A what cat?

So Graham was playing on the tablet one day and he came across this cat.  He would tap on it (on the screen) and it would meow.  Then, Graham would say...

Well, I finally figured out the next day that he was actually trying to say a "hungry" cat!  Ha ha! Too funny!

And we also finally got Graham's dance moves on video. He's just too cute!

I would encourage him by saying that he is a good dancer and now when he dances, he would say "I'm a good dancer!" :-)

New updates in the Phoenix house

Mommy was quite productive during our most recent trip to Phoenix (i.e. also spent a lot of Daddy's money!).  I finally hemmed some drapes and also hung some new valances and shades in the kitchen.  Here's the before:

And after:

I sort of went with that French-country look.  Then, more valances in the kitchen nook: 

As Graham would say... "All better!"

I also had a chance to make the kitchen look more IKEA-ish :-)

Then, there was some electrical work to be done.  A new outdoor light - love it!

A new chandelier for the kitchen.  Here's the before (the light wasn't centered so I was able to hang the new one next to it before working on the wiring):

And after - tada! Eventually I'll want to wrap the chain with some nice fabric.

And a new light in our foyer too.  This was actually a pendant light, but I think it's actually big enough for our little hallway!

And here's the old one sitting in the garage:

It was definitely a productive trip and yet, there is still so much to do! I'll have to let Daddy replenish our bank account first before our next trip.  Hey, at least the labor on the electrical work was free! :-)

Phoenix Zoo Lights / Happy Thanksgiving!

This year, we wanted to take Graham to the zoo during the day so he could see the animals.  But when we arrived at 3:54pm, we were told that the zoo was closing at 4pm and re-opening at 6pm for Zoo Lights.  So after a nice early dinner at a friend's restaurant, where Daddy devoured his olives:

We headed back to the zoo and discovered that it was a member-only Zoo Lights preview! Poor Graham! We didn't want to disappoint him twice so we asked one of the zoo members in line to purchase our tickets and he did.  How could he say no to a face like this!

Ha ha! So, ok... Graham didn't make that face but I had to fit that picture into the story somehow :-)
Meanwhile, back at the zoo - there was lights:

The carousal, but Graham did not want to ride in it because he said it was going too fast:

 More lights:

 A talking giraffe:

 A new toy for Graham (This one barely lasted a week!)

 And even more lights!

The lights at this part of the zoo is actually synchronized with music. Check it out!

Our camera ran out of battery, so that was all I could record.

For Thanksgiving this year, we decided to just order in the meal.  And look! A picture where everyone is awake and looking at the camera!

This Thanksgiving, Graham discovered cranberry sauce:

Anyone wants turkey with their cranberries?

After dinner, Graham helped Mommy bake some yummy pumpkin cheesecake pie:

 What a handy little helper!

What a great trip to Phoenix this was.  On our way home on the plane, I got to dress Charlie in his new onesie outfit. He's such a cutie pie without even trying! :-)

We weren't sure if Graham was actually going to take his nap as the plane took off right about his naptime. He did eventually get himself comfortable and slept for about half the flight time.

Then, he made sure he knew what to do during an emergency:

And then, he passed some time by taking a few pictures:

Or more like a 108 pictures! Thank goodness for digital cameras!  Both boys were so well behaved on the flight that some of the passengers sitting close by complimented on their good behavior.  Now as parents, that made Bobby and I very proud of our two boys! :-D

More time in Phoenix - Part 2

During our 3rd week in Phoenix, Mommy decided to tackle the yard.  The cat's claw keeps coming back and right before leaving the last time, we poured some root-kill on it and it's still not dead!  So I bought a new shovel and went at it.  Graham helped too:

... with his bulldozer, of course! He couldn't have been happier playing in the dirt and gravel.

(and yes, those are Hello Kitty pajama pants :-)
That weekend, we went to our first rodeo.

We made sure Charlie was able to catch some of the action as well:

But their attention span only lasted so long and we ended up at the nearby play farm. Yes, daddy too!

Mommy wasn't so good at conking the crow. Graham, on the other hand, had pretty good form!

The baby sling was probably in the way :-)
During the weekend, we also decided to head back to Papago Park.  We were trying to find this same rock that Graham played peek-a-boo with the last time we were there.  But first, some pics of Charlie:

 Close-up!

 Nice sunny day!

Daddy and Graham further up on the rocks:

We didn't see the "rock" on our way up so we decided to head down the trail until we saw this rock.  Graham did not want to participate in the peek-a-boo and decided to sulk next to the rock instead:

If looks could kill...!

 All better!

 Graham got quite some "air" going down the trail:

 I think we finally did find the rock!  Peek-a...

 BOO!

It's never that easy anymore to take a family picture:

 Or to have everyone awake:

 ... and looking at the camera!

Oh well, at least everyone was happy, especially when it came to feeding the ducks again :-)

More time in Phoenix - Part 1

We spent most of November in Phoenix.  The weather was so nice there - it was really difficult to come back to Tulsa!  We drove from Tulsa to Phoenix and looks like Graham is starting to be quite a road warrior:

And Charlie was happy as long as he had his binky close by:

The minute we arrived after our 2-day journey, Graham headed straight for the backyard to play with his construction trucks!

 While Charlie decided to just lounge around on the couch:

While in Phoenix, Graham started a new routine of eating his breakfast at the kitchen counter while standing on his step-stool:

There was almost something going on every weekend while we were in Phoenix (or Chandler to be exact).  During an art festival, we found a park nearby with an excavator!  Graham was waiting patiently to get his turn. Unfortunately, it was rather heavy but Graham enjoyed being on it anyhow:

 The boys even had a chance to get on the see-saw together:

I'm not sure if Charlie enjoyed it too much:

And as usual, we have to go feed the ducks. It's so cute to hear Graham say... "Here ducky, ducky, ducky!"

Meanwhile, back at home, I tried to get more pictures of the boys together.  This one almost looks as if Graham is saying "I didn't do it!"

Ahhh... a little bit better :-)

This one was taken by Troon Golf Club - at the Four Seasons Hotel. Bobby was there to give a presentation and Mommy and the boys had a chance to roam around the property.  Thankfully, Graham was very good about not going off course into the desert.