then he said, "Daddy has bum." I said yes. He said, "Mommy has bum." I said "Yes, everyone has a bum."

He thought for a minute.

"Auntie Claude has a bum."

Yes.

"Auntie Courtney has bum."

Yes.

"Auntie Anne has a bum."

Yes.

"Mommy, daddy."

And that was the end of his thoughts on the matter.

So much happening!

Well I don't know if I can upload a bunch of pictures right now because Jon has to format them, but at least I need to get a more recent newsy type post up! Since our last post so many fun things have happened-- The holidays, of course, which Graham loved, during which we traveled home to Kentucky. We Brandons were all together for Christmas for the first time in 7 years- amazing! What great times we had together, with Keely and Jovan back in Kentucky with their little girl due to arrive Feb 18, and Emily working hard at her job but taking time to come down and be a fun auntie/sister/daughter as usual. We also enjoyed the chance to see some extended family and both great-grandparents. It is wonderful to see Graham enjoying his family! I promise Dad/Granddaddy is in the family picture; he's hiding behind Graham who unfortunately wasn't in the mood to sit still for a photo shoot.

Then, last weekend, we went back to our other home in Vancouver, WA and had an amazing time with our church family there! What a gift and a blessing it was to be there with such dear friends, and to feel so loved and supported. We came to visit and also to share our vision to begin work in Beni, Congo later this year. It was wonderful to feel that community of faith surround us and ask to be a part of this ministry we are undertaking. We also got to share our news that another brand new Shaw will be joining us in June! We are so excited about our expanding family, and know Graham is going to be a fantastic big brother.

So, enough news, let me see if I can think of some good Graham stories. We've had one significant snow which was SUCH fun for him. We bundled up and spent as much time outside as Mommy and Daddy could stand- he would have stayed all day. He loved all of the Christmas glitter, especially the tree and looking at the ornaments; he would stand on the couch by the tree, hands folded, studying each one and describing a story about it. He got some really fun trucks, some tools and books which he has enjoyed to no end, and of course opening the gifts was the funnest of all. Don't you like the morning hair in this picture of him with Granna/Manna?

Graham's imagination has really blossomed in the last few weeks. He loves to make up stories and talk about imaginary things. One of his favorite games is "cooking" which consists of pouring/mixing various substances, from water to sand to the favored basil, in a variety of bowls and cups. He will tell you what he is cooking, that generally being "fries", "fruit salad" or "food". He continues his fascination with the Bible and stories about Jesus and other Bible characters. Yesterday, while we were playing in the sandbox he had me hold a big cup while he scooped it full of sand with a smaller one. As he scooped he informed me "It's water." Once my big cup was completely full, he took it from me and said "Now it's wine." What?? He's only heard that story once or twice, but evidently his game reminded him of Jesus' first miracle. He definitely keeps us laughing. He also loves to draw and will talk elaborately about what his scribbles represent. He loves dinosaurs, sharks, and anything that can go "Roar!". He still likes to eat, especially fruits, veggies, fruit snacks, rice pudding, and yoghurt raisins. In fact a few night ago as he was talking himself to sleep he started to call down "Mommy--Like some yoghurt raisins. Mooooommy- some yoghurt raisins please!" It was all I could do to not bring him up a handfull!

This is just a sampling from our recent life, but I hope it's enough to give you a glimpse of what a joy and blessing we have in Graham. He loves people and hugs and kisses, so if you haven't gotten one from him recently I hope you'll get a chance soon! Thanks for checking in with us!

Thanksmas!

We had a wonderful week last week celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas with the Shaw side of the family. Not only do we have ShoSho and Babu around, but Aunt Anne, Uncle Michael, and cousin Conner were also here for the festivities. What fun! We ate lots of good food (of course) and on Saturday celebrated together by opening presents around our "Snissmas tree" (Graham's version). Graham is already quite excited about all of the glitz surrounding the holiday, and loves to sit and look at the tree. He was also VERY excited about the presents; I think he already got enough trucks and cars to last him a lifetime, and we haven't even hit the real holiday! We had such a wonderful time all together as a family, and even took some time to do a family photo shoot. What a great time!













Reaching for the bribe, More Skittles!!













VROOM!












The magic of a new book.
Cruisin' in the big truck with Cousin Conner