Little Wolves

We had our annual "Meet the Wolves" event last night, and of course my little Wolves came out to support Daddy and the basketball team. Amelia was so excited to perform with the little Wolfpups, and for the first time in almost 4 years, she is not afraid of the wolf mascot anymore! This is huge, y'all. She has been asking to go to Disney World (my worst nightmare, but that's a whole other post, ha), but since she has always been so afraid of the wolf and any other character, I told her there's no way we're paying to go see Mickey until she can give the wolf a high five. Well, she finally is not scared of him anymore, and had a lot of fun cheering and dancing with her friends. I took a few pics, but they were too far away and turned out too blurry.

She was so busy running around and playing that she didn't want to stop and smile for me, but she was happy to do it when I asked her to pose with her friend Aubree. How cute are these girls together?

 This guy is never too busy to smile for Mama. I know he's mine, but isn't he precious? #sweetestbabyever

This was my failed attempt at a photo of my children together. Sister wanted to get back up and play and it was brother's first time to sit in the grass and he was fascinated. You can tell she's saying "cheese" but was not into it.

Again, Amelia was too busy playing for more photos, but I did get this cute one of Daddy and G.

We love our jobs at Co-Lin, and we're proud to be members of the Wolfpack! I'm excited to bring Graham along to our events this year. I hope he grows up to love Co-Lin as much as his parents and sister.

New Videos

I uploaded a couple of recent videos of Mimi and G. These pretty much sum them up right now. He laughs and smiles, and she is constantly needing some attention performing.


Graham laughing from Angela Furr on Vimeo.



"Mista" Alligator from Angela Furr on Vimeo.

"Mista" Alligator is a song she learned at school recently and we can't get enough of her singing it! She had already done it for us a couple of times, so you can tell her throat was getting dry, poor thing. I have no idea where "Mista" came from. (Her teacher is Caucasian, but most of the student helpers are not. Maybe that's it?) Either way, we adore it!

Graham at 5 months

Our sweet boy is growing so fast! At five months Graham:

• is wearing size 6 months clothes, size two diaper, and size one shoe
• is becoming a chunky monkey now that he is eating solids. I'm guessing he's probably around 15 pounds
• LOVES his baby food! He eats cereal with fruit for breakfast, a veggie and fruit at lunch and a veggie and fruit for supper, with 3 bottles in between. He loves to eat! (wonder where he gets that, oops!)
• still smiles, laughs and coos all the time
• is able to sit up on his own for a little while, but is still wobbly
• STILL has not rolled over. What in the world?
• still loves his bath and has started kicking and splashing in the water more
• adores his big sister! He has really started noticing Amelia and he grins and laughs at everything he says. It is the sweetest thing!
• loves playing in his exersaucer, and just tried out a jumper in the church nursery and really liked it. Who remembers how much big sister hated those contraptions? He could not be more opposite than her as a baby!
• can hold his own bottle and does, but still likes mama and daddy (or sometimes sister) to do it for him sometimes
• is trying his hardest to cut some teeth. I feel a little something coming through on top and bottom but nothing yet. He drools and chews constantly.
• is doing so good at daycare and loves his teacher, Miss Margaret
• is getting better about not waking up in the night, but prefers to sleep with mama and daddy. How did we get here again? Ha ha. He starts off in his crib or bassinet, but ends up with us before the night is over. I am not nearly as stressed about getting him to sleep in his bed as I was with Amelia. To be honest, I enjoy the snuggling, and lately I've just done what I had to do to get some sleep! I know that this time passes so quickly and while I do want to keep trying to get him to sleep in his own bed, I'm not going to be upset if he ends up with us sometimes.

Here's some pics of our sweet man from this month:



Loving his carrots! Sidenote: I would have never allowed Amelia to wear this bib. Hers had to be cute and monogrammed. But this is one we were given for G, and that's all we have, so Donald Duck it is, ha!

Photo bomber!

 

Best big sister. Check out G's thighs!





Shout out to the makers of the exersaucer for allowing me to cook supper!



Does this look familiar? Yes, G loves a lovie just like big sister did. Here he's snuggling with one just like sister's, but he actually prefers a smaller monster lovie most of the time.

Although his reflux has gotten much better, this is still a pretty good depiction of Graham. He is still quite the little puker!

 

Back to school

My kiddos started school last week. Graham started going to daycare at Co-Lin, and sister moved up to the big pre-school class. She has been so excited about it all summer. She already knew and liked her teacher, Miss Melissa, and she has been PUMPED about getting to play on the big kid playground. There were no first-day tears for any of us, and I'm so thankful! We are so blessed to have an amazing daycare and pre-school right on campus where we work. It's so comforting to know my whole family is near each other all day.

Amelia will have two years in this pre-school class before starting kindergarten. With an October birthday, she will be one of the oldest in her class, which for the most part will be an advantage, I think. I'm thankful we have a little time left to decide where we're going to send Amelia for kindergarten. We have a few options, and we are still thinking and praying about what will be best for our family.

Little brother has been doing great in Miss Margaret's class too, just like I knew he would. Amelia loved Miss Margaret when she was a baby, and I knew that Graham would too. She is a grandmother and I just love how she treats my babies like they are her own grandbabies and loves on them all day.

Back to school has meant a new routine for me in the mornings, and so far/so good. Adjusting to getting two ready and out the door has been a challenge, but we are surviving. Basketball season is right around the corner and that will be the true test on if I can survive with two kids on my own most of the time. I'm thankful Graham is an easy baby and Amelia is a great helper. There's no way I could handle it if he was as high-maintenance as she was.

Hoping for a great school year for all of us!

Graham at 4 months

I'm going to get on track with Graham's monthly posts soon. He is actually 5 months old today, and I had written his 4 month post earlier, but couldn't remember his stats so I've been waiting until I could record those accurately to post. He did great at his check-up, and he is right on track in growth.

At four months, Graham:

• weighs 14 pounds, 2ounces and is 24 and 1/4inches long
• wears 3-6 months clothes, has moved up to a size 2 diaper, and wears a size 1 shoes when he wears them. Amelia never left the house, even as a newborn, without a matching bow and shoes. Graham usually only wears shoes to church on Sundays, ha. Difference in a boy and a girl, I suppose. And I guess him being little in the summer makes a difference too.
• has regressed on his good sleeping this month, ugh! He is in a horrible habit of waking up at least twice in the night. I have been nursing him and he goes right back to sleep, but I really don't think he's hungry. I'm not really a "cry it out" mama, but I've got to do something different soon. Mama needs her rest! I also think it's time to move him to his crib in his room, so I might as well just suck it up and do it. It's so hard not getting enough sleep and having to get up for work at 6 :(. We need to establish some new, good sleep habits, STAT.
• is teething something fierce (this could be a reason for his waking up in the night). He drools and chews constantly, but no sign of a tooth yet.
• started eating rice cereal around July 25th. He wasn't a fan at first, but he's doing better every time. He started eating baby food the week of July 30th and really started liking it just before turning 5 months old.
• has started reaching for his toys on his carseat and playmat, and loves to chew on them. That's his first big milestone, I guess, and it's so precious to watch him figure out that he can now grasp things and get them in his mouth.
• still loves his paci and lovie for sleep time.
• is not really a fan of the swing anymore, but still likes the bouncer, and has started spending some time in the Bumbo and exersaucer.
• still smiles ALL THE TIME, and is giggling more frequently too. Last night I had him going with my rendition of the theme song from "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air." Whatever it takes, y'all.  
• STILL hasn't started rolling over, and doesn't even seem to want to. I'm OK with that. When he does try, he can get almost over, but not quite. I have a feeling he will do it as soon as he starts daycare. That's what happened with Mimi, but she was only 12 weeks old.




Trying some cereal at Mrs. Shannon's house





Below are pics of both of my babies' first time to try green beans. I think these pics sum up both of their personalities at this age, ha ha.

 Here is sister at around the same age in the high chair. I still don't think they look anything alike. 



Graham is so laid back and happy, whereas his sister was a little high maintenance. Now she's pretty laid back and aggreable, so I'm not sure what that means about how G will be when he gets older. His personality is showing more each month, and he brings so much joy to our family. Amelia has become very protective of her brother and gets very concerned if someone she isn't comfortable with is holding him. She won't take her eyes off of him for a second. I'm very thankful for my special helper, even if she wants to help a little too much sometimes! These months are just flying by. Five month post coming soon!



Beach vacation 2012

We just got back from our annual trip to the beach, and it was everything I had hoped it would be! This year we were joined by my sister and her family and Katie. With a 4 month old and an 11 month old baby, we weren't sure how our days would go. I figured that I would be spending a good bit of time inside with G while everyone else had fun, and I was OK with that. Just getting to have a week off work and be at the beach spending time with my family was enough for me. I was pleasantly surprised that the weather wasn't too hot and Graham actually enjoyed being outside at the beach and took nice naps out there every day, giving me some time to play with Mimi and to get a little sun and relaxation. PTL!

We stayed in a townhouse in the Santa Rosa Beach community of Dune Allen. It is on our beloved Hwy 30A, close to the Seaside/Seagrove area that we usually stay in. We absolutely loved where we stayed! The place was right on the beach, which made it easy for us to just walk out and in whenever we wanted. Plus I loved sitting on the screen porch and our bedroom balcony looking out at the ocean. We will definitely stay there again if we have the opportunity next year.

Now for some pics...

G was unsure about getting his toes in the water at first. Love this pic Katie got of him putting his feet down for the first time.

I could eat Jackson up with a spoon!

sweet cousins

Happiest baby ever!

Isn't my nephew the sweetest baby ever? He is so happy. We loved getting to spend a week with him. His big cousin is missing him already.

I adore this pic Katie snapped of Cliff and Mimi

Great shot of the Walker fam by Katie

We are SO blessed to have such a fab photographer in the family to help us capture our memories. I'm sure you can pick out Katie's pics that I stole mixed in with all of mine. One bummer in our week was a whole bunch of seawood washed onshore our first day. It hung around the entire week we were there. The water was still clear, but I was not a fan of having to walk over it to get to the water and it was not welcome in my photos, ha. I had planned for a fabulous family photo session with Katie, but I waited all week for the seaweed to clear out, and then it never did. We got those shots above in Seaside on our last night there and it was super windy and a little drizzly, so those were the best we got. Even with a little rain and some seaweed, we had a great trip, and I'm so thankful that we had the opportunity to go on vacation. Cliff and I are already planning a little weekend getaway for the two of us in September and I can't wait. I love the beach!

Graham at three months

I guess I'll go ahead and get over myself after losing all my photos. Nothing I can do about it, so I might as well keep on posting. I wrote this post when G was three months, but hadn't gotten around to adding photos and posting until now.

At 3 months, Graham:

• can still wear a few 0-3 months clothes, but is mostly in 3-6 months, and even some 6 months and 6-9 months footie PJs since his feet are so big, ha. We're not sure what he weighs since he hasn't been to the dr since his 2-month check up, but I'm guessing it's close to 14 pounds. He has really grown a lot lately
• wears a size 1 diaper, but could probably move up to a 2 soon since the weight limits overlap on those sizes
• smiles and coos all the time! He is the sweetest, happiest baby! He really only cries when he is hungry or when his tummy is hurting.
• laughed out loud for the first time last week. We haven't heard a really good one since then, but he does have little giggles here and there when he's really happy. He's happiest in the morning, but he really smiles and coos all day every day. He is so sweet!
• kicks his legs all the time and holds them in the air
• has discovered how to get his fists in his mouth and will go for it any time his paci comes out. I sort of think he is teething already since he is drooling and gnawing on his hands all the time.
• is still sleeping great! He goes to bed at around 7:30 and sleeps until 5 or 6, then eats and goes back to sleep for a while. He is still sleeping in the bassinet, and I'm afraid to switch to the crib since it's going so great, but I think we'll probably have to do that in the next month or two. Just like sister, he likes to have his paci in his mouth and his lovie by his face when he sleeps.
• adores his sister! He has really started recognizing our faces this month, and he lights up when he sees me or Amelia. He loves his daddy too, of course, but he really digs the girls right now. He follows sister with his eyes, and she just dotes on him. It's pretty precious.
• hasn't started trying to roll over yet. Amelia was rolling over at this point, but I'm not worried. He doesn't get a lot of tummy time due to his reflux, but I probably need to implement that more often. I'm so much more laid back about his milestones than with her. He'll roll when he's ready, and I'm not rushing it.
• started drinking several bottles every day this month since I went back to work when he was 12 weeks old. Today, at 15 weeks old, he had his first taste of formula. I didn't want to have to do it, but I've been pumping at work, and even with pumping twice a day, just haven't been able to keep up with his greedy self! We've gone through a lot of my frozen breast milk, so I decided we needed to supplement with formula a little while he is at the sitter's. I still hope to continue nursing him in the morning and at night as long as I can. He doesn't like the formula right now, but he tolerates it mixed with breast milk. We'll see how he does with it over the next few days.

G with his best girls at church

Graham's personality is starting to come through more and more, and he is just the sweetest thing! He loves to be talked to and especially sung to. He smiles and coos and tries to sing along. Here's a video I got of Amelia singing to him in her "baby voice."


DSCN0300 from Angela Furr on Vimeo.

Have you ever seen anything more precious? I'm so thankful for my sweet babies!