4 Months Old

Graham, you are already. 4 months old! We can't believe it. Here's some of the things your up to lately:

-You drink 4-4.5 ounces of formula a feeding.

-You wear size 2 diapers and size 3 and 3-6 month cloths.

-Weight is somewhere around 13.5 pounds.

-You love to "talk" to anyone who will listen. 

-You've discovered mirrors and always giggle at yourself.

-You are rolling over both ways now, so no more SWADDLE blanket for you!

-You can grab at toys

-Your favorite person is your big brother. You could stare at him all day long.

We love you!!

Snow Day

One of the fun things about living in Northern Virginia is that your more likely than not to have a snow day every now and then. Today was one of those days. Daddy was home, and we all enjoyed the weather. William and Daddy made snow angels, an Auburn snowman, and had snowball fights. Graham enjoyed the brisk air on his face and all the falling flakes. Fun, fun day!

AUBURN!

We took William with us to Auburn for the Iron Bowl on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was such fun for me to show my son around my alma mater for the first time! We didn't have tickets to the game, so we watched it with the crowd in the basketball arena, and will never forget the epic finish and huge victory for Auburn. War Eagle!

William took a "selfie" showing his eye black :).

War Eagle from the Stebbins :)

Thanksgiving 2013

We spent the holiday in Alabama this year. On the way down, we stopped to see Aunt Katie, Uncle Charles, Claire and Bennett. William loved playing with his cousins! Then it was off to Grammy and Pops for the week. It was a fun filled week that was over too quickly! 

Williams World: Goodnight

After I tucked William in tonight, I kissed him and said "love you sweet boy". As I was walking out of the room, he said "love you my darling sweetie."

A Halloween to Remember!!

We were blessed to be invited to go to the White House for Trick or treat this year! It was an event for military kids.....who, by the way, get to do the coolest things. The White House grounds were decorated and lit in spooky colors. There were characters wandering around everywhere you looked. We saw Glenda the Good Witch, Mary Poppins, a Transformer, and Snow White, to name a few. And then, the President of the United States put candy in Williams bag! William walked right up to him and said "Ahoy Matey! I'm William!" The president bent down and said "Hi William, I'm Mr. Obama". William replied "Ok, sir." (Mama loves those manners!!). The First Lady remarked on how cute he was too. It was just an unbelievable experience. Wow!!

And the littlest Stebbins had fun too. He couldn't go to the White House, but as you can see in the picture below, he had a fine time with our sweet friend Laura!

Williams World: The Restaurant

William has been playing restaurant a lot lately. He has a pad of paper, writes down our order, and brings us our pretend food. Then we have to order again. And again, and again. The name of his restaurant? "William Stebbins' Good Eats". And when he comes to take my order, he says "what can I get you, m'lady?" Where does he come up with this stuff!?

Best Big Brother Ever.

3 Months!

Where does the time go? How are you already so big? Here's what you have been doing lately, Baby Graham.

-you have given us a few "sleeps through the night". 

- you wear size 1 diapers and 3M clothes

- you love snoozing in your swing with your blanket over your face and your wub a nub in your mouth.

- you love "peek a boo".

- you suck on your fingers or hand and make a loud smacking noise when you do.

-you drink 3.5-4 ounces of milk a feeding

-you stick your little bottom lip out when you are upset. Such a cute little face!

Williams World:Dreams

William: "Mama, let me tell you about my dream. I was wearing my Jake costume. And Jesus was there too."

Me:"What were you and Jesus doing?"

William:"We were playing Thomas. And he was teaching me about respect."

Pumpkin Patch Preview

More pics to come, but here is first peek into our pumpkin patch adventure for 2013. Graham slept through most of the activity, but we did manage one shot of our little pumpkin awake.

Lately....

Lots of bonding.....

.......and sleeping

.....and exercise

......and being adorable.

Williams World: When I Grow Up......

"I think I want to be a face painter, or make animal balloons, or be a fireman, or a baseball player. I just can't decide yet."

2 Months Old!

What a happy, hectic, sleep-deprived 2 months it has been! Some highlights of what going on with baby Graham:

-You wear size 0-3 and 3 month clothes and size 1 diapers

-You drink 3 ounce bottles about every 3 hours

-At night, you generally sleep for about 4-5 hours the first stretch and 3 hours the second stretch....

 we are not complaining!!

-You love to smile and coo, especially when getting your diaper changed.

-You still have a gorgeous head of hair!

-You like napping in your swing, being worn in the Beco, and being on your tummy.

-You starting rolling over several weeks ago!

-you weigh 10 pounds and are 22 inches long. Head circumference is 15.5 inches.

NASCAR

Last weekend, we traveled to Richmond with friends from church and Turkey for a NASCAR race. William and Ryan enjoy car races, and we re lucky to have a track  so close. Graham and I hung back with the girls and younger kids and did some shopping while the boys were at the race. On Sunday, we hit Bass Pro Shops and Cracker Barrel on the way home. Fun weekend!

Sports Weekend

We had a sports filled weekend! On Saturday, we had friends over for BBQ and football ( War Eagle, Auburn won!). Then on Sunday, we headed down to tech the Washington Nationals play baseball. We are enjoying the DC area and all it has to offer!

Williams World......Child's Theology

"Mama, we all have a little piece of God inside of us. That way He can talk to us. I think I have His face. You might have one of His toes or something".

School Days

William began his school year at Prince of Peace Lutheran church today. This is his second year in their 4 year old program. He is going to be there 5 days a week......a huge adjustment for us! He is in the Panda Class and his teacher is Mrs. Eckert. When I picked him up after his first day. She informed me that William was an awesome helper and already a leader. Such comforting words for a mama! We can't wait to see what the year holds, and to watch our boy grow and learn!

Williams World...Rudy

The other day, out of the blue, William commented..."Rudy's been a pretty good girl today, I like her attitude"

He also has been referring to one of the "Cars" figures that he has as "Jack O Fat". I could not figure out where he got that name, since it isn't a characters name. I finally figured out he was trying to say "Jeff Corvette". Ha!

One Month!

Happy first month, Graham. You are a really sweet and prety laid back little guy. You like being held upright so you can observe the world around you. You enjoy tummy time, are a good eater, an excellent sleeper, and perfect little cuddler. You are still wearing newborn diapers and clothes. You weigh 7 lbs and 13 oz and are 21.5 inches long. We love you!!

Williams's World-My Brother, My Pet (and another random funny)

-While at a small group function, William pointed to Graham and told his friends "you can pet him if you want to, just be gentle. He's just like a dog." He then proceeded to pat his head.

-While golfing with Daddy, he asked to hit another bucket of balls because, he said, "I'm just full of energy".

Victory!

William has developed a little fear of movie theaters. We can't quite pinpoint where it began, but we have tried to see movies with him several times, all ending in leaving very soon after the opening credits. But this boy doesn't quit. With the new movie "Planes" coming out, he REALLY wanted to go. He made a goal to sit through the entire thing. We went, armed with a headset in case it got too loud.  Guess what? He did it! I was so proud of my big boy accomplishing what he set out to do. Growing up so quick......

Graham....2 Weeks

Happy 2 weeks Graham! You weigh 7 pounds (5th percentile) and are 20.5 inches (50th percentile). Your head circumference is 13.75 inches (10th percentile) and you are perfectly healthy! You enjoy being cuddled and just looking around at your surroundings, sleeping, and moving your arms and legs.  You love your paci, and even have found your thumb! Mommy and Daddy sure do appreciate your sleeping habits at night too!

We love you little one!

Williams World.....The Air Force Song

William has been really into learning the words to the Air Force theme song lately. I think it started when we attended a promotion ceremony recently and the song was played. He wants help with the lyrics constantly. Some recent quotes about this:

"Mama, when baby brother and I get to be daddies, we will be Air Force guys too."

"Daddy must like to sing this song everyday at his big Pentagon."

Coach Bill

A friend of mine just emailed me a picture from William's last soccer practice. What a blessing Coach Bill is to us!  He is patient, funny, and an excellent teacher. The kids were learning valuable soccer skills when they thought they were only playing. Most importantly, he knows and understands the heart (and mind) of a preschooler and disciplines and teaches in an age appropriate way. We look forward to the fall, when we start lessons again!

Graham:The Early Days

Because I know, in my exhausted state, that I won't remember much from Graham's first weeks, here are some details of his early life (he is 10 days old as of this post).

     *He is basically sleeping thru the night, and has every night since his birth. We wake him to feed 

      him every 4 hours, but other than that, he sleeps.

     *He sleeps in an unpredictable pattern during the day.....some days he seems to snooze all

      day, other days he is awake more than asleep. No routine as of yet!

     *He loves his vibrating chair and being swaddled. Both almost instantly satisfy him.

     *He has gone from drinking less than 1/2 oz of formula per feeding ( in the hospital) to 

      almost 2 ounces 10 days later.

     *We were at the pediatrician yesterday for pinkeye caused by a blocked tear duct. 

     *Weight is 6 lbs 4 oz, length is 20 inches.

William's 5th Birthday

We celebrated William's 5th birthday with a party exactly one week after Graham's birth. Whew! It was originally scheduled to be held at our neighborhood pool, but thunder caused it to be redirected to our house. Chaotic? Yes. Stressful? Yes. But the smile on my son's face as his friends sung "Happy Birthday" to him made it all OK. This was his first "real" birthday party, and I think it was a roaring success, even if it was "Plan B"!

Some Early Graham Pictures

Pregnancy Revisited....

While it is still fresh in my mind, here are some details of Graham's life before his birth.

• He liked to be on my right side, curled up in a little ball.
• He had the hiccups all the time.
• When I had a hard time getting him to move, I would drink some orange juice. Boy oh boy, would he love that!
• He was born very very quickly.....he couldn't wait to get out into the world!

Graham's Arrival

We welcomed Graham Thompson Stebbins on Juy 21, 2013. What was going on in the world at tat time?

• The world was waiting for Princess Kate to deliver the royal heir to the throne in Great Britain
• Phil Mickelson wins the 2013 British Open
• The Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman trial was still making headlines.

Graham was delivered quickly and relatively easily, weighing 6 lbs 8 oz. We were surprised at te light color of his hair! Just like his brother, he was an excellent baby in the hospital.....only peeping when he gets hungry.

We can't wait to see these 2 brothers get to know and love each other. What a blessing they both are!,

The Day Before......

Tomorrow is the big day! Our only child will become a big brother. We know that we are in for lots of adventures and hectic days. This blog will help us keep up with milestones, funny moments, and the ups and downs of life with 2 boys.