So Thankful

Well it's a bit belated but not for lack of things to be thankful for!  After thinking about it, my list of things I'm most thankful for are the simplest things yet the most important...those things that we sometimes forget others don't have and take for granted.

1.  My family - all of it.  I feel so blessed to have an (immediate and married into) family that is so supportive and present in mine and my family's lives.  

2.  My boys - Jake, Graham and Elvis.  Not much to say here except what did I do to deserve these 3.

3.  Another day - With so many bad things happening in the world around us everyday I am thankful this year to have another day to live life to the fullest and make sure the people around me know how much they mean to me.

So this year for thanksgiving we made the round to try to visit everyone - exhausting yes but definitely worth it.  First we headed out to San Antonio to visit Pops and Granmom for a couple of days before making the trip down to Brenham so Graham could meet the rest of his family and his other Grandpa.  

Looking back at the pictures I am realizing Jake and I didn't even get any pictures with our little butterball - but here are a few that we took at Nana B's house.

 With Auntie

 With Aunt Angela

Graham and his Emme 

 With Aunt Lisa

With his Nana B

We also took G out to my dads so he could meet him for the first time.  Dad was scared to hold him but shook his hand and gave him a hundred dollar bill to go and buy some candy :)

Go Cowboys Go!

Graham just loves his sports (Football, Baseball, Golf etc.) or at least I hope he does because on any given day that is probably what's on the TV in our house.  

This past weekend Graham had a visit from Granmom, Pops and GG and one of the things we all did was go to see the Cowboys Stadium - which was pretty cool.  

I think Graham was most impressed with the massive TV - which let's be honest - is pretty impressive.  

Jake and his dad humored me and gave me their best bad a** pose.  I had to look at the picture 3 times just to tell which guys didn't belong :)  HEHE

Some of The Sweetest Little Things

I absolutely LOVE being a mommy and am so thankful for the sweetest little things that I get to see and experience with my little Graham Graham.  Being a stay at home mom I don't miss much and for that I thank my husband :)

1.  Baby Giggles - this without a doubt is the sweetest sound I have ever heard.  Graham first giggled a month and a half ago or so when I put him in his baby einstein activity toy and spun the little wheel.  Although he was still too small and his feet didn't touch the ground he thought that wheel was hilarious and my heart melted right then and there.

2.  Baby Snuggles - I don't get many of these anymore since Graham is almost 4 and a half months old but when he is super tired he gives me baby snuggles.  The other night when I was rocking him to sleep he put his head on my shoulder and arms around me and cuddled up.  I don't have a pic because I wouldn't dare wake a sleeping baby but could have stayed like that forever...and I did for about 15 minutes.  He is growing up so fast and since I know I don't get baby snuggles that often I wanted to make that sweet moment last a little while.

3.  Baby hands and baby feet - Is there anything cuter than 10 perfect little fingers and 10 perfect little toes?  Every night when I am rocking Graham to sleep he holds my finger in his little perfect hand and it is just too sweet.  His has also discovered his little toes and they are often in his mouth :)

4.  Baby Smiles - Nothing makes getting up multiple times a night to feed or put the paci in or change a diaper a whole lot of fun - except when you get baby smiles.  Every morning sometime between 6:30 and 8:00 Graham decides it's time to start the day so I head in his room to get him and every morning before I pick him up out of his crib I say "Hi Baby" with the most obnoxious southern drawl and every morning he gives me the sweetest baby smiles :)  This is how I typically find him - turned sideways in his crib kicking the side...probably saying something along the lines of FEED ME NOW!

5.  Daddy Time - probably my most favorite thing is listening to Jake talk to Graham or just watching them together.  I am so thankful that I have a  husband that values family time and is such a great daddy.  I just know he and Graham are going to best friends like he and his dad are today and that my friends...would make any mommy smile :)

My Big Bad Baby Giraffe

10.31.12

Last night Graham, Jake and I celebrated little G's first Halloween as a Baby Giraffe!

We all went over to our friends the Stockstill's, handed out a bit of candy, drank some beer and took some really cute first Halloween pics with all the babies.  

I mean does it get any sweeter than this???  Maybe I'm partial to this particular Giraffe but I mean really does it?

We had Bears and Giraffes and Lumberjacks OH MY! 

Oh and not to forget Big E - he decided to go as a clown...again this year:)  Unfortunately he didn't get to go to the party so he stayed home and scared all the trick or treaters away :)

Happy Birthday to Me!

Graham turned 4 months old on 10.18 and I have to say it is CRAZY how fast time is going.  I just know he is going to be going away to college before I know it (insert dramatic tear here.)  He has changed so much.  He is now so interested in everything we are doing - especially eating!  It is enevitable that he will wake up from a nap if he smells food - so true baby likes to eat!  He also is very grabby.  Grabs everything - especially those tiny little hairs on the back of your head...ouch!

So we had his check up and the doctor said he looks like a Million Bucks - and of course I am sure he DOESN'T just say that to all the cute babies!!!

Everything went well, he passed all his development tests and got an A+ on cuteness. :)  He also had his shots which he took like a champ...must get his toughness from his mommy - Ha!

Here were his stats - as well as the 1, 2 and 3 month ones that I haven't noted any where yet.

4 Months
Weight - 16.8 (77%)
Height - 25.2 (53%)

2 Months
Weight - 14 (79%)
Height - 23.5 (61%

1 Month
Weight - 10.8 (72%)
Height 0 22.2 (79%

Happy birthday sweet baby.

My Little Pumpkin's First Pumpkin Patch!

I just LOVE the idea of picking out pumpkins...walking up and down the rows until you find the perfect one.  This - similarly to picking out a Christmas Tree can take A WHILE...luckily for my husband it was surprising cold this year which forced us to get our pumpkins and get out of there!  Plus little Graham Graham was so cold and mommy forgot to bring warm blankets!  I will be prepared next year!

We drove up to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch and took some pics (yes we were the family who brought our tripod and set it up on a pumpkin to get a group pic!)  

Graham wore his cute little argyle sweater and adorable hat - I don't think he could have looked any cuter!  We got pumpkins for the whole fam - including big brother Elvis!

AND even though pumpkin patches are kinda for kids here is a look back at one we visited a couple years back when Jake surprised me and took me to get a pumpkin...it's really the little things :)

Seems like forever ago...

The Big 3.0

Three months that is - well back on 9.18 but if you can't tell by now - my posts are a bit delayed!  Jake thinks it's kinda weird that I act like Graham has a birthday every month but I figure what the heck - he should get used to it because wait until he sees what I have planned for the 1 year!  Yes I might have already started thinking about it...

Here was a pic from his 3 month b-day (I couldn't find my party hats but managed to drum up a little picture flare) and a look back at the others...crazy how much he has changed...my little handsome man growing up so fast (tear)

So Thankful

So it's official - I am a stay at home mom and I couldn't be more thrilled, excited and thankful that I get to spend my everyday with my sweet little boy.

I mean let's be honest...who wouldn't want to hang out with this guy everyday??! 

I gave my notice to Fossil a few weeks back and my official last day in the corporate world was 9.24.2012.  It was definitely a bittersweet day and while I can say there is a part of me that will miss what I had been doing for the last 6 years - I wouldn't change my decision for anything in the world (even on the days where he get's up several times during the night, fights me every time I try to get him to nap, spits up all over me or worse - use your imagination:).  

These first few months have truly been a blessing and more rewarding than I could have imagined.  What I am most surprised by is how fast time is moving.  I can't believe how much he has changed since the first day we brought him home.  He is turning in to such a little man so fast I'm afraid if I blink I will miss something:)  This week we are working on rolling over and pushing up with our arms...he hates both of these things but we have his four month appointment coming up in a few weeks and mommy and daddy want to make the Doctor proud!  

I will say that before becoming a mom I really had no idea how busy life would become.  I kinda thought that babies slept all the time and more of my day would be filled with catching up on TV shows, shopping on line, etc. (obviously I was a bit naive.)  Contrary to what I THOUGHT it would be like - my days are VERY full.  Outside of my number 1 priority of taking care of Graham I also have been helping my dad with designing a barndominium, have taking up cooking (this is still a work in progress although my supportive husband would never admit that) and managing the Tappan family budget (insert evil laugh here HEHE.)

Something else that I am thankful for is that my parents live so close.  Since Jake travels with his work it's nice that I can pack up the boys (Elvis and Graham) and head over to Emme and Popi's house for the week.  I know they love it too - I think my mom goes into a bit of withdrawal if she goes more than a week without seeing her grand babies...Here are a few pics from our last trip out to their house when Jake was in Montana...

Emme playing airplane with Graham

Emme and Popi hanging out on the 

couch with the grandkids before bed

Some of Graham Graham's First

Some of Graham Graham's Firsts - In no Particular Order :)

As you can see from the date of this post today is September 14th which means Graham will be 3 months old in only 4 days - so as you can imagine there have been LOTS of first since we brought him home in June.  Seeing that it has taken me almost 3 months to write this post (and not many hours of sleep in-between) you can imagine the details may be a bit foggy.  Nevertheless I will do my best to remember and use this post to finally get up to date!  

First Trip to the beach.  Okay or we could say mommy and daddy's last vacation for a while.  Lord knows I love a vacation so of course when I heard of a baby moon I said yes please.  These next few pics are from our trip to West Palm Beach before Graham arrived.

First hug from his brother Elvis.

This is actually Elvis laying on my belly giving Graham what I can assume is a hug.

too sweet.  

First manicure from his Emme.  Graham came home from the hospital with the
sharpest little nails and neither mommy or daddy were brave enough to try and cut them.
Luckily Emme was at the house and got him taken
care of so he would stop scratching that sweet face.  

First ride in his swing.  Look how tiny he is.  He seemed to like this okay but definitely

haven't gotten a ton of use out of it.  Oh well it was just one of those things new parents

NEED along with the million other things slowly taking over our home:)

First present to me from Graham!  LOVE LOVE LOVE.  This was actually push present and birthday present and probably christmas and every birthday for the next 10 years! One was from Graham and the other from Elvis.  I have five words for daddy to take note of here...The Bar Has Been Set!  Ha! 

First time in his crib.  Does he look happy here?

My bet is no and 3 months later he is still not a fan of sleeping is his beautiful crib.

Graham in his snugga bunny!  Yes that is the name of this little life savor.  Graham loved this sleeper and to this day is still the only thing that he will sleep in.  Not sure what we are going to do when the day comes that he grows out of it - which is getting closer and closer as I type!

First bath!  Well actually first sponge bath (which he screamed the whole way through.)  I mean really who wants to be placed on a large sponge on the kitchen counter...doesn't sound real fun to me.

First big boy bath.  This was Graham's first bath in the tub which he LOVES.  We have bath time every night and he inches his was further and further in the water because he likes it zoo much.  I can't wait until he is big enough to sit up and play with all his rubber duckies.

First time out to dinner.  This was taken with my folks at some Italian rester aunt.  Food was blah but I guess that is because the pediatritian recommended I cut out all food and food products to help with Graham's tummy (okay just dairy, beef and soy - but lets be honest what dairy free entree on the menu at an Italian food restaurant could possibly be worth paying for?!)  Regardless it was a nice time out and sweet boy slept the whole time for us.

Graham and his Emme who just loves him so much she can't go a week without seeing him!  This one was taken one week when Jake was traveling for work...Graham and I stayed at Mom and Pats house and Graham go LOTS of kisses.

First safari hunt.  Just kidding - this was just a cute outfit from Emme and quite frankly I just wanted to make sure you were still paying attention:)

First SWAG outfit.  We have Aunt Lisa to thank for providing Graham with his first real SWAG.  I think he is sporting it rather nicely - she would be proud.

First kisses from Elvis!

First time is his green chair.  Well maybe he wasn't quite ready for this one yet but if anyone knows me I am very competitive and I will have him sitting up before you know it

First time meeting Nana B!   Nana, Aunt Lisa, Bubba,  A & O all drove to Dallas to meet Graham.  Graham currently misses Nana and can't wait to come visit her in Brenham!

Graham hang in with Emme.

Graham meets Miller Knapp - future BFs

First Holiday - 4th of July.  Walking outside to take this pick was the extent of our celebration this day.  Actually to be honest this was probably the only time we even left the house...Oh well :)

First date night out for mommy and daddy.  We had a blast - delicious meal at Lonesome Dove and then dancing at the Lee Brice concert in Fort Worth.  Graham stayed at his Emme and Popi's and from what I hear was an angel.  

Tummy Time with Emme.  I think Emme was as tired as Graham.  At some point she fell asleep as well and I decided I needed to prop pillows all around them...just in case...:)

First tennis shoes!  How freaking cute is he in his baseball jersey and shoes all set to watch the Texas Rangers play!

Graham and Hunter Stockstill (also future BF) chatting it up in their snugga bunnys.  Actually it looks as if Graham is chatting and Hunter is snoozing...must not have been an interesting conversation. 

Graham meets Pops!  Well this was actually the 3rd visit counting the one in the hospital but unfortunately I don't have any of those pics :)

Graham hangin with his Granmom.  He sure enjoyed the visit!

First double kisses from mommy and daddy!  Don't worry there will be PLENTY more of these to come sweet baby!!