Graham - 2 Years Old

Our favorite guy is two!  Graham is such a busy boy, he doesn't like to sit still for long and is constantly chatting.  His vocabulary has grown tremendously in just the past month!  He will repeat anything, but can say the words on his own for so many things.  His favorite phrases (in typical 2 year-old fashion) are "My do it" and "My this".  Graham adores his big sister and will literally shadow everything she does.  Parker has not been annoyed with this just yet and loves having a playmate.

He doesn't sing the alphabet song yet, but he loves to hear it and asks for it in the car all the time.  He also loves books that use the alphabet.  Actually he loves all books, all the time!  Some of his funny mispronunciations are "frome" for phone and "wah-we" for water.  Graham can count, albeit missing some of the numbers.  This video is a favorite, which gives a really good overview of his personality.  It covers the counting, his obsession with dinosaurs (in particular the hoodie he is wearing), his sweet nature (he is all about hugs, kisses, and cuddles), and finally that sly look at the end...

As a side effect of all the Parker play time, Graham likes to take care of babies.  In the video below he was feeding the baby and then wiping her nose.  One day he brought a baby to school and was hugging her and said "hug baby, baby sad".  

So as not to offend his masculinity, it must be mentioned that Graham loves sports too.  He ALWAYS wants to play outside and if given the choice, will pick a t-shirt with sports gear on it.  We look forward to getting lots of use from his new basketball hoop and golf set.

Throwing rocks in the canal (before it was filled up for spring)

all ready for a rainy school day

Everything looked good at Graham's 2 year check-up.  All the standard questions were answered with a "yes":  more than 30 words, using phrases, running, climbing, etc.  He is not off the charts in size like Miss Parker always was:  weight 27 lb 7 oz (43%), height 34.75" (60%), head 19" (38%).  He had to have one vaccine and blood drawn to test for lead.  He was not happy about that blood draw and kept holding his arm long after saying "ow-ey".  

Bath time fun

Graham is such a joyful part of our family.  We all adore him and he makes us laugh every day.  We love our Grammy!

To celebrate his birthday, we had some special guests visit for the weekend, Grandma & Grandpa.  For the big day, we just kept it to family and Papa G, Sandy, Leigh, Pryse, & Malina all came over.  It was a bit chilly out, but at least sunny, so lots of backyard time.

We were letting Graham open up presents throughout the day and every time he would pull a little piece wrapping paper and carefully hand it off to the nearest adult.  

We had a chocolate dinosaur cake!  (Graham loves chocolate)

Earlier that morning, trying out his new sleeping bag...

More pictures from the "party"...

playing with his new bubble machine

Parker said it was the best party she has ever been to and she wants her birthday to be just like it!

ER Visit

Last Tuesday night, Parker was in her bed, supposed to be sleeping, but was instead playing with this little set up rings.

We have a video monitor that flips back and forth between their rooms and I heard her start to cry.  That is unusual.  Normally when she is trying to fall asleep, we hear "I'm not tired" or "I'm hungry", not crying.  So I started to walk up to check on her and she was coming downstairs.  Still crying she cries out "I swallowed my ring!!"

Parker was upset and scared but was breathing OK.  She said she could feel it in her throat.  I immediately texted my friend who is the P.A. at our pediatrician and she asked a bunch of questions about her breathing, can she swallow a sip of water, etc.  I was about to head out the door to Urgent Care and she said don't go to urgent care, go to Strong ED.  So Greg stayed behind (with Graham already sleeping) and Parker and I headed in.

We got right into a room, by that time Parker was calm.  She was still a little scared since we were going to the hospital but in good spirits.  They took her vitals, all was good, and we headed up for an x-ray.  By that time, the image showed the ring in her tummy.

They basic diagnosis was "it will pass".  I explained to Parker that the ring was going to come out in her poop and she exclaimed "But that was my favorite one!"  and asked what would happen then.  I said, well we are going to flush it!  and she started crying harder.  

I had hoped to actually see it in the toilet one day, but that never happened. One of Parker's teachers even offered to be on the lookout, but Parker flushed a couple times before anyone could see (at school and at home).  My friend asssured me that "once it's in the stomach, you're golden" but I still wish we knew for sure it was gone.

A little bit of excitement for a week night!

Easter 2016

We started off our Easter celebrations by dying eggs on Saturday morning. Parker and Graham were both very excited and wanted to put the eggs in themselves.  Then they lost interest.  However, the colors turned out great!

Then we headed out to Wickham Farms for a "bunny hunt" but we got there a little later than planned and it was massively crowded.  At the end of the bunny hunt, the kids were to get ice cream, so to avoid the meltdown we didn't even get out of the car, just drove straight to an ice cream place.  It was a chilly day, but sunny, so we hung around outside for a bit after.

That evening we went to the Strong Museum and out to dinner.

the Hot Wheels exhibit!

On Sunday morning, the Easter bunny left baskets full of goodies for each of them and another basket full of eggs for Mommy & Daddy to hide out in the yard when it warmed up a bit.  Around 10:00, we headed out for Easter egg hunting.  Graham immediately opened every egg he found and devoured what was inside.

With Larry in Florida and Sandy in Herkimer, we had no family to meet up with so we went to a nice brunch buffet.  It did not go at all like I imagined, neither kid hardly ate a thing.  We were all dressed up and these are the photos I got. That about sums it up.