the ONE party....

I was going to wait until after party #2 to post pics, but I know some family members are waiting to see them, and since we're still waiting for the 2nd party, here's what we had so far!
our guest list involved 32+ people, so that's why we ended up with 2 parties. On his actual birthday, we had a chance to gather with good friends and several of our neighbors, who we've barely seen since warm weather! It was a wonderful time to be all together and we appreciate how kind they have all been to Graham! Party #2 is his "friend party" and will involve a few more little people!

I don't think you always have to have a theme, but for the last few months, I knew that since G loves all things BALL, it was an easy choice! I figured he would have the most fun surrounded by balls, and he did! This borrowed ball pit was a huge hit!

favors...(balls, of course!)

carrot cake was my compromise in actually letting him eat cake. :) I was going to let his go un-cream-cheese frosted, but I received too many cries of meanest mother ever!!!

you CAN tell it's a baseball & tennis ball, right?????????????

notice he's going at it frosting-first!

and yes, he did eat every last crumb. Not that there was any doubt that he wouldn't!

a very special apron, made by his great-grandmother Hughes!

************************

So , needless to say, we all had a ball!!

(I had to say it, right?)

the day the snow came...

We kind of get used to ignoring the weatherpeople, since they always overplay weather! However, it seems, this time they were right! 20+ inches in one night! It was fun to have an unexpected snow day (though a week day would have been even better!). However, we were supposed to have graham's birthday party today :( , so we're hoping it can still happen tomorrow!!
UPDATE: church was canceled AND Graham's party. Big bummer!!
On the other hand, 2 days at home, with my boys, pj's, and chillin'..........not SO bad!
Andrew spent 30 minutes with several guys trying to push a car out of our street. It was not easy, and I still don't know when we'll be able to get out! I am SO, SO thankful that we are not one of the thousands that have been without power for days now.

Since the city does not plow our little side street, we are HOPING we can get out for church tomorrow, but it could be doubtful! ready to measure!

I don't think they're going anywhere soon!

went for a walk - we haven't seen that many people out walking since the summer!

tried to hit Sbux and they were closed. boo! (as was almost everything else!) snow is up to his knees!then we came home & made snow cream.....a bucket a [fresh, clean] snow, add some milk, sugar, & vanilla and you have a tasty little treat!

on a side note............someone is walking all the way across our living room!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe it's finally happening!

the Gman turns ONE.........

brand-new! february 3rd, 2009
One year ago today, was the most painful day of my life................ :)
It was also the day I fell in love with a tiny (relatively speaking) person who changed my life forever!

Despite the lost sleep, the inconveniences, the missed date nights, and the paniced "what do I do?"..............

I would never trade it in all the world for the snuggles, the smiles, the kisses, the laughs and the sheer JOY you have brought into our lives!

March - a very sleepy mama :)

April - Easter

May

June

July (now in Pittsburgh!)

August

September



October

November

December

January
~ What's new with Graham this month ~

the pros:

>standing on his own! the first steps should follow soon!

>mastered the sign for please!

We tried the rubbing the chest for quite a while, and he was not picking it up at all! He started clapping twice to say please, and so we are totally going with that! It also doubles as more, I want that, and give me. :) It has been EXTREMELY helpful! Now when he wants something, he points at it, and says please, be it milk, food, a toy, the computer...... :) ahhh, finally........some real communication!! He also signs eat and we're working on all done. That's another one that seem to be hard to pick up.

>done with the bottle! we transitioned to sippy cup this past week. Had some good days and some bad days (he is not in favor of altering his routines!!), but all in all, it went pretty smoothly.

>he's a foodie! yep, loves food and I am so thankful that he is such good eater. My problem is getting him to stop eating!! He doesn't EAT fruit, no, he INHALES it! His favorites are bananas, kiwi, mango, blueberries and clementines.

>I don't know that this is a pro or con, but he seems to be growing a ducktail. hmmmm....

the cons:

>Drool, will you ever go away? See that wet suit in the above picture? well, I'm thinking of buying one for him to wear all the time! We mercifully had a nice little break from the droolfest, but the last month or so, it's been back and it's stronger than ever. I still don't see any more teeth, but they have to be coming right? I admit, I am a little weary of the constant soaked shirt.

>working on NOT chucking the sippy cup off of the high chair tray!

>He's a little OCD about having things on his changing table. Which means anything that happens to be on it - lotion, diaper cover, clothes - gets immediately chucked off. Ah, Gman, sometimes you do test my patience. :) Like, wouldn't it probably be ok for that stuff to stay there just once?!!

>This past week he developed a horrible diaper rash. :( It suddenly appeared and is like an open sore. Very painful and I am glad it seems to be getting better, slowly. Poor little guy, he's taken it like a trooper. Of course, it would probably help if he didn't ______ 3x a day!

One year - February 3rd, 2010

Graham Owen, we LOVE you more than you'll ever know.
Happy FIRST birthday, our sweet, sweet boy!

20-8..........

Happy Birthday to the best daddy & hubbers!!

A year ago this was our life......
Now it is this!!!!!!!!!!!!
It will always be this...........

And this..........

Can't wait for our big night out tonight (thanks to a wonderful sitter!)

One more week........

till the big day! We had a $5 coupon for pics at Sears, so we thought, why not?! He was fed, napped, & healthy, so I knew we were good to go. What I didn't anticipate was him not staying still! He hasn't sat still for 3 months, so I don't know why I didn't think of this?!! But he still did a pretty great job.
I know I'm his mother, but I could just eat him up in some of these shots. :)

This little bench kills me!

Love............

SUH-PRISE.............

Andrew has a way of figuring out my gifts for him, secret plans, everything! So I pulled a real fast one on him and threw him a birthday party a week early. He was totally suprised!!!

Graham & I usually pick him up from work around 6, on friday I showed up alone! Then we had a looooooong discussion about his wearing a blind-fold or not........... :) So we arrived back at our house (though he didn't know where we were!) and suh-prise - a party!

Good eats! I made 4 homemade pizzas and other ladies contributed some great sides!

Graham had his friend, Ali, to play with so he was happy!

These kiddos had a great time together too!

Let's eat cake!

I made a chocolate cake, topped with 2 cans of no sugar cherry pie filling, topped with cool whip.

first Steelers wear!




somebody is getting very sleepy at 8:30 pm........!!

got'cha good! Happy early birthday!

Redeemer is Home!

This Sunday, Redeemer Community Church officially moved into their permanent home at 5515 Penn Avenue. What a work of God this is! So many obstacles, hurdles, & setbacks, but for every one of those there was also blessings and kindnesses from our God!


We had 45 people attend our first service!

Both rows here were first time visitors!

If you were a child, wouldn't you want to come and play in our nursery?!
The initial start-up group

Taken a couple of weeks ago, this picture is already outdated as we've had more families join us since then!

It's good to be home!