Super September!

We had a nice baby dedication at church...

we took a little nap with our turtle pal...

We ran a 5K...

We went for a swing with Papaw...We cried just a little...
and we got a sweet mohawk!!

And again!!!

Graham's Angel

Graham had a very exciting weekend. He got to meet his Aunt Angel (Brandon's younger sister and a wonderful sister in law to me) and of course he LOVED her from the first instant. Angel has been blessed with 5 children of her own so she has a special way with kids and always knows how to make them smile. We went swimming, went to the zoo and even got to squeeze in a nice date nite for Mommy and Daddy so Angel and Graham could have some special bonding time. :) Side note: On our date...Brandon got shark ka-bobs! Shark?!?! Crazy. It was actually really good and I'm not even a fan of seafood. Very tender and light. Shocking.

Anyway, I'm so happy Angel and Graham got to meet at this age since he's starting to do such fun things. He laughs at EVERYTHING and is always smiling. He acts so silly too-just like his Daddy. He will be in his crib after he wakes up and look up at me, smile and then push his face into the mattress. Then look back up at me and smile and do it again. The more he does it, the more intense his 'face smushing' gets. I usually have to end the game after 7 or 8 rounds, as I am fearing for his nose. :) He's precious.

Next time Aunt Angel sees Graham he might be on the move. Crazy to think about my little baby walking!

Cloth Diapers?!?!?!?!?

Ok so I have been waiting to do this post because I almost thought it was too good to be true and I didn't want to be on my family blog spreading all sorts of lies...but it's time...and I have to admit...I am a fan of the cloth diaper. GASP!!!! Ok, hear me out. At first I heard about these things and thought that anyone who used them had to be crazy. Then my inner researcher got intrigued and started on a war path...I had to know more...I had to know it all about (bum bum bum) THE CLOTH DIAPER. Let me just tell you that these things have come SO far from the old school white cloths with safety pins. So I found the top two with best reviews and started asking my fellow mom friends. I decided on BumGenius (which won out over FuzziBuns--who comes up with these names anyway?!) and ordered twelve. I was so nervous. I unwrapped and washed one. I used it. It went well. I got nervous again. Unwrapped and washed three more. Love it. Got excited and unwrapped the remaining nine and washed them too. Now Graham is a tree hugging cloth wearing hippy baby...lets not go that far here folks but we are fans of the cloth. If you are a mom...do yourself and the environment and definitely your wallet a favor and check them.

The initial cost is sorta painful but they pay for themselves in just a few months and the feeling you get when knowing that your baby is not rubbing his cute little hiney all over those diapers and the chemicals they contain-priceless. Yea, laundry is not as fun as it used to be but it just becomes a part of the routine and the rewards are totally worth the little bit of extra work. Tomorrow I am ordering 6 (I might even splurge and get 9) more diapers because they are so great and it will make it so I have to clean them less.

Here is a picture of Graham modeling one of his new diapers.

Another great thing about this 'investment' is that they grow with him. So he can wear these guys till he's about 35 pounds and we (uh, I mean Daddy) is potty training him! ;)

Ok, I will stop trying to sell you on these diapers now and let you enjoy the pictures of Graham! :)

Relocation & Dedication

This past week was a very exciting one! Graham's grandparents (Brandon's dad and step-mother) purchased a vacation home here in FL. They will use it a few times a year until they retire and then come down for half the year. We are so excited to have family close. We've lived here for years (me:6, Brandon:13!) with no family so we love the idea of being able to drive around the corner and see a familiar face. :)
My mom is in town this week to help with Graham while I put in a long work week and she was able to spend some time with Dennis, Pat and us too. I love how well they get along and that we can share our special family time together.
It just so happened that they were all in town for a very special day. Graham was dedicated at church on Sunday, Sept 12. It was so wonderful to be surrounded by friends and family for the service. Graham behaved like the perfect young man that he is and just stared and stared at the pastor as he prayed for him and for us as his parents. It streamed live online and lots of family that could not attend were able to witness the special event via the web. Our pastor had very sweet and thoughtful prayer for Brandon and I asking the Lord to guide us as parents and help raise Graham to know Him.



Following the service we had a delicious schmorgasboard (thats for you L.F.) over at the Fletcher residence. Lindsey whipped up breakfast casseroles, hash browns and a most scrumptious monkey bread. Graham went for a dip in the pool and we had a very special day fellowshiping with our wonderful friends and family.

What a great week we had!

Graham has discovered that he has this amazing thing called a voice and boy does he LOVE to show it off. He is constantly squeeking, squealing, screeching, chirping and yelping these days. It's adorable to watch him in his jumper just a-singing away while he jumps. He has learned to make noises out in public and all the ladies within a 30 foot radius come running and oh and ah all over him--HE LOVES IT! I was in Macys Thursday and I actually thought I was going to have to pull a sales woman out of his stroller. He loves to make the girls and ladies laugh. Such a ham already, just like his Daddy! :)
Last night (Friday) our wonderful friends Lindsey and Trevor watched Graham so Brandon and I could have a much needed date night. It was amazing! We grabbed a stuffed crust pizza (MY FAV), a couple Mike's cranberry lemonaids and hit the beach for a night time picnic. After we ate, we walked along the beach and talked. The date could not be complete without a 20 minute play session on the neighboring playground. Swings, slides, rock walls, merry-go-round thing...we did it all! It was so much fun. As we always do, we questioned why we live 10 minutes from the beach and rarely go. We vowed to try and go more. About halfway through the night we had been talking about dating, and the first few years of marriage and then we had one of those 'oh my gosh-WE ARE PARENTS!' moments. We both laughed because for like 10 minutes we were just husband and wife again, not somebodys mom or dad. Sometimes we get so caught up in that but it's important for us remember to take time for one another. I loved being able to focus on my wonderful husband and remind him how important he is to me. I am so thankful to our wonderful friends who make times like that possible. Jamie, Lindsey, Trevor and so many others--thank you for being such an important part of our family. :)