Guest bathroom is finally done!

Yes, yes! Even I can't believe it,... the guest bathroom is finally done. Hoorah!! Actually, a friend of mine is staying the night tonight, which is what motivated me to get the bathroom finished. Apologies to my in-laws and sister for having to put up with primered walls for the longest time!
I used the same green paint as the 1/2 bath downstairs. When we do try to sell the house, I hope the new owners like green! I also put up a new light fixture and changed out all the light switch plates and the door knob.
This was also my first attempt at caulking. I think I did a pretty darn good job, if I must say myself! ;-)
Oh! Look... I found some pics of the bathroom with its wallpaper!
And this is me all geared up for sanding! This was back in mid February - about 7 months pregnant at the time :-)
I'm glad Graham turned out ok. Who knows how much dust and primer/paint fumes I inhaled during my pregnancy! Based on the next pic, I think he turned out ok :-)
Yes, we did cave in and buy one of those Bumbo chairs! Ok, maybe it was mean to post that pic. Here's a better one (at 17 weeks and 2 days old). He is our cutie pie!

Lovely weather

The weather has been quite nice in the evenings these past few days. I hope that means the summer is coming to an end! It's been a hot summer season and we are finally able to sit outside on our deck. While we were having dinner, Graham was just "chillaxing" in his stroller (as Daddy would put it).
When dinner was done, Daddy was finally able to pick Graham up and give him some kisses.
Back in the house, we've put together the Jumperoo for Graham. I was going to put it together a few weeks ago but Daddy insisted that Graham's neck was still not quite strong enough yet. Plus, he was already accusing me of using the Jumperoo as a babysitter! Anyhow, Graham is still discovering his new Jumperoo. Poor fella... Graham is just dangling in his Jumperoo as his toes aren't even touching the floor yet!

Wearing my ring again!

I was so excited for the UPS truck to arrive yesterday. While we were in NJ a couple of weeks ago, I went to the store to have my engagement ring re-sized (1/4 size bigger!) and I just couldn't wait to put it back on! It has been ages since I've been able to wear my ring. Halfway through my pregnancy, I had to take it out because it was getting really tight. My fingers were puffy and were constantly aching, especially in the mornings. Towards the end of my pregnancy, I was actually able to put my ring on my right pinky!
Bobby signed for the package at the door and when he opened up the package, I had him get on one knee and propose to me all over again, since he never did get on that one knee the first time! And of course, my answer was yes again! ;-)
In the meantime, it's been almost 4 months since giving birth and I'm only 3 lbs heavier than my pre-pregnancy weight now. I never thought I would lose all that weight! That's almost 35 lbs!!!

Graham is 16 weeks old

Can't believe our little "peanut" is now 16 weeks old. He has been getting bigger by the second! He is now flipping over from his belly to his back every morning when he wakes up. Thankfully he stays pretty quiet... until I hear him choking on his own spit! Graham has been getting up pretty early in the mornings now because of a hungry belly. I wonder if we'll start him on rice cereal after his 4-month doctor's appointment.

Graham has started to "talk" as well this past week. I really wonder what he's saying...


Apart from "talking" and laughing a lot, he has also learned how to scream - but thankfully it's a happy scream. Although, his cries has also gotten louder as he gets bigger! Graham has also discovered his feet this week. He loves to pull on his socks! And he still continues to enjoy kicking his toy on his high chair (... and yes, slouch too!)






We went to watch the LPGA ladies play this past Saturday at Rogers, AR. I couldn't take the camera out to the course, but Graham was a hit with quite a few people, especially with his cute little Nike cap on his head (thank you Donna for the cap! :-). On our way out to the golf course, he was fussing in the car and so I fed him while Daddy continued to drive (yes, Mommy is always in the backseat now). I was able to take this "Got Milk" picture :-)
By the way, did I mention how much he has been drooling lately too??!

First roadtrip with Mommy

Last week, Bob, Graham and I went on our first road trip! It was my first event back on the Duramed FUTURES Tour. It was Graham's first plane ride to New Jersey and I have to say, he did quite well! Thankfully he wasn't that "screaming baby" that everyone dreads!
Here's our attempt at our first family pic on the plane :-)
While in NJ, Graham got to meet all his cousins for the first time. Here's Graham with Grandma and his cousin Madison.
Golf didn't go very well but to be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect. I actually played quite well during Day 1, so that's something positive to go by.
It was great to see old friends again as well as the Tour's staff. Graham was such a hit with the girls! It was also nice to see Bob with Graham in the stroller every day when I arrived on the last hole of the day :-)

Graham's first chair

Everyone has their first chair! I remembered having a plastic woven one and also a little wooden one that would fold up. The wooden one probably wouldn't pass the safety inspection for the kids these days as the folding mechanism would probably catch a finger or two; or the child could get stuck in the chair if it accidentally folded up on them. Ahh... too much drama!
I have been thinking about getting Graham one of those fancy Bumbo seats but at $40 a pop, daddy decided it was too expensive! And today, I found a cute little plastic chair at the local farm/hardware store for only $5!

In the meantime, Graham just loves to slouch on his high chair.
He loves to kick and put his feet up on the tray. I hope this won't be a problem once we have to start feeding him on his high chair!
Then of course, after straightening him out, he decides to flop onto the other side of his chair.
I've been trying to encourage him to crawl too. But after a while, he gets tired and just wants to suck on his thumb.
Our little boy is growing up so quickly!

Graham rolling over!

Last Sunday - at 13 weeks (and 1 day to be exact), Graham figured out how to roll over from his belly to his back! He has rolled over a few more times since then but I've been able to witness it only a couple of times. When he did do it yesterday afternoon, he just cried and cried!
But this morning, he was "cool as a cucumber" as Bobby would put it. He just stared at his mobile.
Who knows how long he was staring at it as Mommy was still busy sleeping :-)
Speaking of sleeping... guess what I caught Graham doing while he was sleeping a few days ago! Too funny!

Backyard activity

I never thought our bird bath would get this much action!
The birds were fighting to get in (and stay in) the bath!

This morning, after the rain - momma deer came by with her two fawns. I feel like the paparazzi, taking pictures with the camera lens in between the blinds! And as you can tell, momma deer can still sense me through the window!
I hope they are eating the weeds and not my flowering plants!

1,000 miles!

My new VW stationwagon has just reached 1,000 miles! It's amazing how fewer zeroes it has compared to my Honda Civic! Speaking of which, I cleaned out my car and moved it to my neighbor's last weekend. It's now sitting on their driveway and I can see it every time I drive in and out of our house! When I dropped it off, I told the neighbor's kid to look after my "baby" and he replied, "Don't worry, I won't do anything too flashy to it". Hmm... makes me wonder what his level of "flashiness" is!
As for gas mileage, Bobby filled up the tank last week (about $40 worth of diesel) and so far, after about 270 miles, I still have about half a tank left! It's awesome! I love my new car! :-)

Hanging out in the kitchen with Mommy

Graham and I baked our first cake together today! I figured out how to put him front-facing on the BabyBjorn and he seems to like it and does quite well in it. I did have to put a bib on him because he has been drooling so much recently!
He was so calm and content (even with the KitchenAid mixer going!) that we were able to put all the ingredients together for our banana pound cake till the very end. I had to put him down when it was time to grease and flour the loaf pan.
He was in his swing briefly but when he started to fuss, I decided to put him in his high chair. It's his first time in his high chair today! He loves to be sitting high up and loves to just look around - maybe because there's so much to see in the messy kitchen! So while Mommy was cleaning in the kitchen, Graham was just chillin'. He was doing well keeping his head up but after a while, he got tired...
and then a while longer, even more tired!!!
So it was time to put him in his playpen and roll him over onto his belly. I'm so blessed that he is able to sleep well and also soothe himself to sleep,... for now, at least! :-)

Garden update

The temperature in Tulsa has been so hot lately - in the 100s... and my tomato plant just can't manage! I have yet to see one tomato this summer. The flowers on the tomato plant are blooming but they would dry out even before it gets a chance to fruit! :-(
As you can see, I went with 3 pots this year and weirdly enough, the size of the tomato plant correlates with the size of the pot! The basil is doing great though, but no tomatoes mean no Caprese salad! :-(
I have been able to take some pictures around the garden though. Check these out:
Close up!!!
Can't wait till this lavender plant actually gets bigger and produces more flowers!
The following picture was taken during our vacation in New Zealand last year, in front of our motel room. Look at all that lavender! It smells amazing too! But watch out for the bees! Glad I didn't get stung. It sure makes my little plant look quite pathetic now though! There are actually lavender farms in NZ. It looks amazing when you're driving in the countryside. Just a sea of purple!
And I planted some sunflowers in the garden this year, but had to pull them out when we hit a dry spell.
My rose bush is making a come back too, after the flowers were being eaten by the deer! Or perhaps it was a rabbit!
Or maybe it was the grasshopper! We have some big ones here this year! Good thing we're not in China. The grasshoppers would be in a wok by now!
And can't finish up without a picture of Graham. He was so content in his new stroller yesterday! He was actually crying when he was being held, but once we set him in the stroller, he was quiet! He loves to sit looking forward and love to just takes every in!

SOLD!

... to the neighbor's kid across the street. Yup, we sold my Honda Civic to our neighbor's son! He has yet to turn 16 and get his driver's license but will be getting his learner's permit soon. In the meantime, he will learn how to drive using the manual transmission and will be paying us in installments. I told him that he better take care of my "baby" and not do anything crazy to it, since I'll be able to see it every day!

Random pics of Graham

Here's a collection of random pics of Graham taken today:

... ending up in the corner of his crib this morning

... napping on the floor in his travel crib in the afternoon. We're trying to train him early for all those trips we're going to have :-)

... later in the afternoon, after a BAD diaper malfunction. Yup, he ended up in the kitchen sink! I was careful not to bump his head on the cast iron. I had already bumped his head against his plastic bathtub earlier today!

... and finally, nice and clean! He actually smiled at his musical elephant today when I turned it on. That's our boy at 11+ weeks!