Still Growing…

…and chock full of Cute Antics and Noteworthy Tidbits.

• I finally got around to doing another measurement on Graham’s growth chart and my how our boy is growing (23 months, 16 days old):

• Graham has come up with yet another way of playing the piano... with his bum and boy was he proud of himself (23 months, 6 days old):

• Graham feels the need now to have a piano book open so he can read notes just like Daddy when he plays the piano (note: I’m using the words read and play liberally).  Some of Nick’s piano books are heavy and unwieldy, so the other day, Graham grabbed a pocket size Sudoku book and placed it on the piano.  He would hit a few notes then reach and turn the page in his book before continuing to play.
• In Sacramento, Graham fell in love with my parents’ dog Rooney.  He would gently pet Rooney’s fur and tail and go running looking for Rooney whenever he had the chance.  Now when Graham sees the Disney character Pluto, he says “doggie, Rooney!”
• Also in Sacramento, Graham had a few mishaps.  First, he stepped on a mirror and broke it, but we are hoping that he doesn’t actually suffer through seven years of bad luck.  Next, he was playing in Grammy and Grandpa’s room and we thought nothing of it until Grandpa got up the next morning to start his day.  Grandpa was surprised no one else was up and finally realized that little Graham had reset Grandpa’s alarm clock to go off at 4am!
• Sweet picture of my little guy sleeping, because I can’t get enough of pictures like this (23 months, 4 days old):

• Graham enjoys dumping buckets of water out of the bathtub whenever he has a bath with Daddy, so our cloth shower curtain was not holding up well (even with the plastic liner) so I decided to replace it with a kid-themed plastic curtain.  I made Graham wait outside as I put up the new curtain and I told him he would have a big surprise when I was done.  When I opened the door, Graham’s eyes got really big and he ran to his new curtain, saying “duckie, duckie!”  He hugged the curtain and started pointing at all the different duckies and I would have said the new curtain was a complete success except for the fact that they forgot to spell check before printing and spelled camouflage duck wrong.  Oh well (23 months, 9 days old):

• Graham has some new words and sayings to add to the list.  He says “do self” to indicate that he wants to do something himself.  When he says “do self” for brushing his teeth, I’m able to negotiate with him and say “mommy first then you do self, deal?” and he says “good plan” and then lets me do the initial brushing (Nick also taught me the trick of pausing to brush the tip of Graham's nose which makes Graham laugh with a wide open mouth, perfect for brushing).  When Graham got into the car with Daddy and said “do self, car” he wasn’t offered a similar deal to his tooth brushing deal ;)  We are sad to report that he no longer says “mo-na-na” for a motorcycle or “ha-ca-pays” for a helicopter, but in addition to saying “computer” he also says “pa-loo-cee-cee” to refer to a computer (we have no idea where that came from) and he still says “pa-na-no” for the piano.  I was sitting next to Graham on the piano bench and trying to play a tune and I guess he didn’t like what I was playing because he said “no mommy, get out pa-na-no” and shoved me off the bench :(  When Graham is invited to sit next to us on the couch or in bed, he says “come on up” as he climbs into place.  After months of us referring to his cute hair as his wings, Graham pointed to a wisp of my hair and said “mommy wing.”  When Graham wakes up from his nap he says “good nap” and when he is enjoying a bottle he says “milk good!”
• During a fun play date at a new park, Graham and his buddy Penelope decided to take a snooze at the bottom of the double slide.  I didn’t get the pictures fast enough, but they were so cute lying side by side flat on their backs, just resting before gearing up for another bout of play (23 months, 12 days old):

• Our little danger boy has found a new (and very high) place to climb (23 months, 13 days old):

• On the car ride to Sacramento, we had a lot of time to talk with Graham and I was so impressed when he was able to recite several FULL books from memory.  I’d give him the first line or two and then he would keep going until the full book was done.  Wow!
• Graham is now officially obsessed with YouTube videos of his favorite nursery rhymes and songs.  When he wakes up early and I need a little more time to wake up, I’ll bring Graham into bed and let him watch the nursery rhymes.  He requests Baa Baa Black Sheep,  We-ya-bus (wheels on the bus), Itsy Bitsy Spider, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, Hurry Hurry Drive the Fire Truck, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Toot, and If You’re Happy and You Know It (just to name a few).  
• Graham enjoys having a snack with Daddy before dinner.  Nick usually has some chips or nuts.  The other day, Graham got out his little bowl and said “put chip in bowl” and refused to take the chips unless Nick first placed them in Graham’s bowl.  It was really cute.
• Graham hasn’t done much on the potty training front lately, but he puts a lot of effort into figuring out other ways to make his potty play a song, including carrying it around and taking it apart (23 months, 13 days old):

• I attended the end-of-year PEP Volunteer holiday party.  While I was having a great time celebrating with some amazing and dedicated volunteers, Nick sent me a picture of what he was up to with Graham.  My little boy was introduced to his first video game and it looks like he was hooked (23 months, 14 days old):

• Graham’s big boy bed arrives tomorrow, so I have been introducing him to some of the bedding that will go on his new bed.  Needless to say, he LOVED his Spider-Man blanket and was ready to go to sleep right then and there (23 months, 15 days old):

Sweet dreams, little big man <3