Man with many faces

Folks are already talking about how many faces Graham makes in a minute. A minute in Graham's life...

Pumpkin patch

Ian headed back to work last Thursday. Taylor had left to return to KY on Monday and Zanne wasn't arriving until Friday. What that meant was I had all three kids to myself for the day on Thursday. To top things off, it was Lucy's first field trip, ever. And it was to the pumpkin patch.
We loaded the crew up in their orange gear. Graham was clueless. Harper was first hearing of "pumpkins" that morning and therefore had no idea what we were talking about and Lucy was just super excited.
Graham rode in his "bag" and Harper ran amuck, well aware of the fact that I couldn't really keep up with her. Lucy ran around with school friends, mostly boys (Ryan and Tyler). At one point during lunch, Ryan's dad came over and asked Ryan "where's pretty little Lucy", completely unaware that I was Lucy's mom and hearing the conversation. Ryan pointed to Lucy who was sitting next to him, but with space between them for another kid or two. Ryan's dad said, "why don't you ask her to sit next to you?" Ryan then got up and walked over to Lucy and asked if she wanted to sit next to him. Lucy, in her best 13- year- old- valley- girl voice said, "Ryan, I AM sitting right next to you!" Then she took a big bite of her apple and went back to talking to a girl friend. That ended that conversation.
The pumpkin patch was less farm and more amusement park for preschoolers. Their was a giant pile of sand to dig for treasures, a spooky hayride which both girls LOVED, giant slides, animals, tunnels, rides, etc. In the end, you walked by some pumpkins and chose one pre-picked pumpkin to take home. Harper chose the smallest one she could find, and promptly dropped it several times so that it was already rotting by the time we got home. Lucy tried to find the biggest in the pile and Graham, well, he just sported a pumpkin on his shirt.
All in all, a successful first day alone, a successful first field trip and a great fall day. Maybe juggling three kids isn't so hard. Remind me of that the first rainy day we are stuck inside with a crying baby, a sick toddler and a bored preschooler.

Go Cats!

Get out the pom poms and UK gear, the CATS were on National tv and that is reason to celebrate in our house! We even got to see Pops and Grandma on tv at the game, absolute bonus!

Nighty Night

Harper loves grabbing blankets, changing pads, pillows, etc and throwing them on the floor telling everyone "nighty night" and then pretending to go to sleep on the floor. She can spend as much time playing this game as she actually does napping in her crib.

A bag full of fun

Lucy has been very excited about making masks for Halloween fun. Here is one we made the other day. Lu thought it hilarious that I would wear with while hanging with Graham.

First outing by myself: Swings and Slings

Ian headed to a friend's house to watch the Redskins and I took all the kiddos on my first mini outting by myself with three. We headed to the playground. After a half mile walk with the girls in stroller and Graham in the sling, the girls hit the swings and Graham hit snooze on the alarm and slept some more. Harper loved the swings and both girls loved running through "the forest" and climbing on stumps, looking for colorful leaves and pinecones. All in all, a successful trip.

Graham's first real bath

Ahhh, he smells so good now. A little baby shampoo goes a long way. At first he panicked, then he decided that is was too good to pass up. He relaxed, watched me the whole time and enjoyed his first bath. Then it was naptime, with fuzzy hair standing on end. We raise water babies and Graham gave us no hint that he isn't going to be jumping off the diving board in no time!

Hoodie G. Woody

Here is our future rapper- hoodie and all. You gotta love the hand signs he is throwing up.

Tummy Time

Here is how Graham's tummy time works. He is finally awake for more than a minute. I get out the blanket, give instructions to the girls to NOT climb on him and then count to two before I have to remind one of them that the number one rule is to leave Graham be while he is on the floor. They just can't help themselves. Lucy wants to play with him. She "reads" him books, talks to him, sings him songs and tries to get him to make eye contact with her. Harper? Well, she tries to lay next to him, on top of him, and all over him. She raises her voice and says "Hi, Hi, HI!!!!!" She grabs her baby and puts it on the floor next to him and then lays on it. It is a very fragile situation and Graham really should wear a football helmet and pads for the playtime experience. Because you never know when you are going to be in the middle of a huddle, tackle or scrimmage with your sisters.

Ham

Our little man is not so little these days, at least not compared to the babies we are used to. Graham went for his 2 week appointment on Wed and weighed in at a whopping 8lb 10oz. That means that he has gained more than a pound and a half in a week and is a full pound heavier now than at birth. To further illustrate, he now weighs half of Harper's weight.

To add to the pudge fun, Harper has taken to calling him "Ham" instead of Graham. It just might stick, especially if he continues to eat hourly and put on the pounds. Lucy thinks it is hilarious and makes sure that everyone knows that he can be called "Ham".

Graham is now sleeping at least one 4 or 5 hour stretch each night and then wakes every couple of hours to eat. He is also going longer periods during the day between feedings and now is only eating about every 3 hours. Still a lot, but it is getting better and the longer he naps, the longer I have to do anything, even though that rarely includes sleeping.

He has had a couple bouts of tummy time, which he doesn't seem to mind, even if Harper is trying to sit on top of him and Lucy is hitting him in the face trying to show him a book. He will be a boy able to take a few knocks- a tough Ham, if you will.