Graham is ONE

Two days ago, my baby boy turned ONE year old. It was a whirlwind of a day just like his actual birth day. The day started out on the road to Conway for my mom's retirement party at my in-law's house. It was a fabulously thrown, impeccably decorated "Ladybug, Ladybug" party filled with my mom's closest friends...and two crazy Walker kids. We headed back home yesterday morning, and we are now in full party-prep mode. Reese's 3rd Birthday Party will be Saturday morning at our neighborhood park, and Graham's Birthday Party will be Sunday afternoon at our house. Currently, my bedroom is covered with pink and purple and ballerinas, and my kitchen and the rest of the house is slowly being taken over by vintage football decor. I LOVE September for lots of reasons, but celebrating these two little loves on their birthdays is really a lot of fun. And then sweet hubby turns 31 at the end of the month!
Okay, so Graham is ONE. He melts every heart he comes in contact with wherever he goes. At one year, here is what my little GCW is up to...
*Weighs 23 pounds, 15.2 ounces.
*Predicted to be 5'10'', but then I told Dr. he just got his first teeth, and he thinks he may be taller.
*Drinks 3 cups of whole milk a day (It had been almond milk for the past month, but Dr. says he needs full fat cow's milk for several more months.)
*Goes to sleep around 7pm and wakes a little before 7am--but I keep him in bed til 7.
*Naps 1 1/2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon.
*Eats like a man. And the boy LOVES peanut butter & jelly sandwiches.
*Graham isn't getting the hang of "That's a No" very well, but we are consistent and working on it.
*LOVES his sister. I mean, he starts jumping out of my arms when he sees her, he laughs the loudest with her, and he is comforted when she sings to him.
*He pulls to stand, but he doesn't stand on his own or cruise MUCH at this point.
*TWO teeth! They came in over Labor Day weekend, and he beat Reese by over 3 months.
*Babbles A-Da, Ma-Ma, Ba-Ba, etc. and tries to mimic sounds.
*Has the sweetest disposition, but he is sure to let you know when he gets frustrated.
*But seriously, he's so super sweet. He snuggles, he smiles, he crawls all over momma.
*Favorite activity: Crawling onto Reese's little chair over and over again. He has one of his own, but Sister's is way more fun.
*Loves putting blocks into containers and then looking for them. He loves making noises with any of Reese's toys and trying to put lids on things.

Here are some recent pictures of my favorite little ONE year old.

(these professional ones were actually taken back in June, but we just got them back recently.)

11 Months

Another month. Another picture-filled post. 

Graham is one month away from turning ONE, and I go between hardly believing he's almost a year old and feeling like he's been here a lot longer. I don't remember life very well without him, and he is exactly what our little family needed when he showed up on the scene on September 10, 2012. 

The day after he turned 10 months old, I dropped him to three nursings a day, and I sadly report that I think he nursed for the last time this morning. He has been drinking formula in addition to what I can offer the past week or two, and my body is responding by tapering off quite dramatically. I'm super sad, but I'm super thankful that I've been able to breast feed as long as I have. Graham eats like a man, so I should have seen this coming. 

Graham wakes up between 7:00 and 7:30 in the morning, takes a bottle/nurses, eats breakfast, naps from 9-11+, eats lunch, plays, bottle then naps from 1-3+, plays, snacks, plays, eats dinner around 5 or 6, plays, then bottle and bed at 7. He crawls everywhere, is beginning to pull up on furniture, can climb a couple of stairs (I'm always right behind him), laughs and chases Reese all over the place, loves Baby Einstein, and so much more. He's still our happy baby, and we are enjoying our time with him immensely. He has started giving me great big open mouth kisses and cuddling into my chest lately. PRECIOUS. 

Here are pictures from our pretty eventful july 11-August 10. 

Farmers Market fun.

Brother-Sister play time.

I straightened her hair one day. This is one of the two pig tails.

Birthday dinner and dessert. Hugo's and Common Ground. 

Snuggles with my baby.

My princess and her paints.

Hanging out on Gran and O'Pa's new porch.

Happy 100th Birthday, Patsy!

Graham and his Great-Grandmother.

Happy SURPRISE 40th Anniversary party!

Wes and his bros. They came to support him when he was installed as a Deacon in our church.

She's getting good at stacking things. 

Our little family on Officer Installation Sunday.

Reese and Uncle Allen checking out some artwork in the 21C Museum Hotel.

The crawl-all-over-Momma stage.

Crystal Bridges on a rainy day.

Doing what she does best.

Saturday trails and picnic in the park.

First bike ride.

Watching sister on her balance bike.

THE best getaway with girlfriends last weekend. 

Sweet friends at church.

Blessed to have so many sweet friends for my kids.

Yeah, I got bangs. Jury is still out.

Lunch date to Hammontree's.

Play dates abound.

First trip to Rogers Aquatic Center. That place is awesome.

ELEVEN months old.