Gratification from simplification

So lately I've been really trying to simplify my life.  Getting rid of stuff we don't need, not committing to more than I can handle, chilling out with the social media, working smarter and not harder at the Zoo.  It's been great, I'm getting so much pleasure from these cut backs.  It's almost become a challenge on how much I can do without and still live comfortably and it's amazing how much 'stuff' (emotional, physical, mental) we hold onto and don't need to.  I know I tend to go through phases and I hope this one sticks for a good long while, if not forever.  Once I get a little confidence in it I'll be challenging others to do the same because it's more refreshing than you could ever imagine!!  I actually keep getting emails for different apps and programs and they annoy me so much because there is just SO much unnecessary junk out there.  Needless to say, I've been 'unsubscribing' from everything and I'm down to about 5 personal emails/day and I LOVE IT!!!  (I used to get about 25).

Anyway, lets talk about my favorite subject...Graham!  We had a great weekend. Saturday was spent by the pool and playing in the yard, enjoying this beautiful FL spring.  Sunday was spent split between work and play in New Smyrna Beach.  We unloaded oyster mats, make some oyster shell bags for restoration and relaxed on the beach and had ice cream (which Graham didn't eat...what?!?!).  It was perfect and amazing and all that a great weekend should be.

All played out

 

Waterbug

 



Graham will be moving from 3 days/week to 2 days/week for summer.  He will spend the other days home with either Brandon or I.  Brandon will be at the school a lot working with his basketball guys and Graham will be in tow some of these days.  Graham loves the gym and being around the older boys.  He is a great little ball boy from what I hear and has learned how to blow a whistle.

With the move to 2 days/week at school he will be in a new classroom with a new teacher.  I see many meltdowns in our future, as Graham HATES change but we do love his new teacher and her enthusiasm.  She loves Jesus and is always smiling and they even have a pet hamster named Winsten!  He will hopefully settle in nicely.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Welcome Back...

Wow...so I'm really ashamed that it's been almost 2 years since I posted anything on this site I created with such great intentions.  It's been a crazy couple of years, so many ups and downs but I have learned so much and most importantly (to me anyway) I love that little Graham Cracker more than ever.
The intent of this site is for those of you who are interested to be able to keep up to date on some of our adventures, developments, good times and bad...but you know me, I like to stick to the good.  :)   Thank you for joining us over here after I made the decision to chill out on social networking that was taking over my life.  It was time to simplify and re-prioritize my time and attentions.

"One day you will wake up and there won't be any more time to do the tings you've always wanted.  Do it now."  -Paulo Coelho

Graham is 3! Where did time go?!

I remember people telling me 'don't blink' and 'they grow up so fast' and I knew it was true but wow....where did it go?  He has grown to have such a genuinely sweet and kind heart and it makes both Brandon and I so proud.  He is generous and loves to laugh, giggle, smile and dance.  He is stubborn and determined, hard-headed and competitive.  No idea where those traits came from!  ;) 
He loves to swim.  I think it's probably his favorite thing to do.  Bath tub, pool, hot tub, wherever...just let the boy swim and he's happy.  I always knew I wanted a pool but it wasn't until moving into a house with one that I realized what we were missing!  It's great!!!!  He wakes up and asks to swim almost everyday. 

I think the last time I blogged he was eating healthy foods that I made from fresh fruits and veggies and it was so amazing.  I felt like SuperMom.  Then life got in the way and somehow he has turned into a regular child that loves hot dogs (at least I only buy Turkey Dogs or all Beef hot dogs), goldfish and many others.  However, the one thing that boy can't get enough of is PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICHES.  He would eat one for every meal and snack if he could.  He asks for them constantly and always brings me the peanut butter and bread no matter where in the house I am.  It's always funny to step out of the bathroom and him be standing there with a loaf of bread and a jar of Skippy.  He cracks me up.  We do lots of fruit too but sadly he won't go near a vegetable.  The whole 'your going to bed hungry if you don't eat what we eat' thing is WAY easier said than done by the way!! 

Graham moved to a new daycare at the first of the year.  With many changes going on and a new house I thought it best to find a place that he could grow into and was closer to home.  At first, I loved it and really loved his teacher.  She was great to work with him on some of his 'quirky' behaviors and tendencies (more on this later) and he really took to her.  But she no longer works there and he is having a hard time getting used to his new teacher.  They are finally starting to jive but learned last week his is moving up to another room...so another new teacher.  Sigh.  He's not good with chance but I'm praying for the best and ask you to do the same.  I'll keep you all posted.

On Tuesday I take the day away from the Zoo and Graham and I have what I call 'Mommy Dude Day' where we spend the whole day either in pj's watching cartoons and snuggling and swimming if we feel like it or out and about running errands and buying groceries.  We both look forward to Tuesday and enjoy every second.  I'll probably be doing most of my entries on Tuesday.  :)

I'll have lots of pics to put up soon.  I just got a new computer and I'm trying to figure it out.  (makes me feel old, I hate feeling old).

Have a super great day!!

Sweet Summer Time

Family Trip to SeaWorld

Sweet Bill Snuggles

I love that I work at such an amazing place where I can make and share so many great memories with my family. I am so thankful for the life Brandon and I have built in Florida and the amazing friends and family we have that love and support us on a daily basis! :) The picture below is probably my all time favorite to date. :) My love Baby, my little Baby and one of my Fur Babies!!

Graham is rather busy these days learning all sorts of new tricks. With the assistance of his 'learning walker' he snoozes all over this house! He started on his knees and has since learned to stand on his own aaaannnddd he's off! It's so precious to watch him scoot around and the pride in his face as he rushes past us.

Today we put him in his crib for a nap. Sometimes he doesn't make it all the way to a nap, but instad just sits in there and 'reads' and chats to himself. It's a nice chance for him to unwind and relax by himself since everyother moment of his little life he's surrounded by people and interacting with us. So today we heard him busy in there just chatting it up and we peeked in to check on him. Well, his cloth diaper was on the floor outside his crib and he was standing there naked as can be. Fortunately, he didn't have any accidents before we were able to fix this little wardrobe malfunction.

Besides being silly he is such a sweet boy. He loves to just crawl over and kiss us. If we are on the floor he'll just come over and plant on our cheek or if we are in a chair he'll come over and kisses our legs, it's so sweet. When he's on his way to bed he will kiss us, then blow kisses and then say 'bbbyyyyeeeeee' real soft and sweet.

Night night. :)

5 year Anniversary

Now that Graham can crawl he is very busy exploring the entire house. His favorite exploration sites are the kitchen, more specifically the pantry and the pots/pans draw under the oven. He also thoroughly enjoys our master bathroom and the 'treats' he finds under the cabinet.

He absolutely LOVES to watch baseball with his Daddy and the two of them will sit on the living room floor and play catch for hours. Graham has an incredible arm already and no doubt he will be a baseball player one day. Everything is a 'bbbaaallllll' including, but not limited to wrapped up dirty diapers (we keep the pitching of these to a minimum), balled up junk mail, and watermelons (yes, we have a watermelon rolling around our living room as we speak).

His favorite things to say right now are:

HI DUDE

Hi Kitty

Bird

Fish

Daddy

Looovveee ddewww (my favorite sound in the entire world!!)

Some of his favorite foods right now are goldfish crackers (LOVE when they are 10 for $10 at Publix!), blueberries which he will eat by the pint if we let him, turkey dogs, anything that resembles a carbohydrate, spaghetti ABC's, eggs, peanut butter sandiwches, oatmeal and yogurt. He is a wonderful eater and is a lot like his mommy and tends to get grouchy if we don't feed him the second he decides hes hungry.

Graham and Brandon are really enjoying spending their summer together. Brandon is such a great Daddy and takes such wonderful care of him so I can go into work a little more. I am still putting in some hours from home, but we are able to enjoy family time together often too and it's so wonderful.

In fact, last weekend we went to Treasure Island (West FL) for the weekend and had a big beach day/volunteer for Surfers for Autism event and trip to the Florida Aquarim. It was a wonderful little getaway for us and very much needed.

Today is a very special day. It is our 5 year Anniversary. I can't believe that it was 5 years ago that we got married! Such a special day to have all of our family together as we started our new life. Thank you to everyone reading this for being a part of this awesome journey with us! (Yes, Brandon is crazy...see photo below).

Precious Moments

One year olds with cell phones...

What has this world come to? How does a one year old know how to work a touch screen cell phone? It's amazing. It doesn't hurt that he LOVES to see pictures of himself.

Big shoes to fill...

Bubbles! YAY!

Like every other kid in the world...the box is WAY better than the toy that came in it!

Graham and his friend, Grace

I was telling my mom the other day that if anything would make that boy crawl, it would be his cat, Grace. This was on the day before he began to crawl.

Grace is so good with him, so patient. We'll see how long this lasts now that he's mobile!