Graham Is 2!!

Graham turned TWO on April 1st!

Can I start by saying that if I could birth TWO year olds, I would. All day, every day. As PRECIOUS as babies are, gimme allll the toddlers.

Graham is SO FUNNY. People at his school tell me this, our friends tell me this, and anyone who meets him tells me this. He is just SO FUNNY. I’ve said it from the time he was a baby that the boy finds joy in making others smile. He has the best personality!

School: Graham LOVES school. He loves his teachers and his best friends. He comes home knowing so many things that I’ve never taught him and I’m so thankful he is learning about the Lord and colors :) This school year we have gone through the biting stage, the hitting stage, the not sharing stage, and anything else in between. He is such a little manipulator that he will fake cry for his paci or smack you then instantly caress your face and say sorry. He is the comedian of the room and I was once told he was spreading his applesauce all over his body as “lotion!” He never keeps his shoes on and will find any puddle or patch of dirt that he can. He learned to ride a tricycle REALLY fast and goes down the slide head first. He has learned so many quirks from his friends (good and bad) and seeing his personality develop is just the best.

Eating: This boy can eat! Other than cutting molars or not feeling well, he is a machine. His 96% in weight shows for it. The boy is solid. He LOVES raisins, blueberries, yogurt, muffins, peanut butter, avocado and guacamole, Mexican rice, milk, pizza, spaghetti, green beans, and his MOST favorite of all time is still Annie’s Gummie Bunnies.

Sleep: Graham loves his crib, loves naptime, and loves his sleep. He is a great little sleeper and has always told us when he is ready to take a nap and go night-night. He hasn’t ever fought going to sleep and we are pretty good at not giving in to middle of the night whining sessions (few and far between). He was sick at one point and he got used to us running in to him when he cried, but we quickly nixed that after he was all better. He has very recently demand, "No sound, Mommy!!" which means he doesn't want his sound machine on. This was totally random and I am the one who can hardly sleep now. Two years of the ocean sound blaring through the monitor and now I feel like I hear everything!

Play: This boy loves anything outside. He could be outside all day and be happy. He LOVES playing football, “cractors” (tractors), and anything with bubbles. He rides his tricycle around the house at a million miles an hour and it is the funniest thing. He is really into coloring and tracing his hands and feet. He does have a tablet, but outside always wins. He has no favorite shows because he would rather throw the ball. I try to bribe him to watch the table or a movie, but he has NO interest! He plays great with friends and I love watching him socialize. He is far from shy!

Talking: Over the last few months his speech has taken off. He has always been a talker (cough, cough like his mom…), but these last few months words have definitely become more clear. He repeats EVERYTHING you say and can speak in complete sentences. The other day I casually asked him, “How are you today?” thinking there would be no answer. To my amazement he stuck out his thumb and said, “I GOOD!!!!!” Just another thing I can chalk up to his school teaching him. He knows all our family and friends by name and can clearly communicate what he wants. I love him being able to talk to us because that crying/guessing game is for the birds. On Mother's Day we were in the grocery store and he was playing with a balloon. I walked over to him and he said, "Leave me alone, Mommy." I have no idea where he got that, but I was dying laughing inside. Can someone give me my 1.5 year old back?! Ha!

Discipline: Graham is all boy and has his mom’s personality. He definitely likes to test the waters. He has been going to time out since he was 18 months old and the only change we’ve made to that is that we set a timer. He always goes to the same spot, has to wait for the timer to go off, and then he has to give me a hug and a kiss and talk to me about why he went to time out. 9/10 times he will stop doing whatever he went to time out for, but there are the occasional times that he gets right back up and runs over to the couch and sprints across it, just like I asked him NOT to. He is also veryyyy good at hitting and instantly, with the saddest pout, rubbing you wherever he hits you and saying, “Sawwwyyyyy.” We talk about how hitting is not okay and he usually still goes to timeout because sorry doesn’t make things right, it just makes things a little better.

Overall, if we could have 20 of Graham, we would. Chris is already itching for more, but we are definitely waiting to get into our new house and get settled. We are those crazy people who plan and save for college and cars and weddings and like to have no debt, so babies for us are definitely very thought out. We are enjoying Graham and this special time that he is our only child. God willing, multiple more Tucker babies will come, but we are LOVING this stage of life right now.

As for Graham, he is perfect for our family. He is spunky and sporty and we couldn’t imagine life without him. He is polite and says, “Yes, ma’am and no ma’am,” and definitely stands up for himself. He loves to pray before meals, yet will be the first one to die laughing when we look at each other when our eyes are supposed to be closed. He loves our dogs (especially Bailey) and is the sweetest little buddy. His favorite person is Uncle Sam and when they are together, it is like there is no one else in the room. There aren’t enough words to express how much joy he brings to our lives and those he encounters. He is healthy and happy and that’s all we pray for.

Graham, we love you and I can’t believe you’re TWO!

Graham: 23 Month Update

I cannot believe we are a month away from G turning 2 (on April Fools' Day/Easter)! I seriously can't believe it! He is the funniest little human and will definitely be the class clown in years to come. 

Personality: This child will do anything to make others laugh. He LOVES people and he LOVES people looking at him. He gives "big hugs" and "kisses with no paci" and he will grab my face and kiss me. I die every time he does it. If he is doing something to make you laugh, he does everything in his power to not laugh. He will look away, act like he is sleeping, roll his eye backwards, etc. He does not want to give in to the laugh. He is a sweet soul, but HOLY COW did he get his momma's stubborn attitude. Time-out or any threat doesn't phase him whatsoever. We will put him in time-out then he will shout, "NO!" and get up and start running around the island making the most evil laugh sound, ever. It sounds like, "muuuaaahahahahah!" And, it takes everything in Chris and I to not die laughing.  

Talking: The last month has been the biggest change as far as his speech goes! He is actually saying words correctly and speaking in semi-complete sentences. Instead of saying 'mock' he says 'milk' and instead of 'maci' he is now saying 'paci'. He knows his friends by name, most of mine and Chris's friends, his teachers, and all our family. He is able to expresses what he wants which is SO helpful. I love when he says, "I love you MOMMY!" and in the mornings he yells out the car window, "BYE BYE DADDY!!! LOVE YOU DADDY!!!" He still signs "please" and "more" anytime he says the words. He also says please, thank you, yes/no ma'am, and yes/no sir pretty religiously. Being from the south, the use of yes/no ma'am/sir is non-negotiable! He will tell me, "No like music..." and then cover his ears when he doesn't like what is on the radio. He is also really in to scrunching up his face and saying, "Jusss one mo', peeese?" I cave every time. 

Learning: All props to his school because this momma/teacher can't take credit for much of what he has learned! The other day we were in the car and he said, "black car, mommy!" and I was shocked. He knows his colors, but everything is always boo (blue) the first time he guesses. He can (roughly) sing his abcs, he is so good at praying before his meal, he knows tons of animals and their noises, he is a great "artist" (laughing as I type that one), he knows how to properly wash his hands, and he knows to throw his napkin/trash away after a meal. He loves singing worship songs and Happy Birthday. They tell me that at chapel he dances the whole time! He is also really into saying, "I do it," and trying every task by himself. He has learned how become the master manipulator and will scream/cry louder and louder just to add drama to the situation. He is a sponge and seeing him learn new things everyday is the best thing. Also, can we all acknowledge the memory of children? Graham will remember that we ate grapes at Evelyn's or that my cousin's dog's name is Bronx. The way kids compartmentalize their thoughts is fascinating! 

Food: This kid loves to eat! We had a week where he was cutting molars and he ran a fever and hardly ate anything, but he made up for it the next week! He will eat dinner and then he sees you eating something and he wants your food, too. He LOVES Annie's bunny gummies, peanut butter toast, raisins, popcorn, pizza, and spaghetti. He is NOT a fan of potatoes of any kind...not even french fries! He hates mashed potatoes and Chick-fil-a waffle fries! Like, who is this kid?? 

Sleep: He is still a really great sleeper. He went through a week-long phase of waking up screaming for us, so we would run in thinking something was wrong, but then we quickly realized he was manipulating us, so after a few mornings/nights of us ignoring the drama show, he went back to his regular ways of going to bed and waking up without a fuss. He also still LOVES his naps. He will tell you, "nih-nih" when he is ready for a nap. He sleeps with his blankie and recently demands his bunny-lovie as well. 

Randoms: 

- He knows every kind of ball and "shoots" everything. I'll be driving and all of a sudden I hear, "SHOOT!" and a shoe comes flying at me. He also loves "shooting his paci and breakfast while I am driving. 

- He will not keep his shoes on, ever. He hates clothes in general, but really hates shoes. Except for these Sperry's that are three sizes too big. He will wear those all day, everyday. 

- He has just now started being vocal about what clothes he wants to wear and it is always a task to get him to keep his shirt on.

- Everything is "TOO TIGHT!"

- He loves Mickey Mouse, but not necessarily watching Mickey. The boy would rather play than watch TV any day of the week. I try to bribe him to watch a show for just 10 minutes, but he isn't interested. We gave him an old phone of ours and he loves watching kid song videos on 'his phone.' I hate him having it because he constantly pushes the home button and then yells out, "UH OH MOMMY!!!!" like he has no idea what happened to his video. 

- He can fake sleep and it is the funniest thing ever.

- He slept in our bed for the first time when he was sick. Chris was traveling, so I let him...and it was terrible. Oh my gosh. He slept great, but I didn't sleep a wink. Needless to say that won't be happening again. 

- He always needs a snack when I pick him up from school, even though they just had snack.

- He still loves his paci, but will take it out to talk. He is also good about giving it to us when he doesn't want it.

- One day when he was sick I was rocking him because he woke up form his nap early. As we were rocking I was saying, "shhh shhh shhh," and all of a sudden he got a smirk on his face and started to say, "shhh shhh shhh," as I rocked him. I started dying laughing and so did he. 

- He has pooped on the potty THREE times! I didn't even know he knew to go poop on the potty! One day we were in the kitchen and all of a sudden he said, "Poop. Potty." At first I was like, "Huh?" and then I quickly started yelling, "OH! Poop on potty, let's go!" From that day on he has gone two other times. I asked his teacher about it and she said two of his older buddies in class are potty training and G has caught on. I have no desire to fully potty train him until summer when we can be home for several days in a row.

- He is obsessed with my brother, Uncle Sam.

- Everything is daddy's. Daddy's truck. Daddy's tools. Daddy's remote. 

- He thinks smelling his feet and saying, "Peee yewwwww!!" is the funniest thing ever.

In one short month we will have a 2 year old! Chris and I still have to pinch ourselves that we are parents to a fair skinned, blonde little boy who is built like a line-backer! 

Graham, G, we love you buddy! Happy 23 months!

Graham || 9-11 Months

WHERE DID MY BABY GO? I'm going to just go ahead and say it: We have been blessed with the happiest baby! Everyone gives Chris and I credit for how happy G is, but all credit goes to the big guy upstairs because He blessed us with something special. Even at his crankiest, we've only ever had a full on cry from Graham maybeeee three times. He is pure joy.

Every night I pray for him to be always be a happy boy and to love others. My prayer is answered daily when this little hoot of a boy shows off his squinty eyes or laughs hysterically at himself for no reason.

So much has happened since my last update. I'm kicking myself for not documenting months nine and ten, but life got hectic and what can you do? Oh well!

We will start with 9 months: 

- At 9 months he weighed 23 pounds and was 28 inches. 87% for weight and 34% for height (insert laughing emoji here!). The doctor said he was due for a growth spurt and I just giggled because he is totally built like my side of the family; short and squatty.

- Graham turned 9 months on January 1st. He started crawling Christmas day and also got RSV. He started sleeping through the night and his first Christmas was just as we'd expected, perfect. 

- He was in his first wedding! Uncle Sam and Aunt Callie had the cutest wagon rider :)

- On January 21st he took his first plane ride to Kansas City.

- He started to imitate our sounds. 

- G started table foods this month. Thankfully he isn't allergic to anything! He isn't a fan of eggs, peaches, strawberries, or broccoli. He lovessss sweet potato, those lil' crunchies, peas, carrots, most meat, pears, and bananas.

- He cut his first tooth!

10 and 11 months (because it all is a blur):

- In February G really started pulling up. He realized how fast he could crawl and he became a speed demon.

- He no longer wants to be held. He wants to go, go, go. 

- He is a little explorer and gets into everything. 

- This month was really hard on our little guy's allergies. I thought he had pink eye because he kept waking up with his eyes completely matted shut, but thankfully it was just allergies. Once we started him on Zyrtec, his eyes have been so much better. But, if we forget to give it to him, he wakes up and can't see! It's SO sad!

- He got his second tooth! Thankfully (knock on wood!) teething hasn't been bad at all. There were a few nights that Graham would randomly cry out, but one he found his paci, he'd go back to sleep. One night, for the first time in a LONG time, I had to go in a rock him for a bit. I'm not mad about it one bit. I'll take all those extra snuggles.

- G cut his lip at daycare when he fell while pushing the walker. His teachers said they tried to give him ice, but he didn't even care and just wanted to eat it. He is a total boy. 

- On that topic, he has started crawling ALL over Bailey, all over Chris and I, and dies laughing when he rolls or falls over. I'm scared for how much energy a toddler Graham will have!

- He can say momma, dada, sometimes hi and bye, and occasionally hi dad. Of course none of it on command, but when he says it, we melt. Momma always is yelled at night or when he is upset. Dad is always said when we FaceTime Chris at work. It is adorable.

- He started getting brave and letting go of whatever he is holding on to. 

- In the bath, his favorite thing it to stand up and drink out of the faucet. 

- He can clap, sign more and all done, do touchdown!!, dance, blow kisses, give sugars, and give high fives.

I'm sure I'm forgetting 90% of what has been going on, but that's mom life for ya! I can't believe our boy will be ONE in less than a month!!

Happy Friday!!