My sweet Graham,

At 9 months you:

-Finally started officially crawling. All over the place. You're so different from the girls because you will go explore the house all by yourself and you get into everything! It's also different this time around because I'm having to really make sure all the little toys like Barbie accessories are out of your reach.

-You weighed 18 lbs 13 oz at your checkup. You have quite an appetite and love puffs. Little by little I'm giving you real food like bananas, avacados, turkey, bread.

-You started pulling up to your knees.

-You're talking a lot more and say baba, dada, and mama, but I don't think there's any meaning attached to them.

-You're still waking up at 1-2 times at night to nurse. I'm ready to sleep through the night again, but I know that will come all too soon as you continue to grow. So, I'll take this sweet time with my baby boy alone in the quiet of the night.

-You love being outside.

At 10 months you:

-Just started pulling up to standing this weekend! It's your new favorite exercise.

-Had your first really bad virus last week. Your temperature got so high and you were sick and wouldn't sleep for about 5 days. It was so scary, but I secretly cherished the time that I got to rock and sleep with you on my chest.

-Were recently given watermelon and blueberries for the first time and loved them.

-Experienced the first girl slumber party of many to come with your big sisters. You also had your first Chuck E. Cheese experience.

-Love bath time.

-Experienced your first swim at the pool today. I can't wait to see how much fun you have at the beach next month and I can't believe I'll be bringing my third child to that house in Florida!

-Laugh so hard when you think someone is chasing you.

-Have many nicknames: Graham Cracker, Buddy, Little Love, Blue

What a precious blessing you are to this family, Graham. I can't believe you're almost one!

Months 7 & 8

7 Months:

-Sitting on your own!

-Eating like a champ

-Rocking on hands and knees

-Laughing at sisters

8 Months:

-Trying every day to learn to crawl. Have started rocking and lounging forward to reach toys.

-Saying mamamama and it's so cute!

-Eating three meals and day, plus snacks of baby puffs. You still prefer pureed baby food over regular food.

-Transitioning to two naps a day

-You're such a sweet, happy little boy!

To my sweet six month old

Precious Graham,

Today was your six month appointment with the doctor. Where have the last six months gone? You have brought so much joy to this family already. The way your face lights up when you look at me melts my heart. You are full of sweetness and are happy all the time. It's been fun to watch the dynamic of our family change since we added a little boy to the mix and I'm excited to see your daddy teach you what it means to be a man. Here's more about you at six months old:

-You are 27 inches (50th percentile) and 16 lbs 9 oz (25th percentile).

-You are cutting both bottom teeth and that has really impacted your sleeping. You're waking every 3-4 hours at night.

-You had your first taste of solid food this month. So far you've had cereal, bananas, pears, green beans, carrots, and apples. You're not very interested in food yet, but do a pretty good job of getting most of the food down. You've also had Mum Mums, but aren't really a fan.

-You're taking three naps a day.

-You roll all over the floor and are sometimes getting on your knees. I think that crawling is soon to come. You're also sitting with only a little support.

-You like car rides. I never thought I'd say that about any of my children.

-Your hair. I never thought I'd have a child with as much of it. And it sticks straight up. I love that fuzzy hair!

I also wanted to write about what daily life looks like now that we're a family with three kiddos so that I'll remember these days when I look back. Most seem to fly by because we have a busy routine each day. The week is full of school work, workout at the church, playing with friends, Ansley's school, church and Cubbies, and now dance for both girls. Sometimes I get adventurous and take all three of you to the grocery store or Target. We go to the playground down the street a lot, have recently started going on bike rides, and visit the library. You are always so easy to take anywhere because you love getting out of the house and seeing new things. You've even been to the movies to see Frozen and did great.

Graham, you're just such a delight and blessing. God has blessed our family way more than I could have ever dreamed. We love you!

Love,

Mommy

Christmas

Graham's 5th month

-Rolling both directions by yourself

-Not sleeping so well anymore. You usually wake two or three times to nurse.

-Smiling, cooing, and "talking" a lot more

-You love being entertained by sisters and playing with toys on the floor

-You don't love the swing or Bumbo

-Chewing on everything

-You love being outside

-You actually like sitting in your carseat and sometimes this is the only way to get you to be happy somewhere other than my arms.

-Wearing 6-9 month clothing and some 12 month jammies. You've lengthened and slimmed down a bit.

-You're still my calmest baby by far! Not much bothers you and you're pretty content. You only cry when tired or need a new diaper.

4 Months

Graham,

You just turned four months old and have been such a delight and blessing to us in that short time. You seem to have your daddy's laid back and easy going personality and you're rarely upset. Here's some more about you at four months:

-You weigh 16 lbs and 2 oz and are 26 inches long. These measurements put you in the 60th percentile for weight and 80th for height.

-You have a quiet cry and are hardly ever fussy.

-You are smiling a lot and like to stare into my eyes and flash your gummy smile. It melts my heart.

-You can roll from tummy to back and are so close to back to tummy. Sometimes I find you lying on your back in your crib when you wake up from sleeping on your tummy.

-You love to sleep and are waking usually only once a night to nurse, but have slept all night a few times. Your daily routine is usually sleep, eat, awake for an hour and a half, and then sleep again.

-You love riding in the Ranger on the land. We leave you in your carseat and buckle you in and the bumps put you to sleep in no time.

-Your sisters absolutely adore you. Heidi brings your paci when you cry and is constantly giving hugs and kisses. Ansley loves to talk to you and call you "Little Buddy."

-You hair is so fuzzy!

-You're very cuddly and I hold you as much as I can.

Sweet boy, I love watching you grow and seeing how closely you resemble your daddy in appearance and personality. I'm excited to know that you will learn so much from him. Most of all, I pray that you grow to love the Lord above all else. We love you, little buddy!

Ansley's 1st Day of Pre-K

Today was Ansley's official start of pre-k with our homeschool organization, Classical Conversations. Though we kind of started school a couple of weeks ago with her reading curriculum, this was our first time to visit the campus and learn what our time in "class" would look like. She has been so excited about today and I really tried to make it special and make a big deal out of her first day of school. I stuffed a new backpack with fun school supplies last night (and didn't forget to put a pile together for Heidi, too) and had it all waiting on the kitchen table for them when they got up this morning. We had their favorite breakfast of pancakes and sausage, got dressed in some new school clothes, and then took our first day pictures with backpacks. Heidi made sure to fill hers with some books.

So, why homeschool and what is Classical Conversations? Jeff and I made the decision to homeschool about a year ago after much talk and prayer. Since I have my degree in interdisciplinary studies and taught fifth grade for a few years, I'm so happy to be able to use what I've learned with my own children. Ansley loves to learn and is one of those children who will beg to do school and sit down for long periods of time to draw or practice handwriting. She enjoys the one on one time with me and I enjoy teaching her. So, it just makes sense for me to use my education and passion for teaching with her. We also desire to give her a firm foundation in Christ before we possibly send her to school at a later point. While I know that she would do well in public school (Jeff and I were both public school students), we agreed that she would benefit most intellectually and spiritually at home at least for now. And starting pre-k gives us the opportunity to get a year behind us before she would otherwise begin public school to make sure it's the right decision for our family. I'm still not sure of exactly how it's going to look day to day for us, but we'll learn as we go.

Classical Conversations is a nationwide homeschool group/curriculum that has local campuses and meets once a week for the tutor to present information to the students (history, geography, latin, science, some math). We're calling this "school" and during this time the kids will also get to do fine arts, presentations, and science experiments together. What I love most about it is their desire and emphasis on knowing God and making Him known and the opportunity to show how everything points to Him. From what I've seen so far, I think Ansley will love this time and is going to do so well. But, I'm going to try to be very flexible and really evaluate what I think works best for her each school year. We're excited to begin this journey and thankful that God has given us this opportunity!