Jigsaw puzzle done!

It took Bobby five days to finish the Civil War jigsaw puzzle. I would take some credit too but Bobby kept calling me a "tourist" as I would occasionally sneak a peak at the puzzle and fit a few here and there.
All done! Bobby decided (or was actually told) to fold it away so we could use the table for our New Year eve's dinner at home. We recently bought some nice steaks from a butcher that was recommended to us by some friends. YUMMY!!! :-)

Happy Mikey!

Looks like the scarf is a hit! As you can tell in the picture, Mikey is a happy little boy with his new scarf. No, auntie Cindy didn't have to bribe him with chocolate. The scarf does seem to be a little big/thick for him, so I already have another one made - just a simple fleece one (gets better with practice!). And this time, his mommy can let him bring this other one to school and get all dirty with it :-)

I see teeth!

Graham has got some big teeth coming out! I wonder if it has anything to do with all the homemade baby food that Mommy has been busy pureeing!
So far, there are only 3 items on the menu - squash, apples, and carrots. The next item on the menu will be pears. And by the way, Graham is getting better at eating those puff-puffs!

O' Christmas Tree, O' Christmas Tree

We decided to plant our Christmas tree - a dwarf Alberta spruce in the yard yesterday. Did you spot it yet? There it is!!!
The growth rate on this tree is "slow", so it'll be fun to track how much bigger/taller the tree will get by next Christmas!
Yes, the red bows will be coming off after the New Year's :-)

First Family (of three) Christmas

Can't believe it's already Christmas! Even though we are home for the holidays, we're really enjoying ourselves spending our first Christmas together as a family of three! (By the way, thanks to Iain and Paige for the hand-me-down Christmas outfit from their little boy :-)

The weather has started to get colder, so Daddy has had a couple of chances to start a nice fire in the fireplace. Graham and I decided to take the opportunity to make some S'mores!
And I finally got a chance to make those draft stoppers for our kitchen bay windows, just in time for those cold and windy winter days/nights. Not too shabby looking considering they were made from a fleece blanket from Bass Pro Shop! :-)
Oh, by the way, I was getting quite creative yesterday too. Bobby was wondering why it was taking so long for me to make him his greek yogurt and granola. He he...!
Looks like I'll have a new project on my hands. Bobby got Mommy a Pasta Press for Christmas! Hmm... perhaps he is the one wanting fresh homemade pasta!
I suppose it's only fair since Daddy only got the "Despicable Me" DVD from Mommy and Graham :-P

Speaking of Graham, he couldn't wait to get to his presents.
Although I think he liked playing with all the wrapper and packaging instead...
... while Daddy plays with Graham's new toy!

After opening all the presents today, Graham got really sleepy and decided to take his nap. That gave Daddy a chance to continue working on his new jigsaw puzzle (which I had purchased about 3 or 4 years ago!).
We'll see how long the dining table is out of commission for. We are making progress though!
Notice the martini glass? We decided to finally open up a bottle of champagne this morning and make Mimosa. Cheers and thanks for all the Christmas greetings and presents!!!

Graham crawling!

A day before his 7-month birthday, Graham was showing signs of crawling. And sure enough, right at 7 months... there he went! The video is a little dark because it was early in the morning in his bedroom, with just a lamp on.


A little off balance starting out, but check out a couple days later...

Talk about a quick learner and quick on the ground too! He tries to crawl so fast that he starts to pant! He's yet to actually get his bum off the ground but nonetheless, that doesn't stop him at getting into all sort of things. Bobby and I have lost count on how many times we've said "No touch!".
We also started to brush Graham's teeth. Although, I think he's more interested in seeing himself in the mirror.
He's already cut 3 teeth on the bottom gum and 3 at the top. And I just noticed another one at the top - so that makes 7 teeth at 7 months!
Who is our big boy!

Indoor/Outdoor fun

Graham is really moving around fast these days! He is getting himself into all sorts of situations in the house. Again, this time literally into his basket of toys...
Under the TV table...
And in his combat gear in the kitchen!
Ok... Mommy put him in that one. :-)

As for outdoor fun, we recently bought a swing for Graham. Despite the winter cold, we decided to hang the swing anyway in the backyard and actually, it's been quite fun! Graham loves it! And it's really been quite helpful when I start to run out of ideas to calm a fussy baby!
By the way, thank you Bob (Bobby's mom's husband) for helping me clear out the garden (as seen in pic to the left). It looks so much better now! During the clearing, I discovered a little maple tree, growing just to the left of the bird bath. I put a stepping stone by it (which we found in the garden - the previous owners were big fans of University of Oklahoma). Unfortunately, I still managed to step on it the other day and snapped the little maple tree! They say that duct tape fixes everything... so we'll see what happens!

Scarf for nephew

My sister mentioned that little Mikey (who will be 3 years old by Jan 1) wanted a new scarf since he noticed how she would always put on a scarf when they went out. So... the request came to Aunt Cindy not too long ago to knit one (yes, I'm known as the knitter in the family). I decided to do something a little different this time. Instead of knitting, I decided to do a basic crochet pattern and then, I went out and bought some fleece and sewed it to the back of the scarf. Ta da...!!!
As for scale, based on my newly-assigned model, I think the scarf may be a little bit big/thick for Mikey. Hopefully he will grow into it quickly!
I was actually thinking about hand-sewing the crocheted scarf and fleece together but figured it would be a lot quicker to just run it through the sewing machine. The actual sewing time didn't take that long, but unfortunately, I was having a really tough time getting the bobbin thread through and after about 2+ hours with a screwdriver and the sewing machine manual, come to find out... it was a user error all along!!! Silly me!
My next project is to sew some draft stoppers for the windows in the kitchen nook. I have all the material now. Just have to find some time to get started on it! I have set up the dining room table as my base-camp as my sewing table is in Graham's room and somehow it just seems a little too small now for these projects.
And it's probably a little too difficult (and noisy) to sew with Graham sleeping in the room!

More teeth!

We knew that Graham was teething again as he would cry occasionally during his sleep at night. I was expecting to see two more pearly whites on his upper gum but to our surprise, he's actually cutting a total of FOUR teeth right now! It's 3 at the top and 1 more on the bottom gum. I guess technically it would be both upper central incisor, upper left lateral incisor, and lower right lateral incisor. Yes, I did have to look that up! And based on this chart, his lateral incisors are coming in a little bit early.
But I'm telling you... it's there!
Plus, Graham bit me again a few days ago. He hasn't done that in the longest time. Double OUCH! Such a little stinker. He didn't cry this time when I told him sternly "No bite!". Instead... he just smiled at me. How can you possibly be angry/upset at a face like that! (Thanks Grandma and Pop-pop for the cute hat!)
Graham is starting to get quite mobile as well. He hasn't really mastered the full crawl yet. He's still shuffling around on his belly and making a lot of counter-clockwise circles/turns. He did manage to shuffle off his play-mat to get to his basket of toys! He is starting to recognize his toys and would attempt to get to them.
And obviously, he's not cleaning up after himself! What a mess! I just can't seem to keep up with the house these days. There seems to be a constant flow of laundry, dishes, and other messes to clean up!
I just can't believe that one little guy can change an entire household. Despite all the drool and sometimes smelling like spoiled milk, Graham is our little ray of HAPPY!

Graham's 6-month update

Graham had his 6-month doctor's appointment recently. He now weighs almost 17 lbs (16 lbs 14 oz to be exact) and is 25" tall. According to the doc, he's right on track based on the growth chart/graph. Graham had 3 more vaccinations this time, which means three colorful band-aids!
We recently purchased our live Christmas Tree... Graham-sized of course! We plan on planting it in the backyard once Christmas is over. We also got a live/real wreath for inside the house. It smells so good! Although, I think I'm allergic to pine. I keep sneezing!


Grandma and Pop-pop were here visiting last week. Graham really enjoyed all the extra attention!
During their visit, we headed north about an hour away to Dry Gulch, USA - to get on the Christmas Train.
I see you!!! :-)
We also made a trip to the Oklahoma Aquarium. It is our first visit there and we were all happily surprised. The shark tank was awesome!
We missed seeing Santa diving in the other fish tank but did get a chance to have a photo op with one of the divers cleaning the tank.
Graham really enjoyed looking at all the fishes!
He didn't have the same opinion about the sea otter though.
And I guess Graham had zero interest when we got to the tortoises!
By the way, if you've never seen the alligator gar before, it is HUGE! And it looks prehistoric!
The octopus was cool too...
And of course, there has be a tank full of Nemo! And yup, they didn't forget Dory!
My personal favorite is still the jelly fish. They are amazing!