16 months old

Hey Graham Fans - Just sharing the latest goings on in my world. I can't believe how fast November went! I was glad there were some days we got to play outside. We even went to the park a couple of times. It was a lot of fun. I can now climb in the wagon on my own. It makes it really easy to communicate that I want to go for a ride. I also love to drive now. Daddy lets me get in his truck. I steer and push buttons and even honk the horn. Funny thing is Mommy can never get her car door open when I want to drive her car.

Uncle Greg was over the other week and he played with me. He taught me now to slide down the stair railing! I experienced my second Thanksgiving. This year we went to Grandma's house in Sigourney. She had her Christmas tree up already. It had these pretty red balls on it that I kept taking off. somehow they all ended up out of my reach. I got to play the piano, use her vacuum, and play with the toy tractors. The highlight was getting to play in the shed. I sat on the tractor, the lawn mower, and the four wheeler. Luckily Kayla was nice enough to hang out with me while I had fun. The other highlight was when Daddy and Uncle Greg took me to the John Deere store. Wow - I wish we could go there everyday! Toys to play with and real tractors to check out. You should all go there and check it out.

Mommy and Daddy went to a party the other night so their friend Kristin came over to play with me while they were gone. We had a good time. I think I really entertained her. I don't understand though if she comes over to play with me, why she put me to bed. I was worn out and all but really thought she should have to go to sleep too. Adults are always pulling the wool over my eyes!

Since my last update, I had a double ear infection. It made it really hard to sleep. Now that I am working on another update, I have an infection in my left ear. This really stinks. I don't like to feel bad. Mom sure hopes I quit getting these - me too! We skipped story time because my nose is all runny.

Really it seems life has been pretty average. I have been helping Mommy a lot. She was cleaning the windows so I helped her clean them. She also was wiping down the counters so I helped her by wiping the trash can. When we were done we washed our hands. The other thing I do now is help her unload the dishwasher. Sometimes stuff is still wet so Mommy dries it. I help her dry stuff. When I am not being helpful, I am usually climbing. Mommy put out some Christmas decorations near the stairway. I cleverly climbed the outside of the steps to reach them and rearrange them. Unfortunately a couple of things were broken. Oops! She also put up the Christmas tree. It looks pretty, but I can't reach any of the pretty things. Instead I throw Dakota's ball into the tree. It entertains me.

I am sure I will have more to post soon since Christmas is coming. Hope you all are being good so Santa finds you. I know I am ALWAYS good!

Pumpkin patch, trick or treating, and family time!

Hey Graham Fans! Lots of family time lately! Nanny came up to visit the other week. We all went to the pumpkin patch. Actually we didn't go all the way out to the patch, but we did all the fun things around the farm. They had goats to pet. I even grabbed one of the goats horns! There were some hay bales to to stand on. They also had these really cool pedal tractors. I couldn't reach the pedals. Daddy pushed me some, but I was just as happy playing with the steering wheel. I love steering wheels! The other highlights of the day were picking out a pumpkin (well more for Mom and Dad) and eating kettle corn! I like popcorn! Nanny couldn't give it to me fast enough. Hopefully we go back next year!
While Nanny was here, we found out Great Uncle Eldon died. Mommy was pretty shocked and sad. Mommy and I went to visit Aunt Marian and cousins Steve and Suzy. We went to Suzy's house. She has a dog like Dakota except it was brown. It was sad but I was happy to see a dog. Later in the week we saw more of Mommy's family. Grandma was in town and Aunt Deb came. Lot and lots of Mommy's cousins were there. One of Mommy's cousins had a little boy younger than me. He ended up sitting on his Grandpa's lap next to Mommy and me so I shared my goldfish crackers with him. It is okay to share sometimes. When we left I felt sad for Aunt Marian so I planted one on her. Everyone seems to love it when I smooch them so I thought she probably needed it.


Busy week already and then Friday I put on this dragon outfit and walked around the neighborhood. I guess it was Beggar's Night. People gave me candy so I think it was a good thing. It was kind of a yucky night. When we got home some other kids came to our house to get candy, but there weren't that many. The next day we went to Grandma's house. Uncle Greg was there, then Aunt Deb, Sam, and Kayla were there too. Mass was for Grandpa Dennis so we went to pray for him. Grandma let me sit on the step stool instead of her high chair. It was fun - I could wiggle ALL around. That evening was trick or treat night in Sigourney. Once again, I put on my dragon outfit. We went to Great Grandma's house, the Richardson's, and the Shettlers. Three houses was enough because that meant getting in the carseat that many times. On Sunday, I found out how much fun it is to play, i.e. pound, on the piano. Kayla and I 'played' a duet! Then later in the day when Uncle Greg left, I got in Grandma's car. I love to drive! It was a fun weekend with different people to play with me.


We have had some nice weather lately so I have gotten to play outside. We even went to the park a couple of days. It had been a while since we had visited the park. In that time, I had gotten braver on the slides, particularly when getting off the slide. I fell a few times but I wasn't hurt and would just go climb the steps to slide down again.

Sara came over to see me the other day. Mommy and Daddy left after she got here. I guess they went out to celebrate their anniversary. I don't understand why they wouldn't want me to go along. Oh well Sara and I had a good time. I was showing her how I hug Dakota, then I would hug Sara. She liked it so I did it more.

Notes from Mommy: We got a little behind in the pictures after losing the USB cord so Graham couldn't finish his update he has been working on for awhile. This give me an opportunity to chime in on everything he is doing. We are so tickled with the things he does. The other week Dakota had a new toy which she promptly shredded. Graham started puting the pieces in the trash with out any prompting. He had been putting things in the trash can when I would tell him but we were so impressed that he did it on his own. One day when I had turned off the water in the shower, he grabbed my towel and handed it to me. Since then, he has done it both prompted and unprompted. Graham has gotten much more confident - sometimes too confident. I found him standing on the dining room table one day. He has also taken to standing on the ottoman in the living room and trying to jump to the couch. It isn't far, but he doesn't totally have the skills to do it. He keeps trying. Graham likes to walk down the stairs going forward as long as he has a finger to hold onto and a hand on the wall. He is also using silverware some. Eating with his hands is easier but he is getting better at maneuvering the fork and spoon.

What is a brother?

Hey Graham Fans! I know I just posted an update, but I needed to get some input. I have heard some new words lately that I don't understand. Mommy and Daddy have said I am going to have a sibling and that I will be a big brother. What do those words mean? I know Mommy has a brother - Uncle Greg. Daddy has a brother - Uncle Brad. Does this mean I am going to get really tall all of a sudden? Am I going to grow hair on my face like Uncle Greg? And what in the world is a sibling? I don't quite get it all. Mommy has a Cabbage Patch doll - is that my sibling? Surely it doesn't meant anyone else is going to be living with us. Things are so good with Daddy, Mommy, and me. I just don't see how adding a new person into the mix would make life any better. If you all know what this means, help me out!

(Note from Mommy: Chris wanted me to make it clear that yes we are expecting no. 2. I am just over 12 weeks. My due date is May 2 - still a long way to go.... We are hoping that by the time the baby arrives that Graham has a better appreciation of the word 'gentle'. He likes to hold and kiss the Cabbage Patch doll, but also grabs her by the pigtails! The new baby may have to learn to be tough at a young age!)

The latest in the life of Graham

Hey Graham Fans! How are you? Well I have had my ups and downs since my last post. I was sick (ear infection) and my medicine upset my tummy. Mommy got me some different medicine but it took awhile to get over the upset tummy. I didn't feel like eating much. I was sleepy. I just wasn't myself.

Aunt Deb and Kayla stayed at our house while Dad took Sam and Uncle Tim hunting. It took me longer than normal to warm-up and I really wanted Mommy around. She snuck out of the house though. I had a pretty good time playing with Aunt Deb and Kayla. We went outside which you know I like. I showed them how I can ring the doorbell! Kayla took me outside several times so that was good. Uncle Greg even came by to play with me too.

After the weekend I really didn't feel better. We didn't go to storytime, but did go to Brighter Beginnings. Even that was a little tough on me. I didn't want Mommy to go to the parent discussion. All the nice caregivers looked out for me and I was okay. Things started to get better the end of the week. Friday morning, Mommy and Daddy were rushing around. Suddenly Grandma is at the front door - what a surprise! Before I knew it Mommy and Daddy were in the car backing out of the driveway - without me! Well I guess they went to a wedding in Chicago and saw a bunch of Daddy's friends from college. Grandma and I had a good time. I started to eat more again. We played outside some, but then it SNOWED Saturday. We were supposed to walk in the Walk to D'Feet ALS in memory of Grandpa Dennis. The weather was just too yucky. Uncle Greg went - he told us they still had a good turnout. We found out later they made a whole lot more money than they planned. That is great because they can help so many more people! Thanks to everyone that supported me!

Anyway, Grandma and I had fun. Uncle Greg hung out too. She made pies and we snuggledwe ate pizza and we went to Culver's for lunch (kind of like a Dairy Queen). I ate french fries and dipped them in ketchup! I like to do what I see other people do - which is why I dipped my fries. Grandma took one of the rugs out to shake it - now I keep trying to pick up the rugs.

I really like to stand on things - like my race car walk-n-ride. I also to stand on Daddy when he lays on the the floor.

I don't really know what fear is. Daddy puts me up in the air with one hand and I am like Superman - I love it. Uncle Greg will toss me around some too. It is so fun. I try to ride Dakota - she doesn't seem interested in being my horse. I have also being working on my 'aren't I cute smile' (see above). It comes in handing when we see people out and about. Mommy's friend Tracie came to visit us last week and I used it on her. I think I wooed her. We ran into the Bidinger's at Target on Saturday. I used it on them too. It really seems to work magic. I try it on Mommy to when she says that no word. It doesn't also seem to do the trick. I don't get it because other times she tells me how cute I am.

Well Mommy doesn't have pics to match all of our adventures, but I will throw a few up of my recent antics. Hopefully you enjoy them. They just show what the life of Graham is like.

Then Mommy took the Swiffer away.
Daddy got a little crazy with the baby wash....



Until next time...

Walk to D'Feet ALS

Hey everyone - Serious topic today. Mommy is sad and I wanted to know why. She said she was missing her dad. She told me that Grandpa Dennis had this really bad disease called ALS. He lived with it for 4 years. She said he lost his battle with the disease before she and Daddy got married so definitely before I was born. It makes her sad that Grandpa had to miss out on meeting me. She said he would have LOVED me to pieces and she can just imagine how much fun he would have had playing with me and having me sit on his lap. She loved to sit on his lap so she is sure I would have too. I wanted to know what caused Grandpa to get this disease. She said no one knows what causes it and there is no way to cure it. She said sometimes people get diseases from not eating right or other unhealthy habits. It didn't make a difference that Grandpa didn't smoke and it didn't help that he walked a lot for exercise. He liked unhealthy foods, but that didn't do it either (she said he had an operation that fixed the effects of that). What really impressed me was how she said he was so brave. You all know how much I like to move. Well Grandpa overtime lost more and more of his ability to move. That would really stink! He got around by driving a wheel chair. I think it is fun to be pushed in the wheelchair at church, but I wouldn't want to be in it all day. I guess Grandpa Dennis was really strong and didn't feel sorry for himself. I sure wish I could have met him.

Mommy has been thinking about Grandpa Dennis because the annual ALS walk is October 10. Her and Daddy are going to a wedding in Chicago so Mommy is a virtual walker. Grandma and I are going to walk in memory of Grandpa. The walk raises money to help people living with ALS (PALS). PALS need a lot of extra things to get by day by day - different chairs, things to hold onto, things to move them from a chair to their wheel chair. Of course some money goes to research too. This cause is really important to my family. Grandpa accepted his fate, but he wanted to know that ALS would not always result in the end that it did for him. Click here if you would like to support me. http://web.alsa.org/site/TR/Walks/IowaWalk?px=2460107&pg=personal&fr_id=5777

So Smart!

Hey Graham Fans! It was another football weekend! It isn't really a big deal to me, but Daddy loves it! For most games, Mommy would rather watch the Food Network or HGTV. We went to my first football party today at Judy's house. There were all kinds of people there and a bunch a kids and a bunch of dogs too. You know how I love dogs - tails and ears to pull plus a few hugs too! Judy's nephew Luke had the coolest car. I wanted to take it home with us. Her niece Amanda pushed me in for a long time - she was a good pusher! I am not sure I like to share stuff, but overall it was pretty fun!

Speaking of dogs, I have met some new ones lately. When Mommy and I go to the park in the afternoon, there is a grandma and her granddaughter that come with their Border Collie. That dog is ball CRAZY! I like to throw his ball. Sometimes the little girl cries because I am throwing the ball - I just don't get it! The neighbor's have a Chocolate Labrador - he is bigger than Dakota. Two of the girls have come over to play when Mommy and I are outside. Toby has come over too. He is a BIG dog! I like to throw his ball too. Yesterday, the girls pushed me around the cul de sac in their stroller. They seemed to have fun, but Carly got jealous so Mommy took me home and Carly (who is 4) rode in the stroller. That is fine.

Mommy thinks I am getting so smart! When she says "Let's go upstairs and change your pants", I trot over to the stairs. If she says, 'we need to wash your hands', I walk over to the sink and then go to the towel to dry my hands. The funny thing is I don't seem to hear her when she says "no" or "stop". I like to stand on things - my rocking chair, my Big Cat, my race car walk and ride. Mommy helps me to sit down, but then I just climb right back up to standing. It is a really fun game. Mommy doesn't seem to like it, but I do. I also like to throw things - ball or otherwise. I don't hear Mommy and Daddy when they tell me to stop. Funny how that works.

So what have we been up to lately? Well we are back at story time and Brighter Beginnings. There is a bear, Dewey, at story time and I love to get him, even after Miss Suzy tries to hide him. My friend Mia likes him too. I like to go to Brighter Beginnings - the ladies there are so nice and we get a snack every week too! On Friday, they got the broom out, Ashlynn and I were sweeping. I LOVE to sweep!

A couple of weeks ago, Daddy went out of town to a BBQ contest with Grandpa and Uncle Brad. They placed 13th overall - pretty impressive! Grandma came to keep Mommy and I company. We went shopping - not a fan, but they picked out a winter coat for my. My first winter coat! Uncle Greg came over to play too. He took me around in the wagon which is always a good time! I sat on the rock in the front yard. There was also a big block in the front yard. Uncle Greg kept sitting on it, which I didn't like. I would push him off so I could sit on it. It was my size not his....

Hey did I mention, I can open doors? I can't reach all of the handles, but several important ones. One particular favorite is the hall closet. That is where Mommy hides the vacuum. I can get it out by myself. Another important door is out of Daddy and Mommy's room. If they want to confine me, I can get out. The other day, Mommy was folding clothes, I opened the door and went downstairs by myself, then climbed back upstairs to check on her. The last door I can reach is the one out to the garage. Very important if I need to escape.... Well once again life has been busy since my last update. I will post again soon. I hear that I am going to participate in the ALS walk. Once I have more information on that I will include it with my next update. Right now I just know it is really important!

Go Bulldogs!

Hey Graham fans! Happy September! Daddy is so excited because it is football season. He and Mommy took me to my first football game this past weekend! We all had fun! I had some room to roam which was good. You have probably figured out I don't like to be confined. I walked back and forth, stood by and on the railing at the bottom, and tried to make friends with some boys nearby. They were older than me, but not near as tough as me. I touched one boy and he said ouch - I don't think he will grow up to be a football player! I got to meet the mascot Spike - I didn't really know what to think of him - looks kind of like a dog, but walked on two legs. Hmm... I also got to meet a real bulldog. I love dogs so that was a great evening! Oh yeah, I also met the athletic director, Sandy Hatfield Clubb. Mommy said her husband is from Sigourney and went to school with Uncle Greg. I think Sandy was pretty impressed with me and saw I have potential to be an impressive football player. Maybe I will play for Drake like Daddy!

We have also been on the road lately. Last weekend we went to Kansas City. We hung out at Nanny's and at Grandpa and Susan's. Grandpa has a cage for his dog - I just had to climb in and check it out. It was fun to explore, but I wouldn't want to be stuck in there! We also saw Uncle Brad, Aunt Lisa, and Benjamin and Nan too. Mommy, Susan and I went to the Farmer's Market. I got to ride in my wagon, which I like. Mommy put on my Kansas City Chiefs outfit so I looked pretty spiffy!

This past weekend we went to Grandma's for the day. Aunt Deb, Uncle Tim, Sam and Kayla were there along with Uncle Greg and Grammy too. I played outside a lot! Sam and Kayla will take me outside as much as I want. I explored a lot inside too - just in case Grandma has changed anything you know. Daddy took me for a ride on Grandma's lawn mower.

I keep learning new things which is a lot of fun! I can now get down the stairs as well as up them. I am getting big enough I can climb on more stuff. Hopefully I can get access at more things I want. I also figured out how to unscrew lids. Mom doesn't seem to like the aftermath - spilled lotion, hand sanitizer, and vinegar. She should be happy I am developing new skills. I want to learn how to open a can of pop, but Mommy tries to take it away before I can. The first step I believe is to shake it, which I have done.