In Isle of Palms

Made it safely, time for bed

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Snoozing

Turns out he couldn't reach the pedals (see last post below) - so he decided to catch some zzz's instead.  Big day for Graham.  He fell asleep at his normal bedtime, which happened last night also.  Last night we woke up when we got to the hotel and stayed up for a few hours. We will see what happens tonight.  He's such a trooper. Graham and Sarah have done so well on this trip. Only a couple hours out from Charleston!

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Driver Change

We stopped in Fayetteville, NC to change drivers. Wish us luck.

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Riding along

Driving to Charleston today. Virginia Beach was ok, beautiful room and view. Got Graham in the ocean and he loved it. He also ate sand. Now he eats his own foot!

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Rise and Shine

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Spike hair

On our way to the wedding. Driving to Virginia tonight, 2.5 hours left to go. His hair was spiked after our shower today, so cute. And, I packed the car all by myself!
Love, Sarah

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We have been reading that Graham now recognizes us and we thought we would test it out. We were looking at photos from Hawaii, and Brett showed Graham a photo of him and me, and Graham started making sweet noises and smiling. In the video you get some super Graham's and then you can see when Brett shows him the photo. We love it! We also showed him a photo of a tree, just to make sure he was smiling at us, and not everything, and he didn't smile people. He knows it is mommy and daddy in the photo and we are super pumped!

We got a new buggy...a stroller. It is red and fabulous and I am sure it will pop up in photos soon. I think he likes how much he can see out....he loves zooming around the house in it. Wait until we get him outside!

We also start our road tip to Aunt Pippy and Craig-a-leg's wedding weekend tonight!(I seriously call them those names!) I am almost done packing and getting things sorted. We are stopping in Virginia tonight, and i will try to post from the road! Wish us safe travels and I will post wedding details!

ball state baby

Here is what happens when you fall in love at Ball State...you have the cutest Ball State baby on the planet. And no, he is not wearing any pants! Love it!

The boobs are closed.

We have decided to no longer breastfeed the Gramster. I have not been producing enough for him alone, and he has been getting formula for a while now. I also would like my boobs back. I have stopped pumping as often; now I am down to once a day, and that was yesterday. I feel like my umbilical cord has been cut; I feel like I am no longer tethered to the pump. It feels liberating...it feels good. He has been a champ with taking formula and besides the stinky poops that sometime rival mine, :D, he he doing really well. And to celebrate my new freedom from the boob, I am drinking rum and coke and watching the Emmy's on Sunday night! I have not had hard alcohol since getting pregnant so I am super pumped. If you remember, rum and coke is the drink of Brett and myself. Thanks for everyone's support and advice, I appreciate it all!

5 months

Graham Matthew is 5 months old today! Some things he is really into right now are screaming, literally at the top of his lungs, either happy or sad, jumping in his jumparoo,and fighting nap time, or sleepy time for that matter. He is also smiling and laughing more than ever and is almost sitting up alone. He is now eating his feet and starting to really hold onto objects and then throw them around. He is super fun right now. Our friend, Suzy, made him this burp cloth with his name on it. I am pretty sure he will never get the chance to actually puke on it. Thanks Suzy!

Here, Graham is showing off his mad almost sitting up skills. He is sitting in the middle of his rocking chair without assistance. Don't you love him in these pants? It has been a bit chilly today with some rain, and I didn't want him to get cold. I love him in pants, I can't wait for the long sleeved shirts and footed pajamas! Hurry up fall!

happy boy

With his first cereal bowl and a whale bib.


A onesie that says it all...




Super cute

his little seat

I bought this seat online so when we go places, we can use a chair instead of a high chair for Graham (have you seen the state of highchairs lately?) It seems more like a harness for bungee jumping than a seat for him to eat in. We will see; he seemed to like how it tasted. I think it will work, and I can use it for when I have Graham and Sage in a few weeks.

Jump! Jump! Jumparoo!

Graham playing in his jumparoo. He loves this thing, as you can see from the intense bouncing. I love this outfit he has on as well, it is a 9 month one...he may be getting bigger! Graham loves working on his fitness, I am his witness.

gardening

Graham and I did some weeding this morning. When I say we, I mean me only; Graham chilled out in his bouncy seat wearing super cute feety pajamas (it was chilly out that early) talking and singing to the neighborhood. I was pulling weeds, one of which had spikes and I had to double glove it to pull it out! I meant to take a photo, but the memory card was full and Graham got sleepy being out in nature. I feel more awake than I usually do at this time; don't worry, I already thanked nature for that :D.

Graham eating cereal

We started Graham on cereal today! He was super cute, and we are sure nothing got in his belly. We also gave him a bit of orange, which he proceeded to suck completely into his mouth and boy did we freak out! Brett was able to get it out, but Graham seemed to love the orange juice he got. I fed Graham a couple of spoonfuls of cereal and Brett did the same. He made the best faces!

3 years

Brett and I have been married for 3 years today! We will only get to see each other for about 30 minutes by the time all is said and done. I thought I would write down some 1sts for us below.
Happy Anniversary Brett!

1st time we met: In a car at Ball State University. I said, "Hi, my name is Sarah, and no I am not drunk." He said, "Hi, my name is Brett, and no, I am not drunk." I was drunk, he was not.

1st kiss: In the hallway of my dorm at Ball State University. 3rd floor of Williams Hall in the Noyer complex. I told my roommate the kiss was ok; i was lying. It was perfect.

1st visit home to Fort Wayne: I forgot my toothbrush and we took pictures together sitting in the window that looks into the Esselburn dining room. It was also my first whole Catholic church service.

1st time home to Evansville: All I can remember about this trip is Brett, my sister, and I hanging out on the bunk beds that were in my room at the time. If i recall, there is a photo of Brett and me hanging down from them.

1st Christmas: I am proud to say this is the only Christmas we spent apart. Every holiday after that first set we stuck together. I got him a lion ornament and he got me two marshmallows sledding ornament.

1st thanksgiving in Philadelphia: We cooked ourselves a turkey with all the fixings out in our apartment in Philadelphia. Mary, Neal and Kyle came out for the event and we all had a good time. (Thank goodness for precooked turkeys)

1st vacation: was our honeymoon to Hawaii. We had a wonderful time and can't wait to get back there.

1st house: a blue bungalow in Glenside, PA. I say this like we already have another (we don't), but at some point this will have been our first house and it is a great one, full of character and memories.

1st kiddo: Graham is a blessing. Giving birth to him was an experience that Brett and I will never forget. Brett wouldn't leave my side after we had him. He is an amazing father and husband. Graham is so lucky to have him as a dad.

There are ton more things I am forgetting, and some that are too precious to share. One thing for certain, I know we both can't wait to see what is in store for us next! 3 kids, right honey?!
I love you Brett, happy anniversary.

the roll back

Graham is a champ at rolling over from his back to his front. Now, he has mastered the art of rolling over to his back again. I caught him on tape this morning, he is just great! Once he rolls back over and he sees you, he starts talking. I think he gets super excited that he rolled back over. Yeah Graham. Now,we just have to master sitting up, then watch out solid foods, here comes Graham!

Road Trip!

Here Graham is, all ready to go on his first road trip! He visited 4 states, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia, and I use that term loosely. He didn't get out of the car in all of them, but he drove through all of them nonetheless. You can see we were prepared with a vast assortment of toys and distractions, way more for Graham than Brett and I. Graham was amazing in the car...we only had to stop 3 times on the way there. We left late Thursday afternoon and drove through the night. Brett started the drive and I finished it. Brett and I stayed awake the whole time, or most of it anyway. Graham slept in his car seat and woke up in Indiana. I got all teary eyed bringing him to Indiana. I don't know if it was the time we got there, 5 in the am, or the fact that we had brought our kiddo to the state we grew up in. Anyway, we had a great time. Graham got to meet most of my family at my sister's bridal shower. You can see how our trip was below.




Eating his blanket. Now that Graham is in the teething stage, he puts everything in his mouth (no teeth just yet). We kept him under a blanket most of the trip because Brett and I kept the car frigid to stay awake.


Our first stop at a plaza on the PA turnpike. Graham went through his first set of tunnels, we filmed them, more for our sake than his. He just stared at them wide-eyed. How orange does his hair look now? Yeah! You can see the mountains in the background. At this rest stop we ate and Graham talked up a storm. He made everyone there smile and in return, we got a lot of well wishes and safe travel prayers. We appreciated them all. We drove through a little rain, but once we got past the mountains, it was done.

Impromptu family photo. Graham's onesie had monkeys driving cars on it. We didn't even realize this until we got on the road.

Another amazing photo of Brett and Graham! This one makes my heart happy.
We got into Evansville around 5 am. My sister and her fiance had driven in he night before, so we had a whole party to wake up once we got there. Graham wasted no time in providing entertainment.

Angela and Craig got a nice good morning from Graham. He couldn't wait to play.

A fashionable diaper change; he is wearing a new pair of my sunglasses.

My dad had to work on Friday, so we met him for lunch at a favorite Chinese place, Canton Inn. Here, Graham gets fed by papaw Ray. My dad hadn't seen Graham since he was born, so he was really excited about seeing how big he had gotten.

Here we are using our new baby carrier, the Ergo. Brett and I both love it and so does Graham. We are feeding him while doing some wedding things at Macy's. (Bron, how cute are we! we love the ergo!)

It was unbelievably hot in Evansville. We thought Graham could use a bath. He LOVED it. We bathed him the kitchen sink and he splashed like there was no tomorrow. He had never done that before, so it was a real treat. My mom loved seeing him so excited. Don't you love the tomatoes in the kitchen window sill? It was so cute seeing him so excited in the bath. I mean, look at that smile! He got Brett all wet in the process.

A sweet moment between Graham and Brett after bath time.

For dinner on Friday night, we went to another favorite place that makes the BEST pizza on the planet, Turoni's. They also make their own beer, so it offers something really special. Graham meet some fabulous people there, a few more red heads as well. Patty, Mark and Grammie Barb have red hair as well. Here he is meeting and getting to know them. Dawson and Nancy also were there, on the outskirts of the photo.

The whole Brower family together! Graham is doing his helicopter arms. I also like that Craig is giving a thumbs up. He and Angela are getting married in 3 weeks!

Craig and his nephew. It was super special for these two to meet. I know Angela loved seeing them together, as did everyone else. Graham loved relaxing on Craig. I never did really get if this is Craig's only/first nephew or if has more. :D Somthing I need to learn in the next few weeks.

Side note: Angela tried anchovies for the first time. She is a champ! Craig ate them like i eat cookies.

This is Saturday morning. Brett and I finally got some sleep after having been up for over a day and a half. Graham was as cute as ever.

Graham is showing everyone his super Graham's. He also came into close contact with my parents cats, Sassy and Sophie. I don't think they appreciated the crying, but they were intrigued with his toys and him. Graham was also amused by them. Sassy would put her one paw on his blanket, like, although he is on this blanket, this is mine too.

Yeah for family photos! All of us on our bellies, with a super Graham in the middle.

Graham with Grandma Lynn and Papaw Ray. How sweet.

Graham loved playing with my dad. He held Graham up to look in the mirror, and flew around the room with him while Graham giggled away. My dad "walked" Graham all over the place. You can see on his face how excited he was to have papaw with him.

Graham with Grandma Mary. This is at my sister's bridal shower. Graham got to meet a lot of family and besides being overwhelmed at the beginning, he was a trooper. He is chewing on his seahorse, a fabulous teething toy. We bought two for the trip.

This is Angela with Keira, Lucy, and Sadie. I like to think this could be a photo of a future Angela with her 3 daughters! The girls are super great, and Lucy LOVES Graham. She follows our blog and I know she would take home Graham with her if she could. Graham's due date was Lucy's birthday (3-17). Hi Lucy! Graham loved meeting you!

4 generations here: Great-Grandma Mary, Grandma Lynn, Mommy Sarah and little man Graham. A very special moment.

Me, the bride to be, and the mother of the bride. How gorgeous is my sister! She had a great shower with wonderful family and friends that came. She even let me borrow a dress, and what is more exciting, I could wear it! I know we cant wait to get on the beach in 3 weeks!
We ended up leaving at about 10 pm on Saturday night, after a fabulous dinner at Hacienda with the best Mexican food ever. I started the drive and got us all the way to West Virginia. We were so smart to leave at night; it may have been hell for Brett and me, but it was best for Graham (Thanks Bron for the idea). We even squeezed in an outlet mall shopping trip on the way home. It got us lunch and out of the car for a short while. We got back to the house by 5pm. We all ate dinner, vegged out and then headed to bed. What a whirlwind of a weekend! Happy almost wedding sister!

road trip

Brett, Graham and I sat in a car for 14+ hours to drive to Indiana, we spent less than 48 hours in Indiana, and then headed back for another fabulous 14+ hours driving back. We made it safely there and back and we are all entirely exhausted. It just took me 20 minutes to write an email, so I hope to post how our trip was tomorrow. good night...

Super Graham

Graham showing off those superman's Sarah mentioned earlier.

raspberries

Graham is sitting in his car seat practicing blowing raspberries with Brett. It was too fun not to tape. He is getting better at it, and pretty much loves to mimic whatever Brett and I throw at him.

trying to do something

Can you see him trying to do something? He gets his arms and legs in the air, then pushes down. This kid is getting ready to do something, who knows what (crawling?) He is also making fun high pitched chewbacca noises that are so sweet. He must have heard me doing chewy while he was growing in me. Yeah for star wars! My personal trainer Tara would be so impressed, he can do superman's better than I can!

pinching

Graham is pinching me!!!! (and Brett, but his tolerance of pain must be way higher than mine!) When we are rocking him to sleep, he has one arm tucked in under our arm. I have been rocking this kid like this for 4 months now, and just this week he has started pinching the skin on the back part of your upper arm. The part that is super sensitive. The part that when anything remotely pinches it you cry out in pain! For a little man, he has some serious pinching strength! I was rocking him to sleep the other day and he was pinching the crap out of my arm (like 10+ times) and finally, he got me real good. I had to lay him in his crib and I called Brett crying because it hurt so bad! I know it is ridiculous but it hurt me and you can't help but feel like he did it on purpose, which of course he didn't . Oi vey! Today, he actually got his arm untucked from me so he had both to play with while I was trying to rock him to sleep. Remember the post about where he pulls out his pacifier/dummy and then cries? Well, it is a battle with one hand to contend with, and now today, he had both! And a new development is when the pacifier is in his mouth, he is also trying to eat the hard plastic part while sucking on the soft plastic part. It was hard not to laugh at him. They say this week he will repeat things over and over until he gets good at whatever it is. Let's hope we drop the pacifier pulling and pinching routine from our day, I know my arm can't take much more!

he loves his feet

Graham loves his feet! He starts to grab them and screams because he is so thrilled!

little lady carly

Meet Carly! Graham's newest best friend came over for their first official visit. We grilled out and let the babies get to know each other. They are 2 months apart. Carly is super adorable and it was fun reminiscing about when Graham was that age (like it was forever ago, seriously, just 2 months ago). Above, Jenni is entertaining both kiddos with Jacques the Peacock.

Check out Carly's moves! Graham had shown her how to roll over, and Carly was showing Graham her moves. Graham practically rolled over onto Carly at one point. They are super cute.

Here is a close up...she is such a peanut, so petite and Graham is large and in charge.

At the same visit, Graham was kind of sitting up! He started out sitting up higher, but he found his feet and he loves that. He is so proud of himself. Brett and I are planning on getting him an exersaucer or a jumpy thingie, we think Graham is ready. We also placed him in the high chair again during dinner and he did well again. Love that smile!

aunt cindy visit

Brett's Aunt Cindy dropped by for a visit Friday and Saturday. She went to a soccer game with Brett and Graham and hung out with us. We had a really nice time and we were glad she was able to stop by on her trek up the east coast. It took Graham a minute or two to get used to her, but buy Saturday, they were buddies!