Oh So He Grows!

Graham does many things, what he does not do is slow down. He went from a squishy newborn to a full-fledged baby with wants, desires and abilities in a blink. These beautiful blue eyes command the room and light up our hearts. 

By month three he was a smiley, giggly, hand-loving little guy. He has head and neck control and is built as tough as they come!

Down to his tailfeather, he enjoys being "worn" by mom and holding up his head. 

Graham wasted no time getting enough neck strength that he could use all of the fancy toys that we have for him. He enjoys a different bouncer in each room and a pack and play placed in the family room so that he doesn't miss a moment of the action.  

That face!!

There are such opposing forces happening as I watch our children grow, and it seems most apparent as I spend this quiet time with our third, and last, little baby. It is difficult for me to sit and enjoy the quiet - I want to be accomplishing something, working on "the list" for that day, or preparing something that I know I need to do later. The kind reminder of "cherish this moment, because it's gone before you realize" is true, but I never found it particularly helpful. When you are in the moment of having that little one that just wants to sleep on you all the time it's wonderful - and then an hour passes and the anxiety of not getting anything else done and you've got to pickup Alex from pre-school and then get home for the bus so you can get the big kids to swimming while Graham screams the whole way there and back - takes over, and it's really hard to cherish that moment of anxiety. 

So, I find that I'm constantly trying to remember to enjoy the moment, while simultaneously trying to remember everything else that needs to be done, while also counting the minutes until I can close my eyes and get some sleep. Pictures are such a treasure in this way. They help preserve the moment exactly as it was, and the tasks of the day don't attach to a picture, so I'm left with this beautiful sleeping baby clutching his elephant and losing grip on his ticker. And this is the moment I want to cherish.

And also this one, where the big kids enjoy having a baby brother, and share in the accomplishment of him sitting up on his own and rolling over and giving them smiles. 

Sitting up is yesterday's news. Now he focuses on leg strength.

Life is long and short all at once, and nothing brings that home like seeing your first baby feed your last baby with the same bottle you fed her with. Especially since feeding her feels like it took place last week. 

Blue Bonnets 2017

I have lived a lot of places in my life, however this is my first time living in Texas. Texas is a place all it's own, with all kinds of traditions and routines that are completely foreign to a non-native Texan. Did you know Texas has its own pledge? And that children say it along with the US Pledge of Allegiance every day to start school? Did you know that the world's tallest war hero statue is of Sam Houston (or even more basic, who Sam Houston is)? I knew none of those things. Nor did I know about the blue bonnets. 

These lovely little flowers pop out of the ground in brilliant fields every April. There are areas of parks that are preserved specifically for blue bonnets, no mowing, picking or walking on these areas in hope that the beautiful purple/blue flowers will grow. Chances are, if you're looking at a stock image, serene photo of a Texas landscape, you're looking at blue bonnets. 

The littlest member of our family is juuuuuust starting to sit up on his own. So this picture has a cautious mom-hand coming in case he tips over, and the remainder of his photo shoot is taken in the safety of laying down.

Blue bonnets aren't the only fun thing about spring - there's also building leg strength:

learning new skills:

and hanging out with friends:

The blue bonnets also remind us that there is a beauty to the Texas landscape and that we had better get out and enjoy it before the inevitable heat stomps in.