funny story

When Graham he gets a bath, he LOVES to do two things: 1) Splash as much and as often as he can (Our whole bathroom gets soaked) and 2) NEVER sit down. He has several close calls with falling every time he gets a bath. Brett is an excellent catcher of Graham before he smacks his head against something. So we are trying very hard to make it clear that we either squat in the tub (his favorite) or we sit. Tonight, he stood up and Brett and I both said we sit in the bath. Graham listened really well by stomping his foot up and down splashing us. We again, told him we need to sit down in the bath. Again, with the stomping. Finally, we said you either sit down in the tub, or it is time to get out. He kept looking at us and picking up his feet splashing us. So, we said all done, and Brett went to get a towel. You know what Graham did? He wanted to get out! He never wants to get out of his bath and tonight, we tell him he has to sit down or get out, he wants out! We both looked at each other and thought well, that didn't go like we thought! Our child just laughed at us. Oh well, he got to play with his new Star Wars bath toys tonight and I must say, he has chosen the good side. He used C-3PO to splash us tonight and put Darth Vader back in the water. Good choice Graham!

Meeting Mickey

Our fearless boy loved meeting Mickey Mouse. He talked to him and gave him kisses. It was so sweet.

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T-Rex

In the ice age room during lunch at T-Rex restaurant. Such a great place with good food, and meteor showers every 20 minutes. A super fun time.
We all built dinosaurs too. Loved it!!
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On the porch

Spending time on the porch with daddy and gigi. He was using the little table as a drum.

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Little sleeper

Graham totally exhausted after a day in the park.

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Boys on the bus

When there was room, we let Graham have his own seat on the bus. This is a great picture of the boys.

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Small world

Graham was able to enjoy the Small World ride from Brett's lap. He "ooohhh" and  "wowed" all the people. It was a sweet moment. Brett is a fantastic daddy.

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caught up...sorta

I am trying to catch up with all the pictures I have from our Disney World trip. I just finished getting the photos from Brett's phone...and now I have mine and any videos and the photos Gigi and Grandpa took. So, it will be all over the place, but I will work on getting it documented!!

We had such a great time and Graham was a trooper. We learned he is not afraid of the characters, like his momma, and we now know what a temper tantrum looks and feels like. We hope those stay in Florida. He is back on his schedule, I think, and we are all caught up with laundry.

Getting ready for the next week!

Back home and 18 months

Graham is 18 months and a total cheeser when we took these. We were getting luggage at the airport when we got these great pics. Love his smile!!

Too hot

At Hollywood Studios, Graham took a snooze while holding his new Phineas doll. Phineas is also a red head. Graham enjoyed chewing in his pointy nose!

Suitcase

He found a comforting spot in the suitcase!

Sleeping at the castle

Graham couldn't make it through the Halloween parade at the Magic Kingdom. I got to carry him around. He woke up once we got to the bus! Silly boy.

Sleeping

Graham slept with Brett and I a couple of times. The only one who got great sleep then was Graham. If you can see, he slept the wrong way, taking up a bunch of space. Typical.

Ears

Not too sure of his Mickey ears...

On the way

Graham slept before Disney on the plane. He is so cute. You can also see what he requested when he woke up: water for the parents, and goldfish and a straw for him.

Mickey Ears

We got Graham Mickey ears while in Disney. This is probably the longest he has worn them at one time. You have to clap too, like he is doing something good, to get him to keep them on. He almost snaps his face at the end of the video. These are the cutest Mickey ears...ever.

big claps

Graham started the "big claps" last night. We chalked it up to him being 18 months and all. Sorry I didn't get his 18 months up on time...we got back from Disney and had a lot to unpack. Look for some great posts coming up!!

And check out his tongue...it has a mind of it's own!

Family

Our first family picture on the way to downtown Disney! Graham is slightly overwhelmed, but who isn't! We are so pumped to be here all together and can't wait for a great week!!!
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Scooter

Graham is fascinated by Grandpa's scooter. He now knows how to beep the horn!

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Planning

Graham and Uncle Kyle checked out the maps before we left! They are best pals now!

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Quick bite

We got some pizza to fill our bellies before we went exploring. The second picture looks like we let graham get the drink, but somehow, he didn't get it.

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Disney World!!

We all made it to Disney World!! We have on our mickey crocs and we are ready to go!!

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Happy Foam Head

In his bath tonight, happy kid with foam on his head. This is the best picture!! What a great smile!

splashing around

Graham had both Brett and myself for bath time tonight. He had to show me how he usually splashes Brett, and boy, at the end of the bath, we all were soaked! But his laughter and smile are just contagious!!

littlest fan

We watched the president speak the other night. Graham was up for it. He loved the clapping they all did, and clapped every time. He even got Brett involved. It was super cute.

For great grandpa Bill

Graham never got to meet Brett's Grandpa Bill. I was lucky to know him, and he and I had a super fun relationship. He always asked me if my pants were wet, seeing as I was from a town with a river flowing near it and from the southern part of the state(he was from the north). Graham would have made his Great Grandpa Bill smile this morning; he had on high pants!!

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Graham Basket

This seems perfectly normal to him.

new things

We have a few new things to report:

Graham gives kisses. You ask him, and he gets close and then leans in the rest of the way. Super cute

Graham knows where his nose is now. He either touches the outside or it or sticks his finger up his nose, but he knows where it is.

Graham is totally digging puzzles right now. He wants you to put this pieces in; then he takes them out. Then you repeat this until you can't find any more pieces to put in the puzzle.

Graham comes and gets you so you can chase him.

These are just a few things going on here!

All cleaned out

Well, our basement is cleaned out. Now are backyard is a mess. Waiting for trash day to get rid of it. Found out our chimney has a crack in it, hence the water in the living room. Sigh, onto the next thing.

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update 9/9/11

Brett and I were able to get down stairs last night and get some work done. We got most the standing water moved to the new sump Stuart and were able to bag some of the really wet stuff. We spend about 2 hours down there working it. We were able to get some sleep and feel better this morning. We are expecting 3 more days of rain, but nothing like what we have been getting.

Our hot water heater is not working....we have very little to no hot water. Nice.

Our fridge seems to be keeping things warmer than colder. We are looking into this too.

Do we need anything else????

When it rains, it pours...i saw my basement.

update 9/8/11

i wrote this yesterday afternoon and forgot to post...

I heart Glenside. And the people we know here. Waking up with Graham brought all the water flooding back to us, no pun intended, and we were at a loss at where to start. We didn't even know if the roads would be drivable as we were watching the news and saw how water logged Philadelphia was. Brett was able to get supplies and a beautiful shop vac and based on an idea from Brett's boss Greg, we called the fire department to see if they could pump us out. They could. Greg also called his handy man to take a look at our current sump pump Wendell and see if he would still be working...sadly, Wendell is done. He is in the backyard right now. We now have Stuart the sump pump to replace him. You can walk on the floor in the basement now, thank you Fire Department, and Handy Man Andy just installed Stuart. Right on time too, more rain and thunder storms tonight and for the next few days.

Waking up felt like we had the whole world on our shoulders and a little boy to contend with. Now, it doesn't feel so heavy. We know we are no where one being finished with this clean up, but there is not way we could have been where we are right now without help from some great people.

Greg: Thanks for calling your handy man Andy and having him pay us a visit. He is a super nice guy. And fabulous idea on calling the fire department. Our basement is walkable now thanks to your advice.

Handy man Andy: It was really nice to meet you and thank you for coming to our house more than 3 times to check the water level. Once it was low enough, you installed our sump pump Stuart so we could make it through tonight.

Glenside Fire Department: Thank you Mark for bringing the pump of all pumps to our basement and making the 12+ inches of water go away.

GiGi: Thank you for booking a last minute flight to Philly to watch Graham so we can get the basement sorted out and cleaned. And how lucky for us you get to spend time with Graham while you help us get the basement sorted, a double bonus! we love you!

water up to here

So we thought we had it bad with Hurricane Irene. The rain we got super early this morning was no match for that, or our sump pump Wendell. We have water. Lots of water. We thought things were ruined the last time, now, it is 10 times worse. The water is above the bottom step going down to the basement, a good 9+ inches. Holy mackerel! Brett heard it at 3am, so we both got up and tried to help but it was too much.

The spot on our living room wall above our fireplace is also worse. It started with the rain from Irene and now has blossomed into a big water bubble that is leaking water down our living room wall onto our fireplace.

Brett is on his way to get a shop vac...he can't get into work today. High water and a mud slide have blocked his path. I get to occupy Graham while we figure out how to get all the water out of our basement in a timely manner, not to mention the cleaning up we will have to do too.

Please keep us in your prayers today...and the next few days. We are up to here with water...literally and figuratively.

more

Graham has a new word; MORE. Over the holiday weekend, Graham was saying "mo" a lot. I thought he was shortening momma, so I was answering him. Brett figured out it meant more, not momma. Sad for me, but great for Graham. Now, when he wants more of something, he can let you know. This is huge. Fabulous really.

When he needs your help with something he is doing, he will come and get you. Another great thing too.

He is also loving it when we put his friends in his wagon and he can pull them around the living room. He gets all excited.

excellent communicator

Graham has gotten really great at letting us know what he wants. He grunts or screams at it, letting us know he wants it or needs help getting it.

For instance:

He has a toy box. We keep stuff in it. He wanted everything out of it, but he can't reach in all the way to get everything out.

Graham: "EEEEHHHHH", "EEEHHH", "EEEHHHH".

I am in the other room, and he comes running into me. He needs me to follow him.

Graham takes me into his room and points into his toy box. I get out one book that I think he wants, it is not what he wants, so I continue to take everything out of the toy box. Once it is empty, he closes the lid, exhales and then runs out of his room.

But on a serious note, he has been a chatter box lately. Sometime you know what he says, other times it is a complete guessing game. But I like to talk back to him, so we have kind of a one-sided conversation. And, if you get stuck, you can say wow, and he will repeat it so cute and that changes the subject.

Grover

Grover went to the store with us...thus is not the norm. Elmo and cookie monster stayed home.
Could we have a new friend?
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future careers

Based on what Graham likes to do everyday, I decided to make a list of what he could be when he grows up. Here is what I have so far...

• engineer
• musician, specifically singer or drummer
• dancer, possible ballet
• car mechanic
• wrestler
• soccer player/athlete
• greeter
• that person that gets the crowd all riled up before a show
• personal trainer
• food critic
• runner
• construction worker
• car fanatic/collector
• yoga instructor
• product tester
• book editor
• comedian