a special visitor

My sister Katie got to come visit us for a week over her spring break! We had SUCH a fun time, she is the BEST sister!! She also helped with Graham (I actually got a nap this week!) and she did lots of dishes! We are SO sad to see her leave and will miss her so much. G-man LOVED his aunt Katie - she is so much fun!

We got to make these special Beignets

(donut mix that Andrew brought back from new orleans.) so de-lish!we had so much fun, but boy were we tired. :)

Actually, I don't know why HE is yawning, he still had his regular nap schedule. :)
what a little man!

She made us do a V-A for virginia. she's a nut!

Graham had his own personal photographer for the week!

it was NOT warm & sunny like it's SUPPOSED to be this time of year, but we briefly got out to the ocean.

so sweet!

love you sister!

blessings

This weekend was SO encouraging. God was so gracious in giving me multiple blessings these past few days, which he certainly did not have to do.

1. thursday night I was very sick & friday I woke up with a 101 temp. how can THIS be a blessing? well, Andrew ended up being able to stay home from work that day and besides feeding Graham, I just rested and he took care of everything else. it was like a vacation. you'd almost think I was "faking it" except that thermometers don't lie. but I may fake it in the future if it's that nice. :) haha, just kidding, honey. but seriously, you are the BEST.
(also SO thankful that Graham did not get whatever little bug I had)
2. we have been working and working to get Graham on a set schedule and with Andrew home with me for 3 days in a row, together we finally conquered!! I now know every day what time Graham will eat, be awake, and sleep. and can I tell you that I love that!! it is wonderful freedom knowing that we have a schedule down. it allows me to teach my piano lessons without a screaming infant interfering. I got the laundry done in one day like in pre-babydays! and our baby is the happier & healthier for it.
3. we were able to have several friends over on Saturday night and what a blessing it was to hang out with them, laugh, and learn.
4. Graham slept 7 hours straight on Sunday night!! it was unprecented, unexpected, extra rest for mom and how thankful she was! I think it might just be a result of not getting his full naps on Sunday because of our church schedule, so I'm not counting on it happening tonight, but it was wonderful then!
4. Graham begin to consciously smile & giggle this weekend. how special!
here's a couple of videos (mostly for the grandparents sake :)
and no, we don't really let him watch tv! we just have this ginormous remote which is funny.

oh, the things we do!

Andrew was on daddy duty and this was the result. I thought it was hilarious, especially considering that you can hear him snoring through the whole thing!!!

___________

We have been trying to get Graham to be awake after he eats and then go down for a nap. Well, it has been a huge battle, because once the child decides to sleep there is NO waking him up (as you will see!) Thankfully, this week we have finally had some success and our days have gone so much smoother!

(FYI - scroll down to the bottom of the blog where you can push the pause button for the music. that should allow you to hear the commentary more clearly!)

this week in (graham) pictures

he's starting to smile - love it!!

on our own

We want to wish a big congratulations to Andrew's brother who is getting married on Saturday!Unfortunately that means that Andrew is in New Orleans for the weekend and Graham & I are on our own.

yes, graham, that's how I feel too :)

I have to say such a huge thank you for the friends & young moms that God has surrounded me with. This past week I started teaching again and I had several friends (Holly, Ruth & Jamie) from church come & help me with Graham for this first week. Also, everyone has been so kind in offering whatever assistance possible this weekend while Andrew is gone. it is so great to know that these are friends I can call on anytime & they genuinely want me to take them up on their offers (which I have and I encourage other new moms to do as well!) They have shown me how to be a good friend and especially how best to help out other new moms. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all moms who have been such a help & encouragement to me during this new phase of life. God is good!

graham meets mama & papa hughes

We braved our first road-trip this past Saturday to take Graham to meet Andrew's parents. It went relatively smoothly and was a fun day!

the g-man LOVES to be snuggled and could sleep like this for hours! (which he did!)

notice the outfit change between these pics...!